clothes dryer

Abstract

To provide a clothing dryer which has reduced pressure loss in a drying air passage, while securing a wide cross sectional area in a narrow space at an intake part of a drying tub.SOLUTION: A drum type washing and drying machine 10 includes: a water tub 110; and a blower fan 140 arranged in a drying air passage, and for delivering dry air into the water tub 110. The blower fan 140 includes: a duct 141 having a substantially rectangular cross-sectional shape; and an exhaust port 143 having a substantially rectangular cross-sectional shape and communicating with the duct 141. The duct 141 has a bent part for bending an in-duct air passage. The water tub 110 has an intake port 111 having a substantially rectangular cross-sectional shape, and the exhaust port 143 and the intake port 111 are connected by a bellows hose 160 having a substantially rectangular cross-sectional shape.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a clothes dryer including a drying tub and a blower fan disposed in a drying air duct to send dry air into the drying tub. [Background technology]

[0002] In household clothes dryers (including washer-dryers), dry air generated by a dry air generator (such as a heater or heat pump) is sent through a dry air duct into a drum tub (drying tub) to dry the clothes stored in the drum tub. Such clothes dryers are also equipped with a blower fan in the dry air duct. Patent Document 1 discloses a dryer in which the blower fan is located above the device and the exhaust port of the blower fan is connected to the intake port of the drum tub at the front of the device.

[0003] The clothes dryer's blower fan is a unit within the device, and the exhaust port of the blower fan is connected to the drum tub's air intake by a bellows tube, etc. The drum tub's air intake has a roughly rectangular cross-section with a larger left-right dimension than its front-to-back dimension, allowing the front-to-back dimension to be reduced while maintaining the cross-sectional area of ​​the air intake. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2009-72494 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] However, increasing the blowing capacity of the blower fan to improve drying capacity leads to problems such as increased pressure loss in the dry air duct leading from the blower fan to the drum tub air intake, reducing the amount of air sent out from the drum tub air intake. In particular, when the drying tub is configured to be tilted upward toward the front, the clothes dryer can be made smaller by arranging drying mechanisms such as the dry air generator and blower fan in the space created above and behind the tub and arranging the drum tub air intake and exhaust ports behind the tub. However, this often results in a configuration in which the dry air duct leading from the blower fan to the drum tub air intake is bent at a right angle or an acute angle greater than a right angle, which poses a problem of increased pressure loss at the bent part.

[0006] The present invention has been made in consideration of the above-mentioned problems, and aims to provide a clothes dryer that ensures a wide cross-sectional area in a narrow space at the drying tub's air intake, while reducing pressure loss in the drying air duct. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] In order to solve the above problems, the clothes dryer of the present invention is a clothes dryer having a drying tub and a blower fan arranged in a drying air duct to send dry air into the drying tub, wherein the blower fan has a duct with an approximately rectangular cross-sectional shape and an exhaust port with an approximately rectangular cross-sectional shape that communicates with the duct, the duct has a bending portion that bends the air duct inside the duct, the drying tub has an intake port with an approximately rectangular cross-sectional shape, and the exhaust port and the intake port are connected by a path component with an approximately rectangular cross-sectional shape.

[0008] According to the above configuration, by forming the air intake port of the drying tank in a substantially rectangular cross-sectional shape, a large cross-sectional area can be secured even in a narrow space. Also, by forming the exhaust port and path components of the blower fan in a substantially rectangular cross-sectional shape to match the air intake port of the drying tank, the cross-sectional shape of the drying air path from the blower fan to the drying tank remains almost unchanged, reducing pressure loss in the drying air path and suppressing a decrease in air volume.

[0009] In the clothes dryer, the path component may be configured to be extendable at least in the vertical direction.

[0010] According to the above configuration, the path components are expandable at least in the vertical direction, thereby absorbing vibrations that occur when the clothes dryer is operating, and preventing the connection between the exhaust port of the blower fan and the intake port of the drying tub from coming loose due to vibrations.

