JP2005261703A - Laundry washer/dryer - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To eliminate the malfunction of extended time for drying caused by slower temperature rise than an electric heater in a laundry washer/dryer for heating air for drying fed by a heat-pump device into a rotary tub. <P>SOLUTION: A control means 45 starts to feed electricity from a compressor 41 to a motor after the rotation of the rotary tub 5 is stabilized in a spin-drying process before the drying process, so that the pre-heating operation of the heat-pump device can be efficiently performed and the time for drying can be reduced while saving the energy consumption. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a laundry dryer that performs washing, dehydration and drying in the same rotating tank.

  A conventional drum-type washing and drying machine has a configuration as shown in FIG. Hereinafter, the configuration will be described. As shown in the figure, a cylindrical water tank 3 elastically supported by a plurality of suspensions 2 is provided inside the housing 1, and the suspension 2 absorbs vibrations during washing and dehydration. Inside the water tank 3, a cylindrical, horizontal axis type rotating tank 5 that accommodates an object 4 to be washed or dried (hereinafter referred to as clothing) is rotatably arranged, and a rotating shaft 6 a is rotated by a drive motor 6. To rotate.

  A plurality of baffles (not shown) for stirring the clothes 4 are provided on the inner wall of the rotating tub 5, and a plurality of small holes 5 a are provided on the peripheral wall of the rotating tub 5. On the front surface of the housing 1, there are provided an opening 1a through which clothes 4 are taken in and out and a door 7 for opening and closing the opening 1a. Similar openings 3 a and 5 b are also provided on the front side of the water tank 3 and the rotating tank 5, and the opening 3 a of the water tank 3 is water-tightly connected to the opening 1 a of the housing 1 by a bellows 8. The bottom of the aquarium 3 has a drain port 9 for discharging washing water, and is connected to a drain hose 11 via a drain valve 10, and its tip is led out of the machine.

  The blower 12 blows and supplies the warm air heated by the heater 13 from the air supply port 14 into the rotary tank 5. The circulation duct 15 performs dehumidification of the damp drying air that has passed through the rotary tank 5 and the water tank 3, and has one end connected to the exhaust port 16 at the bottom of the water tank 3 and the other end connected to the blower 12. . A water supply valve 17 controls water supply from a water supply hose 18 connected to a faucet or the like of a water supply.

  In the above configuration, when the washing operation is performed, the door 7 is opened, the clothes 4 and the detergent are put into the rotating tub 5, and the operation is started. First, when the water supply valve 17 opens the water supply port on the washing water side and a predetermined amount of water is supplied into the water tank 3 and the rotary tank 5, the drive motor 6 is activated and the rotary tank 5 is rotationally driven to perform a washing operation. . After a predetermined time, the drive motor 6 is stopped, the drain valve 10 is opened, and dirty water is drained from the rotary tank 5 and the water tank 3 and drained to a drainage place outside the machine via the drain hose 11. Next, water is supplied to the water tank 3 and the rotary tank 5 in the same manner as described above, and a rinsing operation is performed. When the rinsing is completed, the drain valve 10 is opened and drained, and then the rotating tub 5 is rotationally driven by the drive motor 6 at a high speed, whereby the clothes 4 are dehydrated.

  When the washing operation is completed as described above, the drying operation is started. In the drying process, while the rotating tub 5 is driven to rotate at a low speed by the drive motor 6 and the clothes 4 are stirred, the air blown in the direction of the arrow 19 by the blower 12 is heated by the heater 13 to become warm air, and the air supply port 14 into the rotary tank 5. This hot air takes away moisture from the garment 4, then passes through the water tank 3 through the small hole 5 a of the rotating tub 5 and reaches the circulation duct 15 through the exhaust port 16.

