JP2003311084A - Washing machine - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To improve the rate of dehydration efficiently by heating a washing in a short time to solve such problems that a difficulty in improving the dehydration rate and highly prolonged drying time due to the limitation of the number of revolutions of the inner tub as a sort of unbalancing of the washing in the dehydration course causes a drying/washing machine to be vibrated more. <P>SOLUTION: In the dehydration process or the rinsing process of the washing, hot water or steam is injected for a prescribed period of time from an injection nozzle 12 to heat the washing efficiently thereby improving the dehydration rate and shortening the drying time. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a washing machine for storing laundry in an inner tub and performing washing, rinsing and dehydration. Alternatively, the present invention relates to a washing machine that has a step of blowing warm air into the inner tub to dry clothes and can consistently perform washing to drying.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, FIG. 4 shows a dry washing machine of this type which consistently processes from washing to drying.

In FIG. 4, reference numeral 50 denotes a casing 5 of the dry washing machine.
The outer tub 50 is elastically suspended on the outer tub 1, and the outer tub 50 is suspended and vibration-supported from the housing 51 by the suspension mechanism 52. Reference numeral 53 denotes an inner tub for accommodating the laundry 54, which has a central axis of rotation in the vertical direction in the outer tub 50 and is rotatably supported. The inner bottom of the inner tub 53 is provided with a stirring blade 55 for stirring the laundry. A drive means 56 is provided below the outer tub 50, and its rotating shaft is hollow and has a biaxial structure. The rotation of the drive means 56 is applied to the stirring blade 55 and the inner tub 53 during a washing process, a rinsing process or a dehydrating process. introduce. In the washing process and the rinsing process, the stirring blade 55 or the inner tub 53 is rotated to stir the clothes in the inner tub 53 for washing and rinsing. In the dehydration process, the inner tank 53 is rotated at a high speed for dehydration. A fluid balancer 57 is provided above the inner tub 53 to correct unevenness of the laundry when the inner tub 53 is rotated at a high speed in the dehydration process, thereby enabling high speed rotation with less vibration.

A blower 58 for blowing dry air for drying the laundry 54 is provided substantially above the casing 51, and a heater 59 is provided on the discharge side of the blower 58. Reference numeral 60 denotes a circulation air passage, which connects an exhaust port 61 provided below the outer tub 50 and an intake port of the blower 58. Reference numeral 62 is a blowout port for introducing dry air into the inner tank 53. 63 is a case 5
The air blower for cooling provided on the side wall of No. 1 sucks the outside air of the casing 51 from the intake port 64, and circulates the air passage 60 and the outer tub 5.
The outer wall of 0 is cooled. At the top of the housing 51,
A lid 65 is provided, and an inner lid 66 that faces the lid 65 and opens and closes the upper opening of the outer tank 50 is provided. A drain valve 67 and a drain port 68 are provided below the outer tank 50.

The flow of dry air in the drying step following the dehydration step is such that the air heated by the heating means 59 is blown by the blowing means 58 from the outlet 62 into the inner tank 53.
It circulates through a small hole (not shown) provided in the peripheral wall of the inner tank 53, a discharge port 61, and a circulation air passage 60.

Regarding the conventional dry washing machine shown above,
The operation will be described. First, in the washing process, when the laundry 54 and the detergent are put into the inner tub 53 and the power of the drying washing machine is turned on, water or hot water is supplied up to a predetermined amount. Then, the rotational power of the drive means 56 is transmitted to the stirring blade 55, and the laundry 54 is stirred in water and washed. Next, in the rinsing step, the washing water is drained and newly supplied to the inner tub 53, and the stirring blade 55 is operated in the same manner as in the washing step.

In the dehydrating step, after the washing / rinsing process is completed, the water in the inner tub 53 is drained by opening the drain valve 67, and the inner tub 53 is rotated at a high speed by the power of the driving means 56 to wash the laundry 54.
The water contained in is separated by centrifugal force.

In the drying step, after the dehydration process is completed, first, the stirring blade 55 is slowly rotated to peel off the clothes 54 attached to the inner wall of the inner tank 53 by the centrifugal force during dehydration, and then the inner tank. 53 is rotated at a low speed, or the stirring blade 55 is momentarily and strongly rotated in the left and right directions to move the clothes into the inner tank 5
Stir so that it may be thrown upwards in 3. At the same time, the air blower 58 sends the dry air heated through the heater 59 into the inner tank 53. The dry air comes into contact with the laundry 54 in the inner tub 53 to remove moisture,
It passes through the outer tub 50, the outlet 61, and the circulation air passage 60.
At this time, it is cooled and dehumidified by the cooling air blower 63 by the cold air introduced from the outside. The dehumidified water is discharged to the outside through the drainage port 68 while the drainage valve 67 is open. The circulated dry air is blown by the blowing means 58.
Is sucked into the inner tank 53, heated again by the heating means 59, and supplied to the inner tank 53. Drying progresses by continuing the above operation.

