JP2009095482A - Washing/drying machine - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a washing/drying machine capable of economically operating by decreasing power consumption. <P>SOLUTION: A control device of the washing/drying machine 1 is connected with a weather information supply site 8 via a router 2 to be able to obtain weather information. After the finish of spin-drying, the control device, obtaining the weather information, educes a temperature likely to be and humidity likely to be from the weather information to calculate a time required for drying clothes from the educed information and weight of the clothes to be dried. A precipitation percentage by the finish of drying the clothes is educed from the present weather information. When a time zone in which the precipitation percentage is above a specified threshold value appears, determining that drying in the sun is impossible, the machine 1 executes a drying process through a heat pump. In the drying process, an operating frequency of a compressor of the heat pump is set to a value decreasing the power consumption at the minimum. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a washing / drying machine for washing and drying clothes.

Also in the conventional laundry dryer, the operation of the clothes dryer is controlled by the operation control device in accordance with various user input settings such as the drying time and the drying end time. In particular, there has been a conventional technique for acquiring the current dry state of clothes and the current or predetermined weather condition and determining the operating conditions of the clothes dryer according to the weather condition (see, for example, Patent Document 1).
According to this, since the operation is controlled based on the operating conditions (operating capacity, operating time, etc.) of the clothes dryer set by the operation control device in accordance with the weather conditions, the user sets the operating conditions by taking the weather conditions into consideration. Even without this, the clothes dryer can be operated efficiently.
JP 2005-27690 A

On the other hand, in the above-mentioned prior art, the power consumption of the clothes dryer is hardly considered, and much power is wasted unnecessarily because the emphasis is on the efficiency of the drying process according to the weather conditions. In some cases, the operation was uneconomical. In particular, recently, clothes dryers using heat pumps have become widespread in consideration of the environment, and there has been no conventional technique for reducing power consumption.
This invention is made | formed in view of the said situation, The objective is to provide the washing-drying machine which can reduce power consumption and can perform economical driving | operation.

  In order to achieve the above object, in the washing and drying machine of the present invention, a washing device for driving a rotating tub containing clothes for performing washing, a circulation path communicating with the rotation tub, and a circulation path in the circulation path A compressor for compressing a medium for heating air, and a condenser for heating the air by introducing heat into and from the medium compressed by the compressor, the condenser A clothes drying device that supplies the air heated in step 1 to the rotating tub via the circulation path to dry the clothes after washing, and an operation control device that controls the operation of the washing device and the clothes drying device. And the operation control device is connected to a communication device, calculates an operation method of the clothes drying device based on weather information acquired from a weather information providing site via the communication device, and erases the operation based on the calculation result. And controlling the operating frequency of the compressor so that the power is reduced.

  According to the above means, the operation control device is connected to the communication device, calculates the operation method of the clothes drying device based on the weather information acquired from the weather information providing site via the communication device, and based on the calculation result Since the operating frequency of the compressor is controlled so that power consumption is reduced, economical operation can be performed.

<Embodiment 1>
Hereinafter, Embodiment 1 of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. In FIG. 1, the whole structure of the operation system of the washing / drying machine 1 by this embodiment is shown. An operation terminal device 3 is connected to the washing / drying machine 1 through a router 2 to form a home network 4. The connection method of the home network 4 may be LAN (Local Area Network), Bluetooth (registered trademark) communication, infrared communication, or the like, regardless of whether it is wireless or wired.

  The router 2 (corresponding to the communication device of the present invention) is a means for connecting the home network 4 and the external network 5, and is equipped with a security function so that the home network 4 is not subject to intrusion from outside. Yes. The operation terminal device 3 is formed by, for example, a mobile phone, a personal computer, a PDA (Personal Digital Assistants), etc., and when the operation method is set in the washing / drying machine 1 or when the washing / drying machine 1 is connected to the external network 5. As described above, an operation input unit for remotely operating the washing / drying machine 1 and a display unit for displaying information to the user are provided. The user can use the operation terminal device 3 to acquire and set information related to the operation state of the washing / drying machine 1. When the user inputs settings or displays information, the same operation can be performed by the operation panel 54 (shown in FIG. 2) formed in the washing / drying machine 1. In the following description regarding the present embodiment, setting input and information display by the user are performed by the operation panel 54.

