JP7525108B2 - Clothes Processing Equipment - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a clothes treatment device that performs processes such as drying on clothes.

Conventionally, there is known a clothing treatment device that can hang clothing in a storage section and dry the clothing with hot air. An example of such a clothing treatment device is described in, for example, Patent Document 1.

JP 2018-057413 A

In the above-mentioned clothing treatment device, moisture is removed from the clothing inside the storage section, and the warm air with increased humidity is discharged to the outside of the clothing treatment device, which makes it easy for the humidity around the clothing treatment device to increase.

Therefore, the present invention aims to provide a clothing treatment device that can prevent the surrounding humidity from increasing due to exhaust air when drying clothing.

A clothing processing device according to a main aspect of the present invention includes a storage chamber arranged in a housing and storing clothing, a hot air supply unit supplying hot air into the storage chamber, a steam supply unit supplying steam into the storage chamber, an ozone supply unit supplying air containing ozone into the storage chamber, a dehumidification unit dehumidifying the air in the storage chamber, an exhaust port for discharging the air in the storage chamber, an exhaust duct for directing the air discharged from the exhaust port to the outside of the housing, an air mixing unit taking in air outside the housing and mixing it with the air flowing through the exhaust duct, a first opening/closing unit provided in the exhaust duct for opening and closing the exhaust duct, an ozone removal filter for removing ozone contained in the air flowing through the exhaust duct, and a control unit for controlling the hot air supply unit, the steam supply unit, the ozone supply unit , the air mixing unit, and the first opening/closing unit. The control unit operates the steam supply unit to perform a steam process of supplying steam into the storage chamber while the exhaust duct is closed by the first opening/closing unit. The ozone removal filter is provided in the exhaust duct downstream of the first opening/closing unit.

According to the above configuration, when hot air is supplied from the hot air supply unit into the storage chamber to dry the clothes, the dehumidification unit is operated to dehumidify the air in the storage chamber that contains moisture removed from the clothes. This reduces the amount of moisture discharged from the clothes treatment device to the outside, making it less likely that the humidity around the clothes treatment device will become high.

In addition, when drying clothes, the air mixer can be operated to mix the air flowing through the exhaust duct with air from outside the housing to reduce the relative humidity, and then the air can be discharged to the outside of the housing. This makes it less likely that humid air will have an impact on the area around the clothes treatment device, such as causing condensation on the walls of the room around the clothes treatment device.
Furthermore, by supplying steam into the storage chamber, wrinkles in the clothes can be removed. Moreover, at this time, the exhaust duct is closed by the first opening and closing part, so that leakage of steam to the outside of the machine can be suppressed. This makes it easier for the storage chamber to be filled with steam, improving the effect of removing wrinkles in the clothes, and suppressing an increase in humidity around the clothing processing device.
Furthermore, since the ozone removal filter is provided downstream of the first opening/closing portion in the exhaust duct, the ozone removal filter is prevented from coming into contact with steam and becoming excessively wet.

The clothing processing device according to this aspect may further include a first air intake passage through which air outside the housing is taken in and a second air intake passage through which air inside the storage chamber is taken in. In this case, the control unit executes a circulation drying process in which, when the exhaust duct is closed by the first opening/closing unit, the hot air supply unit generates hot air from the air inside the storage chamber taken in the second air intake passage and supplies it into the storage chamber, and the dehumidification unit dehumidifies the air inside the storage chamber , and after the circulation drying process, when the exhaust duct is opened by the first opening/closing unit, the hot air supply unit generates hot air from the air outside the housing taken in the first air intake passage and supplies it into the storage chamber, and the air mixing unit supplies air outside the housing into the exhaust duct .
In addition, after executing the steam process, the control unit can sequentially execute the circulation drying process and the exhaust drying process.

With the above configuration, the exhaust duct can be closed and the warm air that has come into contact with the clothes, i.e., the air, can be circulated between the storage chamber and the warm air supply section while the air is dehumidified by the dehumidification section, performing circulatory drying. This allows the clothes to be dried while minimizing the amount of moist air discharged outside the housing.

In addition, the exhaust duct can be opened to perform exhaust drying, in which the warm air that has come into contact with the clothes, i.e., the air, is actively expelled from the storage chamber. At this time, the air expelled from the storage chamber can be expelled to the outside of the housing after the relative humidity is reduced by the air mixing section. This replaces the air in the storage chamber, making it easier for low-humidity air to come into contact with the clothes, making it easier for the clothes to dry, and reducing the impact of high-humidity air on the surroundings of the clothes processing device.

In the above configuration, a second opening/closing unit that opens and closes the first intake passage may be further provided. In this case, when the exhaust duct is closed by the first opening/closing unit and the first intake passage is closed by the second opening/closing unit, the ozone supply unit generates ozone from the air in the storage chamber that is taken into the second intake passage, and supplies the air containing the ozone into the storage chamber.

With this configuration, it is possible to perform a circulation-type deodorizing operation in which ozone-containing air is circulated between the storage chamber and the ozone supply unit while ozone is generated by the ozone supply unit. This allows high-concentration ozone to act on the clothes in the storage chamber, so a high deodorizing effect can be expected. In addition, since the exhaust duct and the first intake passage are closed, high-concentration ozone can be prevented from leaking outside the housing.

In the clothing processing device of this aspect, the air mixing section supplies air taken in from outside the housing downstream of the ozone removal filter in the exhaust duct.

With this configuration, the air from which ozone has been removed by the ozone removal filter can be discharged to the outside of the clothing processing device. Moreover, since the air from the storage chamber, whose flow rate has been reduced by passing through the ozone removal filter , can be mixed with the air from the outside of the housing, the air from the storage chamber can be more easily mixed with the outside air, and the relative humidity of the air discharged to the outside can be easily reduced.

The present invention provides a clothing treatment device that can prevent the surrounding humidity from increasing due to exhaust air when drying clothing.

The effects and significance of the present invention will become clearer from the description of the embodiments shown below. However, the following embodiment is merely an example of how the present invention can be put into practice, and the present invention is in no way limited to the embodiments described below.

FIG. 1(a) is a front view of a clothing treatment device according to an embodiment, and FIG. 1(b) is a right side view of the clothing treatment device according to an embodiment. FIG. 2 is a front cross-sectional view of a garment treatment device taken at the location of a first supply unit according to an embodiment. FIG. 3 is a front cross-sectional view of a clothing treatment device taken at the location of a second supply unit according to an embodiment. 4(a) and (b) are plan cross-sectional views of a clothing treatment device according to an embodiment with the cover removed and attached, respectively. FIG. 5 is a side cross-sectional view of a main part of a clothing processing device according to an embodiment, taken at the position of an intake duct of a first supply unit. Figure 6(a) is a plan cross-sectional view of the right side of a clothing treatment device cut at the position of the exhaust unit according to the embodiment, and Figure 6(b) is a side cross-sectional view of the upper part of a clothing treatment device cut at the position of the exhaust unit according to the embodiment. Figure 7(a) is a front cross-sectional view of the main parts of a clothing processing device cut at the front position of the air circulation unit in the embodiment, and Figure 7(b) is a front view of the air circulation unit in the embodiment with the cover removed. FIG. 8 is a side cross-sectional view of a main part of a clothing processing device according to an embodiment. Figure 9(a) is a rear view of a dehumidifying unit arranged on the rear surface of the storage chamber in accordance with an embodiment, and Figure 9(b) is a plan cross-sectional view of the main parts of a clothing processing device taken at line A-A' in Figure 9(a) in accordance with an embodiment. FIG. 10 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a clothing processing device according to an embodiment. FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing the operation control of the clothing processing device according to the embodiment.

The following describes an embodiment of the present invention with reference to the drawings.

