Description

DRYING APPARATUS FOR FOOD TRASH

Technical Field

[1] The present invention relates to an apparatus for drying food wastes, and more particularly, to a sealed type apparatus for drying and treating food wastes, which can cold-store food wastes using cold air generated from an evaporator of a refrigeration cycle in a sealed space and dry the food wastes using high-temperature heat generated from a condenser of the refrigeration cycle. Background Art

[2] In general, conventional apparatuses for treating food wastes are classified into a type of fermentatively treating the food wastes, a type of grinding and heating the food wastes, a type of drying the food wastes using hot air, and a type of directly heating a treatment tank or sending hot air to the treatment tank.

[3] The type to fermentatively treat the food wastes has several problems in that polluted leachate is generated continuously to thereby produce a severe odor, in that it needs a periodic management, and in that it is inevitable to discharge vapor and gas to the air.

[4] In addition, the type of grinding and heating the food wastes is short in a treatment period of time, but also has several problems in that it is complicated in structure and raises various mechanical troubles, in that it is difficult to wash due to its complicated structure, in that it requires excessive power consumption since it uses a heater, and in that it causes an environmental pollution since excessive leachate is generated during grinding.

[5] Moreover, the type of drying the food wastes using hot air has several problems in that it must be installed using a sewage pipeline to discharge vapor, in that it may cause a back flow of odor, and in that it cannot be installed in a place where there is no deodorization pipeline in the sewage pipeline. Furthermore, the type to dry the food wastes using hot air has another problem in that it needs a separate device for cooling vapor and removing odor and requires excessive power consumption since it uses a heater.

[6] Additionally, the type of directly heating the treatment tank or sending hot air to the treatment tank has several problems in that it requires excessive power consumption since it heats the food wastes using a heater and liquefies and discharges vapor being generated using a refrigeration cycle and cooling water, in that it needs a separate deodorization device, and in that it must inconveniently discharge the inside air to the outside.

[7] Moreover, since the conventional food wastes treatment apparatuses have to treat a great deal of food wastes at a time, the conventional apparatuses have several problems in that it takes much time to treat a large quantity of food wastes at a time, and in that a treatment efficiency is deteriorated since hot air is not evenly transferred to the food wastes.

[8] Furthermore, people typically dispose of the food wastes at a time when a fixed amount of food wastes are accumulated after gathering a small quantity of food wastes, since to operate the treatment apparatus to treat such a small amount of food wastes is a serious waste of energy. After the food wastes are dry-treated, the treated food wastes must be separated and disposed at a proper time. However, when a user forgets it and does not dispose the treated food wastes, the food wastes are rotted, and so, a severe odor is generated continuously. Disclosure of Invention Technical Problem

[9] Accordingly, the present invention has been made in an effort to solve the above problems occurring in the prior art, and it is an object of the present invention to provide an apparatus for drying food wastes, which is simple in structure, prevents a malfunction, is operated with the minimum energy, does not generate a severe odor and waste water, is not restricted in an installation place, does not need additional devices, such as a deodorizer, and can treat food wastes within a short time by partitioning the food wastes into several stages, can evenly transfer heated air to the whole food wastes, and can cold-store a small amount of food wastes or the treated food wastes. Technical Solution

[10] To achieve the above objects, the present invention provides an apparatus for drying food wastes comprising: a housing; a refrigeration cycle member built in the housing and having an evaporator for receiving the surrounding heat by a flow of refrigerant and an inside condenser spaced apart from the evaporator in parallel; a moisture- flowing plate located below the evaporator of the refrigeration cycle member and having a moisture passage hole for passing moisture formed when temperature of the surrounding air containing moisture lowers; a gutter located below the moisture- flowing plate and coupled to the housing in a drawer type to discharge accommodated moisture to the outside of the housing; a plurality of food waste- accommodating members located above the inside condenser, each food waste-accommodating member having a space for accommodating the food wastes and being coupled to the housing in the drawer type to accommodate the food wastes and discharge them to the outside of the housing, the plural food waste- accommodating members being formed

in multi-stages vertically and partitioned from each other by partitions having through holes, the through hole formed in the lowermost partition being located at an opposite position to the through hole formed in the adjacent partition, which is located right above the lowermost partition, to thereby move the air in a zigzag form as it goes from the lowermost stage toward the uppermost stage; and an air blower for the air, which passes through the uppermost food waste-accommodating member of the plural food waste- accommodating members, to flow in a direction in which the inside condenser and the evaporator are located.

