Dryer

Abstract

A dryer (1) according to an embodiment comprises: a housing (2); a housing part (3) that is provided inside the housing (2) and houses an object to be dried; and a microwave irradiation unit (6) that irradiates the object to be dried housed in the housing part (3) with microwaves. In addition, the dryer (1) is provided with: the housing part (3) and a door (5) (shield unit) for suppressing leakage of microwaves, which are radiated from the microwave irradiation unit (6), to the outside; and a radio wave absorber (12) for absorbing microwaves radiated from the microwave irradiation unit (6). The radio wave absorber (12) is provided inside the shield unit.

Description

dryer

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a dryer that irradiates microwaves to dry an object to be dried.

[0002] One method for speeding up the drying performance of clothes dryers and washer-dryers is to use microwaves as a heat source to heat the moisture in the clothes (see, for example, Patent Document 1). The clothes dryer disclosed in Patent Document 1 includes a microwave irradiation means for irradiating microwaves onto the clothes, a clothes compartment for storing the clothes, and a blower for drawing outside air into the clothes compartment and discharging the air from the clothes compartment. By using microwaves to directly heat the water adhering to the clothes fibers, the drying time of clothes can be shortened when the moisture content of the clothes is about 30% or less.

[0003] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2008-000249

[0004] When microwaves are applied to conductive materials, sparks can occur. Furthermore, excessive microwave intensity can overheat and damage the materials being dried. Therefore, there is a need to further improve the safety of dryers and prevent damage to the materials being dried.

[0005] Therefore, the present disclosure provides a technology for improving the safety of a dryer that irradiates microwaves to dry an object to be dried.

[0006] A dryer according to one aspect of the present disclosure includes a housing, a storage section provided inside the housing for storing an object to be dried, and a microwave irradiation section for irradiating microwaves onto the object to be dried stored in the storage section. The dryer also includes a shield section for suppressing leakage of microwaves irradiated from the microwave irradiation section to the outside, and a radio wave absorber for absorbing the microwaves irradiated from the microwave irradiation section. The radio wave absorber is provided inside the shield section.

[0007] According to the technology of the present disclosure, it is possible to improve the safety of a dryer that irradiates microwaves to dry an object to be dried.

[0008] FIG. 1 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing the configuration of a dryer according to a first embodiment; FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the flow of air in the dryer; FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the flow of microwaves in the dryer;

[0009] Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. However, unnecessary detailed descriptions may be omitted. For example, detailed descriptions of well-known matters or redundant descriptions of substantially identical configurations may be omitted.

[0010] The accompanying drawings and the following description are provided to enable those skilled in the art to fully understand the present disclosure, and are not intended to limit the subject matter described in the claims.

[0011] First Embodiment Hereinafter, a first embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS.

[0012] [1-1. Configuration] FIG. 1 is a schematic cross-sectional view illustrating the configuration of a dryer 1 according to a first embodiment, showing a first example of the installation position of a radio wave absorber. The dryer 1 of this embodiment has a function of drying an object to be dried, such as clothes, by irradiating the object with microwaves, which are a type of electromagnetic waves. Note that in this disclosure, the right side of FIG. 1 , i.e., the side where the door 5 is located, may be referred to as the front side of the dryer 1, and the left side of FIG. 1 may be referred to as the rear side, based on the installed state (hereinafter also referred to as the "installed state") as shown in FIG. 1 . Furthermore, the up-down direction (i.e., the vertical direction) in the installed state shown in FIG. 1 may be referred to as the up-down direction of the dryer 1.

[0013] As shown in Figure 1, a housing 2 of a dryer 1 is provided with a storage section 3 for storing materials to be dried. The storage section 3 is made of metal or the like and has a structure capable of suppressing leakage of microwaves irradiated inside to the outside. The inner surface of the storage section 3 is formed to reflect microwaves. The back surface of the storage section 3 is made of punched metal or the like with multiple holes that allow air to pass through but not microwaves.

[0014] A placing section 4 for placing an object to be dried is provided inside the storage section 3. The placing section 4 includes a placing surface for placing the object to be dried and an outer frame for supporting the placing surface. The outer frame of the placing section 4 is supported or suspended via a weight detection section 21. The placing surface has a plurality of holes for allowing air to pass through.

