JP2008279172A - Washing/drying machine - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a washing/drying machine, including a determination means for ending the drying operation in addition not depending on one determination means such as a detected change in temperature in the case of determining the end of drying, and functioning one of determination means to surely end the drying operation, and having good usability. <P>SOLUTION: This washing/drying machine includes a detection means for detecting the dry degree of washing, wherein according to the output of the detection means, drying end determination is performed by a drying end determination means to stop the drying operation. Multiple drying end determination means are provided, and when the output from the detection means reaches one of determination values for the drying end set in the multiple drying end determination means, respectively, the drying end is decided to stop the drying operation. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a washing and drying machine that detects the degree of drying of laundry stored in a washing and dewatering tub, determines the end of drying, and stops the drying operation.

  For example, as shown in FIG. 6, the washing / drying machine suspends a water tub 2 in an outer box 1 through a vibration-proof suspension rod 3 so as to be swingable, and has a rotating blade 4 at the bottom in the water tub 2. A cum dewatering tank 5 is provided, and a top cover 6 and a lid 7 are provided in the upper opening.

  A rotating blade 4 and a motor 8 for rotating the washing / dehydrating tub 5 are arranged below the washing / dehydrating tub 5, and a drying unit 9 containing a heater and a fan is arranged above the washing / dehydrating tub 5. The warm air discharged from the drying unit 9 is guided into the washing and dewatering tub 5.

  In such a washing / drying machine, the washing, dehydration and drying processes proceed continuously, and the operation is automatically stopped when the drying is finished. However, as the drying process proceeds as shown in FIG. As the contained moisture decreases, that is, as the drying capacity increases, the temperature in the water tank 2 and the washing and dewatering tank 5 increases.

  Accordingly, as means for determining the end of drying, conventionally, for example, a water temperature detecting means such as a thermistor is provided in the water tank 2 or the like, and when the temperature detected here reaches the end detection determination temperature, it is determined that the drying has ended. Thus, the drying operation is stopped (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

  FIG. 13 is a graph showing a temperature change of the in-tank temperature detection thermistor employed in the drying end detection determination, and FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing an operation of making a drying end detection determination using this temperature change as data and ending the drying operation. In the drying process, first, the blowing drying process before turning on the heater, the high speed tank rotating drying process in which the washing and dewatering tank 5 is rotated after the heater is turned on, the washing and dehydrating tank 5 does not rotate and the rotor blades 4 are rotated. It moves to the stirring drying process which rotates and stirs the laundry.

  In this drying process, the temperature in the tank at this time is detected based on the time immediately before the heater is turned on after the blow-drying process (step 1), and is stored as the reference temperature A (step 2).

  Thereafter, the heater is turned on (step 3), and the drying operation shifts to a high-speed tank rotation drying process and a stirring drying process. Store as temperature B (step 4).

  When the difference between the measured temperature B and the reference temperature A is equal to or higher than the end detection determination temperature, that is, the condition of (measurement temperature B) − (reference temperature A) ≧ (end detection determination temperature) is satisfied. Sometimes, it is determined that the drying is finished (step 6), and after the extended operation for a certain time (step 7), the drying operation is finished (step 8).

  In addition, about the said measurement temperature B, the temperature in each measurement is obtained by using as the measurement temperature B the moving average value which averages several times (for example, 10 times) including the time of a measurement, and makes it a measurement temperature (step 5). Variations can be corrected and an accurate detection temperature can be obtained.

In addition, by performing the extended operation for a certain period of time after the completion of the drying determination, it is possible to obtain dry clothes that do not dry even if the end detection determination varies.
JP 2000-397 A

  By the way, when the outside air temperature is high, the temperature in the tank is also affected by the outside air temperature. On the other hand, since many resin parts are used in the washer / dryer, if the temperature in the tank becomes too high, the strength of the resin will decrease, and the resin may be hit by the tank during dehydration rotation, There is a risk of problems such as deformation due to expansion and thermal deformation.

