JP2003311098A - Clothes dryer - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a clothes dryer which can restrain wrinkles on clothes after drying for better finish. <P>SOLUTION: The clothes dryer includes a drying chamber 2 for housing and drying objects to be dried such as clothes, a blower 3 for supplying hot air to the drying chamber, and a moisture supply means 7 for moisturizing the objects to be dried in the middle of drying. Drying is carried out while moisturizing the objects to be dried in a drying process to restrain the wrinkles on the objects after drying for better dry finish. <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 clothes dryer which blows warm air into a drying chamber to dry an object to be dried such as clothes.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Heretofore, as this type of clothes dryer, a single-function clothes dryer or a clothes dryer in a washing machine that consistently performs from washing to drying has been known. In all of these, drying is performed by supplying warm air while stirring a material to be dried such as clothes in a drying chamber.

[0003]

However, although the conventional clothes dryer can effectively dry the material to be dried such as clothes, it suppresses the generation of wrinkles and provides a better dry finish. In order to do so, it has been a challenge to devise more ingenuity.

The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned conventional problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a clothes dryer capable of improving a dry finished state when drying of an object to be dried such as clothes is completed.

[0005]

In order to achieve the above object, the clothes dryer of the present invention is provided with a moisture supply means for imparting moisture to the material to be dried during the drying promotion.

[0006] With this, since the drying is promoted while giving an appropriate dampness to the material to be dried at the time of drying, it is possible to suppress the generation of wrinkles and the like, and it is possible to perform a better dry finish.

[0007]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The invention according to claim 1 is a drying chamber in which an object to be dried such as clothes is put into a drying chamber, a blower for supplying warm air to the drying chamber, and a drying chamber during drying propulsion. By using a clothes dryer equipped with a moisture supply means for imparting moisture to an object, since the drying can be performed while giving an appropriate dampness to the material to be dried at the time of drying, the occurrence of wrinkles and the like is suppressed, and more Good dry finish.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the application of moisture to the material to be dried by the moisture supply means is performed at a timing near the end of drying, whereby the clothes dryer dries quickly. Meanwhile, the invention according to claim 3, which can improve the dry finish, provides the clothes dryer according to claim 1 or 2 which applies moisture to the hot air passage to the drying chamber. In addition, the dry finished state can be further improved.

The invention according to a fourth aspect is any one of the first to third aspects, wherein the moisture supply means applies the moisture taken from the material to be dried in the drying chamber into the drying chamber to add the moisture to the material to be dried. By using the clothes dryer according to the item 1, since the drying is performed with warm air containing moisture, the dry finished state becomes better.

According to the invention of claim 5, during the drying process,
The clothes dryer according to claim 4, which has a step of cutting or reducing the electric power applied to the heater for generating warm air, and which has increased the warm air humidity, can be dried with warm humid air. It progresses and the dry finish becomes better.

The invention according to claim 6 is the clothes dryer according to claim 5, wherein the step of cutting or reducing the voltage applied to the heater for generating warm air is performed by detecting the humidity in the drying chamber. Thus, the drying can be performed while the relative humidity in the drying chamber is increased, and the dry finished state can be improved.

The invention as set forth in claim 7 is the clothes dryer according to claim 5 or 6, which has water-cooling type heat exchange means for directly granulating and sending water into the warm air circulation supply path to exchange heat. As a result, heat can be directly exchanged with the circulating hot air to dehumidify, and in combination with the control of the electric power applied to the heater, the dry finish state can be improved.

According to an eighth aspect of the present invention, by controlling the water supply of the heat exchange means to control the humidity in the drying chamber, the clothes dryer according to the seventh aspect can control the humidity of the circulating hot air. Since the drying progresses in a high humidity condition,
The dry finished state can be improved.

The invention according to claim 9 is characterized in that a humidity sensor is provided immediately before the heater and the electric power applied to the heater is controlled according to the output of the humidity sensor. With this clothes dryer, since the humidity condition of the warm air itself is determined and controlled, it is possible to dry the material to be dried in a high humidity condition and improve the dry finish condition.

The invention according to claim 10 includes the step of controlling so as to increase the humidity of the circulating air circulating to the drying chamber by interrupting the dehumidifying operation. By doing so, the circulating air is circulated into the drying chamber in a state of containing humidity, and the drying is progressed.
Drying progresses in a high humidity state, and the dry finished state can be improved.

According to the eleventh aspect of the present invention, the clothes dryer is agitated while the supply of warm air for drying the dried article is stopped, whereby the humidity is high. In this way, the drying progresses, and the dry finished state becomes better.

