Hand dryer

Abstract

A hand dryer (1) comprises: a hollow casing (2) having two side walls (2e), (2f) disposed with a gap therebetween in a first direction orthogonal to the vertical direction; and a nozzle (3) that is provided to at least one of the side walls (2e), (2f) and sprays an airflow. A nozzle hole (3c) that allows communication between the inside and outside of the casing (2), and a plurality of dividing walls (3d) for dividing the nozzle hole (3c) into a plurality of sections are formed in the nozzle (3). The plurality of dividing walls (3d) are disposed with gaps therebetween in the vertical direction. The adjacent dividing walls (3d) are disposed so as to spaced further apart from each other going toward the outside of the casing (2) from the inside.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a hand dryer for drying wet hands after washing. [Background technology]

[0002] To keep hands hygienic, hands must be washed and then dried. Hand dryers, which use a high-pressure air jet to blow away moisture adhering to the hands and dry them, are known as devices for drying wet hands after washing.

[0003] For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a hand dryer that includes a hollow casing with two nozzles that spray airflows toward a user's hands, and an airflow generator installed inside the casing that generates high-pressure airflows toward each of the two nozzles. The two nozzles are symmetrically located on the bottom wall of the casing, and each nozzle is inclined upward as it moves away from the center of the casing's width. When viewed from the front of the hand dryer, the two nozzles form a V shape.

[0004] Each nozzle has a nozzle hole that connects the inside and outside of the casing, and a plurality of dividing walls that divide the nozzle hole into multiple sections. The dividing walls are arranged at intervals in the vertical direction. The dividing walls are parallel to one another. The nozzle hole has a plurality of through-holes that are divided by the dividing walls. In the hand dryer disclosed in Patent Document 1, when a user places their hand below the nozzle from the front of the hand dryer, a high-pressure airflow is sprayed from each of the multiple through-holes. The airflow is sprayed obliquely downward, away from the center of the casing in the width direction. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0005] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2013-039379 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0006] When the vertical jet width of the airflow sprayed from the nozzle hole toward the outside of the casing is widened, the range of the airflow that hits the user's hands increases, thereby making it possible to dry the hands efficiently. However, when multiple dividing walls are parallel to each other as in Patent Document 1, the vertical passage width of the airflow as it passes through the nozzle hole is the same as the vertical jet width of the airflow sprayed from the nozzle hole toward the outside of the casing, making it difficult to hit the user's hands with an airflow jet width wider than the passage width.

[0007] The present disclosure has been made in view of the above, and aims to provide a hand dryer that can widen the spray width of the air flow more than the passing width. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] To solve the above-mentioned problems and achieve the object, a hand dryer according to the present disclosure includes a hollow casing having two side walls spaced apart in a first direction perpendicular to the vertical direction, and a nozzle provided in at least one of the side walls for spraying an airflow. The nozzle has a nozzle hole communicating between the inside and outside of the casing and a plurality of dividing walls dividing the nozzle hole into a plurality of sections. The dividing walls are spaced apart in the vertical direction. Adjacent dividing walls are arranged so as to move further apart from each other as they move from the inside to the outside of the casing. When a line passing through the center of the casing in the first direction along the vertical direction is defined as a first center line, each of the multiple dividing walls is arranged on the same straight line as one of multiple imaginary lines extending radially from any point on the first center line. Each of the multiple dividing walls is inclined with respect to the vertical direction within a range of more than 0° and not more than 120°. The higher the dividing wall is located, the greater the inclination angle with respect to the vertical direction. [Effects of the Invention]

[0009] The hand dryer according to the present disclosure has the advantage that the spray width of the air flow can be made wider than the passing width. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0010] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a front view showing a hand dryer according to a first embodiment; [Figure 2] FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a hand dryer according to a first embodiment; [Figure 3] FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the hand dryer according to the first embodiment, taken along line III-III in FIG. 1 . [Figure 4] FIG. 1 is a side view of a hand dryer according to a first embodiment, showing an enlarged view of a nozzle and its periphery; [Figure 5] Cross-sectional view taken along line VV shown in FIG. 4 [Figure 6] FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view schematically illustrating the range of the airflow injected from the nozzle shown in FIG. 5 toward the outside of the casing. [Figure 7] FIG. 10 is a side view of a hand dryer according to a second embodiment, showing an enlarged view of the nozzle and its periphery; [Figure 8] FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view taken along line VIII-VIII in FIG. 7, and is a cross-sectional view schematically illustrating the range of the airflow injected from the nozzle holes in the first row toward the outside of the casing. [Figure 9] FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view taken along line IX-IX in FIG. 7, and is a cross-sectional view schematically illustrating the range of the airflow injected from the nozzle holes in the second row toward the outside of the casing. [Figure 10] FIG. 10 is a front view of a hand dryer according to a second embodiment, schematically illustrating the range of airflows sprayed from the first row of nozzle holes and the second row of nozzle holes toward the outside of the casing. [Figure 11] FIG. 10 is a diagram schematically illustrating the range of airflow hitting the palm of a user's right hand in a hand dryer according to a second embodiment. [Figure 12] FIG. 10 is a diagram schematically illustrating the range of airflow hitting the palm of a user's right hand in a hand dryer according to a modified example of the second embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0011] Hereinafter, a hand dryer according to an embodiment will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

[0012] Embodiment 1 FIG. 1 is a front view of a hand dryer 1 according to a first embodiment. FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the hand dryer 1 according to the first embodiment. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the hand dryer 1 according to the first embodiment, taken along line III-III in FIG. 1. The hand dryer 1 is a device that dries wet hands after washing by spraying airflow to blow away moisture on the user's hands. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the hand dryer 1 includes a casing 2 and a nozzle 3. As shown in FIG. 3, the hand dryer 1 includes an airflow generating unit 4 and a control circuit 5. The hand dryer 1 is attached to a wall 9 of a building or the like.