[0015] The weight detection unit 21 detects the weight of the object to be dried placed on the placement unit 4. A control device (not shown) for controlling the dryer 1 estimates the amount of moisture contained in the object to be dried based on the detection result by the weight detection unit 21. The control device adjusts the microwave output based on the change in the estimated moisture amount and terminates the drying operation when the rate of change in the moisture amount falls below a predetermined value. The position and number of weight detection units 21 are not particularly limited. For example, if only one weight detection unit 21 is provided, the placement unit 4 may be supported at three points and the weight detection unit 21 may be provided at only one of the three points. Furthermore, as described below, multiple weight detection units 21 may be provided at different positions on the placement unit 4 to detect uneven changes in the moisture amount of the object to be dried and detect uneven drying of the object to be dried.

[0016] Doors 5 for opening and closing the openings are provided at the openings on the front surfaces of the housing 2 and the storage unit 3. A user can place or remove objects to be dried in or from the storage unit 3 by opening the door 5. The door 5 includes a metal mesh or other structure for suppressing leakage of microwaves to the outside. In addition, a choke structure or the like is formed between the openings of the housing 2 and the storage unit 3 and the door 5 to prevent microwaves from leaking from gaps between the openings and the door 5. The storage unit 3 and the door 5 form a shielding section for suppressing leakage of microwaves irradiated inside the storage unit 3 to the outside (outside the dryer 1).

[0017] In this embodiment, the interior of the storage unit 3 is the entire microwave-shielded space provided inside the housing 2. In other words, the storage unit 3 mainly comprises a space that includes the mounting unit 4 and that accommodates the substantially rectangular parallelepiped object to be dried, but also includes an antenna storage unit 9 and an absorber storage unit 13, which will be described later. However, in a detailed description of the dryer 1, the space that accommodates the object to be dried may be referred to as the storage unit 3.

[0018] A partition 10 is provided at the bottom of the storage section 3 to form an antenna storage section 9, and the antenna 8 is disposed inside. The partition 10 is formed in a plate shape from a microwave-transparent material such as glass, resin, or ceramic. The partition 14 may be heat-transmitting or may be breathable, such as a lattice or mesh. A microwave irradiator 6, a waveguide 7, and a motor 11 are provided below the antenna storage section 9. These components may be provided above or to the side of the storage section 3.

[0019] The microwave irradiator 6 irradiates microwaves to dry the object to be dried contained in the storage unit 3. The microwaves generated by the microwave irradiator 6 are guided to the antenna 8 via the waveguide 7 and irradiated from the antenna 8 into the interior of the storage unit 3. This heats and evaporates the moisture contained in the object to be dried. The antenna 8 is rotated by a motor 11. This allows microwaves to be irradiated evenly throughout the entire interior of the storage unit 3, thereby enabling the object to be dried to be dried evenly and efficiently.

[0020] The microwave irradiation unit 6 oscillates electromagnetic waves in the 2.45 GHz band, which is assigned as the ISM (Industry Science Medical) band. The microwave irradiation unit 6 may oscillate electromagnetic waves in a similarly assigned frequency band, such as the 915 MHz band. The microwave irradiation unit 6 may be a microwave oscillator such as a magnetron. This reduces the manufacturing cost of the dryer 1. The microwave irradiation unit 6 may be a semiconductor microwave oscillator. This allows the oscillation frequency to be variable. Furthermore, the stability of the output power and oscillation frequency can be improved. Furthermore, safety can be improved by operating at a low voltage.

[0021] A circulation air passage 16 is provided above the accommodation section 3. The circulation air passage 16 is configured to include an outlet-side air passage 30, an inlet-side air passage 29, and an absorber accommodation section 13, which will be described later. The outlet-side air passage 30 includes an outlet 24 provided in the accommodation section 3 and an exhaust port 17 that communicates with the outside of the circulation air passage 16. The inlet-side air passage 29 includes an inlet 23 provided in the accommodation section 3, an intake port 18 that communicates with the outside of the circulation air passage 16, a heater 22, and a blower fan 15. Because the outlet-side air passage 30 and the inlet-side air passage 29 both communicate with the outside, a shielding member such as punched metal having a plurality of holes that allows air to pass through but not microwaves is provided at the opening connected to the accommodation section 3, in order to ensure the shielding properties of the accommodation section 3.