[0017]

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

(Embodiment 1) FIG. 1 shows a clothes dryer according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention.

As shown in the figure, a drying chamber 2 having a large number of small holes on its wall surface is provided inside a casing 1 for drying an object to be dried, such as clothes, and the outer peripheral cylinder thereof is provided. A blower 3 for supplying warm air to the drying chamber 2, a heater 4 for generating warm air, a warm air path 5, a dehumidifying mechanism 6, for adding moisture to the material to be dried in the course of drying promotion, with a hose and a water reservoir It is equipped with a moisture supply unit 7, a spray port 8 of the moisture supply unit 7 toward the drying chamber 2, a hot air outlet 9 toward the inside of the drying chamber 2, and the like. Although not shown, a lid for the drying chamber 2, a motor for driving the rotation of the drying chamber 2, a drainage port for dehumidifying water by the dehumidifying mechanism 6, and the like are also provided.

Next, the operation of the clothes dryer of this embodiment having the above structure will be described. An object to be dried (not shown) such as clothes is put into the drying chamber 2 and the drying chamber 2 is rotated, while the blast airflow generated by the blower 3 is passed through the warm air path 5 and the heater 4 to warm the air. As wind, it is sent into the drying chamber 2 from the warm air outlet 9. After that, the warm air, which has dehumidified from the material to be dried, is dehumidified when passing through the dehumidifying mechanism 6 and follows the path of circulating to the blower 3 again. In this process,
Mist-like water is blown into the drying chamber 2 from the spray port 8 by the moisture supply means 7. By spraying the mist-like water, the material to be dried in the drying chamber 2 is provided with an appropriate moist air, and the drying proceeds in this state. By advancing the drying under the condition in which the material to be dried is moistened,
The generation of wrinkles and the like is suppressed, and the dry finished state after the completion of drying is improved.

(Second Embodiment) A clothes dryer according to a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2.

Since the entire structure is the same as that of the first embodiment, the description of the structure is omitted, and here, the timing of spraying mist-like water by the humidity supply means 7 will be described.

In FIG. 2, the horizontal axis is the time axis, and the vertical axis is the drying rate of the material to be dried and ON / OFF of the moisture supply means 7.
The timing is shown. The spraying of mist-like moisture by the moisture supply means 7, that is, the application of moisture to the material to be dried is performed at a timing near the end of drying. Specifically, as shown in the figure, the spraying is performed from the area where the drying rate exceeds 95%.

As a result, the material to be dried is rapidly dried by warm air until the drying rate reaches nearly 95%, and when the drying is about to end, mist-like water is sprayed into the drying chamber 2. Therefore, the material to be dried such as clothes is completely dried in a state where an appropriate amount of dampness is applied. Therefore, it is possible to suppress the occurrence of wrinkles and the like on the material to be dried at the end of drying, and to improve the dry finish state.

(Embodiment 3) FIG. 3 shows a clothes dryer in a third embodiment of the present invention, that is, a clothes dryer in a washing machine which consistently carries out from washing to drying.

As shown in the figure, the housing 10 suspends and supports the outer tank 11 by a plurality of suspension mechanisms 12. Below the outer tub 11, a driving means 13 including a motor is provided.
Through the hollow / biaxial structure of the washing / dewatering shaft 14 and the clutch 15 for switching the transmission of the rotational force to the washing / dewatering shaft 14 when washing or dewatering.
Is connected to an inner tank 16 which is rotatably provided inside. The inner tub 16 is a washing tub for washing clothes and the like, and a drying chamber for drying the washed object to be dried (the same as the drying chamber in the first embodiment).
It also serves as.

A fluid balancer 17 is provided above the inner tank 16, and a stirring blade 18 is rotatably provided at the inner bottom of the inner tank 16. The blower 20 blows warm air for drying, and is provided substantially above the housing 10. The heater 20 serves to warm the air blown by the blower 19. The cooling blower 21 is provided on the side wall of the housing 10 and introduces cool air from the outside into the housing 10.

An outer tank cover 22 is provided on the upper surface of the outer tank 11, and an openable / closable inner lid 2 is provided at a substantially central portion of the outer tank cover 22.
3 is provided. The outer tank cover 22 is provided with a discharge port 24 so that warm air is discharged into the inner tank 16. The outlet 24 and the warm air passage 25 that follows the heater 20 are connected by a bellows hose 26 that is extendable and contractible in a substantially vertical direction.

