CN102670117B - Drying apparatus for hands - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention provides a hand dryer including a blower unit, a heating unit, and a nozzle unit accommodated in a housing. The blower sends air sucked in from the outside of the housing. The heating unit heats the sent air. The nozzle part blows the heated air to the outside of the housing. The heating unit has a plurality of heating units arranged in a direction in which the air blowing unit sends air, and heating the air. With this hand dryer, the temperature of the warm air can be increased without enlarging the casing.

Description

hand dryer

This case is a divisional application of a patent application with an application date of September 18, 2008, an application number of 200880108984.8, and an invention title of "hand drying device".

technical field

The present invention relates to a hand drying device for drying wet hands.

Background technique

FIG. 9 is a side sectional view of a conventional hand dryer 555 disclosed in Patent Document 1. As shown in FIG. The hand drying device 555 uses high-speed warm air to blow off water droplets adhering to the hands to dry the hands. The housing 501 is composed of a front case 501A covering the front, top and both sides, and a rear case 501B covering the wall side to form an outer package. In the inside of the frame body 501, the air supply unit 502 for supplying air is housed; the heating unit 503 for heating the air delivered from the air supply unit 502; the blowing nozzle 504 for blowing heated air, that is, warm air; and the control circuit Parts of the control section 505 . On the lower surface of the housing 501 , there are provided an air outlet through which the nozzle 504 blows out, and an air inlet 506 through which blown air is sucked into the housing 501 .

In the hand dryer 555, in order to increase the temperature of the warm air, it is necessary to increase the heat of the heating unit 503, that is, to increase the passing area of the heating unit through which the high-speed wind passes. However, simply enlarging the passage area inevitably requires enlarging the frame body 501 .

FIG. 10 is a side sectional view of another conventional hand dryer 655 disclosed in Patent Document 2. As shown in FIG. The hand drying device 655 dries the hands by blowing off water droplets adhering to the hands with high-speed warm air. Inside the housing 601 are housed a blower 602 that blows out air at high speed, and a heat generating unit 603 that heats the air blown out from the blower 602 . In the lower part of the housing 601, there is provided a blowing nozzle 604 for blowing out warm air, which is heated air, downward. In order to send warm air at high speed without losing thermal efficiency and shorten the drying time of hands, the air outlet of the air blowing nozzle 604 is narrowed toward the front end.

In the hand dryer 655 , the air blowing nozzle 604 exposed to the outside increases in temperature due to passage of the air heated by the heating unit 603 .

Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent No. 3970762

Patent Document 2: Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 10-71101

Contents of the invention

The hand dryer includes a blower unit, a heating unit, and a nozzle unit housed in a housing. The blower sends air sucked in from the outside of the housing. The heating unit heats the sent air. The nozzle part blows the heated air to the outside of the housing. The heating unit has a plurality of heating units arranged in a direction in which the air blowing unit sends air to heat the air.

With this hand dryer, the temperature of warm air can be increased without enlarging the housing.

Description of drawings

Fig. 1 is a side sectional view of a hand dryer according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention.

2 is a front view of a heating unit and a holding unit of the hand dryer according to Embodiment 1. FIG.

Fig. 3 is a side sectional view of a hand dryer according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention.

Fig. 4 is a side sectional view of a hand dryer according to Embodiment 3 of the present invention.

Fig. 5 is a side sectional view of a hand dryer according to Embodiment 4 of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a hand dryer according to Embodiment 4. FIG.

Fig. 7 is a perspective view of a nozzle portion of the hand dryer according to Embodiment 4.

8 is a perspective view of a nozzle unit and a heating unit of a hand dryer according to Embodiment 4. FIG.

Fig. 9 is a side sectional view of a prior art hand drying device.

Fig. 10 is a side sectional view of other prior art hand dryers.