[0013] Hereinafter, when describing the directions of each component of the hand dryer 1, the width direction of the casing 2 is referred to as the X-axis direction, the height direction of the casing 2 as the Y-axis direction, and the depth direction of the casing 2 as the Z-axis direction. The + direction in the X-axis direction is referred to as the left, and the - direction in the X-axis direction is referred to as the right. The + direction in the X-axis direction is the direction from the - side to the + side of the X-axis, and the - direction in the X-axis direction is the direction from the + side to the - side of the X-axis. The + direction in the Y-axis direction is referred to as the upward direction, and the - direction in the Y-axis direction is referred to as the downward direction. The + direction in the Y-axis direction is the direction from the - side to the + side of the Y-axis, and the - direction in the Y-axis direction is the direction from the + side to the - side of the Y-axis. The + direction in the Z-axis direction is referred to as the forward direction, and the - direction in the Z-axis direction is referred to as the backward direction. The + direction in the Z-axis direction is the direction from the - side to the + side of the Z-axis, and the - direction in the Z-axis direction is the direction from the + side to the - side of the Z-axis. In this embodiment, the X-axis direction, which is the width direction of the casing 2, is the first direction. In this embodiment, the Y-axis direction, which is the height direction of the casing 2, is the up-down direction. In this embodiment, the second direction is the Z-axis direction, which is the depth direction of the casing 2. The second direction is a direction perpendicular to both the first direction and the vertical direction. Hereinafter, the direction perpendicular to the vertical direction may also be referred to as the horizontal direction.

[0014] As shown in FIG. 1, the casing 2 is a hollow member having two side walls 2e and 2f spaced apart from each other in the X-axis direction. The casing 2 forms the outer shell of the hand dryer 1. The shape of the casing 2 is not particularly limited as long as it has two side walls 2e and 2f spaced apart from each other in the X-axis direction, but in this embodiment, it is semi-cylindrical. The shape of the casing 2 may be, for example, a cube or rectangular parallelepiped. As shown in FIG. 3, the casing 2 houses the nozzle 3, the airflow generating unit 4, the control circuit 5, etc. As shown in FIG. 2, the casing 2 has a bottom wall 2a, a top wall 2b, a front wall 2c, a rear wall 2d, and left and right side walls 2e and 2f.

[0015] The bottom wall 2a is a horizontal wall. The ceiling wall 2b is a horizontal wall disposed above and spaced apart from the bottom wall 2a. The top wall 2b has a semicircular shape in plan view.

[0016] The front wall 2c, the back wall 2d, and the two side walls 2e and 2f rise from the periphery of the bottom wall 2a. The front wall 2c is the wall that the user faces when drying their wet hands after washing, and is the wall that connects the front ends of the bottom wall 2a and the ceiling wall 2b. The back wall 2d is the wall facing away from the front wall 2c, and is a vertical wall that connects the rear ends of the bottom wall 2a and the ceiling wall 2b. The back wall 2d is attached to the wall 9 of the building shown in Figure 3.

[0017] When the casing 2 is viewed from the front, the two side walls 2e, 2f are located on the left and right sides of the casing 2. The left side wall 2e is a wall connecting the left ends of the bottom wall 2a and the top wall 2b. The right side wall 2f is a wall connecting the right ends of the bottom wall 2a and the top wall 2b. The front portions of the side walls 2e, 2f extend in a curved shape so that they approach each other from the rear to the front.

[0018] As shown in FIG. 1, an air intake port 2g is formed in the upper portion of the casing 2 to draw air from outside the casing 2 into the interior of the casing 2. The air intake port 2g is formed in each of the left and right side walls 2e, 2f. The air intake port 2g is provided in a position on the side walls 2e, 2f closer to the ceiling wall 2b than the center in the Y-axis direction. The air intake port 2g is provided above the nozzle 3. The shape of the air intake port 2g shown in FIG. 2 in a side view is not particularly limited, but in this embodiment it is a slit extending in the Z-axis direction. The number of air intake ports 2g on each side wall 2e, 2f is not particularly limited, but in this embodiment it is four. The four air intake ports 2g are arranged side by side in the Y-axis direction.

[0019] As shown in FIG. 1, a hand detection unit 6 that detects hands is installed at the bottom of the casing 2. The hand detection unit 6 may be appropriately selected from known sensors capable of detecting hands. A hand detection unit 6 is installed on each of the left and right side walls 2e, 2f. There are two hand detection units 6, one on each of the left and right side walls 2e, 2f, but there may be three or more. The hand detection units 6 are installed on the side walls 2e, 2f at positions closer to the bottom wall 2a than the center in the Y-axis direction.

[0020] The left hand detection unit 6 is installed on the side wall 2e near the boundary with the front wall 2c. The right hand detection unit 6 is installed on the side wall 2f near the boundary with the front wall 2c. The hand detection unit 6 is installed near the nozzle 3. The hand detection unit 6 is installed in front of the nozzle 3. The hand detection unit 6 and the nozzle 3 are positioned in the same position in the Y-axis direction. The hand detection unit 6 is electrically connected to the control circuit 5 by wire or wirelessly. The detection result of the hand detection unit 6 is sent to the control circuit 5.

[0021] As shown in Figure 3, an intake filter 7 is housed inside casing 2. For ease of understanding, intake port 2g is shown in Figure 3 by a dashed line. Intake filter 7 is installed downstream of intake port 2g in the air flow direction. The intake filter 7 serves to capture impurities such as dust, dirt, and airborne bacteria contained in the air drawn in through intake port 2g. By including intake filter 7 in hand dryer 1, impurities contained in the air surrounding hand dryer 1 are prevented from being drawn into casing 2, allowing the user's hands to be dried with a hygienic airflow.

