JP2005261691A - Drum type washing machine - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a drum type washing machine capable of promoting drying of laundry at a low running cost without using a heating source such as a heater etc., or a blower etc. driven by a motor. <P>SOLUTION: Wing bodies are radially formed around an axis on a protective cap 33 for covering a pivoted part at the center of an end face of a drum 14. Suction airflow passages 32 which communicate with the outside of a machine, are formed on a wall face of an outer tub 11 opposite to the end face of the drum 14. In a blowing and drying process performed after a final spin-drying process, a period in which the drum 14 rotates at the same high speed as in a spin-drying period, and a disentangling operation period, in which the drum 14 reversely rotates at low speed, are performed alternately. When the drum 14 rotates at high speed, the wing bodies integrally rotating with the drum 14 suck the outside air through the suction airflow passages 32, and discharge the air into the drum 14. The air contacts with the laundry stored in the drum 14 and promotes evaporation of water. The air containing moisture is discharged through an exhaust airflow passage from an air flow-out opening 34 on the back to the outside of the machine. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a drum type washing machine.

  Conventionally, a laundry dryer that automatically performs a series of steps from washing to drying is known. In such a washing and drying machine, a circulating air passage having an air outlet and an air outlet is formed in an outer tub in which a washing and dewatering tub (drum) is built, and air heated by a heater provided in the circulating air passage is blowered. Then, feed it into the outer tank from the air outlet. When the heated air comes into contact with the laundry accommodated in the drum, water vapor evaporates from the laundry, and air containing moisture exits from the outer tub through the air discharge port. The air containing moisture is dehumidified by cooling with cooling water, and the dry air is returned to the heater and heated again to be circulated (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

  In such a washing and drying machine, the power consumption of the heater during the drying operation is very large. Moreover, since it is a water-cooled dehumidifying and drying method, water is also used during the drying operation. Therefore, in general, there is a problem that the running cost (electricity bill and water bill) becomes considerably higher when drying than when washing. In addition, since heated air comes into contact with the laundry, there is a possibility that fabric damage may occur in clothing using heat-sensitive fibers.

  For such a problem, for example, a technique disclosed in Patent Document 2 is known for a spiral washing machine. That is, an air inlet is provided on the upper lid and an air outlet is provided on the back of the outer box, and the laundry dewatering tub is further rotated at a high speed after the final dewatering step. As a result, centrifugal force acts, and a large amount of outside air is sucked into the washing and dewatering tank through the intake port. The outside air that has entered the laundry dewatering tank contacts the laundry, evaporates the moisture contained in the laundry, and the moisture-containing air goes out of the machine through the exhaust port. That is, the laundry is basically dried by applying a large amount of airflow to the laundry without using a heater. In the present specification, such a drying method is referred to as blow drying as distinguished from a conventional method in which heated air from a heater is applied to a laundry to dry the laundry.

  In the swirl type washing machine, the upper surface of the washing and dewatering tub, which is originally the inner tub, and the upper surface of the outer tub are both wide open, so by simply providing an air intake in the upper lid, A strong air flow can be created by inhaling the air. However, for example, in the case of a drum-type washing machine provided with a door on the front surface of the outer box, the diameter of the opening of the drum laundry input port is considerably smaller than the drum diameter, and in order to avoid water leakage during washing. The door cannot have a large inlet. Therefore, it is extremely difficult to send a large amount of outside air into the drum and perform efficient air drying. In addition, in the case of a drum-type washing machine provided with a laundry input opening on the peripheral surface of the drum as disclosed in Patent Document 1, and provided with an openable / closable lid on the upper surface of the outer tub and the outer box, When the drum rotates, it is necessary to close the opening of the drum and the outer tub with a lid, and it is impossible to send a large amount of outside air into the drum as described above.

JP 2004-41751 A JP 2003-220294 A

  The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and its main purpose is to dry laundry at a low running cost without using a heating source such as a heater or a blower blower driven by a motor. It is to provide a drum type washing machine that can be promoted.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention includes an outer box having an outer shape, an outer tub disposed in the outer box, and a laundry that is rotatably provided in the outer tub and accommodates laundry therein. A drum-type washing machine comprising: a drum to be driven; and a drive source for rotationally driving the drum.
An air inlet provided on the wall of the outer tub facing one end surface of the drum;
A plurality of wing bodies provided to rotate integrally with the drum on the drum end face, and a blowing means for sucking air from the outside of the drum as it rotates and discharging it into the drum;
An exhaust port provided in a wall surface different from the intake port in the outer tub,
The drum is rotated at a high speed by the drive source in a state in which the laundry containing moisture is contained in the drum, and the air is sucked into the drum through the intake port by the blowing means. The air containing moisture evaporated from the laundry is discharged through the exhaust port.

