JP2003275129A - Hand dryer device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a more sanitary hand dryer device for sanitarily drying a wet hand after washed. <P>SOLUTION: The hand dryer device comprises a hand inserting part 2, a high pressure air generating device 3, and a drain water tank 7. A wet hand with water drops is inserted into or drawn out of the hand inserting part 2 via an inserting hole opening outward. The high pressure air generating device 3 blows a high speed air current into the hand inserting part 2 when the hand is inserted from the inserting hole of the hand inserting part 2. The water drops attached to the hand are blown off by the high speed air current from the high pressure air generating device 3 and are reserved in the drain water tank 7. An antibacterial agent 13 is applied to or kneaded in, or a granular antibacterial agent 14 is disposed in the inner wall surface of the hand inserting part 2 or in the inner wall surface of a channel from the hand inserting part 2 to the drain water tank 7 to prevent propagation of bacteria. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2003,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a hand dryer for sanitarily drying a wet hand after washing.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in order to maintain the hand in a hygienic state, it is necessary to hygienically dry the hand after washing as well as washing the hand. There is a device to do. FIG. 6 shows, for example, JP-A-9-5.
18 is a cross-sectional view of a conventional hand dryer shown in Japanese Patent No. 1861, in which 20 is an apparatus main body and 21 is an apparatus main body 20.
The manual insertion parts 22 and 23, which are opened by opening the front and side faces of the same, are arranged on the upper and lower surfaces of the manual insertion part 21, respectively, and have a sectional shape of a cubic curve for ejecting high-pressure air as high-speed wind. A high pressure air generating part for sending high pressure air to the discharge nozzles 22 and 23, 25 an intake port for sucking air into the high pressure air generating part 24, 26 a drain port, and 27 a drain. With pipe, drain port 26
And the drainage tank 28 are connected.

In such a conventional hand dryer,
Insert your wet hand into the hand insertion part 21 by holding it over
The air sucked in through the intake port 25 is the high-pressure air generation unit 24.
Then, the pressure becomes high, and this high-pressure air becomes a high-speed air flow and is jetted from the jet nozzles 22 and 23, and the water adhering to the hand is blown off from the hand and is quickly dried. The blown-off water is guided to the drain pipe 27 from the drainage port 26 at the bottom of the hand insertion portion 21, and is received in the drainage tank 28.

[0004]

In the above conventional hand dryer, water drops dripping from the user's hand adhere to the inner wall surface from the hand insertion portion 21 to the drain tank 28, It flows into the drainage tank 28 and accumulates. The water droplets that adhere to the inner wall surface or collect in the drainage tank 28 contain fat content of the hand, soap content, and indigenous bacteria of the fingers, so that the bacteria concentration is high and the hand insertion part 21 and the drainage tank 28 There is a problem that it becomes a factor of deterioration of hygiene.
In addition, since the water in the drain tank 28 is discarded after the amount of water is accumulated, if time elapses before the water is accumulated, the bacteria in the water in the drain tank 28 will further propagate and generate a foul odor. It was

The present invention has been made in order to solve the above-mentioned problems, and the hygiene of the route from the wall surface of the hand insertion portion to the drain tank can be ensured, and the water in the drain tank can be drained. A hand dryer for sterilizing and deodorizing to prevent generation of a bad odor.

[0006]

In the hand dryer according to the present invention, a hand insertion portion for inserting / removing a hand to which water droplets are attached via an insertion opening opened toward the outside, and the hand insertion portion described above. A high-pressure air generator that blows a high-speed air stream into the hand insertion portion when inserting a hand from the insertion opening,
In a hand dryer having a drain tank for collecting water droplets adhering to the hand blown off by a high-speed air flow from the high-pressure air generator, an inner wall surface of the hand insertion part or a drain tank from the hand insertion part The inner wall surface of the route is antibacterial treated.

Further, the antibacterial treatment is carried out by applying or kneading the antibacterial agent on the inner wall surface or placing the granular antibacterial agent in a net-shaped bag and installing it.

The antibacterial agent restores its effect by washing with tap water.

[0009] Further, a hand insertion portion for inserting / removing a hand to which a water drop is attached through an insertion opening opened to the outside, and a hand insertion portion when the hand is inserted from the insertion opening of the hand insertion portion. In a hand dryer equipped with a high-pressure air generator that blows a high-speed air stream, and a drain tank that collects water droplets attached to the hand blown off by the high-speed air stream from the high-pressure air generator, in the drain tank ,
An active species generator for generating active species is connected.

