Patent Grant
11471011
The present disclosure relates to drying apparatuses and methods of drying, and more particularly, but not solely, to apparatuses for drying of a person or parts of the person.
In this specification where a document, act or item of knowledge is referred to or discussed, this reference or discussion is not an admission that the document, act or item of knowledge or any combination thereof was at the priority date, publicly available, known to the public, part of common general knowledge, or otherwise constitutes prior art under the applicable statutory provisions; or is known to be relevant to an attempt to solve any problem with which this specification is concerned.
Regular showering or bathing are commonplace activities across modern society. In many cultures, a shower bath is taken on a daily basis. People may even wash more than once a day, for example, where they have done some form of exercise during the day.
As a result of washing, or also due to perspiration, a person may become wet. Drying of this moisture is important to a person's health in order to prevent bacterial and fungal growth on the person.
Given the right environment, such moisture may evaporate away on its own, but for expediency and comfort, most people towel themselves dry following washing or exercise. Toweling can be a good way to remove water from a person, but drying effectively to prevent bacterial and fungal growth—particularly around the feet—can be time consuming thus such areas may commonly be inadequately dried. Towel drying of hair, particularly for those with long hair, can additionally be a frustrating and involved process.
Aside from any issues with the use of towels to desirably dry a person, the number towels used and frequency of their use means that towels account for a significant proportion of total laundry loads. This is particularly the case in settings where towels are only used once, such as in gyms, sports clubs, and commonly in hotels.
Laundering of towels is energy intensive, and consumption of fresh water is also of concern from an environmental point of view. The depletion of fresh water resources is known to be a widespread issue across many parts of the world. The number of towels washed and frequency with which they are commonly washed consumes significant amounts of water resources.
It is desired to address or ameliorate one or more of the problems discussed above by providing a drying apparatus to at least provide the public with a useful alternative.
While certain aspects of conventional technologies have been discussed to facilitate the disclosure, Applicants in no way disclaim these technical aspects, and it is contemplated that the claimed invention may encompass or include one or more of the conventional technical aspects discussed herein.
The present disclosure seeks to address one or more of the above-mentioned issues by providing apparatus and methods that improve health and hygiene, as well as have a positive impact on the environment. For instance, the apparatus and methods of the present disclosure provide for the efficient and effective drying of the person, or parts of the person, that diminishes or eliminates reliance upon towels.
It should be understood that, unless expressly stated otherwise, the claimed invention comprehends any and all combinations of the individual features, arrangements and/or steps detailed herein, including but not limited to those features, arrangements and/or steps set forth in the appended claims.
The disclosure describes a forced airflow drying apparatus that includes a body including an air inlet, a flow guide having a first end coupled to the air inlet and a second end opened to an upstream side of a filter unit, and an airflow generator to generate a forced airflow. The airflow generator has a first end and a second end, where the first end of the airflow generator is opened to a downstream side of the filter unit. An air outlet is in communication with the second end of the airflow generator to receive the forced airflow from the airflow generator and to expel the forced airflow out of the body. A drive assembly is provided to move the bar relative to the body. A noise cancellation device is provided to cancel or reduce noise in at least one of the airflow generator and the drive assembly.
The term “axis” as used in this specification means the axis of revolution about which a line or a plane may be revolved to form a symmetrical shape. For example, a line revolved around an axis of revolution will form a surface, while a plane revolved around and axis of revolution will form a solid.
As used herein the term “and/or” means “and” or “or”, or both.
As used herein “(s)” following a noun means the plural and/or singular forms of the noun.
For the purposes of this specification, the term “plastic” shall be construed to mean a general term for a wide range of synthetic or semisynthetic polymerization products, and includes hydrocarbon-based polymer(s).
For the purpose of this specification, where method steps are described in sequence, the sequence does not necessarily mean that the steps are to be chronologically ordered in that sequence, unless there is no other logical manner of interpreting the sequence, or expressly stated.
To those skilled in the art to which the invention relates, many changes in construction and widely differing embodiments and applications of the invention will suggest themselves without departing from the scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims. The disclosures and the descriptions herein are purely illustrative and are not intended to be in any sense limiting.
Other aspects of the embodiments of the invention may become apparent from the following description which is given by way of example only and with reference to the accompanying drawings.
The objects and features of the invention can be better understood with reference to the drawings described below, and the claims. The drawings are not necessarily to scale, emphasis instead generally being placed upon illustrating the principles of the invention. In the drawings, like numerals are used to indicate like parts throughout the various views.
Preferred embodiments or aspects of the invention will be described by way of example only and with reference to the drawings, in which:
Reference is made in detail to one or more embodiments of the present invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings.
A drying apparatus may be provided according to the disclosure for a range of applications. In at least a primary application, the drying apparatus may be a dryer for drying a person, such as following bathing or showering. The drying apparatus may be provided as a supplement to towel drying, or in various preferred forms may be provided as a substitute for towel drying. By the use of the drying apparatus as a body dryer, a person may present themselves and be dried by one or more forced airflows of the drying apparatus.
Referring to
The drying apparatus 10 may be sized so as to correspond to human body dimensions. For example, in the configuration of the drying apparatus as shown in FIG. 1, the drying apparatus 10, and in particular the body 100, may be sized in proportion to human body dimensions to enable the delivery of the forced airflow across the human body.
The forced airflow may be provided through a first air outlet 101 distributed along a periphery of the body 100. The forced airflow may also be provided through a second air outlet 201 located at the bar 200. Unlike the first air outlet 101 which is stationary with respect to the body 100, the second air outlet 201 moves as the bar 200 travels along a longitudinal length L1 of the body 100 to expel forced airflow to different parts of the human body.