[0022] The intake filter 7 may be, for example, a resin mesh or a metal mesh, but is preferably a high-performance filter with high air purification capabilities, such as a HEPA (High Efficiency Particulate Air) filter. The intake filter 7 has an intake surface 7a. The intake surface 7a is the surface of the intake filter 7 into which airflow flows when the airflow generating unit 4 is operating. The intake surface 7a is located at the uppermost position of the surfaces of the intake filter 7. The intake surface 7a of the intake filter 7 is positioned above the intake port 2g. This prevents moisture from dripping onto or adhering to the intake filter 7 when it is sucked in through the intake port 2g.

[0023] An air passage 2h through which air flows is formed inside the casing 2. The dashed arrows in Fig. 3 indicate the flow of airflow 8 in the air passage 2h. The air passage 2h is an air passage that connects the air intake 2g and the nozzle 3, and extends in the Y-axis direction.

[0024] The airflow generating unit 4 is a device installed inside the casing 2 and generates a pressurized airflow 8. The airflow generating unit 4 is installed in the air passage 2h below the air intake 2g and above the nozzle 3. The airflow generating unit 4 takes in air from the air intake 2g into the air passage 2h and blows the pressurized airflow 8 toward the nozzle 3. The airflow generating unit 4 includes a housing 4a, blades 4b installed inside the housing 4a, and a motor 4c that rotates the blades 4b. The airflow generating unit 4 is electrically connected to the control circuit 5 by wire or wirelessly. The output of the airflow generating unit 4 is preferably set so that the airflow 8 sprayed from the nozzle 3 toward the outside of the casing 2 has a wind speed of 80 m / s or more.

[0025] The control circuit 5 is installed inside the casing 2 and controls the operation and stopping of the airflow generation unit 4. The control circuit 5 operates the airflow generation unit 4 when the hand detection unit 6 detects a user's hand. The control circuit 5 is installed between the air intake 2g and the airflow generation unit 4 in the Y-axis direction. The control circuit 5 is located adjacent to the air passage 2h, or at least a portion of the control circuit 5 is located within the air passage 2h. In this configuration, when the temperature of the control circuit 5 rises due to operation of the hand dryer 1, the airflow 8 generated by the airflow generation unit 4 absorbs heat from the control circuit 5 as it flows through the air passage 2h, thereby cooling the control circuit 5. Furthermore, the airflow 8 absorbs heat from the control circuit 5, thereby increasing the temperature of the airflow 8. As a result, the airflow 8, which is warmer than room temperature, hits the user's hands, allowing for comfortable hand drying. This also reduces the energy required to heat the airflow 8 using an electric heater (not shown).

[0026] The nozzle 3 is a member that sprays the air flow 8 generated by the air flow generating unit 4 toward the user's hand. The nozzle 3 is installed at the bottom of the casing 2. The nozzle 3 is installed below the air flow generating unit 4 and above the bottom wall 2a of the casing 2. As shown in FIG. 1, the nozzle 3 is installed on each of the left and right side walls 2e, 2f. The nozzle 3 is provided at a position on each of the side walls 2e, 2f that is closer to the bottom wall 2a than the center in the Y-axis direction. The nozzle 3 is formed separately from the casing 2. The nozzle 3 is attached to an attachment hole 2j formed in the side walls 2e, 2f of the casing 2.

[0027] Nozzle 3 includes left-hand nozzle portion 3a provided on left sidewall 2e and right-hand nozzle portion 3b provided on right sidewall 2f. Left-hand nozzle portion 3a sprays airflow 8 toward the user's left hand. Right-hand nozzle portion 3b sprays airflow 8 toward the user's right hand. When a first center line Ca is defined as a line that runs vertically through the center of casing 2 in the X-axis direction, left-hand nozzle portion 3a and right-hand nozzle portion 3b are arranged symmetrically with respect to first center line Ca.

[0028] Nozzle portion 3a for left hand and nozzle portion 3b for right hand are inclined upward as they move away from the center of casing 2 in the X-axis direction. Nozzle portion 3a for left hand and nozzle portion 3b for right hand spray airflow 8 diagonally downward, moving away from the center of casing 2 in the X-axis direction. Breath portion 2i, which does not spray air, is provided in the portion of casing 2 between nozzle portion 3a for left hand and nozzle portion 3b for right hand. Nozzle 3 may be provided on at least one of side walls 2e, 2f.

[0029] Fig. 4 is a side view of hand dryer 1 according to the first embodiment, showing nozzle 3 and the periphery of nozzle 3 in an enlarged view. Fig. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along line VV shown in Fig. 4. Fig. 5 shows only nozzle 3 and bottom wall 2a in cross section. As shown in Fig. 4, nozzle 3 is formed with nozzle hole 3c that communicates between the inside and outside of casing 2, and a plurality of dividing walls 3d that divide nozzle hole 3c into a plurality of sections.

[0030] The opening shape of the nozzle hole 3c in a side view is not particularly limited, but in this embodiment, it is a slit-like shape that is inclined so as to be positioned forward as it extends from top to bottom. An imaginary line along the extension direction of the nozzle hole 3c is defined as an imaginary line R. A line along the Z-axis direction that passes through an arbitrary point P on the first center line Ca is defined as a second center line Cb. When the nozzle hole 3c is viewed from the side of the casing 2, the inclination angle θa formed by the imaginary line R and the second center line Cb is preferably greater than 0° and less than 90° with respect to the horizontal direction. In this embodiment, the nozzle hole 3c is inclined so as to approach the front surface of the casing 2 as it extends from top to bottom, but it may also extend linearly in the vertical direction.