1(a) is a front view of the clothing processing device 1, and FIG. 1(b) is a right side view of the clothing processing device 1. FIG. 2 is a front cross-sectional view of the clothing processing device 1 cut at the position of the first supply unit 300. In FIG. 2, the second supply unit 400 and the air circulation unit 700 are omitted. FIG. 3 is a front cross-sectional view of the clothing processing device 1 cut at the position of the second supply unit 400. In FIG. 3, the air circulation unit 700 is omitted. FIGS. 4(a) and (b) are plan cross-sectional views of the clothing processing device 1 with the cover 240 removed and attached, respectively. In FIGS. 4(a) and (b), the air circulation unit 700 and the dehumidification unit 800 are omitted. FIG. 5 is a side cross-sectional view of the main parts of the clothing processing device 1 cut at the position of the intake duct 350 of the first supply unit 300. In FIG. 2, the flow of air containing ozone and warm air is indicated by solid arrows. In addition, in Fig. 3, the flow of steam is indicated by solid arrows, and the flow of condensed water is indicated by dashed arrows. Furthermore, in Fig. 5, the flow of air from outside the clothing processing device 1 is indicated by solid arrows, and the flow of air from inside the storage chamber 200 is indicated by dashed arrows. Furthermore, in Fig. 3, for convenience, the hanger stand 260, which is located in front of the cut surface, is drawn with a dashed line.

The clothing processing device 1 includes a housing 100 having a vertically long rectangular parallelepiped shape. The outer bottom surface of the housing 100 has legs 110 at the four corners. Inside the housing 100, a storage chamber 200 is arranged in which various types of clothing such as suits and coats are stored in a hanging state. The storage chamber 200 has a vertically long rectangular parallelepiped shape. Inside the housing 100, below the storage chamber 200, a first supply unit 300 capable of supplying hot air and ozone to the storage chamber 200 and a second supply unit 400 capable of supplying steam to the storage chamber 200 are arranged. The first supply unit 300 corresponds to the hot air supply section and ozone supply section of the present invention, and the second supply unit 400 corresponds to the steam supply section of the present invention.

The front of the storage chamber 200 opens as a clothing insertion port 201. The front of the housing 100 opens in a portion corresponding to the insertion port 201. A door 500 is provided on the front of the housing 100. The door 500 has approximately the same size as the front of the housing 100. The insertion port 201 is covered by the door 500. The right end of the door 500 is connected to the housing 100 by a hinge portion (not shown), and the door 500 can be opened forward using the hinge portion as a fulcrum.

The first supply port 210 and the second supply port 220 are provided adjacent to each other in the center of the bottom surface of the storage chamber 200. The first supply port 210 and the second supply port 220 have a nearly semicircular cylindrical shape with straight portions on both sides. The arc-shaped portion 211 of the first supply port 210 and the arc-shaped portion 221 of the second supply port 220 are curved in opposite directions when viewed from above. As a result, the combined shape of the first supply port 210 and the second supply port 220 is close to a circle as shown by the dashed line in Figure 4 (a). A small gap is provided between the first supply port 210 and the second supply port 220, and a mounting boss 230 having a mounting hole 231 is provided in this gap.

A cover 240 is disposed above the first supply port 210 and the second supply port 220 so as to cover them. The cover 240 includes a disk-shaped top surface portion 241 and a peripheral surface portion 242 extending diagonally downward from the periphery of the top surface portion 241. The top surface portion 241 is larger than the combined size of the first supply port 210 and the second supply port 220. A shaft 243 protruding downward is formed in the center of the back surface of the top surface portion 241. The shaft 243 is attached to the mounting hole 231 of the mounting boss 230 so that a predetermined gap is formed between the top surface portion 241 of the cover 240 and the first supply port 210 and the second supply port 220. A plurality of discharge holes 244 are formed around the entire circumference of the peripheral surface portion 242 of the cover 240. The discharge hole 244 has a rectangular shape that is long in the radial direction of the cover 240, and is located around the first supply port 210 and the second supply port 220, i.e., outside the projected area of the first supply port 210 and the second supply port 220 on the cover 240. This makes it difficult for dust and foreign matter that has fallen from the clothes to enter the first supply port 210 or the second supply port 220 through the discharge hole 244. A predetermined gap is provided between the outer periphery of the cover 240 and the bottom surface of the storage chamber 200.

The storage chamber 200 has a bottom air intake 250 consisting of multiple holes at the front right part of the bottom surface.

A hanger stand 260 is provided in the center of the top surface of the storage chamber 200 in the front-to-rear direction. The hanger stand 260 includes a round rod-shaped pole 261 extending in the left-to-right direction, and a support plate 262 that supports the left and right ends of the pole 261 from the top surface of the storage chamber 200. A hanger on which a garment is hung is hung on the pole 261 of the hanger stand 260. In this way, the garment is held in a state suspended from the top surface of the storage chamber 200 by the pole 261 of the hanger stand 260. As shown in Figures 2 and 3, multiple garments can be hung side by side on the pole 261 so that the front-to-back directions of the garments are in the direction in which the pole 261 extends.

Referring to Figures 2 and 5, the first supply unit 300 includes a first supply duct 310, an ozone generator 320, a heater 330, a blower fan 340, and an intake duct 350.

The first supply duct 310 has an inlet 311 connected to the outlet 342 of the blower fan 340, and an outlet 312 connected to the inlet of the first supply port 210. The ozone generator 320 is disposed near the inlet 311 in the first supply duct 310. The first supply duct 310 extends leftward from the inlet 311, curves back to the right after passing the position of the ozone generator 320, and then extends upward to reach the first supply port 210.

The ozone generator 320 is a discharge type ozone generator that generates a discharge such as a corona discharge or a silent discharge between a pair of electrodes to generate ozone from the air passed between the pair of electrodes. The heater 330 is disposed in the first supply duct 310 closer to the first supply port 210 than the ozone generator 320, and heats the air flowing in the first supply duct 310. For example, a PTC heater can be used as the heater 330.

The blower fan 340 is a centrifugal fan with an intake port 341 on the side and an exhaust port 342 on the periphery. The blower fan 340 takes in air from the intake port 341 and sends the taken in air to the ozone generator 320 in the first supply duct 310. A fan other than a centrifugal fan, for example an axial fan, may be used as the blower fan 340.

A front air intake 101 is formed on the front of the housing 100 at a position opposite the intake port 341 of the blower fan 340. A dust filter 120 is provided in the front air intake 101 to remove dust and other particles contained in the air taken in through the front air intake 101.

The door 500 has multiple air vents 501 formed on the rear surface at positions corresponding to the front air intake 101 of the housing 100, and an air intake 502 formed on the bottom surface. Inside the door 500, the intake 502 and the multiple air vents 501 are in communication.

An intake duct 350 is provided between the front intake port 101 and the bottom intake port 250 and the suction port 341. The intake duct 350 is composed of a first duct 351 connected to the front intake port 101, a second duct 352 connected to the bottom intake port 250, and a third duct 353 connecting the first duct 351 and the second duct 352 to the suction port 341. The first duct 351 corresponds to the first intake path of the present invention, and the second duct 352 corresponds to the second intake path of the present invention.

An intake damper 360 is provided in the third duct 353 of the intake duct 350. The intake damper 360 includes an opening/closing plate 361 and a damper motor 362 that rotates the opening/closing plate 361. The intake damper 360 corresponds to the second opening/closing section of the present invention.

The opening/closing plate 361 switches between a first blocking position that blocks the outlet 352a of the second duct 352 and a second blocking position that blocks the outlet 351a of the first duct 351. When the opening/closing plate 361 is switched to the first blocking position, the air outside the clothing processing device 1 can be drawn in through the front air intake 101, and the second duct 352 is closed. On the other hand, when the opening/closing plate 361 is switched to the second blocking position, the air inside the storage chamber 200 can be drawn in through the bottom air intake 250, and the first duct 351 is closed. Hereinafter, the outside of the clothing processing device 1 will be referred to as the outside of the machine.

Referring to FIG. 3, the second supply unit 400 includes a second supply duct 410, a steam generating device 420, and a drainage device 430. The second supply duct 410 has a shape with a lower portion bulging to the right. The second supply duct 410 has an outlet 411 at its upper end, which is connected to the inlet of the second supply port 220. The second supply duct 410 also has an inlet 412 on the right side of its lower portion. Furthermore, the second supply duct 410 has a water storage section 413 below the inlet 412, with its bottom lower than the position of the inlet 412. The bottom surface of the water storage section 413 has an outlet 414.

