JP2009066113A - Clothes drying machine - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To solve a problem that the conventional clothes drying machine reduces the rotating speed of a blower fan in finishing a drying operation to elongate a dying operation time. <P>SOLUTION: This clothes drying machine is provided with a fan control means 12 for rotating the blower fan 11 at a relatively high speed for a predetermined period from starting the drying operation, then rotating the blower fan 11 at a relatively low speed, and rotating the blower fan 11 at a relatively high speed for a predetermined period before finishing the drying operation. In the initial stage of the drying operation, this machine can supply a large quantity of heated air to the inside of a treatment tank to improve a rise performance. In the middle stage of the dying operation, this machine can suppress the power consumption of the blower fan and reduce the operation sound. In the last stage of the drying operation, this machine can accelerate the drying of the clothes to shorten the time till finishing the drying. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a clothes dryer such as a clothes dryer for drying clothes and a laundry dryer having a washing function.

An example of the prior art of a clothes drying apparatus is disclosed in Patent Document 1. The clothes dryer disclosed by patent document 1 is characterized by controlling the rotation speed of the ventilation fan at the time of drying operation start so that it may become a value larger than the rotation speed of the ventilation fan at the time of completion | finish of drying operation ( (See claim 1 of Patent Document 1). In the clothes dryer described in Patent Document 1, the rotation speed of the blower fan at the start of the drying operation is increased, and the rotation speed of the blower fan at the end of the drying operation is decreased, thereby reducing the noise caused by the blower fan during the drying operation. Reduction is attempted (see paragraphs [0004] and [0005] of Patent Document 1).
JP 2007-82863 A

In the conventional clothes dryer described in Patent Document 1, since the rotational speed of the blower fan is reduced at the end of the drying operation, there is a problem that it takes time to complete the drying of clothes and the drying time is prolonged.
The present invention has been made in order to solve the above-described problems, and has as its main object to provide a clothing drying apparatus that consumes less power and can shorten the drying operation time.

  The present invention also provides a clothing drying apparatus that can shorten the drying operation time as a whole and that does not waste power by appropriately controlling the rotational speed of the blower fan at the start, middle and end of the drying operation. For other purposes.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, one end and the other end are communicated with the treatment tank for storing the clothes to be dried, and the treatment tank. The air in the treatment tank is taken out from one end and the other end is introduced into the treatment tank. A circulation air passage for returning, a blower fan for circulating air in the circulation air passage, means for dehumidifying and heating the air circulated through the circulation air passage, and a predetermined period from the start of the drying operation Includes fan control means for rotating the blower fan at a relatively high speed, thereafter rotating the blower fan at a relatively low speed, and rotating the blower fan at a relatively high speed for a predetermined period before the end of the drying operation. This is a clothes drying apparatus.

Invention of Claim 2 has an inflow air temperature detection means to detect the temperature of the air which flows in into a processing tank from the other end of the said circulation air path, and the said fan control means is from the time of a drying operation start. The clothes drying apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the blower fan is switched from a relatively high speed rotation to a low speed rotation based on a detected temperature change of the inflow air temperature detecting means.
The invention according to claim 3 has an outflow air temperature detection means for detecting the temperature of the air flowing out from one end of the circulation air passage, and the fan control means is a detection temperature of the outflow air temperature detection means. 3. The clothes drying apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the blower fan rotating at a relatively low speed is switched to a relatively high speed rotation based on the change.

  The invention according to claim 4 is characterized in that the means for dehumidifying and heating the air circulated through the circulation air passage includes a heat pump device. Drying equipment.

  According to the first aspect of the invention, by rotating the blower fan at a relatively high speed for a predetermined period from the start of the drying operation, a large amount of heated air is introduced into the treatment tank for the predetermined period from the start of the drying operation. It is possible to supply heat and promote heat exchange between the wet clothing housed in the treatment tank and the heated air to improve the rising performance. In the middle of the drying operation after a predetermined period from the start of the drying operation, the blower fan is rotated at a relatively low speed, so that the power consumption can be suppressed. Further, the operation noise can be reduced by rotating the blower fan at a low speed.