[0031] The nozzle hole 3c has a slit-like opening shape in a side view, with a width in a direction perpendicular to the extension direction smaller than its length in the extension direction. Hereinafter, the width of the nozzle hole 3c in the direction perpendicular to the extension direction will be referred to as the slit width D. The slit width D of the nozzle hole 3c is preferably 2 mm or less. The nozzle hole 3c has a plurality of through-holes 3e separated by dividing walls 3d. The number of through-holes 3e is not particularly limited, but in this embodiment, there are three. The three through-holes 3e are arranged at intervals in the vertical direction. In this embodiment, the nozzle holes 3c form a single row in the Z-axis direction. The opening shape of the nozzle hole 3c is not limited to the example shown in the figure and may be, for example, circular.

[0032] As shown in Figure 5, the dividing walls 3d include boundary walls 3f located between adjacent through-holes 3e, upper end walls 3g of the nozzle holes 3c, and lower end walls 3h of the nozzle holes 3c. The dividing walls 3d serve to straighten the airflow 8 passing through the through-holes 3e. That is, the airflow 8 flows along the dividing walls 3d in the direction of the through-holes 3e, so that turbulence in directions other than the direction of the through-holes 3e is straightened. The dividing walls 3d extend from the portions of the nozzle holes 3c that open to the inner surface of the casing 2 to the portions that open to the outer surface of the casing 2.

[0033] The number of dividing walls 3d is not particularly limited, but is four in this embodiment. The four dividing walls 3d are arranged at intervals from one another in the vertical direction. Adjacent dividing walls 3d are arranged so as to move further apart from one another as they move from the inside to the outside of the casing 2. When the casing 2 is viewed from the front, each of the dividing walls 3d is arranged collinear with one of multiple imaginary lines V extending radially from an arbitrary point P on the first center line Ca. Each of the dividing walls 3d is inclined in the vertical direction within a range exceeding 0° and not exceeding 120°. The higher the dividing wall 3d located, the larger the inclination angle θb with respect to the vertical direction. In other words, when the inclination angles θb of the respective dividing walls 3d are θb1, θb2, θb3, and θb4 in order from the uppermost dividing wall 3d, the relationship θb1>θb2>θb3>θb4 holds.

[0034] The upper end wall 3g of the nozzle hole 3c extends more horizontally than the other dividing walls 3d. The air flow 8 passing through the uppermost through-portion 3e is ejected to the outside of the casing 2 more horizontally than the other through-portions 3e. The lower end wall 3h of the nozzle hole 3c is positioned higher than the bottom wall 2a of the casing 2. The lower end wall 3h of the nozzle hole 3c extends more vertically than the other dividing walls 3d. The lower end wall 3h of the nozzle hole 3c extends obliquely downward away from the center of the X-axis direction of the casing 2 so that the air flow 8 is not ejected vertically downward. The air flow 8 passing through the lowermost through-portion 3e is ejected to the outside of the casing 2 more vertically than the other through-portions 3e. The air flow 8 passing through each through-portion 3e is ejected obliquely downward away from the center of the X-axis direction of the casing 2.

[0035] The multiple dividing walls 3d are arranged at equal angles in the circumferential direction around the second center line Cb. In this embodiment, the multiple dividing walls 3d are arranged at 10° intervals in the circumferential direction around the second center line Cb. The dividing walls 3d must have a length sufficient to rectify the airflow 8 passing through the through-holes 3e. The length L of the dividing walls 3d along their extension direction is preferably two to five times the slit width D of the nozzle holes 3c shown in FIG. 4. For example, when the slit width D of the nozzle holes 3c is 2 mm, the length L of the dividing walls 3d along their extension direction is preferably within the range of 4 to 10 mm. The outer end 3d1 of the upper dividing wall 3d of adjacent dividing walls 3d, which is located on the outer side of the casing 2, is preferably located higher than the inner end 3d2 of the lower dividing wall 3d of adjacent dividing walls 3d, which is located on the inner side of the casing 2.

[0036] Next, with reference to Figures 1 and 3, the operation of hand dryer 1 when drying a user's hands will be described.

[0037] As shown in Figure 3, when a user places their hand below nozzle 3 from the front of hand dryer 1 toward wall 9, hand detection unit 6, which is located in front of nozzle 3 as shown in Figure 1, detects the user's hand.

[0038] 3, when the user's hand is detected by the hand detection unit 6, the control circuit 5 operates the air flow generation unit 4. When the air flow generation unit 4 operates, air outside the casing 2 is sucked into the air passage 2h through the air intake 2g, and an air flow 8 is generated that flows from the air intake 2g toward the nozzle 3.

[0039] Air flow 8 generated by air flow generating unit 4 is sprayed from nozzle 3 toward the user's hands. When the sprayed air flow 8 hits the user's hands, it blows away moisture adhering to the user's hands, allowing the wet hands to dry after washing.

[0040] Next, the effects of the hand dryer 1 according to the present embodiment will be described.

[0041] FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view schematically illustrating the range of the airflow 8 sprayed from the nozzle 3 shown in FIG. 5 toward the outside of the casing 2. In FIG. 6, the airflow 8 is illustrated by dot hatching, and only the nozzle 3 and the bottom wall 2a are shown in cross section. Although FIG. 6 illustrates a state in which the airflow 8 is sprayed from only one nozzle 3, in reality, the airflow 8 is sprayed from both nozzles 3. In this embodiment, the nozzle 3 provided in the side walls 2e and 2f of the casing 2 has a nozzle hole 3c that communicates between the inside and outside of the casing 2 and a plurality of dividing walls 3d that divide the nozzle hole 3c into a plurality of sections. The dividing walls 3d are arranged at intervals in the vertical direction. Adjacent dividing walls 3d are arranged so as to move away from each other as they move from the inside to the outside of the casing 2. With this configuration, when viewed from the front of the hand dryer 1, the vertical spray width W of the airflow 8 sprayed from the nozzle hole 3c toward the outside of the casing 2 increases as the airflow moves away from the nozzle hole 3c. That is, the air flow 8 sprayed from the nozzle hole 3c toward the outside of the casing 2 diffuses in a fan shape. Therefore, the spray width W of the air flow 8 sprayed from the nozzle hole 3c toward the outside of the casing 2 can be made wider than the vertical passage width of the air flow 8 when passing through the nozzle hole 3c. This makes it possible to increase the range of the air flow 8 that hits the user's hand compared to when the vertical passage width of the air flow 8 when passing through the nozzle hole 3c is the same as the spray width W of the air flow 8 sprayed from the nozzle hole 3c toward the outside of the casing 2. In other words, the air flow 8 with a spray width W wider than the passage width can be directed at the user's hand.