  At this time, the water supply valve 17 opens the water supply port on the cooling water side, and cooling water is poured into the circulation duct 15. When the warm air containing moisture from the clothing 4 deprives moisture and passes through the circulation duct 15, the cooling water cools it to cause moisture condensation, and the moist warm air is dehumidified and again as shown by the arrow. Return to the blower 12. This cooling water and dew condensation water is drained out of the machine via the drain valve 10. By circulating hot air through the circulation path of the blower 12, the heater 13, the air supply port 14, the rotary tank 5, the water tank 3, the exhaust port 16, and the circulation duct 15, the clothes 4 in the rotary tank 5 can be dried. it can.

  In the above-described conventional configuration, the heat used for drying the garment 4 is all discarded to the outside by the cooling water of the circulation duct 15 or the heat radiation from the housing 1, and is not reused.

Therefore, a compressor that compresses the refrigerant, a radiator that dissipates the heat of the compressed refrigerant, throttle means for reducing the pressure of the high-pressure refrigerant, and the reduced-pressure and low-pressure refrigerant generate heat from the surroundings. It has been proposed to provide a clothes dryer with a heat pump device in which a refrigerant is circulated through a pipe line so that the refrigerant circulates (see, for example, Patent Document 1). According to this configuration, it has been found that the amount of heat released to the outside can be recovered and the clothes can be effectively dried using energy.
JP 7-178289 A

  However, since the heat pump device has many components such as a compressor, a refrigerant, and a heat exchanger and has a large heat capacity, the temperature rise is slow compared to a normal electric heater. Therefore, it takes time for the drying air supplied into the rotary tank to reach a predetermined temperature after energizing the motor of the compressor, and there is a problem that the drying time becomes long.

  The present invention solves the above-described conventional problems, and an object thereof is to realize a washing and drying machine that can efficiently perform preheating operation of a heat pump device and reduce drying time while saving energy consumption.

  In order to achieve the above object, a washing and drying machine according to the present invention includes a heat pump device that supplies heated air to a rotating tub in a water tank supported in a casing, a blower unit, and a control unit that controls a series of steps. In the dehydration process before the control means enters the drying process, energization of the motor of the compressor constituting the heat pump device is started after the rotation of the rotary tank is stabilized.

  As a result, the compressor can be started smoothly and the heat pump device can be preheated without being affected by the rotational vibration of the rotating tank during the dehydration process, and the temperature of the drying air rises quickly after entering the drying process. Time can be shortened.

  The washing / drying machine of the present invention can efficiently perform the preheating operation of the heat pump device and can shorten the drying time.

  According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a water tank supported in a housing, a rotary tank rotatably provided in the water tank and containing clothes, a radiator for radiating heat of the compressor and the compressed refrigerant, and a high-pressure refrigerant. A heat pump device that is connected by a pipe line so that the refrigerant circulates through a throttle means for reducing the pressure and a heat absorber in which the reduced pressure and low pressure refrigerant takes heat from the surroundings, and air heated by the radiator It comprises a blowing means for feeding into the rotating tank and a control means for controlling a series of processes such as washing, rinsing, dewatering and drying, and the control means rotates the rotation in the dewatering process before entering the drying process. Energization of the compressor motor is started after the tank rotation is stabilized, and the heat pump device can be preheated by smoothly starting the compressor without being affected by the rotational vibration of the rotary tank during the dehydration process. After entering the drying process Temperature rise of the drying air is faster, it is possible to shorten the drying time.

  The second aspect of the invention is particularly the control means of the first aspect of the invention, wherein in the dehydration step, the energization to the motor of the compressor is started after a certain time after the rotation of the rotation tank reaches the maximum number of rotations. Since the compressor is operated while avoiding a large vibration caused by unbalance at the time of startup, adverse effects due to vibration on the compressor are reduced, and the occurrence of startup failure and reliability can be prevented.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a vibration detecting means for detecting the vibration of the casing, and the control means reduces the vibration of the casing to a predetermined value after the rotation of the rotating tub is started in the dehydration process before entering the drying process. By starting energization of the motor of the compressor later, the compressor is operated while reliably avoiding large vibrations in the rotating tank, reducing the adverse effects of vibrations on the compressor, generating startup failures and reliability. Reduction can be prevented.

