JP2002336590A - Fully automatic washer dryer - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To shorten drying time, to make a machine body compact by reducing the number of part items, and to prevent vibration of an apparatus body from being transmitted to the dehumidifying duct side. SOLUTION: This fully automatic washer dryer dries clothes by blowing hot air in a drum 22 after washing the clothes in the inside drum 22. A double- tube type heat exchanger 40 is installed in the part. Water to be supplied in the drum 22 is passed through into an inner tube 41 of this double tube type heat exchanger 40. Hot water is passed through into an outer tube 42. Air is passed between fins 43 outside of the outer tube 42. Hot water warmed by exchanging heat with the hot water in the outer tube 42 while passing through into the inner tube 41 is supplied in the drum 22, and is used as washing and rinsing water. Hot air warmed by exchanging heat with the hot water in the outer tube 42 while passing between the fins 43 is blown in the drum 22 at clothes drying time. Highly humid exhaust air containing moisture evaporated from the clothes at this clothes drying time is exhausted outdoors via a discharge duct 33.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a so-called fully automatic washing and drying machine which has both washing and drying functions of clothes and in which these washing and drying steps are automatically controlled.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art FIGS. 7A and 7B show an example of a conventional fully automatic washing and drying machine of a drum type. 7A and 7B, reference numeral 1 denotes an apparatus main body, 2 denotes an outer drum in the apparatus main body 1, and 3 denotes an inner drum which is rotated by an electric motor 4 about a horizontal rotation shaft 4a in the outer drum 2. The inner drum 3 has a large number of small holes 3a.

Reference numeral 5 denotes an electric heater for water heating incorporated in the bottom of the outer drum 2. Water supplied from a water supply port 6 temporarily enters the outer drum 2 and the inner drum 3 from a water supply nozzle 11, and is supplied to a buffer. In 7, the water is heated by the electric heater 5 to become hot water, and is provided for washing and rinsing.

Numeral 8 denotes an electric heater for heating hot air, which is discharged from the inner drum 3 into the outer drum 2, sucked by a fan 10 through an intake pipe 9, and supplied with cold water 6 a supplied from a water supply port 6. The dehumidified (dried) exhaust gas is heated by the hot air heating electric heater 8 and blows into the inner drum 3 from the hot air blowing port 9a to dry the clothes.

[0005] Reference numeral 12 denotes a drain pump for draining the washing water in the outer drum 2 and the inner drum 3 from the drain port 13 through the buffer 7. In the case of the above-mentioned conventional fully automatic washing and drying machine, the dehumidifying cooling water 6a is used to dehumidify moisture from the high humidity exhaust air. JP 2000-22
52879).

Next, an operation example of the above-mentioned conventional fully automatic washing and drying machine will be described. During washing (FIG. 8 (A)): There are cases where water is used for washing and rinsing, and cases where warm water is used. In the case of water, the tap water supplied from the water supply port 6 is used as it is, but in the case of using hot water, the tap water in the rotary drum 3 is heated by the electric heater 5 located below the outer drum 2.

During drying (FIG. 8B): The warm air (air) is circulated by the fan 10 using the hot air heating electric heater 8 as a heat source in the following steps. <Heating process> Heat air with hot air electric heater 8 → <Hygroscopic process> Blows warm air into inner drum 3 from the front upper part to remove water from clothing → <Dehumidifying process> Dehumidifies high humidity air (exhaust) Dehumidified by cooling with cooling water 6a for use →
To <heating step>. Although the above-mentioned conventional example is a drum type, a pulsator type (JP-A-11-253686) has the same basic structure and operation example.

