JP2003326080A - Washing-drying machine - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To increase the air volume of a hot air-circulating path, and to improve the assembling property. <P>SOLUTION: A drying device 31 is equipped with the hot air-circulating path comprising a first blowing duct 32 and a second blowing duct 33. The first blowing duct 32 is provided along the internal surface of a top cover 3, and communicates with the inside of a water tank 4 at the front end part. The second blowing duct 33 is provided on the internal surface of an external box 2, and communicates with the inside of the water tank 4 at the lower end part, and is connected with the rear end part of the first blowing duct 32 at the upper end part. A flange 38 having a groove part 37 is provided at the upper end part of the second blowing duct 33. Both blowing ducts 32 and 33 are connected when the rear end part of the first blowing duct 33 is inserted in the groove part 37. <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 washer / dryer provided with a warm air circulation path composed of a ventilation duct communicating with a water tank.

[0002]

FIG. 5 shows a conventional structure of a washer / dryer. In FIG. 5, the washing machine body 1 is composed of a rectangular box-shaped outer case 2 and a hollow top cover 3 disposed on the upper part of the outer case 2. A water tank 4 is provided in the outer box 2 via an elastic support mechanism 5. A rotary tank 6 is rotatably provided in the water tank 4, and an agitator 7 is rotatably provided at the bottom of the rotary tank 6. A large number of holes 6 a functioning as water passage holes and ventilation holes are provided on the peripheral wall portion of the rotary tank 6. A drive mechanism 8 that rotationally drives the rotary tank 6 and the stirring body 7 is provided below the water tank 4. The drive mechanism 8
Is composed of, for example, an outer rotor type motor, and directly drives the rotary tank 6 and the agitator 7 to rotate.

A drainage port 9 is provided at the bottom of the water tank 4. A drain hose 11 is connected to the drain port 9 via a drain valve 10. Further, a ventilation duct 13 is connected to the drain port 9 via a bellows-shaped connecting duct 12. The blower duct 13 functions as a heat exchanger, and a water injection port 14 is provided on the upper part thereof.

The blower duct 13 extends upward along the rear surface of the outer case 2, and the upper end portion thereof projects to the outside through an opening 15 provided in the upper rear surface of the outer case 2. Although not shown, the blower duct 13 has a plurality of screw boss portions and is screwed to the rear surface of the outer box 2.

On the other hand, a water tank cover 16 having an inner lid 16a is provided above the water tank 4, and a ventilation duct 18 is connected to a rear portion of the water tank cover 16 through a bellows-like connecting duct 17. There is. Inside the blower duct 18, a heater 19a and a fan 19b, which form a warm air generator 19, and a lint filter 20 are arranged.

The top cover 3 has a convex portion 21 projecting upward on the upper surface of the rear portion thereof, and the blower duct 18 is provided.
Extends to the lower rear portion of the top cover 3 while bending along the inner surface of the convex portion 21. The tip of the air duct 18 projects to the outside through an opening 22 provided on the rear surface of the top cover 3. Although not shown, the blower duct 18 has a plurality of screw bosses, and the top cover 3
It is screwed to the inner surface of the (projection 21).

The blower ducts 13 and 18 are connected to each other through their U-shaped connecting ducts 23 at the ends projecting rearward of the outer box 2 and the top cover 3, respectively. The air ducts 13 and 18 and the connecting ducts 12, 17 and 23 form a warm air circulation path. Further, the warm air circulation path, the warm air generating device 19, and the lint filter 20 constitute a drying device 24. With the above-described configuration, the operation of dehumidifying the moist air discharged from the water tub 4 to warm it and returning it to the water tub 4 is repeated, and the laundry in the rotary tub 6 is dried.

However, the hot air circulation path has the following problems. That is, since the ends of the blower ducts 13 and 18 are projected to the rear part of the washing machine body 1 and connected by the connecting duct 23, it is necessary to bend the end of the blower ducts 13 and 18 and the connecting duct 23. is there. For this reason, the flow resistance of the warm air circulation path increases, which causes a decrease in the air volume. Further, since the number of parts forming the warm air circulation path is large, the assembling property is deteriorated.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object thereof is to provide a washer / dryer capable of increasing the amount of air in the warm air circulation path and improving the assembling property.

[0010]

A washing and drying machine according to claim 1 of the present invention has an outer box and a top cover provided on the upper part of the outer box, a hot air generator and a heat exchanger, and is used in a water tank. A drying means for drying the laundry in the rotary tub by circulating warm air in the drying means,
A first blower duct provided along the inner surface of the top cover and communicating with the inside of the water tank at one end thereof, and a first blower duct provided along the inner surface of the outer box and communicating with the inside of the water tank at one end thereof It is characterized in that it is provided with a warm air circulation path consisting of a second air duct connected to the other end of the first air duct.