[0042] In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 5, when a line passing through the center of the casing 2 in the X-axis direction along the vertical direction is defined as a first center line Ca, each of the multiple dividing walls 3d is arranged collinearly with one of multiple imaginary lines V extending radially from an arbitrary point P on the first center line Ca. Each of the multiple dividing walls 3d is inclined with respect to the vertical direction within a range exceeding 0° and not exceeding 120°. The higher the dividing wall 3d located, the larger the inclination angle θb with respect to the vertical direction. With this configuration, the airflow 8 can be sprayed over a wider range in the width direction of the user's hand, thereby increasing the range of the airflow 8 that hits the user's hand.

[0043] In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 5 , the direction perpendicular to both the X-axis direction and the up-down direction is defined as the Z-axis direction, and a line passing through an arbitrary point P on the first center line Ca along the Z-axis direction is defined as the second center line Cb. The multiple dividing walls 3d are arranged at equal angles in the circumferential direction around the second center line Cb. This configuration allows the airflow 8 to flow evenly through each of the multiple through-holes 3e, dispersing the airflow 8 and making it easier for it to evenly hit the user's hand. The multiple dividing walls 3d may also be arranged at unequal angles in the circumferential direction around the second center line Cb. This configuration allows for the airflow 8 to flow easily through some through-holes 3e and difficultly through others. For example, the airflow 8 can be configured to hit locally near the center of the user's hand.

[0044] When the length L along the extension direction of the dividing wall 3d shown in FIG. 5 is two to five times the slit width D of the nozzle hole 3c shown in FIG. 4, the air flow 8 passing through the through portion 3e can be reliably straightened.

[0045] In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1, when casing 2 is viewed from the front, two side walls 2e and 2f are located on the left and right sides of casing 2, and nozzle 3 includes left-hand nozzle portion 3a provided on left side wall 2e and right-hand nozzle portion 3b provided on right side wall 2f. With this configuration, sprayed airflow 8 hits the user's right and left hands, blowing away moisture from both hands and drying them after washing. In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1, left-hand nozzle portion 3a and right-hand nozzle portion 3b are arranged symmetrically with respect to first center line Ca, allowing airflow 8 to hit the user's left and right hands at the same height. In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1, a breather portion 2i that does not spray airflow is provided in the portion of casing 2 between left-hand nozzle portion 3a and right-hand nozzle portion 3b. With this configuration, when the sprayed airflow 8 hits the user's left and right hands, moisture tends to scatter to the left and right, thereby reducing the amount of moisture that scatters around the user facing the front of the casing 2. Furthermore, with this configuration, it is possible to form a sheet-like airflow 8 that hits the user's left hand and a sheet-like airflow 8 that hits the user's right hand, naturally guiding the user to an efficient drying method such as drying their hands with their palms open.

[0046] In this embodiment, as shown in Fig. 5, an outer end 3d1 located on the outer side of the casing 2 of the upper dividing wall 3d among adjacent dividing walls 3d is located higher than an inner end 3d2 located on the inner side of the casing 2 of the lower dividing wall 3d among adjacent dividing walls 3d. This configuration allows for molding of the nozzle holes 3c in the same axial direction when molding the nozzle holes 3c using a mold, making it easier to mold the nozzle holes 3c. Note that the outer end 3d1 located on the outer side of the casing 2 of the upper dividing wall 3d among adjacent dividing walls 3d may be at the same height as the inner end 3d2 located on the inner side of the casing 2 of the lower dividing wall 3d among adjacent dividing walls 3d, or may be located lower than the inner end 3d2 located on the inner side of the casing 2 of the lower dividing wall 3d among adjacent dividing walls 3d.

[0047] 4, in this embodiment, nozzle hole 3c is inclined from top to bottom so as to approach the front surface of casing 2. With this configuration, multiple through holes 3e can be staggered in the Z-axis direction, which is the depth direction of hand dryer 1, and therefore the spray range of airflow 8 in the depth direction of hand dryer 1 can be expanded.

[0048] In this embodiment, the nozzle 3 is formed separately from the casing 2 and attached to the mounting hole 2j in the side walls 2e, 2f, but it may also be formed integrally with the casing 2. In such a configuration, the nozzle hole 3c and the dividing wall 3d are formed in the side walls 2e, 2f. That is, the nozzle hole 3c penetrates from the inner surface to the outer surface of the side walls 2e, 2f, and the dividing wall 3d becomes part of the side walls 2e, 2f.

[0049] Embodiment 2 Next, a hand dryer 1A according to a second embodiment will be described with reference to Figures 7 to 12. This embodiment differs from the first embodiment in that the number of rows of nozzle holes 3c is multiple. In the second embodiment, parts that overlap with those in the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and descriptions thereof will be omitted.

[0050] 7 is a side view of a hand dryer 1A according to a second embodiment, showing an enlarged view of the nozzle 3 and the periphery of the nozzle 3. The nozzle holes 3c are arranged in multiple rows spaced apart from one another in the Z-axis direction. In this embodiment, the number of rows of the nozzle holes 3c is two, but may be three or more. Hereinafter, the rows closest to the front of the casing 2 are referred to as the first row, the second row, and so on.