[0009]

In such a conventional dry washing machine, the operating time for treating all the steps of drying, rinsing, dehydrating and drying the laundry is considerably long. 4.5 kg for example
It takes about 4 hours to process the laundry. The drying time is especially long. Factors that affect the drying time are
There are the amount of water contained in the laundry, the type of laundry, the amount of heat input in the drying process, the contact state between the laundry and dry air, heat dissipation loss, and the like. Although various approaches to these factors can be considered, in the present application, the drying time is shortened by reducing the amount of water contained in the laundry.

The amount of water contained in the laundry depends on the magnitude of centrifugal force determined by the number of rotations of the inner tub in the dehydration process. The rotation speed of the inner tub should be increased in order to shorten the drying time, but if the laundry in the inner tub becomes uneven in the initial stage of the dehydration process, the vibration of the drying and washing machine will increase and the rotation speed of the inner tub will increase. There was a limit. Therefore, there is a problem that the amount of water contained in the laundry is large and the drying time is very long.

In the rinsing step, the detergent used for washing is transferred from the laundry to the rinsing water. The rinsing water is supplied to the inner tub to stir the laundry, or the inner tub is rotated. There is a shower rinse that supplies rinse water. These methods require a large amount of rinse water or a long rinse time, because the detergent component is transferred to the rinse water and the separation ability is determined by the temperature and agitation of the rinse water or the spin-drying speed.

Further, in the case of a washing machine which does not have a drying function, a washing process, a rinsing process and a dehydrating process are executed and the process is terminated. When the laundry is dried outdoors or indoors after finishing the dehydration process, if the dehydration rate is low and the laundry contains a large amount of water, it does not dry within the time until the laundry is taken in. was there.

The present invention is to solve the above-mentioned conventional problems, and heats the laundry in a short time by injecting hot water or steam from an injection nozzle for a predetermined time during the dehydration step, rinse step, or drying step of the laundry. The purpose is to efficiently improve the dehydration rate or the rinse rate.

[0014]

In order to solve the above-mentioned conventional problems, the washing machine of the present invention has an inner tub for rotatably supporting the laundry and a driving means for rotating the inner tub. And a water heating means for heating water to generate hot water or steam, and an injection nozzle for injecting the hot water or steam into the inner tank, during the washing step of the laundry, the dehydration step, or the rinsing step and the drying step. The hot water or steam is sprayed from the spray nozzle for a predetermined time to heat the laundry. With this, the temperature of the laundry and the moisture contained in the laundry can be raised. As the temperature rises,
The surface tension of water contained in the laundry is reduced, and the centrifugal force generated by the rotation of the inner tub facilitates the separation of water from the laundry. As a result, the dehydration rate is improved, the amount of water contained in the laundry is reduced, and the drying time is shortened. Further, the rinsing efficiency is high, the rinsing water amount is small, and the rinsing time is shortened.

[0015]

The invention according to claim 1 is an outer tub elastically suspended in a housing, an inner tub for storing laundry rotatably supported in the outer tub, and the inner tub. A driving means for rotating the tub, a water heating means for heating water to generate hot water or steam, and an injection nozzle for injecting the hot water or steam into the inner tub, and the hot water or steam during a dehydration process of laundry The temperature of the laundry and the water contained in the laundry can be efficiently raised by heating the laundry by injecting the water from the injection nozzle for a predetermined time. As the temperature rises, the surface tension of water decreases, and the centrifugal force generated by the rotation of the inner tub facilitates the separation of water from the laundry. As a result, the dehydration rate is improved, the amount of water contained in the laundry is reduced, and the drying time is shortened.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, an outer tub elastically suspended in a casing, an inner tub for storing laundry rotatably supported in the outer tub, and the inner tub are rotated. A driving means, a water heating means for heating water to generate hot water, and an injection nozzle for injecting the hot water into the inner tub are provided, and the hot water is injected from the injection nozzle for a predetermined time during the washing process of the laundry to wash. By heating the item, it is possible to efficiently raise the temperature of the laundry and the water content of the laundry when performing shower rinsing in which rinse water is supplied while rotating the inner tub. As the temperature rises, the surface tension of the water decreases and the centrifugal force generated by the rotation of the inner tank efficiently separates the water containing the detergent from the laundry, reducing the amount of rinse water and shortening the rinse time.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, an outer tub elastically suspended in a housing, an inner tub for storing laundry rotatably supported in the outer tub, and the inner tub are rotated. A driving means, a water heating means for heating water to generate hot water or steam, and an injection nozzle for injecting the hot water or steam into the inner tub, and at least two of washing step, rinsing step, and dehydration step of laundry are provided. Raise the temperature of the laundry and the water contained in the laundry during the washing process, the dehydration process, and the rinsing process by heating the laundry by injecting the warm water or steam from the injection nozzle for one or more steps for a predetermined time. Can be made. In the washing process, as the temperature of the washing water rises, the washing action is activated and the washing ability is enhanced. Also, the washing time is shortened.