The body 100 may define a drying side or face 14 adjacent to which a user may present themselves for drying by the drying apparatus 10. The drying face 14 may generally define a face or plane from which the forced airflow is provided by the drying apparatus 10 through the first air outlet 101 and/or the second air outlet 201. For example,
For example, when the drying apparatus 10 is to be provided within a confined space, such as a bathroom, it may be desirable that a minimum of space is taken up by the drying apparatus 10, and perhaps, be aesthetically pleasing. To this end, the portion including the drying face 14 of the body 100 may be provided having a low profile, such as is seen in the side view of
To achieve this low profile, at least some internal components of the body 100 which are bulky may be distributed toward an upper region of the body 100 (in the vicinity of the air inlets 102 shown in
Referring to
In the illustrated embodiment, a pair of flow generators 110 are used. In alternative embodiments, only a single flow generator, or a greater number of flow generators, may be used. A flow generator may be an axial fan or the like. Embodiments that include multiple flow generators may cooperate to produce an even airflow into the body 100. Embodiments also include generating independent airflows into the body 100 to vary the strength of the airflow at various portions of the body 100. In the present embodiment, outside air may be received into the flow generator housing 103, by operation of the pair of flow generators 110, through a pair of air inlets 102. The pair of air inlets 102 provide inlet points for outside air into the body 100.
As seen in
Air received at the air inlets 102 is ducted by respective flow guides 116 located between the air inlets 102 and the filter unit 104. In the present embodiment, each flow guide 116 may also in part define an outlet air flow pathway 105 (see
Because the present embodiment is described as comprising a pair of flow guides 116, it will be understood that the following description of one flow guide 116 also reflects the other flow guide of the flow guide pair 116. To this end, each flow guide 116 may have a curved form as seen in
Thus, each flow guide 116 forms a flow path between a respective air inlet 102 and the upstream side of the filter unit 104. Also each flow guide 116 forms, at least in part, a wall of the flow path between the downstream side of the filter unit 104 and a respective flow generator 110. In this configuration, each flow guide 116 may duct air received from a respective air inlet 102 and pass the air to the filter unit 104. Air passed through the filter unit 104 may flow to the outlet air flow pathway 105 where a flow generator 110 may force the air to the first air outlet 101.
In the configuration above, each flow guide 116 may function to separate between the inlet side and outlet side of the filter unit 104. Each flow guide 116 may also function to separate the air received from the air inlet 102 from the filtered air flowing towards the flow generator 110.
In an alternative configuration, the flow guide 116 may not have a dual function of guiding inlet air to the filter unit and guiding filtered air between the filter unit outlet and the flow generator. For example, the air inlets 102, the flow guides 116, the filter unit 104, and the flow generators 110 may be arranged to be linear or sequentially adjacent to each other. Here, each flow guide 116 only ducts the air between the air inlet 102 and the filter unit 104.
A pair of thermoelectric devices 117 may also be included in the upper region of the body 100. Each thermoelectric device 117 may be a semiconductor device that heats and/or cools air, for example, using the Peltier effect. In alternative embodiments, other types of known thermal elements may be employed, such as, a heater, a cooler, or a combination thereof. For example, a refrigeration cycle, having a compressor, evaporator, and condenser, may be utilized to provide cooling and/or heating of air. In another example, a resistance heater may be utilized to provide heating of the air.
In the present embodiment, there is a pair of thermoelectric devices 117. Thus, in the following description of one of the thermoelectric device 117, it will be understood that other thermoelectric device is the same. To this end, each thermoelectric device 117 has a first side 118 and a second side 119. Depending on the direction of current supplied to the thermoelectric device 117, one side may be cooled or heated while the other side is respectively heated or cooled. For example, when the first side (i.e., outward) 118 is cooled, the second side (i.e., inward) 119 is heated. Conversely, when the first side 118 is heated, the second side 119 is cooled.
Each thermoelectric device 117 may heat or cool the air in the outlet air flow pathway 105 (see
A processor may control the direction of the current flowing through thermoelectric device 117. For example, a voltage source coupled to the thermoelectric device 117 may be coupled to an analog-to-digital converter (A/D). The A/D converter may be able to generate positive or negative values to control the voltage and therefore the current applied to the thermoelectric device 117. In other embodiments, the A/D converter could have half of its output values corresponding to negative current and half corresponding to positive current.
An exhaust vent 130 may be provided at the upper region of the body 100 when a thermoelectric device 117 is used in the drying apparatus.
When the thermoelectric device 117 operates as a heater, the cool exhaust air may be vented by a respective exhaust vent 130 to the outside of the drying apparatus 10. When the thermoelectric devices 117 operates as a cooler, the hot exhaust air may be vented by the exhaust vents 130.
The present embodiment will now be described in greater detail with reference to
The filtered air, after exiting filter unit 104, arrives at the outlet air flow pathway 105 illustrated by air flow arrows 108 in
A configuration of an air conditioning system of the body 100 has been described above. The drying apparatus 10 having the configuration above may vent cool air or hot air to condition a space in which the drying apparatus is occupying. The space may be a bathroom. During hot days the drying apparatus 10 may cool the bathroom. During cold days the drying apparatus 10 may heat the bathroom. The drying apparatus may also use the air conditioning system described herein to dry a user. For example, the cool air or hot air forced by the flow generator 110 is vented by the first air outlet 101 along the periphery of the body 100 at the drying face 14 (see
As shown, the flow generators 110 force the airflow into a duct 121. At the duct 121, the forced airflows from the two flow generators 110 are combined into a single forced airflow. The duct 121 then guides the combined forced airflow through a common opening 125 into the first air outlet 101 of the body 100. In the present embodiment, a resistance heater 120 is disposed at the common opening 125 to further heat the forced airflow. This configuration may be used where it is desirable that a heated forced airflow from the flow generators 110 is further heated prior to being expelled into the first air outlet 101. This configuration may be used, for example, where a quick heating of a bathroom is desired or a more heated forced airflow is desired during a drying of the user.