The steam generating device 420 includes a water supply tank 440, a water supply tank 450, a pump module 460, and a steam generator 470. The water supply tank 440 stores water to be supplied to the steam generator 470. The water supply tank 440 is removably installed in a water supply tank installation section (not shown) within the housing 100. When the water supply tank 440 is installed in the water supply tank installation section, its supply port 441 is connected from above to an inlet 451 of the water supply tank 450. An opening/closing valve 442 is provided in the supply port 441, and when the supply port 441 is connected to the inlet 451, the opening/closing valve 442 opens and water is supplied from the water supply tank 440 to the water supply tank 450, and the entire water supply tank 450 is filled with water.

The pump module 460 includes a pump 461, a connection hose 462, and a water supply hose 463. The suction port of the pump 461 is connected to the outlet 452 of the water supply tank 450 by the connection hose 462. The water supply hose 463 is connected to the discharge port of the pump 461. The pump 461 sucks in water from the water supply tank 450 through the connection hose 462 and sends it to the steam generator 470 through the water supply hose 463.

The steam generator 470 includes a main body 471 and a heater 472, and is attached to the inlet 412 of the second supply duct 410 via a heat insulating member (not shown). The main body 471 is formed of a metal material such as aluminum die casting, and has a steam generation chamber 473 inside. The main body 471 also has a water supply port 474 to which the water supply hose 463 is connected above the steam generation chamber 473, and a discharge port 475 connected to the inside of the second supply duct 410 to the right of the steam generation chamber 473. The heater 472 is embedded in the main body 471.

The main body 471 is heated to a high temperature by the heater 472. Water delivered by the pump 461 drips onto the bottom surface of the steam generation chamber 473 and evaporates, generating high-temperature steam. The generated steam is released into the second supply duct 410 through the release port 475.

The drainage device 430 includes a drainage tank 480 and a drainage hose 490. The drainage hose 490 has a connection port 491 at its upper end that is connected to the exhaust port 414 of the second supply duct 410. A resistance plate 492 is disposed at the connection port 491 so as to block the exhaust port 414. The resistance plate 492 is, for example, a fine mesh metal plate, and is intended to prevent ozone supplied into the storage chamber 200 during deodorization and sterilization operation from leaking into the inside of the housing 100 through the drainage hose 490.

The drain tank 480 is a container for collecting condensation water generated in the second supply duct 410. The drain tank 480 is detachably installed in a drain tank installation section (not shown) within the housing 100. When the drain tank 480 is installed in the drain tank installation section, its inlet 481 is positioned directly below the lower end of the drain hose 490.

On the front side of the housing 100, an entrance 102 for the water supply tank 440 and the drainage tank 480 installed in the housing 100 is provided in front of the tanks 440, 480. The entrance 102 is covered with an openable lid 103 (see FIG. 1). A user can insert or remove the water supply tank 440 and the drainage tank 480 into or from the housing 100 by opening the door 500 and the lid 103.

Referring to FIG. 1, an exhaust port 202 is formed on the top surface of the storage chamber 200 at a position on the left side and slightly forward of the center. An exhaust cover 270 is detachably attached to the exhaust port 202. The exhaust cover 270 is provided with a plurality of exhaust windows 271. A lint filter 272 that removes lint and the like contained in the air is also disposed inside the exhaust cover 270.

Between the top surface of the storage chamber 200 and the top surface of the housing 100, an exhaust unit 600 is provided at the position of the exhaust port 202 to exhaust the air inside the storage chamber 200 to the outside of the machine.

Figure 6(a) is a plan cross-sectional view of the right side of the clothing treatment device 1 cut at the position of the exhaust unit 600, and Figure 6(b) is a side cross-sectional view of the upper part of the clothing treatment device 1 cut at the position of the exhaust unit 600. Note that the dehumidification unit 800 is omitted from Figure 6(a).

The exhaust unit 600 includes an exhaust duct 610, an exhaust damper 620, and an ozone removal filter 630. The exhaust duct 610 extends rearward from the exhaust port 202. An exhaust port 104 consisting of multiple holes is formed on the rear surface of the housing 100, and the exhaust duct 610 is connected to this exhaust port 104. The left side of the top surface of the storage chamber 200 extends to the rear surface of the housing 100 and forms the underside of the exhaust duct 610. The exhaust duct 610 guides the air exhausted from the exhaust port 202 to the outside of the machine.

The exhaust damper 620 is provided in the exhaust duct 610 and opens and closes the exhaust duct 610. The exhaust damper 620 includes an opening/closing plate 621 and a damper motor 622 that rotates the opening/closing plate 621. In the middle of the exhaust duct 610, a communication port 611 that connects the front duct and the rear duct is formed by narrowing the vertical width of the duct. The opening/closing plate 621 can be switched between a closing position that closes the communication port 611 and an opening position that opens the communication port 611. The exhaust duct 610 is closed by closing the communication port 611 with the opening/closing plate 621, and the exhaust duct 610 is opened by opening the communication port 611. The exhaust damper 620 corresponds to the first opening/closing part of the present invention.

The ozone removal filter 630 is disposed in the exhaust duct 610 behind the exhaust damper 620, i.e., downstream of the air flow. The ozone removal filter 630 may be an activated carbon/catalyst filter that adsorbs and decomposes ozone. The ozone removal filter 630 removes ozone contained in the air flowing through the exhaust duct 610. The ozone removal filter 630 corresponds to the ozone removal section of the present invention.

7(a) is a front cross-sectional view of the main parts of the clothing processing device 1 cut at the front position of the air circulation unit 700, and FIG. 7(b) is a front view of the air circulation unit 700 with the cover 712b removed. FIG. 8 is a side cross-sectional view of the main parts of the clothing processing device 1. FIG. 9(a) is a rear view of the dehumidification unit 800 arranged at the rear of the storage chamber 200, and FIG. 9(b) is a plan cross-sectional view of the main parts of the clothing processing device 1 cut at the position of the line A-A' in FIG. 9(a). In FIG. 7(a) and FIG. 8, the flow of air blown out from the air circulation unit 700 is shown by solid arrows, dashed arrows, and dashed arrows. In FIG. 9(b), the flow of cooling air is shown by solid arrows. In addition, in FIG. 7(a), for convenience, the hanger stand 260, which is in front of the cut surface, is drawn by dashed lines.

An air circulation unit 700 is disposed inside the storage chamber 200, at the bottom near the rear of the storage chamber 200. The air circulation unit 700 draws in air from within the storage chamber 200 and blows it out into the storage chamber 200, directing the blown air toward the hanging clothes.

The air circulation unit 700 includes a circulation fan 710 and a louver mechanism 720.

The circulation fan 710 is a cross-flow fan, and includes a fan 711, a casing 712, and a fan motor 713. The fan 711 has a cylindrically arranged runner 711a, and the axial dimension is significantly larger than the radial dimension. The fan 711 is provided with a fan shaft 714 at its center. Both ends of the fan shaft 714 protrude from both end faces of the fan 711.

The fan 711 is housed in a casing 712, and both ends of the fan shaft 714 are rotatably supported on both sides of the casing 712. The casing 712 is composed of a main body 712a with an open front and a cover 712b that covers the front of the main body 712a. The casing 712 has an intake port 715 that opens forward on the front side of the fan 711, i.e., on the front side of the cover 712b, and an exhaust port 716 that opens upward on the rear side of the fan 711. The intake port 715 opens in a direction along the bottom surface of the storage chamber 200, and its lower end is slightly higher than the bottom surface of the storage chamber 200. The intake port 715 has a plurality of bars 715a running in a lattice pattern. The axial dimensions of the intake port 715 and the exhaust port 716 are approximately the same as the dimensions of the fan 711. That is, the suction port 715 and the discharge port 716 have a long shape in the axial direction.

A filter 717 is disposed inside the casing 712 between the suction port 715 and the fan 711. The filter 717 collects dust sucked in from the suction port 715 along with the air.

The right end of the fan shaft 714 penetrates the right side surface of the casing 712 and then penetrates the right side surface of the storage chamber 200. The right side surface of the storage chamber 200 is recessed inward in a portion corresponding to the air circulation unit 700, and the fan motor 713 is attached to the outside of that portion. The fan shaft 714 that penetrates the right side surface of the storage chamber 200 is connected to the rotor (not shown) of the fan motor 713.