Further, in the rinsing process and the dehydrating process, the surface tension of water decreases as the temperature of the laundry increases, so that the water content is easily separated from the laundry by the centrifugal force due to the rotation of the inner tub. As a result, in the rinse step, the water containing the detergent is efficiently separated from the laundry, the amount of rinse water is small, and the rinse time is shortened. In the dehydration process, the dehydration rate is improved and the amount of water contained in the laundry is reduced.

As described above, the time from washing to dehydration can be shortened by injecting warm water or steam from the injection nozzle for a predetermined time in two or more steps to heat the laundry. Further, by improving the dehydration rate, the time for drying and drying the laundry indoors or outdoors can be shortened.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, an outer tub elastically suspended in a casing, an inner tub for storing laundry rotatably supported in the outer tub, and the inner tub are rotated. A driving means, a blowing means for blowing air into the inner tank, a heating means for heating the air blown by the blowing means, a water heating means for heating water to generate steam, and the hot water or steam. Equipped with a spray nozzle for spraying into the inner tub, the warm water or steam is sprayed from the spray nozzle for a predetermined time during the drying process of the laundry to heat the laundry, thereby supplying hot air into the inner tub for drying. Since the temperature of the laundry and the temperature of the water can be rapidly increased in the initial stage of the drying process, the evaporation rate of the water contained in the laundry is accelerated and the drying time is shortened.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, an outer tub elastically suspended in a housing, an inner tub for storing laundry rotatably supported in the outer tub, and the inner tub are rotated. Driving means, blowing means for blowing air into the inner tank, heating means for heating the air blown by the blowing means, water heating means for heating water to generate hot water or steam, and the hot water or Equipped with a spray nozzle for spraying steam into the inner tub, the warm water or steam is sprayed from the spray nozzle for at least two steps in the washing process, rinsing process, dehydration process, and drying process of laundry for washing for a predetermined time. By heating the object, it is possible to shorten the washing time by increasing the washing power, save water by improving the rinsing efficiency, shorten the rinsing time, and shorten the dehydrating time or the drying time by improving the dehydration rate.

In the sixth aspect of the present invention, in the dehydration step of rotating the inner tub for containing laundry at a high speed for dehydration, hot water or steam is injected from the injection nozzle for a predetermined time, and after the injection is finished, the air is blown by the blower means. The temperature of the laundry and the water contained in the laundry can be efficiently raised by switching to the heating means for heating the air to allow warm air to flow into the inner tub, and the surface tension of the water is reduced. The centrifugal force generated by the rotation of the inner tub effectively separates water from the laundry. By supplying hot air with low humidity to the inner tub after finishing the injection of hot water or steam, the hot air passes between the laundry, so that the hot air and the laundry effectively contact each other. As a result, the dehydration rate is improved, the amount of water contained in the laundry is reduced, and the time for drying and drying the laundry outdoors or indoors is shortened.

According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, the hot water or steam is sprayed for a predetermined time while the inner tub for storing the laundry is rotated at a high speed, and after the spraying is finished, the dehydration step of flowing warm air into the inner tub is completed. After that, by stopping or rotating the inner tub at low speed and shifting to the warm air drying step, the temperature of the laundry and the moisture contained in the laundry can be efficiently increased,
Since the warm air of low humidity can be effectively brought into contact with the laundry, the amount of water contained in the clothes after the dehydration step is small and the temperature of the laundry increases. Therefore, the evaporation of water is promoted from the initial stage after shifting to the warm air drying step, and the amount of water to be evaporated is small, so that the drying time is shortened.

The invention according to claim 8 stirs the laundry by a laundry stirring blade provided in the inner tub, or a stirring step of stirring the laundry by rotating the inner tub at a low speed, and rotating the inner tub at a high speed. Meanwhile, the temperature of the laundry can be uniformly increased by alternately switching the spraying process of spraying warm water or steam from the spray nozzle for a predetermined time to heat the laundry. When the inner tub is rotated at high speed, hot water or steam easily passes between laundry with low resistance when the inner wall of the inner tub is attached to the laundry, and the passing point is a place where other hot water or steam does not pass. The temperature rises compared to.

Next, when the laundry is agitated by rotating the inner tub at a low speed and then rotated at a high speed again, the condition of the laundry adhered to the inner wall is different from that before the agitation, and the conditions for passing hot water or steam are different and the laundry is different. The temperature can be raised uniformly and the drying time can be shortened.