While in
The forced airflow in the present embodiment may be stronger than the forced airflow of the embodiment of
The fan assembly 1101 is connected to the conduit 1102 which may be a cylindrical tube that connects to the first air outlet 101. However, it should be appreciated that the conduit 1102 is not limited to a cylindrical tube and other configurations may be used such as an oval tube, a square tube, a rectangular tube, etc. The conduit 1102 contains the air sucked in by the fan assembly 1101 within the confines of the conduit 1102 thereby increasing the speed of the forced airflow if not maintaining the speed of the forced airflow expelled by the fan assembly 1101. Thus, a forced airflow of relatively high speed is introduced into the first air outlet 101.
Again, referring to
The duct 122 is connected to the vent 126 which also runs along the periphery of the body 100 and is visible from the drying face 14 of the body 100 (see
In an alternative configuration, the fin may be adjustable to be moved to the left or to the right to direct the forced airflow exiting the body 100 in the left direction or the right direction, as desired. For example, the fin of the left side of the body 100 may be moved in the right direction and the fin on the right side of the body 100 may be moved in the left direction so that at least a portion of the forced airflow may converge inwardly towards a center with respect to the body 100. Conversely, the fin of the left side of the body 100 may be moved in the left direction and the fin on the right side of the body 100 may be moved in the right direction so that at least a portion of the forced airflow may diverge outwardly away from the center with respect to the body 100.
Thus far, the body 100 of the drying apparatus 10 according to embodiments of the present invention has been described. The drying apparatus 10 may include a bar 200 that may expel forced airflow. The bar 200 may be movable relative to the body 100, as previously mentioned.
The bar 200 may be moveable along the longitudinal length L1 of the body 100 driven by a drive apparatus to be described later. The travel bounds of the bar 200 may be fixed to coincide with longitudinal length L1, of the body 100 or, alternatively, it could be adjustable to more closely coincide with the height by a particular user. Accordingly, the drying apparatus 10 may be configured such that when the user is positioned adjacent to the drying face 14, the desired length (e.g., the height) of the user may be covered by the drying airflow of the second air outlet 201 by the movement of the bar 200. For example, the bar 200 may move from the top position as shown in
Referring to
Referring to
For example, when the motor 50 rotates the lead screw 40 clockwise, the nut 41 moves up the lead screw 40, which in turn moves the bar 200 up with respect to and along the longitudinal length of the body 100. On the other hand, when the motor 50 rotates the lead screw 40 counterclockwise, the nut 41 moves down the lead screw 40, which in turn moves the bar 200 down with respect to and along the longitudinal length of the bar 200.
In another example, when the motor 50 rotates the lead screw 40 clockwise, the nut 41 moves down the lead screw 40, which in turn moves the bar 200 down with respect to and along the longitudinal length of the body 100. When the motor rotates the lead screw 40 counterclockwise, the nut 41 moves up the lead screw 40, which in turn moves the bar 200 up with respect to and along the longitudinal length of the bar 200.
Referring to
For example, the guide members 45 and guide tracks 46 may operate to retain the bar 200 against rotational movement about the longitudinal axis which may be caused due to the rotation of the lead screw 40. The dual guide tracks 46 may also provide stability to the bar 200 as it moves up and down along the body 100.
In the present embodiment, the bar 200 may include a fastening mechanism 210 to fasten to the guide member 45 of the bracket assembly 44. A fastening mechanism 210 is provided at both ends of the bar 200 in the present embodiment. The guide member 45 may include a recess 47 having a shape corresponding to the shape of the fastening mechanism 210. When the bar 200 is attached to the bracket assembly 44, the fastening mechanism 210 slides into the recess 47 of the guide member 45, thus attaching the fastening mechanism 210 to the guide member 45.
The fastening mechanism 210 may include one or more protrusions 212 that protrude from the sides of the fastening mechanism 210. The one or more protrusions 212 may be elastically deformable or may be spring loaded. When the fastening mechanism 210 has been fully inserted into the recess 47 of the guide member 45, the one or more protrusions 212 may hook into one or more corresponding slots in the recess 47 to attach the bar 200 to the bracket assembly 44.
The fastening mechanism 210 may provide for easy detachment of the bar 200 from the bracket assembly 44. Because the protrusions 212 are elastically deformable or spring loaded, the bar 200 may be detachable from the body 100 by exerting sufficient force. The bar 200 may be replaced with another bar 200 or may be serviced without the need for taking the entire drying apparatus 10 for servicing.
An embodiment of a drive apparatus using a lead screw and nut has been described. In other exemplary configurations, the bar 200 may be driven upon the body 100 by components other than a lead screw and nut. In fact, any suitable drive apparatus capable of providing the desired relative motion may be used. For example, the lead screw and nut may be replaced by a rack and pinion system, a pulley and belt drive, or, where the desired motion is a linear motion, a linear actuator.
Referring to
Based on the configuration of the exemplary embodiment described above, those skilled in the art will readily appreciate that even more bars may be employed in the drying apparatus 10. The drive apparatus 11 may be modular to accommodate multiple bars at the body 100.