[0051] FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view taken along line VIII-VIII in FIG. 7 , illustrating a range of the airflow 8 injected from the nozzle holes 3c in the first row toward the outside of the casing 2. FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view taken along line IX-IX in FIG. 7 , illustrating a range of the airflow 8 injected from the nozzle holes 3c in the second row toward the outside of the casing 2. In FIGS. 8 and 9 , the airflow 8 is illustrated by dot hatching, and only the nozzles 3 and the bottom wall 2a are shown in cross section. Although FIGS. 8 and 9 illustrate a state in which the airflow 8 is injected from only the nozzles 3 on one side, in reality, the airflow 8 is injected from the nozzles 3 on both sides. Hereinafter, when distinguishing between the airflows 8 injected from the nozzle holes 3c in each row toward the outside of the casing 2, the airflow 8 injected from the nozzle holes 3c in the first row toward the outside of the casing 2 will be referred to as airflow 8a, and the airflow 8 injected from the nozzle holes 3c in the second row toward the outside of the casing 2 will be referred to as airflow 8b.

[0052] The inclination angle θb4 of the bottom end walls 3h located at the lowest position among the inner walls of the nozzle holes 3c varies from row to row. Hereinafter, the inclination angle θb4 of the bottom end walls 3h of the first row may be referred to as inclination angle θb41, and the inclination angle θb4 of the bottom end walls 3h of the second row may be referred to as inclination angle θb42. The inclination angle θb41 of the bottom end walls 3h of the first row is larger than the inclination angle θb42 of the bottom end walls 3h of the second row.

[0053] The inclination angle θb1 of the upper end walls 3g located at the uppermost positions among the inner walls of the nozzle holes 3c varies from row to row. Hereinafter, the inclination angle θb1 of the upper end walls 3g of the first row may be referred to as the inclination angle θb11, and the inclination angle θb1 of the upper end walls 3g of the second row may be referred to as the inclination angle θb12. The inclination angle θb11 of the upper end walls 3g of the first row is greater than the inclination angle θb12 of the upper end walls 3g of the second row. In other words, the inclination angle θb4 of the lowermost lower end walls 3h of the inner walls of the nozzle holes 3c is greater for rows closer to the front of the casing 2, and the inclination angle θb1 of the uppermost upper end walls 3g of the inner walls of the nozzle holes 3c is greater for rows closer to the front of the casing 2. In adjacent rows of nozzle holes 3c, the inclination angle θb41 of the bottom end wall 3h of one row located on the front side of the casing 2 is smaller than the inclination angle θb12 of the top end wall 3g of the other row located on the back side of the casing 2. In other words, it is preferable that the relationship between adjacent rows of nozzle holes 3c be θb42<θb41<θb12<θb11.

[0054] In this embodiment, nozzle holes 3c are arranged in multiple rows spaced apart from one another in the Z-axis direction, and the inclination angle θb1 of upper end walls 3g, the uppermost inner walls of nozzle holes 3c, is different for each row. With this configuration, when viewed from the front of hand dryer 1, the spray range of airflow 8 sprayed from nozzle holes 3c toward the outside of casing 2 varies in the vertical and Z-axis directions, making it possible to expand the spray range of airflow 8 in the width and length directions of the user's hand, thereby increasing the range of airflow 8 that hits the user's hand.

[0055] One way to expand the spray range of the airflow 8 using only one row of nozzle holes 3c is to increase the opening area of ​​the nozzle holes 3c that open to the outer surface of the casing 2. However, this would reduce the opening area of ​​the nozzle holes 3c that open to the inner surface of the casing 2. This creates a problem of insufficient airflow volume to dry wet hands after washing. In this regard, in the present embodiment, by arranging the nozzle holes 3c in multiple rows and varying the spray range of the airflow 8 in the vertical and Z-axis directions for each nozzle hole 3c, the spray range of the airflow 8 can be expanded without increasing the opening area of ​​the nozzle holes 3c in each row that open to the outer surface of the casing 2. Therefore, the opening area of ​​the nozzle holes 3c that open to the inner surface of the casing 2 is not reduced more than necessary, ensuring a sufficient airflow volume to dry wet hands after washing.

[0056] Furthermore, one way to expand the vertical injection range of the air flow 8 using only one row of nozzle holes 3c is to increase the length of the nozzle holes 3c in the extension direction, but doing so increases the dimension of the casing 2 in the X-axis direction, i.e., the width dimension of the casing 2. In this regard, in the present embodiment, by arranging the nozzle holes 3c in multiple rows and varying the vertical injection range of the air flow 8 for each nozzle hole 3c, it is possible to expand the vertical injection range of the air flow 8 without increasing the length of the nozzle holes 3c in the extension direction in each row. Therefore, it is possible to expand the vertical injection range of the air flow 8 while suppressing an increase in the width dimension of the casing 2.