Symbol Description

107 frame

105 Air supply department

106 Heating Department

103 nozzle part

111 Control Department

106A heating unit

106B heating unit

110 Keeping Department

109A Temporary Holding Department (First Temporary Holding Department)

109B Temporary Holding Department (Second Temporary Holding Department)

108A distance maintenance part

108B distance maintenance part

117A terminal

117B terminal

112 Suction temperature detection unit

114 Blowout temperature detection unit

201 frame

202 Air supply department

203 Heating Department

204 nozzle part

204A side

205 ribs (rib)

211 Control Department

1106A end (first end)

1106B end (first end)

2106A end (second end)

2106B end (second end)

Detailed ways

(implementation mode 1)

Fig. 1 is a side sectional view of a hand dryer 1001 according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. The hand dryer 1001 includes a housing 107 in which a drying chamber 101 , a water receiving unit 102 , a nozzle unit 103 , an air inlet 104 , an air blowing unit 105 , and a heating unit 106 are accommodated. The drying chamber 101 has an insertion port 101A opened to the outside of the housing 107 , and is configured such that a hand can be inserted into or withdrawn from the drying chamber 101 through the insertion port 101A. The water receiving part 102 is provided at the bottom of the drying chamber 101 . The nozzle portion 103 having a slit blows air toward the water receiving portion 102 . The air inlet 104 sucks the air in the drying chamber 101 . Blower unit 105 is constituted by a fan motor that sends the air in drying chamber 101 taken in through air inlet 104 to nozzle unit 103 . The heating part 106 is provided in the upper part in the housing|casing 107, and heats the air sent from the blower part 105. As shown in FIG. The heating unit 106 is provided between the blower unit 105 and the nozzle unit 103 . The heating unit 106 is composed of a heating unit 106A and a heating unit 106B which are mutually different components. The heating unit 106A and the heating unit 106B are arranged in a direction 1001A in which air is sent from the blower unit 105 to the nozzle unit 103 . In Embodiment 1, heating unit 106A is arranged closer to blower unit 105 than heating unit 106B, and heating unit 106B is arranged closer to nozzle unit 103 than heating unit 106A.

FIG. 2 is a front view of the heating unit 106 . The heating units 106A and 106B of the heating unit 106 are positive temperature coefficient (PTC) heaters having a short temperature rise time. The heating unit 106A has a rod-like shape and has end portions 1106A, 2106A on opposite sides. Terminal 117A for supplying electric power to heating unit 106A is provided at end 1106A. The heating unit 106B has a rod-like shape and has end portions 1106B and 2106B opposite to each other. Terminal 117B for supplying electric power to heating unit 106B is provided at end 1106B. An end portion 1106A of the heating unit 106A and an end portion 1106B of the heating unit 106B are held by the temporary holding portion 109A. A distance maintaining unit 108A is provided between the end portions 1106A, 1106B, and maintains the distance between the end portions 1106A, 1106B, that is, the distance between the heating units 106A, 106B at a predetermined distance. An end portion 2106A of the heating unit 106A and an end portion 2106B of the heating unit 106B are held by the temporary holding portion 109B. A distance maintaining portion 108B is provided between the end portions 2106A, 2106B, and maintains the distance between the end portions 2106A, 2106B, that is, the distance between the heating units 106A, 106B at a predetermined distance. Terminals 117A, 117B of heating units 106A, 106B extend in the same direction from heating units 106A, 106B. The heating units 106A, 106B held by the temporary holding portions 109A, 109B are housed in the holding portion 110 . The nozzle unit 103 is provided on the holding unit 110 . Lead wires 116A, 116B are connected to the terminals 117A, 117B, respectively.

The control unit 111 is connected to the heating units 106A and 106B, and operates the heating units 106A and 106B respectively.

The air sent in the direction 1001A from the air blower 105 is first heated by the heating unit 106A close to the air blower 105 , and then further heated by the heating unit 106B. Thereby, the temperature of the air sent from the blower unit 105 can be significantly increased. Warm air, which is heated air, is blown out from the nozzle unit 103 .

The control unit 111 separately controls the operations of the heating units 106A, 106B in such a manner that the air sent from the blower unit 105 is heated only by the heating unit 106A without being heated by the heating unit 106B, and only by the heating unit 106B. The air is heated without the heating unit 106A and is heated by both the heating units 106A, 106B. In this way, by controlling the operation of the heating units 106A and 106B individually by the control unit 111 , the temperature of the air is adjusted to a desired temperature and blown out from the nozzle unit 103 .

In addition, the control part 111 can also make heating means 106A, 106B blow off from the nozzle 103, without heating the air sent from the blower part 105.