  More specifically, in the middle of the drying operation, the treatment tank and the circulation air path itself are also heated by the heated air, and the temperature of the heated air flowing into the treatment tank is stabilized. For this reason, even if it reduces the rotation speed of a ventilation fan and reduces the flow volume of the heating air which flows into a processing tank, the temperature of heating air is stable and the whole heat quantity (temperature x air flow rate) does not change a lot. Therefore, the drying performance does not deteriorate. Therefore, in the middle stage of the drying operation, the rotational speed of the blower fan is decreased while maintaining the drying performance, and the power consumption can be reduced.

Near the end of the drying operation, that is, at the end of the drying operation, the amount of moisture contained in the clothing decreases, and the degree of drying progresses slowly. Therefore, by rotating the blower fan at a relatively high speed again for a predetermined period before the end of the drying operation, the drying of the clothes can be promoted and the time until the drying is completed can be shortened.
According to the second aspect of the invention, by detecting the temperature of the heated air (warm air) flowing into the treatment tank, it is possible to grasp the start-up performance of the drying operation, and the fan control means rotates the blower fan. It is possible to correctly grasp the timing for switching the number from high speed rotation to low speed rotation.

  According to the invention described in claim 3, since the outflow air temperature detecting means for detecting the temperature of the air flowing out from the processing tank is provided, the progress of the drying operation, in particular whether the drying operation is nearing the end. Can be grasped. As a result, the fan control means can correctly determine the timing at which the rotational speed of the blower fan is increased again according to the progress of the drying operation.

  According to the fourth aspect of the invention, the dehumidification and heating of the air circulated through the circulation air passage is performed by the heat pump device. In this case, in a predetermined period from the start of the drying operation, that is, in the early stage of the drying operation, the air blowing fan is rotated at a relatively high speed to increase the heat exchange amount between the heat pump radiating part and the drying air, A larger amount of heat can be given to the circulation air passage and the clothing, and the start-up performance of the drying operation can be improved.

On the other hand, in the middle of the drying operation, the heat pump, the processing tank, the circulation air path, etc. are warmed, and the temperature of the hot air flowing into the processing tank is stabilized. There is almost no decline.
In a predetermined period before the end of the drying operation, that is, at the end of the drying operation, the blower fan is rotated at a relatively high speed again to accelerate the evaporation of water remaining in the clothing and to quickly finish the drying. As a whole, the drying operation time can be shortened.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is an illustrative view showing a configuration of a drying function unit in a washing / drying machine according to an embodiment of the present invention.
Referring to FIG. 1, the washing / drying machine 1 is provided with a treatment tank 3 for storing clothes 2 to be washed and dried. The treatment tank 3 includes an outer tub for collecting water during washing and a drum rotatably provided in the outer tub, and the clothes 2 are accommodated in the drum.

  A circulation air passage 4 disposed outside the processing tank 3 communicates with the processing tank 3. One end 41 of the circulation air passage 4 is communicated with one side portion of the treatment tank 3, and the other end 42 of the circulation air passage 4 is communicated with the other side portion of the treatment tank 3. Thereby, the air in the processing tank 3 can be taken out from the one end 41 of the circulation air path 4, passes through the circulation air path 4, and returns to the processing tank 3 from the other end 42 of the circulation air path 4. A part of the circulation air passage 4 constitutes a heat exchange air passage portion 5. At least the heat absorber 6 and the heat radiator 8 of the heat pump device are incorporated in the heat exchange air passage section 5. The heat pump device includes a heat absorber 6, a compressor 7, a radiator 8, and an expansion valve (decompression device) 9, which are connected by a refrigerant pipe 10 to constitute a refrigerant circulation circuit. Each of the heat absorber 6 and the radiator 8 is provided such that a ventilation surface exists in the circulation air passage 4, and performs heat exchange with air circulating in the circulation air passage 4.

  Further, a blower fan 11 is provided in the circulation air passage 4 (heat exchange air passage portion 5). When the blower fan 11 rotates, the air in the circulation air passage 4 is moved, and the air in the treatment tank 3 is circulated through the circulation air passage 4. In FIG. 1, an example in which the blower fan 11 is disposed between the heat absorber 6 and the heat radiator 8 is shown. However, this is merely an example, and the blower fan 11 is disposed in the circulation air passage 4. It can be provided at an arbitrary position.