[0057] FIG. 10 is a front view of a hand dryer 1A according to a second embodiment, schematically illustrating the range of airflow 8 sprayed from the first row of nozzle holes 3c and the second row of nozzle holes 3c toward the outside of the casing 2. In FIG. 10, the airflow 8 is illustrated by dot hatching. In this embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, the inclination angle θb4 of the lowermost bottom end wall 3h of the inner wall of the nozzle holes 3c increases toward the front side of the casing 2, and the inclination angle θb1 of the uppermost top end wall 3g of the inner wall of the nozzle holes 3c increases toward the front side of the casing 2. In this embodiment, the inclination angle θb41 of the lower end wall 3h of one row of adjacent nozzle holes 3c located toward the front side of the casing 2 is smaller than the inclination angle θb42 of the upper end wall 3g of the other row located toward the back side of the casing 2. These configurations allow the areas of the air flows 8 sprayed from each nozzle hole 3c toward the outside of the casing 2 to partially overlap when viewed from the front of the hand dryer 1, as shown in FIG. 10 . Hereinafter, the area where the air flows 8 sprayed from each nozzle hole 3c toward the outside of the casing 2 partially overlap may be referred to as the overlapping area 8c of the air flows 8. In FIG. 10 , to clearly show the overlapping area 8c of the air flows 8, the overlapping area 8c of the air flows 8 is illustrated with darker dot hatching than the area where the air flows 8 sprayed from each nozzle hole 3c toward the outside of the casing 2 do not overlap. In this embodiment, the areas of the user's hands that are hit by the overlapping air flows 8 sprayed from each nozzle hole 3c toward the outside of the casing 2 and the areas of the user's hands that are hit by the air flows 8 sprayed from only some of the rows of nozzle holes 3c toward the outside of the casing 2 can be arbitrarily set. Because the amount of moisture attached to different parts of the hands varies, wet hands after washing can be efficiently dried by varying the airflow volume of the air flows 8 applied to different parts of the hands, as in this embodiment.

[0058] FIG. 11 is a schematic diagram illustrating the range of airflow 8 impinging on the palm side of a user's right hand 10 in a hand dryer 1A according to the second embodiment. In FIG. 11, the airflow 8 is illustrated by dot hatching. In FIG. 11, an overlapping area 8c of the airflows 8 is surrounded by a dashed line. As shown in FIG. 11, in this embodiment, the first row of nozzle holes 3c can direct airflow 8a, which is sheet-like in plan view, over the entire thumb 10a, the base portions of the index finger 10b, the base portions of the middle finger 10c, the base portions of the ring finger 10d, and the palm 10f. In this embodiment, the second row of nozzle holes 3c can direct airflow 8b, which is sheet-like in plan view, over the entire index finger 10b, the entire middle finger 10c, the entire ring finger 10d, and the entire little finger 10e. In this embodiment, the overlapping range 8c of the airflows 8 sprayed from each nozzle hole 3c toward the outside of the casing 2 is the base of the index finger 10b, the base of the middle finger 10c, and the base of the ring finger 10d. In this embodiment, the airflow 8 can be directed at each of the five fingers of different lengths.

[0059] The inclination angle θb41 of the bottom end walls 3h of the first row may be smaller than the inclination angle θb42 of the bottom end walls 3h of the second row. The inclination angle θb11 of the top end walls 3g of the first row may be smaller than the inclination angle θb12 of the top end walls 3g of the second row. In other words, the inclination angle θb4 of the bottom end walls 3h located lowest among the inner walls of the nozzle holes 3c may be smaller the row closer to the front of the casing 2, and the inclination angle θb1 of the top end walls 3g located highest among the inner walls of the nozzle holes 3c may be smaller the row closer to the front of the casing 2. The inclination angle θb11 of the top end walls 3g of one row of adjacent rows of nozzle holes 3c located closer to the front of the casing 2 may be larger than the inclination angle θb42 of the bottom end walls 3h of the other row located closer to the back of the casing 2. That is, it is preferable that the rows of adjacent nozzle holes 3c satisfy the relationship θb41<θb42<θb11<θb12. The range of airflow 8 that strikes the user's hand when such a relationship is satisfied is shown in FIG.

[0060] FIG. 12 is a schematic diagram illustrating the range of airflow 8 impinging on the palm side of a user's right hand 10 in a hand dryer according to a modification of the second embodiment. In FIG. 12, the airflow 8 is illustrated by dot hatching. In FIG. 12, an overlapping area 8c of the airflows 8 is surrounded by a dashed line. As shown in FIG. 12, in this modification, the first row of nozzle holes 3c can direct a sheet-like airflow 8a in a plan view over the base of the index finger 10b, the base of the middle finger 10c, the base of the ring finger 10d, almost the entire little finger 10e, and the palm 10f. In addition, in this modification, the second row of nozzle holes 3c can direct a sheet-like airflow 8b in a plan view over the tip of the thumb 10a, the entire index finger 10b, the entire middle finger 10c, and the entire ring finger 10d. In this modification, the overlapping range 8c of the airflows 8 sprayed from each nozzle hole 3c toward the outside of the casing 2 is the base side of the index finger 10b, the base side of the middle finger 10c, and the base side of the ring finger 10d.

[0061] In this modification, the first row of nozzle holes 3c sprays airflow 8a more downward than in embodiment 2 shown in Fig. 11, and the second row of nozzle holes 3c sprays airflow 8b more sideways than in embodiment 2 shown in Fig. 11. As a result, when airflow 8a sprayed toward the outside of casing 2 from nozzle holes 3c in the first row closest to the user hits moisture on the user's hands, the moisture is more likely to scatter downward, making it possible to reduce the amount of moisture scattering around the user.

[0062] The configurations shown in the above embodiments are merely examples, and may be combined with other known technologies, or different embodiments may be combined with each other. It is also possible to omit or modify parts of the configurations as long as they do not deviate from the gist of the invention. [Explanation of symbols]

[0063] 1, 1A hand dryer, 2 casing, 2a bottom wall, 2b ceiling wall, 2c front wall, 2d rear wall, 2e, 2f side wall, 2g air intake port, 2h air path, 2i breather, 2j mounting hole, 3 nozzle, 3a left-hand nozzle, 3b right-hand nozzle, 3c nozzle hole, 3d dividing wall, 3d1 outer end, 3d2 inner end, 3e penetration, 3f boundary wall, 3g upper end wall, 3h lower end wall, 4 air flow generating unit, 4a housing, 4b blade, 4c motor, 5 control circuit, 6 hand detection unit, 7 intake filter, 7a intake surface, 8, 8a, 8b air flow, 8c overlapping area, 9 wall, 10 right hand, 10a thumb, 10b index finger, 10c middle finger, 10d Ring finger, 10e little finger, 10f palm.