Further, the active species generating device is face-to-face 2
It is composed of an electrolysis unit in which one or more electrodes are arranged.

[0011]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiment 1. 1 is a cross-sectional view showing a hand dryer according to a first embodiment of the present invention. In the figure, reference numeral 1 is a box forming an outer shell of the hand dryer, and a front panel is a front panel and a hand for inserting a hand for drying. The insertion section panel forming the insertion section 2, the back surface is a back plate, the side surfaces are left and right side plates, the upper surface is an upper panel, and the bottom is a gate-shaped frame. The hand insertion part 2 is formed with an insertion opening in which the front side and both side surfaces are open to the outside in the upper front part of the box body 1, and is formed in a slanted U-shaped recess inclined toward the back side, which is visible. It has a frontage and height and depth that allow you to freely insert and remove your hands in the state of. Reference numeral 3 denotes a high-pressure air generator that sends high-pressure air for blowing off water droplets adhering to the hand to the hand insertion portion 2, which is configured as a unit of a turbo fan rotated by a DC brushless motor and constitutes the bottom of the box body 1. It is attached to the upper surface of the frame with the intake port facing downward. 4 is a control unit for controlling the high-pressure air generator 3,
Reference numeral 5 denotes a drain port formed at the bottom of the hand insertion portion 2 on the back side, 6 denotes a drain pipe for connecting the drain port 5 and the water droplets blown from the hand insertion portion 2 to the drain tank 7, and 8 denotes the hand insertion portion 2. Human body detection sensors attached to the entrance side and the back side to detect the comings and goings of the hand. The light emitting side 8a is attached to the lower side wall surface, and the light receiving side 8b is attached to the upper side wall surface. Reference numeral 9 denotes an intake port that is open to the outside of the machine, and is provided with a filter that has been subjected to antibacterial and antifungal treatment. Reference numeral 10 is an intake passage for sending air from the intake port 9 to the high-pressure air generator 3, 11 is an exhaust passage connected to the exhaust side and one end of the high-pressure air generator 3, and 12 is an inlet of the hand insertion portion 2. A plurality of nozzle holes (not shown) are formed in a row in the lateral direction by blow-out nozzles that are attached to the upper part downward and to the lower part respectively, and are connected to the other end of the exhaust passage 11. 1
Reference numeral 3 denotes an antibacterial agent applied to the inner wall of any one of the hand insertion portion 2, the drain pipe 6 and the drainage tank 7 to prevent the growth of bacteria, and is applied to all of them here. Reference numeral 14 is a granular antibacterial agent installed in either the drainage port 5 or the drainage tank 7, and here it is assumed that it is installed in both the drainage port 5 and the drainage tank 7. The granular antibacterial agent 14 is placed in a net-like bag, and the antibacterial components contained in the granular antibacterial agent 14 and the antibacterial agent 13 may be the same component or different components.

The operation of the hand dryer having such a configuration will be described. When the wet hand spreads out and the wet hand is spread out and inserted in the horizontal direction from the insertion opening of the hand insertion portion 2, the human body detection sensor 8 detects that the hand is in the hand insertion portion 2,
The control unit 4 determines the high-pressure air generator 3 based on the detection result.
Drive. The high-pressure air generator 3 draws in air from the intake port 9, the air passes through the intake passage 10 and is sent from the exhaust side of the high-pressure air generator 3 to the exhaust passage 11, and each of the blowout nozzles 12 of the hand insertion portion 2 is supplied. At a predetermined inclination, the air is blown as high-speed wind to both the back side and the palm side of the hand inserted into the hand insertion portion 2 at the same time. Then, the water droplets that had adhered to the hand were moved forward by this high-pressure wind, that is,
The hand is blown away to the back side of the hand insertion portion 2 at a stretch, and after a certain period of time, the wet hand is dried and the hand inserted into the hand insertion portion 2 is pulled out from the hand insertion portion 2. When the hand is pulled out from the hand insertion section 2, the human body detection center 8 detects the absence of the hand, and the control section 4
Stops the high pressure air generator 3. The treated wind is discharged to the outside from both sides of the hand insertion portion 2. The water droplets blown out from the hand during the drying process adhere to the surface of the hand insertion part 2 due to both the self-weight and the force of the wind, and are further pushed to the end of the bottom side of the back side of the hand insertion part 2 to this part. It flows down from the formed drain port 5 to the drain pipe 6. The water that has flowed down the drain pipe 6 is received by the drainage tank 7.