As an example, as shown in
Accordingly, with each additional bar, a corresponding motor, a lead screw, a nut, and a bracket assembly may be added to the drive apparatus 11 to accommodate that bar. In this manner the drying apparatus 10 may be configured with a number of bars on the body 100 according to the preference of the user. Alternatively, each drive apparatus may accommodate more than one bar spaced apart from each other, which move in unison along the longitudinal length of the body 100.
Referring to
One or more air inlets 205 may be located at the ends of the bar 200. The air inlet 205 may be protected in a cavity formed between the end of the bar 200 and a shield 206. The shield 206 may extend from the end of the bar 200 to form a shield at the top and side surfaces thereof except for the bottom surface. The open bottom surface of the shield 206 allows for the air inlet 205 to access inlet air. This configuration may act to prevent drips or splashes of water from entering the air inlet 205. The air inlet 205 provides for inlet air to enter into the bar 200 which houses one or more flow generators 204 (see
Referring to
The forced airflow from the pair of flow generators 204 pass through the air conduit 207 to be expelled from the intermediate outlet 208. The air conduit 207 is shown to be cylindrical but is not limited to this shape and other configurations may be used such as an oval tube, a square tube, a rectangular tube, etc. The air conduit 207 contains the air sucked in by the pair of flow generators 204 within the confines of the air conduit 207 thereby increasing the speed of the forced airflow if not maintaining the speed of the forced airflow expelled by the pair of flow generators 204. Thus, a forced airflow of relatively high speed is introduced into the intermediate outlet 208. The expelled air is ultimately forced out of the second air outlet 201. While the present embodiment illustrates using a pair of flow generators, in other configurations a single flow generator or more than two flow generators may be used.
In the present embodiment, a pair of resistance heaters 120 are shown as part of the bar 200. A resistance heater 120 is located downstream of each of the flow generators 204. In alternative configurations, the resistance heater may be located upstream of the flow generator or may be integrated with the flow generator. In the present embodiment, the flow generators 204 and resistance heaters 120 are at least partially enclosed within the air conduit 207 (see
While this embodiment uses resistance heaters to heat the inlet air flow, in another exemplary embodiment, a thermoelectric device, for example, using the Peltier effect may be used to heat or cool the inlet air flow. In this configuration, the bar 200 is not limited to expelling heated air but may also expel cold air.
The bar 200 may further comprise one or more motors 220. As shown in
The second air outlet 201 may be configured such that the expelled airflow may cover a width of the user as the bar 200 moves up or down along the length of the user. The bar 200 may be provided with a suitable second air outlet 201 that may direct the forced airflow across the full width of the user.
Referring to
The intermediate outlet 208 of the air conduit 207 may be a circular, oval, or quadrilateral air outlet from which the forced airflow may fan out as the air flow travels further from the second air outlet 201. As an example, a circular air outlet may form a relatively narrow but relatively strong forced airflow over a small area of the user's body. A rectangular air outlet may form a relatively wider but relatively weaker forced airflow over a larger area of the user's body.
The degree to which the forced airflow fans out may be determined by the angle of the arc at the intermediate outlet 208. As an example, a narrow arc may form a narrow but strong airflow covering a small part of the user's body. A wider arc may form a wider but weaker airflow covering a wider part of the user's body. The shape of the intermediate outlet 208 and the angle of the arc may be selected depending on a desired effect of the forced airflow over the user's body.
Referring now to
The controller 53 may control the operation of the body flow generator 110 and the thermoelectric device 117 of the body 100; the controller 53 may control the operation of the flow generator 204 and the resistance heater 120 associated with the bar, and may control the motor 220, among others. The various operations which are performed by the components have been described above and further description will be omitted. The controller 53 may access or store information in a memory 58 for controlling the operation of the drying apparatus 10.
The drying apparatus 10 may include one or more sensors 209 which are also controlled by the controller 53. These sensors 209 may variously be associated with the body 100 and the bar 200 (e.g.,
According to various embodiments, such as the embodiments shown in
As an example, sensing information of the one or more sensors may be utilized by the controller 53 to determine various characteristics of the environment surrounding the apparatus and/or various characteristics and/or conditions of a user. For example, the sensing information may be utilized to determine the presence of a user; physical characteristics of the user including their overall and/or particular dimensions; wetness of a user's body and/or different parts of their body; temperature or heat of the ambient air and/or humidity of the ambient air, among others. To achieve this, the drying apparatus 10 may include one or more sensors 209 described below.
The one or more sensors 209 may include a thermal sensor such as an infrared sensor. The infrared sensor may be used to obtain information on the heat of the surroundings. For example an infrared sensor may be used as a temperature sensor to sense the temperature of the ambient air. Information on the temperature of the ambient air may be obtained to determine whether to condition the ambient air.
The infrared sensor may be used on a user's body located adjacent to the drying apparatus 10. Information from the infrared sensor may be utilized to infer or determine moisture levels of the user's body, and/or specific parts of the user's body. Information from the infrared sensor may be utilized to obtain an indication of the overall dimensions of a user's body, where body temperature differs from the temperature of the surrounding air.
The one or more sensors 209 may include a proximity sensor. The proximity sensor may be utilized to determine the proximity of the user to the drying apparatus 10. For example, information from the proximity sensor may be utilized to determine the distance of the user from the drying face 14 of the drying apparatus 10. When the user is within a predetermined distance of the drying face 14, the drying apparatus may be activated to dry the user. Information from the proximity sensor may utilized to control a forced airflow speed from the air outlet 101 and/or the air outlet 201 dependent on the distance of the user, in order to obtain a desired forced airflow speed directed at the user.