[0008]

However, the prior art described above has the following disadvantages. 1. The drying time is long The amount of warm air blown into the inner drum 3 is an important factor that determines the drying time. Basically, the drying time becomes shorter as the amount of warm air increases. In the case of the conventional example, hot air that has received moisture from clothing is dehumidified with water or air to return to low-humidity air, and is again used for drying through the hot air electric heater 8. At this time, in order to dry the clothes efficiently, it is necessary to reduce the temperature of the hot air to a sufficiently low level in the dehumidifying process. To that end, the humidity of the hot air must be reduced as much as possible during the process. For example, when the heat exchange amount Q is constant, Q =
As shown by mc △ t (m: hot air volume, c: specific heat, Δt: temperature difference), the temperature difference can be increased by reducing the hot air volume m. That is, the air volume must be limited to some extent. Therefore, at present, there is a limit in shortening the drying time.

[0009] 2. In the case of warm water washing, it takes time to warm the washing water with the electric heater 5. In the case of the electric heater 5, the generated Joule heat increases as the current value increases. However, the contract for ordinary households is usually 30 A, and the upper limit of power consumption is about 1 kW.
Therefore, use 30 liters of water for washing and rinsing,
Consider a case where the temperature is raised to 0 ° C. (initial 20 ° C.). 1
The time required for a kW electric heater is given by Equation 1.

[Formula 1] Washing and rinsing are not started after the temperature reaches the set temperature, but if half of these are considered to contribute to prolonging the operation time, a total of about 20 minutes for washing and 10 minutes for rinsing compared to the case where hot water is not used is used. Will be extended. Therefore,
In the conventional example, the operation time is longer by 20 to 80 minutes depending on the amount of water than in the case where hot water is not used depending on the set temperature.

[0010]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a fully automatic washing and drying machine that can reduce the operating time during drying and use hot water. It is an object of the present invention to reduce the number of components and reduce the size of the entire configuration by shortening the time required for washing and rinsing and saving energy.

[0011]

In order to achieve the above object, according to the first aspect of the present invention, in a fully automatic washing and drying machine, clothes are washed in a washing tub, and then warm clothes are stored in the washing tub. In a fully automatic washing and drying machine that blows air to dry clothes, a part thereof is provided with a warm air heat exchanger for generating warm air when drying the clothes, and the warm air heat exchanger is used. When the generated hot air is blown into the washing tub to dry the clothes, the high-humidity exhaust air containing moisture evaporated from the clothes is discharged directly to the outside via the moisture drainage duct. It is characterized by the following.

Further, in the invention according to claim 2,
The invention according to claim 1 is characterized in that a gas burner, an oil burner, hot water, an electric heater, or exhaust heat is used as a heat source of the hot air heat exchanger.

Further, in the invention according to claim 3,
3. The invention according to claim 1, wherein a part of the exhaust duct is provided with a circulation duct through which a part or all of the exhaust reaches the air suction port of the hot air heat exchanger by switching a damper. If the humidity in the exhaust gas detected by the humidity sensor is reduced to a certain value or less during the drying operation, a part or all of the high-temperature exhaust gas is changed to a circulation duct by switching the damper. And an energy-saving operation circuit capable of performing energy-saving operation by supplying the heat-air to the hot-air heat exchanger via the air-conditioning apparatus.

Further, in the invention according to claim 4,
In the invention corresponding to any one of the inventions according to claims 1 to 3, a latent heat exchanger is provided in a part of the dehumidification duct, and air reaching the hot air heat exchanger via the latent heat exchanger is preheated. By doing so, energy saving operation can be performed.

Furthermore, in the invention according to claim 5,
In a fully automatic washing / drying machine, clothes are washed in a washing tub, and then warm air is blown into the washing tub to dry the clothes. A double-pipe heat exchanger is attached, water for supplying water to the washing tub is passed through the inner pipe of the double-pipe heat exchanger, hot water is passed through the outer pipe, and the outer pipe is Air is passed between the fins, hot water heated by heat exchange with hot water in the outer tube while passing through the inner tube is supplied into the washing tub and used as washing and rinsing water, and the space between the fins is used. The hot air heated by exchanging heat with the hot water in the outer tube while passing is blown into the washing tub when the clothes are dried, and the high-humidity exhaust containing moisture evaporated from the clothes when the clothes are dried is discharged from the washing tub. That it is configured to discharge directly to the outdoors via a moisture drainage duct. It is an butterfly.

