JP2007236449A - Washing/drying machine - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent drying warm air supplied into a water tank from being discharged by a shortcut without passing through the inside of a drum. <P>SOLUTION: In the washing/drying machine including a drying means supplying the warm air heated by a heating source into the water tank 5 including the drum 6, wherein the warm air generated by the drying means is supplied from an air supplying port provided on one end side of the water tank 5 and discharged from an air discharging port 11 provided on the other end side, and the water tank discharging port 11 is opened in the radial direction of the drum 6. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a laundry dryer provided with a drying means for supplying warm air and drying laundry.

  Conventionally, this type of washing and drying machine has a drum that rotates about a horizontal axis, and has a large number of small holes on the peripheral wall of the drum, and in the drying operation, the hot air for drying is pivoted while rotating the drum at a low speed. The laundry supplied from the direction and dried inside is dried. As a general configuration, the non-porous water tank provided on the outer periphery of the drum has a hot air supply port on one side wall and an exhaust port on the other side wall facing the axial direction. It is set as a structure and is provided near the peripheral wall of the water tank. The air heated by the heating source (warm air) is supplied / exhausted through the water supply / exhaust port of the water tank, and hot air enters and exits the drum through the small holes, thereby drying the laundry. It is designed to function as a drying means.

  However, in order to supply the warm air blown from the air supply port of the water tank to the inside from the small hole of the drum, the air path resistance is large and the small hole is temporarily blocked depending on the arrangement of the laundry inside. There is also. Furthermore, coupled with the fact that the air supply port and the exhaust port of the water tank are located closer to the peripheral wall and are arranged opposite to each other in the axial direction, air (temperature) has a small resistance between the peripheral wall of the drum and the water tank. Wind) is easy to flow. Therefore, the warm air that easily flows into the gap between the two and does not contribute to the drying of the laundry in the drum, and is exhausted from the exhaust port on the other side wall of the water tank, resulting in poor drying efficiency. As a result, the drying performance may be reduced.

Therefore, in order to prevent the warm air from being wasted as described above, it is only necessary to effectively blow the warm air supplied through the water tank only into the drum, for example, between the water tank and the drum. In order to prevent warm air from flowing into the gap as much as possible, an annular projecting portion from the drum side is provided on the entire circumference, whereas from the water tank side, a rubber annular guide portion containing a wire is attached to the opposing position, Thus, a configuration has been proposed in which the inlets of the gaps are narrowed so as to promote the inflow of hot air into a desired drum by configuring them so as to wrap each other (see, for example, Patent Document 1). ).
JP-A-4-259490

  However, in the configuration described in Patent Document 1, it is difficult to set the gap size between the drum that is rotationally driven with vibration and the peripheral wall of the aquarium, and if the gap is reduced, both of them collide or rub due to vibration during unbalance. If the noise is generated or the gap is increased, the collision and rubbing will be eliminated, but there will be a lot of wasted outflow of hot air. Have problems. In addition, the exhaust port opened in the axial direction of the drum also has a situation in which water droplets generated from the drum easily enter.

  In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention aims to provide a washing and drying machine that can efficiently supply hot air into the drum as much as possible to improve the drying performance and can be achieved with a simple configuration. To do.

  In order to achieve the above object, a washing and drying machine according to the present invention includes a water tank provided in a main body, a drum provided in the water tank so as to be rotatable around a horizontal axis, and a drum having a number of small holes in a peripheral wall. In order to dry the laundry stored in the drum, the water tank is provided with drying means for supplying hot air heated by a heating source, and the hot air by the drying means is provided on one end side of the water tank. While being supplied from the air supply port and discharged from an exhaust port provided on the other end side, this water tank exhaust port is opened in the radial direction of the drum.

  According to the above means, by setting the opening direction of the exhaust port to the radial direction of the drum, the flow of air (warm air) does not tend to concentrate on the peripheral wall side, and the supply of warm air into the drum can be promoted. In addition, it is possible to provide a washing / drying machine that can be realized without complicated modification of the shape of the drum or the water tank.

Hereinafter, an embodiment of the washing and drying machine of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.
FIG. 1 is an enlarged view showing an exhaust port portion of the water tank, FIG. 2 is a side view showing the inside of the washing / drying machine main body, and FIG. 3 is an external perspective view of the water tank containing the drum.
First, referring to FIG. 2, the main body 1 forming the outer shell of the washing / drying machine is provided with a door 2 for opening and closing a laundry input opening on the front side, and a base plate 3 having a support leg 3a at the bottom. It is the structure which comprised. In the main body 1, a water tank 5 that is elastically supported by a plurality of suspensions 4 is provided, and in the water tank 5, a drum 6 (see FIGS. 1 and 3) can rotate around an inclined horizontal axis. All are provided and open facing the said door 2 (laundry inlet).