According to a ninth aspect of the present invention, in the step of rinsing or dehydrating by rotating the inner tub for storing the laundry at a high speed, hot water or hot water after a lapse of a predetermined time from the start of at least one of the steps By injecting steam from the injection nozzle for a predetermined time, water is preliminarily separated from the laundry by the centrifugal force in the initial stage of the rinsing or dehydration process, so the amount of water contained in the laundry decreases. There is. When hot water or steam is sprayed on the laundry having a low water content for a predetermined time, the temperature of the laundry or the water content of the laundry easily rises. Therefore, the temperature can be raised efficiently.

The invention according to claim 10 comprises a temperature detector for detecting the spray temperature of hot water or steam, and an injection temperature control device for controlling the injection temperature of hot water or steam, and dehydrates according to the type of laundry. By controlling the temperature to a predetermined temperature, it is possible to wash, rinse, or dehydrate the laundry at the highest temperature suitable for the material of the laundry, such as cotton, synthetic fiber, or wool, so that the laundry can be thermally deformed. Absent.

The invention according to claim 11 is provided with a temperature detector for detecting the outlet temperature of the inner tub, and an injection temperature control device for controlling the injection temperature of hot water or steam, and the dehydration temperature according to the type of laundry. By controlling the temperature at a predetermined temperature, it is possible to detect the accurate temperature at the position closest to the laundry with a simple configuration, and thus the laundry is not thermally deformed.

[0029]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

(Embodiment 1) FIG. 1 is a vertical sectional view of a washing machine according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 denotes an outer tub elastically suspended from a housing 2 of a drying and washing machine. The outer tub 1 is suspended from the housing 2 by a suspension mechanism 3 and is supported by vibration isolation. There is. Reference numeral 4 denotes an inner tub for accommodating the laundry 5, which has a central axis of rotation in the vertical direction in the outer tub 1 and is rotatably supported. A small hole (not shown) is provided on the peripheral wall of the inner tank 4
A stirring blade 6 for stirring the laundry is provided on the inner bottom portion thereof.
A drive means 7 is provided below the outer tub 1, and its rotating shaft is hollow and has a biaxial structure. The rotation of the drive means 7 is applied to the stirring blade 6 and the inner tub 4 during a washing process, a rinsing process or a dehydrating process. introduce. In the washing process and the rinsing process, the stirring blade 6 or the inner tub 4 is rotated to stir the clothes in the inner tub 4 for washing and rinsing.

In the dehydration process, the inner tank 4 is rotated at a high speed for dehydration. A fluid balancer 8 is provided above the inner tub 4 to correct unevenness of the laundry when the inner tub 4 is rotated at a high speed in the dehydration process, and to enable high speed rotation with less vibration. 9 is for heating the water supply pipe 10 for supplying water by the water heating means by the heating means 11 to generate hot water or steam 13. Whether it is hot water or steam is determined by the heating amount of the heater 11 and the amount of water flowing through the water supply pipe 10. Reference numeral 12 denotes an injection nozzle, which injects hot water generated by the water heating means 9 or steam 13 into the inner tank 4.

Warm water or steam 13 is evenly sprayed toward the laundry 5 stored in the inner tub 4. The timing of spraying the warm water or the steam 13 is such that spraying is performed for a predetermined time after starting all of the washing process, the rinsing process, and the dehydrating process. Reference numeral 14 is a water supply valve for supplying or stopping water. Reference numeral 15 is a temperature detector, which is provided on the downstream side of the water heating means 9 and is provided with hot water or steam 1.
The temperature of 3 is detected.

A control method for generating hot water or steam 13 is shown in FIG. The signal of the temperature detector 15 and the signal of the temperature setting means 16 for setting the temperature of the hot water or the steam 13 according to the type of the laundry 5 are processed by the microcomputer 17 so that the temperature of the hot water or the steam 13 is lower than the set temperature. In this case, a signal is sent to the injection temperature control device 18 to operate the water heating means 9 and the water supply valve 14. The temperature setting according to the type of laundry is about 80 ℃ for cotton and about 6 for synthetic fiber.
The temperature is set to 0 ° C and wool is set to about 35 ° C.

A lid 19 is provided on the upper part of the housing 2, and the lid 19
An inner lid 20 for opening and closing the upper opening of the outer tub 1 is provided so as to face the above. A drain valve 21 and a drain port 22 are provided below the outer tank 1.

The injection timing of the hot water or steam 13 may be only one of the above-mentioned steps, or the two steps of the rinse and dehydration steps.

Regarding the washing machine constructed as described above,
The operation and action will be described below.