[11] In addition, the food waste- accommodating member includes: a first food waste- accommodating stage including a first vertical plate, a first horizontal plate coupled to the first vertical plate and hollowed downwardly to store moisture therein, the first horizontal plate having a longitudinal central line crossing a longitudinal central line of the first vertical plate, a first air flow hole formed on a side thereof and first protrusion- receiving holes formed on the surface thereof, and a first accommodating portion formed in the shape of a rectangular parallelepiped opened at a face, each face of the first accommodating portion being made of a mesh, the first accommodating portion having first protrusions formed on the bottom face thereof and inserted into the first protrusion-receiving holes; a second food waste-accommodating stage including a second vertical plate located above the first vertical plate, a second horizontal plate coupled to the second vertical plate and hollowed downwardly to store moisture therein, the second horizontal plate having a longitudinal central line crossing a longitudinal central line of the second vertical plate, a second air flow hole formed on a side opposed to the side where the first air flow hole is located and second protrusion- receiving holes formed on the surface thereof, and a second accommodating portion formed in the shape of a rectangular parallelepiped opened at a face, each face of the second accommodating portion being made of a mesh, the second accommodating portion having second protrusions formed on the bottom face thereof and inserted into the second protrusion-receiving holes; and a third food waste-accommodating stage including a third vertical plate located above the second vertical plate, a third horizontal plate coupled to the third vertical plate and hollowed downwardly to store moisture therein, the third horizontal plate having a longitudinal central line crossing a longitudinal central line of the third vertical plate, a third air flow hole formed on a side opposed to the side where the second air flow hole is located and third protrusion- receiving holes formed on the surface thereof, and a third accommodating portion formed in the shape of a rectangular parallelepiped opened at a face, each face of the third accommodating portion being made of a mesh, the third accommodating portion having third protrusions formed on the bottom face thereof and inserted into the third protrusion-receiving holes.

[12] Moreover, the apparatus for drying food wastes further comprises: a wind direction- adjusting plate serving as a partition located in an air flow passageway of air passing through the air blower for partitioning the air introduced into the inside condenser and the evaporator; a wind direction-adjusting valve coupled to the wind direction- adjusting plate for adjusting the volume of the air introduced into the inside condenser and the evaporator; and a temperature sensor for sensing temperature, wherein air is caused to flow more in the direction in which the evaporator is located when the temperature of the air passing through the air blower exceeds 55 ⁰ C.

[13] Furthermore, the refrigeration cycle member includes a refrigerator, which is an independent means, a first valve, a second valve, the inside condenser, an outside condenser, a third valve, a fourth valve, the evaporator, a first capillary tube and a second capillary tube. The refrigeration cycle member is operated in a circulation cycle composed of the refrigerator, the first valve, the inside condenser, a check valve, the outside condenser, the first capillary tube, the evaporator and the refrigerator in this order when the food wastes accommodated in the housing is dried, and in a circulation cycle composed of the refrigerator, the second valve, the outside condenser, the first capillary tube, the evaporator and the refrigerator in this order or the refrigerator, the second valve, the outside condenser, the second capillary tube, the third valve, the inside condenser, the fourth valve and the refrigerator in this order when the food wastes accommodated in the housing is cold- stored.

[14] Additionally, the outside condenser includes a temperature sensor and a cooling fan mounted therein so that the cooling fan is operated when temperature of the outside condenser exceeds 4O ⁰ C, to thereby prevent an abnormal rise of the inside temperature of the housing.

Advantageous Effects

[15] The conventional apparatus for treating food wastes has a problem in that it is inconvenient to use it since it has no structure to cold-store the food wastes therein before a small amount of food wastes are treated or before the treated food wastes are disposed.

[16] So, the apparatus for drying food wastes according to the present invention is proposed to solve the above problem.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[17] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an apparatus for drying food wastes according to the present invention. [18] FIG. 2 is a schematic view of the inside configuration of the apparatus for drying food wastes shown in FIG. 1. [19] FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of a first food waste- accommodating stage

and a third food waste- accommodating stage of the apparatus for drying food wastes shown in FIG. 1.