[0022] The air inside the storage unit 3 in which the objects to be dried are stored (also referred to as internal air) is circulated through the circulation air duct 16 by the blower fan 15. When the blower fan 15 operates during drying operation, the internal air containing water vapor evaporated from the objects to be dried flows out from the outlet 24 provided at the front upper part of the storage unit 3 to the outlet-side air duct 30. The internal air that flows out to the outlet-side air duct 30 passes through the absorber storage unit 13 and the inlet-side air duct 29, and is sent out through the inlet 23 provided at the back of the storage unit 3 into the interior of the storage unit 3 and circulates therein. Because the circulation air duct 16 is provided at the top of the storage unit 3, the internal air in the storage unit 3, which has become hot, can be circulated efficiently.

[0023] Furthermore, a portion of the internal air of the storage unit 3 flowing out from the outlet 24 is discharged to the outside through the exhaust port 17 provided in the outlet-side air passage 30, and external air (also referred to as fresh air) is drawn in through the intake port 18 provided in the inlet-side air passage 29 and flows into the storage unit 3 through the inlet 23. This causes a portion of the water vapor contained in the internal air to be discharged to the outside, accelerating the drying of the objects to be dried. The heater 22 heats the air flowing into the storage unit 3 from the inlet 23. This accelerates the drying of the objects to be dried.

[0024] Note that water vapor contained in the internal air may be converted into liquid water by cooling and then discharged to the outside. The cooling means for liquefying the water vapor may be air-cooled, water-cooled, a Peltier element, a heat pump, or the like. The cooling means may be provided in the outlet-side air duct 30, the circulation air duct 16, the inlet-side air duct 29, or the like, or may be provided at any position inside the accommodation section 3. When liquefying the water vapor and discharging it to the outside, any one or more of the exhaust port 17, the intake port 18, the blower fan 15, and the heater 22 may not be provided.

[0025] A partition 14 is provided at the top of the housing 3 to form an absorber housing 13, and a radio wave absorber 12 is disposed inside. The radio wave absorber 12 is made of a material such as a dielectric or conductor that absorbs microwaves and converts them into heat. In this embodiment, the radio wave absorber 12 is provided on the inner surface of the absorber housing 13 in the housing 3. The partition 14 is formed in a plate shape from a material such as glass, resin, or ceramic that transmits microwaves. In the example of FIG. 1 , as described above, the absorber housing 13 also serves as an air flow path and constitutes part of the circulating air passage 16. Details of the radio wave absorber 12 will be described later.

[0026] The temperature detector 19 detects the temperature of the radio wave absorber 12. The control device estimates the electric field strength inside the housing 3 based on the detection result by the temperature detector 19.

[0027] The temperature detection unit 20 detects the temperature of the air flowing out from inside the storage unit 3. The control device estimates the amount of moisture contained in the object to be dried based on the detection result by the temperature detection unit 20. As described above, the control device may estimate the amount of moisture contained in the object to be dried based on the detection result by the weight detection unit 21. In this case, the temperature detection unit 20 does not have to be provided. A humidity detection unit may be provided in addition to or instead of the temperature detection unit 20. When the amount of moisture contained in the object to be dried is estimated based on the detection result by the temperature detection unit 20 or the humidity detection unit, the weight detection unit 21 does not have to be provided.

[0028] Fig. 2 is a diagram showing the air flow in the dryer 1. In Fig. 2, the air flow is indicated by arrows, and in order to clearly illustrate the air flow, the reference numerals of the components constituting the dryer 1 are omitted. Hereinafter, the air flow in the dryer 1 will be described with reference to Fig. 2.