The heat pump device performs a heat exchange action on the circulated air in the heat exchange air passage section 5 as follows. That is, the heat absorber 6 takes the heat of the air flowing out of the processing tank 3, cools the air, condenses moisture in the air, and performs dehumidification. The dehumidified air is given to the radiator 8 and heated by heat exchange with the radiator 8. And it returns to the processing tank 3.
Since the low-temperature refrigerant whose pressure is suddenly lowered by the expansion valve 9 and is reduced in temperature is given to the heat absorber 6, in the heat absorber 6, the low-temperature refrigerant is circulated in the circulation air passage 4 (heat exchange air passage portion 5). The air is cooled by heat exchange. Then, the refrigerant is given to the compressor 7 through the refrigerant pipe 10. The refrigerant compressed by the compressor 7 rises in temperature, and the refrigerant whose temperature has been raised is given to the radiator 8. In the radiator 8, heat exchange between the high-temperature refrigerant and air is performed, and the air flowing through the circulation air passage 4 (heat exchange air passage portion 5) is heated. Then, the refrigerant moves to the expansion valve 9 through the refrigerant pipe 10, and the pressure is lowered again to become a low-temperature refrigerant.

In the heat exchange air passage section 5, as described above, heat exchange is performed between the air flowing through the heat absorber 6 and the heat radiator 8, and dehumidification and heating of the air are achieved.
The blower fan 11 circulates the air in the circulation air passage 4 by rotating, and the circulating air volume of the air changes according to the number of rotations. In this embodiment, the fan control part 12 for controlling the rotation speed (rotation speed) of the ventilation fan 11 is provided.

  Furthermore, an outlet air temperature sensor 13 for detecting the temperature of the air flowing out from the processing tank 3 is provided at one end 41 of the circulation air passage 4, that is, at the outlet side of the processing tank 3. Further, the other end 42 of the circulation air passage 4 is provided with an inflow air temperature sensor 14 for detecting the temperature of the air flowing into the treatment tank 3. The detected temperatures of the outflow air temperature sensor 13 and the inflow air temperature sensor 14 are given to the fan control unit 12 and can be used for switching control of the rotation speed of the blower fan 11 as will be described later.

FIG. 2 is a graph showing the content of switching control of the rotational speed of the blower fan 11 performed by the fan control unit 12 of the washing / drying machine 1 shown in FIG.
The horizontal axis of the graph in FIG. 2 indicates the drying time, and the vertical axis indicates the rotational speed of the blower fan 11. As shown in FIG. 2, the feature of this embodiment is that at the beginning of the drying operation (predetermined period from the start of the drying operation), the blower fan 11 is rotated at a predetermined high rotation speed (rotation speed 2), and the drying operation is performed. The middle plate rotates the blower fan 11 at a predetermined low rotational speed (rotational speed 1), and the final stage of the drying operation (predetermined period before the completion of the drying operation) causes the blower fan 11 to again rotate at a predetermined high rotational speed (rotational speed 2). ), The operating speed of the blower fan 11 is switched.

The division between the early stage, the middle stage, and the end stage can be set according to time, and can be set based on the detected temperature of at least one of the outflow air temperature sensor 13 and the inflow air temperature sensor 14 as described later. .
As shown in FIG. 2, by reducing the rotation speed of the blower fan 11 in the mid-drying operation panel, the power consumption of the blower fan 11 in the mid-drying operation panel can be reduced. In addition, it is possible to reduce the operation sound of the mid-dry operation.

On the other hand, the rising performance at the start of the drying operation can be improved by increasing the rotational speed of the blower fan 11 at the beginning of the drying operation. In addition, by increasing the rotation speed of the blower fan 11 at the end of the drying operation, it is possible to ensure the final packing of the drying operation and shorten the time until the drying is completed.
FIG. 3 is a graph showing the change in the drying rate due to the difference in the rotational speed of the blower fan 11 confirmed by the experiment. The horizontal axis of the graph in FIG. 3 indicates the drying time (min), and the vertical axis indicates the drying rate (%).

Here, the drying rate is defined by the following equation.
Drying rate (%) = (weight of clothing / weight of clothing after drying operation) × 100
The graph of FIG. 3 shows drying time and drying when 3 kg of clothes are stored in the treatment tank 3 and the blower fan 11 is rotated at the rotational speed 1 and the rotational speed 2 in the washing / drying machine 1 shown in FIG. The relationship with the rate is shown. The rotational speed 1 is a rotational speed with an air flow rate of 2.0 m ³ / min, and the rotational speed 2 is a rotational speed with an air flow rate of 2.3 m ³ / min.

