JP2007000386A - Clothes dryer - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To compactly house a heat pump device and an air duct in a free space inside a case in a clothes dryer loaded with the heat pump device. <P>SOLUTION: The clothes dryer is formed so that ventilation surfaces 30a and 32a of the heat absorber 30 and heat radiator 32 of the heat pump device are made to face inside a heat exchange air duct 31 and air for drying is made to flow from an upper part to a lower part for the heat absorber 30 and from the lower part to the upper part for the heat radiator 32, and a horizontal air duct 31a where the air for drying coming out of the heat radiator 32 flows in a horizontal direction at the upper part of the heat absorber 30 and the heat radiator 32, is provided. The constitution of the heat exchange air duct 31 can be miniaturized and the air duct for making the air for drying flow can be compacted as well. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a clothes drying apparatus such as a clothes dryer used in general households or a laundry dryer with a washing function.

  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 vibration during washing and dehydration is absorbed by the suspension 2 that supports vibration isolation. It is said. 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 clothes 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 3a and 5b are also provided on the front side of the water tank 3 and the rotating tank 5, and the opening 3a of the water tank 3 is water-tightly connected to the opening 1a of the housing 1 by a bellows 8 such as rubber. . 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. . The water supply valve 17 controls water supply from a water supply hose 18 connected to a tap 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 driven to rotate. Rotation and reversal motion are generated, and the cleaning operation is performed. 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 the 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 at a high speed by the drive motor 6 so that the clothes 4 are dehydrated by centrifugal force.

  When the washing operation is completed as described above, the drying operation is started. In the drying process, the air blown in the direction of the arrow a by the blower 12 is heated by the heater 13 to become warm air while stirring the clothes 4 by rotating the rotary tub 5 at a low speed by the drive motor 6, 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 clothes 4 deprives the moisture passes through the circulation duct 15, it is cooled by heat exchange with the cooling water to cause condensation of the moisture, and the moist warm air is dehumidified and the arrow b As shown in FIG. 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 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. There was a problem of poor efficiency.

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 that a clothes dryer is provided with a heat pump device that is connected to a heat absorber to be taken away by 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, the clothes dryer and the washing dryer provided with the heat pump device are, as described above, the heat pump device in which the compressor, the radiator, the squeezing means, and the heat absorber are connected by a pipe line such as a copper tube, the heat absorber, and the heat radiation. In order to make it possible to mount it, it is necessary to provide an air passage for the wind to flow through the container, and there are many components compared to the heater-type clothes dryer and washing dryer shown in FIG. There has been a problem that these components must be accommodated in a compact manner by increasing the size or by effectively using the empty space in the housing. The present invention solves the above-described conventional problems, and an object thereof is to compactly accommodate a heat pump device and an air passage configuration in an empty space in a housing.

  In order to solve the above-described conventional problems, the clothes drying apparatus of the present invention is arranged with the ventilation surfaces of the heat absorber and the radiator facing each other in the heat exchange air passage, and the drying air is located above the heat absorber. And a horizontal air passage configured so that the drying air that has passed through the radiator flows in the horizontal direction over the heat absorber and the radiator. Is. Furthermore, a water storage chamber for temporarily storing condensed water is formed in an empty space below the heat absorber disposed in an inclined manner in the heat exchange air passage.

  As a result, the heat exchange air passage that houses the heat absorber and the heat radiator can be reduced in size, and the overall size can be made compact even if the capacity of the water storage chamber that stores the condensed water that is cooled and condensed by the heat absorber is increased. Is.

  The clothes drying apparatus of the present invention can accommodate the heat pump device and the air passage configuration that enable effective use of energy in a compact manner without enlarging the housing.

  According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a clothes drying apparatus, a drying chamber for storing clothes, a radiator for radiating heat of a compressor and a compressed refrigerant, and a throttle means for reducing the pressure of the high-pressure refrigerant. The heat pump device connected by a pipe line so that the refrigerant circulates through the heat absorber that takes heat from the surroundings, and the drying air blown by the blowing means flows from the heat absorber to the radiator and then dried A heat exchange air passage leading to the chamber, the air flow surfaces of the heat absorber and the radiator are opposed to each other in the heat exchange air passage, and the drying air is directed from above to below the heat absorber. Is formed so that it flows upward from the lower side, and the drying air from the radiator is provided with a horizontal air passage that flows horizontally over the heat absorber and the radiator to constitute a heat pump device. Compact heat sink and radiator It can be.

