JP5063811B2 - Hand dryer - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a hand drying apparatus for hygienically drying wet hands after washing.

  Conventionally, as a device for drying wet hands after washing, there is a hand drying device that blows and dries water droplets attached to the hands by a high-speed air flow. In this apparatus, a hand insertion portion as a processing space is provided in a concave shape in the box, and an air nozzle is disposed in the hand insertion portion. The air nozzle is connected to an intake air passage connected to a high-pressure airflow generator, and ejects a high-speed airflow into the hand insertion portion to perform a hand drying process.

  In a hand dryer that dries hands with a high-speed airflow, an air filter that removes dust from the air sucked into the high-pressure airflow generator is necessarily required from the viewpoint of protecting the high-pressure airflow generator. A technique for providing an air filter and a pre-filter disposed upstream thereof in the intake air passage is disclosed in Patent Document 1, for example. However, since both filters are detachably attached to the hand dryer, there are cases where the filter is operated without being attached due to forgetting to attach the removed filter or theft of the filter. In this case, there is a risk that the hand drying device may break down due to intrusion of dust or the like contained in the air. Therefore, for example, Patent Literature 2 discloses a technique for preventing one of the filters from being operated without being attached by fixing one of the filters with a double-sided tape to make it difficult to remove.

JP 2006-288586 A JP 2000-93347 A

  However, according to the technique disclosed in Patent Document 2, it becomes difficult to clean the filter fixed with the double-sided tape. If the use of the hand dryer is continued without cleaning, there is a problem that dust is clogged little by little in the filter, causing the filter to lose pressure and reducing the performance of the hand dryer.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above, and for preventing theft or the like, the air filter is prevented from being stolen or forgotten to be attached, and the air filter is reduced in clogging and reduced in performance by hand drying. The object is to obtain a device.

  In order to solve the above-described problems and achieve the object, the present invention provides a main body in which a hand insertion portion into which a hand can be inserted and removed is formed, a high-pressure air flow generator that generates a high-pressure air flow, A nozzle that ejects the high-pressure airflow generated by the device toward the manual insertion portion, a first air filter that is provided in an air ventilation path to the high-pressure airflow generation device and prevents entry of dust and foreign matter, A second air filter provided on the upstream side of the first air filter and finer than the first air filter, the second air filter being detachable, It is difficult to remove.

  In the hand dryer according to the present invention, since the first air filter is fixed so as to be difficult to remove, even if the second air filter is lost, stolen, or forgotten to be attached, at least the first air filter is attached. It is driven in the state where Therefore, even if the second air filter is lost, stolen, or forgotten to be attached, the dust collection by the first air filter prevents dust and foreign matter from being sucked into the high-pressure airflow generator. There is an effect that it is possible to suppress the failure of the drying apparatus and the performance degradation.

  Moreover, since the 2nd air filter is finer than the 1st air filter, the hand dryer which concerns on this invention can remove most dust and a foreign material with a 2nd air filter. Therefore, dust and foreign matter are hardly attached to the first air filter. Although it is difficult to clean the first air filter, the first air filter is less likely to be clogged and not subject to pressure loss even when used for a long period of time, so that the performance of the hand dryer can be made difficult to deteriorate. Play.

FIG. 1 is a front view of the hand dryer according to the first embodiment. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the hand dryer. FIG. 3 is a partial enlarged cross-sectional view in which the peripheral portion of the outside air intake 10 is enlarged. FIG. 4 is a partially enlarged cross-sectional view in which the outside air intake port portion of the hand dryer according to the first modification of the first embodiment is enlarged. FIG. 5 is a partially enlarged cross-sectional view in which the outside air intake port portion of the hand dryer according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention is enlarged. FIG. 6 is a front view of the grill. FIG. 7 is a partially enlarged sectional view showing the arrangement of the grill and the third air filter. FIG. 8 is a partial enlarged cross-sectional view in which the outside air intake port portion of the hand dryer according to the first modification of the second embodiment is enlarged.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment of a hand dryer according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. Note that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments.