Claims

1. a hollow casing having two side walls spaced apart from each other in a first direction perpendicular to the up-down direction; a nozzle provided in at least one of the side walls for injecting an air flow; The nozzle has a nozzle hole that communicates the inside and the outside of the casing, and a plurality of partition walls that divide the nozzle hole into a plurality of sections, The plurality of dividing walls are arranged at intervals in the up-down direction, The adjacent partition walls are arranged so as to move away from each other from the inside to the outside of the casing, when a line passing through a center of the casing in the first direction along the up-down direction is defined as a first center line, each of the plurality of dividing walls is disposed on a straight line collinear with any one of a plurality of imaginary lines extending radially from an arbitrary point on the first center line, Each of the plurality of partition walls is inclined in a range of more than 0° and not more than 120° with respect to the up-down direction, The dividing wall positioned higher has a larger inclination angle with respect to the vertical direction.

2. 2. The hand dryer according to claim 1, wherein a direction perpendicular to both the first direction and the up-down direction is defined as a second direction, and a line passing through an arbitrary point on the first center line along the second direction is defined as a second center line, and the plurality of dividing walls are disposed at equal angles in a circumferential direction around the second center line.

3. The nozzle hole has a slit-like opening shape, 3. The hand dryer according to claim 2, wherein the length of the dividing wall along the extension direction is between two and five times the slit width of the nozzle hole.

4. When the casing is viewed from the front, the two side walls are walls located on the left and right sides of the casing, the nozzle includes a left-hand nozzle portion provided on the left side wall and a right-hand nozzle portion provided on the right side wall, the left-hand nozzle portion and the right-hand nozzle portion are arranged symmetrically with respect to the first center line, 4. The hand dryer according to claim 2, wherein a breather that does not spray air is provided in a portion of the casing between the left-hand nozzle and the right-hand nozzle.

5. A hollow casing having two side walls spaced apart from each other in a first direction perpendicular to the up-down direction; a nozzle provided in at least one of the side walls for injecting an air flow; The nozzle has a nozzle hole that communicates the inside and the outside of the casing, and a plurality of partition walls that divide the nozzle hole into a plurality of sections, The plurality of dividing walls are arranged at intervals in the up-down direction, The adjacent partition walls are arranged so as to move away from each other from the inside to the outside of the casing, a first end portion of the upper dividing wall among the adjacent dividing walls, the first end portion being located on the outer side of the casing, is positioned higher than a second end portion of the lower dividing wall among the adjacent dividing walls, the second end portion being located on the inner side of the casing.

6. A hollow casing having two side walls spaced apart from each other in a first direction perpendicular to the up-down direction; a nozzle provided in at least one of the side walls for injecting an air flow; The nozzle has a nozzle hole that communicates the inside and the outside of the casing, and a plurality of partition walls that divide the nozzle hole into a plurality of sections, The plurality of dividing walls are arranged at intervals in the up-down direction, The adjacent partition walls are arranged so as to move away from each other from the inside to the outside of the casing, a direction perpendicular to both the first direction and the up-down direction is defined as a second direction, the first direction being a width direction of the casing, and the second direction being a depth direction of the casing; the nozzle holes are arranged in a plurality of rows at intervals in the second direction, The hand dryer is characterized in that the inclination angle of the upper end wall located at the uppermost position among the inner walls of the nozzle holes is different for each row.

7. A hollow casing having two side walls spaced apart from each other in a first direction perpendicular to the up-down direction; a nozzle provided in at least one of the side walls for injecting an air flow; The nozzle has a nozzle hole that communicates the inside and the outside of the casing, and a plurality of partition walls that divide the nozzle hole into a plurality of sections, The plurality of dividing walls are arranged at intervals in the up-down direction, The adjacent partition walls are arranged so as to move away from each other from the inside to the outside of the casing, a direction perpendicular to both the first direction and the up-down direction is defined as a second direction, the first direction being a width direction of the casing, and the second direction being a depth direction of the casing; the nozzle holes are arranged in a plurality of rows at intervals in the second direction, the inclination angle of the lower end wall located at the lowest position among the inner walls of the nozzle holes is larger in a row closer to the front surface of the casing, and the inclination angle of the upper end wall located at the highest position among the inner walls of the nozzle holes is larger in a row closer to the front surface of the casing, a lower end wall of one adjacent row of nozzle holes located on the front side of the casing has an inclination angle that is smaller than a upper end wall of the other row of nozzle holes located on the back side of the casing.

8. A hollow casing having two side walls spaced apart from each other in a first direction perpendicular to the up-down direction; a nozzle provided in at least one of the side walls for injecting an air flow; The nozzle has a nozzle hole that communicates the inside and the outside of the casing, and a plurality of partition walls that divide the nozzle hole into a plurality of sections, The plurality of dividing walls are arranged at intervals in the up-down direction, The adjacent partition walls are arranged so as to move away from each other from the inside to the outside of the casing, a direction perpendicular to both the first direction and the up-down direction is defined as a second direction, the first direction being a width direction of the casing, and the second direction being a depth direction of the casing; the nozzle holes are arranged in a plurality of rows in the second direction, the inclination angle of the lower end wall located at the lowest of the inner walls of the nozzle holes is smaller in a row located closer to the front surface of the casing, and the inclination angle of the upper end wall located at the highest of the inner walls of the nozzle holes is smaller in a row located closer to the front surface of the casing, a tilt angle of the upper end wall of one of the adjacent rows of nozzle holes located on the front side of the casing being smaller than a tilt angle of the lower end wall of the other row of nozzle holes located on the back side of the casing.

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