KR20080078367A - Laundry dryer - Google Patents

Abstract

A dryer is provided to prevent damage to clothes caused by high temperature by installing a low temperature air generator, and supplying relatively low temperature air into a cabinet. A dryer comprises a cabinet(2), a heating unit, and an ironing unit(300). The cabinet contains the clothes to be dried. The heating unit supplies hot air into the cabinet to dry clothes. The heating unit is a low temperature air generator. The ironing unit rotates on an outer surface of the cabinet to iron the clothes.

Description

Dryer {laundry dryer}

1 is a perspective view schematically showing a dryer according to the present invention

Figure 2 is for explaining the principle of the dryer according to the present invention, a schematic diagram showing the configuration of FIG.

3 is a cross-sectional view schematically showing an example of the ironing unit of FIG.

4 is a perspective view schematically showing another example of the ironing unit of FIG.

5 is a schematic cross-sectional view of FIG.

6 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the ironing unit of FIG.

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

2: cabinet 20: machine room

40: heat pump 42: compressor

44 condenser 46 expansion mechanism

48: evaporator 50: fan

60: steam generator 70: pump

80: water supply source 300: ironing unit

The present invention relates to a dryer, and more particularly, to a dryer capable of effectively drying a dry item such as clothes.

A general dryer is a home appliance that normally drys laundry, that is, a dry item, using hot air. In general, a dryer includes a drying tank (usually called a drum) for accommodating a dry object, a driving source for rotating the drum, heating means for heating the air flowing into the drum to create hot air, and sucking the air inside the drum. Or a blower unit for discharging or discharging.

 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 generated by the electric heater, and the gas dryer heats air by using heat generated by combustion of gas generated in the gas burner.

If the dryers are divided in different ways, they can be classified into condensing (circulating) 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.

In the above-mentioned conventional dryer, air is heated to 100 degreeC or more normally by a gas burner or an electric heater, and heated hot air is supplied to a drum. As the drum rotates, the dry item and the hot air exchanged in the drum are heat exchanged to dry the dry item.

However, the above-described conventional dryer has the following problems.

First, in a conventional dryer, high temperature air heated at 100 ° C. or more in a gas burner or an electric heater is heat-exchanged with the dry object. Therefore, there is a disadvantage that damage to the clothing by the hot air of more than 100 ℃ can occur.

Second, in the conventional dryer, the drying tank, that is, the drum, rotates (tumbles) in the drying process. Accordingly, damage to the garment may occur due to the friction between the drum and the garment, and the friction between the garment and the garment, and thus, there is a disadvantage that it is difficult to use sensitive garments such as knitwear, shirts, and functional fine clothes. In addition, the lint (lint) is generated a lot by this friction, there is a disadvantage that the structure is complicated by using a lint filter for filtering the lint.

Third, the gas dryer requires the construction of a separate pipe, and the electric dryer has a disadvantage in that excessive energy is used according to the operation of the electric heater.

Fourth, in the case of ironing in order to more effectively remove the wrinkles of the dried clothing, there is a disadvantage that conventionally use a separate ironing apparatus by moving the place.

The present invention is to solve the above-described problems, an object of the present invention to provide a dryer with improved performance.

Another object of the present invention to provide a dryer that can be ironed without moving the place.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a cabinet including a cabinet; Heating means for heating and supplying air to the cabinet to dry the object to be dried; It is provided rotatably on the outer surface of the cabinet, to provide a dryer comprising an ironing unit for ironing the dry matter.

The ironing unit preferably includes a base member, and a pressing member for selectively pressing the base member while rotating with respect to the base member. And, at least one of the base member and the pressing member is preferably provided with a heater. In addition, steam is preferably discharged through at least one of the base member and the pressing member.

On the other hand, it is preferable that the transparent window is provided on the outer surface of the cabinet. And, the transparent window is preferably provided at a position corresponding to the installation position of the ironing unit. More preferably, the transparent window can be opened and closed selectively.