[20] FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view of a second food waste-accommodating stage of the apparatus for drying food wastes shown in FIG. 1.

[21] FIG. 5 is a side view of a horizontal plate viewed in an arrow direction A of FIG. 4.

[22] FIG. 6 is a side view of a horizontal plate viewed in an arrow direction B of FIG. 4.

[23] FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a gutter of the apparatus for drying food wastes shown in FIG. 1.

[24] FIG. 8 is a configurative view of a circulation cycle of the apparatus for drying food wastes shown in FIG. 1.

[25] <Explanation on essential reference numerals in drawings>

[26] 10. housing 20. refrigeration cycle member

[27] 21. evaporator 24. inside condenser

[28] 30. moisture-flowing plate

[29] 32. moisture passage hole

[30] 40. gutter 50. food waste-accommodating member

[31] 52. first food waste- accommodating stage

[32] 54. second food waste-accommodating stage

[33] 56. third food waste- accommodating stage

[34] 60. air blower 70. wind direction-adjusting plate

[35] 72. wind direction-adjusting valve

[36] 74. temperature sensor

[37] 80. outside condenser

[38]

Best Mode for Carrying Out the Invention

[39] Reference will be now made in detail to the preferred embodiment of the present invention with reference to the attached drawings.

[40] FIGS. 1 to 8 illustrate an apparatus for drying food wastes according to the present invention, wherein FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the apparatus for drying food wastes according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a schematic view of the inside configuration of the apparatus for drying food wastes shown in FIG. 1, FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of a first food waste-accommodating stage and a third food waste- accommodating stage of the apparatus for drying food wastes shown in FIG. 1, FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view of a second food waste- accommodating stage of the apparatus for drying food wastes shown in FIG. 1, FIG. 5 is a side view of a horizontal plate viewed in an arrow direction A of FIG. 4, FIG. 6 is a side view of a horizontal plate viewed in an arrow direction B of FIG. 4, FIG. 7 is a perspective view

of a gutter of the apparatus for drying food wastes shown in FIG. 1, and FIG. 8 is a configurative view of a circulation cycle of the apparatus for drying food wastes shown in FIG. 1.

[41] As shown in the drawings, the apparatus 100 for drying food wastes according to the present invention includes a housing 10, a refrigeration cycle member 20, a moisture-flowing plate 30, a gutter 40, a plurality of food waste-accommodating members 50, and an air blower 60.

[42] As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the housing 10 has a predetermined space formed therein.

[43] The refrigeration cycle member 20 is built in the housing 10, and includes an evaporator 22 for receiving the surrounding heat through a flow of refrigerant, and an inside condenser 24 spaced apart from the evaporator 22 in parallel.

[44] In addition, an independent means (not shown) for converting refrigerant, which passes through the evaporator 22, into refrigerant of a high-temperature and high- pressure state is mounted among the evaporator 22, the inside condenser 24 and an outside condenser 80, and first and second capillary tubes for converting refrigerant of the high-temperature and high-pressure state, which passes through the outside condenser 80, into refrigerant of a low-temperature and low-pressure state are mounted between the inside condenser 24 and the evaporator 22. Since the above configuration is the same as a conventional refrigeration cycle, a detailed description thereof will be omitted.

[45] The moisture-flowing plate 30 is located below the evaporator 22 of the refrigeration cycle member 20, and has a moisture passage hole 32 for passing moisture gathered when temperature of the surrounding air containing moisture lowers and the air discharges the contained moisture.

[46] As shown in FIG. 2, the gutter 40 is located below the moisture-flowing plate 30 and coupled to the housing 10 in a drawer type to discharge the accommodated moisture to the outside of the housing 10.

[47] The food waste-accommodating members 50 are located above the inside condenser

24, respectively have spaces for accommodating the food wastes, are respectively coupled to the housing 10 in the drawer type to accommodate the food wastes and discharge them to the outside of the housing 10, and are formed in multi-stages vertically. In this embodiment, the plural food waste- accommodating members 50 are arranged in three stages. The food waste- accommodating members 50 will be described in detail.

