JP2002360987A - Washing and drying machine - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To clean stains and dirt such as the fat adhered to clothes by raising a supplying water temperature, and to shorten the drying time by improving the spin-drying performance in an automatic washing and drying machine. SOLUTION: An outer tub 3 elastically suspended and supported in an equipment body 1 supports an inner tub 4 for housing clothes and having the center axis of the rotation thereof in the vertical direction. A rotary blade 6 is provided in the inner bottom part of the inner tub 4 freely to turn, and the inner tub 4 or the rotary blade 6 is driven by a motor 8. A warm air blowing means formed of a drying blower 15 and a heater 16 to blow the warm air into the inner tub 4 heats the water to be supplied into the inner tub 4 through a water supply valve 25.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a washing and drying machine for automatically performing a series of steps of washing, rinsing, dewatering and drying.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, this type of washing / drying machine has been configured as shown in FIG. Hereinafter, the configuration will be described.

As shown in FIG. 5, a casing 1 has a structure in which an outer tub 3 is elastically suspended by a plurality of suspensions 2 therein, and vibrations during dehydration are absorbed by the suspensions 2. Inside the outer tub 3, an inner tub 4 for storing laundry and objects to be dried (hereinafter referred to as clothes) is rotatably disposed around a washing / dehydrating shaft 5 having a hollow and double structure. A rotating wing 6 for stirring clothes is rotatably arranged on the inner bottom of the tank 4. In addition, a number of small holes (not shown) are provided on the inner peripheral wall of the inner tank 4, and a fluid balancer 7 is provided above.

A motor 8 is attached to the bottom of the outer tub 3 and, via a washing / dehydrating shaft 5 and a clutch 9 for switching the transmission of rotational force to the washing / dehydrating shaft 5 during washing or spin-drying, the inner tub 4 or the rotary blade 6. It is connected to. The rotary blade 6 has a substantially pot-like shape having an inclined surface 10 on the outer periphery, and forms a stirring projection 11. The rotor 6 has a shape whose inclined surface is an inclined surface 10.
In the drying process,
The object to be dried is inclined 10 by centrifugal force generated by the rotation of the rotor 6.
It is easy to soar upward along the.

The heat exchanger 12 is for dehumidifying the circulating warm air, is fixed to the housing 1 with screws 13, and has one end connected to the lower part of the outer tub 3 via an elastic bellows-like hose 14. And the other end is connected to one end of the drying blower 15. The other end of the drying blower 15 is connected to a hot air supply path 17 having a heater 16 as a heating means, and forms a hot air circulation path which is connected to the inner tank 4 through an upper bellows-shaped hose 18 and circulates. I have. The drying air blower 15 and the heater 16 constitute hot air blowing means.

The outer tub 3 is provided with an outer tub cover 19 for airtightly covering the upper surface of the outer tub 3. The outer tub cover 19 is provided with a hot air outlet 20 from a telescopic upper bellows-shaped hose 18. It is open. An inner lid 21 is provided on the outer tank cover 19 so as to be openable and closable so that clothes can be taken in and out.

The housing cover 22 covers the upper part of the housing 1, has an openable / closable lid 23, and is provided with an operation display means 24 and a water supply valve 25 for supplying water to the inner tank 4. A drain valve 26 for draining water into the outer tub 3 is provided at the bottom of the outer tub 3. The cooling blower 27 is attached to the side surface of the housing 1, and the outer tub 3 inside the housing 1, the heat exchanger 12
It is configured to be able to blow air to cool the equipment.

The control device 28 includes a motor 8, a clutch 9,
Drying blower 15, heater 16, water supply valve 25, drain valve 2
6. The operation of the cooling blower 27 and the like is controlled to control each process of washing, rinsing, spin-drying, and drying. The thermistors 29 and 30 detect the temperature of the circulating air at the inlet and outlet of the heat exchanger 12.

The operation of the above configuration will be described. wash,
When the dehydration step is completed and the drying step is started, the clutch 9 is switched to the washing side, the motor 8 is driven and transmitted to the rotary blade 6,
By rapidly rotating and reversing the rotary wing 6, the clothing stuck to the inner wall of the inner tub 4 after dehydration is peeled off. Next, the drain valve 26 is closed, the rotating blades 6 are rotated forward and inverted, and the clothes are hooked and agitated by the agitating protrusions 11 while being stirred by the warm air blowing means including the drying blower 15 and the heater 16. The hot air is sent to the hot air outlet 20. Inner tank 4 from hot air outlet 20
The warm air blown into the clothing evaporates moisture from the clothing,
After coming out of the inner tank 4 to the inside of the outer tank 3, the lower bellows-like hose 1
4 to the heat exchanger 12.