  In the second aspect of the invention, the compressor of the heat pump device of the first aspect of the invention is arranged below the horizontal air passage arranged above the heat exchange air passage, and the compressor is efficiently accommodated in the main body. can do.

  In the third invention, in particular, the heat absorber of the heat pump device of the first or second invention is arranged such that the normal direction of the ventilation surface on the radiator side faces downward from the horizontal. It is possible to accelerate the fall of the dew condensation water condensed in the above and to efficiently recover the dew condensation water to the water storage chamber constructed below.

  In the fourth invention, in particular, the water storage chamber for storing the dew condensation water according to any one of the first to third inventions is provided in a heat exchange air passage at a lower portion of the heat absorber of the heat pump device. Even if the air passage is downsized, the capacity of the water storage chamber can be increased.

  According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in particular, the clothes drying apparatus according to the fourth aspect of the present invention is provided in the middle of the drainage pipe, a pump drainage pipe communicating with the water storage room and draining the dew condensation water stored in the water storage room. A drainage pump that sucks the condensed water stored, and a part of the pump drainage pipe is disposed above the highest water level of the water tank in which the washing water is stored. Can be prevented from flowing into the reservoir and overflowing from the reservoir.

  In the sixth invention, in particular, the water storage capacity of the water storage chamber of the fifth invention is formed larger than the amount of water stored in the pump drainage path connected to the outlet of the drainage pump. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the water in the pump drainage channel from overflowing from the water storage chamber even if it flows backward to the water storage chamber.

  In the seventh aspect of the invention, in particular, the blowing means for blowing the drying air according to any one of the fourth to sixth aspects of the invention is disposed upstream of the heat sink of the ventilation passage connecting the drying chamber and the heat exchange air passage. Since the internal pressure of the heat exchange air passage is increased by operating the air blowing means during the drying operation, the water in the water storage chamber can be discharged smoothly.

  In the eighth aspect of the invention, in particular, the water storage chamber provided below the heat absorber according to any one of the fourth to seventh inventions is provided with a water amount detecting means for detecting the amount of water in the water storage chamber. Yes, troubles such as overflow of water in the reservoir can be dealt with in advance and prevented.

  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 a sectional view of a washing / drying machine according to a first embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a rear view thereof. Moreover, FIG. 3 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 FIG. 1, a cylindrical water tank 3 elastically supported by a plurality of suspensions 2 is provided inside the housing 1, and the water tank 3 prevents vibration during washing and dehydration by the suspension 2. It is supported by vibration. Inside the water tank 3, a bottomed cylindrical rotating tank 5 that accommodates the clothes 4 is rotatably provided, and the rotating tank 5 is driven to rotate by a drive motor 6. The rotating tub 5 having a large number of small holes 5a formed on the outer peripheral wall serves as a washing room in the washing process and serves as a drying room in the drying process. Since the rotation axis direction of the rotating tank 5 is inclined by 20 to 30 degrees from the horizontal direction, the water tank 3 and the rotating tank 5 in the housing 1 are so-called oblique drum driven water tanks whose back surface is lower than the front surface. Is configured.

  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. The front side of the water tank 3 and the rotating tank 5 also have similar openings 3a and 5b. The opening 3a of the water tank 3 is water-tightly connected to the opening 1a of the housing 1 by a bellows 8 such as rubber. Yes. The bottom of the aquarium 3 has a drain outlet 9 for discharging the washing water, and the washing water in the aquarium 3 can be drained outside the machine via a drain hose 11 connected to a drain valve 10.