First, in the washing process, when the laundry 5 and the detergent are put into the inner tub 4 and the power of the washing machine is turned on, the water heating means 9 and the water supply valve 14 are operated to cause hot water 13 to flow from the injection nozzle 12 to the laundry 5. It is jetted toward. At this time, when the driving means 7 is operated and the stirring blades 6 are rotated, the laundry 5 uniformly absorbs hot water and the temperature rises. If the water is sprayed for a predetermined time and the hot water spray is continued, the water content exceeds the limit moisture content of the laundry 5, so it is stored in the outer tub 1 as hot water, and the hot water is supplied to a predetermined water level at which a water level switch (not shown) operates. At this time, the dissolution rate of the detergent is increased due to the rotation of the stirring blade 6 and the effect of the hot water while the hot water is being supplied. Further, when the agitating blade 6 is operated to wash, the washing liquid in which the detergent is dissolved is warm water, so that the washing action is activated for the dirt adhering to the laundry 5 and the washing ability is enhanced.

Next, in the rinsing step, after draining the washing water,
While the drain valve 21 is opened, the inner tub 4 is rotated at a low speed, the hot water 13 is sprayed from the spray nozzle 12 toward the laundry 5, and heating is performed while passing between the laundry 5. Such warm water 13
By shower rinsing with water as the rinsing water, the temperature of the laundry 5 is uniformly increased, the surface tension of the water contained in the laundry 5 is reduced, and the water containing the detergent is efficiently separated from the laundry. It After that, the drain valve 21 is closed and rinse water is supplied to the outer tub 1, and the stirring blades 6 are operated for a predetermined time to transfer the detergent component of the laundry 5 to the rinse water. Then, the drain valve 21 is operated to drain the rinse water in the inner tank 4 and the rinse step is completed.

In the dehydration process, after the washing process and the rinsing process are completed, the inner tub 4 is rotated at high speed by the power of the driving means 7 to wash the laundry 5
The water contained in is separated by centrifugal force and dehydrated. Hot water or steam 13 is sprayed from the spray nozzle 12 toward the laundry 5 during the dehydration process. The hot water sprayed on the inner tub 4 or the steam 13 heats the laundry 5. Then, the hot water or steam 13 passes through the gap between the inner tank 4 and the outer tank 1, passes through the drain valve 21, and is discharged from the drain port 22. A part of the water is condensed on the inner wall surface of the outer tank 1 and discharged as water from the drain port 22.

The timing of spraying warm water or steam 13 is set after the dehydration process is started and the water contained in the laundry 5 is effectively separated by the centrifugal force generated by the rotation of the inner tub. That is, after the dehydration process is started, injection is started after a lapse of a predetermined time, and injection is performed for a predetermined time. Since the laundry 5 has its water content separated in advance and the water content is low, the temperature can be efficiently raised by the injection of hot water or steam 13. When the temperature of the water contained in the laundry 5 rises, the surface tension of the water is lowered, the water is easily separated from the laundry 5, and the dehydration rate is improved.

As a method of raising the temperature of the laundry 5 and the moisture contained in the laundry 5, warm air may be used. However, compared to this method, warm water or steam is used for the laundry 5,
The coefficient of heat transfer to the water contained in the laundry 5 is high, and the temperature can be raised efficiently.

Although the dehydration process may be ended by the above operation, in order to further increase the dehydration rate, the stirring process of the laundry and the injection process of hot water or steam 13 during high speed rotation are alternately performed. It can be. That is, after stopping the inner tub 4 and rotating the stirring blade 6 or rotating the inner tub 4 at a low speed to stir the laundry 5, the inner tub 4 is rotated at a high speed to remove hot water or steam 13. The laundry 5 is heated by spraying for a predetermined time. As described above, the temperature of the laundry 5 can be uniformly raised by alternately performing the stirring process of the laundry and the spraying process of spraying the hot water or the steam 13 during the high speed rotation. When rotating at high speed, the laundry 5 is positioned by being pushed by the centrifugal force toward the wall surface of the inner tub 4. The state of the laundry 5 is such that the ventilation resistance is non-uniform when the passing of the hot water or the steam 13 is observed, and the temperature rises in a place where the amount of passage is large, but does not rise so much in a place where the amount of passage is small. The dehydration rate can be increased by making the uneven condition of the laundry 5 uniform and raising the temperature throughout.

Further, when the temperature of the laundry 5 becomes unnecessarily high, thermal deformation or the like occurs, so hot water or steam 13
The temperature is controlled by the temperature detector 12 that detects the spray temperature of the fuel and the injection is performed. The temperature of the temperature detector 12 is set to the laundry 5
Contains water, or is sprayed into the inner tank 4 to lower the temperature, so that the temperature is set to a relatively high temperature in advance.

As described above, according to this embodiment, hot water or steam is sprayed for a predetermined time during the dehydration process to wash the laundry 5.
By heating, the surface tension of water contained in the laundry 5 is lowered, and the dehydration rate is efficiently improved.

By heating the laundry 5 by spraying warm water for a predetermined time during the rinsing process, the surface tension of the water contained in the laundry 5 is lowered, so that the detergent content in the laundry is efficiently washed. It is separated from the product, the amount of rinse water is small, and the rinse time is shortened.