[0010] The warm air containing moisture by removing the moisture of the clothes,
When passing through the inner wall of the outer tub 3 and the inside of the heat exchanger 12, the outer wall of the outer tub 3 and the outer wall of the heat exchanger 12 are cooled by the inflow of external air by the cooling blower 27 installed on the side surface of the housing 1. As a result, dew condensation of water occurs inside, and the warm warm air is dehumidified and returns to the drying blower 15. By circulating the warm air in this circulation path, the object to be dried in the inner tank 4 can be dried.

On the other hand, when the drying is started in the drying process, the temperature of the clothes exposed to the warm air rises, and the input of the heating input of the heater 16 and the transfer of the amount of heat of the latent heat of evaporation of the moisture contained in the clothes are balanced. The drying state is called a constant rate drying period. When the drying proceeds further and the moisture contained in the surface of the clothing has been evaporated, the moisture contained in the fibers starts to evaporate.

This period is called a reduced-rate drying period and is called heater 1
Since the amount of evaporated water is smaller than the heating input of No. 6, the surplus heating input increases the temperature of the clothes and the circulating wind as sensible heat. The point at which the temperature starts to rise is called the inflection point. The drying rate of the clothes at this time is about 90 to 95%, and the inflection point is determined from the changing rates of the thermistors 29 and 30. After a predetermined delay time is set and the drying is sufficiently performed, the drying process is automatically terminated. .

[0013]

However, in such a conventional structure, when the water temperature is low in winter or the like, dirt such as oil adhered to clothes during washing becomes difficult to be removed, and the effect of dehydration is reduced and the drying time is reduced. There was a problem that becomes longer.

Further, the temperature change of the thermistors 29 and 30 is affected by the influence of the outside air temperature and the difference of the installation condition, etc.
There is a problem in that the automatic termination of the drying varies, the drying time becomes longer, and the clothes become too dry and are damaged or wrinkled.

The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and it is intended to raise the temperature of water supply at the time of water supply to make it easier to remove dirt such as oil adhered to clothes, and to further improve dehydration performance to shorten drying time. It is the purpose of 1.

In addition, the clothes in the inner tank are given an appropriate humidity,
A second object is to suppress overdrying and prevent damage to clothes and wrinkles.

[0017]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In order to achieve the first object, the present invention accommodates a garment having a rotation center axis in a substantially vertical direction in an outer tank elastically suspended in a housing. Hot air blowing means for rotatably supporting the inner tank to be rotated, rotatably providing rotating blades on the inner bottom of the inner tank, driving the inner tank or the rotating blades by driving means, and blowing hot air into the inner tank. Thus, the water supplied from the water supply means into the inner tank is heated.

[0018] Thus, by increasing the water supply temperature at the time of water supply, dirt such as oil adhering to clothes can be easily removed, and the dehydration performance can be increased and the drying time can be shortened.

In order to achieve the second object,
In an outer tub elastically suspended in the housing, the inner tub which has a rotation center axis in a substantially vertical direction and accommodates clothing is rotatably supported,
A rotating blade is rotatably provided on the inner bottom of the inner tank, the inner tank or the rotating blade is driven by driving means, hot air is blown into the inner tank by hot air blowing means, and water is supplied by water supply means,
Steam is generated by hot air from the hot air blowing means by the steam generating means, and the steam is sent to the inner tank.

[0020] With this, it is possible to give appropriate humidity to the clothes in the inner tub, suppress excessive drying, and prevent the clothes from being damaged or wrinkled.