[0011] In the clothes dryer, the bent portion may have a shape that bends the air passage in the duct at a right angle or an acute angle.

[0012] In addition, in the above-mentioned clothes dryer, the bending portion bends the air passage inside the duct downward, the exhaust port opens downward, and the intake port opens upward at a position opposite the exhaust port. [Effects of the Invention]

[0013] The clothes dryer of the present invention has the advantage that by making the air intake in the drying tub approximately rectangular in cross section, a large cross-sectional area can be secured even in a small space, and by making the exhaust port and path components of the blower fan approximately rectangular in cross section to match the air intake in the drying tub, pressure loss in the drying air path from the blower fan to the drying tub can be reduced, and a decrease in air volume can be suppressed. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0014] [Figure 1] 1 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of a drum type washer-dryer to which the present invention is applied; [Figure 2] 1 is a perspective view of a drum tub and components for a drying operation removed from a drum type washer-dryer, as viewed from the rear side. FIG. [Figure 3] FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the appearance of a dry air duct formed outside the water tank. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a plan view of the drying air duct shown in FIG. [Figure 5] 4 is a cross-sectional view of the drying air duct shown in FIG. 3 BB. [Figure 6] This is a view of the motor attached to the rear side of the water tank, as seen from the mounting surface side of the water tank. [Figure 7] 2A and 2B are a bottom view and a cross-sectional view taken along line AA of the blower fan. [Figure 8] FIG. [Figure 9] 4 is a cross-sectional view showing a connection point between an exhaust port of the blower fan and a bellows hose. FIG. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0015] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. In this embodiment, a case where the present invention is applied to a washer / dryer having both a washing function and a drying function is illustrated. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the present invention can also be applied to a dedicated clothes dryer having only a drying function.

[0016] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of a drum type washer-dryer (clothes dryer) 10 according to the first embodiment. However, FIG. 1 only shows the configuration related to the drying function of drum type washer-dryer 10. Drum type washer-dryer 10 is configured to include a main body 100 and a door 120, and has a water tub 110 with a rotating drum 112 inside located on the main body 100 side. Water tub 110 opens at the front side of main body 100, and when door 120 is closed, the interior is liquid-tightly sealed. A motor 180 is attached to the rear side of water tub 110 for rotating and driving rotating drum 112. Furthermore, water tub 110 and rotating drum 112 are both positioned so as to tilt upward toward the front.

[0017] After washing and spin-drying the laundry placed in the rotary drum 112, the drum type washer-dryer 10 can perform a drying operation on the laundry by sending warm air (dry air) into the water tub 110. When the drum type washer-dryer 10 is used as a clothes dryer, the water tub 110 is used as a drying tub for placing the laundry to be dried.

[0018] As components for the drying operation, drum type washer-dryer 10 has dry air generating section 130, blower fan 140, and filter section 150. These components are arranged in a dry air duct outside water tub 110.

[0019] Dry air generating unit 130 is a means for generating dry air to be sent into water tub 110, and may be, for example, a unit having a heater disposed in a dry air duct. However, the configuration of dry air generating unit 130 is not particularly limited, and instead of using a heater, a heat pump may also be used. Furthermore, the location where dry air generating unit 130 is disposed within drum type washer-dryer 10 is not particularly limited.

[0020] Blower fan 140 is a means for generating an air flow in the drying air duct. For example, a turbo fan is used as blower fan 140. Filter unit 150 is a means for collecting lint and the like from the air discharged from water tub 110.

[0021] Fig. 2 is a perspective view of drum type washer-dryer 10, with water tub 110 and components for the drying operation removed, as viewed from the rear. Fig. 3 is a perspective view showing the appearance of a dry air duct formed outside water tub 110. Fig. 4 is a plan view of the dry air duct shown in Fig. 3. Fig. 5 is a BB cross-sectional view of the dry air duct shown in Fig. 3. Fig. 6 is a view of motor 180 attached to the rear side of water tub 110, as viewed from the mounting surface of water tub 110. Fig. 7 is a bottom view and an AA cross-sectional view of blower fan 140. Fig. 8 is a top view of water tub 110.