[48] The food waste-accommodating member 50 according to this embodiment includes a first food waste-accommodating stage 52, a second food waste- accommodating stage 54, and a third food waste- accommodating stage 56.

[49] The first food waste-accommodating stage 52 includes a first vertical plate 521, a first horizontal plate 523, and a first accommodating portion 527.

[50] As shown in FIG. 3, the first vertical plate 521 is in the form of a plate standing vertically, and coupled to the housing 10 in the drawer type. That is, the first vertical plate 521 can be protrudingly drawn against a side of the housing 10. Moreover, the first vertical plate 521 has a hand- grip attached thereon to allow a user to easily grasp it. Furthermore, the first vertical plate 521 has a sealing portion 521a protrudingly formed on the inner frame and made of a material such as rubber for providing a tight sealing.

[51] The first horizontal plate 523 has a longitudinal central line crossing a longitudinal central line of the first vertical plate 521, and is coupled to the first vertical plate 521. The first horizontal plate 523 has a first air flow hole 524 formed on a side thereof, namely, in the left of FIG. 3. The first horizontal plate 523 has first protrusion- receiving holes 525 formed on the surface thereof. The first horizontal plate 523 is generally hollowed downwardly. So, the first horizontal plate 523 stores moisture dropping from the food wastes accommodated in the first accommodating portion 527, which will be described later, while preventing moisture from dropping to the evaporator 22 or the inside condenser 24 to protect the evaporator 22 or the inside condenser 24 from pollution or corrosion.

[52] The first accommodating portion 527 is in the form of a rectangular parallelepiped opened in a face, and each face has a net. In addition, the first accommodating portion 527 has first protrusions 528 formed on the bottom face thereof and inserted into the first protrusion-receiving holes 525.

[53] Meanwhile, the first horizontal plate 523 is spaced apart from the first accommodating portion 527 by the first protrusions 528, and so, air can flow between the first horizontal plate 523 and the lower end of the first accommodating portion 527.

[54] The second food waste- accommodating stage 54 includes a second vertical plate

541, a second horizontal plate 543, and a second accommodating portion 547.

[55] As shown in FIG. 4, the second vertical plate 541 is located above the first vertical plate 521 and in the form of a plate standing vertically, and coupled to the housing 10 in the drawer type. That is, the second vertical plate 541 can be protrudingly drawn against a side of the housing 10. Moreover, the second vertical plate 541 has a handgrip attached thereon to allow the user to easily grasp it. Furthermore, the second vertical plate 541 has a sealing portion 541a protrudingly formed on the inner frame and made of a material such as rubber for providing a tight sealing.

[56] The second horizontal plate 543 has a longitudinal central line crossing a longitudinal central line of the second vertical plate 541, and is coupled to the second vertical plate 541. The second horizontal plate 543 has a second air flow hole 544

formed on a side opposed to the side where the first air flow hole 524 is located, namely, in the right of FIG. 4. The second horizontal plate 543 has second protrusion- receiving holes 545 formed on the surface thereof. The second horizontal plate 543 is generally hollowed downwardly. So, the second horizontal plate 543 stores moisture dropping from the food wastes accommodated in the second accommodating portion 547, which will be described later, while preventing moisture from dropping to the evaporator 22 or the inside condenser 24 to protect the evaporator 22 or the inside condenser 24 from pollution or corrosion.

[57] The second accommodating portion 547 is in the form of a rectangular parallelepiped opened in a face, and each face has a net. In addition, the second accommodating portion 547 has second protrusions 548 formed on the bottom face thereof and inserted into the second protrusion-receiving holes 545.

[58] Meanwhile, the second horizontal plate 543 is spaced apart from the second accommodating portion 547 by the second protrusions 548, and so, air can flow between the second horizontal plate 543 and the lower end of the second accommodating portion 547.

[59] The third food waste-accommodating stage 56 includes a third vertical plate 561, a third horizontal plate 563, and a third accommodating portion 567.

[60] As shown in FIG. 3, the third vertical plate 561 is located above the second vertical plate 541 and in the form of a plate standing vertically, and coupled to the housing 10 in the drawer type. That is, the third vertical plate 561 can be protrudingly drawn against a side of the housing 10. Moreover, the third vertical plate 561 has a hand-grip attached thereon to allow the user to easily grasp it. Furthermore, the third vertical plate 561 has a sealing portion 561a protrudingly formed on the inner frame and made of a material such as rubber for providing a tight sealing.