  In the fourth aspect of the invention, in particular, the compressor motor of the first aspect of the invention comprises an induction motor and rotates at a constant speed, so that the control of the compressor motor is facilitated and can be realized at low cost.

  In the fifth aspect of the invention, in particular, the motor of the compressor of the first aspect of the invention is controlled by the control means, and the control means is in a rotating state of the compressor motor even if the rotation vibration of the rotating tub is generated. Since the compressor is operated while monitoring the compressor, the compressor can be stably operated even if some vibration is applied to the compressor.

  In the sixth aspect of the invention, in particular, in the control means of the fifth aspect of the invention, by starting up by gradually increasing the rotational speed of the motor of the compressor, even if some vibration is applied to the compressor, the start-up failure is generated. Can be reduced.

  In the seventh aspect of the invention, in particular, in the control means of the fifth aspect of the invention, since the compressor motor is temporarily held at a predetermined rotational speed before reaching the maximum rotational speed, there is some vibration in the compressor. Even if it adds, generation | occurrence | production of a starting failure can be reduced.

  In an eighth aspect of the invention, in particular, in any one of the first to seventh aspects of the invention, the refrigerant used in the heat pump device is mainly composed of carbon dioxide (CO2), and on the heat dissipation side of the refrigeration cycle of the heat pump device. By creating a supercritical state, high-temperature hot air can be obtained, so that the clothes can be efficiently dried in a small size.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Components having the same configurations as those of the conventional example are denoted by the same reference numerals and detailed description thereof is omitted. Note that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments.

(Embodiment 1)
FIG. 1 is an external perspective view of the washing and drying machine according to the first embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of a main part viewed from the back 1b direction of the housing 1, and FIG. Sectional drawing cut | disconnected along Z line, FIG. 4 is a system conceptual diagram which shows the structure of the heat pump apparatus of this Embodiment, and the flow of drying air.

  As shown in the figure, a cylindrical water tank 3 elastically supported by a plurality of suspensions 2 is provided inside the housing 1, and vibrations during washing and dehydration are absorbed by the suspension 2. Inside the water tank 3, a cylindrical and horizontal axis type rotating tank 5 that accommodates the clothing 4 is rotatably provided and is driven to rotate by a drive motor 6. On the front surface of the housing 1, there are provided an opening 1a through which clothes 4 are taken in and out and a door 7 for opening and closing the opening 1a. Similar openings 3 a and 5 b are also provided on the front side of the water tank 3 and the rotating tank 5, and the opening 3 a of the water tank 3 is water-tightly connected to the opening 1 a of the housing 1 by a bellows 8. The bottom of the water tank 3 has a drain port 9 for discharging washing water and is connected to a drain valve 10.

  Reference numeral 12 denotes a blower that constitutes a blowing means, and is provided in the upper part of the water tank 3 so as to be located in a corner space formed by the upper surface 1c and the side surface 1d of the housing 1. The blower 12 communicates with an air supply duct 20 provided on the outer surface of the water tank 3, and blows air in the direction of arrow c from the air supply duct inlet 21 of the air supply duct 20 to the inside of the rotary tank 5 from the air supply port 14. To supply. Further, an exhaust duct 22 communicating with the exhaust port 16 on the back surface of the water tank 3 is provided on the outer surface of the water tank 3, and the air that has passed through the rotary tank 5 and the water tank 3 and has exited the exhaust port 16 is indicated by an arrow d. To the exhaust duct outlet 23.

  In the lower part of the water tank 3, a heat absorber air passage 31 for flowing air in the direction of arrow a to a heat absorber 30 comprising a heat exchanger constituting the heat pump device, and a heat radiator 32 similarly comprising a heat exchanger indicated by arrow b A radiator air passage 33 for flowing air in a direction is arranged in a horizontal direction, and the heat absorber air passage 31 and the radiator air passage 33 communicate with each other through a circulation duct 34 and pass through the heat absorber 30 and the radiator 32. The air that flows is designed to flow linearly.