Further, in the invention according to claim 6,
The invention according to claim 5 is characterized in that hot water heated by a gas burner, an oil burner, an electric heater, a heat pump or waste heat circulates in the outer tube of the double-pipe heat exchanger. .

Further, in the invention according to claim 7,
In the invention according to claim 5 or 6, the flow of water in the inner tube and the flow of warm water in the outer tube of the double-pipe heat exchanger are set to be countercurrent. It is.

Further, in the invention according to claim 8,
In any one of the inventions according to any one of claims 1 to 7, a flexible portion is provided at a connecting portion between a moisture exhaust port for exhausting high-humidity exhaust from the inside of the washing tub and a moisture exhaust duct for exhausting high-humidity exhaust to the outside. A tube is used.

Further, in the invention according to claim 9,
In any one of the first to eighth aspects of the present invention, the washing tub is constituted by a drum type.

Further, in the invention according to claim 10, in any one of the inventions according to claims 1 to 8,
The washing tub is of a pulsator type.

Further, according to the invention described in claim 11, in any one of the inventions described in claims 1 to 10, it is preferable that a stretchable flexible duct is used for a part or all of the moisture drainage duct. It is a feature.

[0022]

[Action] In the inventions described in claims 1 to 4 and claims 8 to 11, basically, air is heated by a hot air heat exchanger, and the heated air is blown into a rotating drum, and clothing is heated by the warm air. Is dried, and high-humidity exhaust air containing moisture evaporated from clothes is exhausted outside through an exhaust duct. When the energy saving operation mode is set, the humidity in the exhaust gas is detected by the humidity detection sensor, and when the detected value reaches the set value, the damper is switched to heat the exhaust gas having the low humidity. Circulate through the wind heat exchanger.

2. The following effects are obtained in the invention according to claims 5 to 11.・ Washing process (hot water washing / rinsing) Put clothes into the washing tub, start water supply from the water inlet into the washing tub, and simultaneously pass hot water through the outer tube of the double tube heat exchanger. As a result, the water passing through the inner tube is heated and its temperature rises, and this warm water is supplied into the washing tub. When a certain amount of warm water is stored, the drum rotates when the washing tub is a drum type, and the pulsator rotates when the washing tub is a drum type to perform washing. When the washing is completed, after the water is drained from the washing tub, warm water is similarly supplied into the washing tub and rinsing is performed several times. Next, a dehydration step is started, and the washing is completed.

Drying Step When the dehydration is completed, the fan is driven to suck air from outside the machine, and at the same time, hot water circulates in the outer tube of the double-pipe heat exchanger. It is blown into the washing tub. At this time, the rotating drum or the pulsator rotates. By this action, the moisture in the clothes evaporates, and the exhaust air with high humidity is discharged from the washing tub to the outside via the moisture drainage duct.

[0025]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

[Embodiment 1] A fully automatic washing and drying machine according to the present invention having the above configuration and operation, which corresponds to the inventions described in claims 5 to 11, will be described with reference to Figs. .
The fully automatic washing and drying machine shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 is of a drum type. Reference numeral 20 denotes an apparatus main body, 21 denotes an outer drum as a washing tub configured in the apparatus main body 20, 22.
Is an inner drum driven (rotated) by a motor 24 about a horizontal rotating shaft 23. The inner drum 22 is provided with a number of small holes 22a, and the small holes 22a are used for draining and drying. It becomes an escape hole for hot air blowing and high humidity exhaust at the time.

Reference numeral 25 denotes a fan for sucking air. The fan 25 sucks air from an air inlet 26 of the apparatus main body 20. The sucked air is heated from an air passage 27 by a double-tube heat exchanger 40 described later, and the heated warm air flows into the inner drum 22 via the outer drum 21 from the warm air blowing port 28. It is blown. The clothes are dried by the blown hot air.