An outlet 27 for warm air, washing water, dehumidified water, and warm air is provided in the lower part of the outer tub 11, and is connected to a drain port 29 via a drain valve 28. The thrown clothes 30 are contained in the inner tank 16. Further, the housing 10 and the outer tub 11 are provided with a temperature sensor 31, a display unit 32, a control unit 33, a water supply unit 34 including a water supply valve, and an intake port 35 is provided on the intake side of the blower 19. . A moisture supply unit 36 is provided downstream of the heater 20 on the blower side of the blower 19 toward the inside of the warm air passage 25 to apply moisture to the material to be dried during the drying promotion.

The control unit 33 is equipped with a microcomputer and controls the motor 13, the drain valve 28, the blower 19, the heater 20, the cooling blower 21 and the like to sequentially perform the washing, rinsing, dehydrating and drying steps. It is configured to run.

Next, the operation of the above washing machine will be described. In the washing and rinsing process, according to the operation of the display unit 32, the control unit 33 controls the drainage valve 28 to be closed, the clothes 30 and the detergent are put into the inner tub 16, and the water supply unit 3
4 to supply water or hot water, and the clutch 1 of the transmission mechanism section
The power of the motor 13 is transmitted to the inner tub 16 or the stirring blade 18 via the washing / dewatering shaft 14 by switching 5 and the inner tub 16 or the stirring blade 18 is rotated, so that the clothes 30 contain water containing detergent. Or wash and rinse with agitation in water containing detergent.

In the dehydration process, after the washing / rinsing process is completed,
The water in the inner tank 16 is controlled by the control unit 33 so that the drain valve 28
After opening the valve and draining it to the outside from the drainage port 29, the clutch 15 of the transmission mechanism is switched to the dehydration side, and the power of the motor 13 is transmitted to the inner tub 16 via the washing / dehydrating shaft 14 to gradually increase the rotation. By applying centrifugal force to the clothes 30,
The water content is separated from the clothes 30, passes through the drain valve 28 and the drain port 29, and is drained to the outside.

In the drying process, similarly, under the control of the control unit 33, first, the drain valve 28 is closed and the stirring blades 18 are slowly rotated in the forward and reverse directions, whereby the inner tank 16 is rotated during the dehydration process. After peeling off the clothes (material to be dried) 30 attached to the inner wall of the inner tank 16 by force, the inner tank 16
While the fan is rotated or the stirring blade 18 is rotated in the forward and reverse directions, warm air is blown by the blower 19 and the heater 20 and applied to the clothes (material to be dried) 30.

Then, the warm air traces the outlet 24 and the surface of the clothes (material to be dried) 30 inside the inner tub 16 and passes through a small hole (not shown) provided on the inner wall of the inner tub 16. Outer tank 1
1 flows into the gap between the inner tank 16 and the inner tank 16, and then moves to the outlet 27 at the bottom of the outer tank 11. When the water passes through the inner tub 16, the water contained in the clothes (material to be dried) 30 is removed, and the remaining water is cooled and dehumidified by the outside air by the cooling blower 21. The dehumidified water is drained to the outside from the drain port 29 when the drain valve 28 is opened.

Then, from the middle of the drying process, the humidity of the warm air is increased by applying the humidity toward the warm air passage 25 by the humidity supply means 36. As a result, the clothes (material to be dried) 30 are dried under the condition of high humidity, and the drying is completed.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, in the drying process, the moisture supply means 36 works to dry in a high humidity state, so that the generation of wrinkles is suppressed and the drying of the material to be dried is completed. The finished state is better (Example 4) FIG. 4 shows a clothes dryer in Example 4 of the present invention. The same parts as those in the third embodiment are designated by the same reference numerals, the description thereof will be omitted, and different points will be mainly described.

As shown in the drawing, the stirring blade 37 is provided on the upper surface of the stirring blade 18, and a large number of small holes 38 penetrating from the front surface to the back surface are provided. Further, the heater 20 is configured so that its input can be switched from maximum to OFF, and the air blown by the blower 19 can be heated by changing the input.

Further, the outlet 27 provided at the bottom of the outer tank 10
And the warm air circulation path 39 are expandable and contractible lower bellows hose 40
Are connected via. The warm air circulation path 39 has the drain valve 2
8 and the intake side of the blower 19 to circulate warm air and allow drainage. An intake port 42 is provided on the intake side of the blower 19 via an intake valve 41.

Here, the wind generated by the blower 19 is
The heater 20, the bellows hose 26, the discharge port 24, the inside of the inner tank 16, the small holes (not shown) around the inner tank 16, the small holes 38 of the stirring blade 18, the lower part of the outer tank 11, and the lower part of the outer tank 11 are provided. In addition, the air passes through the lower bellows hose 40 and the warm air circulation path 39 and is circulated again to the blower 19.