  The router 2 is connected to an external server 7 via, for example, the Internet 6, and the washing / drying machine 1 and the operation terminal device 3 can acquire various information from the weather information providing site 8 by the external server 7. . The weather information providing site 8 regularly updates the information, and the washing / drying machine 1 and the operation terminal device 3 can access the latest weather from the weather information providing site 8 via the external server 7 at an arbitrary timing by the access. Information can be obtained. Alternatively, every time the weather information providing site 8 is updated, the latest weather information is stored in the external server 7, and when requested from the washing / drying machine 1 or the operation terminal device 3, the information is received from the external server 7. 1 or the operation terminal device 3 may be transmitted. The weather information providing site 8 may be formed in the external server 7 as one of the functions of the external server 7.

FIG. 2 shows the structure of a drum-type (horizontal axis) washing and drying machine 1 according to the present embodiment. The washing / drying machine 1 can automatically perform a washing process, a rinsing process, a dehydrating process, and a drying process. A water tank 10 is provided inside the outer box 9, and a rotating tank (drum) 11 is provided inside the water tank 10. It is arranged.
The water tank 10 and the rotating tank 11 are both cylindrical, and have respective openings 12 and 13 on the front end face (left side in FIG. 2). Among these, the opening 13 of the rotating tub 11 is for putting in and out the laundry (clothing), and the opening 12 of the water tub 10 surrounds it. The opening 12 of the water tub 10 is connected to the opening 14 for taking in and out the laundry formed on the front surface of the outer box 9 by a bellows 15, and a door 16 is provided at the opening 14 of the outer box 9 so that the door 16 can be opened and closed. Yes.

The rotary tank 11 also has a hole 17 (only a part of which is shown) formed in almost the entire circumferential side portion (body portion), and this hole 17 functions as a water passage hole during washing, rinsing and dehydration. However, it functions as a ventilation hole when drying. In addition, a plurality of baffles 18 for stirring the laundry are provided on the inner surface of the circumferential side portion of the rotating tub 11.
In the water tank 10, a hot air outlet 19 is formed in the upper part of the front end face part (a part above the opening 12), and a hot air inlet 20 is formed in the upper part of the rear end face part. In addition, a drain port 21 is formed at the bottom of the bottom of the water tank 10, a drain valve 22 is connected to the drain port 21 outside the water tank 10, and a drain hose 23 is connected to the drain valve 22. Thus, the water in the water tank 10 is discharged outside the apparatus.

A rotating shaft 24 is attached to the center of the rear surface (back surface) of the rear end surface portion of the rotating tub 11, and the rotating shaft 24 is rotatably inserted through the center portion of the rear end surface portion of the water tub 10. It protrudes backward. A large number of hot air introduction holes 25 are formed around the center of the end surface portion on the rear side of the rotating tub 11.
On the other hand, a motor 26 is attached to the rear surface (back surface) of the rear end surface portion of the water tank 10. The motor 26 is of an outer rotor type, and in this case, is a brushless DC motor, and the rotor 26a is attached to the rotating shaft 24, and in this configuration, the driving device that rotates the rotating tank 11 around the rotating shaft 24. It is supposed to function as. The motor 26 corresponds to the washing device of the present invention together with the water tub 10 and the rotating tub 11.
The water tank 10 is elastically supported on the bottom surface of the outer box 9 by a plurality of suspensions 27 (only one is shown), and the support form is a horizontal axis shape in which the axial direction of the water tank 10 is front and rear. Moreover, it has an upwardly inclined shape, and the rotary tank 11 has the same configuration.

A base plate 28 is disposed below the water tank 10 (on the bottom surface of the outer box 9), and a ventilation duct 29 is disposed on the base plate 28. The ventilation duct 29 has an air inlet 30 at the upper part of the front end, and the hot air outlet 19 of the water tank 10 is connected to the air inlet 30 via a return air duct 31 and a connection hose 32. . The return air duct 31 is piped so as to bypass the left side of the opening 12 of the water tank 10.
On the other hand, a casing 34 of a circulation fan 33 is connected to the rear end of the ventilation duct 29, and an outlet 35 of the casing 34 is connected to the temperature of the water tank 10 via a connection hose 36 and an air supply duct 37. It is connected to the wind inlet 20. The air supply duct 37 is piped so as to bypass the left side of the motor 26.
As a result, the warm air outlet 19 and the warm air inlet 20 of the water tank 10 are connected by the return air duct 31, the connection hose 32, the ventilation duct 29, the casing 34 of the circulation fan 33, the connection hose 36, and the air supply duct 37. A ventilating path 38 (corresponding to the circulation path of the present invention) is connected. Further, the air passage 38 communicates with the inside of the rotary tank 11 through the hot air introduction hole 25.