According to the present invention described above, it is possible to effectively prevent the damage to the clothes, to effectively prevent the occurrence of wrinkles on the dried product to be dried, it is possible to improve the performance of the dryer. In addition, when ironing is required, it is possible to iron the dryer directly without moving to a place.

Hereinafter, specific embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

Referring to Figure 1, it will be described a preferred embodiment of the dryer according to the present invention.

The dryer according to the present invention comprises a cabinet 2 constituting the exterior of the dryer and accommodating dry items such as clothes, and air having a relatively low temperature relative to the cabinet 2 (hereinafter referred to as " relatively cold air " for convenience). It comprises a low temperature air generating means 40 (see Fig. 2) to make. Unexplained reference numeral 3 is a door.

In a conventional dryer, air is usually heated to 100 ° C. or higher in a gas burner or an electric heater, but in the present invention, it is heated to a relatively low temperature, preferably about 50 to 75 ° C., in comparison with a conventional dryer. In other words, the relative low temperature air in the present invention does not mean that the air is a low temperature, the temperature is relatively high, but it is relatively low compared to the high temperature air generated in the conventional dryer.

Moreover, although a drying tank (drum) rotates in the conventional dryer, in the present invention, clothes are accommodated in the cabinet 2 fixed state. It is preferable that the inside of the cabinet 2 is provided with a supporting member 5 on which a hanger 7 for hanging the garment 9 is supported. Therefore, in the present invention, friction between the cabinet / clothing and the clothing / clothing does not occur when the garment 9 is dried.

On the other hand, the low temperature air generating means may use a gas burner or an electric heater, but it is preferable to use a heat pump. This is because complicated temperature control is required in the case of gas type using gas burner and electric type using electric heater.

In addition, in the gas type, the air required for the combustion of the gas must be continuously supplied from the outside and the air burned to the outside must be discharged. Therefore, if the gas type is configured in the circulation type, since normal combustion cannot be continued due to lack of oxygen, it must be configured as an external exhaust type. By the way, when the external exhaust type is configured, an exhaust duct or the like is necessary and complicated.

In the case of the electric type it can be configured as a circulation type, but a separate dehumidifier is required. In general, since an air-cooled heat exchanger is used as a dehumidifier, a fan and a duct for supplying external air into the dryer and exhausting the heat-exchanged air to the outside are complicated. Also, in terms of energy, the electric heater uses power corresponding to the required heat amount because the power factor is 1, but the heat pump uses only one third of the heat amount required for the coefficient of performance (COP). More efficient than electric heater

Referring to Figure 2, when described in detail the dryer using a heat pump to make the relative low-temperature air as follows.

The heat pump 40 is installed at a predetermined position of the cabinet 2. Since the principle and structure of the hip pump including the compressor 42, the condenser 44, the expansion mechanism 46 and the evaporator 48 is well known, a detailed description thereof will be omitted.

Although the installation position of the heat pump 40 is not limited, it is preferable to provide the machine room 20 in the lower back of the cabinet 2, and to install the heat pump 40 in the machine room 20. The machine chamber 20 is divided into a first chamber 22, a second chamber 24, and a third chamber 26 so that the compressor 42 and the expansion mechanism 46 are connected to the first chamber 22. The condenser 44 and the evaporator 48 are preferably installed in the second chamber 24. In addition, it is preferable that the steam generator 60, which is a component of the water spraying means described later, is installed in the first chamber 22, and the water supply source 80 and the pump 70 are installed in the third chamber 26. .

On the other hand, the front end of the second chamber (24) is provided with an inlet port 34 in communication with the cabinet (2), the rear end of the second chamber (24) is a heat exchange in the condenser 44 of the heat pump (40) It is communicated to the flow path 30 to supply the relatively low-temperature air is made to the cabinet (2). Of course, it is preferable that a fan 50 or a blower is provided at a predetermined position of the flow path 30, and a plurality of exhaust ports 32 communicating with the inside of the cabinet 2 at a predetermined position at the rear end of the flow path 30. It is preferable that is provided. The flow path 30 is preferably formed through the rear and side wall walls of the cabinet 2.