Next, the operation of the above washing machine will be described. The washing / rinsing process and the dehydration process are as described in the third embodiment. In the drying process, the drainage valve 28 is first closed under the control of the control unit 33, and then the stirring blade 18 is slowly rotated in the forward and reverse directions, so that the inner tank 16 is rotated by centrifugal force due to the rotation of the inner tank 16 during the dehydration process. After peeling off the clothes (material to be dried) 30 attached to the inner wall of the, while rotating the inner tank 16 and rotating the stirring blades 18 in the forward and reverse directions, warm air is sent by the blower 19 and the heater 20. And apply it to the clothes (object to be dried) 30.

The warm air traces the surface of the clothes (material to be dried) 30 inside the discharge port 24 and the inner tank 16 and passes through the small holes 38 of the stirring blade 18, or on the inner wall of the inner tank 16. It passes through a small hole (not shown) provided and flows into the gap between the outer tank 11 and the inner tank 16, and then moves to the outlet 51 under the outer tank 11.

When passing through the inner tub 16, the water contained in the clothes (material to be dried) 30 is removed, and then flows into the warm air circulation path 39, where it is cooled by the outside air by the cooling blower 21. To be dehumidified. The dehumidified water collects in the lower part of the warm air circulation path 39 and is drained to the outside from the drain port 29 when the drain valve 28 is opened.

During the above-described drying process, the intake valve 41 provided on the intake side of the blower 19 may be opened so that the outside air is introduced into the inner tank 16 through the intake port 42.

As described above, in the drying process, the warm air which has taken away moisture from the clothes (material to be dried) 30 and has become high in humidity circulates from the outlet 27 through the warm air circulation path 39 to be dried. It gives moisture to an object and serves as a moisture supply means. During this drying process, the heater 2
By cutting or reducing the applied voltage to 0, warm air returns to the inner tank 16 while the humidity is still high, and the clothes (material to be dried) 30 are dried in a high humidity state. .

If the process of controlling to increase the humidity of the circulating air is included by suspending the dehumidifying operation by stopping the operation of the cooling blower 21 or the like, the inside will be kept moist. Circulating air can flow into the tank 16,
The clothes (material to be dried) 30 are dried in a high humidity state.

Further, when the supply of warm air for drying the material to be dried is stopped, that is, the operation of the blower 19 is stopped, the humidity around the clothes (material to be dried) 30 is further increased, and the drying is humid. Will be progressing in a high state. Further, if the material to be dried is stirred by the stirring blade 18 while the blower 19 is stopped, the drying is further promoted.

As described above, since the drying progresses in the high humidity state, the occurrence of wrinkles is suppressed, and a better finished state is obtained at the end of the drying.

(Embodiment 5) FIGS. 5 and 6 show a clothes dryer according to a fifth embodiment of the present invention. Examples 3, 4
The same parts as those in FIG.

In this embodiment, the humidity sensor 4 is provided in the outer tank 11.
3 is provided, and the process of controlling the voltage applied to the heater 20 by detecting the humidity of the humidity sensor 43 is included.

The operation of the drying process in this structure will be described. As shown in FIG. 6, the humidity inside the outer tank 11 detected by the humidity sensor 43, that is, inside the inner tank 16, is 3%.
If it is less than 0%, the humidity is increased by cutting off the voltage applied to the heater 20. As a result, the warm air that circulates to the inner tub 16 has a high humidity, and the clothes (material to be dried) 30 can be dried in a high humidity condition, so that the drying finish is better. Becomes The voltage applied to the heater 20 for generating warm air may be reduced without being cut off.

(Sixth Embodiment) FIG. 7 shows a clothes dryer according to a sixth embodiment of the present invention. The same parts as those of the third and fourth embodiments are designated by the same reference numerals, the description thereof will be omitted, and different points will be mainly described.

In the present embodiment, a water-cooling type heat exchange means 44 is provided which heats the hot air circulation path 39 in the form of particles to directly exchange heat with the hot air. Although not shown, a water supply source is connected to the heat exchange means 44, and the water supply is controlled (for example, ON / OFF).

The operation of the drying process in this structure will be described. In the drying process, if the humidity of the warm air drops,
The voltage applied to the heater 20 in the passage in which the warm air circulates is controlled to OFF or decrease. As a result, the temperature of the warm air is lowered, and since moisture for dehumidification from the heat exchange means 44 exists in the warm air circulation path 39, the warm air also has this moisture and has a high humidity.