The proximity sensor may be utilized to determine if a user is undesirably close to the drying apparatus or a part thereof. For example, for safety reasons, it may be desirable to limit or prevent the movement of the bar 200 when a person is within a particular distance or position relative to it. This may include where part of a person's body is located above or below the bar 200, within its path of movement.
The one or more sensors 209 may include an image sensor. The image sensor may be utilized to obtain image information of the surroundings, determine the presence of a user, and determine overall dimensions of a user's body and/or specific parts of the user's body. The image sensor may be used in conjunction with or in lieu of the thermal sensor for information such as those mentioned above in order to obtain a more accurate information.
The one or more sensors 209 may include a humidity sensor. The humidity sensor may also be utilized to obtain information on the humidity of surrounding ambient air, for example, a humidity level of the bathroom in which the drying apparatus is installed. The drying apparatus 10 may be activated or used to remove moisture in the air until the humidity level is below a predetermined level. The humidity sensor may also be utilized to obtain information regarding the level of wetness/dryness of the user's skin. The information may be used to control heat applied to the forced airflow so that the user's skin does not become too dry.
Besides the exemplary sensors described above, other sensors known in the art may be used to achieve a desired result.
As previously mentioned, the drying apparatus 10 may perform air conditioning of a given space. For example, the space may be a bathroom. During hot days, the drying apparatus 10 may cool the bathroom and during cold days the drying apparatus 10 may heat the bathroom for the comfort of the user. In such a scenario, the controller 53 may determine the ambient temperature or ambient heat level of the bathroom, and use this information to control the temperature to the satisfaction of the user.
For example, in a hot bathroom, the user may perspire to keep cool. The perspiration evaporates taking some of the heat from the user's body providing a sensation of coolness. However, when the humidity level is high in the bathroom, the perspiration does not evaporate as efficiently and thus remains as moisture on the user's body. This may cause discomfort to the user as the user feels hotter than the temperature of the bathroom.
Accordingly, the controller 53 in conditioning the bathroom may need to consider the temperature as well as the humidity. In one embodiment, the controller 53 may consider a comfort level index correlating temperature and humidity to determine user comfort. The temperature-humidity index (THI), also known as the discomfort index, may be used to determine a comfort sensation with respect to the current sensed temperature and the current sensed humidity.
There are several equations devised to determine THI. One equation may be:
THI=Td−(0.55−0.55RH)(Td−58)
where Td is the dry-bulb temperature in ° F., and RH is the relative humidity in percent, expressed in decimal. For example, 50% relative humidity is 0.5.
It should be noted that the THI is not absolute but relative. Temperatures affect people differently. Various factors such as height, weight, sex, health condition, etc., may cause one person to feel temperature differently than another person.
Below is a table that illustrates a THI which reflects the comfort level of a typical person.
Referring to
In step S130, the controller 53 may determine whether the derived THI is greater than or equal to 75. The reference index of 75 may be stored in the memory 58. It should be noted that the reference index of 75 is not absolute. For example, the reference index of 75 may be increased or decreased in the memory 58 to tailor to individual user's need. If the THI is less than 75 the controller 53 may continue to step S160 where the controller 53 may terminate the control of the THI.
Otherwise, in step S130, if the controller 53 determines that the THI is greater than or equal to 75, the controller 53 may continue to step S140. In step S140, the controller 53 may send a signal to activate the flow generator. The flow generator may be either on or off, i.e., producing a constant air flow. Alternatively, the controller 53 can be configured to control a variable air intake amount by using an air intake amount value corresponding to the desired air flow. For example, the flow generator may be the flow generator 110 located at the body 100. At step S150 the controller 53 may activate the thermoelectric device 117. It should be noted that the activation of the flow generator and the thermoelectric device need not be in sequence; it can be simultaneous or in reverse order.
The controller 53 may send a signal to the thermoelectric device 117 to cool (or warm) the air sucked in through the air inlet 102. The cooled air may reduce the temperature of the intake air as well as dehumidify the air. The cooled, dehumidified air may then be expelled through the air outlet 101. The controller 53 may be configured to adjust the amount of heating or cooling via a heat level value. The heat level value can correspond to a heat level, either cooler or hotter than the ambient air. The controller 53 continues to step S100 to repeat steps S100 to S130.
At step S130, the controller 53 may again determine whether the THI is greater than or equal to 75. If the controller 53 again determines that the THI is greater than or equal to 75, the controller 53 continues to steps S140 and S150 and continues to intake air and to cool the air. The controller 53 continues unless and until the controller 53 determines at step 130 that the THI is less than 75. In which case, the controller 53 continues to step S160 where the controller 53 terminates the method.
In some instance, the forced airflow provides a wind chill to the user, which the system can also use as a comfort level to adjust air intake and temperature. This is where the user perceives the airflow at a temperature lower than that of the ambient air temperature. There are several equations devised to determine wind chill. For the purpose of this disclosure, reference may be made to the North American and UK wind chill index as follows:
Twc=13.12+0.6215Ta−35.75v++0.16+0.4275Tav+0.16
where Twc is the wind chill index, based on the Celsius temperature scale; Ta is the air temperature in degrees Celsius; and v is the airflow speed in kilometers per hour.
Based on the above equation, the higher the forced airflow speed the lower the perceived temperature of the air flow by the user. Thus, when airflow speed increases the controller 53 may increase the temperature of the forced airflow to obtain the target temperature.