On the other hand, air (hereinafter, for convenience, " heat exchange air ") that has been heat-exchanged with clothes in the cabinet 2 and is in a low-temperature / humidity state is introduced into the second chamber 24 through the inlet port 34 to exchange heat in the condenser 44 It becomes the low temperature air of 50 degreeC or more high temperature and humidity again, and the said low temperature air is supplied to the cabinet 2 again via the flow path 30. As shown in FIG. That is, although the heat exchange air may be immediately discharged to the outside, it is preferable to circulate the cabinet 2 and the heat pump 40. At this time, since the air flowing into the inlet 34 is a humid state in which the clothes 2 exchange heat with the clothes to absorb the moisture of the clothes, it is preferable to send the water to the condenser 44 to remove the water rather than heating it again. It is also possible to use a separate dehumidifier, but it is convenient to dehumidify using the evaporator 48 of the heat pump 40. That is, the evaporator 48 of the heat pump 40 is disposed near the inlet 34 so that the heat contained in the heat exchange air is condensed on the surface of the evaporator 48 while the heat exchange air passes through the evaporator 48. It is desirable to allow dehumidification. Although the condensed water condensed in the evaporator 48 may be collected using a separate condensate bottle, it is preferable to use the water supply source 80 of the water spray means described later as a condensate bottle.

On the other hand, it is preferable that the dryer according to the present invention is further provided with water spraying means for supplying moisture to the cabinet 2 in the form of fine particles. Here, the water spray means is to atomize the water and to supply the clothes (9) housed in the cabinet (2). For example, the water spray means may be a steam generator for heating water to make steam, or may be a device for making water into fine particles using an ultrasonic vibrator or a pressurized spray. Hereinafter, collectively referred to as water spraying means. Hereinafter, a steam generator will be described as an example for the purpose of water injection.

The reason for using the water injection means is as follows. In general, laundry is dehydrated and the laundry is dehydrated is put into the dryer to dry. However, due to the principle of water washing, wrinkles are generated in the laundry in which the water washing is completed, and the generated wrinkles are not completely removed in the conventional drying process in the dryer. According to the research of the present inventors, when the clothes were supplied with moisture during drying of the clothes, wrinkles could be effectively removed. 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. It is possible to remove the wrinkles according to the normal use and storage of such clothes, such as drying the clothes while supplying moisture to the clothes in the dryer. Supplying moisture to the garment during drying, as well as removing wrinkles had an effect such as antistatic, deodorant.

On the other hand, the water spraying means includes a water supply source 80, and a steam generator 60 for heating the water supplied from the water supply source 80 to steam. It is preferable that a pump 70 is installed between the water supply source 80 and the steam generator 60. The water supply source 80 may be an external faucet or the like, but it is preferable to use a water tank such as a removable water tank.

On the other hand, as described above, the water supply source 80 and the pump 70 is provided in the third chamber 26 of the machine room 20, the steam generator 60 is preferably provided in the first chamber (22). Do. A steam flow path 62 is connected to the steam generator 60, and the steam flow path 62 is provided with a plurality of injection holes 61 communicating with the cabinet 2. And, the water supply source 80 is installed adjacent to the evaporator 48 of the heat pump 40, it is preferable to receive the condensed water condensed on the surface of the evaporator 48 from the water supply source 80 to use. In this configuration, the condensate container receiving the condensate condensed by the evaporator 48 and the water supply source 80 can be used as one, thereby simplifying the structure.

On the other hand, as shown in Figures 1 and 3, it is preferable that the ironing unit 90 is provided inside the cabinet (2). The ironing unit 90 may be installed inside or outside the cabinet 2. The ironing unit 90 may be configured as a simple plate 92, but may use a separate iron. Alternatively, the ironing unit 90 may be configured to automatically or semi-automatically iron by installing a roller or a press.

4 to 6, a preferred embodiment of the ironing unit of the automatic or semi-automatic type will be described.