According to the above construction, the number of parts constituting the warm air circulation path is smaller than that of the conventional construction, so that the assembling property can be improved. Further, since the first and second blower ducts are directly connected, it is not necessary to bend at least the connecting portion of the first and second blower ducts.
It is possible to increase the air volume.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a washer / dryer,
One of the other end of the first blower duct and the other end of the second blower duct is provided with an insertion receiving portion into which the other is inserted.

According to the above configuration, it is possible to simplify the configuration of the connecting portion of the first and second blower ducts. Further, by setting the width dimension and the height dimension of the insertion receiving portion in consideration of the assembly tolerance, the first and second air ducts can be connected relatively easily.

In this case, the other end of the first blower duct may be configured to extend downward, and the other end of the second blower duct may be configured to extend upward (claim 3). Invention).

According to the above structure, when the top cover is assembled to the outer box from above, the first and second air ducts can be easily connected.

Further, it is preferable that the insertion receiving portion is provided at the other end portion of the second blower duct (the invention of claim 4). With such a configuration, when the top cover is assembled to the upper part of the outer box, it is easy to confirm that the other end of the first blower duct has been inserted into the insertion receiving portion of the second blower duct. Further, the insertion receiving portion can receive water droplets that are attached to the inner surface of the first blower duct and hang down.

A washing and drying machine according to a fourth aspect of the present invention is characterized in that a seal member is provided at a connecting portion of the first and second air ducts. According to the above configuration, the connecting portion of the first and second air ducts can be watertightly sealed.

Further, the washing and drying machine according to claim 5 of the present invention is
It is characterized in that an opening is provided in a portion of the outer box and the top cover corresponding to the connecting portion of the first and second air ducts.

According to the above construction, it is possible to confirm the connection state of the first and second blower ducts after the top cover is attached to the upper part of the outer box.

[0020]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION A first embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. Here, the description will focus on the part relating to the gist of the present invention, and the same parts as those of the conventional configuration shown in FIG.

That is, the washer / dryer according to the first embodiment is characterized by the drying device 31 as a drying means. The drying device 31 is provided from the lower part of the rear part of the water tank 4 to the upper part thereof, and is mainly composed of the first and second blower ducts 32 and 33.

The first blower duct 32 is disposed inside the convex portion 21, and is formed in a U shape along the inner surface of the convex portion 21. Although not shown, the blower duct 3
Reference numeral 2 has a plurality of screw boss portions and is screwed to the inner surface of the convex portion 21. Both the front end, which is one end, and the rear end, which is the other end, of the blower duct 32 extend downward, and the front end is attached to the rear portion of the water tank cover 16 via the bellows-shaped connecting duct 17. It is connected.
An opening portion 34 and an openable / closable lid portion 35 that closes the opening portion 34 are provided in a portion of the rear surface of the top cover 3 corresponding to the rear end portion of the blower duct 32.

A heater 19a and a fan 19b as a warm air generator 19 are arranged in this order from the front end side in the front half of the first air duct 32. Further, the lint filter 20 is disposed in the air duct 32 at the rear of the fan 36b. The lint filter 37 is configured to be able to be taken in and out of the air duct 32 from the upper surface of the convex portion 21.

On the other hand, the second ventilation duct 33 is arranged at the rear portion of the water tank 4 in the outer box 2 so as to extend along the rear surface of the outer box 2. The lower end, which is one end of the blower duct 33, is connected to the drain port 9 via a bellows-shaped connecting duct 12. An upper end, which is the other end of the blower duct 33, extends upward to the upper end of the outer box 2 and is connected to the rear end of the first blower duct 32. Therefore, in the present embodiment, the warm air circulation path is constituted by the connecting ducts 12 and 17 and the first and second air blowing ducts 32 and 33.

A water injection port 36 is provided in a portion slightly below the upper end portion of the second blower duct 33. During the drying operation, water is injected from the water supply device (not shown) into the blower duct 33 through the water inlet 36, and as a result, the air flowing through the blower duct 33 is dehumidified. Therefore, the 2nd ventilation duct 33 functions as a heat exchanger.

FIG. 2 shows the first and second blower ducts 32,
It is a figure which expands and shows the connection part of 33. A flange 38 (corresponding to an insertion receiving portion) having a groove portion 37 opening on the upper surface is provided on the entire outer periphery of the upper end portion of the second blower duct 33. An annular sponge 39 (corresponding to a sealing member) made of an independent foaming resin is fixed to the bottom of the groove 37.