Further, by heating the laundry 5 by injecting warm water for a predetermined time during the washing process, the temperature of the laundry 5 and the washing water can be raised, the washing action can be activated, and the washing ability can be enhanced. .

(Embodiment 2) FIG. 3 is a longitudinal sectional view of a washing machine according to a second embodiment of the present invention, which is capable of consistently processing from washing to drying. The same parts as those in the first embodiment are designated by the same reference numerals and the description thereof will be omitted.

In FIG. 3, reference numeral 25 is a blowing means for blowing dry air for drying the laundry 5. Blower 2
5 is provided substantially above the circulation wind tunnel 26. Circulation wind tunnel 26
Communicates with a discharge port 27 provided at the bottom of the outer tub 1 and a blow-out port 28 provided above the outer tub 1. A heating means 30 for heating the circulating air 29 is provided downstream of the blowing means 25. Reference numeral 31 denotes a cooling blower provided on the side wall of the housing 2, which sucks the outside air of the housing from the intake port 32,
Also, the outer wall of the outer tank 1 is cooled. The flow of the dry air in the drying step following the dehydration step is such that the air heated by the heating means 30 is blown out by the blower means 28.
The air is blown into the inner tank 4 from the inside, passes through a small hole (not shown) provided in the peripheral wall of the inner tank 4, passes through the discharge port 27 and the circulation air passage 26, and is circulated. Reference numeral 33 denotes a temperature detector for detecting the outlet temperature of the inner tank 4, which is brought into direct contact with air to detect the temperature. Similar to the first embodiment, the microcomputer 17 processes the signal of the temperature detector 15 and the signal of the temperature setting means 16 for setting the temperature according to the type of the laundry 5, and the hot water,
Alternatively, when the temperature of the steam 14 is lower than the set temperature, a signal is sent to the injection temperature control device 18 to operate the water heating means 9 and the water supply valve 14.

The timing of spraying the warm water or the steam 13 may be one step of each step of washing, rinsing, dehydrating, and drying, or may be sprayed in at least two or more steps of the above steps.

The operation and action of the dry washing machine having the above-described structure will be described below.

Operation of washing step, rinsing step, dehydration step,
The description of the operation that is the same as that of the first embodiment is omitted.

In the dehydration step, the inner tub 4 is rotated at a high speed to separate the water contained in the laundry 5 by centrifugal force for dehydration. After the dehydration process is started and the water contained in the laundry 5 is effectively separated by the centrifugal force generated by the rotation of the inner tub, hot water or steam 13 is directed from the injection nozzle 12 toward the laundry 5 for a predetermined time. To spray and heat the laundry 5. After that,
After the injection of warm water or steam 13 is stopped, the blowing means 25 and the heating means 30 are operated to heat the dry air to heat the laundry 5 while maintaining the inner tub 4 rotating at high speed. Since the laundry 5 has its water content separated in advance and the water content is low, the temperature can be efficiently raised by the injection of hot water or steam 13.

After spraying hot water or steam 13,
By blowing warm air on the laundry 5, the temperature of the water contained in the laundry 5 rises, the surface tension of the water decreases, the water is easily separated from the laundry 5, and the dehydration rate improves. Further, by blowing warm air of low humidity onto the laundry 5, the warm air passes through the laundry 5 and evaporation of water contained in the laundry 5 is promoted, so that the dehydration rate can be further improved. .

When the dehydration process is completed, the inner tub 4 is stopped and the stirring blades 6 are rotated to stir the laundry 5 while the warm air drying process is performed. In the drying step, after the dehydration process is completed, first, the stirring blade 6 is slowly rotated to peel off the clothes 5 attached to the inner wall of the inner tank 4 during the dehydration. Then, the inner tub 4 is rotated at a low speed, or the stirring blades 6 are momentarily strongly rotated in the left and right directions to stir the clothes so that the clothes are thrown upward in the inner tub 4.

On the other hand, the dry air is blown into the inner tank 4 by the blowing means 25, which is heated by the heating means 30. This dry air is used for the laundry 5 in the inner tub 4.
It comes into contact with and removes moisture, and passes through the outer tub 1, the outlet 27, and the circulation air passage 26. At this time, the circulating dry air 2
9 is dehumidified because the circulating wind tunnel 26 and the outer tub 1 are cooled by the cooling air introduced from the outside through the intake port 32 by the operation of the cooling blower 31. The dehumidified water is
The drain valve 21 is opened, and the water is discharged from the drain port 22 to the outside. The circulating dry air 29 is sucked into the air blowing means 25, heated again by the heating means 30 and supplied to the inner tank 4. Drying progresses by continuing the above operation.