  In the drum type washing machine according to the present invention, for example, the drum is rotated at a high speed approximately the same as that during the dewatering process by the drive source after the final dewatering process. Then, a large amount of outside air is sucked through the intake port and discharged into the drum by the action of the wing body that rotates integrally with the drum. This air flow comes into contact with the wet laundry contained in the drum, and promotes evaporation of moisture contained in the laundry. The air containing moisture discharged from the laundry in this way exits to the outer tub through a number of water passage holes formed on the peripheral surface of the drum, for example, and is further discharged from the outer tub through the exhaust port. During the period when the drum is driven at high speed, a large amount of fresh outside air is constantly supplied into the drum by the air blowing means, so that the laundry in the drum is continuously exposed to the wind (air flow). Thus, moisture contained in the laundry is efficiently removed.

  In order to efficiently take in the outside air into the drum efficiently when the drum rotates at a high speed, for example, in the air blowing means, the blade body is formed radially around the rotation axis of the drum, and the adjacent blade It is preferable that there is a gap between the bodies and that air is sucked through the gap as it rotates.

  In general, in a drum-type washing machine, the outer tub is required to be relatively airtight, but the outer box is easily provided with a vent hole or the like. Therefore, even if the intake port and the exhaust port are openings opened to the space inside the outer box, the air outside the machine is sucked through the ventilation holes or gaps of the outer box, or is moistened outside the machine. Can be spit out. However, more preferably, the intake port portion includes an intake air passage that communicates the opening of the outer tank wall surface with the outside of the machine, while the exhaust port portion is an exhaust gas that communicates the opening of the outer tank wall surface with the outside of the machine. A configuration including an air path is preferable. In this case, the intake air passage and the exhaust air passage do not necessarily have to be highly airtight, and may have a structure capable of guiding the air flow. According to such a configuration, the sending of outside air into the drum and the discharge of moist air from the inside of the drum become even smoother, which contributes to improving the efficiency of air drying.

  Further, the air blowing means can also be configured to serve as a protective member that covers the shaft attachment portion of the drum end surface. According to this configuration, since the shape of the protective member can be appropriately changed to be the air blowing means, the number of members is not increased and the cost increase is small.

  According to the drum type washing machine of the present invention, the laundry after the washing is finished can be dried by a large amount of airflow without using a heating source such as a heater or a blower blower driven by a dedicated motor. Can be promoted. Therefore, only power consumption such as a motor for driving the drum is required, and the laundry can be easily dried at a low running cost. In addition, the conventional air-cooled dehumidifying and drying drum-type washing machine is equipped with a heater, blower blower, dehumidifying cooler, etc., which eliminates the need for complicated circulation air passages. Can be achieved.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment of a drum washing machine according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is an external perspective view of a drum type washing machine according to this embodiment, FIG. 2 is a schematic front sectional view of the drum type washing machine, and FIG. 3 is a schematic side sectional view of the drum type washing machine.

  In the drum type washing machine, a laundry input port 3 is formed on the upper surface of the outer box 1, and the laundry input port 3 can be opened and closed by an upper lid 2. A detergent container 4 that can be pulled forward is provided on the left side of the upper lid 2, and an operation panel 5 is provided on the right side so as to extend in the front-rear direction. The operation panel 5 has various operation keys for setting the driving course, reservation time, etc., and lights according to these settings, notifies the progress of the washing process, or the remaining time for reservation and driving Various displays for displaying such as are appropriately distributed.

