阅读说明：本技术 使纺织品干燥的改进 (Improvements in drying textiles ) 是由 T·J·艾比 D·J·汤姆斯 A·G·布彻 于 2018-05-14 设计创作，主要内容包括：本发明提供了一种用于改善滚筒式干燥机的干燥性能的热反射片材(100),该热反射片(100)包括大致片状的基板(110)和位于其至少一个外表面(112、114)上的热反射层(120、122)。还提供了一种制造热反射片以改善滚筒式干燥机的干燥性能的方法,该方法包括提供基本片状的基板(110)并将热反射层(120、122)设置在基板的至少一个外表面(112、114)上。(A heat reflective sheet (100) for improving the drying performance of a tumble dryer is provided, the heat reflective sheet (100) including a substantially sheet-like base plate (110) and a heat reflective layer (120, 122) on at least one outer surface (112, 114) thereof. A method of manufacturing a heat reflective sheet to improve drying performance of a tumble dryer is also provided, the method comprising providing a substantially sheet-like substrate (110) and disposing a heat reflective layer (120, 122) on at least one outer surface (112, 114) of the substrate.)

1. An apparatus for improving drying performance of a tumble dryer, comprising:

a substantially sheet-like substrate; and

a heat reflective layer on at least one surface of the substrate.

2. The device of claim 1, having a thickness of at least about 0.05 mm.

3. The device of claim 2, wherein the thickness is between about 0.1mm and 1.5 mm.

4. A device according to any preceding claim, wherein the or each heat reflective layer has a thickness of from about 0.01mm to about 0.5 mm.

5. According to the preceding claimAny one of the devices described herein wherein the or each heat reflective layer has a surface area of at least about 6000mm²。

6. The device of claim 5, wherein the profile has a maximum dimension of about 300 mm.

7. The device of any preceding claim, wherein the substrate comprises at least one layer of non-woven material.

8. The device of claim 7, wherein the non-woven material comprises polyethylene terephthalate and/or cellulose.

9. The device of claim 1, wherein the substrate has a weight of about 40 to 120 gsm.

10. The device of claim 9, wherein the weight of the substrate is about 80 gsm.

11. The device of any preceding claim, wherein the thermally reflective layer comprises a metallic material.

12. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the thermally reflective layer comprises aluminum.

13. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein the thermally reflective layer comprises a gold aluminum foil layer.

14. The device of any preceding claim, wherein heat reflective layers are located on both surfaces of the substrate.

15. A device according to any preceding claim, wherein the or each thermally reflective layer is adhered to the substrate by an adhesive.

16. The device of any one of the preceding claims, having a substantially polygonal or curved peripheral profile.

17. Use of an arrangement according to any of the preceding claims for improving the drying performance of a tumble dryer.

18. A method of manufacturing an apparatus for improving drying performance of a tumble dryer, comprising:

providing a substantially sheet-like substrate; and

a thermally reflective layer is disposed on at least one surface of the substrate.

19. The method of claim 18, further comprising applying an adhesive to at least one surface of the substrate prior to placing the thermally reflective layer on the substrate.

20. The method of claim 19, further comprising curing the adhesive at a predetermined temperature for a predetermined time.

21. The method of any of claims 18-20, wherein positioning comprises positioning a heat reflective layer to both surfaces of a substrate.

22. The method of any one of claims 18 to 21, wherein the device has a thickness of at least 0.05 mm.

23. The method of any one of claims 18 to 22, further comprising providing the device with a substantially polygonal or curved peripheral profile.

24. The method of any one of claims 18 to 23, wherein the substrate comprises a non-woven material.

25. The method of claim 24, wherein the non-woven material comprises polyethylene terephthalate and/or cellulose.

26. The method of any of claims 18 to 25, wherein the or each thermally reflective layer comprises a metallic material.

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a dryer for removing moisture from textiles. In particular, but not exclusively, the present invention relates to an arrangement in a tumble dryer to reduce the time and energy required to dry at least one textile product located in the tumble dryer.

Background

Dryers, commonly referred to as "tumble dryers", are power equipment for domestic or industrial use that typically remove moisture from laundry and/or other textiles shortly after being subjected to a wash cycle in a washing machine. Conventional dryers typically include a rotating drum, referred to as a "drum," through which heated air is circulated to evaporate moisture held in the textiles. The drum is rotated to maintain the space between the articles being dried and to increase the efficiency of the drying process. The hot humid air is usually vented to the atmosphere to allow more dry, heated air into the drum and the drying process is continued until the textiles are substantially free of moisture and dry, or water is extracted by an internal condenser and the extracted water is collected in a container and subsequently emptied by the user.