[61] The third horizontal plate 563 has a longitudinal central line crossing a longitudinal central line of the third vertical plate 561, and is coupled to the third vertical plate 561. The third horizontal plate 563 has a third air flow hole 564 formed on a side opposed to the side where the second air flow hole 544 is located, namely, in the left of FIG. 3. The third horizontal plate 563 has third protrusion-receiving holes 565 formed on the surface thereof. The third horizontal plate 563 is generally hollowed downwardly. So, the third horizontal plate 563 stores moisture dropping from the food wastes accommodated in the third accommodating portion 567, which will be described later, while preventing moisture from dropping to the evaporator 22 or the inside condenser 24 to protect the evaporator 22 or the inside condenser 24 from pollution or corrosion.

[62] The third accommodating portion 567 is in the form of a rectangular parallelepiped opened in a face, and each face has a net. In addition, the third accommodating portion 567 has third protrusions 568 formed on the bottom face thereof and inserted into the

third protrusion-receiving holes 565.

[63] Meanwhile, the third horizontal plate 563 is spaced apart from the third accommodating portion 567 by the third protrusions 568, and so, air can flow between the third horizontal plate 563 and the lower end of the third accommodating portion 567.

[64] The air blower 60 moves the air, which passes through the uppermost food waste- accommodating member, namely, the third food waste- accommodating stage 56 in this embodiment, in a direction in which the inside condenser 24 and the evaporator 22 are located.

[65] Meanwhile, the apparatus 100 for drying the food wastes according to the present invention further includes a wind direction-adjusting plate 70, a wind direction- adjusting valve 72, and a temperature sensor 74.

[66] The wind direction-adjusting plate 70 is a partition located in an air flow passageway of air passing through the air blower 60, and serves to partition the air introduced into the inside condenser 24 and the evaporator 22.

[67] The wind direction-adjusting valve 72 is coupled to the wind direction-adjusting plate 70 to adjust a volume of the air introduced into the inside condenser 24 and the evaporator 22.

[68] The temperature sensor 74 senses temperature.

[69] So, when the temperature of the air passing through the air blower 60 exceeds 55 ⁰ C, the wind direction-adjusting valve 72 is operated to move more air in the direction in which the evaporator 22 is located. In this embodiment, a ratio of the air introduced to the evaporator 22 and the inside condenser 24 is 80 : 20.

[70] When temperature of the inside air is high, the high-temperature air is caused to flow more in the direction in which the evaporator 22 is located. So, when temperature of the high-temperature air lowers, temperature of air, which finally discharged from the inside condenser 24, also lowers, whereby the inside temperature of the housing 10 can be kept uniformly.

[71] However, after a predetermined period of time, temperature of the inside condenser

24 cannot be kept uniformly just with the air contained in the housing 10. So, the apparatus for drying the food wastes according to the present invention further includes the outside condenser 80 coupled to the outer surface of the housing 10 to be separated from the inside condenser 24 of the refrigeration cycle member 20, the outside condenser 80 transfers heat generated from the inside of the housing 10 to the outside of the housing 10.

[72] The outside condenser 80 includes a temperature sensor 82 and a cooling fan 84, and so, prevents that the inside temperature of the housing 10 exceeds a predetermined temperature, since the cooling fan 84 is operated when temperature of the outside

condenser 80 is, for example, more than 4O ⁰ C. Mode for the Invention

[73] The apparatus for drying the food wastes having the above configuration according to the present invention is operated as follows.

[74] First, as shown in FIG. 2, the food wastes to be treated are respectively accommodated in the first accommodating portion 527, the second accommodating portion 547 and the third accommodating portion 567, and then, the first accommodating portion 527, the second accommodating portion 547 and the third accommodating portion 567 are inserted into the housing 10 in the drawer type.

[75] Next, when the refrigeration cycle member 20 is operated, the inside condenser 24 emits high-temperature heat, and so the surrounding air is heated.