A user who uses the hand dryer 1001 is usually located in the front direction 1001B of the housing 501 . Direction 1001A in which air blower 105 sends air is at right angles to front direction 1001B. The heating units 106A and 106B of the heating unit 106 are arranged along the direction 1001A. Thus, without increasing the thickness of the frame body 101 in the front direction 1001B, the area where the air from the blower unit 105 passes through the heating unit 106 can be enlarged, and the temperature of the warm air blown from the nozzle unit 103 can be increased. In addition, in the front direction 1001B toward the user, the area through which air passes through the heating unit 106 is not large, so the air sent from the blower unit 105 is evenly supplied to the heating unit 106 . Therefore, it is possible to reduce the size of the rectification part provided between the blower unit 105 and the heating unit 106 and to uniformly send the air from the blower unit 105 to the heating unit 106, and it is also possible to use the air flow from the heating unit Part 106 of the air evenly delivered to the rectification part of the nozzle part 103 narrows.

With distance holding portions 108A, 108B and temporary holding portions 109A, 109B, heating units 106A, 106B can be easily accommodated in holding portion 110 in a state where heating units 106A, 106B are separated from each other by a predetermined distance. . And, since the terminals 117A, 117B of the heating units 106A, 106B extend in one direction, the lead wires 116A, 116B respectively connected to the terminals 117A, 117B are drawn out from the same direction, and it is possible to easily manage the wires held in a temporary position during the manufacturing process. The heating units 106A, 106B of the holding parts 109A, 109B.

Moreover, since the nozzle part 103 is provided in the holding|maintenance part 110, the holding|maintenance part 110 which holds heating unit 106A, 106B can be obtained and the number of components is small. In addition, it is possible to reduce the overlapping portion from the blower unit 105 to the nozzle unit 103 , and it is possible to reduce air leakage.

High-temperature air, low-temperature air, and transport air can be blown from the nozzle portion 103 by the control unit 111 that controls the operations of the heating units 106A and 106B, respectively.

Through-holes 109C and 109D are formed in the temporary holding part 109A, and the heating units 106A and 106B are respectively inserted into the through-holes 109C and 109D to be held by the temporary holding part 109A. The heating part 106 of the hand dryer 1001 based on Embodiment 1 does not need to have either heating means 106A, 106B. In the case where the heating portion 106 does not have the heating unit 106A but has the heating unit 106B, the through-hole 109C is blocked to prevent air leakage at the through-hole 109C. In the case where the heating portion 106 does not have the heating unit 106B but has the heating unit 106A, the through-hole 109D is blocked to prevent air leakage at the through-hole 109C. Thereby, the cheap hand dryer 1001 which has only one of heating unit 106A, 106B can be obtained.

The control unit 111 may control the heating units 106A, 106B so as to make the heating amounts of the heating units 106A, 106B the same.

In addition, the control unit 111 may control the heating units 106A and 106B so that the heating amounts of the heating units 106A and 106B are different from each other, for example, so that the heating amount of the heating unit 106A is larger than that of the heating unit 106B.

When the heating unit 106 heats the air sent from the blower unit 105, the control unit 111 selectively performs control in the following manner: make both heating units 106A and 106B operate; make the heating unit 106B The heating unit 106A is activated and the heating unit 106A is not activated; the heating unit 106A is activated but the heating unit 106B is not activated; neither of the heating units 106A, 106B is activated. Accordingly, the control unit 111 can more finely control the temperature of the air blown out from the nozzle 103 to high temperature, medium temperature, low temperature, or room temperature.

(Embodiment 2)

Fig. 3 is a side sectional view of hand dryer 1002 according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention. In FIG. 3 , the same reference numerals are assigned to the same parts as those of hand dryer 1001 according to Embodiment 1 shown in FIG. 1 , and description thereof will be omitted. Hand drying device 1002 according to Embodiment 2 further includes suction temperature detection unit 112 for detecting the temperature of air sucked into suction port 104 in hand drying device 1001 shown in FIG. 1 . The control unit 111 controls the heating units 106A and 106B so that the heating amount of the heating unit 106A is larger than the heating amount of the heating unit 106B.