  The heat absorber air passage 31, the radiator air passage 33, and the circulation duct 34 are integrally formed and are fixed to an attachment base 35 in the housing 1. The inlet of the heat absorber air passage 31 and the exhaust duct outlet 23 communicate with each other via a bellows-like extendable flexible hose 36. Similarly, the outlet of the radiator air passage 33 and the air supply duct inlet 21 communicate with each other via a bellows-like extendable / flexible hose 37. In addition, an air filter 38 made of a synthetic fiber net or the like is detachably provided at the inlet portion of the heat absorber air passage 31 as filter means for removing foreign substances in the air. Further, a discharge port 39 for discharging the dehumidified water is provided in the lower part on the downstream side of the heat absorber air passage 31.

  In this way, as shown by the arrow 40 in FIG. 4, the drying air blown by the blower 12 passes through the air supply duct 20 and enters the rotary tank 5 from the air supply port 14, and the clothing 4 in the rotary tank 5. After passing through the exhaust port 16, through the exhaust duct 22, through the heat absorber 30 of the heat sink air passage 31, and through the circulation duct 34 through the radiator 32 of the radiator air passage 33. It returns to the air blower 12 and circulates.

  In addition, the heat pump device includes a compressor 41, a radiator 32 that radiates heat of the compressed refrigerant, a throttle means 42 that includes a throttle valve, a capillary tube, and the like for reducing the pressure of the high-pressure refrigerant, and a reduced pressure. The refrigerant having a low pressure is connected to a heat absorber 30 that takes heat from the surroundings by a pipe 43 so that the refrigerant circulates, and the refrigerant flows and circulates in the direction of an arrow 44 to realize a heat pump cycle. The refrigerant may be a chlorofluorocarbon-based refrigerant used in air conditioners and refrigerators. However, if carbon dioxide gas is used as the refrigerant, it is possible to release higher-temperature heat, which is suitable for drying clothes.

  A control means 45 is electrically connected to the drive motor 6, the blower 12, the compressor 41, etc., and controls these operations to carry out a series of steps as a washing and drying machine such as washing, rinsing, dehydrating and drying. Control.

  Next, the operation of the above configuration will be described. In the washing step, water is supplied until the water level reaches a predetermined water level in the water tank 3 with the drain valve 10 closed, and the driving motor 6 rotates the clothes 4 and the rotating tank 5 containing water to perform washing and rinsing.

  In the dehydration process after the washing process is completed, the drain valve 10 is opened to drain water to the outside of the machine, and then the rotating tub 5 containing the clothing 4 is rotated at high speed by the drive motor 6 to perform dehydration. As shown in FIG. 5, when the dehydration process is started, the control means 45 starts energization of the motor of the compressor 41 after a predetermined time t1 after the rotating tub 5 is activated and reaches the set rotational speed. . In this way, even during the dehydration operation, the operation of the compressor 41 is started after the rotation of the rotary tank 5 is stabilized, so that it can be smoothly started without being affected by the rotational vibration of the rotary tank 5. By operating the compressor 41 from the dehydration process and preheating the heat pump device, the temperature rise of the drying air after entering the drying process is accelerated, and the drying time can be shortened.

  Next, in the drying process, the control means 45 rotates the compressor 41 and the blower 12. When the compressor 41 rotates, the refrigerant is compressed, and this pressure causes the refrigerant to circulate through the radiator 32, the throttle means 42, and the heat absorber 30. In the radiator 32, heat is released by the compression of the refrigerant, and in the heat absorber 30, the heat is absorbed by the refrigerant that has been depressurized by the throttle means 42 to become a low pressure. At this time, since the compressor 41 is already energized and preheated during the dehydration process, the heat of the refrigerant that has been compressed and heated is not lost to the compressor 41, and the temperature of the refrigerant rises quickly. When the blower 12 rotates, the warm air heated by the heat radiation of the radiator 32 is blown into the rotary tank 5 through the supply duct 20 from the supply port 14. The rotating tub 5 is rotationally driven by a drive motor 6 and the clothes 4 are stirred up and down.