[0021]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The invention according to claim 1 of the present invention is directed to an outer tub elastically suspended in a housing, and having a rotation center axis in a substantially vertical direction and rotatably mounted in the outer tub. An inner tank that supports and stores clothes, a rotating blade that is rotatably provided on the inner bottom of the inner tank, and a driving unit that drives the inner tank or the rotating blade,
A hot air blowing means for blowing hot air into the inner tank, and a water supply means for supplying water to the inner tank, wherein the hot air blowing means heats water supplied from the water supply means into the inner tank. The hot water blowing unit heats the water to be supplied at the time of water supply to raise the water supply temperature, thereby making it easier to remove dirt such as oil attached to clothing, and further improve dehydration performance. To shorten the drying time.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided an outer tank elastically suspended in a housing, and an outer tank having a rotation center axis in a substantially vertical direction and rotatably supported in the outer tank to accommodate clothes. A tank, a rotating blade rotatably provided on an inner bottom portion of the inner tank, a driving unit for driving the inner tank or the rotating blade, a hot air blowing unit for blowing hot air into the inner tank, Water supply means for supplying water to the tank, and steam generation means for sending steam to the inner tank, wherein the steam generation means is configured to generate steam by hot air from the hot air blowing means, The generating means generates steam by the heat given and received from the hot air blowing means and sprays the clothes in the inner tub, so that the clothes can be given an appropriate humidity, so that the clothes are not dried too much, and the clothes are damaged and wrinkled. Can be prevented.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the second aspect of the present invention, a mist generating means for sending mist into the inner tank is provided in place of the steam generating means. The generated mist is sprayed on the clothes in the inner tank by the circulating wind to give the clothes appropriate humidity, suppress excessive drying, and prevent the clothes from being damaged or wrinkled.

The invention described in claim 4 is the above-mentioned claim 1-
In the invention described in Item 3, the water supply means is capable of arbitrarily adjusting a water supply amount, and can adjust a water supply temperature, an amount of generated steam or mist, a water temperature according to dirt, and an amount of clothing. And the humidity according to the dry state.

[0025]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. Components having the same configuration as the conventional example are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof is omitted.

(Embodiment 1) As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a copper tube 31 has a heater cover 32 containing a heater 16 therein.
The water supply valve (water supply means) 25 allows water to flow into the inner tank 4, and the water supply valve 2
5 is configured to heat the water supplied to the inner tank 4.

The control device 34 has control means (not shown) constituted by a microcomputer, drives the motor (drive means) 8 via a motor drive circuit, and controls the inner tank 4 or the rotary The wing 6 is driven. The control device 34 also includes a drying blower (hot air blowing means) 15 and a heater (hot air blowing means) 1 via a power switching means.
6. Control the operation of the water supply valve 25, the drain valve 26, the cooling blower 27, etc., and control each process of washing, rinsing, dehydrating, and drying.

The operation of the above configuration will be described. At the start of washing, the water supply valve 25 is opened, and tap water is supplied into the inner tub 4 through the copper pipe 31. At this time, the drying blower 15
The heater cover 32 is also heated by heat conduction by energizing the heater 16 and circulating warm air. further,
The copper tube 31 that is in contact with the fins 33 is also heated and exchanges heat with tap water flowing therethrough.

As a result, the cold tap water in the winter season is warmed, so that dirt such as oil stains on clothes can be easily removed, and the dewatering performance can be increased to shorten the drying time.

Further, the water supply valve 25 is intermittently opened and closed by the control device 34, so that the water supply amount can be varied, whereby the water temperature can be adjusted, and the water temperature corresponding to the dirt can be obtained. Can be improved.

(Embodiment 2) As shown in FIG.
Reference numeral 5 denotes a steam generating means, and the heater cover 3
6 and heated by the heater 16 in the drying process,
The water supplied through the water supply hose 37 from the water supply valve 25 is heated to generate steam, and the generated steam is sent into the inner tank 4. Other configurations are the same as those in the first embodiment.

The operation of the above configuration will be described. In the drying process, the drying blower 15 and the heater 16 are energized,
By circulating the warm air, the heater cover 36 is also heated by heat conduction. When the thermistor 29 detects that the temperature in the inner tank 4 has become equal to or higher than a predetermined value, the water supply valve 25 is opened by the control device 34 and the tap water is supplied to the water supply hose 3.
7 and into the vaporization chamber 35 to evaporate. The generated steam is blown out to the clothes in the inner tank 4 to give moisture to the clothes.

This makes it possible to suppress the clothes from drying too much during the drying process, and to achieve a finish with less damage and wrinkles.

The water supply valve 25 is opened and closed intermittently by the control device 34 to make the amount of water supply variable, thereby spraying the clothing with a steam amount corresponding to the temperature in the inner tank 4 and the amount of clothing to be dried. Which can more effectively reduce overdrying of clothing during the drying process,
A finish with less damage and wrinkles can be obtained.

(Embodiment 3) As shown in FIG. 4, the spray nozzle 38 constitutes a mist generating means and is provided at a hot air outlet 39. The spray nozzle 38 communicates with a water supply valve 41 through a bypass hose 40. Other configurations are the same as those in the first embodiment.