Embodiment 1 FIG.
FIG. 1 is a front view of the hand dryer according to the first embodiment. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the hand dryer. The hand dryer 20 has a high-pressure airflow generator 2 incorporated in a main body box 1 that forms an outer shell having a hand insertion port on the front. High-pressure air from the high-pressure airflow generator 2 is sent to the vicinity of the hand insertion port and ejected from the nozzle 19, whereby a high-speed airflow is formed in the hand insertion portion 3 as a processing space following the hand insertion port. This high-speed airflow becomes a working airflow that blows away water adhering to the hand in the hand insertion portion 3. The main body box 1 includes a base 4 that forms a back outline and a front panel 5 that forms a front outline.

  The manual insertion part 3 is formed in the upper front part of the main body box 1 as a concave sink-like space in which both sides are open and a hand can be inserted and removed. The water blown off by the working air flow in the manual insertion portion 3 is collected by the water receiving portion 6 having an inclination.

  The main body box 1 is provided with a drain container 7 having an open container structure for storing the collected water so as to be detachable in the front-rear direction. The drain container 7 is provided with a removable lid 8. The drain container 7 and the lid 8 are made of chemically resistant PP or ABS resin, and can be cleaned and cleaned using a neutral detergent, alcohol, or the like. In addition, the surface of the hand insertion portion 3 is impregnated with a water-repellent coating such as silicon or fluorine, or a hydrophilic coating such as titanium oxide, or an antibacterial agent, thereby reducing the adhesion of dirt to the surface and bacteria. Reducing breeding is being attempted.

  An air ventilation path 21 is formed in the main body box 1. The high-pressure air flow generator 2 includes a DC brushless motor, a drive circuit that drives the DC brushless motor, and a turbo fan that is rotated by the DC brushless motor. In the first embodiment, the high-pressure airflow generator 2 is attached in the middle of the air ventilation path 21 and directly below the manual insertion portion 3. Note that a normal commutator motor or an induction motor may be used as the high-pressure airflow generator 2. Air is sucked into the high-pressure airflow generator 2 from the suction port 9 formed in the main body box 1. Air sucked into the high-pressure airflow generator 2 is blown out as a working airflow to the manual insertion portion 3 through the air ventilation path portion 21. The outside air intake 10 is an opening that is provided below the main body box 1 and takes outside air into the air ventilation path 21.

  FIG. 3 is a partial enlarged cross-sectional view in which the peripheral portion of the outside air intake 10 is enlarged. A filter for purifying air is provided in the air ventilation path 21 and upstream of the high-pressure airflow generator 2. The first air filter 11 is fixed in the air ventilation path 21. The first air filter 11 is securely fixed by the fixing portion 14 by screw tightening or the like that is difficult to remove without using a back quote tool such as a screwdriver, making it difficult to steal from the outside. The first air filter 11 is made of a material such as PP, PET, or PMMA. The shape of the first air filter 11 is a lattice or mesh mesh filter, and an antibacterial material is kneaded into the material.

  The second air filter 12 is disposed upstream of the first air filter 11. The second air filter 12 has a grid-like mesh filter formed in a pleat shape to increase dust collection efficiency. Similar to the first air filter 11, an antibacterial agent is kneaded into the mesh material. Since the 2nd air filter 12 is arrange | positioned in the vicinity of the external air intake 10, it is easy for a user to access. Moreover, since it is not screw-fixed like the 1st air filter 11, the 2nd air filter 12 is easy to remove and the removal cleaning and replacement | exchange of a filter are easy. Note that the second air filter 12 has finer eyes and higher dust collection performance than the first air filter 11.

  As described above, since the first air filter 11 is fixed to the inside of the main body box 1 so as to be more difficult to remove than the second air filter 12, the second air filter 12 is lost, stolen or forgotten to be attached. Even if there is, operation is performed with at least the first air filter 11 attached. Therefore, even if the second air filter 12 is lost, stolen, or forgotten to be attached, dust and foreign matter are sucked into the high-pressure airflow generator 2 by collecting the dust with the first air filter 11. It is possible to suppress the failure and performance degradation of the hand dryer 20.