FIG. 4 is a graph showing the drying speed according to the difference in the rotation speed of the blower fan 11, where the horizontal axis represents the drying time (min) and the vertical axis represents the drying speed (% / min). Also in FIG. 4, the rotational speed 1 is an air volume of 2.0 m ³ / min, and the rotational speed 2 is an air volume of 2.3 m ³ / min.
As shown in FIG. 3, when the relationship between the drying time and the drying rate when the blower fan 11 is operated while being fixed at the rotational speed 1 and when it is operated while being fixed at the rotational speed 2, drying is performed. Until 30 minutes have elapsed from the start of operation, the rotational speed 2 is higher than the rotational speed 1 when the rotational speed is 1, and between 30 minutes and 40 minutes, both the rotational speed 1 and the rotational speed 2 are approximately the same. Yes, it can be seen that after 40 minutes, the rotation rate of 2 is better than the rotation rate of 1.

Further, FIG. 4 shows that when the rotational speed is 1, the drying speed increases in the middle stage of the drying operation, but the drying speed is slow in the early stage and the final stage. On the other hand, in the case of the rotational speed 2, it can be seen that a substantially uniform drying rate is exhibited over substantially the entire drying time.
In this way, when the blower fan 11 has a relatively high rotational speed 2, the progress of drying in the early stage of the drying operation is faster than in the case of the relatively small rotational speed 1, and the progress speed also in the final stage. Can be seen to be fast. It can be understood that there is no significant difference between the rotational speed 1 and the rotational speed 2 in the middle stage of the drying operation.

Therefore, from the result confirmed in this experiment, in this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2, a more efficient drying operation can be achieved by switching the rotational speed of the blower fan 11 at the beginning, middle and end of the operation. I did it.
In addition, in switching of the rotation speed of the ventilation fan 11 shown in FIG. 2, from the data of FIG. 3, it is possible to set the beginning to 0 to 30 minutes, the middle to 30 to 40 minutes, and the last to 40 to 50 minutes. Is possible. Moreover, from FIG. 4, it is possible to set the beginning to 0 to 15 minutes, the middle to 15 to 30 minutes, and the last to 30 to 50 minutes.

Furthermore, considering FIG. 3 and FIG. 4 as a whole, it is possible to set the beginning to 0 to 15 minutes, the middle to 15 to 40 minutes, and the end to 40 to 50 minutes.
In this way, the beginning, middle and end divisions can be set by time.
Next, a description will be given of a case where the division of the early stage, middle stage, and end stage is set based on the detected temperature of the outflow air temperature sensor 13 and / or the inflow air temperature sensor 14.

  5 and 6 show the rotation speed of the blower fan 11, the air temperature (outlet air temperature) detected by the outflow air temperature sensor 13, and the inflow air temperature when clothes are dried in the washing and drying machine 1 shown in FIG. It is a graph which shows the relationship between the air temperature (inlet air temperature) detected by the sensor 14, and the air temperature after passing the heat absorber 6, and, as for all, a horizontal axis is drying time (sec) and a vertical axis | shaft is temperature (degreeC). ).

FIG. 5 shows changes in the air temperature with the passage of drying time when the rotational speed of the blower fan 11 is always constant (constant at the rotational speed 2). FIG. 6 shows the rotational speed of the blower fan 11 in FIG. The change in air temperature with the elapse of the drying time when switching is shown as shown in FIG.
In FIG. 6, from the start of the drying operation to 600 seconds (10 minutes) at a rotational speed of 2, and from 600 seconds (10 minutes) to 1500 seconds (25 minutes) at a rotational speed of 1, from 1500 seconds (25 minutes) to 2100. It is rotated again at the rotational speed 2 until the second (35 minutes). The rotational speed 1 and the rotational speed 2 are the rotational speed with the air volume of 2.0 m ³ / min and the rotational speed with the air volume of 2.3 m ³ / min, as described above.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the inlet air temperature detected by the inflow air temperature sensor 14 suddenly rises to about 60 ° C. from the start of the drying operation and then gradually changes to about 80 ° C. Therefore, based on the detected temperature of the inflow air temperature sensor 14 being, for example, 60 ° C. (or about 60 ° C. to 70 ° C.), it is possible to switch the rotation speed of the blower fan 11 to be low.