Embodiments may not have a sensor to determine the airflow speed, but can estimate it due to known constraints within the system. For example, the size of chambers for airflow, the power of the air flow generator, and the size of the outlet for the airflow are all known variables. Therefore, embodiments include estimating the airflow speed based on these known parameters. Embodiments may also include a table that correlates airflow speed with the speed at which the airflow generators operate. Therefore, for a known air flow generator input, the system may know the airflow speed based on corresponding predetermined values. In one embodiment, the target surface skin temperature of the user may be about 30 to about 32 degrees Celsius. Thus forced airflow heating or cooling may be provided to maintain or obtain this temperature.
In one embodiment the temperature of the forced airflow generated by the drying apparatus 10 should be at a temperature that provides little or no discomfort to the user. The Humidex index of apparent temperature may provide a suitable guide on the level of comfort or discomfort provided by a temperature applied to a user's skin. The Humidex index takes into account both temperature and relative humidity in determining the level of comfort or discomfort. The humidex formula is as follows:
Where H denotes the Humidex, Tair is the air temperature in ° C., and Tdew is the dew point in ° C.
In some embodiments, the apparent temperature to be applied to the user is between 20 to 39° C. In a preferred embodiment, the apparent temperature to be applied to the user is between 20 and 29° C. As mentioned above, the apparent temperature may be determined by taking into account the wind chill factor of the airflow temperature.
Referring to
In step S210, the controller 53 receives the revolutions per minute (RPM) of the flow generator 204. In this configuration, the RPM of the flow generator 204 is variable. In a configuration where the flow generator 204 is not variable, but fixed, the controller 53 may retrieve the RPM stored in the memory 58. The RPM of the flow generator 204 is equated to an airflow speed of the forced airflow.
In step S220, the controller 53, having the air temperature at the bar 200 and the airflow speed of the forced airflow, may determine the wind chill index. One equation that the controller 53 may use to derive the wind chill index may be the equation provided above. The equation may be stored in the memory 58 where it is accessed by the controller 53.
In step S230, the controller 53 determines whether the derived wind chill index is greater than or equal to a predetermined target. The predetermined target may be chosen from among many different temperatures or temperature ranges. For example, the target may be the target surface skin temperature of about 30 to about 32 degrees Celsius. The target may be stored in the memory 58.
If the wind chill index is less than the target, the controller 53 may continue to step S240. In step S240, the controller 53 may increase the temperature of the forced airflow by heating the air flow using the resistance heater 120 at the bar 200, for example. The controller 53 may continue to step S200 and then repeat steps S200 to S230. Since the thermal sensor is close to the air outlet 201, the thermal sensor may sense an increase in temperature. Also, step S210 may be skipped where the RPM of the flow generator does not change.
As indicated, the controller 53 repeats the process unless and until the controller 53 determines, at step S230, that the wind chill index is greater than or equal to the target. If the wind chill index is greater than or equal to the target, the controller 53 continues to step S250, deactivates the resistance heater 120 and terminates the method.
Referring to
As the bar 200 is driven upward, the thermal sensor scans the user. When the thermal sensor no longer detects thermal heat from the user, then the height of the user is determined to have been reached and the drive apparatus 11 may stop the movement of the bar 200. The drive apparatus 11 now may move the bar 200 downwards in the direction of arrow 2. At the same time the thermal sensor scans the user. The thermal sensor may operate to detect wetness at the part of the user being scanned. The thermal sensor may detect wetness on the user as being a cooler temperature and dryness as being a warmer temperature. The flow generator 204 and perhaps the resistive heater 120 may be activated to dry the user.
In another configuration, the flow generator 110 and perhaps the thermoelectric device 117 may be activated to dry the user. The flow generator 110 and the thermoelectric device 117 may be operated in combination with the operation of the flow generator 204 and the resistive heater 120 of the bar 200. The flow generator 110 and the thermoelectric device 117 may be continuously operated until the bar 200 has reached the bottom of the drying face 14 and then the flow generator 110 and the thermoelectric device 117 may be deactivated.
As shown in
As the bar 200 moves downward in the direction of the arrow 2, the heated forced airflow expelled from the second air outlet 201 may dry the head, the body, and eventually the legs. While the bar 200 is transitioning from the head to the legs, the bar may stop, dry parts of the user which are more wet than other parts, before moving further down in the direction of arrow 2, until the bar 200 has reached to the bottom of the drying face 14.
In another embodiment, the bar 200, after initially reaching the head of the user, may move up and down repeatedly from head to toe until the thermal sensor senses that the user is dry. The movements of the bar described are exemplary and other forms of movement of the bar to dry the user may be conceived.
Referring to
In step S320, the controller 53 moves the bar 200 downward by a predetermined amount, such as one width of the user's body covered by the forced airflow from the bar 200. In step S330, the controller 53 operates the flow generator 204. In this step, the controller 53 may also activate the flow generator 110 and perhaps the thermoelectric device 117. Thus forced airflow from the air outlet 201 may dry a corresponding part of the user adjacent to the bar 200. Also, the forced airflow from the air outlet 101 may aid in the drying of the user. The controller 53 then continues to step S340.
In step S340, the controller 53 determines whether the thermal sensor detects heat greater than or equal to a predetermined amount. The predetermined amount may indicate that the part of the user is sufficiently dry. If the thermal sensor detects heat less than the predetermined amount, the controller 53 continues with step S330 where the controller 53 continues to dry corresponding the part of the user. Otherwise, the controller 53 continues to step S350.