  Further, the second air filter 12 installed on the upstream side is finer and has higher dust collection performance than the first air filter 11 fixed in the air ventilation path 21, so that the second air filter 12 is almost the same. Dust and foreign matter can be removed. Therefore, dust and foreign matter hardly adhere to the first air filter 11. Thereby, although it becomes difficult to clean because the first air filter 11 is fixed to the screw, the first air filter 11 is not easily clogged even if used for a long period of time. Performance can be made difficult to deteriorate. The second air filter 12 is not screw-fixed and can be easily attached and detached, and is disposed in the vicinity of the outside air intake 10, so that the user can easily attach and remove the filter, such as filter cleaning. Maintenance can also be facilitated.

  FIG. 4 is a partially enlarged cross-sectional view in which the outside air intake port portion of the hand dryer according to the first modification of the first embodiment is enlarged. As shown in FIG. 4, the hand drying device 20 according to the first modification includes a third air filter 13 further upstream than the second air filter 12. The third air filter 13 can be removed and has a structure that can be easily cleaned and replaced. The material is made of PP, PET, PMMA, etc., the shape is a mesh filter, and the material is kneaded with antibacterial material.

  The third air filter 13 is coarser than the second air filter 12. The 3rd air filter 13 plays the role of a pre filter, and makes the 2nd air filter 12 with high dust collection performance long-life. With this structure, when the second air filter 12 is configured with a replaceable and disposable high-performance filter, for example, a hepa filter with high dust collection performance, the replacement frequency of the second air filter 12 is reduced, and the running cost is reduced. It can contribute to reduction.

  In the first embodiment, the air ventilation path 21 provided with the filters 11, 12, and 13 is formed integrally with the main body box 1, but is not limited thereto. For example, you may comprise a lower part rather than the drain container 7 shown in FIG. 2 as a ventilation unit of another unit. By providing a filter in the air ventilation path formed in the ventilation unit, the same effect as in the first embodiment can be obtained. Moreover, since the ventilation unit portion can be retrofitted or replaced, the safety of the filter can be matched to the actual usage by selecting the ventilation unit according to the actual usage of the hand dryer. As a result, the problem of cost burden due to excessive safety in a well-managed use environment can be made difficult to occur.

Embodiment 2. FIG.
FIG. 5 is a partially enlarged cross-sectional view in which the outside air intake port portion of the hand dryer according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention is enlarged. The same components as those in the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and redundant description is omitted. In the second embodiment, a grill 15 is attached to the outside air intake 10 of the hand dryer 20.

  FIG. 6 is a front view of the grill 15. A plurality of slit holes are formed in the grill 15, and air can be taken into the air ventilation path 21 from the outside air intake 10 through the grill 15. The grill 15 has a louver shape in which a plurality of plates are attached in a blind shape substantially in parallel so that the internal structure, in particular, the air filters 11, 12, and 13 are not easily seen from the front. As a result, the air filters 11, 12, and 13 are obscured, and the presence of the air filters 11, 12, and 13 is hardly noticed, and mischief of the air filters 11, 12, and 13 can be suppressed. In addition, the grill 15 has a removable structure in order to clean the air filters 11, 12, 13 inside the main body.

  A flange portion 16 is provided on the inner surface of the grill 15, and the flange portion 16 surrounds the entire periphery of the outside air intake port 10, so that water drops dripping from the upper part of the main body are sucked into the air ventilation path 21, so 13 and the main body box 1 are prevented from adhering water droplets.

  FIG. 7 is a partially enlarged cross-sectional view showing the arrangement of the grill 15 and the third air filter 13. A protrusion 17 is formed on the third air filter 13. The protrusion 17 is used as a handle when removing the third air filter 13. Further, when the removed third air filter 13 is attached again, the inner surface of the grille 15 and the protrusion 17 come into contact with each other and are pressed and arranged at an appropriate position. That is, the protrusion 17 functions as a positioning portion that positions the third air filter 13. By installing the third air filter 13 at an appropriate position, dust and foreign matter can be prevented from entering due to improper mounting of the third air filter 13 and contribute to improving the reliability of the hand dryer 20. be able to.