[0029] (1) Air is heated by the heater 22. (2) The heated air is blown out by the blower fan 15. The order of (1) and (2) may be reversed. That is, the air blown out from the blower fan 15 may be heated by the heater 22. (3) The air blown out from the blower fan 15 flows into the storage section 3 through the inlet 23 provided on the rear surface of the storage section 3. (4) The air that has flowed into the storage section 3 removes moisture from the objects to be dried as it flows from the rear to the front of the storage section 3. (5) The air containing the water vapor evaporated from the objects to be dried flows out from the outlet 24 at the upper front of the storage section 3 into the outlet-side air duct 30. (6) A portion of the air that flows out into the outlet-side air duct 30 flows out of the circulation air duct 16 through the exhaust port 17, and the remainder flows into the absorber storage section 13. (7) The air that flows into the absorber housing 13 is heated by absorbing heat from the radio wave absorber 12, which has absorbed microwaves and generated heat. (8) The air that flows out of the absorber housing 13 into the inlet-side air duct 29 is mixed with outside air drawn in through the air intake 18, returning to (1). That is, the air that flows into the housing 3 includes outside air drawn in through the air intake 18. Since the inlet 23 is provided on the back surface of the housing 3 and the outlet 24 is provided on the upper front portion of the housing 3, the heated drying air flows efficiently over the entire surface of the mounting portion 4. This improves drying efficiency.

[0030] Fig. 3 is a diagram showing the flow of microwaves in the dryer 1. In Fig. 3, the flow of microwaves is indicated by arrows, and in order to clearly illustrate the flow of microwaves, the reference numerals of the components constituting the dryer 1 are omitted. Hereinafter, the flow of microwaves in the dryer 1 will be described with reference to Fig. 3.

[0031] (1) Microwaves are generated from the microwave irradiator 6. (2) The generated microwaves flow into the waveguide 7. (3) The microwaves that flow into the waveguide 7 are irradiated into the interior of the storage unit 3 via the antenna 8. (4) The microwaves irradiated into the interior of the storage unit 3 are diffusely reflected inside the storage unit 3 and are absorbed by the moisture contained in the object to be dried. (5) A portion of the microwaves that are not absorbed is absorbed by the radio wave absorber 12, and the remainder returns to the microwave irradiator 6 and is absorbed.

[0032] As described above, the outlet 24, the connection between the outlet-side air passage 30 and the absorber accommodating section 13, the connection between the inlet-side air passage 29 and the absorber accommodating section 13, and the inlet 23 are provided with structures for suppressing microwave leakage, such as punched metal or metal mesh. The outlet-side air passage 30 and the inlet-side air passage 29 may be formed from a material such as metal that blocks microwaves. In this case, instead of or in addition to the outlet 24, the connection between the outlet-side air passage 30 and the absorber accommodating section 13, the connection between the inlet-side air passage 29 and the absorber accommodating section 13, and the inlet 23, the exhaust port 17 and the intake port 18 are provided with structures for suppressing microwave leakage, such as punched metal or metal mesh. The outlet-side air passage 30 may be provided inside the accommodating section 3.

[0033] [1-1-1. Radio Wave Absorber] When the amount of material to be dried is small, or when the moisture content of the material to be dried decreases as the drying operation progresses, the amount of microwaves absorbed by the moisture (load) is small, and the radio wave intensity inside the storage unit 3 may increase. If the radio wave intensity inside the storage unit 3 increases, sparks may be generated from metal such as buttons and zippers attached to clothing, or the metal may heat up, potentially damaging the material to be dried. When a magnetron is used as the microwave irradiator 6, the characteristics of the magnetron dictate a lower limit to the microwave output at which microwaves can be stably output. Therefore, simply reducing the microwave output when the moisture content decreases as the drying operation progresses is not sufficient.

[0034] To solve this problem, in the dryer 1 of this embodiment, a microwave absorber 12 that absorbs microwaves is provided inside a shielding section that prevents microwaves from leaking to the outside. As a result, even when there is little moisture (load) inside the storage section 3, the microwave absorber 12 absorbs the microwave energy and converts it into thermal energy, thereby preventing an excessive increase in the radio wave intensity inside the storage section 3. This improves the safety of the dryer 1 that irradiates microwaves to dry the object to be dried. It also prevents damage to the object to be dried.

[0035] As described above, in this embodiment, the storage section 3 and the door 5 function as a shielding section, and therefore the radio wave absorber 12 may be provided at one or more locations at any position inside the storage section 3 and the door 5.

[0036] The radio wave absorber 12 may be provided on the opposite side of the object to be dried from the microwave irradiator 6. For example, the microwave irradiator 6 may be provided below the mounting portion 4, and the radio wave absorber 12 may be provided above the mounting portion 4. Conversely, the microwave irradiator 6 may be provided above the mounting portion 4, and the radio wave absorber 12 may be provided below the mounting portion 4. Alternatively, the microwave irradiator 6 may be provided on one side of the mounting portion 4, and the radio wave absorber 12 may be provided on the opposite side. In this way, microwaves irradiated from the microwave irradiator 6 are first irradiated onto the object to be dried, and microwaves not absorbed by moisture contained in the object to be dried can be absorbed by the radio wave absorber 12, thereby improving drying efficiency.