In step S350, the controller 53 determines whether the bar 200 has reached the bottom of the drying face 14 of the body 100. If the bar 200 has not reached the bottom of the drying face 14, the controller 53 continues to step S320, and repeats steps S320 to S340. Otherwise, if the bar 200 has reached the bottom of the drying face 14, the controller 53 deactivates the flow generator 204 and the resistance heater 120. If the flow generator 110 and the thermoelectric device 117 were activated, the controller 53 deactivates these as well.
The filter unit 104 may provide one or more filtrations or treatments to inlet air flow. Ambient air, particularly in cities or other urban settings, may contain undesirable levels of particulate matter. Such particulate matter may be harmful to a person's health, and may also have undesired effects on a person's skin if blown onto the person when using the drying apparatus to dry their body.
For example, particulate matter may be either basic or acidic, and thus cause damage to a user's body. The filter unit 104 may comprise one or more particulate filters 113, such as is seen in
Ambient air is also likely to contain bacteria and viruses, which may pose a risk of infection to a user of the drying apparatus. If not entrained by a particulate filter 113, a filter unit 104 may include a bacterial and/or viral filter 114. Such a filter may include antimicrobial or antibacterial elements.
It may be desirable to reduce or remove moisture in inlet air before it is vented for drying. The filter unit 104 may include one or more dehumidifying filters 115, having for example a desiccant material.
In the present embodiment, a pair of air inlets 102 each pass the inlet air to the filter unit 104. The use of a single filter unit 104 may be desirable particularly where there are multiple flow generators to provide for a single point of servicing of any filters within the filter unit.
Referring to
As shown in
Alternatively the inlet filter 111 may be in the form of a macroscopic filter, such as a macroscopic mesh filter for guarding against the inletting of larger matter. Where it is desired to guard against water being drawn in with the inlet air or to dehumidify the inlet air the inlet filter 111 it may include a desiccant material for absorbing water.
As a further measure to dehumidify the inlet air, a resistance heater (not shown) may be placed adjacent to the inlet filter 111. When operated, the resistance heater may heat the inlet air to remove moisture in the air. Further, the resistance heater may remove moisture in the inlet filter 111 to increase the life of the inlet filter 111.
While
Thermal elements such as resistance heaters 120 may be provided at the downstream side of respective flow generators 110. The resistance heaters 120 may further heat the air forced by the flow generators 110 towards the first air outlet 101. The resistance heater 120 may be used as a booster to further heat or super heat the air heated by the thermoelectric device 117.
While in
As shown in
In this embodiment, the bar 200 may receive air from the flow generator or generators 110 of the body 100. For example, the bar 200 may have one or more air inlets, such as air inlets 203 as shown in
In the present embodiment, the bar 200 is provided with a pair of flow generators 204 that further speeds the forced airflow received from the flow generators 110 of the body 100. However, in other embodiments, the bar 200 is not provided with flow generators 204 and vents the forced airflow received from the flow generators 110 of the body 100 as is. Although not shown, the bar 200 may include resistance heaters 120 as shown in
Referring back to
The body 100 may be covered with molded plastic covering. As shown in
Generally speaking, motors generate a lot of noise. Noise may be generated by an interaction between the brush and the rotor; an interaction between the shaft and the bearings, housing resonance, etc. Where a fan is involved, wind noise may be generated particularly in a fan having a high rotational speed such as those that may be used in the drying apparatus. The steady whirring noise generated by the motor and/or the fan may irritate the user or make the user uncomfortable when using the drying apparatus. Implementing a noise canceling/suppression system may cancel or reduce the noise generated by the motor and/or the fan, and make using the drying apparatus more enjoyable.
To provide for an effective noise cancelation or reduction, the microphone and the speaker may be co-located with the motor and/or the fan.
Each microphone 322 may be installed in the vicinity of a respective flow generator 204 and/or motor 220. In another configuration, a single microphone may be used. In the embodiment where a single flow generator 204 and/or motor 220 is used, a single microphone may be sufficient. Each microphone may receive the target noise of the respective flow generator 204 and/or motor 220.
The speaker 321 may be installed between the two flow generators 204 and/or motors 220. The speaker 321 may output the combined inversed target noise of the two flow generators 204 and/or motors 220. In the configuration where one flow generator 204 and/or motor 220 is used, the speaker 321 may output the inversed target noise of the single flow generator 204 and/or motor 220. The inversed target noise of the speaker 321 may perform destructive interference with the target noise of the respective two flow generators 204 and/or motor 220 to cancel or reduce their noise. In another embodiment, two speakers 321 may be used, each speaker dedicated to a respective flow generator 204 and/or motor 220.
Referring to
For an effective cancellation or reduction of the noise, the inverted noise signal should be of a same or similar amplitude as the noise when outputted from a speaker. Thus, the first operational amplifier 335 may amplify the inverted noise signal to have a same or similar amplitude as the noise when outputted. Similarly, the second operational amplifier 336 may amplify the inverted noise signal to have a same or similar amplitude as the noise when outputted.
The first operational amplifier 335 may send the amplified inverted noise signal to an input of a summing amplifier 337. Similarly, the second operational amplifier 336 may send the amplified inverted noise signal to another input of the summing amplifier 337. The summing amplifier 337 may sum the two inputs together to form a single amplified inverted noise signal.
A phase shift may have occurred during the process of the noise signal by the active noise canceling system. For an effective noise cancellation or reduction, a phase difference of 180 degrees is desirable. A phase shifter or a time delay circuit 338 may be used to adjust the phase of the inverted noise signal so that a phase difference of 180 degrees is achieved. The phase shifter or the time delay circuit 338 may be preset or may dynamically adjust. Where the phase shift is relatively small, a phase shifter or a time delay circuit 338 may not be necessary. The inverted noise signal may be sent to the speaker 331 to be outputted as an audio signal that destructively interferes with the noise generated by the first and second motors and/or fans.