However, conventional dryers are particularly inefficient and require a significant amount of time and effort to adequately dry the textiles. Over-drying is also a common phenomenon that wastes more time and energy. The environmental impact of dryers is particularly acute in the united states and canada, where over 80% of households own dryers.

Disclosure of Invention

It is an object of certain embodiments of the present invention to provide an apparatus and method that significantly increases the efficiency of a tumble dryer in terms of time and energy without transferring chemicals or deposits to the textiles being dried and/or the atmosphere during the drying process.

It is an object of certain embodiments of the present invention to provide an apparatus and method that significantly reduces the time and energy required to dry textiles in a home or industrial tumble dryer.

It is an object of certain embodiments of the present invention to provide a single use or reusable apparatus that allows a tumble dryer to efficiently and effectively dry textiles such as laundry.

It is an object of some embodiments of the present invention to provide an apparatus that reduces the time and energy required for a tumble dryer to dry at least one textile product while ensuring that the textile product moves relative to the drum during the drying process and is in an inflated condition.

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an apparatus for improving drying performance of a tumble dryer, the apparatus comprising:

a substantially sheet-like substrate; and

a heat reflective layer on at least one surface of the substrate.

Optionally, the device has a thickness of at least about 0.05 mm.

Optionally, the thickness is between about 0.1mm and 1.5 mm.

Optionally, the or each thermally reflective layer has a thickness of about 0.01mm to about 0.5 mm.

Optionally, the or each thermally reflective layer has a surface area of at least about 6000mm²。

Optionally, the device has a profile with a maximum dimension of about 300 mm.

Optionally, the substrate comprises at least one layer of non-woven material.

Optionally, the non-woven material comprises polyethylene terephthalate and/or cellulose.

Optionally, the weight of the substrate is about 40 to 120 gsm.

Optionally, the substrate has a weight of about 80 gsm.

Optionally, the heat reflective layer comprises a metallic material.

Optionally, the thermally reflective layer comprises aluminum.

Optionally, the thermally reflective layer comprises a gold aluminum foil layer.

Optionally, heat reflective layers are located on both surfaces of the substrate.

Optionally, the or each thermally reflective layer is adhered to the substrate by an adhesive.

Optionally, the device has a substantially polygonal or curved peripheral profile.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a use of the apparatus according to the first aspect of the present invention for improving drying performance of a tumble dryer.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for manufacturing an apparatus for improving drying performance of a tumble dryer, the method comprising:

providing a substantially sheet-like substrate; and

a thermally reflective layer is disposed on at least one surface of the substrate.

Optionally, the method further comprises applying an adhesive to at least one surface of the substrate prior to placing the thermally reflective layer on the at least one surface of the substrate.

Optionally, the method further comprises curing the adhesive at a predetermined temperature for a predetermined time.

Alternatively, the predetermined temperature is about 150 ℃.

Alternatively, the predetermined time is about 1 to 2 minutes.

Optionally, positioning comprises positioning a heat reflective layer on both surfaces of the substrate.

Optionally, the thickness of the device is at least 0.05 mm.

Optionally, the method further comprises providing the device with a substantially polygonal or curved peripheral profile.

Optionally, the substrate comprises a non-woven material.

Optionally, the nonwoven material comprises polyethylene terephthalate and/or cellulose.

Optionally, the or each heat reflective layer comprises a metallic material.

Drawings

Certain embodiments of the invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 illustrates an exploded schematic view showing the different layers of a heat reflection apparatus according to some embodiments of the present invention;

table 1 includes a first set of test results relating to different heat reflecting devices according to some embodiments of the present invention; and

table 2 includes another set of test results relating to different heat reflecting devices according to some embodiments of the present invention.

Detailed Description

As shown in fig. 1, a device 100 according to some embodiments of the present invention includes a non-woven fabric carrier layer or substrate 110 having a first surface 112 and an opposing second surface 114. Hot melt adhesive 115 is applied to both surfaces 112, 114. A thermally reflective layer 120, 122 having a thermally reflective outer surface is disposed on each layer of the adhesive 112 to provide a layered/laminated and substantially sheet-like device 100 having reflective properties for radiant heat according to some embodiments of the present invention. Alternatively, the adhesive and heat reflective layer may be applied to only one side of the carrier layer 110, and optionally the other side may also comprise an adhesive layer for sealing and waterproofing the carrier layer, especially if the carrier layer is made of a water absorbing material.

It is to be understood that the term "layer" as used for the thermally reflective layer includes coatings, films, and the like.