[0022] 2 to 5, blower fan 140 is disposed horizontally above water tub 110 (near the top surface of drum type washer-dryer 10) and is connected to water tub 110 via bellows hose (path component) 160. Also, blower fan 140 and water tub 110 are connected to each other on the rear side of drum type washer-dryer 10. However, blower fan 140 and water tub 110 may also be connected to each other on the front side of drum type washer-dryer 10.

[0023] In drum type washer-dryer 10, internal dry air passage 114 (see FIGS. 1 and 6) is provided at the bottom of water tub 110 to efficiently send dry air from air intake 111 to rotating drum 112. In this case, internal dry air passage 114 is formed so as to surround the rotation shaft of motor 180, as shown in FIG.

[0024] As shown in FIG. 7, blower fan 140 is a turbofan in which impeller 142 is disposed within duct 141, and duct 141 is formed with bent portion 144 that bends downward on the downstream side, and has exhaust port 143 that opens downward at the end of bent portion 144.

[0025] 7, in addition to the impeller 142, a heater (for example, a sheath heater) 131 is also arranged in the duct 141, and the air in the dry air duct is heated by the heater 131. In this way, the blower fan 140 may also serve as the dry air generating unit 130 in FIG.

[0026] On the other hand, as shown in Fig. 8, water tub 110 has air intake 111 that opens upward on the top surface. As shown in Fig. 1, water tub 110 is positioned so that it slopes upward toward the front, so air intake 111 opens diagonally rearward. To face air intake 111, exhaust port 143 of blower fan 140 faces diagonally downward and forward, so as shown in Fig. 7, bent portion 144 is formed at an acute angle so that the air passage in the duct bends diagonally downward and forward from the horizontal. Note that when water tub 110 is positioned horizontally, bent portion 144 is formed so that the air passage in the duct forms a right angle.

[0027] Both exhaust port 143 and intake port 111 have a substantially rectangular cross-sectional shape. Corrugated hose 160 connecting exhaust port 143 and intake port 111 also has a substantially rectangular cross-sectional shape. Corrugated hose 160 is a path component having a bellows portion at least in a portion thereof, and absorbs vibrations that occur when drum type washer-dryer 10 is operating (when rotating drum 112 in water tub 110 rotates), preventing exhaust port 143 and intake port 111 from being disconnected due to the vibrations.

[0028] When heater 131 is disposed in duct 141 of blower fan 140, it is preferable that the cross section of duct 141, which serves as the dry air passage, be substantially rectangular, even at the location where heater 131 is disposed. This allows blower fan 140 to be configured to be thin, and also makes it possible to efficiently heat the air in the dry air passage.

[0029] Furthermore, it is preferable to use clamps to secure bellows hose 160 at the connection points of bellows hose 160 to blower fan 140 and water tub 110. In this case, as shown in Fig. 9, for example, it is conceivable to use two U-shaped clamp members 170, arrange these clamp members 170 facing each other so as to sandwich the connection point between exhaust port 143 of blower fan 140 and bellows hose 160 (or the connection point between water tub 110 and bellows hose 160), and fasten both ends with screws. By using such U-shaped clamp members 170, bellows hose 160 can be easily secured by pressing the entire periphery even at connection points with a substantially rectangular cross section.

[0030] The reason why the cross section of air intake 111 in water tub 110 is made to be substantially rectangular is to ensure a wide cross-sectional area even in a narrow space. When air intake 111 of water tub 110 is disposed on the rear side (or front side) of drum type washer-dryer 10, it is necessary from a design perspective to dispose air intake 111 in a space with a narrow dimension in the front-to-rear direction in order to reduce the size of drum type washer-dryer 10. Even in such a case, by making air intake 111 a substantially rectangular cross-sectional shape with a larger dimension in the left-to-right direction than the dimension in the front-to-rear direction, it is possible to ensure a wide cross-sectional area in a narrow space.