  Inside the outer box 1, on the pedestal portion 10, the outer tub 11 whose peripheral surface is substantially cylindrical and whose both end faces are substantially closed is left and right with the end faces facing the left and right side surfaces of the outer box 1. The two springs 12 are suspended and supported from above both sides, and the two dampers 13 that support the lower portion of the outer tub 11 in the front-rear direction are held to be moderately swingable. Inside the outer tub 11, a horizontal drum 14 in which both end surfaces of a substantially cylindrical peripheral surface with a large number of water passage holes 15 are substantially closed is centered on a horizontal axis C extending in the left-right direction. It is provided rotatably. The main shaft 16 fixed to the center of the left end surface of the drum 14 is supported by a bearing 19 held by a first bearing case 18 fixed to the left end surface of the outer tub 11. On the other hand, the auxiliary shaft 17 fixed to the center of the right end surface of the drum 14 is supported by a bearing 21 held by a second bearing case 20 fixed to the right end surface of the outer tub 11. The main axis 16 and the auxiliary axis 17 form a horizontal axis C that is the rotation axis of the drum 14.

  A rotor 22b of a drum motor 22, which is an outer rotor type DC motor, is fixed to the tip of the main shaft 16 protruding leftward from the left end surface of the outer tub 11, and also serves as a motor base. A stator 22 a of a drum motor 22 is fixed to the first bearing case 18. When a drive current is supplied to the stator 22a, the rotor 22b rotates accordingly, and the drum 14 is rotationally driven through the main shaft 16 at the same rotational speed as the rotor 22b.

  An outer tub opening 11a that can be opened and closed by an outer tub door 11b is provided at a position that coincides with the laundry input port 3 of the outer box 1 from the upper part of the peripheral surface of the outer tub 11 to the front of the drum. A drum opening 14 a that can be opened and closed by a drum door 14 b is also provided on the peripheral surface. Since the drum 14 is rotatable, a drum lock device 23 is provided below the stator 22a so that the drum 14 maintains a stopped state at a position where the drum opening 14a coincides with the outer tank opening 11a in the radial direction. Yes. Then, in a state where the rotation position of the drum 14 is fixed by the drum lock device 23, the upper lid 2, the outer tub door 11b, and the drum door 14b are opened, and the laundry is taken in and out of the drum 14. .

  As a characteristic configuration of the drum type washing machine according to the present embodiment, the right end surface of the drum 14 and the second bearing case 20 are provided with an air inflow opening 30 around the auxiliary shaft 17, and the side wall surface of the outer tub 11 is formed. An intake air passage 32 that penetrates and communicates with the air inflow opening 30 and the intake port 31 formed on the right side surface of the outer box 1 is provided as an intake port portion in the present invention. A protective cap 33 is attached to the inside of the right end surface of the drum 14 so as to close the fixing portion of the main shaft 16 and the air inflow opening 30. The protective cap 33 functions as a blowing means in the present invention.

  4A and 4B are diagrams showing the configuration of the protective cap 33, wherein FIG. 4A is a plan view when viewed from the inside of the drum 14, FIG. 4B is a longitudinal sectional view, and FIG. 4C is a perspective view of one wing body. It is. In this protective cap 33, a large number of wing bodies 332 are provided radially from the central hub 331 at equal angular intervals. The hub 331 is recessed in a curved shape, and a gap 333 for sucking air radially is formed between adjacent wing bodies 332. When the drum 14 is driven to rotate, the protective cap 33 rotates integrally with the drum 14. When the drum 14 rotates at a high speed in a predetermined direction (the direction indicated by the arrow in FIG. 1), the wing body 332 passes through the gap 333 from the back side, that is, from the outside of the drum 14 as indicated by the arrow in FIG. Air is sucked in, and an air flow is generated so as to send air to the front side, that is, the inside of the drum 14. Since the hub 331 has a curved shape as described above, the turbulent flow and the retention of air hardly occur, and the sucked air is smoothly sent forward. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 2, an air flow is generated in a path that sucks air outside the machine (outside air) from the intake port 31 and discharges it to the inside of the drum 14 through the intake air path 32 and the air inflow opening 30. Become. As the rotational speed of the protective cap 33, that is, the drum 14, increases, the air flow increases.

  On the other hand, an air outflow opening 34 is formed on the rear surface of the outer tub 11, and the air outflow opening 34 is formed in an exhaust port 36 opened on the back surface of the outer box 1 by an exhaust air passage 35 as an exhaust port portion in the present invention. Communicate. As described above, when the outside air is sent into the drum 14 by the action of the blade body 332 when the drum 14 rotates at a high speed, the exhaust air passage 35 draws air from the inside of the drum 14 and the outside tank 11 to the outside. Acts to escape. That is, when the drum 14 is rotated at a high speed in a predetermined direction, outside air is sucked from the right side surface of the outer box 1 and supplied into the drum 14 as shown in a schematic top view of FIG. The air is discharged from the back of the outer box 1 to the outside of the machine.