  Therefore, as shown in FIG. 14, in order to protect the resin parts of the washing machine and to protect the laundry, the maximum heat control temperature is controlled so that the temperature in the tank does not exceed a certain level. The temperature (for example, 80 ° C.) is set.

  Thereby, as shown in the flowchart of FIG. 12, when the moving average value of the measurement temperature B reaches the maximum control temperature in the tank before reaching the determination temperature for completion of drying (step 9), the heater is turned off thereafter. Or set it to a weak setting and continue driving.

  In this state, when the temperature in the tank decreases and reaches the control temperature C set as the control temperature (for example, 75 ° C.) shown in FIG. 14, the heater is turned on again or heated to a high setting. .

  In such a case, if the end detection determination temperature from the reference temperature A is higher than the maximum control temperature, the end determination cannot be made, and the operation will not end at any time.

  Therefore, conventionally, as a means for avoiding this inconvenience, after reaching the maximum control temperature, an ON / OFF operation or a dynamic operation is performed between the maximum control temperature and the control temperature C, and after a specified time has elapsed (step 10), The drying operation is forcibly terminated (step 11).

  This specified time is set by conducting an experiment for each drying capacity of the product and calculating the time when it can be determined that the clothes are dry. It was difficult to expect an end time corresponding to the dryness, and it could not be said to be a fine response.

  On the other hand, from the viewpoint of clothing protection, the tank temperature may be set low to set a low-temperature drying mode that does not damage the clothing. In such a case, the heater is operated weakly from the beginning to set the tank temperature. Is set low (for example, 60 ° C.), the temperature rise range is further narrowed as shown in FIG.

  As a result, when the maximum control temperature is reached, the subsequent specified time operation is further prolonged, resulting in an inconvenience that an error in the degree of drying becomes large. Further, when the outside air temperature is low, the operation is continued at a low temperature, and the end determination temperature may not be reached.

  In addition, as shown in FIG. 15, when the user pauses the operation during the drying process, the cooling operation may be performed to protect the user from burns or the like when the temperature at the pause is high. .

  By this cooling operation, the temperature in the tank is greatly reduced, and the temperature in the tank may be further lowered depending on the length of the temporary stop time. For this reason, after the suspension is canceled, the temperature is increased again from the decreased temperature value, and it takes a very long time to reach the temperature for the end determination. In some cases, the end determination temperature may not be reached, and the drying operation may not be completed.

  In order to eliminate such inconveniences, the present invention eliminates the need to rely on only one determination means, for example, a detected temperature rise change, as in the prior art, when determining the end of drying, and to end the drying operation in addition to the above. Thus, by providing one of these determination means and allowing one of them to function, the drying operation can be completed with certainty, and a drying machine that is easy to use without obtaining a longer drying time than necessary is obtained.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, in the washing / drying machine provided with the detecting means for detecting the dryness of the laundry, the drying end determining means determines the end of drying by the output from the detecting means, and the drying operation is stopped. A plurality of determination means are provided, and when the output from the detection means reaches one of the drying end determination values set in each of the plurality of drying end determination means, it is determined that the drying has ended, and the drying operation is performed. The gist is to stop.

  As described above, the washing and drying machine of the present invention is provided with a plurality of drying completion judging means for judging the completion of the drying operation, for example, compared with the conventional case where only a predetermined temperature is reached as an indication of completion. Thus, the end determination can be performed from various viewpoints, and if it is determined that the end is completed by any of the end determination means, the drying operation ends. Therefore, the drying operation can be completed with certainty, and the operation can be prevented from being unnecessarily prolonged or stopped.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a flowchart showing a first embodiment of determination of completion of drying in a washing / drying machine according to the present invention. The overall basic configuration of the washing / drying machine is the same as that of the conventional example described above. A temperature detecting means such as a thermistor is provided in front of the heater.