The fan motor 713 drives the fan 711 to rotate via the fan shaft 714. When the fan 711 rotates, air is sucked in through the intake port 715, and the sucked air is sent by the fan 711 and blown out through the exhaust port 716.

The louver mechanism 720 includes a louver 721 and a louver motor 722.

The louvers 721 have a rectangular shape that is long in the axial direction of the circulation fan 710, and are slightly larger than the discharge port 716 of the circulation fan 710. Eaves 723 are provided at both left and right ends of the louvers 721, and louver shafts 724 are provided at the lower ends of the eave parts 723. The circulation fan 710 is provided with support parts 718 at the rear upper ends of both sides of the casing 712. The louver shafts 724 on both sides of the louvers 721 are rotatably supported by the support parts 718 on both sides of the casing 712. As a result, the louvers 721 are positioned above the discharge port 716 and can swing up and down.

The right end of the louver shaft 724 passes through the right support portion 718 and then through the right side surface of the storage chamber 200. A louver motor 722 is attached above the fan motor 713 on the outside of the right side surface of the storage chamber 200. The louver shaft 724 that passes through the right side surface of the storage chamber 200 is connected to a rotor (not shown) of the louver motor 722.

The louver motor 722 rotates forward and backward by a predetermined rotation angle, causing the louver 721 to swing via the louver shaft 724. Air blown upward from the outlet 716 of the circulation fan 710 comes into contact with the louver 721 and is deflected. The deflection angle of the air changes according to the angle of the swinging louver 721, and the direction in which the air, i.e., the wind, flows changes.

The fan shaft 714 of the circulation fan 710 is the rotation shaft when the fan 711 rotates, and the louver shaft 724 of the louver mechanism 720 is the swing shaft when the louver 721 swings. As shown in FIG. 8, the circulation fan 710, i.e., the air circulation unit 700, is disposed at the bottom of the storage room 200 so that the axial direction of the rotation shaft of the fan 711 and the swing shaft of the louver 721 is parallel or nearly parallel to the left-right direction, i.e., the front-to-back direction of the clothes hung by the pole 261 of the hanger stand 260. In other words, the pole 261 of the hanger stand 260 holds the clothes at the top of the storage room 200 so that the front-to-back direction of the clothes hung on the pole 261 is parallel or nearly parallel to the axial direction of the rotation shaft of the fan 711 of the air circulation unit 700 and the swing shaft of the louver 721. At this time, in the circulation fan 710, the center of the rotation shaft of the fan 711 in the axial direction approximately coincides with the center of the pole 261.

A dehumidification unit 800 for dehumidifying the air in the storage chamber 200 is disposed between the rear surface of the storage chamber 200 and the rear surface of the housing 100.

The dehumidifying unit 800 includes a circulation air duct 810 that circulates air between the storage room 200, a heat exchanger 820 provided in the circulation air duct 810, a cooling fan 830 that sends cooling air to the heat exchanger 820, and a cooling duct 840 through which the cooling air sent to the heat exchanger 820 flows. The dehumidifying unit 800 corresponds to the dehumidifying section of the present invention.

The circulation air passage 810 is composed of an inlet duct 811, an outlet duct 812, and a heat exchanger 820 arranged between these ducts 811 and 812. That is, the heat exchanger 820 constitutes a part of the circulation air passage 810. At the rear surface of the storage room 200, an air inlet 203 to the circulation air passage 810 is formed at a position above the right end portion of the air circulation unit 700, and an air outlet 204 from the circulation air passage 810 is formed at a position above the inlet 203. The introduction duct 811 is connected to the inlet 203, extends rearward from the introduction port 203, then bends and extends upward. The outlet duct 812 is connected to the outlet 204, extends rearward from the outlet 204, then bends and extends downward. A drain port 813 is formed on the lower surface of the introduction duct 811. A drain hose 814 is connected to the drain port 813. The drain hose 814 is connected to the water storage section 413 of the second supply duct 410.

The heat exchanger 820 includes a plurality of heat transfer tubes 821 arranged in the left-right direction at a predetermined interval. Each heat transfer tube 821 is flat in the left-right direction and extends in the up-down direction. In the heat exchanger 820, a lower connection plate 822 and an upper connection plate 823 are formed at the lower and upper ends of the plurality of heat transfer tubes 821, respectively. The lower connection plate 822 and the upper connection plate 823 are formed with connection ports 824 and 825 having openings 824a and 825a that connect to each heat transfer tube 821, respectively, and the inlet duct 811 and the outlet duct 812 are connected to these connection ports 824 and 825, respectively. In addition, in the heat exchanger 820, a left side plate 826 and a right side plate 827 that cover the left and right sides of the plurality of heat transfer tubes 821, respectively, are formed between the lower connection plate 822 and the upper connection plate 823. The lower connecting plate 822, the upper connecting plate 823, the left side plate 826, and the right side plate 827 surround the multiple heat transfer tubes 821, forming a cooling air passage 828 that houses the multiple heat transfer tubes 821.

The cooling fan 830 is a centrifugal fan, and includes a fan 832 and a motor 833 that rotates the fan 832 inside a casing 831. The casing 831 has an intake port 834 on the side and an exhaust port 835 on the periphery. A fan other than a centrifugal fan, for example an axial fan, may be used as the cooling fan 830.

One end of the cooling duct 840 has a shape corresponding to the outlet 835 of the cooling fan 830 and is connected to the outlet 835, and the other end has a shape corresponding to the inlet of the cooling air duct 828 of the heat exchanger 820 and is connected to the inlet of the cooling air duct 828.

The rear surface of the housing 100 is provided with an intake port 105 and an exhaust port 106, each of which is made up of a number of holes. The intake port 834 of the cooling fan 830 is connected to the intake port 105, and the outlet of the cooling air passage 828 of the heat exchanger 820 is connected to the exhaust port 106.

In the dehumidification unit 800, the inlet duct 811, outlet duct 812, and cooling duct 840 are made of a resin material, and the heat exchanger 820 is also made of a resin material. By making the heat exchanger 820 from a resin material in this way, the weight of the dehumidification unit 800 can be reduced.

A hood 280 is provided on the rear side of the storage chamber 200 to cover the front of the inlet 203. The hood 280 has an intake port 281 that opens downward, i.e., toward the air circulation unit 700, and receives a portion of the air blown out by the air circulation unit 700 and guides it through the inlet 203 to the circulation air duct 810.

An air mixing unit 850 is provided adjacent to the exhaust duct 610 between the top surface of the storage chamber 200 and the top surface of the housing 100. The air mixing unit 850 takes in air from outside the housing 100, i.e., outside the machine, and mixes it with the air flowing through the exhaust duct 610. The air mixing unit 850 corresponds to the air mixing section of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 6(a), the air mixing unit 850 includes a mixing fan 860 and an inlet duct 870. The mixing fan 860 is a centrifugal fan, and includes a fan 862 and a motor 863 for rotating the fan 862 inside a casing 861. The casing 861 has an intake port 864 on the side and an exhaust port 865 on the circumferential surface. A fan other than a centrifugal fan, for example, an axial fan, may be used as the mixing fan 860.

The exhaust duct 610 has an inlet 612 formed at a position downstream of the air flow from the ozone removal filter 630. One end of the inlet duct 870 is connected to the inlet 612, and the other end is connected to the outlet 865 of the mixing fan 860.

An intake port 107 consisting of multiple holes is provided on the rear surface of the housing 100. The suction port 864 of the mixing fan 860 is connected to the intake port 107. The intake port 107 can be separated from the exhaust port 104 by a distance that prevents the intake port 107 from sucking in the air discharged from the exhaust port 104 immediately after it is discharged.

Figure 10 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the clothing processing device 1.

In addition to the above configuration, the clothing processing device 1 also includes an operation unit 901 and a control unit 902.

The operation unit 901 includes operation buttons such as a selection button for selecting an operation course and a start button for starting operation, and outputs an operation signal to the control unit 902 according to the operation button operated by the user.