The intake air temperature detection unit 112 detects the temperature of the air sucked into the intake port 104, and the control unit 111 controls the heating amount of the heating units 106A and 106B based on the detected temperature. For example, when the temperature detected by the intake air temperature detection unit 112 is lower than the first threshold, the control unit 111 activates both the heating units 106A and 106B. When the temperature detected by the intake air temperature detection unit 112 is a medium-low temperature that is higher than the first threshold and lower than the second threshold higher than the first threshold, the control unit 111 activates the heating unit 106A and disables the heating unit 106B. . When the temperature detected by intake air temperature detector 112 is a medium-high temperature higher than the second threshold and lower than a third threshold higher than the second threshold, control unit 111 activates heating unit 106B and disables heating unit 106A. When the temperature detected by the intake air temperature detection unit 112 is higher than the third threshold, the control unit 111 makes neither of the heating units 106A, 106B operate.

According to the hand drying device 1002 of Embodiment 2, the user does not set the heating amount of the heating part 106, and the control part 111 can automatically set the heating amount of the heating part 106 according to the temperature of the air sucked into the air inlet 104, and adjust The temperature of the air blown from the nozzle part 103 .

(Embodiment 3)

Fig. 4 is a side sectional view of hand dryer 1003 according to Embodiment 3 of the present invention. In FIG. 4 , the same reference numerals are assigned to the same parts as those of hand dryer 1001 according to Embodiment 1 shown in FIG. 1 , and description thereof will be omitted. Hand drying device 1003 of Embodiment 3 is further provided with blowing temperature detection part 114 which detects the temperature of the air blown from nozzle part 103 in hand drying device 1001 shown in FIG. The control unit 111 controls the heating units 106A and 106B so that the heating amount of the heating unit 106A is larger than the heating amount of the heating unit 106B.

Blowout temperature detection unit 114 detects the temperature of the air blown out from nozzle unit 103 , and control unit 111 controls the heating amount of heating units 106A and 106B based on the detected temperature. For example, when the temperature detected by the outlet temperature detection unit 114 is lower than the first threshold, the control unit 111 operates both of the heating units 106A and 106B. When the temperature detected by the outlet temperature detector 114 is a medium-low temperature higher than the first threshold and lower than the second threshold higher than the first threshold, the control unit 111 activates the heating unit 106A and disables the heating unit 106B. When the temperature detected by the outlet temperature detector 114 is a medium-high temperature higher than the second threshold and lower than the third threshold higher than the second threshold, the control unit 111 activates the heating unit 106B and disables the heating unit 106A. When the temperature detected by the outlet temperature detection unit 114 is higher than the third threshold, the control unit 111 does not operate any of the heating units 106A, 106B.

According to the hand drying device 1003 of Embodiment 3, the user does not set the heating amount of the heating part 106, and the control part 111 can automatically set the heating amount of the heating part 106 according to the temperature of the air blown from the nozzle part 103, and adjust the heating amount from the The temperature of the air blown out from the nozzle unit 103 .

(Embodiment 4)

Fig. 5 is a side sectional view of hand dryer 2001 according to Embodiment 4 of the present invention. Inside the housing 201, the blower unit 202, the heating unit 203, and the nozzle unit 204 are accommodated. The air blower 202 is constituted by a fan motor that blows air at high speed. The heating unit 203 heats the air sent from the blower unit 202 . The nozzle part 203 is provided in the lower part of the housing|casing 201, and blows out the warm air which is the air heated by the heating part 203 downward.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the hand drying device 2001 . FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the nozzle unit 204 . The nozzle unit 204 has a surface 204A exposed to the outside of the housing 201 . Grid-shaped ribs 205 are provided over the entire surface 204A. The rib 205 covers the entire surface 204A, and may or may not be in contact with the surface 204A. The intervals between the grid-shaped grids of the ribs 205 are set so that the user's fingers cannot enter, thereby making it difficult for the fingers to come into contact with the surface 204A.

The operation of the hand dryer 2001 will be described. The user stretches out the hand below the nozzle part 204 in order to dry the wet hand. When the detection unit detects that the hand is under the nozzle unit 204 , the control unit 211 drives the blower unit 202 to blow out air at high speed, energizes the heating unit 203 , and blows warm air from the nozzle unit 204 to the hand.

The temperature of the nozzle portion 204 rises due to the high-temperature air flowing therein, and the temperature of the surface 204A becomes considerably high. Since the grid-shaped ribs 205 are provided on the surface 204A, the user's fingers cannot touch the surface 204A, and the user does not feel uncomfortable due to high temperature when drying hands.