The inner diameter of the rear end of the first air duct 32 is larger than the outer diameter of the upper end of the second air duct 33. Further, the width dimension in the groove portion 37 has a horizontal mounting tolerance of the first and second blower ducts 32 and 33 to the top cover 3 and the outer box 2,
The width dimension (thickness dimension) of the rear end portion of the first blower duct 32 is set to be larger in consideration of the horizontal assembling tolerance of the top cover 3 to the outer box 2. Further, the depth dimension of the groove portion 37 depends on the vertical mounting tolerance of the first and second blower ducts 32 and 33 to the top cover 3 and the outer case 2, and the vertical dimension of the top cover 3 to the outer case 2. It is set in consideration of the assembly tolerance.

In the above washer / dryer, various components are assembled in the outer box 2 and various components are assembled in the top cover 3, and then the top cover 3 is placed on the upper portion of the outer box 2 from above. It is constructed by assembling and screwing. In the present embodiment, the first blower duct 32 and the second blower duct 33 in the warm air circulation path are divided into the top cover 3 side and the outer case 2 side, so the top cover 3 of the blower duct 32 is divided. To the outer box 2 of the ventilation duct 33, the top cover 3
Is performed in a process before being assembled to the outer box 2.

At this time, the first and second blower ducts 32,
Since the size of the end portion of 33 and the size of the groove portion 37 are set to the above size, even when the positions of the connection end portions of the air ducts 32 and 33 vary due to the assembly tolerance, when the top cover 3 is assembled to the outer case 2, The rear end of the air duct 32 of No. 1 is the groove 3
It is inserted into 7 and pressed against sponge 39. Then, by screwing the top cover 3 to the outer case 2, the rear end portion of the first blower duct 32 is strongly pressed against the sponge 39 in the groove portion 37, so that the first and second blower ducts 32 and 33 are separated from each other. Watertightly connected.

As described above, according to this embodiment, since the first and second blower ducts 32 and 33 are directly connected,
The number of parts constituting the warm air circulation path is reduced, and the assembling property is improved. Moreover, since the flange 38 having the groove portion 37 is provided at the upper end portion of the second blower duct 33 and the first blower duct 32 is inserted into the groove portion 37 to connect the both, the connection work is further simplified. become.

Particularly, since the rear end of the first air duct 32 extends downward and the upper end of the second air duct 33 extends upward, the air duct 3
The direction of inserting 2 into the groove portion 37 and the direction of assembling the top cover 3 into the outer box 2 are the same. Therefore, the first and second air ducts 32 and 33 can be connected more easily.

Further, since the flange 38 having the groove portion 37 is provided on the second blower duct 33, the first blower duct 3 is provided.
The groove 37 can receive the water droplets that are attached to the inside of 2 and hanging down. Therefore, it is possible to prevent water leakage from the ventilation ducts 32 and 33.

Further, in the above structure, since the connecting portion of the first and second air ducts 32 and 33 is not bent, the flow path resistance does not decrease and the air volume in the warm air circulation path can be increased. it can.

Since the opening portion 34 is provided on the rear surface of the top cover 3 so that the connecting portion of the first and second blower ducts 32 and 33 can be seen, the blower ducts 32 and 33 can be seen during the assembling work or after the assembling. You can check the connection status of.

Since the sponge 39 is made of the independent foaming resin, it is possible to reliably prevent the air from leaking from the connecting portion of the blower ducts 32 and 33.

In addition, the entire warm air circulation path is the main body of the washing machine 1.
Since it is housed inside the washing machine, the appearance of the washing machine body 1 can be improved.

The first and second blower ducts 32, 33
The structure of the connecting portion is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and the following modifications are possible, for example. FIG. 3 shows a second embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, a trumpet-like portion 41 (insertion receiving portion) that gradually expands upward is provided at an upper end portion of the second blower duct 33. Equivalent to). A sheet-shaped sealing member 42 is fixed to the inner surface of the trumpet-shaped portion 41 by, for example, bonding.
The sealing member 42 is made of an independent foaming resin as in the first embodiment.

In the above structure, when the top cover 3 is assembled to the upper part of the outer box 2 from above, the first air duct 32 is installed.
The end portion of is inserted into the trumpet-shaped portion 41 of the second blower duct 33 and pressed against the seal member 42. Thereby, the first and second blower ducts 32,
33 are connected via a seal member 42.

Further, when the rear end portion of the first blower duct 32 moves downward along the inner surface of the trumpet-shaped portion 41, the position is corrected so as to match the inner surface of the trumpet-shaped portion 41. Therefore, even if the position of the rear end portion of the first blower duct 32 is displaced from the upper end portion of the second blower duct 33 in the horizontal direction, the first and second blower ducts 32, 33 are compared. You can make a good connection.

FIG. 4 shows a third embodiment of the present invention, and the difference from the first embodiment will be described. In the third embodiment, the rear end portion of the first blower duct 32 is set to the second end.
It is configured to be connected to each other by being fitted into the upper end portion of the ventilation duct 33. With such a configuration, it is not necessary to provide an insertion receiving portion at the upper end portion of the second blower duct 33, so that the shape of the second blower duct 33 can be simplified.

