JP-2026074698-A - Clothes dryer

Abstract

[Problem] To provide a highly safe clothes dryer that can suppress ignition even if a flammable refrigerant leaks out. [Solution] In a clothes dryer in which a drying chamber 2, a circulating air passage 20, a circulating blower 27, and a heat pump 35 are housed in a housing 1, the circulating air passage 20 comprises a lower circulating air passage 30 provided below the drying chamber 2 along the bottom 1b of the housing 1, a vent 40 provided in the lower circulating air passage 30, and an opening/closing damper 41 that opens and closes the vent 40. [Selection Diagram] Figure 2

Inventors

• 冨田 千洋

Assignees

• 美的集団股▲フン▼有限公司

Dates

Publication Date

20260507

Application Date

20241021

Claims (10)

1. A drying room for storing clothes, A circulating air passage whose ends are connected to the drying chamber, A circulating blower that circulates air between the drying chamber and the circulating air passage, A heat pump comprising an evaporator for cooling and dehumidifying the air in the circulating air passage, a condenser for heating the air in the circulating air passage, a compressor for compressing a flammable refrigerant with a density greater than air and supplying it to the condenser, and a depressurization means for reducing the pressure of the flammable refrigerant that has passed through the condenser, all connected by a refrigerant transport pipe, A clothes dryer comprising a drying chamber, a circulating air passage, a circulating fan, and a housing for the heat pump, The clothes dryer comprises a lower circulating air passage provided below the drying chamber along the bottom of the housing, a vent provided in the lower circulating air passage, and an opening/closing damper for opening and closing the vent.
2. The clothes dryer according to claim 1, wherein the compressor and the circulating blower are operated while the opening/closing damper closes the opening to perform a drying operation, and after the drying operation is completed, the opening/closing damper opens the vent.
3. The clothes dryer according to claim 1, wherein the circulating blower operates with the opening/closing damper open the vent, circulating air between the drying chamber and the circulating air passage.
4. The drying chamber is equipped with a rotating drum that is rotatably mounted therein, The clothes dryer according to claim 1, wherein the rotating drum rotates with the opening/closing damper opening the vent.
5. The clothes dryer according to claim 1, further comprising an exhaust fan that discharges the air in the lower circulating air passage to the outside of the lower circulating air passage through the vent.
6. The clothes dryer according to claim 1, wherein the housing has a bottom opening on its bottom surface that communicates with the outside of the housing.
7. The clothes dryer according to claim 1, wherein the circulating air passage includes a second vent located above the aforementioned vent.
8. The evaporator and the condenser are provided in the lower circulating air passage such that the condenser is located downstream of the evaporator in the circulating air flow in the lower circulating air passage. The clothes dryer according to claim 1, wherein the vent is provided downstream of the evaporator in the lower circulating air passage in the circulating airflow.
9. The clothes dryer according to claim 2, wherein the opening/closing damper keeps the vent open when the vent is opened after the drying operation is completed, until the next drying operation is started.
10. The clothes dryer according to claim 1, further comprising a refrigerant detector provided in the circulating air passage, wherein when the gas concentration of the flammable refrigerant in the circulating air passage detected by the refrigerant detector exceeds a predetermined value, the opening/closing damper opens the vent.

Description

Embodiments of this invention relate to a clothes dryer. In clothes dryers equipped with heat pumps, the use of flammable refrigerants with low ozone depletion potential and low global warming potential is being considered due to growing environmental concerns. Because the amount of refrigerant sealed in the cooling mechanism of a clothes dryer is small, even if refrigerant leaks from the heat pump, the concentration inside the clothes dryer's casing is unlikely to reach the ignition limit, making a fire highly improbable. However, various safety measures have been proposed in the event of a refrigerant leak (see, for example, Patent Document 1 below). Patent Document 1 below proposes a clothes dryer comprising a drying chamber for storing clothes, a circulating air passage connected to the drying chamber at both ends, and an evaporator and condenser constituting a cooling mechanism provided in the circulating air passage. The circulating air passage is equipped with a refrigerant detector, an exhaust port, and an opening/closing damper for opening and closing the exhaust port. When the refrigerant detector detects a leak of flammable refrigerant, the opening/closing damper opens the exhaust port, allowing the air in the circulating air passage to be discharged to the outside. However, in Patent Document 1 below, the exhaust port is located in an upward-extending discharge air passage that supplies dehumidified and heated air, which has passed through the evaporator and condenser, to the drying chamber. Therefore, flammable refrigerants, which have a higher density than air, are less likely to be discharged from the circulating air passage. Japanese Patent Publication No. 2009-207673 Front view of a clothes dryer according to one embodiment, with the door removed.Figure 1 is a longitudinal cross-sectional side view showing the schematic configuration of a clothes dryer.Cross-sectional view along line A-A in Figure 1Rear view showing the exterior of the clothes dryer (Figure 1)Flowchart showing the control of a clothes dryer (Figure 1)Cross-sectional view of a clothes dryer according to Modification Example 2 of the present invention.A longitudinal cross-sectional side view showing the schematic configuration of a clothes dryer according to Modification Example 3 of the present invention.Cross-sectional view of a clothes dryer according to modification example 4 of the present invention. The following description of one embodiment of the present invention will be made with reference to the drawings. Note that the following embodiments are illustrative and the scope of the invention is not limited thereto. Various omissions, substitutions, and modifications can be made to the following embodiments without departing from the spirit of the invention. The following embodiments and their variations are included within the scope of the invention and its equivalents as described in the claims. In the following explanation, left-right, front-back, and up-down directions refer to the directions when viewing the clothes dryer from the front. The left-right direction corresponds to the width of the clothes dryer. Furthermore, unless otherwise specified, right, left, up, down, front, and back refer to the position or side of the clothes dryer when viewed from the front. (1) Configuration of the clothes dryer As shown in Figures 1 and 2, the clothes dryer of this embodiment consists of a roughly rectangular box-shaped outer box 1a and a base plate 1b provided below it to form the bottom. The front of the outer box 1a has a clothing entrance/exit 3, which is formed approximately in the center. The clothing entrance/exit 3 is opened and closed by a door 4 that is rotatable laterally via a hinge (see Figure 2). As shown in Figure 2, the housing 1 contains a rotating drum 2, a circulating air passage 20 connected to the rotating drum 2, a circulating fan 27 for circulating air between the rotating drum 2 and the circulating air passage 20, a heat pump 35 for dehumidifying and heating the air in the circulating air passage 20, and, as shown in Figure 3, a ventilation path 50 is provided outside the circulating air passage 20. The rotating drum 2 is approximately cylindrical in shape with an open front, which communicates with the garment inlet/outlet 3. The rotating drum 2 is supported by roller supports 5 and felt packing 6 on the housing 1, allowing it to rotate around its axis, and is driven by a drum motor 7 located on the rear side. This configuration of the rotating drum 2 functions as a drying chamber, receiving garments inserted through the garment inlet/outlet 3 and drying them. As shown in Figure 2, the rotating drum 2 has an exhaust-side connection part 10 located on the front side of the rotating drum 2 and an air supply-side connection part 11 located slightly above the center of the rear surface of the rotating drum 2. The circulating air passage 20 is connected to both the exhaust-side connection part 10 and th