Reference numeral 29 denotes a water supply port. The water supply port 29 is connected to a water supply, and the water is supplied from a water supply passage 30 via a double tube heat exchanger 40 to a hot water supply 31 through the outer drum 21. Is supplied as water or hot water into the inner drum 22. Reference numeral 32 denotes a moisture exhaust passage extending from the outer drum 21 to the upper part of the apparatus main body 20, and reference numeral 33 denotes a stretchable flexible duct connected to a moisture exhaust port 34 of the moisture exhaust passage 32.
The flexible duct 33 is made of vinyl chloride which can withstand a maximum of 60 ° C., but may be made of another material, for example, a metal as long as various exhaust conditions are satisfied.

Reference numeral 35 denotes a buffer formed at the bottom of the outer drum 21, and water in the buffer 35 is discharged from the drain port 37 to the outside of the apparatus main body 20 via a drain pump 36. 3 and 4 show the double-pipe heat exchanger 4 described above.
0, the double-pipe heat exchanger 40 has an inner pipe 4
1, an outer tube 42, and a number of fins 43 attached to the outside of the outer tube 42. One end of the inner tube 41 is connected to the water supply channel 30, and the other end is connected to the hot water port 31.
The outer pipe 42 is connected to a hot water outgoing pipe and a return pipe extending from a hot water generator (not shown), and hot water circulates inside the outer pipe 42. The flows in the inner pipe 41 and the outer pipe 42 are opposite flows as indicated by arrows in FIG. In addition, as a heat exchanger for generating hot water and hot air, in addition to the double-pipe heat exchanger 40 of the embodiment, the tap water is heated by a gas or oil burner or an electric heater or exhaust heat, and the air is also discharged. A heat exchanger that generates warm air by heating can also be considered (claim 6).

FIGS. 5A and 5B show an example of a flexible duct 33 which can be extended and contracted as the above-mentioned moisture drainage duct. As shown in FIG. As shown, partly flexible 33a
The other is, for example, one connected with a metal pipe or a plastic pipe 33b, and both of them absorb the vibration of the device main body 20 side by the action of flexibility and elasticity, and can easily connect with each other at the time of construction. To do.

An operation example of the embodiment having the above configuration will be described below.・ Washing process (hot water washing / rinsing) Clothes are put into the inner drum 21, water is supplied from the water supply port 29 to the outer and inner drums 21 and 22, and at the same time, inside the outer tube 42 of the double tube heat exchanger 40. Through warm water. As a result, the water passing through the inner pipe 41 is heated and its temperature rises, and this warm water is supplied into the inner drum 22. When a certain amount of hot water is accumulated, the inner drum 22 is rotated by the motor 24, and washing is performed. When the washing is completed, the water is drained by the drain pump 36, and then the warm water is supplied into the inner drum 21 in the same manner, and the rinsing is performed several times. Next, a dehydration step is started, and the washing is completed.

Drying Step When the dehydration is completed, the fan 25 is driven to drive the
Air is sucked from outside, and at the same time, hot water circulates in the outer tube 42 of the double-tube heat exchanger 40, and the heated hot air is blown into the inner drum 22 through the fins 43. At this time,
The inner drum 22 rotates. By this action, the moisture in the clothes evaporates, and the high-humidity exhaust air is discharged outside through the inner drum 22 → the outer drum 21 → the moisture drain passage 32 → the moisture drain port 34 → the moisture drain flexible duct 33. You.

[0032]

Embodiment 2 Embodiment 2 corresponds to the first to fourth aspects of the present invention. Instead of the double-pipe heat exchanger 40, the heat exchanger comprises only an outer pipe 42 and fins 43. The hot water is circulated in the inside and the air sucked from the fan 25 is heated through the fins 43 and the inner drum 22 is heated in the same manner as in the first embodiment.
A method of drying by blowing warm air into the inside, and does not adopt a method of heating clean water for washing and rinsing.