  The circulation blower 33 has a blower fan 39 inside the casing 34, and the blower fan 39 is rotated by a motor 40 disposed outside the casing 34. Then, after the air in the rotary tank 11 is taken out of the rotary tank 11 through the ventilation path 38, the air is circulated back to the rotary tank 11 from the hot air introduction hole 25 of the rotary tank 11, so that the ventilation path is provided. The circulation device 41 that circulates the air in the rotary tank 11 is constituted by the air blower 33 and the circulation fan 33.

  Further, in the ventilation path 38, an evaporator 42 is disposed at the front part and a condenser 43 is disposed at the rear part inside the ventilation duct 29. Although neither of these evaporators 42 and condensers 43 are shown in detail, they are tube-shaped with fins in which a large number of heat transfer fins are arranged in a fine pitch on the refrigerant distribution pipe, and are excellent in heat exchange. A wind flowing through the ventilation duct 29 as described later passes between the heat transfer fins.

  The evaporator 42 and the condenser 43 include a compressor 44 and a throttle (especially an electronic throttle valve or capillary tube) 45 (shown in FIG. 3) and a heat pump 46 (corresponding to the clothes drying apparatus of the present invention). In this heat pump 46, the compressor 44, the condenser 43, the throttle 45, the evaporator 42, and the compressor 44 are cycle-connected in this order by a connection pipe 47 (refrigeration cycle). When the compressor 44 is operated, a refrigerant (corresponding to the medium of the present invention) is circulated. The compressor 44 is disposed outside the ventilation duct 29 even in the outer box 9.

  In addition, a power supply system control unit 48, a display system control unit 49, a water supply valve 50 attached to the water supply port, a water supply case 51, and a water supply hose 52 are disposed in the upper part of the outer box 9. . A hose (not shown) is connected above the water supply valve 50 so that tap water can be supplied to the water tank 10 through the water supply valve 50. The water supply valve 50 keeps the amount of water supplied per unit time into the water tank 11 constant.

  FIG. 4 shows a control device 53 (corresponding to the operation control device of the present invention) including the control unit 48 of the power supply system and the control unit 49 of the display system. The control device 53 is composed of a microcomputer, for example, and functions as a control means for controlling the overall operation of the washing / drying machine 1. The control device 53 is provided on an operation panel 54 provided on the upper front surface of the outer box 9. Various operation signals are input from an operation input unit 55 (shown in FIG. 4) formed of various formed operation switches, and a water level is detected from a water level sensor 56 (shown in FIG. 4) provided to detect the water level in the water tank 10. Detection signals are input, and temperature detection signals are input from temperature sensors 57 to 59 that respectively detect the temperature of the evaporator 42, the temperature of the condenser 43, and the temperature of the compressor 44. It has become so.

  Further, a compressor rotation speed sensor 60 and a circulation fan rotation speed sensor 61 are connected to the control device 53. The compressor rotational speed sensor 60 is attached to the compressor 44 and detects the operating frequency of the compressor 44. The circulation fan rotational speed sensor 61 is attached to the circulation fan 33 and detects the rotation speed of the circulation fan 33. The control device 53 calculates the amount of air sent from the circulation fan 33 from the rotational speed of the circulation fan 33. The control device 53 controls the compressor 44 and the circulation fan 33 so as to reduce the power consumption based on the detected values by the rotation speed sensor 60 for the compressor and the rotation speed sensor 61 for the circulation fan.

  In addition, a display unit 62 (shown in FIG. 4) provided adjacent to the operation input unit 55 of the operation panel 54 is connected to the control device 53. The display unit 62 corresponds to the information notification device of the present invention, and is not limited to this, but a backlit LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) is used. The display unit 62 displays information for the user based on a signal from the control device 53.

  The control device 53 controls the motor 26, the water supply valve 50, and the drain valve 22 via a drive circuit 63 based on the input of the above various signals and a control program stored in advance. Furthermore, the router 2 is connected to the control device 53, the operation method of the heat pump 46 is calculated based on the weather information acquired from the weather information providing site 8 via the router 2, and the circulation blower 33 is calculated based on the calculated result. The compressor 44 and the diaphragm 45 are controlled.