  The blower 12 constituting the blowing means is provided between the exhaust port 16 at the upper part of the water tank 3 and the exhaust duct 20 communicating with the exhaust port 16, and the air in the rotary tank 5 and the water tank 3 is discharged from the exhaust port 16. Suction and blow in the direction of arrow c. On the other hand, as can be seen from the rear view of FIG. 2, the air supply duct 21 provided on the outer surface of the water tank 3 communicates with the air supply port 14 of the water tank 3.

  A heat exchange air passage 31 that houses a heat absorber 30 and a heat radiator 32 constituting the heat pump device is provided at the lower back of the water tank 3. The heat absorber 30 and the heat radiator 32 are fin-and-tube heat exchangers that perform heat exchange between the refrigerant of the heat pump device and the drying air. The air flow surfaces 30a and 32a face each other and the normal direction of the air flow surface. It is arranged so that is inclined from the horizontal.

  The configuration of the heat exchange air passage 31 is such that the drying air blown by the blower 12 flows from above to below with respect to the heat absorber 30 and from below to above with respect to the radiator 32 as indicated by an arrow d. I have to. Then, the air that has flowed upward from below after passing through the radiator 32 flows in the horizontal direction in the horizontal air path 31a above the heat exchange air path 31 and flows in the direction of the arrow e in FIG. It flows into the water tank 3 from the mouth 14.

  The outlet of the side air passage 31a and the inlet of the air supply duct 21 are hermetically communicated by an air supply hose 33 made of a bellows-like stretchable flexible material. The connecting portion of the duct 20 is also airtightly communicated through an exhaust port hose 34 made of a bellows-like stretchable flexible material. The purpose of this configuration is to prevent the vibration of the water tank 3 supported by the suspension 2 from being vibration-isolated and to directly transmit a fluid such as air while preventing the vibration from being directly transmitted to the heat pump device accommodated in the heat exchange air passage 31. This is to configure a route to be performed.

  Further, a lint filter 35 made of a synthetic fiber net or the like is detachably provided as a filter means for removing foreign substances in the air in the middle of the ventilation path of the exhaust duct 20, and the foreign substances are disposed in the blower 12, the heat absorber 30 and the radiator 32. It is prevented from entering into a heat pump device such as the above and falling into a function.

  A water storage chamber 36 is provided at a lower portion of the heat absorber 30 in the heat exchange air passage 31 to store condensed water generated by cooling when air passes through the heat absorber 30. A drainage pump 37 comprising a centrifugal pump is attached to the water storage chamber 36, and an outlet of the drainage pump 37 is connected to a drainage hole 39 provided at the upper rear of the water tank 3 through a pump drainage pipe 38. As a result, the condensed water stored in the water storage chamber 36 once enters the water tank 3 and is discharged to the outside of the apparatus via the drain port 9, the drain valve 10, and the drain hose 11. Since the drainage hole 39 is arranged at the upper part of the water tank 3, the washing water does not flow back into the water storage chamber 36 even when a predetermined amount or more of water is supplied into the water tank 3. Since the washing water does not enter, there is no case where dirt in the washing water adheres to the pipe and the drainage is impossible.

  Further, the water storage capacity of the water storage chamber 36 is configured to be larger than the internal capacity of the pump drain pipe 38. This is because when the pump 37 is stopped after draining, the water remaining in the pump drain pipe 38 flows backward, so that the condensed water does not overflow from the water storage chamber 36.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the compressor 41 which comprises a heat pump apparatus is arrange | positioned so that it may adjoin with the heat exchange air path 31 along the horizontal direction with respect to the housing | casing 1 under the horizontal air path 31a. The compressor container 45 is a case that houses the compressor 41.

  In this way, the heat absorber 30 and the radiator 32 are arranged to face each other in the heat exchange air passage 31, the water storage chamber 36 is disposed in the space below the heat absorber 30, and laterally above the heat exchange air passage 31. By arranging the horizontal air passage 31a and the compressor 41 below the horizontal air passage 31a and adjacent to the heat exchange air passage 31, these can be integrated and can be configured compactly. It can be efficiently stored in the space below the back surface.