Referring to
Also, a phase shift may have occurred during the process of the noise signal by the active noise canceling/suppression system. For an effective noise cancellation or reduction, a phase difference of 180 degrees is desirable. A phase shifter or a time delay circuit 347 may be used to adjust the phase of the inverted noise so that a phase difference of 180 degrees is achieved. The phase shifter or the time delay circuit 338 may be preset or may dynamically adjust. Where the phase shift is relatively small, a phase shifter or a time delay circuit 347 may not be necessary. The inverted noise signal may be sent to the speaker 341 to be outputted as an audio signal that destructively interferes with the noise generated by the motor and/or fan.
Thus far, an analog circuit using an operational amplifier has been described in the above. However, a digital circuit may also be used in combination with or in lieu of the analog circuit.
Referring to
The digital signal processor 351 may process the digital noise signal of the first microphone 343 and the digital noise signal of the second microphone 344 alternately. The digital signal processor 351 may invert the respective digital noise signal of the first microphone 343 and the second microphone 344 to generate inverted digital noise signal of the first microphone 343 and the second microphone 344.
The digital signal processor may send the alternated inverted digital noise signal of the first microphone 343 and the second microphone 344 to a switch 357. The switch 357 may separate the alternated inverted digital noise signal into the inverted digital noise signal corresponding to the noise signal of the first microphone 343 and inverted digital noise signal corresponding to the noise signal of the second microphone 344. The inverted digital noise signals may be converted to inverted analog noise signals using respective digital-to-analog converters (not shown). The inverted analog noise signals may then be sent to the respective speakers 341 and 342. In another embodiment, the inverted analog noise signals may be further phase shifted as needed before they are sent to the respective speakers 341 and 342.
Each motor may generate a different noise due to manufacturing tolerances, or other structural or configurational differences between the motors. This is also applicable to fans. To avoid duplication of explanation, only the motor will be described.
Under one scheme, a noise signature may be obtained for each motor and stored in a semiconductor memory 356 and the like. In another scheme, sampling may be performed on a number of motors and a representative noise signature may be obtained. For example, the representative noise signature may be obtained through averaging. The schemes described above are exemplary and other schemes may be used to obtain a noise signature. The noise signature may be obtained and stored in the memory at the manufacturing plant.
A processor 355 may retrieve the noise signature from the memory 356 and convert it into an audible sound using a speaker 358. The processor 355 may be a microprocessor or a digital signal processor. Due to the simplicity of the operation, which is retrieving the noise signature and sending it to the speaker 358, in one embodiment, the operation is etched in silicon in an integrated circuit.
Referring to
In the configuration shown in
An active noise canceling/suppression system may be particularly effective against a lower frequency spectrum of the noise. However, an active noise canceling/suppression system may be limited at higher frequency spectrum of the noise. The number of nodes increases rapidly with higher frequencies making it difficult for the active noise canceling system to effectively cancel out or reduce the high frequency noise. Fans particularly generate high frequency noise. However, the active noise canceling/suppression system may be effective in many cases.
For example, sound attenuating materials may be on the motors of the drive assembly or drive assemblies, among others. That is, the drive assembly may be the assembly including motors 50 and/or 52. The drive assembly may be the assembly including one or more motors 220. For example, all motors in the drying apparatus may be wrapped in or contained in a sound attenuating material. Also, the drying apparatus may have void spaces in the body and/or the bar. The void spaces within the respective body and bar housings and exclusive of the flow pathways may at least a portion thereof, be filled with sound attenuating materials.
For example, the flow pathways of the body and/or the bar may, at least a part thereof be shrouded by the sound attenuating materials to attenuate sound associated with the air flow through the respective body and bar flow pathways.
Attenuating materials may be used alone or in combination with an active noise canceling/suppression system.
Exemplary embodiments of the drying apparatus have been described above. Embodiments may be modified for particular usage or suitability.
Where in the foregoing description reference has been made to elements or integers having known equivalents, then such equivalents are included as if they were individually set forth.
Although embodiments have been described with reference to a number of illustrative embodiments thereof, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes in form and details may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims. Therefore, the preferred embodiments should be considered in a descriptive sense only and not for purposes of limitation, and also the technical scope of the invention is not limited to the embodiments. Furthermore, the present invention is defined not by the detailed description of the invention but by the appended claims, and all differences within the scope will be construed as being comprised in the present disclosure.
None of the features recited herein should be interpreted as invoking 35 U.S.C. § 112(f) unless the term “means” is explicitly used.
Many modifications will be apparent to those skilled in the art without departing from the scope of the present invention as herein described with reference to the accompanying drawings.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10-2020-0052549 | Apr 2020 | KR | national |
This application claims priority to and the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 62/992,138, filed on Mar. 19, 2020 and Korean Patent Application No. 10-2020-0052549, filed on Apr. 29, 2020, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
| Number | Name | Date | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 7613532 | Anderson | Nov 2009 | B2 |
| 8112899 | Duckworth | Feb 2012 | B1 |
| 20100002834 | Gudmundson | Jan 2010 | A1 |
| 20110123036 | Barath | May 2011 | A1 |
| 20220068252 | Seagriff | Mar 2022 | A1 |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20210290002 A1 | Sep 2021 | US |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 62992138 | Mar 2020 | US |