  Among them, the drum 6 has a structure in which a small number of small holes 6a (see FIG. 3) are provided on the peripheral wall and an annular balance ring 7 is attached to the opening end thereof as is well known. On the other hand, the specific configuration of the water tank 5 will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 3. An annular water tank cover 8 protruding inwardly in a bowl shape is fitted and attached to the opening end of the front surface of the water tank 5. (See FIG. 1 in particular). Usually, the aquarium cover 8 functions as a protective cover for the so-called rotating portion as a structure covering the balance ring 7 of the drum 6. Further, a flexible bellows 9 (see FIG. 2) is provided between the front end of the water tank cover 8 and the back surface of the door 2 and the laundry inlet, so that water from the water tank 5 to the outside is provided. It is trying to prevent the scattering of. The drum 6 is directly rotated by an out-rotor type DC brushless motor (not shown) provided on the back side of the water tank 5.

  On the other hand, the water tank cover 8 in the present embodiment has the following configuration in addition to the normal configuration described above. That is, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, the water tank cover 8 is formed in a hollow rectangular tube shape by using a portion protruding in a bowl shape, and functions as the exhaust duct 10 in this embodiment. This heats air by the drying means mentioned later, produces | generates warm air, supplies it in the drum 6 with this warm air, dries laundry (not shown), and warm air (exhaust) after the drying Functions as a so-called exhaust duct 10 that discharges the water out of the water tank 5 and transfers it to a predetermined site. However, as shown in FIG. 1, the water tank cover 8 is formed of two members, a base portion 8a and a lid portion 8b, in order to integrally form a hollow exhaust duct 10, which are made of synthetic resin. Are integrally molded. Then, the parts indicated by the symbol M in the drawing are integrally joined to each other at a predetermined position via joining means by friction welding, and the exhaust duct 10 is formed.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the exhaust duct 10 includes two duct portions 10a and 10b that are branched left and right from the center portion of the annular lower end portion and divided at the upper end portion, respectively. Exhaust ports 11a and 11b formed by arranging a plurality of through hole groups on the inner surface side are provided. Therefore, the exhaust port 11 has a form opening in the radial direction with respect to the drum 6 and the water tank 5, in other words, can be said to be open in a direction substantially orthogonal to the axial direction of the drum 6 and the water tank 5. .

Here, the above-mentioned drying means will be described with reference to FIG. 2. In this embodiment, this means that the heat pump mechanism 12 functions as a heating source for heating air, and the circulating air is warmed by the heat pump mechanism 12, and the temperature is increased. The circulation duct 13 is configured to allow the wind to be circulated and supplied to the water tank 5 and the drum 6.
Of these, first, the configuration of the circulation duct 13 will be described. The circulation duct 13 constitutes a path that allows continuous supply and exhaust of air to the water tank 5, and is provided on the front side that is one end side of the water tank 5. The exhaust duct 10 also constitutes a part thereof. However, the air supply duct 14 is connected to the back side, which is the other end of the water tank 5, so that the air supply and exhaust ducts 14 and 10 are connected via the water tank 5 through the closed space. The supply and exhaust ducts 14 and 10 are respectively connected to the heat exchange duct 15 with the heat pump mechanism 12 interposed therebetween at the lower end side where the heat pump mechanism 12 is suspended, so that the ducts 10, 14 and 15 are connected via the water tank 2. Are connected to form a continuous passage, and a so-called circulation duct 13 is formed.

The heat exchange duct 15 is installed and fixed on the base plate 3 together with the heat pump mechanism 12, while the supply and exhaust ducts 14 and 10 are provided on the side of the water tank 5 that is elastically supported and swings. 14 and 10 are connected via the joints 16 and 17 which are bellows-like and can be expanded-contracted. In addition, a fan device 18 is provided at the rear end portion (right side in the figure) of the heat exchange duct 15 so that air can be circulated through the closed space of the circulation duct 13 and the water tank 5 in the direction of arrow A shown in the drawing.
In particular, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, the hot air is opened in the radial direction of the drum 6 with respect to the main blowing direction (in the direction of the arrow A <b> 1) flowing in the opening direction (axial direction) of the drum 6 and the water tank 5. (In the direction of arrow A2) toward the exhaust duct 10 while greatly changing the direction. However, since the exhaust duct 10 is branched into the two duct portions 10a and 10b and taken in from the two exhaust ports 11a and 11b, the amount of air supplied from the single air supply duct 14 into the water tank 5 is increased. On the other hand, the two exhaust ducts 10a and 10b ensure a sufficient exhaust amount.