The control unit 902 includes a microcomputer, various driver circuits, etc., and controls the ozone generator 320, heater 330, blower fan 340 and intake damper 360 of the first supply unit 300, the pump 461 and heater 472 of the second supply unit 400, the exhaust damper 620 of the exhaust unit 600, the fan motor 713 and louver motor 722 of the air circulation unit 700, the cooling fan 830 of the dehumidification unit 800, the mixing fan 860 of the air mixing unit 850, etc.

The clothing processing device 1 of this embodiment can perform a deodorizing and sterilizing operation to deodorize and sterilize clothing, a drying operation to dry clothing, and a wrinkle removal operation to remove wrinkles from clothing.

Figure 11 is a flowchart showing the operation control of the clothing processing device 1.

When an operation to start an operation is performed, the control unit 902 determines which operation has been selected among the deodorizing/disinfecting operation, the drying operation, and the wrinkle removal operation (S1).

When the deodorizing/sterilizing operation is selected (S1: deodorizing/sterilizing), the deodorizing/sterilizing operation is started, and the control unit 902 executes the deodorizing/sterilizing process (S2). In the deodorizing/sterilizing process, the control unit 902 operates the blower fan 340 and the ozone generator 320 in the first supply unit 300. Before the operation starts, that is, when the clothing processing device 1 is in a stopped state, the opening/closing plate 361 of the intake damper 360 is in the first closed position, and the opening/closing plate 621 of the exhaust damper 620 is in the open position. The control unit 902 does not operate the intake damper 360 and the exhaust damper 620, and maintains the state in which the opening/closing plate 361 is in the first closed position and the opening/closing plate 621 is in the open position.

As shown by the solid arrow in FIG. 5, the operation of the blower fan 340 draws air from outside the aircraft into the intake duct 350 through the front intake port 101 and sends it into the first supply duct 310.

2, air flowing through the first supply duct 310 passes through the ozone generator 320, and ozone generated by the ozone generator 320 is mixed into the air. Thus, the air containing ozone passes through the first supply duct 310 to the first supply port 210, and is discharged from the first supply port 210 into the storage chamber 200. The discharged air containing ozone hits the cover 240 and spreads around, a portion of which is discharged from the multiple discharge holes 244, and the remainder is discharged from between the cover 240 and the bottom surface of the storage chamber 200. Thus, the air containing ozone is diffused by the cover 240 toward the clothes above, and is widely applied to the clothes. The deodorizing and disinfecting action of ozone deodorizes and disinfects the clothes.

As shown by the dashed arrow in FIG. 6(a), the air whose ozone concentration has been reduced by deodorizing and disinfecting the clothes is exhausted into the exhaust duct 610 from the exhaust port 202 provided on the ceiling of the storage chamber 200, flows through the exhaust duct 610, and is exhausted outside the machine from the exhaust port 104. The air flowing through the exhaust duct 610 passes through the ozone removal filter 630. This removes the ozone from the air, and the air with the ozone concentration reduced to the appropriate level is exhausted outside the machine.

Furthermore, in the deodorization and sterilization process, the control unit 902 drives the fan motor 713 in the air circulation unit 700 to operate the circulation fan 710, and drives the louver motor 722 to swing the louver 721 up and down. At this time, the louver 721 may swing continuously, or may be stopped for a predetermined time after swinging back and forth once or several times.

As shown in FIG. 7(a), air containing ozone in the storage chamber 200 is taken into the casing 712 through the suction port 715 and blown out as ozone wind from the discharge port 716. The blown out ozone wind is deflected by the louvers 721 toward the clothes. At this time, the deflection angle of the ozone wind changes due to the swinging of the louvers 721, so that the ozone wind comes into contact with the clothes from various directions. This improves the contact efficiency of the ozone wind with the clothes, making it easier to deodorize and disinfect the clothes. In addition, the clothes are pushed by the ozone wind from various directions, causing the hanging clothes to swing. This allows ozone to reach parts that are difficult to reach when the clothes are stationary, such as between the sleeves and the torso of the clothes. In addition, dust attached to the clothes is easier to remove.

Furthermore, the clothes are hung from the pole 261 of the hanger stand 260 so that their front-to-back direction is parallel to the axial direction of the swinging shaft of the louver 721 of the air circulation unit 700. Therefore, even when multiple clothes are stored in the storage chamber 200 as shown in FIG. 7(a), the ozone wind discharged from the circulation fan 710 and deflected by the louver 721 is likely to pass between the clothes and reach the upper part of the storage chamber 200. This makes it easier for the ozone wind to hit multiple clothes evenly, effectively deodorizing and disinfecting the multiple clothes.

When the specified deodorization and sterilization time has elapsed, the control unit 902 stops the operation of the ozone generator 320, the blower fan 340, the circulation fan 710, and the louvers 721, and ends the deodorization and sterilization process. In this way, the deodorization and sterilization operation ends.

Next, in step S1, when the control unit 902 determines that the drying operation has been selected (S1: drying), it starts the drying operation. First, the control unit 902 executes the circulation drying process (S3). In the circulation drying process, the control unit 902 operates the intake damper 360 to switch the opening/closing plate 361 from the first closed position to the second closed position. The control unit 902 also operates the exhaust damper 620 to switch the opening/closing plate 621 from the open position to the closed position. Next, the control unit 902 operates the blower fan 340 and the heater 330 in the first supply unit 300.

As shown by the dashed arrow in FIG. 5, the operation of the blower fan 340 draws air from the storage room 200 into the intake duct 350 through the bottom intake port 250 and sends it into the first supply duct 310.

As shown in FIG. 2, the air flowing through the first supply duct 310 is heated by the heater 330 and becomes hot air at a temperature suitable for drying (for example, about 60°C). The hot air then reaches the first supply port 210 and is discharged from the first supply port 210 into the storage chamber 200. The discharged hot air, like the air containing ozone, is diffused by the cover 240 and directed toward the clothes above, where it is widely applied to the clothes. This dries the clothes.

During the circulation drying process, the exhaust duct 610 is closed by the exhaust damper 620. Therefore, the air in the storage chamber 200 is not discharged from the exhaust port 202 and is not discharged outside the housing 100. The air circulates between the storage chamber 200 and the intake duct 350, the blower fan 340, and the first supply duct 310. As the temperature of the air taken into the first supply duct 310 gradually increases, the output of the heater 330 is reduced accordingly. This maintains the temperature of the air discharged into the storage chamber 200 at an appropriate temperature.

In the circulation drying process, the control unit 902 operates the circulation fan 710 in the air circulation unit 700 and swings the louvers 721 up and down. The control unit 902 also operates the cooling fan 830 in the dehumidification unit 800.

As shown in FIG. 7(a), air in the storage chamber 200 that has been warmed by the supply of hot air is taken into the casing 712 through the intake port 715 and blown out as hot air from the exhaust port 716. The blown out hot air is deflected by the oscillating louvers 721 so that it comes into contact with the clothes from various directions. This improves the efficiency with which the hot air comes into contact with the clothes, making it easier to dry the clothes. In addition, by shaking the clothes, the hot air can reach parts of the clothes that are difficult to reach when the clothes are stationary, and dust adhering to the clothes can be removed more easily.

Furthermore, as in the case of the deodorizing and disinfecting operation, even when multiple clothes are stored in the storage chamber 200 as shown in FIG. 7(a), the warm air discharged from the circulation fan 710 and deflected by the louvers 721 is likely to pass between the clothes and reach the upper part of the storage chamber 200. This makes it easier for the warm air to reach multiple clothes evenly, making it easier to dry the multiple clothes.

The air drawn in by the circulation fan 710 contains moisture removed from the clothes. As shown by the dashed arrow in FIG. 7(a), the air blown out from the right end of the circulation fan 710, i.e., the air circulation unit 700, is received by the hood 280 and introduced into the circulation air duct 810 through the inlet 203. The introduced air flows through the circulation air duct 810 and is discharged into the storage room 200 from the outlet 204. Also, as shown in FIG. 9(b), the operation of the cooling fan 830 draws in outside air from the intake port 105 as cooling air, sends it to the heat exchanger 820, passes through the cooling air duct 828 of the heat exchanger 820, and is then discharged outside the machine from the exhaust port 106.