[0037] The radio wave absorber 12 may be provided on or near the inner surface of the shielding part. This prevents the user from touching the high-temperature radio wave absorber 12 when removing the object to be dried after drying. Furthermore, the capacity of the storage part 3 can be secured.

[0038] The wave absorber 12 may be provided in the circulating air passage 16, which is a flow path for the air sent into the housing 3. This allows the air sent into the housing 3 to be heated, thereby improving the drying efficiency.

[0039] The dryer 1 may include an absorber housing section 13 for housing the radio wave absorber 12. This makes it possible to ensure the capacity of the housing section 3. It is also possible to prevent a user from coming into contact with the high-temperature radio wave absorber 12 when removing the object to be dried after drying.

[0040] The inner surface of the absorber housing portion 13 may have a shape that reflects at least a part of the microwaves toward the radio wave absorber 12. For example, the side wall of the absorber housing portion 13 may be inclined. This can improve the efficiency of microwave absorption by the radio wave absorber 12.

[0041] The absorber housing section 13 may be formed by a microwave-transmitting partition section 14. This can prevent a user from touching the high-temperature radio wave absorber 12 when removing the object to be dried after drying.

[0042] In the dryer 1, an absorber housing section 13 for housing a radio wave absorber 12 is formed inside the housing section 3 by a partition section 14 that is transparent to microwaves, and the absorber housing section 13 may constitute a circulating air passage 16 that is a flow path for air sent into the housing section 3. This makes it possible to efficiently form the circulating air passage 16 and ensure the capacity of the housing section 3. It is also possible to prevent a user from coming into contact with the high-temperature radio wave absorber 12 when removing the object to be dried after drying.

[0043] The absorber housing 13 may be configured as part of a circulation air passage 16 that has an exhaust port 17 and an intake port 18 and circulates air inside the housing 3. This allows the exchange of air inside the housing 3 with outside air and the heating of air by the radio wave absorber 12 to be carried out in a single circulation passage.

[0044] A switching unit may be provided that can switch between a microwave reflecting state and a microwave transmitting state for microwaves radiated to the radio wave absorber 12. For example, the switching unit may be a shutter made of a metal or the like that reflects microwaves. When the moisture content of the object to be dried is equal to or greater than a predetermined amount, the control device may set the switching unit to a microwave reflecting state, thereby reflecting the microwaves toward the inside of the storage unit 3. On the other hand, when the moisture content of the object to be dried is less than the predetermined amount, the control device may set the switching unit to a microwave transmitting state, thereby transmitting the microwaves toward the radio wave absorber 12. This can improve drying efficiency.

[0045] In the first embodiment, an example has been described in which one radio wave absorber 12 is provided in the absorber housing 13. However, if the outlet-side air passage 30 or the inlet-side air passage 29 is configured as a shield section, the radio wave absorber 12 may be provided in these. The radio wave absorber 12 may be divided and provided in two or more locations among the absorber housing 13, the outlet-side air passage 30, and the inlet-side air passage 29. Even in these cases, the radio wave absorber 12 can heat the air sent into the housing 3, thereby improving the drying efficiency.

[0046] [1-2. Operation] The operation and function of the dryer 1 configured as above will be described below.

[0047] The user opens the door 5 and places the object to be dried on the placement section 4, which then stores it in the storage section 3. When the user issues a command to start drying, the control device starts the drying operation. The control device drives the blower fan 15. The control device controls the microwave irradiator 6 to generate microwaves. The control device controls the motor 11 to rotate the antenna 8. The microwaves are irradiated into the interior of the storage section 3 via the waveguide 7 and the antenna 8. This heats and evaporates the moisture contained in the object to be dried. The control device estimates the electric field strength inside the storage section 3 based on the detection results from the antenna 8 and the temperature detector 19, and adjusts the output from the microwave irradiator 6. The control device estimates the moisture content of the object to be dried based on the detection results from the weight detector 21 or the temperature detector 20. When the rate of change in the moisture content falls below a predetermined value, the control device stops the microwave irradiation by the microwave irradiator 6, stops the blower fan 15, and the motor 11, and ends the drying operation.