The carrier layer 110 is suitably a non-woven material made by a dry, wet, spun-bonded or hydroentangled process, such as cellulose, polyester, polypropylene, polyurethane and the like. In view of the dimensional stability of the wet nonwoven material, its dimensional stability is desirable when the wet nonwoven material is stretched as well as when it is pulled through the layer/coating applicator. A suitable nonwoven material is an 80gsm 100% polyester needle punched nonwoven (BRN081080C Ahlstrom). Alternatively, the carrier layer 110 may be a textile material and/or may comprise a plastic or polymeric (synthetic) material, such as a polyethylene terephthalate (PET) film or the like. The carrier layer, i.e. the substrate, may be manufactured by moulding, extrusion, casting, etc.

Suitably, the material of the carrier layer 110 is sufficiently absorbent that the adhesive can sink into it to provide an effective bond with the foil layer. Suitably, the material of the carrier layer is heat resistant such that the device 100 withstands the manufacturing process and tumble drying cycles without melting or partially melting during use. Suitably, the carrier layer has in particular sufficient tensile strength to be pulled through the coating machine without breaking apart during production. Suitably, the carrier layer is not or only partially elastic so that the nonwoven is not excessively stretched during the manufacturing process, especially when wetted with hot melt glue-such "necking" would make the foil-forming process difficult or at least wasteful of foil. Suitably, the carrier layer has at least one substantially flat surface for the heat reflective layer to be effectively positioned and adhered thereto to provide the device with at least one substantially flat heat reflective outward surface.

Suitably, the carrier layer 110 is substantially hydrophobic so that it does not absorb moisture during the drum drying process, which would otherwise compromise the integrity and shape of the device used and prevent its reuse. Once the adhesive dries, the adhesive absorbed into the carrier layer material contributes to the hydrophobicity of the device. Alternatively, the carrier layer 110 may be substantially hydrophilic while being sufficiently encapsulated in a hydrophobic material, such as an adhesive containing a water repellant or wax, to ensure that the carrier layer is water resistant and its integrity is not compromised during use. The carrier layer 110 may be a single layer of the same material, a layer of more than one material, or multiple layers of the same material or a composite of different materials.

The adhesive is suitably a heat-fusible adhesive, such as Magnaprint^TMFoil adhesive BMS, Magnaprint^TMA foil adhesive NMP or the like, which may be printed on each surface 112, 114 of the carrier layer 110. Suitably, the adhesive is printed on each surface by using a 43T mesh screen and applying a metal rod stroke of 8mm diameter under pressure and driven by a moving magnet to the screen twice to force the adhesive through the screen. The adhesive on the first surface 112 of the carrier layer 110 is applied at a pick-up force of about 222gsm and is onAnd subjected to a temperature of about 150 c for about 1 minute to dry the first adhesive layer. The adhesive on the second surface 114 of the carrier layer 110 was applied at a pick-up force of about 215gsm and was subjected to a temperature of about 150 ℃ for about 2 minutes to dry and cure the second adhesive layer. A suitable temperature range is about 140-165 ℃, but other temperatures and drying times may be suitable, such as 250 ℃ for 30 seconds, depending on the material of the substrate 110 and/or the type of adhesive used. The pick-off value is the weight of wet adhesive per unit of measured area of the carrier layer, e.g. 1 square meter of carrier layer will apply 222 grams of wet adhesive uniformly. If a single sheet is desired, one side of the supportive thermally reflective layer is first coated with an adhesive to provide some water resistance, particularly if the carrier layer material is substantially water absorbent, before optionally coating the second side of the carrier layer with an adhesive. A suitable printer for applying the adhesive to the carrier layer 110 is a Johannes Zimmer mdf.r.2551983 printer.

The thermally reflective layers 120, 122 are each suitably relatively thin layers of a metallic material (e.g., a metal, metal alloy, or metal oxide), suitably about 0.02mm thick. The thermally reflective layer may be silver, gold, and/or aluminum, among others, and may be the same material or a different material. Suitably, alloys/mixtures of aluminium may be used. The outer surface of the thermally reflective layer is suitably silver, gold, amber gold, copper, bronze or the like in colour. A lacquer may be used to protect the outer surface of the thermally reflective layer and provide the colour of the lacquer. By passing at about 5.2kg/m²Is heated to about 150 c for about 12 seconds, the thermally reflective layers 120, 122 are suitably applied to the dry adhesive 115 previously applied to each surface of the substrate. Reheating of the dried adhesive layer activates the hot melt adhesive component so that the foil can be adhered thereto. The coated substrate/carrier layer 110 is then allowed to cool to room temperature and an optional release layer of, for example, 12 μm pet material is peeled off, leaving the foil layer on the substrate. The release layer protects the foil layer before and during application and also assists in the application of the foil layer to the substrate. Wax or silicon may be used between the foil layer and the release layer to allow the release layer to be effectively removed from the foil layer.