At the same time as starting the drying process, steam 1
3 is sprayed from the spray nozzle 12 toward the laundry 5 for a predetermined time to heat the laundry 5. At this time, since the laundry 5 is agitated by the agitating blades 6, the steam 13 comes into uniform contact with the laundry 5, so that the temperature can be uniformly raised in a short time. When the temperature of the laundry 5 rises, the laundry 5
Evaporation of water contained in is promoted, and the drying time can be shortened. Since the temperature detector 33 is provided at the outlet of the inner tub 4, it shows a value very close to the temperature of the laundry 5. Therefore, since the temperature of the laundry 5 can be accurately detected, the laundry 5
It is possible to control the temperature of the steam 13 whose temperature is previously set by the temperature setting means 16 in accordance with the type of the laundry 5
Does not cause thermal deformation and is not damaged.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, the temperature of the laundry is efficiently raised in a short time by injecting warm water or steam for a predetermined time during the dehydration process and then introducing warm air. Therefore, the surface tension of water can be reduced, the dehydration rate can be improved, and the drying time can be shortened.

Further, since the temperature detector is provided at the outlet of the inner tub, the temperature of the laundry can be accurately detected and the temperature of the hot water or the steam 13 can be controlled, so that the laundry is not thermally deformed. Does not occur and does not hurt.

[0060]

As described above, according to the first aspect of the present invention, hot water or steam is sprayed from the spray nozzle for a predetermined time during the spin-drying process of the laundry to heat the laundry. Since the temperature of laundry, and the moisture contained in the laundry can be efficiently raised. The surface tension of the water decreases, and the centrifugal force generated by the rotation of the inner tub facilitates the separation of water from the laundry. As a result, the dehydration rate is improved, the amount of water contained in the laundry is reduced, and the drying time is shortened.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, hot water is jetted from the jet nozzle for a predetermined time during the rinsing step of the laundry to heat the laundry, thereby supplying the rinsing water while rotating the inner tub. When shower rinsing is performed, the temperature of the laundry and the water contained in the laundry can be efficiently raised, the surface tension of the water is lowered, and the water containing the detergent component is removed by the centrifugal force due to the rotation of the inner tub. Efficiently separates from laundry, reduces the amount of rinse water, and shortens the rinse time.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, hot water or steam is jetted from the jet nozzle for at least two steps of the washing step, rinsing step and dehydration step of the laundry to wash the laundry. By heating, the temperature of the laundry and the water contained in the laundry can be raised during the washing process, the dehydration process and the rinsing process, and the washing process is activated in the washing process to improve the cleaning ability and the washing time. Can be shortened. Further, in the rinsing process and the dehydrating process, the rinsing efficiency is improved, the amount of rinsing water is small, and the rinsing time is shortened.
In the dehydration process, the dehydration rate is improved and the drying time is shortened.

According to the fourth aspect of the invention, during the drying process of the laundry, steam is sprayed from the spray nozzle for a predetermined time to heat the laundry, thereby supplying warm air into the inner tub for drying. Since the temperature of the laundry and the temperature of the water can be rapidly increased in the initial stage of the drying process, the evaporation rate of the water contained in the laundry is accelerated and the drying time is shortened.

According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, hot water or steam is sprayed for a predetermined time on at least two of the washing, rinsing, dehydrating and drying steps of the laundry to wash the laundry. By heating, the cleaning time is shortened by increasing the cleaning power, water is saved by improving the rinsing efficiency, the rinsing time is shortened, and the dehydration rate is improved by shortening the dehydration time or the drying time.

According to the sixth aspect of the present invention, in the dehydration step of rotating the inner tub at a high speed for dehydration, hot water or steam is sprayed from the spray nozzle for a predetermined time and warm air is introduced to wash the laundry. , And the temperature of water contained in the laundry can be efficiently raised, and the dehydration rate can be improved. Also, the drying time of the laundry is shortened.

According to the invention of claim 7, laundry,
Also, since the temperature of the water contained in the laundry can be efficiently raised and the hot air can be effectively brought into contact with the laundry, the evaporation of the water is promoted from the initial stage of the warm air drying process and the drying time is increased. Is shortened.

According to the invention described in claim 8, the stirring process of the laundry and the spraying process of heating the laundry by spraying warm water or steam for a predetermined time while rotating the inner tub at a high speed are alternately switched. As a result, the temperature of the laundry can be raised uniformly and the drying time can be shortened.

According to the invention of claim 9, rinsing,
By injecting warm water or steam for a predetermined time after starting one step of dehydration for a predetermined time, the laundry or the water content of the laundry can be efficiently increased.

According to the invention described in claims 10 and 11,
The dehydration temperature can be controlled to a predetermined temperature according to the type of laundry, and the laundry is not thermally deformed.