  As shown in FIG. 3, after the drying air blown by the blower 12 passes through the air supply duct 21, enters the water tank 3 and the rotary tank 5 through the air supply port 14, and passes through the clothing 4 in the rotary tank 5. A circulation air passage is formed which exits the exhaust port 16, passes through the exhaust duct 20, passes through the heat absorber 30 and the radiator 32 in the heat exchange air passage 31, and returns to the air supply duct 21 again. Yes.

  Further, the heat pump device includes a compressor 41, a radiator 32 that radiates heat of the compressed refrigerant, a throttle means 42 including a throttle valve and a capillary for reducing the pressure of the high-pressure refrigerant, and the pressure is reduced to a low pressure. The refrigerant is composed of a heat absorber 30 that takes heat away from the surroundings, and a conduit 43 through which the refrigerant circulates. The refrigerant flows and circulates in the direction of the arrow 44 to realize a heat pump cycle.

  The control means 48 includes a microcomputer that controls the operation of the drive motor 6, drain valve 10, blower 12, compressor 41, etc., and sequentially controls a series of steps such as washing, dehydration, and drying.

  Next, in the configuration of the washing / drying machine as described above, this operation will be described. In the washing process, water is supplied until the water level reaches a predetermined water level in the water tank 3 with the drain valve 10 closed, the detergent is introduced, and the clothes motor 4 and the rotary tank 5 containing the washing water are rotated by the driving motor 6. 4. Wash 4

  Further, in the rinsing process after washing, water is supplied into the water tank 3 as in the washing process, and the clothes 4 are rinsed by rotating the rotary tank 5. In the dehydration process, the drain valve 10 is opened to drain the water in the water tank 3 to the outside of the machine, and then the rotary tank 5 containing the clothes 4 is rotated at high speed by the drive motor 6 to perform centrifugal force dehydration.

  In the drying process, when the compressor 41 of the heat pump device is operated, the refrigerant is compressed, and this pressure circulates 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. When the blower 12 is operated at this time, the warm air heated by the heat radiation of the radiator 32 is blown through the air supply duct 21 from the air supply port 14 into the water tank 3 and the small hole 5a into the rotary tank 5.

  The rotating tub 5 is rotationally driven by a drive motor 6, whereby 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 agitated clothes 4 and lint on the way to the exhaust duct 20 through the exhaust port 16 of the water tub 3 in a moist state. It passes through the filter 35 and reaches the heat exchange air passage 31 while removing foreign matters such as lint. 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 is heated again by the radiator 32 and becomes warm air, passes through the intake duct 21, the intake port 14, passes through the rotary tub 5 and the clothing 4, and circulates again to the blower 12.

  The dehumidified water separated by the heat absorber 30 is stored in the lower water storage chamber 36. The water stored here is moved into the water tank 3 through the pump water distribution pipe 38 by operating the drain pump 37 at regular intervals. The water is fed and discharged from the drain hose 11 to the outside through the drain port 9 and the drain valve 10. At this time, the air blown by the operation of the blower 12 raises the internal pressure in the heat exchange air passage 31 such as the heat absorber 30 and the water storage chamber 36 while repeating the above circulation, so the dehumidified water in the water storage chamber 36 The drainage from the drainage pump 37 can be performed more smoothly.

  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 realize shortening of drying time and effective use of energy.

  In the first embodiment, the heat pump device is mounted on a washing / drying machine that can automatically perform washing to drying. However, the same applies to a configuration in which the heat pump device is mounted on a drying-only clothes dryer. The effect is obtained.

  In the first embodiment, the discharge side of the drain pump 37 is connected to the drain hole 39 provided at the upper rear of the water tank 3 via the pump drain pipe 38, but is not necessarily connected to the water tank 5 drain hole 39. There is nothing. This is a case where this drainage configuration is simply constructed. For example, a part of the pump drainage pipe 38 is once raised above the maximum water level h shown in FIG. If connected to the valve 10, even if a predetermined amount or more of water is supplied to the water tank 3, the washing water can be realized without flowing back into the water storage chamber 36. However, since the washing water may enter the pump drain pipe 38 from the drain port 9 and foreign matter in the washing drainage may flow backward, it can be dealt with if a foreign matter intrusion prevention filter or the like is configured with a backflow prevention valve or the like. As a result, it is not necessary to connect the drain pipe 38 to the water tank 3 that can be moved by vibration or the like, and the configuration can be simplified technically.