[0048] [1-3. Effects, etc.] As described above, in this embodiment, the dryer 1 includes the housing 2, the storage section 3 provided inside the housing 2 and configured to store an object to be dried, and the microwave irradiator 6 configured to irradiate microwaves onto the object to be dried stored in the storage section 3. The dryer 1 also includes a shield section (the storage section 3 and the door 5) for preventing the microwaves irradiated from the microwave irradiator 6 from leaking to the outside, and a radio wave absorber 12 for absorbing the microwaves irradiated from the microwave irradiator 6. The radio wave absorber 12 is provided inside the shield section. This prevents an excessive increase in radio wave intensity inside the storage section 3, even when there is little moisture inside the storage section 3, by absorbing radio wave energy and converting it into thermal energy. This improves the safety of the dryer 1, which irradiates microwaves to dry the object to be dried. Furthermore, damage to the object to be dried can be prevented.

[0049] In this embodiment, the radio wave absorber 12 is provided on the opposite side of the object to be dried from the microwave irradiator 6. This allows the microwaves irradiated from the microwave irradiator 6 to be first irradiated onto the object to be dried, and the microwaves that are not absorbed by the moisture contained in the object to be dried can be absorbed by the radio wave absorber 12, thereby improving the drying efficiency.

[0050] In this embodiment, the radio wave absorber 12 is provided on or near the inner surface of the shielding part. This prevents the user from touching the high-temperature radio wave absorber 12 when removing the object to be dried after drying. Furthermore, the capacity of the storage part 3 can be ensured.

[0051] Moreover, in this embodiment, the storage section 3 includes a mounting section 4 on which the object to be dried is placed. The microwave irradiator 6 is provided below or above the mounting section 4. When the microwave irradiator 6 is provided below the mounting section 4, the radio wave absorber 12 is provided above the mounting section 4. When the microwave irradiator 6 is provided above the mounting section 4, the radio wave absorber 12 is provided below the mounting section 4. In this way, the microwaves irradiated from the microwave irradiator 6 are first irradiated onto the object to be dried, and the microwaves not absorbed by the moisture contained in the object to be dried can be absorbed by the radio wave absorber 12, thereby improving drying efficiency.

[0052] In this embodiment, the radio wave absorber 12 is provided in the flow path (circulation air path 16) of the air sent to the housing portion 3. This makes it possible to heat the air sent to the inside of the housing portion 3, thereby improving the drying efficiency.

[0053] In this embodiment, the dryer 1 also includes an absorber housing 13 for housing the radio wave absorber 12. This allows the capacity of the housing 3 to be secured.

[0054] In this embodiment, the inner surface of the absorber accommodating portion 13 has a shape that reflects at least a part of the microwaves toward the radio wave absorber 12. This can improve the efficiency with which the radio wave absorber 12 absorbs the microwaves.

[0055] In this embodiment, the absorber housing section 13 is formed by the microwave-transmitting partition section 14. This prevents the user from touching the high-temperature radio wave absorber 12 when removing the object to be dried after drying.

[0056] Furthermore, in the present embodiment, dryer 1 has absorber housing section 13 for housing radio wave absorber 12 formed inside housing section 3 by a partition section that transmits microwaves, and absorber housing section 13 constitutes a flow path (circulating air passage 16) for air sent to housing section 3. This makes it possible to efficiently form circulating air passage 16 and ensure the capacity of housing section 3. It is also possible to prevent a user from coming into contact with high-temperature radio wave absorber 12 when removing the object to be dried after drying.

[0057] In this embodiment, the absorber housing 13 is configured as a part of a circulation air duct 16 that has an exhaust port 17 and an intake port 18 and circulates air in the housing 3. This allows the exchange of air inside the housing 3 with outside air and the heating of air by the radio wave absorber 12 to be carried out in one circulation air duct 16, thereby improving drying efficiency.

[0058] (Other Embodiments) As described above, the first embodiment has been described as an example of the technology in the present disclosure. However, the technology in the present disclosure is not limited to this, and can be applied to embodiments in which modifications, substitutions, additions, omissions, etc. are made. Furthermore, it is also possible to combine the components described in the first embodiment above to create new embodiments.