The surface area of the surface 204A can be increased by making the height of the rib 205 as high as possible in consideration of ease of design and processing. Thereby, the heat radiated from surface 204A increases and the temperature of surface 204A falls, and a user can use hand dryer 2001 with more peace of mind.

Since nozzle portion 204 having rib 205 blows warm air downward from the lower portion of housing 201 , surface 204A is located at a position that is difficult to see from the user. The design will not be damaged by the ribs 205, and on the other hand, the user's fingers will not come into contact with the high-temperature surface 204A.

The nozzle portion 204 is formed of resin. Since resin can be molded into a more free shape than metal, it is possible to easily form the nozzle portion 204 into a complicated shape as shown in FIG. 7 .

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the heating unit 203 and the nozzle unit 204 . The heating unit 203 is arranged inside the nozzle unit 204 and is formed of heating units 203A and 203B. Heating units 203A and 203B are arranged along flow direction 2001A of air sent from blower unit 202 to nozzle unit 204 . The user is generally located at a position facing the front direction 2001B from the hand dryer 2001, and the direction 2001A is at right angles to the front direction 2001B. The heating units 203A, 203B are positive temperature coefficient (PTC) heaters.

Heating unit 203 is arranged on a flow path of air flowing from blower unit 202 to nozzle unit 204 and inside nozzle unit 204 . By disposing in this way, the heat loss in the flow path can be reduced, and the heating efficiency of the heating unit 203 can be improved. Since the heating part 203 is accommodated in the nozzle part 204, the heat conduction to the nozzle part 204 increases, and the temperature of the surface 204A exposed to the outside rises. In the hand dryer 2001, the rib 205 can prevent the user's fingers from coming into contact with the surface 204A.

The control unit 211 controls the operation of the heating units 203A and 203B, and can selectively perform the following operations: to disable both of the heating units 203A and 203B; to activate the heating unit 203A and to disable the heating unit 203B; to disable the heating unit 203A. activating the unit 203B while deactivating the heating unit 203A; and activating both the heating units 203A, 203B. When both of the heating units 203A and 203B are operated, the temperature in the nozzle part 204 increases significantly and the temperature of the surface 204A increases. However, the user can use the hand dryer 2001 with peace of mind by utilizing the rib 205 . When the heating units 203A and 203B are the same, the amount of heat can be easily changed, and labor and time for parts management can be reduced.

By using the PTC heaters for the heating units 203A and 203B, the control unit 211 can quickly change the heat generation of the heating units 203A and 203B according to the amount of air. The hand dryer 2001 operates intermittently for a short time, but can heat the air efficiently, suppress the temperature rise of the nozzle part 204, and the user can use it with more peace of mind.

Industrial availability

The hand drying device of the present invention is installed in washrooms and toilets of restaurants, hotels, etc., and can also be applied to hospital operating rooms and kitchens.

Claims (7)

1. A hand drying device, characterized in that, comprising: The frame housing the air supply unit, nozzle unit, heating unit and control unit; the air blowing part housed in the frame for sending air sucked in from the outside of the frame; the heating part housed in the frame and configured to heat the transported air; the nozzle portion provided in the frame for blowing the heated air to the outside of the frame and having a surface exposed outside the frame; the heating part is provided inside the nozzle part, a rib that is in contact with the surface of the nozzle portion exposed to the outside of the frame and covers the surface of the nozzle portion that is exposed to the outside of the frame, and the rib is used for preventing a user's finger from coming into contact with the surface of the nozzle portion that is exposed to the outside of the housing; and The control unit that controls the heating unit. 2. The hand drying device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The ribs have a lattice shape. 3. The hand drying device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The nozzle portion is formed of resin. 4. The hand drying device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The nozzle portion blows the air downward from the lower portion of the housing. 5. The hand drying device according to claim 1, characterized in that: the heating part has a first heating unit and a second heating unit that heats the air, The control unit controls the first heating unit and the second heating unit respectively. 6. The hand drying device according to claim 5, wherein the first heating unit and the second heating unit are the same. 7. The hand drying device according to claim 1, wherein the heating unit is composed of a PTC heater.