Patent ID: 8347520
Filing Date: 2013-01-08
Classification: D06F

Abstract:
1. A drying unit comprising: a drying chamber; a heat pump cycle device having: an air circulation path for allowing air to be circulated by a blower in such a manner that air heated by said radiator is introduced into the drying chamber to dry an object to be dried in said drying chamber, exhaust air discharged from said drying chamber is dehumidified in said evaporator and is re-heated by said radiator; an external heat source applying device that is structured and arranged so that refrigerant passing through said auxiliary heat exchanger is heat-exchanged with an external heat source so as to quicken the rise in temperature of the air by refrigerant evaporation in said auxiliary heat exchanger in an initial stage of a drying operation; and wherein the refrigerant passing means is structured and arranged to alter the plurality of refrigerant paths so that: refrigerant traveling from said radiator to said evaporator via said pressure reducing/expansion valve travels through said pressure reducing/expansion device and said auxiliary heat exchanger after leaving said radiator during the initial stage of the drying operation; refrigerant traveling from said radiator to said evaporator via said pressure reducing/expansion valve travels through the refrigerant passing means, bypassing said pressure reducing/expansion device and said auxiliary heat exchanger during a middle stage of the drying operation; and during a later stage of the drying operation, refrigerant traveling from said radiator to said evaporator via said pressure reducing/expansion valve travels through said first opening/closing valve and said auxiliary heat exchanger, bypassing said pressure reducing/expansion device and said refrigerant passing means after leaving said radiator.