  FIG. 6 is an electric system configuration diagram of a main part of the drum type washing machine of this embodiment. The control unit 40 is mainly composed of a microcomputer including a CPU, ROM, RAM, timer, and the like. Based on a control program stored in the ROM, washing, rinsing, dehydration, and air blowing drying described later are performed. Various controls for performing the driving operation of each stroke are executed. A key input signal is given to the control unit 40 from an operation unit 42 provided on the operation panel 5, and a detection signal is input from a water level sensor 44 that detects the water level of water stored in the outer tub 11. . Further, a load drive unit 41 is connected to the control unit 40, and in addition to the drum motor 22 already described through the load drive unit 41, a water supply valve 45, a drain valve 46, a drum lock torque motor 47, and the like. Control each operation independently. Various display control signals are sent to the display unit 43 provided on the operation panel 5.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing the flow of a standard washing process by the drum type washing machine of this embodiment.
When the user puts laundry into the drum 14 and instructs the start of operation from the operation unit 42, the control unit 40 first executes a washing process (step S1). That is, the water supply valve 45 is opened and the detergent water up to a predetermined water level is stored in the outer tub 11 based on the detection signal from the water level sensor 44. And the laundry accommodated in the drum 14 is wash | cleaned by rotating the drum 14 by moderate speed with the drum motor 22. FIG. When the predetermined washing time is completed, the drain valve 46 is opened to discharge the detergent water, and then an intermediate dehydration process is executed (step S2). That is, the drum motor 22 rotates the drum 14 at a high speed of about 1000 rpm, for example. At this time, the detergent water infiltrated into the laundry by centrifugal force acting on the laundry is discharged from the laundry and scattered. After the intermediate dehydration process, two rinsing processes are executed (step S3). That is, as in washing, the water supply valve 45 is opened to store tap water in the outer tub 11, and the drum 14 is driven at a low speed to rinse the laundry. Note that the intermediate dehydration process similar to step S2 is performed between the two rinsing processes.

  When the second rinsing process, that is, the final rinsing process is completed, the final dehydration process is executed by rotating the drum 14 at a high speed (step S4). In the conventional general drum type washing and drying machine, the process proceeds to the drying process after the final dehydration process. In the drum type washing machine of the present embodiment, a characteristic air blowing and drying process is executed instead of the drying process. . The detail of this ventilation drying process is demonstrated with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

  In the blow drying process, the control unit 40 first rotates the drum 14 at high speed by the drum motor 22 (step S11). The rotation speed at this time is 1000 rpm, for example, and this is continued for 5 minutes. This is almost the same operation as the final dehydration process, but the target is different. That is, the main purpose of high-speed rotation of the drum in the final dehydration process is to squeeze out the water soaked in the laundry by centrifugal force, and the high-speed rotation of the drum in the blow drying process is provided in the protective cap 33. A large amount of outside air is sent into the drum 14 as described above by the action of the wing body 332.

  While the drum 14 is rotated at a high speed in step S11, the laundry is stuck to the inner peripheral surface of the drum 14 by centrifugal force, and the air flow generated in the drum 14 comes into contact with the laundry. Therefore, the laundry is in a state where it is continuously exposed to a strong wind, and moisture contained in the laundry is evaporated and carried away by the air flow. Thus, drying of the laundry is promoted.

  When the high-speed rotation for 5 minutes is completed, next, a loosening operation is executed (step S12). In this unraveling operation, the drum 14 is rotated at a low speed of 50 rpm, with 10 cycles of right rotation-5 seconds of stop-10 seconds of left rotation-5 seconds of stop as one cycle, and this is repeated three cycles. Since the laundry is stuck to the inner peripheral surface of the drum 14 by centrifugal force during the high-speed rotation of the drum, only the laundry facing in the axial direction is in direct contact with the air flow, but the laundry is stirred by the unwinding operation. As a result, the positions are changed, and air drying can be performed evenly. When the unwinding operation is completed, it is determined whether or not a predetermined blow drying operation time has elapsed (step S13). For example, the blower drying operation time can be selected in advance by the user from prescribed values such as 60 minutes, 90 minutes, and 120 minutes.