[0059] Therefore, other embodiments will be exemplified below.

[0060] In the first embodiment, as an example of a dryer according to the present disclosure, a dryer 1 in which an object to be dried is placed on a placement section 4 provided inside a storage section 3 and dried has been described. The dryer according to the present disclosure may be a drum-type dryer in which an object to be dried is stored in a storage section according to the present disclosure, or may be a non-drum-type dryer, a washer-dryer, or the like. Furthermore, the object to be dried according to the present disclosure may be something other than clothing, such as towels, bedding, curtains, rugs, shoes, or other fabric or leather products that are not worn by people, or other items that can be dried, and may include metal parts such as buttons or zippers.

[0061] In addition, in the first embodiment, the storage unit 3 and the door 5 have been described as an example of a shielding unit of the present disclosure. In addition to the storage unit 3, or instead of the storage unit 3, the housing 2 may function as an example of a shielding unit of the present disclosure. This can improve shielding properties and safety.

[0062] In addition, in the first embodiment, a configuration has been described in which the exhaust of inside air containing moisture generated from the object to be dried in the storage unit 3, the intake of outside air, and the heating of this intake air and the air in the storage unit 3 by the radio wave absorber 12 are performed in a single circulation air duct 16. However, this is not limited to this, and flow paths solely for the exhaust and intake air may be configured as separate circulation flow paths, or may be configured as independent flow paths that do not circulate. In this case, the circulation air duct 16 may be configured to circulate only the inside air in the storage unit 3 and heat it by the radio wave absorber 12. Furthermore, a radio wave absorber 12 may also be provided in the independent intake flow path.

[0063] It should be noted that the above-described embodiments are intended to illustrate the technology of the present disclosure, and various modifications, substitutions, additions, omissions, etc. may be made within the scope of the claims or their equivalents.

[0064] (Additional Notes) The above description of the embodiments discloses the following techniques.

[0065] (Technology 1) A dryer according to Technology 1 includes a housing, a storage section provided inside the housing for storing an object to be dried, and a microwave irradiation section for irradiating microwaves onto the object to be dried stored in the storage section. The dryer according to Technology 1 also includes a shield section for suppressing leakage of microwaves irradiated from the microwave irradiation section to the outside, and a radio wave absorber for absorbing the microwaves irradiated from the microwave irradiation section. The radio wave absorber is provided inside the shield section.

[0066] As a result, even when there is little moisture inside the storage section, the radio wave absorber absorbs radio wave energy and converts it into thermal energy, preventing an excessive increase in radio wave intensity inside the storage section. This improves the safety of the dryer that irradiates microwaves to dry objects to be dried. It also prevents damage to the objects to be dried.

[0067] (Technology 2) In the dryer of Technology 2, in the dryer described in Technology 1, the radio wave absorber is provided on the opposite side of the microwave irradiator across the object to be dried.

[0068] This allows the microwaves emitted from the microwave irradiation unit to first be irradiated onto the object to be dried, and the microwaves that are not absorbed by the moisture contained in the object to be dried can be absorbed by the radio wave absorber, thereby improving drying efficiency.

[0069] (Technology 3) In the dryer of Technology 3, in the dryer according to Technology 1 or 2, the radio wave absorber is provided on the inner surface of the shielding portion or in the vicinity of the inner surface.

[0070] This prevents the user from touching the high-temperature radio wave absorber when removing the object to be dried after drying. Also, the capacity of the storage section can be secured.

[0071] (Technology 4) In a dryer according to Technology 4, in the dryer according to any one of Technology 1 to Technology 3, the storage unit includes a mounting portion for mounting the object to be dried. The microwave irradiator is provided below or above the mounting portion. The radio wave absorber is provided above or below the mounting portion.

[0072] This allows the microwaves emitted from the microwave irradiation unit to first be irradiated onto the object to be dried, and the microwaves that are not absorbed by the moisture contained in the object to be dried can be absorbed by the radio wave absorber, thereby improving drying efficiency.

[0073] (Technology 5) In the dryer of Technology 5, in the dryer according to any one of Technologies 1 to 4, the radio wave absorber is provided in a flow path of air sent into the housing.