  FIG. 8 is a partial enlarged cross-sectional view in which the outside air intake port portion of the hand dryer according to the first modification of the second embodiment is enlarged. As shown in FIG. 8, even when the third air filter is not provided, the internal structure can be made difficult to see from the front by providing the grill 15. In particular, the air filters 11 and 12 have a louver shape in which a plurality of plates are attached substantially in parallel so as to be blind. As a result, the air filters 11 and 12 are obscured so that the presence of the air filters 11 and 12 is hardly noticed, and mischief with respect to the air filters 11 and 12 can be suppressed.

  Further, by forming the projection 17 on the second air filter 12 provided closest to the grill 15, the projection 17 functions as a positioning unit, and the inside of the third air filter 13 due to poor attachment. Intrusion of dust and foreign matter can be prevented, and the reliability of the hand dryer 20 can be improved. In other words, regardless of the number of air filters provided in the hand dryer, the same effect can be obtained by forming the protrusion on the air filter provided closest to the grill 15.

  As described above, the hand dryer according to the present invention is useful for a hand dryer installed in a place used by an unspecified number of persons.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Main body box 2 High pressure airflow generator 3 Manual insertion part 4 Base 5 Front panel 6 Water receiving part 7 Drain container 8 Drain container lid 9 Suction port 10 Outside air intake 11 First air filter 12 Second air filter 13 Third air filter 14 Fixed portion 15 Grill 16 Flange portion 17 Protrusion portion 20 Hand dryer 21 Air ventilation path

Claims (9)

A body formed with a hand insertion part into which a hand can be inserted and removed;
A high-pressure airflow generator for generating a high-pressure airflow;
A nozzle for ejecting the high-pressure airflow generated by the high-pressure airflow generator toward the manual insertion portion;
A first air filter which is provided in an air ventilation path to the high-pressure airflow generator and prevents intrusion of dust and foreign matter;
A second air filter provided upstream of the first air filter and finer than the first air filter;
The hand dryer according to claim 1, wherein the second air filter is detachable, and the first air filter is difficult to remove.   The hand dryer according to claim 1, wherein the first air filter is difficult to remove by screw fixing.   The hand dryer according to claim 1, further comprising a third air filter that is provided upstream of the second air filter and coarser than the second air filter. The main body is formed with an outside air inlet that is an inlet of outside air to the air ventilation path,
The hand dryer according to any one of claims 1 to 3, further comprising a grill provided at the outside air intake and covering the second air filter or the third air filter. .   The second air filter or the third air filter is formed with a positioning portion that contacts the grill to position the second air filter or the third air filter. The hand dryer according to claim 4. A body formed with a hand insertion part into which a hand can be inserted and removed;
A high-pressure airflow generator for generating a high-pressure airflow;
A nozzle for ejecting the high-pressure airflow generated by the high-pressure airflow generator toward the manual insertion portion;
First air that is provided in an air ventilation path of a ventilation unit provided in a unit separate from the main body and connected to the air ventilation path of the main body connected to the high-pressure airflow generator. Filters,
A second air filter provided upstream of the first air filter and finer than the first air filter;
The hand dryer according to claim 1, wherein the second air filter is detachable, and the first air filter is difficult to remove.   The hand dryer according to claim 1, further comprising a third air filter that is provided upstream of the second air filter and coarser than the second air filter. The ventilation unit is formed with an outside air inlet that is an inlet of outside air to the air ventilation path.
The hand dryer according to claim 6 or 7, further comprising a grill provided at the outside air inlet and covering the second air filter or the third air filter.   The second air filter or the third air filter is formed with a positioning portion that contacts the grill to position the second air filter or the third air filter. The hand dryer according to claim 8.

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