KR100833866B1 - Steam laundry dryer - Google Patents

Abstract

A steam dryer is provided to prevent damage to a pump due to idling by keeping water in a path connecting a pump and a steam generator. A steam dryer comprises a drum, a hot blast heater, a steam generator(200), a detachable water supply unit, a reflux preventive unit, and a pump(400). The reflux preventive unit prevents backflow of water from the steam generator when separating the water supply unit. One end of the reflux preventive unit is connected with a water supply port by a hose. The other end of the hose is connected with a drain port of the pump. The pump is installed between the water supply unit and the steam generator.

Description

Steam Dryer {Steam Laundry Dryer}

1 is an exploded perspective view showing the configuration of a steam dryer according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 2 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of the cartridge and the steam generator for supplying water in accordance with an embodiment of the steam dryer of Figure 1,

Figure 3 is a side view showing the configuration according to another preferred embodiment of the connection portion of the pump and the steam generator in Figure 2, and

FIG. 4 is a front view illustrating a part of the steam generator in FIG. 3.

<Explanation of symbols for the main parts of the drawings>

10 ... Cabinet 200 ... Steam Generator

220 Water supply hose 225 Inner pipe

300 ... cartridge 400 ... pump

The present invention relates to a steam dryer, and more particularly to a steam dryer that can remove wrinkles of the cloth during drying, and can prevent water from flowing back even when the water source is separated.

A dryer is a household appliance in which laundry is normally washed, that is, clothes are mainly dried using high temperature air. In general, the dryer includes a drum accommodating the object to be dried, a driving source for driving the drum, heating means for heating air introduced into the drum, and a blower unit for sucking or discharging air in the drum.

 The dryer may be classified into an electric dryer and a gas dryer according to a method of heating air, that is, a heating means. The electric dryer heats air using electric resistance heat, and the gas dryer heats air using heat generated by combustion of gas.

If the dryers are classified differently, they can be classified as condensation dryers and exhaust dryers. In the condenser dryer, the air that has been heat-exchanged with the dry matter in the drum is circulated without being discharged to the outside of the dryer, and in a separate condenser, heat is exchanged with the outside air to make condensate and discharged to the outside. In the exhaust dryer, the air, which has been heat exchanged with the dry matter in the drum and becomes humid, is discharged directly to the outside of the dryer.

If the dryer is classified into another method, it may be divided into a top loading method and a front loading method according to a method of inputting a dry matter to the dryer. In the top loading method, the dry material is introduced from the upper side of the dryer. In the front loading method, the dry material is injected from the front of the dryer.

On the other hand, the above-described conventional dryer has the following problems.

In general, the laundry is dried and dehydrated laundry is put into the dryer to dry. However, due to the principle of water washing, wrinkles are generated in the laundry in which water washing is completed, and the wrinkles generated once are not completely removed in the drying process in the dryer. Therefore, in the case of using a conventional dryer, there is a disadvantage in that a separate ironing is required in order to remove wrinkles existing in the dry matter such as laundry which has been dried.

In addition, wrinkles, wrinkles, folds, etc. (hereinafter collectively referred to as "wrinkles") are generated even when clothes and the like are normally stored and used in addition to laundry after washing. The development of a device that can easily remove wrinkles in accordance with the normal use, storage, such as clothing was required.

The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned conventional problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a steam dryer that can prevent and / or remove wrinkles caused by clothing and the like.

In addition, an object of the present invention is to provide a steam dryer that can prevent the back flow of water even if the water supply source for supplying water to the steam dryer is separated.

An object of the present invention as described above, the drum is rotatably installed in the cabinet; A hot air heater for heating air to supply hot air to the drum; A steam generator for supplying steam to the drum; A water supply source supplying water to the steam generator; And backflow preventing means for preventing water from flowing back from the steam generator when separating the water supply source.

Here, the backflow prevention means may be made of a hose that is connected to one end of the water supply port formed on the steam generator.

Preferably, the water supply port is formed above the maximum water level of the steam generator.

On the other hand, in the present invention further comprises a pump between the water supply and the steam generator, the other end of the hose may be connected to the outlet of the pump.

In addition, the outlet of the pump may be located to be lower than the water supply of the steam generator.

On the other hand, the pump is preferably capable of forward and reverse rotation, it is possible to discharge the residual water of the steam generator.

The steam generator may further include an inner pipe communicating with the water supply port.

Here, the end of the inner pipe preferably has a length adjacent to the bottom of the steam generator.

An object of the present invention as described above is a drum rotatably installed in the cabinet; A hot air heater for heating air to supply hot air to the drum; A steam generator for supplying steam to the drum; A water supply source supplying water through an upper portion of the steam generator; And a pump positioned between the steam generator and the water supply source and capable of forward and reverse rotation.