  If the blast drying operation time has not elapsed, the process returns to step S11 to perform high-speed drum rotation. If the blast drying operation time has elapsed, the drum 14 is stopped and the operation is terminated. In this example, 5 minutes and 30 seconds are required for the high-speed rotation of the drum and the unwinding operation. Therefore, when the blow drying operation time is 60 minutes, the high-speed rotation of the drum and the unwinding operation are repeated 11 times. Since the laundry is agitated and the position is changed every time the unwinding operation is performed, the sucked air flow uniformly contacts the laundry accommodated in the drum 14 and the water is efficiently evaporated.

  Thus, in the drum type washing machine of the present embodiment, the laundry that has been washed in the drum 14 can be dried by the air flow without using a heating source such as a heater or a blower.

  The outside air sent into the drum 14 by the action of the wing body 332 escapes to the outer tub 11 side mainly through the water holes 15 formed in the peripheral surface of the drum 14, but a large amount of laundry is stored in the drum 14. If it is accommodated in the inside, most of the water passage holes 15 are blocked by the wet laundry, and the air escape from the drum 14 becomes worse (that is, the passage resistance increases), and the drying efficiency of the laundry is increased. Also decreases. Therefore, even when a large amount of laundry is stored, in order to make the air flow in the drum 14 smooth, the end surface of the drum 14 opposite to the side where the protective cap 33 is attached (that is, On the left end surface), an appropriate opening may be provided around the main shaft 16 so that air can escape from the inside of the drum 14 to the outer tub 11 through the opening.

  Moreover, the said Example is only an example of this invention, and it is clear that a deformation | transformation and correction can be performed suitably in the range of the meaning of this invention. For example, in the above embodiment, the positions of the intake port and the exhaust port can be changed as appropriate. Further, the shape of the wing body functioning as the air blowing means can be appropriately modified. Furthermore, in order to avoid water jumping out of the machine through the intake air passage and exhaust air passage during washing (especially during dehydration), the intake air passage and exhaust air passage may be deformed to an appropriate shape. May be configured to be openable and closable.

1 is an external perspective view of a drum type washing machine according to an embodiment of the present invention. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The front schematic sectional drawing of the drum type washing machine of a present Example. The side schematic sectional drawing of the drum type washing machine of a present Example. A plan view (a), a longitudinal sectional view (b), and a perspective view (c) of one wing body when the protective cap is viewed from the inside of the drum. The schematic top view which shows the flow of the air at the time of ventilation drying. The electric system block diagram of the principal part of the drum type washing machine of a present Example. The flowchart which shows the flow of the standard washing process by the drum type washing machine of a present Example. The control flowchart at the time of the ventilation drying process by the drum type washing machine of a present Example.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Outer box 10 ... Base part 11 ... Outer tank 14 ... Drum 15 ... Water passage hole 16 ... Main shaft 17 ... Auxiliary shaft 22 ... Drum motor 30 ... Air inflow opening 31 ... Intake port 32 ... Intake air passage 33 ... Protective cap 331 ... Hub 332 ... Wing body 333 ... Gap 34 ... Air outflow opening 35 ... Exhaust air passage 36 ... Exhaust port 40 ... Control unit 41 ... Load drive unit

Claims (5)

An outer box having an outer shape, an outer tub disposed in the outer box, a drum rotatably provided in the outer tub and storing laundry therein, and a drive source for driving the drum to rotate In a drum-type washing machine comprising:
An air inlet provided on the wall of the outer tub facing one end surface of the drum;
A plurality of wing bodies provided to rotate integrally with the drum on the drum end face, and a blowing means for sucking air from the outside of the drum as it rotates and discharging it into the drum;
An exhaust port provided in a wall surface different from the intake port in the outer tub,
The drum is rotated at a high speed by the drive source in a state in which the laundry containing moisture is contained in the drum, and the air is sucked into the drum through the intake port by the blowing means. A drum type washing machine characterized in that air containing water evaporated from the laundry is discharged through the exhaust port.   In the air blowing means, the blade body is formed radially around the rotation axis of the drum, has a gap between adjacent blade bodies, and sucks air through the gap as it rotates. The drum type washing machine according to claim 1.   The drum type washing machine according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the intake port portion includes an intake air passage that communicates the opening of the wall surface of the outer tub with the outside of the machine.   The drum type washing machine according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the exhaust port portion includes an exhaust air passage communicating the opening of the outer tub wall surface with the outside of the machine.   The drum type washing machine according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the blower unit also serves as a protective member that covers a shaft attachment portion of the drum end surface.

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