The ironing unit 300 is rotatably provided on the outer surface of the cabinet 2, preferably on the door 3 or the side outer wall 3a, so that the ironing unit can be ironed. In addition, the ironing unit 300 includes a base member 310 that substantially supports the clothes to be ironed, and a pressing member 320 that selectively compresses the base member 310. The pressing member 320 is rotated with respect to the base member 310 to apply pressure to the clothing that is close to the base member 310. That is, in this embodiment, the entire ironing unit 300 can be rotated with respect to the cabinet 2, and the crimping member 320 can be rotated with respect to the base member 310.

In detail, the base member 310 is rotatably installed with respect to the cabinet 2, and the pressing member 320 is rotatably installed at one side of the base member 310. Of course, the pressing member 320 is rotatably installed in the cabinet 2, so that it is possible to substantially rotate the base member 310. And, the base member 310 and the pressing member 320 is preferably plate-like.

On the other hand, in order to effectively remove wrinkles or the like formed on clothing by ironing, proper temperature, moisture and pressure are required. To this end, it is preferable that the heater 312 is provided on the base member 310, preferably at least one of the base member 310 and the pressing member 320. In addition, in order to supply adequate moisture to the clothes, at least one of the base member 310 and the pressing member 320 is preferably a water outlet 322, preferably a steam outlet is formed in the pressing member 320 It is preferable. The steam supplied to the steam outlet 322 may be made separately, but it is preferable to use steam made in the steam generator (see FIG. 2).

On the other hand, the transparent window 350 is preferably provided at a predetermined position of the outer surface of the cabinet (2). This is because, when the transparent window 350 is installed, the drying state of the clothing inside the cabinet 2 can be checked without opening the door 3. Furthermore, the transparent window 350 may be selectively opened and closed. This is because if the transparent window 350 can be opened and closed, it is possible to simply put or take out small items such as handkerchiefs and ties without opening the door 3 during the drying process, thereby minimizing energy loss.

On the other hand, the transparent window may be installed in a predetermined position on the outer surface of the cabinet (2), it is preferable to be installed in a position corresponding to the installation position of the ironing unit (300). In addition, it is preferable that the upper part rotates around the hinge shaft 352.

Referring to Figure 6, the operation of the ironing unit 300 will be described.

First, the garment 9 to be ironed is placed on the base member 310. In this case, steam generated from the steam generator is supplied to the steam outlet 322, and the heater 312 is also operated. In this state, the pressing member 320 is rotated in the direction of the base member 310 to compress the garment 9. Therefore, according to the present embodiment, wrinkles and the like of clothing can be effectively removed by appropriate moisture, temperature, and pressure.

On the other hand, in the above-described embodiment, the cabinet 2 for accommodating the object to be dried does not rotate, and low temperature air such as a heat pump is generated as a heating means for heating the air to dry the object to create high temperature air. The use of means has been shown and described. However, the application of the present invention particularly the ironing unit 300 is not limited thereto. That is, the ironing unit 300 according to the present invention uses a conventional dryer, that is, a rotating drum, and can be used in a dryer for supplying relatively high temperature air to the drum. In addition, in the present embodiment, the ironing unit 300 is shown and described that it is installed on the outer surface of the cabinet 2, but the present invention is not limited thereto, and the ironing unit 300 is installed inside the cabinet 2. It is possible.

Referring to Figure 2, when explaining the operation of the dryer according to the present invention.

Into the cabinet 2, a dry object, for example, dehydrated laundry or a garment which has been worn for a while, is put into operation and the dryer is operated. At this time, the clothing 9 is accommodated in the cabinet 2 in a fixed state using the hanger 7 or the like. When the dryer operates, the steam generator 60 is operated. That is, a heater (not shown) of the steam generator 60 is operated to generate water by heating water, and the generated steam is injected into the cabinet 2 through the steam flow path 62 and the injection hole 61. . Normally, steam is not generated immediately after the heater is operated, and steam is generated after a predetermined time, and the amount of steam increases as time passes. If moisture is sufficiently absorbed in the dry item, the operation of the steam generator 60 is stopped. At this stage, the heat pump 40 is preferably not operated.