[76] The heated air passes through the first air flow hole 524. In this instance, the heated air dries the food wastes accommodated inside the net of the first accommodating portion 527 while passing through the food wastes, and also evenly dries the food wastes located in the lower portion of the first accommodating portion 527 while passing between the lower end of the net and the first horizontal plate 523. Moisture dropping from the food wastes accommodated in the first accommodating portion 527 is accommodated in the hollow portion of the first horizontal plate 523 as described above. In addition, the second horizontal plate 543 and the third horizontal plate 563 are respectively operated in the same way.

[77] Next, after passing through the second air flow hole 544, the high-temperature air dries the food wastes of the second accommodating portion 547 while passing through the food wastes located inside the net of the second accommodating portion 547, and also evenly dries the food wastes located in the lower portion of the second accommodating portion 547 while passing between the lower end of the net and the second horizontal plate 543.

[78] Next, after passing through the third air flow hole 564, the high-temperature air dries the food wastes of the third accommodating portion 567 while passing through the food wastes located inside the net of the third accommodating portion 567, and also evenly dries the food wastes located in the lower portion of the third accommodating portion 567 while passing between the lower end of the net and the third horizontal plate 563.

[79] The high-temperature air evenly drying the food wastes converts its flow direction by the air blower 60, and so, moves in the direction in which the inside condenser 24 and the evaporator 22 are located.

[80] Next, the wind direction-adjusting valve 72 controls the high-temperature air to flow more in the direction in which the evaporator 22 is located when temperature

exceeds 55°C. In the above, it is described that 80/100 of the air flows in the direction in which the evaporator 22 is located. On the contrary, more air, namely, 80/100 of the entire air flows in the direction in which the inside condenser 24 is located when temperature is less than 55°C.

[81] Meanwhile, after heat is transferred to the evaporator 22 in the vicinity of the evaporator 22, moisture, which is not contained in the air losing heat, passes through the moisture passage hole 32 while flowing above the moisture-flowing plate 30, and then, is gathered in the gutter 40. The user has to remove the moisture gathered in the gutter 40 periodically.

[82] As described above, the food wastes are dried by the flow of the air of temperature rising by heat circularly and repeatedly provided from the refrigeration cycle member 20.

[83] Furthermore, since the outside condenser 80 has the temperature sensor 82 and the cooling fan 84, the cooling fan 84 is operated when temperature exceeds 40 ⁰ C to transfer the high-temperature heat inside the housing 10 to the outside of the housing 10, so that the inside temperature of the housing 10 does not exceed the predetermined temperature.

[84] Meanwhile, when the amount of the food wastes to be treated is small or when the user does not dispose the treated food wastes, the food wastes are cool-stored.

[85] In this case, the food waste drying apparatus according to the present invention has circulation cycles of two kinds when the food wastes are cold-stored.

[86] One of the two circulation cycles is a cycle circulated in order of "a refrigerator, which is the independent means, - the second valve - the outside condenser - the first capillary tube - the evaporator - the refrigerator". In this instance, refrigerant of high- temperature and high-pressure is introduced into the evaporator to perform temperature exchange with the outside through the outside condenser, so that temperature of the inside air of the housing lowers continuously to cold-store the food wastes.

[87] The other one of the two circulation cycles is a cycle circulated in order of "the refrigerator - the second valve - the outside condenser - the second capillary tube - the third valve - the inside condenser - the fourth valve - the refrigerator". In this instance, since the inside condenser serves as the evaporator, the inside condenser heat- exchanges between the inside air of the housing and the refrigerant of a low temperature to lower temperature of the inside air of the housing. The condenser can serve as a heat exchanger satisfactorily. Industrial Applicability

[88] As described above, the apparatus for drying the food wastes according to the present invention is simple in structure, prevents a malfunction, is operated with the

minimum energy, does not generate a severe odor or sewage and waste water, is not restricted in an installation place, does not need additional devices, such as a deodorizer, and can treat food wastes within a short time by partitioning the food wastes into several stages, evenly transfer heated air to the whole food wastes to dry the food wastes, and provide a refrigeration function to cold-store a small amount of food wastes to be treated or the treated food wastes without decay.

[89] While the present invention has been described with reference to the particular illustrative embodiment, it is not to be restricted by the embodiment but only by the appended claims. It is to be appreciated that those skilled in the art can change or modify the embodiment without departing from the scope and spirit of the present invention.