Further, when the humidity decreases, the water supply of the heat exchanging means 44, which is also in the warm air circulation path 39, is controlled to be turned off or reduced. As a result, the function of water-cooling dehumidification deteriorates, and the warm air with moisture is not dehumidified and is heated by the heater 20 as it is, so that the clothes (object to be dried) 30 become high-humidity warm air. It will be.

As described above, in the drying process of this embodiment, since the drying progresses in the high humidity state, the dry finished state becomes better.

(Embodiment 7) FIG. 8 shows a clothes dryer according to Embodiment 7 of the present invention. The same parts as those of the third and fourth embodiments are designated by the same reference numerals, the description thereof will be omitted, and different points will be mainly described.

In this embodiment, the humidity sensor 45 is used as the blower 1
It is provided in front of the heater 20, which is the exit side of 9.

The operation of the drying process in this structure will be described. In the drying process, the humidity sensor 45 can detect the humidity of the circulating air immediately before flowing into the heater 20, so the voltage applied to the heater 20 is controlled according to the output of the humidity sensor 45. That is, when the humidity decreases, the applied voltage to the heater 20 is turned off to increase the humidity. As a result, the warm air that circulates to the inner tub 16 has a high humidity, and the clothes (material to be dried) 30 can be dried in a high humidity condition, and the finished state of drying is better. Becomes

The first to seventh embodiments described above can be constructed by appropriately combining them, and are not limited to the embodiments themselves.

[0060]

As is apparent from the above embodiments, according to the clothes dryer of the present invention, in the drying process, the material to be dried is finished while being moistened. Occasionally, wrinkles can be suppressed and the dry finish can be improved.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an outline of a clothes dryer according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a moisture supply timing of a clothes dryer according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view showing a clothes dryer (drying and washing machine) according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view showing a clothes dryer (drying and washing machine) according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a partial sectional view showing a clothes dryer (drying and washing machine) according to a fifth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a heater O in the clothes dryer (drying and washing machine).
Diagram showing FF timing

FIG. 7 is a partial sectional view showing a clothes dryer (drying and washing machine) according to a sixth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a partial sectional view showing a clothes dryer (drying and washing machine) according to a seventh embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

2 drying room 3, 19 blower 4, 20 heater 7,36 Moisture supply means 16 Inner tank (drying room) 25 hot air passage 30 Items to be dried 33 Control unit 39 Warm air circulation path 43, 45 Humidity sensor 44 heat exchange means

   ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued front page    (72) Inventor Mikio Tahara             1006 Kadoma, Kadoma-shi, Osaka Matsushita Electric             Sangyo Co., Ltd. F-term (reference) 3B155 AA16 BA09 CA02 CA06 CA16                       CB07 KA27 KA29 LA13 LA16                       LC02 LC14 LC28 MA02 MA07                 4L019 AA02 AB03 AC02 AE03 AG02                       AG04

Claims (11)

[Claims] 1. A drying chamber for putting an article to be dried, such as clothes, for drying, a blower for supplying warm air to the drying chamber, and a moisture supply means for giving moisture to the article to be dried during the drying promotion. A clothes dryer equipped. 2. The clothes dryer according to claim 1, wherein the moisture supply means applies moisture to the material to be dried at a timing near the end of drying. 3. The clothes dryer according to claim 1, wherein moisture is provided in a hot air passage to the drying chamber. 4. The clothes drying apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the moisture supplying unit applies moisture to the material to be dried by sending the moisture taken from the material to be dried in the drying chamber into the drying chamber. Machine. 5. The clothes dryer according to claim 4, further comprising a step of cutting or reducing the electric power applied to the heater for generating warm air during the drying step so as to increase the warm air humidity. 6. The clothes dryer according to claim 5, wherein the step of cutting or reducing the voltage applied to the heater for generating warm air is performed by detecting humidity in the drying chamber. 7. A water-cooling type heat exchange means for directly exchanging heat by feeding water into the warm air circulation path in the form of granules.
Alternatively, the clothes dryer according to item 6. 8. The clothes dryer according to claim 7, wherein the water supply of the heat exchange means is controlled to control the humidity in the drying chamber. 9. The clothes dryer according to claim 5, wherein a humidity sensor is provided immediately before the heater, and the voltage applied to the heater is controlled according to the output of the humidity sensor. 10. The clothes dryer according to claim 4, further comprising a step of controlling to increase the humidity of the circulating air circulating to the drying chamber by interrupting the dehumidifying operation. 11. The clothes dryer according to claim 4, wherein the material to be dried is agitated while the supply of warm air for drying the material to be dried is stopped.