Next, the heat pump 40 and the fan 50 operate. That is, the air is heat exchanged in the condenser 44 and heated. As described above, the air heated in the condenser is relatively low temperature air, which is relatively low temperature compared with the conventional dryer. The relatively low temperature air is supplied to the cabinet 2 through the flow path 30 and the exhaust port 32, and the clothes 9 are dried by heat exchange with the clothes 9 inside the cabinet 2, and the relatively low temperature air is high humidity. It becomes air of low temperature (heat exchange air). The heat exchange air flows in through the intake port 34, condenses while passing through the evaporator 48, becomes a low humidity state, becomes high temperature again in the condenser 44, and is supplied to the cabinet 2. At this time, the condensed water generated in the evaporator 48 is recovered to the water supply source 80, and is supplied to the steam generator 60 by the pump.

In the present invention, since the garment 9 is dried in a fixed state, damage to the garment due to friction is prevented and the occurrence of lint is prevented. In addition, since the clothing 9 is dried by the relatively low temperature air, damage to the clothing due to high temperature can be prevented.

In addition, as described above, it is possible to automatically and effectively eliminate wrinkles, such as drying clothes finished by the ironing unit (300).

The effect of the dryer according to the present invention described above is as follows.

First, according to the present invention, clothes and the like are dried using heating air having a relatively low temperature as compared to a conventional dryer. Therefore, there is an advantage that the damage of the clothing due to the high temperature that can occur in the conventional dryer can be prevented.

Second, since the clothing is dried in a fixed state in the cabinet, there is an advantage that it is possible to prevent the damage of the clothing that may be caused by the friction of the drum and the clothing, the friction of the clothing and clothing. Therefore, it is possible to dry sensitive garments such as knits, shirts, functional high-quality clothes, etc., and to prevent the occurrence of lint caused by friction.

Third, according to the present invention, since the pipe used in the gas dryer is unnecessary, the structure is simple, and there is an advantage that energy is saved as compared with the electric heater used in the electric dryer.

Fourth, according to the present invention, there is an advantage that can effectively prevent or eliminate the occurrence of wrinkles or wrinkles in the dried product to be dried. Moreover, according to this invention, there also exists an advantage that sterilization and smell removal of a to-be-dried thing can be performed. According to the present invention, there is an advantage that wrinkles or wrinkles in the clothes in a dry state can be effectively removed without additional ironing.

Fifth, according to the present invention, when ironing is required, it is possible to iron the dryer directly without moving to a place. In addition, it is possible to automatically and effectively eliminate wrinkles, such as dried clothing by the ironing unit.

Claims (11)

A cabinet for receiving the dried object; Heating means for heating and supplying air to the cabinet to dry the object to be dried; And a ironing unit rotatably provided on an outer surface of the cabinet to iron the dry matter. The dryer of claim 1, wherein the ironing unit comprises a base member and a pressing member for selectively pressing the base member while rotating the base member. The dryer of claim 2, wherein at least one of the base member and the crimping member is provided with a heater. The dryer of claim 2, wherein steam is discharged through at least one of the base member and the pressing member. The dryer of claim 1, wherein a transparent window is provided on an outer surface of the cabinet. The dryer according to claim 5, wherein the transparent window is provided at a position corresponding to an installation position of the ironing unit. 6. The dryer of claim 5, wherein the transparent window is selectively openable. 2. A dryer as claimed in claim 1, wherein said heating means is cold air generating means for producing relatively low temperature air (relatively cold air). 9. The dryer of claim 8, wherein the low temperature air generating means is a heat pump. The dryer of claim 1, wherein the cabinet accommodates the dry item in a fixed state. A cabinet for receiving the dried object; Heating means for heating and supplying air to the cabinet to dry the object to be dried; Dryer comprising a transparent window provided on the outer surface of the cabinet.

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