Here, the bacterial concentration of water droplets attached to the hand before the drying treatment is 100 / ml even in tap water according to the tap standard.
The following bacteria are present, and in the case where the material to be dried is a human hand, 1E + 05 to 1E + 07 general bacteria are present in the fingers, so that the bacteria contain a high concentration of bacteria. The water droplets blown off from the material to be dried in such a state and attached to the inner wall surface of the hand insertion portion 2 are 1E + 02 to 1E.
The bacterial concentration is +04 cells / ml. The water droplets attached to the hand insertion portion 2 are held on the surface of the hand insertion portion 2 due to the surface tension, and when the hand dryer is frequently used, the water droplets collect and flow into the drain port 5 by gravity. However, when the frequency of use of the hand dryer is low, the adhered state of water droplets having a high bacterium concentration is maintained as it is. As described above, the water droplets attached to the hand insertion portion 2 in such a state include fat such as sebum that is a nutrient, so that the bacteria are propagated with the passage of time and the bacterial concentration is increased. May reach 1E + 05 / cm ² . Further, since water droplets remain on the drainage port 5 and the inner wall of the drain pipe 6, the bacteria similarly propagate. further,
In the drainage tank 7 in which water droplets containing the above-mentioned bacteria are accumulated, the microbial contamination is further advanced, the bacterial concentration becomes 1E + 06 / ml or more, and an offensive odor is generated.

Therefore, the antibacterial agent 13 will be described with reference to FIG. Figure 2 shows a plastic containing 2% of silver-based antibacterial agent and a plastic without antibacterial agent 4 hours later.
FIG. 4 is a comparison diagram of the elapsed time showing the antibacterial effect after 4 hours and the number of bacteria, in which 4.5E + 08 Escherichia coli on the surface of the plastic are 1.4E + 05 after 4 hours and 24 hours respectively by the antibacterial agent 13. It has been reduced to 9E + 06 and sterilized. As a result, the antibacterial agent 13 which is a silver-based antibacterial agent is applied to the surface of the hand insertion portion 2 to perform antibacterial treatment such as painting or application, so that the hand insertion portion 2 is adhered and maintained at 1E + 05.
The bacteria can be sterilized by 2 digits or more to 1E + 03 or less, and hygiene can be improved.

Next, the granular antibacterial agent 1 installed in the drain port 5
4 will be described. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the number of bacteria when the granular antibacterial agent 14 is brought into contact with the drain port 5 for 30 seconds. The granular antibacterial agent 14 is put in a net-like bag (mesh) that does not leak, and for example, when the granular antibacterial agent 14 contains 5% iodine, a bag containing 1 g of the granular antibacterial agent 14 Is installed in the drainage port 5, 2 ml of Escherichia coli solution is poured, and contact is performed for 30 seconds. As a result, sterilization is performed for 4 digits or more. The amount of 2 ml is the amount of water droplets adhering to the hand after washing by hand, and the amount of 1 g of the granular antibacterial agent 14 is an amount that causes no problem in drainage even when installed in the drain port 5. Thereby, the hand insertion portion 2
The water droplets that have adhered to the hand and have flowed down the hand insertion portion 2 and flowed down to the drainage port 5 have become hygienic, and the hygiene of the drain pipe 6 and the drainage tank 7 can be ensured.

Since the hand dryer is often used near a toilet or a hand washing area of a food factory, the drain tank 7 is highly likely to be mixed with bacteria in the air due to its structure. . Further, the granular antibacterial agent 14 at the drain port 5 is
The bactericidal effect decreases as dirt components adhere to the surface. Further, the water droplets attached to the hand enter the drainage tank 7 through the drainage port 5 and the drain pipe 6 from the hand insertion portion 2. When at least one of the hand insertion part 2, the drainage port 5 or the drain pipe 6 is subjected to antibacterial treatment, water droplets attached to the hand are sterilized, but in the case of no treatment, the bacterial concentration is at least 1E + 03. The water droplets attached to the hand of each piece / ml accumulate in the drainage tank 7 by 2 ml each time the hand drying operation is performed. The bacterial concentration of the water droplets stored in the drainage tank 7 is affected by the temperature and humidity around the outside of the machine, but is also concentrated due to evaporation, resulting in a high bacterial concentration. Further, since the waste water is discarded when the amount of water in the drain tank 7 is full, the bacteria may grow over time and the concentration of the bacteria may be 1E + 06 or more. Therefore, in order to prevent microbial contamination in the drain tank 7, the granular antibacterial agent 14 is also provided in the drain tank 7.
Should be installed. By installing 50 g of the granular antibacterial agent 14 in the drainage tank 7, 2E + 05 cells / ml of the bacterial solution 20
Even after contacting 9 times with ml, the number becomes less than 5 after 30 seconds.
This is a hand drying operation 18,000 times (2E + 05 pieces / 1E +
It corresponds to 03 pieces × 20 ml / 2 × 9). Hand-drying is usually 400 days a day, depending on the user depending on the installation location.
The effect is sustained for 45 days because it is about once.