Next, the heat pump mechanism 12 will be described (see FIG. 2). In this embodiment, the heat pump mechanism 12 functions as a heating source for heating air to warm air during the drying operation. Thus, the condenser 19, a capillary tube (throttle) (not shown), and the evaporator 20 are circulated in this order, and in the drying operation, the circulating air is heated by the condenser 19 to warm air. Is fed into the water tank 5 and the drum 6 through the air supply duct 14 by the fan device 18 so that the laundry can be dried.
The air containing a lot of moisture after contributing to drying flows into the heat exchange duct 15 from the exhaust duct 10 on the front side, where it is cooled and dehumidified by the evaporator 20 and reaches the condenser 19 again to be heated. Therefore, the hot air can be circulated and supplied by the fan device 18 through the closed-loop circulation duct 13.

  In FIG. 2, a drain hose 21 connected to the bottom of the aquarium 5 is capable of draining outside the machine via a drain valve (not shown), and drains dehumidified water cooled and condensed by the evaporator 20. A drainage means (not shown) is provided.

Next, the operation of the washing / drying machine having the above configuration will be described.
In a washing and drying machine, when a standard driving course is selected and started, the speed of the drum 6 is controlled by a control device (not shown) as is well known, and washing, rinsing, dewatering and drying processes are automatically executed. Is done.
Accordingly, the drying process in which the drying means functions will be described. The drum 6 containing the laundry is rotated at a low speed, and the air heated by the heat pump mechanism 12 serving as a heating source is heated by the rotation of the fan device 18. As shown in FIG. More specifically, in the condenser 19 that constitutes the heat pump mechanism 12, heat is exchanged with a refrigerant that has been compressed and heated by a compressor (not shown) to heat the air. This high-temperature air is blown out from the air supply port (not shown) on the back side of the water tank 5 through the air supply duct 14 as hot air by the fan device 18. The warm air is supplied to the inside of the drum 6 through the small holes 6a of the drum 6, and performs a drying action such as contact with the laundry to remove moisture. The warm air (exhaust air) after contributing to drying flows into the exhaust duct 10 from the front exhaust port 11 as air containing a lot of moisture, and is transferred to the lower heat exchange duct 15 side.

  Then, the air is heat-exchanged with the refrigerant expanded through a capillary tube (not shown) in the evaporator 20, and here, by being cooled, moisture in the air is condensed and condensed to dehumidify. The dehumidified and dried air flows through the heat exchange duct 15 and reaches the condenser 19, where it is heated again by heat exchange with the refrigerant as described above, and as a new hot air, the laundry in the drum 6 is heated. The laundry is supplied for drying, and the laundry is dried by circulating supply by this repeated operation.

  Circulating air (warm air) at the time of drying flows and circulates in the direction of the arrow A shown in the figure, but particularly in the direction of the arrow A1 (the axial direction of the drum 6) as the main exhaust gas as shown in detail in FIGS. Since the exhaust port 11 is open in the radial direction of the drum 6 with respect to the air flow, it is taken into the exhaust port 11 after being largely converted in the direction of the substantially orthogonal arrow A2. In addition, the exhaust port 11 is at a position spaced inward from the peripheral wall side of the drum 6 and the water tank 5. This means that the warm air supplied from the air supply duct 14 into the water tank 5 passes through the drum 6 and mainly flows in the direction of the arrow A1, and can be discharged by converting the flow in the direction of the arrow A2. The warm air can be uniformly and efficiently applied to the laundry in a stirring state.

  In particular, in the conventional configuration, in the configuration in which the exhaust port is located on the peripheral wall side and is opened in the axial direction, the warm air easily flows between the peripheral walls of the drum and the water tank, and opens in the flow direction as it is without large air path resistance. The tendency to flow into the exhaust port is large, and the warm air is exhausted unnecessarily without contributing to the drying of the laundry. However, according to the present embodiment, the exhaust port 11 is opened in the radial direction of the drum 6, so that the conventional so-called short-circuited hot air flow can be suppressed and opened at a position spaced from the peripheral wall side to the inner side. Therefore, the above-described suppression effect can be expected. Accordingly, most of the warm air is effectively supplied to the inside through the small holes 6a of the drum 6 and is discharged through the exhaust duct 10 after effectively contacting the laundry.