  Also in the washing and drying machine of the present invention, the process proceeds to the drying process continuously after the washing and dehydrating processes. This drying process proceeds to the high speed tank rotation drying process for rotating the washing and dewatering tank 5 and the stirring drying process for rotating the rotor blades 4 after the completion of the air drying process 1, and this high speed tank rotation drying process and stirring drying are performed. During the process, a plurality of end determination means for determining the end of drying and stopping the operation are provided.

  FIG. 1 is a flowchart showing an end determination operation by the drying end determination means. As the first drying end determination means, after the air drying process is completed in the drying operation (step 1) as in the conventional case shown in FIG. ), Temperature data detected by a temperature detection means such as a thermistor is measured at a stage before the start of hot air drying, that is, before the heater provided in the drying unit 9 is turned on. As a memory setting (step 2).

  After the heater is turned on (step 3), the warm air drying process is started, and the temperature before the heater is measured with a thermistor every predetermined time, and this is stored as the measured temperature B (step 4). An average value is calculated (step 5).

  When determining the end of drying by performing such temperature measurement, as the first drying end determining means, the moisture contained in the laundry decreases as the drying process proceeds, and the measured temperature B increases. If the value reaches a predetermined determination value, it is determined that the drying is finished (step 12).

  Then, after the extended time operation (step 14), the drying operation is terminated (step 15).

  When the temperature measured by the thermistor as the first drying determination means does not reach the determination value and the drying end determination is not performed (step 12), the end determination is performed by another second drying end determination means. (Step 13), and if it is determined that the drying is finished, the drying operation is finished (Step 14).

  As the second drying end determination means, as shown in the flowchart of FIG. 2 and the integrated temperature end detection graph of FIG. A is set as A, and then the difference between the measured temperature measured every certain time (for example, every minute) and the reference temperature A is calculated, and the value of the difference is added (step 16). For example, the first time: a, the second time: a + b, the third time: a + b + c, the nth time: a + b + c... + (N−2) + (n−1) + n.

  Then, the integrated value of the temperature difference and the end detection temperature set value are compared, and if it is equal to or greater than the set value, it is determined that the drying is finished (step 17). Note that the measurement error can be reduced by calculating the measurement temperature by using the moving average of several times of data instead of calculating the data only once at each measurement.

  Since the integrated value of such temperature differences can be considered to be proportional to the amount of heat applied to the garment, sufficient amount of heat necessary for drying can be applied to each volume of garment for efficient drying. Yes.

  Such second drying completion determination means is effective when implemented in the following case as shown in the flowchart of FIG. When the user temporarily stops the operation during the drying process (step 18), the detected temperature temporarily decreases at the time of the temporary stop, and the temperature increase resumes from the time of the decrease. The predetermined determination value set by the means is not easily reached, and it takes a long time until the end of drying is determined by the first drying end determination means, or the determination cannot be performed.

  In such a case, an integrated value of the temperature difference is calculated (step 16), and this integrated value is compared with the end detection temperature set value, and if it is equal to or greater than the set value, it is determined that the drying has ended (step 17).

  Even if the determination can be made by the second determination means, another determination means is provided in preparation for the case where the determination cannot be made by the second determination means (step 20).

  Furthermore, in order to protect the synthetic resin parts and electrical components of the washing machine, the maximum control temperature is set, and after reaching the maximum control temperature (step 19), the heater on / off operation is repeated. In setting the ON / OFF operation time, instead of setting the specified time as in the prior art, the integrated value of the temperature difference is calculated (step 16), and this integrated value is compared with the end detection temperature set value. If it is equal to or greater than the set value, it is determined that the drying is finished (step 17).

  When the drying operation is performed at a low temperature, since the operation at a low temperature continues, the predetermined determination value set by the first determination unit is not easily reached, and the first drying end determination is made. Even if it is impossible to determine the end of drying with the means, it is possible to determine the end of drying based on the integrated value of the temperature difference.