The operation of the above configuration will be described. In the drying process, the warm air heated by energizing the drying blower 15 and the heater 16 passes through the warm air outlet 39 and is blown into the inner tank 4. When the thermistor 29 detects that the temperature in the inner tank 4 has become equal to or higher than a predetermined value, the water supply valve 41 is opened by the control device 34, and the tap water passes through the bypass hose 40 and is mist formed by the spray nozzle 37. Is done. The generated mist is blown out to the clothes in the inner tub 4 by the warm air to give the clothes appropriate moisture.

As a result, it is possible to suppress the clothes from drying too much during the drying process, and to obtain a finish with less damage and wrinkles.

The water supply valve 41 is intermittently opened and closed by the control means 34 to make the amount of water supply variable, so that the mist amount corresponding to the temperature in the inner tank 4 and the amount of clothes to be dried is sprayed on the clothes. As a result, it is possible to more effectively prevent the clothes from drying too much during the drying process, and to achieve a finish with less damage and wrinkles.

[0039]

As described above, according to the first aspect of the present invention, the outer tank elastically suspended and supported in the housing and the rotation center axis has a substantially vertical direction, An inner tub that rotatably supports and accommodates clothes, a rotating wing rotatably provided at an inner bottom of the inner tub, a driving unit that drives the inner tub or the rotating wing, and hot air in the inner tub. And a water supply means for supplying water to the inner tub, and the hot air blast means is configured to heat water supplied to the inner tub from the water supply means. By air blowing means,
By heating the water to be supplied, the temperature of the supplied water is raised, whereby it is possible to easily remove dirt such as oil attached to the clothes, and it is possible to increase the dewatering performance and shorten the drying time.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the outer tub elastically suspended in the housing and the garment having a rotation center axis in a substantially vertical direction and rotatably supported in the outer tub. , A rotating blade rotatably provided on the inner bottom of the inner tank, a driving unit for driving the inner tank or the rotating blade, and a hot air blowing unit for blowing hot air into the inner tank. And water supply means for supplying water to the inner tank, and steam generating means for sending steam to the inner tank, wherein the steam generating means is configured to generate steam by hot air from the hot air blowing means. The steam can be generated with a simple structure by the hot air blowing means, and appropriate humidity can be given to the clothes in the inner tank, too much drying can be suppressed, and damage and wrinkles of the clothes can be prevented.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, since the mist generating means for sending the mist in the inner tank is provided instead of the steam generating means, the mist is generated with a simple structure by the hot air blowing means. It can give appropriate humidity to the clothes in the inner tub, suppress overdrying, and prevent the clothes from being damaged or wrinkled.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, since the water supply means can arbitrarily adjust the water supply amount, the water supply means can adjust the water supply temperature and the generation amount of steam and mist, and can adjust the water supply amount according to the contamination. The temperature can be adjusted according to the temperature of the water, the amount of clothing, and the dryness.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view of a washing and drying machine according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged perspective view of a main part of the washing and drying machine with a part cut away.

FIG. 3 is a partially cutaway perspective view of a main part of a washing / drying machine according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a partially cutaway perspective view of a main part of a washing and drying machine according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a vertical sectional view of a conventional washer / dryer.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Housing 3 Outer tank 4 Inner tank 6 Rotating blade 8 Motor (drive means) 15 Drying blower (hot air blowing means) 16 Heater (hot air blowing means) 25 Water supply valve (water supply means)

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. An outer tub elastically suspended in a housing, an inner tub having a rotation center axis in a substantially vertical direction, rotatably supported in the outer tub, and accommodating clothing, Rotating blades rotatably provided on the inner bottom, driving means for driving the inner tank or the rotating blades, hot air blowing means for blowing hot air into the inner tank, and water supply means for supplying water to the inner tank. A washing and drying machine configured to heat the water supplied into the inner tub by the water supply means. 2. An outer tub elastically suspended within a housing, an inner tub having a rotation center axis in a substantially vertical direction, rotatably supported in the outer tub and accommodating clothing, and an inner tub of the inner tub. Rotating blades rotatably provided on the inner bottom, driving means for driving the inner tank or the rotating blades, hot air blowing means for blowing hot air into the inner tank, and water supply means for supplying water to the inner tank. And a steam generating means for sending steam to the inner tub, wherein the steam generating means is configured to generate steam by hot air from the hot air blowing means. 3. The washer / dryer according to claim 2, further comprising mist generating means for sending mist into the inner tub instead of the steam generating means. 4. The washing and drying machine according to claim 1, wherein the water supply means is capable of arbitrarily adjusting a water supply amount.