However, in the case of the above construction, if the horizontal positions of the ends of the first and second air ducts 32, 33 are displaced, the first air duct 32 should be fitted into the second air duct 33. I can't. Therefore, in the case of the above configuration, the second
It is preferable to provide the part for screwing the ventilation duct 33 to the outer box 2 at a part apart from the upper end part.

With this structure, the second air duct 33 can be bent to correct the horizontal position of the upper end portion. Therefore, even if the position of the upper end portion of the second blower duct 33 is displaced with respect to the rear end portion of the first blower duct 32, both can be connected.

The present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiment, and the following modifications and expansions are possible. The lid 35 provided on the opening 34 may be omitted, or the opening 34 may be omitted.

An insertion receiving portion is provided at the rear end portion of the first air blowing duct 32, and the upper end image of the second air blowing duct 33 is inserted into the insertion receiving portion so that the first and second air blowing ducts 32,
33 may be connected.

The other ends of the first blower duct 32 and the second blower duct 33 may be arranged to extend in two directions which are opposite to each other in the horizontal direction. In the case of such a configuration, when the top cover 3 is configured to be slid on the upper part of the outer box 2 in the horizontal direction and assembled, the top cover 3
Since the assembling direction of the outer casing 2 and the connecting direction of the first and second blower ducts 32 and 33 are the same, the connecting work of the first and second blower ducts 32 and 33 is simplified.

[0046]

As is apparent from the above description, in the washer / dryer of the present invention, a drying means for drying the laundry in the rotary tub by circulating warm air in the water tub is provided on the inner surface of the top cover. A first blower duct provided along the inner surface of the outer box and communicating with the inside of the water tank at one end thereof, and communicates with the inside of the water tank at one end thereof, and the first blower at the other end thereof Since the configuration is provided with the warm air circulation path including the second blower duct directly connected to the other end of the duct, the assemblability of the warm air circulation path can be improved. Further, since the first and second blower ducts can be connected to each other without being bent, the flow path resistance can be reduced and the air volume can be increased. Further, since the entire warm air circulation path is housed inside the outer box and the top cover, there is an effect that the appearance is improved.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a vertical cross-sectional side view showing the overall structure of a washer / dryer showing a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a vertical cross-sectional view showing an enlarged connecting portion of a ventilation duct.

FIG. 3 shows a second embodiment of the present invention, and is an enlarged vertical cross-sectional view of a connecting portion of a blower duct.

FIG. 4 is a view corresponding to FIG. 3 showing a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a view corresponding to FIG. 1 showing a conventional structure of a washer / dryer.

[Explanation of symbols]

In the figure, 2 is an outer box, 3 is a top cover, 4 is a water tank, 6 is a rotating tank, 12 is a connecting duct (warm air circulation path), 17 is a connecting duct (warm air circulation path), and 19 is a warm air generator. , 31 is a drying device (drying means), 32 is a first air duct (warm air circulation path), 33 is a second air duct (warm air circulation path),
A heat exchanger), 34 is an opening, 38 is a flange (insertion receiving part), 39 is a sponge (sealing member), 41 is a trumpet-like part (insertion receiving part), and 42 is a sealing member.

   ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued front page    (72) Inventor Morimasa Komatsu             991, Anada-cho, Seto-shi, Aichi Higashi Co., Ltd.             Shiba Aichi Factory F term (reference) 3B155 AA16 BB04 BB18 CB07 CB33                       CB49 CB52 CB55 JA01 JA03                       MA02

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A rotation box having an outer box, a top cover provided on an upper part of the outer box, a water tank arranged in the outer box, and a plurality of ventilation holes rotatably arranged in the water tank. A washing and drying machine comprising a tub and a drying unit that has a warm air generator and a heat exchanger and circulates warm air in the water tub to dry the laundry in the rotary tub, wherein the drying unit is: A first blower duct provided along the inner surface of the top cover and communicating with the inside of the water tank at one end thereof, and a first blower duct provided along the inner surface of the outer box and communicating with the inside of the water tank at one end thereof The washer / dryer is characterized in that it is provided with a warm air circulation path consisting of a second air duct connected to the other end of the first air duct in the section. 2. One of the other end of the first blower duct and the other end of the second blower duct is provided with an insertion receiving portion into which the other is inserted. 1. The washer / dryer according to 1. 3. The other end of the first blower duct is configured to extend downward, and the other end of the second blower duct is configured to extend upward. The washer / dryer according to claim 2. 4. The washer / dryer according to claim 3, wherein the insertion receiving portion is provided in the second air duct. 5. The washer / dryer according to claim 1, wherein a seal member is provided at a connecting portion of the first and second blower ducts. 6. An opening is provided in a portion of the outer box and the top cover corresponding to a connecting portion of the first and second blower ducts. The washer / dryer described in 1.