  FIG. 4 is a flow chart showing the third drying completion determination means. When the first determination means cannot determine the completion of drying, the number of inertia pulses of the rotor blade 4 is measured (step 21), and this measured value is measured. To determine the end of drying (step 22).

  In the high-speed tank rotation drying process and the stirring drying process, there are operations for stirring and loosening the laundry. These operations are combined with other operations to form one set. In the case of the stirring and drying process, the drying process proceeds by repeating the set process for the end time and the extension time.

  At this time, after the unraveling stroke of each stroke, the number of inertia pulses of the rotor blade 4 is measured, and the drying ends when the difference between the inertial pulse measurement value at the previous measurement and the latest inertial pulse measurement value is less than the specified value. It is determined that

  Inertial pulses are measured by energizing the motor, rotating the rotor blades to the specified rotation speed or speed, and then stopping energization of the motor and counting the number of pulses from the rotation sensor for a specified time. Do. As shown in the graph of FIG. 9, the inertia pulse number increases as the drying process proceeds and the moisture contained in the laundry decreases and the load amount decreases.

  If it is determined that the drying is finished (step 22), the operation is finished (step 15) after the extended time operation (step 14).

  In the above-described embodiment, the first drying end determination unit is combined with the second drying end determination unit and the third drying end determination unit to form a plurality of drying end determination units. However, the combination mode is limited to this. For example, as shown in the flowchart of FIG. 5, all of the first, second and third drying end determination means are combined, and the first drying end determination means cannot perform end detection determination. In the case where the second drying end determining unit determines that the second drying end determining unit cannot determine the second drying end determining unit, the third drying end determining unit determines the third drying end determining unit. However, if it cannot be determined, it can also be determined by another drying end determining means (step 23).

  The fourth drying end determination means determines the end of drying by time. The operation time from the start of the drying operation is set in advance as a determination value (specified time), and the elapsed time of the operation after the start of the drying operation. When the determination value reaches a preset determination value, it is determined that the drying is finished, and the drying operation is finished.

  The first to fourth drying end determination means correct the outside air temperature value at the start of the drying operation. That is, in the first drying end determination means, when the outside air temperature is high, the drying end temperature, which is a determination value, is set low in inverse proportion to this.

  Further, in the second drying end determination means, when the outside air temperature is high, the sum of the temperature rise values, that is, the integrated value is reduced, and the fourth drying end determination means sets the specified time for the drying operation set as the determination value. shorten.

  The determination values set by the first, second, and fourth drying end determination means are corrected and changed by the load amount value sensed at the start of the drying operation. That is, when the load amount is large, such as the weight of the laundry itself is large due to the cloth quality or the like, and there is a large amount of moisture contained in the laundry, it is difficult to dry. Set the end temperature higher.

  Further, when the load amount is large in the second drying end determination means, the sum of the temperature rise values, that is, the integrated value is set to be large, and in the fourth drying end determination means, the drying operation specified time set as the determination value is set. Lengthen.

  Further, the determination values set by the first, second, and fourth drying end determination means are corrected by the final dehydration time. In other words, when a course that continuously runs the process from washing to drying is selected and the final dehydration time is set by the user, each process from washing to dehydration is automatically advanced by load sensing. If there is a difference between the final dehydration time and the final dehydration time set by the user, the determination value for completion of drying is corrected based on this difference.

  When the user changes the setting by setting the dehydration time short or long, the judgment value for the end of the drying operation is changed correspondingly, for example, when the user sets the dehydration time short. Since the water content increases, subsequent drying takes time. Therefore, the drying operation time set as the determination value is set longer.

  On the contrary, when the user sets the dehydration time longer, the moisture content becomes lower, so that subsequent drying does not require time. Therefore, the drying operation time set as the determination value is shortened.