Here, the steam generator is preferably formed such that the water inlet for the water is higher than the maximum water level.

In addition, it is preferable to further include an inner pipe having a length adjacent to the bottom of the steam generator.

Hereinafter, with reference to the accompanying drawings will be described in detail a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

1 is an exploded perspective view showing the configuration of a steam dryer according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention. Referring to Figure 1, it will be described an embodiment of the steam dryer according to the present invention.

The cabinet 10 forms the appearance of a steam dryer according to the present invention, and various components described below are installed therein.

First, inside the cabinet 10, a drum 20 rotatably installed, a motor 70 for driving the drum 20, and a belt 68 are installed. In addition, the heater 90 (hereinafter referred to as "hot air heater" for convenience) generated by the hot air heater 90 to heat the air to create a high temperature air (hereinafter referred to as "hot air") at a predetermined position of the cabinet 10. A hot air supply duct 44 for supplying hot air to the drum 20 is installed. In addition, an exhaust duct 80 for discharging humid air heat-exchanged with the object to be dried in the drum 20, a blower unit 60 for sucking humid air, and the like are also provided. On the other hand, a steam generator 200 for generating high temperature steam is installed at a predetermined position of the cabinet 10.

In this embodiment, an indirect drive method for rotating the drum 20 using the motor 70 and the belt 68 for convenience is illustrated and described, but the present invention is not limited thereto. That is, it is also possible to apply the present invention to a direct drive method (Direct Drive Type) in which a motor is directly connected to the rear surface of the drum 20 to directly rotate the drum 20.

Each component described above is described in detail as follows.

The cabinet 10 forms the exterior of the dryer, and includes a base 12 forming a bottom surface, a pair of side covers 14 installed perpendicular to the base 12, and a front side of the side cover 14. And a top cover 17 disposed at an upper portion of the front cover 16 and the rear cover 18 and the side cover 14 respectively installed at the rear surface. The control panel 19 having various operation switches or the like is normally located on the top cover 17 or the front cover 16, and the door 164 is provided on the front cover 16. The rear cover 18 is provided with an inlet 182 for allowing outside air to flow therein and an exhaust hole 184, which is a final passage through which the air of the drum 20 is discharged to the outside.

The inner space of the drum 20 functions as a drying chamber in which drying proceeds, and inside the drum 20, a lift 22 is installed to drag and lift the object to invert the object to invert the object to increase the drying efficiency. Do.

On the other hand, the front supporter 30 and the rear supporter 40 are provided between the drum 20 and the cabinet 10, ie, between the drum 20, the front cover 16, and the rear cover 18, respectively. The drum 20 is rotatably installed between the front supporter 30 and the rear supporter 40, and a sealing member for preventing leakage between the front supporter 30 and the rear supporter 40 and the drum 20, respectively. (Not shown) is installed. That is, the front supporter 30 and the rear supporter 40 form a drying chamber by blocking the front and rear surfaces of the drum 20 and serve to support the front and rear ends of the drum 20.

The front supporter 30 is formed with an opening for communicating the drum 20 with the outside of the dryer, the opening is selectively opened and closed by the door 164. In addition, the front supporter 30 is connected to the lint duct 50 which is a passage through which the air of the drum 20 is discharged to the outside, and the lint duct 50 is provided with a lint filter 52.

One side of the blower unit 60 is connected to the lint duct 50, the other side of the blower unit 60 is connected to the exhaust duct 80, and the exhaust duct 80 is an exhaust hole provided in the rear cover 18. In communication with (184).

Therefore, when the blower unit 60 is operated, the air in the drum 20 is discharged to the outside through the lint duct 50, the exhaust duct 80, and the exhaust hole 184. In this case, foreign matter such as lint and the like is filtered by the lint filter 52. In general, the blower unit 60 includes a blower 62 and a blower housing 64, and the blower 64 is generally connected to and driven by a motor 70 for driving the drum 20.

The rear supporter 40 is formed with an opening 42 which is usually composed of a plurality of through holes, and the hot air supply duct 44 is connected to the opening 42. The hot air supply duct 44 communicates with the drum 20 and serves as a passage for supplying hot air to the drum 20. Therefore, the hot air heater 90 is installed at a predetermined position of the hot air supply duct 44.

On the other hand, the steam generator 200 for supplying the steam to the inside of the drum 20 is installed at a predetermined position of the cabinet (10). Hereinafter, the steam generator 200 will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Figure 2 is a schematic diagram showing a steam generator in a steam dryer according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention. Referring to Figure 2, when describing the steam dryer according to the present invention.