The foil pick-up value, i.e. the weight of the foil added to the carrier layer and adhesive assembly, is about 3 gsm. A suitable machine for applying the heat reflective layer to the carrier/substrate layer is an Insta heat seal machine, model No. 718. Other suitable application methods include dry coating (e.g., bulk printing), electrochemical coating (e.g., anodization), wet coating (e.g., printing), powder coating, and the like.

The device 100 may be any suitable shape, such as generally square, rectangular, triangular, hexagonal, circular, oval, and the like. The generally polygonal shape ensures that any waste material, as well as the time and energy used, is minimized when cutting each device from a relatively large sheet during manufacture. Suitably, the device is substantially square in sheet profile. Suitably, the width/length/diameter of the sheet-like device is from about 50mm to about 300mm, and a single side of the device may have at least about 6000mm²And suitably about 6000mm²To about 65000mm²Surface area of (a).

Suitably, the support layer 110 has a thickness of about 0.03mm to about 1.5 mm. Suitably, each thermally reflective layer 120, 122 has a thickness of about 0.01mm to about 0.5 mm. The thermally reflective layers may have the same or different thicknesses. Suitably, the device 100 has a total thickness of greater than 0.05mm, and suitably from about 0.1mm to about 1.5mm, preferably from about 0.2mm to about 0.5 mm.

Optionally, in use during the drum drying process, the device 100 substantially resists/resiliency against permanent shrinkage (i.e., permanently bends, permanently curls, permanently folds, etc.), e.g., so that the device does not permanently curl, roll into a tube or ball, and/or break away (fail) or crack. Into the tube or ball and/or fail or break in use. Suitably, the device, in particular the carrier layer, may be at least partially elastic. Suitably, the device has a bending/bending stiffness sufficient to withstand the device load borne by the weight and movement of the at least one textile during a drying cycle in the dryer, while the device substantially retains its original shape during drying. The device 100 may have an overall bending stiffness that allows it to at least partially retain its original shape, without being substantially fully elastic. Suitably, the carrier layer has sufficient dimensional stability and a flat surface to effectively contain the foil layer during manufacture and to effectively and consistently provide maximum surface area to reflect heat in use.

Suitably, the apparatus 100 according to certain embodiments of the present invention is relatively lightweight, for example from about 1g to about 20g, and suitably between about 2.5g and about 10g, to further reduce/eliminate damage to the dryer and the articles being dried, and to further ensure that the level of noise generated by the dryer in use is not increased by the addition of the apparatus.

The device 100 may comprise an internal area in which, for example, an active ingredient (for example a perfume, a powder/liquid softener, etc.) may be put in advance before putting the device into the laundry dryer. The device 100 may be generally sachet-like comprising two or more sheets bonded together at the edge regions to provide access to the interior region through openings between the layers. Alternatively, a pouch or the like may be provided in the surface of the device, which may be closed/sealed after the active ingredient is placed therein.

The applicant carried out a number of tests using a conventional washing machine, a conventional tumble dryer, 2kg of white cotton cut into 4x500g pieces, a sample of the drying aid to be tested, and a balance for weighing the sample. Each test was repeated at least ten times, approximately twenty times, and the average results were recorded. The total weight of the attached cotton sheet (interlocked cotton sheet) was first recorded before the sheet was placed in the washing machine. A 30 minute cold wash cycle was performed, which included a 1200 spin speed cycle without any addition to the machine. The wet sheet was immediately removed from the washing machine and the total weight "after wash" was recorded. The moist sheet was then placed in a tumble dryer and a drying cycle was performed for 60 minutes. The sheet was then immediately removed from the drum dryer and the total "after-drying" weight was recorded. The Residual Moisture Content (RMC) was calculated as a percentage using the following formula:

the moist sheet was then returned to the tumble dryer until completely dry for reuse in subsequent testing.

Tables 1 and 2 show the results for different forms of test specimens according to certain embodiments of the present invention.

As shown in table 1, a first set of tests was conducted using test samples that were all substantially sheet-like and had the same physical dimensions of 107mm x 107mm square while having different compositions and/or thicknesses. Compared to the control (only 2kg white cotton load), it can be seen that the inclusion of a conventional baked tin foil having a thickness of 0.01mm has a significant adverse effect on the drying performance of the tumble dryer. Also, acrylic sheets having a thickness of 0.5mm had a negligible effect on the drying performance of the tumble dryer.