[0033]

Embodiment 3 In Embodiment 3, as shown in FIG. 7 (A), a circulation duct 50 is connected to the suction side of the moisture exhaust passage 32 and the fan 25, and the damper 5 is incorporated in a branch portion of the moisture exhaust passage 32. Further, a humidity detection sensor 52 is attached to a part of the moisture exhaust passage 32. When the humidity detected by the humidity detection sensor 52 is a set value and the energy saving mode is set, the damper 52 is moved to the circulation duct 50 side. The energy saving operation circuit 53 according to the third aspect of the present invention is provided in which a part or all of the exhaust gas is recirculated by switching to the third mode.

[0034]

Embodiment 4 In Embodiment 4, as shown in FIG.
A latent heat exchanger 60 is provided in a part of the moisture exhaust passage 32, and the fan 2
The air sucked in 5 is preheated by passing through the latent heat exchanger 60 (claim 4).

[0035]

According to the present invention, the construction and operation as described above
The following effects are obtained. Since high-humidity exhaust gas is discharged outside and hot air is not circulated unlike a conventional fully automatic washing and drying machine, there is no need to consider dehumidification. Therefore, there is no restriction on the air volume, and the drying time can be shortened. The drying time for 3 kg of practical clothing (cotton 50: synthetic fiber 50 wt%) and 68% dehydration took about 150 minutes for the conventional product (1 m ³ / h) of the dehumidifying method. On the other hand, in the method of the present invention, when the air volume was set to 2 m ³ / h, drying was performed in about 90 minutes.

The space can be effectively used by sharing a hot water and a hot air with a double-pipe heat exchanger. In addition, by using hot water as the heat source, the time required to make the temperature higher than that of the electric heater can be reduced. Consider a case where 30 liters of water is used for washing and rinsing, and the temperature is raised to 30 ° C. (initial 20 ° C.). Counter-flow heat exchanger (see Fig. 6) Inlet hot water temperature 80 ° C, outlet 60 ° C, circulating water volume 2 liter / mi
Assuming that n is n and the heat dissipation ratio η to the inside is 50%, Equation 2
It becomes.

[Formula 2] It takes 15 minutes to add 30 liters of warm water.
[min]. As in the case of the heater, if half of the operation time is extended (compared to washing with water and rinsing), the time until the end of washing is extended by 15 minutes (5 minutes compared to the case of the electric heater) Shortened). As a hot water heat source, any of a heating method using gas combustion, utilization of waste heat, heat pump, and heating with an electric heater can be used.

What is problematic in the duct type is a countermeasure for preventing the body from coming off when the body is vibrated. By using a flexible duct with elasticity that can sufficiently absorb vibration, the body vibration is absorbed by the flexible duct, the connection of the duct is loosened or pulled out by the vibration, resonance noise is generated, and the outer wall is In the penetrating part, the rain-finished part does not become defective.

The flexibility of expansion and contraction and bending of the flexible duct simplifies the arrangement during construction, and improves the workability of the airframe and the moisture drainage duct. By using the exhaust heat as circulation or latent heat, energy saving operation can be performed.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing a fully automatic washing and drying machine according to the present invention, showing a washing time.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory view showing a fully automatic washing / drying machine according to the present invention when drying is performed.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram of a double tube heat exchanger.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along line AA ′.

FIG. 5A is an explanatory view of a flexible duct as a whole;
(B) is an explanatory view of a part of a flexible duct and another part of a straight pipe.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram of the function and effect of the double-pipe heat exchanger.

FIG. 7A is an explanatory view of an embodiment in which high-temperature exhaust is circulated under a certain condition, and FIG. 7B is an explanatory view of an embodiment in which air is preheated by the latent heat of exhaust.