The steam generator 200 includes a water tank 210 in which water is accommodated therein, a heater (not shown) mounted in the water tank 210, and a water level sensor 260 for measuring the water level of the steam generator 200. And, it comprises a temperature sensor (not shown) for measuring the temperature of the steam generator 200. Although not shown, the water level sensor 260 is usually composed of a common electrode, a low level electrode and a high level electrode, and detects the high level and the low level by the energization of the common electrode and the high level electrode or the conduction of the common electrode and the low level electrode.

One side of the steam generator 200 is connected to the water supply hose 220 for supplying water, the other side is connected to the steam hose 230 for discharging steam, the tip of the steam hose 230 is a nozzle 250 of a predetermined shape Is preferably provided. In general, one end of the water supply hose 220 is connected to a water supply source such as the cartridge 300, and the tip or the nozzle 25, that is, the steam discharge port of the steam hose 230, is positioned at a predetermined position of the drum 20. Steam is injected into the interior of the (20).

On the other hand, although the water supply source is not shown in the drawings, it is fixedly installed in the dryer, or may be made of a cartridge 300 is installed removably as in the present embodiment, or may be made of a faucet located outside. However, if the water supply is made of a faucet in this way, the installation becomes very complicated. This is because, in general, the dryer does not use water, and thus, when the faucet is used as a water supply source, various apparatuses and the like must be additionally installed. Therefore, as in this embodiment, using a detachable water supply source (Detachable Water Supply Source) 300, to separate the water supply source 300 to fill the water, the water supply source 300 filled with water to the steam generator ( It is very convenient to use by connecting to the water supply flow path of the water supply hose 220 of 200).

In addition, the pump 400 is preferably provided between the water supply source 300 and the steam generator 200. It is more preferable that the pump 400 is capable of forward and reverse rotation to supply water to the steam generator 200 or to recover residual water of the steam generator 200 as necessary. Here, the reason for recovering the residual water of the steam generator 200 is that if the steam generator 200 is not used for a long time, the heater may be damaged by the residual water, or there may be a possibility that the decayed water is used later.

Therefore, in order to recover the residual water more easily when recovering the residual water of the steam generator 200, as shown in FIG. 2, the water supply hose 220 is connected to the bottom of the steam generator 200, that is, through the bottom. Can be connected. Since the water supply hose 220 is connected to the bottom of the steam generator 200, when water is supplied, the pump 400 is rotated forward and supplied, and when the residual water is collected, the pump 400 is rotated in reverse, and steam is supplied. Water can be easily recovered by the water pressure by the water level A of the water accommodated inside the generator 200.

However, in the above configuration, when the cartridge 300 forming the water supply source is separated from the pump 400, the water flows backward due to the water pressure of the water inside the steam generator 200 and leaks through the pump 400. There is a problem.

That is, even if the dryer is not driven, the water remains in the steam generator 200 to some extent, and thus, when the cartridge 300 is separated to supply water to the cartridge 300, the steam generator 200 may be discharged. Water pressure of the water is transmitted through the water supply hose 220. This is because the water supply hose 220 is connected to the lower portion of the steam generator 200. Therefore, the water in the water supply hose 220 flows back through the pump 400 due to the water pressure of the water, so that there is a risk of leakage. In particular, when the gear pump is used as the pump 400, there is a high possibility that the water flows back along the minute gap between the gears forming the gear pump.

Therefore, in another preferred embodiment of the steam dryer according to the present invention is provided with a backflow prevention means that can prevent the back flow of water when separating the cartridge 300 as described above.

3 is a side view showing a connection structure according to another preferred embodiment of the pump and the steam generator in FIG.

Referring to FIG. 3, in this embodiment, there is a difference in the configuration of the water supply hose 220 for supplying water to the steam generator 200 as compared with the embodiment of FIG. 2 described above.

That is, in this embodiment, the water supply port 212 is formed on the upper portion of the steam generator 200, one end of the water supply hose 220 is connected to the water supply port 212. Therefore, the water supply hose 220 connected to the water supply port 212 formed in the upper portion of the steam generator 200 forms a backflow preventing means.

Specifically, the water supply port 212 is formed on the upper portion of the steam generator 200, preferably water is supplied to the steam generator 200 so that the water of the maximum water level (A) in the water tank 210 In this case, it is preferable to be formed above the maximum water level. Thus, the water supply port 212 is formed above the maximum level of the steam generator 200, even if the residual water in the steam generator 200, the water pressure of the residual water is supplied to the water supply hose 220 through the water supply port 212 Will not work.

On the other hand, the other end of the water supply hose 220 is connected to the pump 400, the outlet 410 is preferably supplied with water from the pump 400 to the steam generator 200 is the water supply of the steam generator 200 The position is lower than the sphere 212. Therefore, when the pump 400 rotates forward and supplies water to the steam generator 200 and stops, the water supply connecting the outlet 410 of the pump 400 and the water supply port 212 of the steam generator 200. Water always remains in the hose 220. The water remaining in the water supply hose 220 prevents the pump 400 from being driven in the absence of water, thereby preventing the pump 400 from being deformed and damaged by driving the pump 400 in the absence of water.