[Brief description of drawings]

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

FIG. 2 is a control block diagram of the washing machine and the washer / dryer according to the first and second embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view of a drying and washing machine according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view of a conventional washer / dryer.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 outer tank 4 inner tank 6 stirring blades 7 Drive means 9 Water heating means 11 Heating means 12 injection nozzles 13 Hot water or steam 15 Temperature detector 25 Blower means 26 Circulating wind tunnel 30 heating means 31 Cooling blower 33 Temperature detector

Continued front page    (72) Inventor Shinichi Matsuda             1006 Kadoma, Kadoma-shi, Osaka Matsushita Electric             Sangyo Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Mikio Tahara             1006 Kadoma, Kadoma-shi, Osaka Matsushita Electric             Sangyo Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Shigeyo Nakamoto             1006 Kadoma, Kadoma-shi, Osaka Matsushita Electric             Sangyo Co., Ltd. F term (reference) 3B155 AA01 AA03 AA06 AA16 BA08                       BB08 BB09 BB10 BB14 BB16                       CA16 CB07 CB49 CB52 CB53                       CB60 FA07 FA22 HB05 KA12                       KA27 LA16 LB02 LB05 MA02

Claims (11)

[Claims] 1. An outer tub elastically suspended in a housing, an inner tub for storing laundry rotatably supported in the outer tub, a drive means for rotating the inner tub, and water heating. Water heating means for generating hot water or steam, and an injection nozzle for injecting the hot water or steam into the inner tub, and during the dehydration process of the laundry, the hot water or steam is injected from the injection nozzle for a predetermined time to wash the laundry. Washing machine to heat. 2. An outer tub elastically suspended in a housing, an inner tub for storing laundry rotatably supported in the outer tub, a drive means for rotating the inner tub, and water heating. A washing machine that includes a water heating unit that generates hot water and an injection nozzle that injects the hot water into the inner tub, and heats the laundry by injecting the hot water from the injection nozzle for a predetermined time during the washing process of the laundry. 3. An outer tub elastically suspended in a housing, an inner tub for storing laundry rotatably supported in the outer tub, a drive means for rotating the inner tub, and water heating. Water heating means for generating hot water or steam and an injection nozzle for injecting the hot water or steam into the inner tank, and the hot water is used in at least two or more steps of a washing step, a rinsing step, and a dehydrating step of laundry. Alternatively, a washing machine in which steam is sprayed from a spray nozzle for a predetermined time to heat laundry. 4. An outer tub elastically suspended in a housing, an inner tub for storing laundry rotatably supported in the outer tub, a drive means for rotating the inner tub, and the inner tub. An air blowing means for blowing air into the inside, a heating means for heating the air blown by the blowing means, a water heating means for heating water to generate steam, and an injection nozzle for injecting the steam into the inner tank. A washing machine equipped with a steam spraying machine, which sprays the steam for a predetermined time during a laundry drying process to heat the laundry. 5. An outer tub elastically suspended in a housing, an inner tub for storing laundry rotatably supported in the outer tub, a drive means for rotating the inner tub, and the inner tub Blower means for blowing air into the inside, heating means for heating the air blown by the blower means, water heating means for heating water to generate hot water or steam, and jetting the hot water or steam into the inner tank A washing machine for heating laundry by injecting the warm water or steam from the injection nozzle for a predetermined time in at least two steps of a washing step, a rinsing step, a dehydrating step, and a drying step of the laundry. 6. The dehydrating step of rotating the inner tub containing the laundry at high speed for dehydration, in which hot water or steam is sprayed from the spray nozzle for a predetermined time, and after the spraying is finished, heating means for heating the air blown by the blower means. A washing machine in which hot air is allowed to flow into the inner tub by switching to. 7. The inner tub for storing laundry is rotated at a high speed while hot water or steam is sprayed for a predetermined time, and after the spraying is completed, the inner tub is stopped or stopped after the dehydration step in which warm air is allowed to flow into the inner tub. The washing machine according to claim 6, wherein the washing machine is rotated at a low speed to shift to a warm air drying step. 8. A stirring process of stirring laundry by a laundry stirring blade provided in the inner tub or stirring the laundry by rotating the inner tub at a low speed, and spraying hot water or steam while rotating the inner tub at a high speed. The washing machine according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein an injection process of injecting from a nozzle for a predetermined time and heating laundry is alternately switched. 9. In the step of rinsing or dehydrating by rotating an inner tub for storing laundry at a high speed, hot water or steam is sprayed from a spray nozzle for a predetermined time after a predetermined time has elapsed after starting at least one of the steps. Injected Claims 1 to
The washing machine according to any one of 8 above. 10. A temperature detector for detecting the spray temperature of hot water or steam, and an injection temperature control device for controlling the injection temperature of hot water or steam, and the dehydration temperature is controlled to a predetermined temperature according to the type of laundry. The washing machine according to any one of claims 1 to 9. 11. A temperature detector for detecting the outlet temperature of the inner tub, and an injection temperature control device for controlling the injection temperature of hot water or steam, wherein the dehydration temperature is controlled to a predetermined temperature according to the type of laundry. The washing machine according to any one of Items 1 to 9.