[0031] Meanwhile, exhaust port 143 of blower fan 140 has a substantially rectangular cross-sectional shape to align with intake port 111 of water tub 110. Similarly, bellows hose 160, together with exhaust port 143 and intake port 111, also has a substantially rectangular cross-sectional shape. Duct 141 of blower fan 140 has a substantially rectangular cross-sectional shape with a larger horizontal dimension than a vertical dimension, and duct 141 is bent downward from the horizontal direction at bent portion 144 while maintaining its substantially rectangular cross-sectional shape. As a result, in drum type washer-dryer 10, the cross-sectional shape of the dry air passage from blower fan 140 to water tub 110 hardly changes, thereby reducing pressure loss in the dry air passage and suppressing a decrease in air volume. Furthermore, because bent portion 144 that bends the direction of duct 141 is formed by duct 141, bent portion 144 is prevented from being deformed, such as rippling, by the wind pressure of the air flowing through duct 141. Therefore, it is possible to reduce pressure loss caused by pulsation of the flowing air due to deformation of bent portion 144. In particular, when bent portion 144 is formed at an acute angle of 90 degrees or greater, wind pressure acts directly on bent portion 144, which makes it more likely to deform, and pressure loss due to turbulence and pulsation caused by deformation increases. Therefore, the configuration of this embodiment is effective in reducing pressure loss.

[0032] Furthermore, in this embodiment, exhaust port 143 of blower fan 140 and intake port 111 of water tub 110 are open so as to face each other vertically. This allows bellows hose 160 connecting exhaust port 143 and intake port 111 to be stretchable at least vertically, preventing the air flowing through bellows hose 160 from interfering with the deformed portion of bellows hose 160. As a result, bellows hose 160 can absorb vibrations of water tub 110 while reducing pressure loss in the drying air duct and preventing a decrease in air volume.

[0033] The embodiments disclosed herein are illustrative in all respects and are not intended to be limiting. Therefore, the technical scope of the present invention should not be interpreted solely by the above-described embodiments, but should be defined by the claims. Furthermore, all modifications within the scope and meaning equivalent to the claims are included. [Explanation of symbols]

[0034] 10 Drum type washer-dryer (clothes dryer) 100 units 110 Water tank (drying tank) 111 Air intake 112 Rotating Drum 120 doors 130 Dry air generating section 131 Heater 140 Blower fan 141 Duct 142 Impeller 143 Exhaust port 144 Bent section 150 Filter section 160 Bellows hose (path part) 170 Clamping member

Claims

1. A clothes dryer having a drying tub and a blower fan disposed in a drying air duct to send dry air into the drying tub, the blower fan has a duct having a substantially rectangular cross-sectional shape and an exhaust port communicating with the duct, the exhaust port also having a substantially rectangular cross-sectional shape; The duct has a bending portion that bends an air passage inside the duct, The drying tank has an air intake port having a substantially rectangular cross section and a rotary drum into which laundry is put, The exhaust port and the intake port are connected by a path component having a substantially rectangular cross section, the cross-sectional shapes of the exhaust port, the inlet of the path piece connected to the exhaust port, the outlet of the path piece connected to the intake port, and the intake port are in a congruent relationship; The clothes dryer further includes an internal dry air passage located between the bottom of the drying tub and the bottom of the rotating drum, for sending the dry air from the air intake to the bottom of the rotating drum.

2. The clothes dryer according to claim 1, The clothes dryer is characterized in that the path component is extendable at least in the vertical direction.

3. The clothes dryer according to claim 1 or 2, The clothes dryer, wherein the bent portion has a shape that bends the air passage in the duct at a right angle or an acute angle.

4. The clothes dryer according to claim 3, the bent portion bends the air passage in the duct downward, and the exhaust port opens downward, The clothes dryer is characterized in that the air intake port is open upward at a position opposite the air exhaust port.

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