On the other hand, the pump 400 is configured to enable reverse rotation as well as forward rotation in order to remove residual water that may exist inside the steam generator 200 as described above. However, when the water supply port 212 of the steam generator 200 is located in the upper portion as in the present embodiment, it is difficult to remove the residual water when the residual water remains in the steam generator 200. Therefore, in this embodiment, as shown in Figure 4, it is preferable to further include an inner pipe (inner pipe) (225) inside the steam generator (200).

The inner pipe 225 is located inside the steam generator 200, and specifically, communicates with the water supply port 212 and extends toward the inside of the steam generator 200. In addition, an end portion of the inner pipe 225 extends to be adjacent to the bottom of the steam generator 200 so as to easily remove residual water present in the steam generator 200. In this case, the inner pipe 225 may be bent and formed as shown in FIG. 4 to avoid interference with various components inside the steam generator 200, for example, a heater, a water level sensor, and the like.

Hereinafter, the operation of the steam dryer having the configuration as described above will be briefly described.

First, before driving the dryer, the user separates the cartridge 300 from the cabinet 10 to fill the water, and mounts the cartridge 300 back into the cabinet 10.

Subsequently, when the dryer drives and supplies steam, water is supplied from the cartridge 400 to the steam generator 200 by driving the pump 400, and the water is heated in the steam generator 200 so that the steam is drummed. 20 is supplied inside.

Meanwhile, in the present invention, one end of the water supply hose 220 connecting the pump 400 and the steam generator 200 is connected to the steam generator 200 higher than the maximum water level of the steam generator 200. Therefore, even if there is residual water in the steam generator 200, the water pressure does not work through the water supply hose 220, so that the water does not flow back through the pump 400 in the steam generator 200 even when the cartridge 300 is removed. .

In addition, in the present invention, the outlet 410 of the pump 400 is located lower than the water supply port 212 of the steam generator 200, so that water always remains in the water supply hose 220. Therefore, the pump 400 connected to the water supply hose 220 is driven in the absence of water to prevent deformation and breakage.

On the other hand, in the embodiment of the present invention has been described with respect to the case where the cartridge 300 forming the water supply is detachably installed in the cabinet 10, the present invention is not limited to this, but the water supply is fixedly installed Applicable to For example, even when the water supply is fixed to the dryer, it is often possible to separate the water supply for cleaning or repairing the water supply. Therefore, even if the water supply source is fixedly installed, the backflow prevention means of the present invention can be applied even when the water supply source is separated for cleaning or repair.

As described above, the steam dryer according to the present invention can effectively remove the wrinkles or wrinkles that may occur in the clothes without separate ironing by spraying steam to the clothes in the dried state.

In addition, according to the present invention, even if the cartridge for supplying water to the steam generator is separated, it is possible to prevent the water from flowing backward in the steam generator.

In addition, according to the present invention, since water is always present in the flow path connecting the pump and the steam generator, it is possible to prevent the pump from idling without water, thereby preventing deformation and breakage of the pump.

Claims (11)

A drum rotatably installed in the cabinet; A hot air heater for heating air to supply hot air to the drum; A steam generator for supplying steam to the drum; A water supply source supplying water to the steam generator; And And a backflow preventing means for preventing water from flowing back from the steam generator when separating the water supply source. The method of claim 1, The reverse flow prevention means is a steam dryer, characterized in that consisting of a hose connected to one end of the water supply formed in the upper portion of the steam generator. The method of claim 2, The water supply port is a steam dryer, characterized in that formed above the maximum water level of the steam generator. The method of claim 3, A pump is further provided between the water supply and the steam generator, and the other end of the hose is connected to the outlet of the pump. The method of claim 4, wherein And the outlet of the pump is positioned lower than the water supply of the steam generator. The method of claim 4, wherein The pump is characterized in that the forward and reverse rotation steam dryer. The method of claim 6, The steam generator further comprises an inner pipe communicating with the water supply port in the steam generator. The method of claim 7, wherein An end of the inner pipe has a length adjacent to the bottom of the steam generator. A drum rotatably installed in the cabinet; A hot air heater for heating air to supply hot air to the drum; A steam generator for supplying steam to the drum; A water supply source supplying water through an upper portion of the steam generator; And And a pump positioned between the steam generator and the water supply source and capable of forward and reverse rotation. The method of claim 9, The steam generator is a steam dryer, characterized in that the water inlet is a water inlet is formed higher than the maximum water level. The method of claim 10, The inside of the steam generator further comprises an inner pipe having a length adjacent to the bottom of the steam dryer.

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