[0074] This allows the air sent into the storage section to be heated, thereby improving drying efficiency.

[0075] (Technology 6) The dryer of Technology 6 is the dryer according to any one of Technology 1 to Technology 5, further comprising an absorber housing portion for housing the radio wave absorber.

[0076] This allows the capacity of the storage section to be secured.

[0077] (Technical Technique 7) In the dryer of Technical Technique 7, in the dryer according to Technical Technique 6, the inner surface of the absorber accommodating section has a shape that reflects at least a part of the microwaves toward the radio wave absorber.

[0078] This can improve the microwave absorption efficiency of the radio wave absorber.

[0079] (Technology 8) The dryer of Technology 8 is the dryer according to either Technology 6 or Technology 7, wherein the absorber-accommodating section is formed by a partition section that transmits microwaves.

[0080] This can prevent the user from coming into contact with the high-temperature radio wave absorber when removing the object to be dried after drying.

[0081] (Technology 9) A dryer of Technology 9 is the dryer according to any one of Technologies 1 to 8, in which an absorber accommodating section for accommodating a radio wave absorber is formed inside the accommodating section by a partition section that is transparent to microwaves, and the absorber accommodating section constitutes a flow path for air sent to the accommodating section.

[0082] This allows the air flow path to be formed efficiently, ensuring the capacity of the storage section, and also preventing the user from coming into contact with the high-temperature wave absorber when removing the object to be dried after drying.

[0083] (Technology 10) A dryer of Technology 10 is the dryer of Technology 9, in which the absorber accommodating section is configured as part of a circulation air duct that circulates air in the accommodating section, and the circulation air duct has an exhaust port that discharges air inside the accommodating section to the outside and an intake port that draws in outside air.

[0084] This allows the exchange of the inside air in the storage section with the outside air and the heating of the air by the radio wave absorber to be carried out in one circulating air path, thereby improving drying efficiency.

[0085] The present disclosure can be used in, for example, home or commercial dryers, specifically, vertical washer-dryers, drum-type dryers, and drum-type washer-dryers.

[0086] REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 dryer 2 housing 3 storage section 4 placement section 5 door 6 microwave irradiation section 7 waveguide 8 antenna 9 antenna storage section 10 partition section 11 motor 12 radio wave absorber 13 absorber storage section 14 partition section 15 blower fan 16 circulation air duct 17 exhaust port 18 intake port 19 temperature detection section 20 temperature detection section 21 weight detection section 22 heater 23 inlet 24 outlet 29 inlet-side air duct 30 outlet-side air duct

Claims

1. A dryer comprising: a housing; a storage section provided inside the housing for storing an object to be dried; a microwave irradiation section for irradiating microwaves to the object to be dried stored in the storage section; a shielding section for preventing microwaves irradiated from the microwave irradiating section from leaking to the outside; and a radio wave absorber for absorbing the microwaves irradiated from the microwave irradiating section, the radio wave absorber being provided inside the shielding section.

2. The dryer according to claim 1, wherein the radio wave absorber is provided on the opposite side of the object to be dried from the microwave irradiation section.

3. The dryer according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the radio wave absorber is provided on the inner surface of the shielding portion or in the vicinity of the inner surface.

4. A dryer as described in claim 1 or 2, wherein the storage section has a placement section for placing the object to be dried, the microwave irradiation section is provided below or above the placement section, and the radio wave absorber is provided above or below the placement section.

5. The dryer according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the radio wave absorber is provided in a flow path of air sent into the inside of the storage section.

6. The dryer according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising an absorber housing section for housing the radio wave absorber.

7. The dryer according to claim 6, wherein the inner surface of the absorber housing has a shape that reflects at least a part of the microwaves toward the radio wave absorber.

8. The dryer according to claim 6, wherein the absorbent housing section is formed by a partition section that transmits microwaves.

9. A dryer as claimed in claim 1 or 2, wherein an absorber housing section for housing the radio wave absorber is formed inside the housing section by a partition section that is transparent to microwaves, and the absorber housing section constitutes a flow path for air to be sent to the housing section.

10. The dryer according to claim 9, wherein the absorber storage section is configured as part of a circulation air duct that circulates air in the storage section, and the circulation air duct has an exhaust port that exhausts air inside the storage section to the outside and an intake port that draws in outside air.

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