FIG. 8A is an explanatory view of a conventional fully automatic washing and drying machine during washing, and FIG. 8B is an explanatory view of a conventional fully automatic washing and drying machine during drying.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 20 Body 22 Inner drum 25 Fan 29 Water supply port 32 Drainage passage 33 Flexible duct 36 Drainage pump 40 Double tube heat exchanger 41 Inner tube 42 Outer tube 43 Fin 50 Circulation duct 60 Latent heat exchanger

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page F term (reference) 3B155 AA16 BB15 CA02 CA06 CB07 CB52 CB53 CB55 CB57 KA29 MA01 MA02

Claims (11)

[Claims] 1. A fully automatic washing and drying machine for washing clothes in a washing tub and thereafter blowing warm air into the washing tub to dry the clothes, wherein the clothes are partially dried. A hot air heat exchanger for generating hot air is provided, and when the hot air generated by the hot air heat exchanger is blown into the washing tub to dry clothes, the clothes contain moisture evaporated from the clothes. A fully automatic washing and drying machine configured to discharge high-humidity exhaust air directly to the outdoors via a moisture exhaust duct. 2. The fully automatic washing and drying machine according to claim 1, wherein a gas burner, an oil burner, hot water, an electric heater, or exhaust heat is used as a heat source of the hot air heat exchanger. 3. A circulating duct in which a part or all of the exhaust gas reaches an air suction port of the hot air heat exchanger by switching a damper in a part of the moisture discharging duct, and a humidity detecting sensor is provided in a part of the moisture discharging duct. If the humidity in the exhaust gas detected by the humidity detection sensor decreases to a certain value or less during the drying operation, a part or all of the high-temperature exhaust gas is switched through the circulation duct by switching the damper. 3. The fully automatic washing and drying machine according to claim 1, further comprising an energy saving operation circuit capable of performing an energy saving operation by supplying the energy to the wind heat exchanger. 4. A latent heat exchanger is provided in a part of the moisture discharge duct,
The energy saving operation can be performed by preheating the air reaching the hot air heat exchanger via the latent heat exchanger, and the energy saving operation can be performed. A fully automatic washing and drying machine according to the invention. 5. A fully automatic washing and drying machine for washing clothes in a washing tub and then drying the clothes by blowing warm air into the washing tub, wherein a fin is attached to a part of the outer tube side of the washing and drying machine. A double-pipe heat exchanger is attached, water for supplying water to the washing tub is passed through the inner pipe of the double-pipe heat exchanger, hot water is passed through the outer pipe, and fins outside the outer pipe are passed through. Air is passed between the tubs, and hot water warmed by heat exchange with hot water in the outer tube while passing through the inner tube is supplied into the washing tub and used as washing and rinsing water, while passing between the fins. The warm air heated by exchanging heat with the hot water in the outer tube is blown into the washing tub when the clothes are dried, and the high-humidity exhaust containing moisture evaporated from the clothes during the drying of the clothes is exhausted from the washing tub. It is configured to discharge directly to the outside via a duct. Dynamic washing and drying machine. 6. The hot water heated by a gas burner, an oil burner, an electric heater, a heat pump, or waste heat circulation in the outer tube of the double-pipe heat exchanger. Fully automatic washing and drying machine. 7. The double-pipe heat exchanger according to claim 5, wherein the flow of water in the inner pipe and the flow of hot water in the outer pipe are set to be opposite to each other. Fully automatic washing and drying machine. 8. A flexible pipe is used at a joint between a moisture exhaust port for exhausting high-humidity exhaust from the washing tub to the outside of the machine and a moisture exhaust duct for exhausting high-humidity exhaust to the outdoors. A fully automatic washing and drying machine according to any one of claims 1 to 7. 9. The fully automatic washing and drying machine according to claim 1, wherein the washing tub is of a drum type. 10. The fully automatic washing and drying machine according to claim 1, wherein the washing tub is of a pulsator type. 11. A fully automatic washing and drying machine according to any one of claims 1 to 10, wherein a stretchable flexible duct is used for part or all of the moisture drainage duct.