As the air flowing through the circulation air duct 810 passes through the multiple heat transfer tubes 821 of the heat exchanger 820, it exchanges heat with the cooling air flowing through the cooling air duct 828, and is cooled and dehumidified. Water discharged from the air is drained through the drain outlet 813 of the inlet duct 811, and is finally stored in the drain tank 480 of the second supply unit 400.

In this way, the dehumidifying unit 800 dehumidifies the air in the storage chamber 200. This prevents the warm air from increasing in moisture before it is blown onto the clothes, facilitating the drying of the clothes.

In the circulating drying process, dehumidification is performed by the dehumidifying unit 800 as described above, but compared to the so-called exhaust type drying in which air is exhausted from the storage chamber 200 and new air is drawn into the first supply duct 310 from outside the machine and turned into warm air and supplied to the storage chamber 200, the warm air contains more moisture and is less likely to remove moisture from the clothes. As a result, the clothes hung on the hanger stand 260 are dried slowly while being shaken by the warm air, which makes it easier for wrinkles in the clothes to be removed as they dry.

After a predetermined time has passed and the clothes in the storage chamber 200 have dried to a certain extent, the control unit 902 stops the heater 330, the blower fan 340, and the cooling fan 830, and ends the circulation drying process.

Next, the control unit 902 executes the exhaust drying process (S4). In the exhaust drying process, the control unit 902 operates the intake damper 360 to switch the opening/closing plate 361 from the second closed position to the first closed position. The control unit 902 also operates the exhaust damper 620 to switch the opening/closing plate 621 from the closed position to the open position. The control unit 902 then operates the blower fan 340 and the heater 330. Note that the air circulation unit 700, i.e., the circulation fan 710 and the louvers 721, continue to operate following the circulation drying process.

As shown by the solid arrows in FIG. 5, the operation of the blower fan 340 draws outside air into the intake duct 350 from the front intake port 101 and sends it into the first supply duct 310. Warm air is generated in the first supply duct 310 by heating the heater 330 and is discharged into the storage chamber 200 from the first supply port 210. The discharged warm air and the warm air circulating inside the storage chamber 200 by the air circulation unit 700 are applied to the clothes, drying them.

As shown by the solid arrow in FIG. 6(a), the air that has absorbed moisture from the clothes in the storage chamber 200 is discharged from the exhaust port 202. The exhaust port 202 is provided on the top surface of the storage chamber 200, and allows warm air to be easily discharged. The discharged air flows through the exhaust duct 610 and passes through the ozone removal filter 630. At this time, the ozone removal filter 630 acts as a resistance, reducing the air flow speed.

In the exhaust drying process, the control unit 902 operates the air mixing unit 850, i.e., the mixing fan 860. As shown by the dashed arrow in FIG. 6(a), air from outside the machine is taken in through the intake port 107 and supplied to a position downstream of the ozone removal filter 630 in the exhaust duct 610 through the introduction duct 870. The air from outside supplied into the exhaust duct 610 is mixed with the air from the storage room 200 that has passed through the ozone removal filter 630. At this time, the air from the storage room 200 has a slow flow rate, so the air from outside the machine is easily mixed. By mixing the air from outside the machine, the relative humidity of the air from the storage room 200 decreases. As shown by the white arrow in FIG. 6(a), the air with a reduced relative humidity is discharged to the outside of the machine through the exhaust port 104.

When a predetermined time has elapsed since the start of the exhaust drying process, the control unit 902 stops the operation of the heater 330, the blower fan 340, the circulation fan 710, and the louvers 721, and ends the circulation drying process. This ends the drying operation.

In this way, in the drying operation, the circulation drying process is performed before the exhaust drying process, and in this circulation drying process, the dehumidification unit 800 dehumidifies the air in the storage chamber 200. As a result, less moisture is discharged from the clothing processing device 1 to the outside during the drying operation, so the humidity around the clothing processing device 1 is less likely to become high.

In addition, during the drying operation, the air mixing unit 850 mixes the air outside the machine with the air flowing through the exhaust duct 610 during the exhaust drying process, and the air with a reduced relative humidity is discharged outside the machine. This makes it less likely that the discharged air will cause condensation on the walls of the room surrounding the clothing processing device 1, and other adverse effects on the surroundings of the clothing processing device 1 caused by high humidity air.

In addition, during the exhaust drying process, the cooling fan 830 may be operated to dehumidify the air in the storage chamber 200 by the dehumidification unit 800. This can further reduce the amount of moisture discharged to the outside from the clothing processing device 1.

Next, in step S1, when the control unit 902 determines that the wrinkle removal operation has been selected (S1: wrinkle removal), it starts the wrinkle removal operation and executes the preparation process (S5). In the preparation process, the control unit 902 operates the heater 472 of the steam generator 470 in the second supply unit 400 while keeping the pump 461 stopped. This causes the temperature of the main body 471 of the steam generator 470 to rise.

Furthermore, in the preparation process, the control unit 902 operates the circulation fan 710 in the air circulation unit 700 and swings the louvers 721 up and down. As shown in FIG. 7(a), air in the storage chamber 200 is taken into the casing 712 through the suction port 715 and blows out as wind from the outlet port 716. The blown out wind is deflected by the swinging louvers 721 and comes into contact with the clothes from various directions, shaking the clothes. This makes it easier for dust to fall off the clothes.

When the main body 471 of the steam generator 470 becomes sufficiently hot, the control unit 902 ends the preparation process and executes the steam process (S6). In the steam process, the control unit 902 operates the exhaust damper 620 to switch the opening and closing plate 621 from the open position to the closed position. This closes the exhaust duct 610. Next, the control unit 902 operates the pump 461 while continuing to operate the heater 472. As shown in FIG. 3, high-temperature steam is generated in the steam generator 470 and is released into the second supply duct 410. The released steam rises in the second supply duct 410 to reach the second supply port 220 and is discharged from the second supply port 220 into the storage chamber 200. The discharged steam hits the cover 240 and spreads around, a part of it is discharged from the multiple discharge holes 244, and the rest is discharged from between the cover 240 and the bottom surface of the storage chamber 200. In this way, the steam is diffused by the cover 240 and directed toward the clothes above, where it is applied widely to the clothes. The moisture and heat contained in the steam removes wrinkles from the clothes.

When steam flows through the second supply duct 410, some of it may condense, producing condensed water. The condensed water flows downward and accumulates in the water storage section 413, and is discharged from the exhaust port 414. The discharged condensed water passes through the drain hose 490 and is collected in the drain tank 480. In this manner, in this embodiment, the water storage section 413 for storing condensed water is provided below the inlet 412 of the second supply duct 410, and therefore the condensed water is prevented from flowing from the inlet 412 into the inside of the steam generator 470.

Furthermore, in the steam process, the circulation fan 710 and louvers 721 continue to operate. The clothes are shaken by the wind blowing out from the outlet 716 and deflected by the louvers 721. When clothes are shaken while hanging, centrifugal force and other forces are easily applied to the clothes. This makes it easier for the surface of the clothes where the steam is applied to be stretched, making it easier to remove wrinkles from the clothes. Also, because the clothes are wetted with steam, dust adhering to the clothes can fall off by shaking them, although not as much as when they were dry in the preparation process.

Furthermore, as in the case of the deodorizing and disinfecting operation, even when multiple clothes are stored in the storage chamber 200 as shown in FIG. 7(a), the wind blown out from the circulation fan 710 and deflected by the louvers 721 is likely to pass between the clothes and reach the top of the storage chamber 200. This makes it easier for the wind to hit the multiple clothes evenly, which shakes the multiple clothes well and makes it easier to remove wrinkles.

During the steam process, the exhaust duct 610 is closed. This prevents the steam in the storage chamber 200 from being exhausted to the outside of the machine through the exhaust duct 610. In addition, the ozone removal filter 630 is located downstream of the exhaust damper 620 in the exhaust duct 610, which prevents the steam from coming into contact with the ozone removal filter 630 and causing the ozone removal filter 630 to become excessively wet.

When the specified steam supply time has elapsed, the control unit 902 stops the heater 472 and pump 461 to end the steam process.