  In this case, since the air flow is converted from the arrow A1 to the orthogonal direction that is the direction of the arrow A2, the air flow rate flowing into the exhaust port 11 may be reduced. However, in this embodiment, the exhaust duct 10 is branched to the left and right, and two duct portions 10a and 10b are provided. Naturally, the two air outlets 11a and 11b are provided, and the necessary amount of air to be exhausted is determined. It can be taken in, the exhaust performance is maintained well, and the desired circulating air volume can be secured. In addition, it seems that some warm air may circulate between the drum 6 and the peripheral wall of the water tank 5, and some warm air flows out from the drum 6 through the small hole 6a to the water tank 5 side. Since the exhaust port 11 opens in a different direction as described above with respect to the air flow on the peripheral wall side, the air flow is suppressed without being particularly promoted, and the short-circuit air flow increases. There is no.

Moreover, according to the present Example, the following effects can be expected in the dehydration process.
That is, in the above-described conventional exhaust port, the water splash generated by centrifugal dehydration and colliding with the water tank diffuses from between the drum and the water tank to the front side. It had the situation that it was easy to enter.
On the other hand, in the present embodiment, the exhaust port 11 opens in the radial direction of the drum 6 as described above, and the flow direction of the splashed water discharged between the drum 6 and the water tank 5 is greatly different. There is very little possibility of entering the exhaust duct 10 from the exhaust port 11.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, the following effects can be obtained.
The warm air supplied into the water tank 5 and the drum 6 during the drying operation contributes to the drying of the laundry, and then is taken into the exhaust duct 10 through the exhaust port 11 opened in the radial direction of the drum 6 and discharged. Therefore, the hot air supplied from the back side of the water tank 5 can effectively avoid the phenomenon of flowing in a so-called short circuit flowing between the peripheral walls of the water tank 5 without passing through the drum 6 and immediately being discharged from the exhaust port 11. Efficient use of warm air can be achieved efficiently and improvement in drying performance can be expected.

  Moreover, basically, the exhaust duct 10 having the exhaust port 11 can be dealt with by a simple configuration in which the opening direction of the exhaust port 11 is changed. In the present embodiment, the front side water tank cover 8 is used. It can be provided with a simple configuration that only needs to be formed in a hollow shape, and can be easily integrally formed into an appropriate shape made of a synthetic resin, or a plurality of components can be easily formed by friction welding as in this embodiment. Can be integrated. However, even if the exhaust duct 10 is made of synthetic resin, the heat pump mechanism 12 is adopted as a heating source, so that the hot air temperature is a drying action at a relatively low temperature (for example, about 70 ° C.), and even on the exhaust side. Therefore, even if it is made of synthetic resin, sufficient heat resistance can be secured.

Further, in the present embodiment, the exhaust duct 11 is branched into two, so that it is an exhaust means that needs to change the direction of the air flow. Amount) can be taken in, and an improvement in drying performance can be expected with a good amount of circulating air.
In addition, according to the structure of the exhaust port 11, water droplets that are generated from the drum 6 and collide with the water tank 5 during the dehydration operation are opened in a direction and a position different from the flow direction. Further, water droplets do not easily enter from the exhaust port 11, and problems due to water intrusion into the circulation duct 13 can be prevented.

  The present invention is not limited to the embodiment described above and shown in the drawings. For example, the present invention can be applied not only to a type that circulates hot air but also to a type that exhausts outside the apparatus, and heating of hot air that is a drying means. The source may be an electric heater instead of the heat pump mechanism. Further, the exhaust duct may have a single configuration, or the warm air supply / exhaust means for the water tank may have a configuration in which an air supply port is provided on one end side and an exhaust port is provided on the other end side. Various changes can be made without departing from the scope of the present invention.

The expanded perspective view of the exhaust-portion part which shows one Example of this invention Side view showing the configuration inside the main body of the washing dryer Enlarged perspective view of the aquarium part containing the drum

Explanation of symbols

  In the drawings, 1 is a main body, 5 is a water tank, 6 is a drum, 8 is a water tank cover, 10 is an exhaust duct, 11 is an exhaust port, 12 is a heat pump mechanism, 13 is a circulation duct, 14 is an air supply duct, and 15 is heat exchange. A duct, 18 is a fan device, 19 is a condenser, and 20 is an evaporator.

Claims (1)

A water tank provided in the body, a drum provided in the water tank so as to be rotatable around a horizontal axis and having a large number of small holes in the peripheral wall, and heated in the water tank to dry the laundry stored in the drum In what is equipped with a drying means for supplying warm air heated by a source,
The hot air by the drying means is supplied from an air supply port provided on one end side of the water tank and is discharged from an exhaust port provided on the other end side, and the water tank exhaust port is in the radial direction of the drum. A washing and drying machine characterized by being opened in.

Images