The antibacterial agent 13 and the granular antibacterial agent 14 do not exhibit the expected antibacterial effect as dirt accumulates on the surface, but the antibacterial effect is restored by washing with tap water and reused. A neutral detergent may be used for this cleaning and regeneration treatment.

In the first embodiment, the hand insertion part 2, the drainage port 5, and the drainage tank 7 are subjected to antibacterial treatment, but in order to further improve hygiene, the drain pipe 6 is used.
Alternatively, the antibacterial agent 13 may be applied or kneaded.

Embodiment 2. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing a hand dryer according to a second embodiment of the present invention. In the figure, 1 to 14 are the same as those in the first embodiment, and description thereof will be omitted. Reference numeral 15 is an active species generator that generates active species composed of two or more electrodes facing each other, and 17 is a drainage tank 7.
Hose that connects the active species generator 15 with the hose 1
A pump 16 is arranged in the middle of 7.

The operation of the hand dryer thus configured will be described. When the wet hand spreads out and the wet hand is spread out and inserted in the horizontal direction from the insertion opening of the hand insertion portion 2, the human body detection sensor 8 detects that the hand is in the hand insertion portion 2,
The control unit 4 determines the high-pressure air generator 3 based on the detection result.
Drive. The high-pressure air generator 3 draws in air from the intake port 9, the air passes through the intake passage 10 and is sent from the exhaust side of the high-pressure air generator 3 to the exhaust passage 11, and each of the blowout nozzles 12 of the hand insertion portion 2 is supplied. At a predetermined inclination, the air is blown as high-speed wind to both the back side and the palm side of the hand inserted into the hand insertion portion 2 at the same time. Then, the water droplets that had adhered to the hand were moved forward by this high-pressure wind, that is,
The hand is blown away to the back side of the hand insertion portion 2 at a stretch, and after a certain period of time, the wet hand is dried and the hand inserted into the hand insertion portion 2 is pulled out from the hand insertion portion 2. When the hand is pulled out from the hand insertion section 2, the human body detection center 8 detects the absence of the hand, and the control section 4
Stops the high pressure air generator 3. The treated wind is discharged to the outside from both sides of the hand insertion portion 2. The water droplets blown out from the hand during the drying process adhere to the surface of the hand insertion part 2 due to both the self-weight and the force of the wind, and are further pushed to the end of the bottom side of the back side of the hand insertion part 2 to this part. It flows down from the formed drain port 5 to the drain pipe 6. The water that has flowed down the drain pipe 6 is received by the drainage tank 7. The antibacterial effects of the antibacterial agent 13 and the granular antibacterial agent 14 at this time are the same as those in the first embodiment, and the description thereof will be omitted.

Next, the sterilization / decomposition operation in the drainage tank 7 will be described. The drainage tank 7 is provided with a water amount detection (not shown), and when a certain amount of water is detected in the drainage tank 7, the water in the drainage tank 7 is activated by the active species generator 15
Pump up and circulate. Then, by energizing the electrodes of the active species generator 15 composed of two or more electrodes facing each other, water is electrolyzed, and a reaction as shown in FIG. ., O ₂ ^― , H
Active species such as O ₂ ⁻ and HO ₂ are generated.

The active species thus produced are highly reactive, and sterilize and decompose organic matter of water droplets adhering to the hands accumulated in the drainage tank 7, and the antibacterial agent 14 placed in the drainage tank 7. Decomposes organic substances attached to the surface of
To clean. Therefore, the organic substance does not adhere to the antibacterial agent 14, the antibacterial agent 14 does not need to be washed, and it is maintenance-free and easy to use.