According to certain embodiments of the present invention, the 0.4mm thick sheet (sheet 1) consisting of 80gsm of PET needle-punched non-woven and an aluminium foil layer on one side thereof has an improved drying performance when dry by 17% compared to the control. A0.4 mm thick sheet (sheet 2) consisting of 80gsm PET needle-punched non-woven and aluminium foil on both sides had a drying performance of 40% compared to the control. The 0.21mm thick sheet (sheet 3) consisting of 60gsm cellulose-based wet-laid nonwoven fabric and one side aluminum foil layer had an improved drying performance of 27% compared to the control. The 0.21mm thick sheet (sheet 4) consisting of 60gsm cellulose-based wet-laid nonwoven fabric and aluminum foil layers on both sides had an improved drying performance of 33% compared to the control. The sheet (sheet 5) of 1.05mm thickness consisting of two layers of 120gsmPET needle-punched non-woven fabric and aluminum foil on both sides had an improved drying performance of 7% compared to the control.

Further tests were carried out using other samples, as shown in table 2, which were all essentially sheet-like, 0.4mm thick and comprised an 80gsm PET needle punched non-woven carrier layer and aluminium foil on both sides thereof, with different profile dimensions and thus different surface areas. According to certain embodiments of the invention, a sheet of 30x30mm (sheet 6) consisting of 80gsm of PET needle punched non-woven and aluminum foil layers on both sides thereof had a detrimental effect on drying performance of-15% compared to the control. Compared to the control. A sheet of 30x120mm (sheet 7) consisting of 80gsm PET needle-punched non-woven and aluminium foil on both sides had a negative effect on the drying performance of-27% compared to the control. The 90x75mm sheet (sheet 8) consisting of 80gsm PET needle punched non-woven and aluminium foil on both sides had an adverse effect on the drying performance of-7% compared to the control. The sheet of 82x82mm (sheet 9) consisting of 80gsm PET needle punched non-woven and aluminium foil layers on both sides showed a 20% improvement in drying performance compared to the control. The 90x90mm sheet (sheet 10) comprised of 80gsm of PET needle punched non-woven and aluminum foil layers on both sides had 37% improved drying performance compared to the control. The sheet of 210x297mm (sheet 11) consisting of 80gsm of PET needle-punched nonwoven fabric and aluminum foil layers on both sides had an improved drying performance of 13% compared to the control.

Thus, according to certain embodiments of the present invention, the device comprises a substrate having at least one heat reflective layer thereon, and the total thickness of the device is greater than 0.05mm, and suitably from about 0.1mm to about 1.5mm, and suitably from about 0.2mm to about 0.5mm, the device having a significantly improved and satisfactory effect on the drying performance of a tumble dryer.

As shown in tables 1 and 2, the device 100 suitably has a carrier layer 110 of 80 gsmtet needle punched non-woven fabric, which carrier layer 110 has aluminium foil layers 120, 122 adhered to both surfaces 112, 114 thereof. Preferably, the total thickness of the sheet is about 0.15-0.5mm, and suitably about 0.4 mm. Preferably, the sheet is substantially square, measuring approximately 107 x 107 mm. Preferably, each outer surface of the sheet has about 11450mm²Surface area of (a). Preferably, the sheet weighs about 3.3 g.

Accordingly, certain embodiments of the present invention provide an apparatus, use and method that substantially improves the efficiency and performance of the drying process by a clothes dryer in terms of time and energy without imparting chemicals or deposits onto the textile articles being dried and/or into the atmosphere during the drying process. It is desirable to reduce the time and energy required to dry textile materials in a domestic or industrial dryer. The apparatus may be reusable, thereby saving material, waste, cost and energy, and one or more devices may be used in a single drying cycle, depending on the desired drying performance and/or the amount/characteristics of the textiles to be dried. For example, the device may be selected for use when items of clothing need to be quickly dried, or when a home has a large amount of clothing. Recent concern over the tumble dryer causing a fire has meant that consumers have waited at home for the tumble dryer to complete their work, and they choose not to use the tumble dryer at night. These changes in behavior require shorter drying times. Shorter tumble times result in less fiber damage, thereby extending the life of the textiles and the tumble dryer itself. Furthermore, the laundry may be dried again at a lower temperature setting, thereby reducing fiber damage and extending the life of the tumble dryer heater while using less energy. The device may also reduce static build-up on the tumbling fabric and soften the fabric. The device does not use chemicals and therefore does not leave chemical residues on the textile and is therefore environmentally friendly.