  In addition, if you choose a course that automatically runs the process from washing to dehydration continuously, and the dehydration operation time is changed during this automatic operation due to imbalance or foam generation, that is, dehydration due to imbalance or foam generation. If the operation is stopped in the middle and the operation is shifted to the drying operation, the determination value of the drying operation time is set to a longer value by adding the dewatering time after the stop to the drying operation in the next step.

It is a flowchart which shows 1st Embodiment of the drying operation in the washing dryer of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows 2nd Embodiment of the drying operation in the washing / drying machine of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows 3rd Embodiment of the drying operation in the washing / drying machine of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows 4th Embodiment of the drying operation in the washing / drying machine of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows 5th Embodiment of the drying operation in the washing / drying machine of this invention. It is a vertical side view which shows embodiment of the washing-drying machine of this invention. It is a graph which shows the temperature rise value in a drying process. It is a graph of the completion | finish detection of the integrated temperature in a drying process. It is a graph which shows the relationship between the number of inertial pulses, and load amount. It is a table | surface which shows the determination value of the completion | finish detection of drying. It is a flowchart which shows the conventional drying completion determination. It is a flowchart which shows the completion | finish determination of drying when the conventional maximum control temperature is reached. It is a graph which shows the temperature change of the temperature detection thermistor in a tank. It is a graph which shows the temperature change at the time of performing temperature control in a tank. It is a graph which shows the temperature change at the time of stopping temporarily.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Outer box 2 Water tank 3 Anti-vibration hanging rod 4 Rotor blade 5 Washing and dewatering tank 6 Top cover 7 Lid 8 Motor 9 Drying unit

Claims (8)

  A detection means for detecting the degree of dryness of the laundry is provided, and in the washing and drying machine for stopping the drying operation by performing the drying end determination by the drying end determination means based on the output from the detection means, a plurality of drying end determination means are provided, Washing characterized in that the drying operation is stopped when the output from the detection means reaches one of the drying completion determination values set in each of the plurality of drying completion determination means, and the drying operation is stopped. Dryer.   The drying completion determining means includes a first drying completion determining means for determining that the drying has been completed when the temperature increase value from the heater-on time reaches a determination value, and a sum of the temperature increase values per unit time from the heater-on time. A second drying end determination unit that determines that the drying is finished when the determination value is reached, and when one of the determination values set in the first and second drying end determination units is reached. The washing / drying machine according to claim 1, wherein the drying operation is stopped.   The third drying completion determination means, which is one of the plurality of drying completion determination means, is provided in a washing / drying machine including a load amount detection means for detecting a load amount by detecting the number of inertia pulses during rotation of the rotary blade. 2. The washing and drying machine according to claim 1, wherein the number of inertia pulses during rotation of the rotor blades is measured every time, and when the difference reaches a determination value or less, it is determined that the drying is finished and the drying operation is stopped.   The fourth drying completion determination means, which is one of the plurality of drying completion determination means, determines that the drying has ended when the elapsed time from the start of the drying operation reaches a determination value, and stops the drying operation. The washing dryer according to 1.   The washing / drying machine according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the first to fourth drying end determination means correct the determination value based on an outside air temperature at the start of the drying operation.   The said 1st, 2nd, 4th drying completion determination means correct | amends a determination value with the value of the load amount detected by the load amount sensing at the time of a dry operation start, The claim 2 or Claim characterized by the above-mentioned. 4. The washing / drying machine according to any one of 4 above.   The first, second and fourth drying completion judging means select a course for continuously operating the process from washing to drying, and when the final dehydration time is set by the user's setting, this final dehydration time However, when there is a difference between the final dehydration time when the process from washing to drying is automatically set by load amount sensing, the judgment value is corrected by the value of this difference. Claim | item 2 or the washing-drying machine in any one of Claim 4.   When the first, second, and fourth drying end determination means select a course for continuous automatic operation of the process from washing to dehydration, and the dehydration time is changed due to imbalance or foam activation during the automatic operation 5. The washing / drying machine according to claim 2, wherein the determination value is corrected by a value of a difference in dehydration time before and after the change.

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