  The warm air blown into the rotating tub 5 deprives moisture when passing through the gap between the clothes 4, passes through the exhaust duct 22 and the flexible hose 36 through the exhaust port 16 of the water tub 3 in the wet state, and passes through the air filter 38. The foreign matter such as lint is removed through the air and reaches the heat absorber air passage 31. When the wet warm air passes through the heat absorber 30, sensible heat and latent heat are taken away and dehumidified, and separated into dry air and dehumidified water. This dry air enters the radiator air passage 33 through the circulation duct 34, is heated again by the radiator 32, becomes hot air, passes through the flexible hose 37, the air supply duct 20, and circulates to the blower 12.

  On the other hand, the dehumidified water dewed by the heat absorber 30 is discharged out of the machine from the bottom discharge port 39. By using the heat pump device in this way, the heat absorbed by the heat absorber 30 can be recovered by the refrigerant and radiated again by the heat radiator 32 to give the garment 4 more heat than the energy input to the compressor 41. Therefore, it becomes possible to shorten the drying time and realize energy saving.

  As described above, in the dehydration process, the control means 45 starts the energization of the motor of the compressor 41 after the rotation of the rotating tub 5 is stabilized, thereby smoothly compressing without being affected by the rotational vibration of the rotating tub 5. Since the heat pump device can be preheated by starting the machine 41, the temperature rise of the drying air after entering the drying process is accelerated and the drying time can be shortened.

  In this embodiment, when the dehydration process is started, the control means 45 starts energization of the motor of the compressor 41 after a predetermined time t1 after the rotating tub 5 is activated and reaches the set rotational speed. However, for example, as shown in FIG. 6, energization of the motor of the compressor 41 may be started after a predetermined time t <b> 2 after the rotation of the rotating tub 5 reaches the maximum number of rotations.

(Embodiment 2)
Next, a washing / drying machine according to a second embodiment of the present invention will be described. Although the configuration is the same as that of the first embodiment, vibration detection means (not shown) for detecting the vibration of the housing 1 is provided. The vibration detection means attaches a vibration sensor made of, for example, a bimorph type piezoelectric element or a piezoelectric film to the housing 1 and detects the vibration amount of the housing 1 from the output signal.

  FIG. 7 shows a control sequence of the control means 45 of the present embodiment. When entering the dehydration process, the control means 45 monitors the vibration amount of the casing 1 by the vibration detecting means after the rotation tank 5 is activated, and the vibration of the casing 1 is smaller than a predetermined value after the rotation of the rotation tank 5 is activated. Then, energization of the motor of the compressor 41 is started after a certain time t3.

  In this way, by directly monitoring the amount of vibration of the housing 1, the compressor 41 is operated while reliably avoiding the large vibration of the rotating tub 5, so that start-up failure is unlikely to occur, and Since the burden is eliminated, the reliability is increased and the reliability is improved.

  Thus, even during the dehydration operation, when the vibration of the housing 1 is reduced, the energization of the motor of the compressor 41 is started, so that the motor can be started smoothly without being affected by the rotational vibration of the rotating tub 5. it can. By operating the compressor 41 from the dehydration process and preheating the heat pump device, the temperature rise of the drying air after entering the drying process is accelerated, and the drying time can be shortened.

  Note that the motor of the compressor 41 in the first and second embodiments described above is configured by an induction motor that rotates at a constant speed, thereby facilitating control and realizing it at a low price.