On the other hand, the outlet air temperature detected by the outflow air temperature sensor 13 increases at a constant rate as the drying time elapses from about 20 ° C. to about 50 ° C. as shown in FIG.
Therefore, for example, the rotation speed of the blower fan 11 is decreased based on the fact that the outflow air temperature sensor 13 detects 30 ° C. to 40 ° C., and the rotation speed is increased again based on the detection of 45 ° C. to 55 ° C. Control can be performed.

As described above, the division between the early stage, the middle stage and the end stage in the drying operation can be set based on the detected temperature of the outflow air temperature sensor 13 and / or the inflow air temperature sensor 14.
Further, from FIG. 5, the air temperature after passing through the heat absorber 6 changes from a temperature drop to a temperature rise in about 200 seconds from the start of the drying operation, and changes from a temperature rise to a constant temperature in about 1500 seconds. I understand that. Therefore, a temperature sensor for detecting the temperature of the air passing through the heat absorber 6 is provided, and based on the air temperature after passing through the heat absorber 6, the early stage, middle stage and final stage of the drying operation are determined, thereby rotating the blower fan 11 It is also possible to control to switch the number.

Although the above-described embodiment has been described based on the configuration of the drying function unit in the washing / drying machine 1, the present invention can be applied to the drying function unit for the washing / drying machine 1, and the clothes drying machine as an independent device. It can also be applied to.
Furthermore, the device that dehumidifies and heats the air circulating in the circulation air passage is not limited to the heat pump device described in this embodiment, and the circulating air is dehumidified by cooling with water, and a heater (for example, a semiconductor) The present invention can also be applied to a configuration in which air is heated by a heater, a steam heater, a gas heater, or the like.

  The present invention is not limited to the embodiment described above, and various modifications can be made within the scope of the claims.

It is an illustration figure which shows the structure of the drying function part in the washing / drying machine which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. It is a graph which shows the content of the switching control of the rotational speed of the ventilation fan 11 performed by the fan control part 12 of the washing / drying machine 1 shown in FIG. It is a graph which shows the change of the drying rate by the difference in the rotation speed of the ventilation fan 11. FIG. It is a graph which shows the drying speed by the difference in the rotation speed of the ventilation fan 11. FIG. It is a graph which shows the air temperature change accompanying progress of drying time when the rotation speed of the ventilation fan 11 is always made constant. It is a graph which shows the air temperature change accompanying progress of the drying operation at the time of switching the rotation speed of the ventilation fan 11 at the beginning of the drying operation, the middle stage, and the final stage.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Washing-dryer 3 Processing tank 4 Circulation air path 5 Heat exchange air path part 6 Heat absorber 8 Radiator 11 Blower fan 12 Fan control part 13 Outflow air temperature sensor 14 Inflow air temperature sensor 41 One end of a circulation air path 42 Circulation air path The other end of

Claims (4)

A treatment tank for containing clothes to be dried;
One end and the other end are communicated in the treatment tank, a circulation air passage for taking out the air in the treatment tank from one end and returning it from the other end to the treatment tank,
A blower fan for circulating the air in the circulation air passage;
Means for dehumidifying and heating the air circulated through the circulation air passage;
The blower fan is rotated at a relatively high speed for a predetermined period from the start of the drying operation, and then the blower fan is rotated at a relatively low speed, and the blower fan is rotated at a relatively high speed for a predetermined period before the end of the drying operation. Fan control means;
A drying apparatus for clothes, comprising: Inflow air temperature detection means for detecting the temperature of air flowing into the treatment tank from the other end of the circulation air path,
2. The fan control unit according to claim 1, wherein the fan control unit switches the blower fan from a relatively high speed rotation to a low speed rotation based on a change in temperature detected by the inflow air temperature detection unit from the start of the drying operation. Clothes dryer. Outflow air temperature detection means for detecting the temperature of the air flowing out from one end of the circulation air passage,
The fan control means switches the blower fan, which is rotating at a relatively low speed, to a relatively high speed rotation based on a detected temperature change of the outflow air temperature detecting means. Clothes drying equipment.   The clothes drying apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the means for dehumidifying and heating the air circulated through the circulation air passage includes a heat pump device.

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