Next, the control unit 902 sequentially executes the circulation drying process and the exhaust drying process (S7, S8). The circulation drying process and the exhaust drying process are the same as the circulation drying process and the exhaust drying process in the drying operation. The circulation drying process and the exhaust drying process dry the wet clothes with steam. Note that the time of the circulation drying process and the exhaust drying process in the wrinkle-smoothing operation is suitable for the wrinkle-smoothing operation and may be different from the time of the drying operation. Also, in the circulation drying process, since the exhaust damper 620 is already in the closed position, only the intake damper 360 operates, and the opening and closing plate 361 is switched from the first closed position to the second closed position.

When the exhaust drying process is completed, the control unit 902 executes the ventilation process (S9). That is, the control unit 902 keeps the circulation fan 710 and the louvers 721 operating following the exhaust drying process. Air in the storage chamber 200 is taken in through the intake port 715 and blown out from the exhaust port 716 into the storage chamber 200, so that air outside the machine is taken into the storage chamber 200 through the intake duct 350 and the first supply duct 310 of the first supply unit 300 and the first supply port 210, and the air in the storage chamber 200 is exhausted outside the machine through the exhaust port 202 and the exhaust duct 610. This ventilates the storage chamber 200, and the inner walls of the storage chamber 200 are dried even if they are wet due to steam.

When the specified ventilation time has elapsed, the control unit 902 stops the operation of the circulation fan 710 and the louvers 721, and ends the ventilation process. This ends the wrinkle-smoothing operation.

In this way, in the wrinkle-removing operation, during the steam step, the exhaust duct 610 is closed by the exhaust damper 620 to prevent steam from being discharged from the storage chamber 200 to the outside of the machine. In addition, a circulation drying step is performed before the exhaust drying step, and during this circulation drying step, the dehumidification unit 800 dehumidifies the air in the storage chamber 200. As a result, less moisture is discharged from the clothing processing device 1 to the outside during the wrinkle-removing operation, so the humidity around the clothing processing device 1 is less likely to become high. Furthermore, during the exhaust drying step, the air outside the machine is mixed with the air flowing through the exhaust duct 610 by the air mixing unit 850, and the air with a reduced relative humidity is discharged outside the machine, so that the high humidity air is less likely to affect the surroundings of the clothing processing device 1.

In addition to the deodorizing/sterilizing operation, drying operation, and wrinkle removal operation, the clothing processing device 1 may also perform a drying/deodorizing/sterilizing operation in which deodorizing/sterilizing is performed following drying.

In addition to the exhaust-type deodorizing/sterilizing operation described above, a circulation-type deodorizing/sterilizing operation can be performed. In this circulation-type deodorizing/sterilizing operation, the control unit 902 switches the intake damper 360 to the second closed position and the exhaust damper 620 to the closed position, as in the circulation drying process, and operates the ozone generator 320 while circulating air between the storage chamber 200 and the intake duct 350, the blower fan 340, and the first supply duct 310. In this circulation-type deodorizing/sterilizing operation, the ozone concentration in the air increases while the air is circulating, so that high-concentration ozone can be applied to the clothes, and a high deodorizing/sterilizing effect can be expected. In addition, during this deodorizing and disinfecting operation, not only is the exhaust duct 610 closed by the exhaust damper 620, but the first duct 351 and the front air intake 101 are also closed by the intake damper 360, preventing highly concentrated ozone from leaking outside the unit through the first duct 351 and the front air intake 101.

Furthermore, the exhaust damper 620 may not only be switched to an open position where the opening/closing plate 621 is completely open, but may also be made to stop at a plurality of opening angle positions when the opening/closing plate 621 is open. By changing the opening angle of the opening/closing plate 621, the opening amount of the communication port 611 of the exhaust duct 610 changes, and the amount of air exhausted from the storage chamber 200 changes. In this case, in the exhaust drying process of the drying operation or the wrinkle-smoothing operation, the opening angle of the opening/closing plate 621 is gradually increased over time, and the amount of air exhausted from the storage chamber 200 is increased. In this way, the humidity in the storage chamber 200 is gradually reduced, and the wrinkle-smoothing effect can be achieved even in the exhaust drying process.

Furthermore, a temperature sensor and a humidity sensor may be disposed in the storage chamber 200. In this case, the circulation drying process may be switched to the exhaust drying process, or the exhaust drying process may be terminated, based on the temperature and humidity in the storage chamber 200. Furthermore, during the exhaust drying process, the opening angle of the opening/closing plate 621 may be gradually increased according to the degree of change in the temperature and humidity in the storage chamber 200.

Furthermore, during the steam process, there is a risk of a small amount of steam leaking from the front air intake 101. Therefore, in order to prevent such steam leakage, during the steam process, the opening and closing plate 361 of the intake damper 360 may be switched to the second closed position to close the first duct 351 and the front air intake 101.

<Effects of the embodiment>
As described above, according to this embodiment, when hot air is supplied from the first supply unit 300 into the storage chamber 200 to dry the clothes, the dehumidifying unit 800 is operated to dehumidify the air in the storage chamber 200 that contains moisture removed from the clothes. This reduces the amount of moisture discharged from the clothes processing device 1 to the outside, making it difficult for the humidity around the clothes processing device 1 to become high.

In addition, according to this embodiment, when drying clothes, the air mixing unit 850 is operated to mix the air flowing through the exhaust duct 610 with air from outside the machine to reduce the relative humidity, and then the air can be discharged outside the machine. This makes it less likely that humid air will have an impact on the surroundings of the clothes processing device 1, such as causing condensation on the walls of the room surrounding the clothes processing device 1 due to the discharged air.

Furthermore, according to this embodiment, in the circulation drying process, the exhaust duct 610 is closed by the exhaust damper 620, so that the warm air that has come into contact with the clothes, i.e., the air, is not discharged from the storage chamber 200, but is circulated between the storage chamber 200 and the first supply unit 300, while the air is dehumidified by the dehumidification unit 800. This allows the clothes to be dried while minimizing the discharge of moist air outside the machine.

Furthermore, according to this embodiment, in the exhaust drying process, the exhaust duct 610 is opened to actively exhaust the warm air that has come into contact with the clothes from the storage chamber 200, while the air mixing unit 850 reduces the relative humidity of the air exhausted from the storage chamber 200 before exhausting it outside the machine. This replaces the air in the storage chamber 200, making it easier for low-humidity air to come into contact with the clothes, making it easier for the clothes to dry, and reducing the impact of high-humidity air on the surroundings of the clothes processing device 1.

Furthermore, according to this embodiment, a circulation-type deodorizing/sterilizing operation can be performed in which ozone-containing air is circulated between the storage chamber 200 and the first supply unit 300 while ozone is generated by the first supply unit 300. This allows high-concentration ozone to act on the clothes in the storage chamber 200, so a high deodorizing/sterilizing effect can be expected. Also, since the exhaust duct 610 and the first duct 351 are closed, high-concentration ozone can be prevented from leaking outside the machine.

Furthermore, according to this embodiment, an ozone removal filter 630 is provided in the exhaust duct 610, so that air from which ozone has been removed by the ozone removal filter 630 can be exhausted outside the machine. Moreover, since the ozone removal filter 630 is disposed downstream of the exhaust damper 620, the exhaust damper 620 is closed when steam is supplied into the storage chamber 200, so that the ozone removal filter 630 is prevented from becoming wet with steam, and a decrease in the ozone removal performance of the ozone removal filter 630 can be prevented.

Furthermore, according to this embodiment, the air taken in from outside the aircraft by the operation of the air mixing unit 850 is supplied downstream of the ozone removal filter 630 in the exhaust duct 610, so that the air from the storage chamber 200, whose flow rate has been reduced by passing through the ozone removal filter 630, can be mixed with the air from outside the aircraft. This makes it easier for the air from the storage chamber 200 to mix with the air from outside the aircraft, and therefore makes it easier to reduce the relative humidity of the air discharged outside the aircraft.

Furthermore, according to this embodiment, wrinkles in clothes can be removed by supplying steam from the second supply unit 400 into the storage chamber 200. Moreover, at this time, the exhaust duct 610 is closed by the exhaust damper 620, so that leakage of steam to the outside of the machine can be suppressed. This makes it easier for the storage chamber 200 to be filled with steam, improving the effect of removing wrinkles from clothes, and suppressing an increase in humidity around the clothing processing device 1.