[0023]

Since the present invention is constructed as described above, it has the following effects.

Through the insertion opening opened to the outside,
A hand insertion part for inserting and removing a hand with water droplets attached thereto, a high-pressure air generator for blowing a high-speed air stream into the hand insertion part when the hand is inserted through the insertion opening of the hand insertion part, and the high-pressure air generator. In a hand dryer equipped with a drain tank for accumulating water droplets attached to the hand that is blown off by a high-speed air flow from, a path from the inner wall surface of the hand insertion part or the hand insertion part to the drain tank Since the inner wall surface has been subjected to antibacterial treatment, it prevents bacterial growth of water droplets that have adhered to the inner wall surface of the hand insertion part or the inner wall surface of the route from the hand insertion part to the drain tank when drying by hand. ,
It is possible to prevent the generation of offensive odor due to the propagation of bacteria in the water accumulated in the drainage tank.

Further, the antibacterial treatment is performed by applying or kneading the inner wall surface with the antibacterial agent or by placing the granular antibacterial agent in a net-shaped bag so that the antibacterial treatment of each part can be easily performed at the time of molding. The antibacterial treatment of the installation place can be performed, and the hygiene of each part can be easily improved.

Further, since the antibacterial agent returns its effect by washing with tap water, the antibacterial effect of the antibacterial agent can be maintained for a long time with a simple maintenance.

[0027] Further, a hand insertion portion for inserting / removing a hand to which a water droplet is attached through an insertion opening opened toward the outside, and a hand insertion portion when the hand is inserted from the insertion opening of the hand insertion portion. In a hand dryer equipped with a high-pressure air generator that blows a high-speed air stream, and a drain tank that collects water droplets attached to the hand blown off by the high-speed air stream from the high-pressure air generator, in the drain tank ,
Since an active species generator that generates active species is connected, it is possible to sterilize the water accumulated in the drainage tank by the active species and decompose organic substances, and maintain the antibacterial effect of the antibacterial agent in a maintenance-free manner. You can

Further, the active species generating device faces 2
Since it is composed of an electrolysis unit in which one or more electrodes are arranged, the active species can be efficiently and continuously generated in a small space.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view showing a hand dryer according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a comparison diagram of the elapsed time and the number of bacteria depending on the presence or absence of an antibacterial agent, showing the hand dryer according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a comparative diagram showing the number of bacteria depending on the contact time with an antibacterial agent showing the hand dryer according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view showing a hand dryer which is Embodiment 2 of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a reaction that occurs in the active species generator that shows the hand dryer according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a sectional view showing a conventional hand dryer.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 box, 2 hand insertion part, 3 high pressure air generator, 4
Control part, 5 drainage ports, 6 drain pipes, 7 drainage tanks, 8 human body detection sensors, 8a light emitting side, 8b light receiving side, 9 intake ports, 10 intake passages, 11 exhaust passages, 1
2 blowing nozzle, 13 antibacterial agent, 14 granular antibacterial agent, 1
5 Active species generator, 16 pumps, 17 hoses.

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A hand insertion part for inserting / removing a hand to which a water droplet is attached through an insertion port opened toward the outside, and a hand insertion part when the hand is inserted from the insertion port of the hand insertion part. A high-pressure air generator that blows a high-speed air stream,
In a hand dryer having a drain tank for collecting water droplets adhering to the hand blown off by a high-speed air flow from the high-pressure air generator, an inner wall surface of the hand insertion part or a drain tank from the hand insertion part A hand dryer with an antibacterial treatment applied to the inner wall surface of the route. 2. The hand drying according to claim 1, wherein the antibacterial treatment is carried out by applying or kneading the antibacterial agent on the inner wall surface or by placing the granular antibacterial agent in a net-shaped bag. apparatus. 3. The hand dryer according to claim 2, wherein the antibacterial agent restores its effect by washing with tap water. 4. A hand insertion part for inserting / removing a hand to which water droplets are attached via an insertion port opened toward the outside, and a hand insertion part inside the hand insertion part when the hand is inserted from the insertion port of the hand insertion part. A high-pressure air generator that blows a high-speed air stream,
In a hand dryer having a drain tank for collecting water droplets adhering to the hand blown off by a high-speed air stream from the high-pressure air generator, the drain tank is connected with an active species generator for generating active species. A hand dryer characterized in that 5. The hand dryer according to claim 4, wherein the active species generator is composed of an electrolysis unit having two or more electrodes facing each other.