(Embodiment 2)
FIG. 4 shows a cross-sectional view of the heat exchange air passage 31 in the second embodiment of the present invention. The same components as those in the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and detailed description thereof is omitted. .

  A plurality of detection electrodes 54 are attached in the water storage chamber 36 of the second embodiment, and the plurality of detection electrodes 54 are electrically connected to the control means 48 by lead wires 55 connected in a watertight manner. The control means 48 monitors the electrical resistance between the detection electrodes 54. When the water level in the water storage chamber 36 rises, the detection electrode 54 comes into contact with water and the electrical resistance between the detection electrodes 54 changes. The state can be detected.

  Therefore, when the water level in the water storage chamber 36 rises despite the drain pump 37 being operated, the control means 48 has caused a failure of the drain pump 37 and an abnormal condition of clogging of the pump drain pipe 38. Therefore, by stopping the compressor 41 and the blower 12, the heat pump action, the heat exchange, etc. are stopped, and the water in the water storage chamber 36 is prevented from overflowing.

  As described above, the clothes drying apparatus according to the present invention can store the heat pump device and the air path configuration in a compact manner in the lower back portion of the drying chamber that is an empty space in the housing, and thus has excellent energy efficiency. A home laundry dryer or dryer can be realized.

Sectional drawing of the washing-drying machine of Embodiment 1 of this invention Rear view of the washer / dryer System concept of the washer / dryer Sectional drawing of the principal part of the washing-drying machine of Embodiment 2 of this invention Cross-sectional view of a conventional washing and drying machine

Explanation of symbols

4 Clothing 5 Rotating tank (drying room)
12 Blower (Blower means)
30 heat absorber 30a heat absorber ventilation surface 31 heat exchange air passage 31a cross air passage 32 radiator 32a radiator ventilation surface 41 compressor 42 throttling means 43 pipe

Claims (8)

A drying chamber for storing clothing, a compressor for compressing the refrigerant, a radiator for dissipating the heat of the compressed refrigerant, a throttling means for reducing the pressure of the high-pressure refrigerant, and the reduced-pressure low-pressure refrigerant Heat pump device connected by a pipe line so that the refrigerant circulates from the heat absorber that takes heat away from the heat, and heat exchange that leads the drying air blown by the blowing means to the drying chamber after flowing from the heat absorber to the radiator An air passage, and the heat exchange air passage is configured so that a ventilation surface of the heat absorber and the radiator is opposed to each other, and the drying air is directed from the upper side to the lower side with respect to the heat absorber. Is a clothes drying apparatus provided with a horizontal air passage that is formed so as to flow upward from below and in which the drying air emitted from the radiator flows in a substantially horizontal direction over the heat absorber and the radiator. The clothes drying device according to claim 1, wherein the compressor of the heat pump device is disposed below a horizontal air passage disposed above the heat exchange air passage. The clothes drying device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the heat absorber of the heat pump device is arranged so that a normal direction of a ventilation surface on a radiator side faces downward from the horizontal. The water storage chamber for storing condensed water is the clothes drying device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the water storage chamber is provided in a heat exchange air passage below the heat absorber of the heat pump device. A pump drain pipe for draining the condensed water stored in the reservoir chamber in communication with the water reservoir; and a drain pump provided in the middle of the drain pipe for sucking the stored condensed water; and The clothes drying apparatus according to claim 4, wherein a part of the clothes drying apparatus is disposed above a maximum water level of a water tank in which washing water is stored. The clothes drying apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the water storage capacity of the water storage chamber is formed larger than the amount of water stored in the pump drainage path connected to the outlet of the drainage pump. The clothes drying apparatus according to any one of claims 4 to 6, wherein the blowing means for blowing the drying air is disposed on the upstream side of the heat absorber of the ventilation path connecting the drying chamber and the heat exchange air path. The clothes drying apparatus according to any one of claims 4 to 7, wherein the water storage chamber provided below the heat absorber has a water amount detection means for detecting the amount of water in the water storage chamber.

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