Although the embodiment of the present invention has been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and various modifications to the embodiment of the present invention are possible.

For example, in the above embodiment, both ozone and hot air are supplied from the first supply unit 300 into the storage chamber 200. However, the clothing processing device 1 may be provided with an ozone supply unit that supplies ozone and a hot air supply unit that supplies hot air separately. In this case, the intake duct 350 may be branched at the third duct 353 and connected to the ozone supply unit and the hot air supply unit.

In the above embodiment, the dehumidifying unit 800 has the heat exchanger 820 constituting part of the circulating air passage 810, and the air from the storage chamber 200 passes through the inside of the heat transfer tube 821 and exchanges heat with the cooling air passing through the outside of the heat transfer tube 821. However, the dehumidifying unit 800 may have a different configuration, for example, the heat exchanger 820 may be disposed inside the circulating air passage 810, and the air from the storage chamber 200 passes through the outside of the heat transfer tube 821 and exchanges heat with a liquid or gas refrigerant passing through the inside of the heat transfer tube 821.

In addition, in the above embodiment, the air circulation unit 700 is used to circulate air between the storage room 200 and the air circulation duct 810, but it is also possible to adopt a configuration in which the air circulation unit 700 is not used and a circulation fan is placed in the air circulation duct 810, etc.

Furthermore, in the above embodiment, the exhaust outlet 202 is provided on the top surface of the storage chamber 200. However, the exhaust outlet 202 may be provided in another position, for example, on the upper part of the rear surface of the storage chamber 200.

Furthermore, in the above embodiment, the suction port 864 of the mixing fan 860 is connected to the intake port 107 of the housing 100. However, the suction port 864 of the mixing fan 860 may not be connected to the intake port 107 and may be open to the inside of the housing 100. In this case, the operation of the mixing fan 860 draws outside air into the housing 100 from the intake port 107, and air from inside the housing 100 is drawn into the mixing fan 860. In this case, it is the outside air that is supplied to the exhaust duct 610.

Furthermore, in the above embodiment, the air intake 107 is provided on the rear surface of the housing 100, but it may be provided on another surface of the housing 100, for example, on either the left or right side.

Furthermore, in the above embodiment, the air mixing unit 850 is configured such that the mixing fan 860 is connected to the exhaust duct 610 via the inlet duct 870. However, the air mixing unit 850 may be configured such that the outlet 865 of the mixing fan 860 is directly connected to the exhaust duct 610. In this case, the intake 864 of the mixing fan 860 may be directly connected to the intake port 107, may be connected to the intake port 107 via a duct, or may be open to the inside of the housing 100. In addition, the air mixing unit 850 may be configured in any way as long as it can mix the air flowing through the exhaust duct 610 with the air outside the aircraft.

In addition, in the above embodiment, an activated carbon/catalyst filter is used for the ozone removal filter 630, but other filters with ozone removal capabilities, such as an activated carbon filter, may also be used.

Furthermore, in the above embodiment, the clothing treatment device 1 performs deodorizing and sterilizing operations. However, the clothing treatment device 1 may not perform deodorizing and sterilizing operations, and the ozone generator 320 may not be provided in the first supply unit 300. In this case, the ozone removal filter 630 is eliminated from the exhaust unit 600.

Furthermore, in the above embodiment, the steam generator 470 of the second supply unit 400 is configured to generate steam by dropping water sent by the pump 461 onto the bottom surface of the steam generation chamber 473, which is heated to a high temperature, and evaporating the water. However, the steam generator 470 is not limited to the above configuration, and may be configured to generate steam, for example, by heating a water tank in which water is stored and boiling the water.

Furthermore, in the above embodiment, the air circulation unit 700 is disposed at the bottom of the storage room 200, inside the storage room 200. However, the air circulation unit 700 may be disposed at the bottom of the storage room 200, outside the storage room 200. In this case, an air intake port for the circulation fan 710 and an air outlet port for blowing air into the storage room 200 are provided on the wall surface of the storage room 200. The air circulation unit 700 may also be disposed in a part other than the bottom of the storage room 200, either inside or outside the storage room 200.

In addition, in the above embodiment, a cross-flow fan was used as the circulation fan 710, but a fan other than a cross-flow fan, such as a sirocco fan, may also be used.

Furthermore, in the above embodiment, the exhaust damper 620 is used as the opening/closing part for opening and closing the exhaust duct 610. However, an opening/closing part with a different structure may be used, for example, a shutter mechanism consisting of a shutter that moves up and down inside the exhaust duct 610 and a drive part that drives this shutter.

Furthermore, the clothing processing device 1 may not have the second supply unit 400 and may not perform the wrinkle removal operation. Also, the clothing processing device 1 may not have the air circulation unit 700.

In addition, various modifications of the embodiment of the present invention are possible within the scope of the technical ideas set forth in the claims.

1. Clothes treatment device
100 Case
200 Containment Room
202 Exhaust port
300 First supply unit (hot air supply unit, ozone supply unit)
351 First duct (first intake passage)
352 Second duct (second intake passage)
360 Intake damper (second opening and closing part)
400 Second supply unit (steam supply section)
600 Exhaust unit
610 Exhaust duct
620 Exhaust damper (first opening/closing part)
630 Ozone removal filter (ozone removal part)
800 Dehumidification unit (dehumidification section)
850 Air mixing unit (air mixing section)

Claims (5)

a storage chamber disposed within the housing and configured to store clothing;
A hot air supply unit that supplies hot air into the accommodation chamber;
A steam supply unit that supplies steam into the storage chamber;
an ozone supply unit for supplying air containing ozone into the storage chamber;
A dehumidifying unit that dehumidifies the air in the storage chamber;
An exhaust port for exhausting air from within the storage chamber;
an exhaust duct that guides the air exhausted from the exhaust port to the outside of the housing;
an air mixing unit that takes in air outside the housing and mixes it with the air flowing through the exhaust duct;
a first opening/closing unit provided in the exhaust duct and configured to open and close the exhaust duct;
an ozone removal filter that removes ozone contained in the air flowing through the exhaust duct;
A control unit that controls the hot air supply unit, the steam supply unit, the ozone supply unit , the air mixing unit, and the first opening and closing unit,
The control unit operates the steam supply unit in a state in which the exhaust duct is closed by the first opening/closing unit to execute a steam process of supplying steam into the accommodation chamber,
The ozone removal filter is provided in the exhaust duct downstream of the first opening/closing unit.
A clothing treatment device. The laundry treatment device according to claim 1,
a first intake passage through which air outside the housing is taken in;
A second intake passage through which air is taken in from within the accommodation chamber,
The control unit is
In a state in which the exhaust duct is closed by the first opening/closing unit, the hot air supply unit generates hot air from the air in the storage chamber that is taken into the second air intake passage, and supplies the hot air into the storage chamber, and the dehumidification unit executes a circulation drying process in which the dehumidification unit dehumidifies the air in the storage chamber,
After the circulation drying process, in a state in which the exhaust duct is opened by the first opening/closing unit, the hot air supply unit generates hot air from the air outside the housing taken into the first air intake passage, and supplies the hot air into the accommodation chamber, and the air mixing unit supplies the air outside the housing into the exhaust duct , performing an exhaust drying process .
A clothing treatment device. The laundry treatment device according to claim 2,
A second opening/closing unit that opens and closes the first intake passage is further provided,
In a state in which the exhaust duct is closed by the first opening/closing unit and the first intake passage is closed by the second opening/closing unit, the ozone supply unit generates ozone from the air in the storage chamber that is taken into the second intake passage, and supplies the air containing the ozone into the storage chamber.
A clothing treatment device. The laundry treatment device according to any one of claims 1 to 3 ,
The air mixing unit supplies air taken in from outside the housing to a location downstream of the ozone removal filter in the exhaust duct.
A clothing treatment device. The laundry treatment device according to claim 2 ,
The control unit sequentially executes the circulation drying process and the exhaust drying process after executing the steam process.
A clothing treatment device.

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