(Embodiment 3)
Next, a washing / drying machine according to a third embodiment of the present invention will be described. In the present embodiment, the motor of the compressor 41 is a DC brushless motor or the like, and the rotational speed is controlled by the control means 45. Other configurations are the same as those of the first embodiment.

  A control sequence of the control means 45 of the present embodiment is shown in FIG. When the dehydration process is started, the control means 45 starts energization of the motor of the compressor 41 after a predetermined time t1 after the rotating tub 5 is activated and reaches the set rotational speed. At this time, the control means 45 controls the rotational speed of the motor of the compressor 41 to gradually increase the rotational speed and start it.

  Thus, by starting while controlling the rotation speed of the motor of the compressor 41, it is possible to start smoothly without being affected by the rotational vibration of the rotating tub 5 even during the dehydrating operation. By operating the compressor 41 from the dehydration process and preheating the heat pump device, the temperature rise of the drying air after entering the drying process is accelerated, and the drying time can be shortened.

  In addition, as the motor start-up control of the compressor 41, for example, as shown in the control sequence shown in FIG. 9, the motor rotation speed is temporarily held at a low rotation speed before reaching the maximum rotation speed and then increased to the maximum rotation speed. By performing the rotational speed control as described above, it is possible to further reduce the occurrence of startup failure.

  As described above, the washing / drying machine according to the present invention can shorten the drying time by efficiently performing the preheating operation of the heat pump device that heats the drying air, and performs drying and dehumidification by mounting the heat pump device. Useful for washing machines.

1 is an external perspective view of the washing / drying machine according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. Cross section of the main part of the washing and drying machine Cross section of the main part of the washing and drying machine System concept of the washer / dryer Operation time chart of the washer / dryer Operation time chart of another example of the washer / dryer Operation time chart of the washer / dryer according to the second embodiment of the present invention Operation time chart of the washer-dryer according to the third embodiment of the present invention Operation time chart of another example of the washer / dryer Cross-sectional view of a conventional washing and drying machine

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Case 3 Water tank 5 Rotating tank 12 Blower 30 Heat absorber 32 Radiator 41 Compressor 42 Throttle means 43 Pipe line 45 Control means

Claims (8)

A water tank supported in the housing, a rotary tank that is rotatably provided in the water tank and accommodates clothes, a radiator that dissipates heat from the compressor and the compressed refrigerant, and a pressure for reducing the pressure of the high-pressure refrigerant A heat pump device that is connected by a pipe so that the refrigerant circulates between a throttle means and a heat absorber that takes the heat from the surroundings of the refrigerant that has been depressurized and depressurized, and supplies the air heated by the radiator into the rotating tank And a control means for controlling a series of processes such as washing, rinsing, dehydration, and drying, and the control means is capable of stabilizing the rotation of the rotating tank in the dehydration process before entering the drying process. A washing and drying machine which starts energization to the motor of the compressor later. The washing and drying machine according to claim 1, wherein the control means starts energization of the motor of the compressor after a predetermined time after the rotation of the rotating tub reaches the maximum number of rotations in the dehydration process before entering the drying process. A vibration detecting means for detecting the vibration of the housing is provided, and the control means supplies the motor of the compressor after the vibration of the housing is reduced to a predetermined value after the rotation of the rotating tub is started in the dehydration process before entering the drying process. The washing / drying machine according to claim 1, wherein energization is started. The washing / drying machine according to claim 1, wherein the motor of the compressor comprises an induction motor and rotates at a constant speed. The washing / drying machine according to claim 1, wherein the rotation speed of the motor of the compressor is controlled by the control means. 6. The washing and drying machine according to claim 5, wherein the control means is started by gradually increasing the number of rotations of the motor of the compressor. 6. The washing and drying machine according to claim 5, wherein the control means temporarily holds the compressor motor at a predetermined rotational speed before reaching the maximum rotational speed. The washing / drying machine according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the refrigerant used in the heat pump apparatus has carbon dioxide (CO2) as a main component.

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