  Next, a general operation method in the drying process of the washing / drying machine 1 will be described. The operation methods for the washing process, the rinsing process, and the dehydrating process are general and are not directly related to the present invention, so that detailed description thereof is omitted. When the washing process, the rinsing process, and the dehydrating process are all completed, the weight of the laundry for the drying process is measured. The drying weight measurement is to measure the weight of the laundry containing moisture in order to set an appropriate operation method of the drying process, and the controller 53 drives the motor 26 to rotate the rotating tub in which the laundry is accommodated. This is done by rotating 11 and measuring the time to reach a predetermined rotational speed. The measurement is performed three times, and the average value of the three times is the weight of the laundry.

  When the drying weight measurement is completed, a drying process is performed next. In this drying process, the control device 53 operates the motor 26 to operate the motor 40 of the circulation fan 33 while rotating the rotating tub 11 containing the wet laundry after washing and rinsing in both forward and reverse directions at a low speed. Let Then, the air in the water tank 10 flows from the hot air outlet 19 into the ventilation duct 29 through the return air duct 31 and the connection hose 32 of the ventilation path 38 as indicated by the solid line arrow in FIG. Inflow.

  At this time, the operation of the compressor 44 of the heat pump 46 is started. As a result, the refrigerant sealed in the heat pump 46 is compressed by the compressor 44 to become a high-temperature and high-pressure refrigerant, and the high-temperature and high-pressure refrigerant flows into the condenser 43 and exchanges heat with the air in the ventilation duct 29. As a result, the air in the ventilation duct 29 is heated, and conversely, the temperature of the refrigerant is lowered and liquefied. The liquefied refrigerant is then depressurized through the restrictor 45 and then flows into the evaporator 42 to be vaporized. Thereby, the evaporator 42 cools the air in the ventilation duct 29. The refrigerant that has passed through the evaporator 42 returns to the compressor 44.

  As a result, the air that has entered the rotating tub 11 from the water tub 10 becomes moisture-containing by drying the laundry. After the moist air flows into the ventilation duct 29, It is cooled and dehumidified (dried), and then heated by the condenser 43 to warm air. The hot air is supplied from the hot air inlet 20 into the water tank 10 through the connection hose 36 and the air supply duct 37, and is further supplied from the hot air introduction hole 25 into the rotary tank 11. The hot air supplied into the rotating tub 11 takes away moisture from the laundry and dries the clothes, and then flows from the hot air outlet 19 into the ventilation duct 29 through the return air duct 31 and the connection hose 32. When a predetermined time elapses after the drying process is completed, the control device 46 automatically powers off the washing dryer 1.

  Next, the overall operation control of the washing / drying machine 1 according to the first embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. First, when the user puts clothes for washing into the rotating tub 11 (step S101) and operates the operation start button of the operation input unit 55 of the washing / drying machine 1, the washing process, the rinsing process, and the dehydration are performed regardless of the weather information. A process is executed (step S102). After the washing process, the rinsing process, and the dehydrating process are completed (immediately before the operation of the heat pump 46), various types of weather information are received from the weather information providing site 8 via the external server 7 by access from the washing and drying machine 1. (Step S103). The control device 53 that has acquired the weather information from the weather information providing site 8 executes the “drying operation determination routine” and calculates the operation method of the heat pump 46 (step S104).

  The “drying operation determination routine” first extracts the predicted temperature and predicted humidity of the day from the acquired weather information, and calculates the time required to dry the clothes from these and the weight of the clothes to be dried. When calculating the time required to dry clothes from the predicted temperature, predicted humidity, and weight of clothes, a table (stored in the memory of the control device 53) created in advance based on experimental data is used. ) Is used.

  Next, the probability of precipitation from the current weather information to the time when clothes are finished is extracted, and if there is a time zone where it exceeds a predetermined threshold (for example, 40%), it is determined that drying is not possible. Then, the drying time by the heat pump 46 is calculated, and the drying process is executed immediately. Moreover, if there is no time slot | zone exceeding a threshold value, it will be judged that outside drying will be performed (step S105), and this control flow will be complete | finished at that time. If it is determined that the drying operation by the heat pump 46 is performed, the drying process by the heat pump 46 is executed (step S106), and then this control flow ends.

  Next, a specific operation control method of the heat pump 46 during the drying operation calculated in the “drying operation determination routine” according to the first embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 6 to 9. 6A is a drying time necessary for drying clothes according to the operating frequency of the compressor 44, FIG. 6B is power consumption per hour based on the operating frequency, and FIG. 6C is power consumption based on the operating frequency. Represents the total amount.

As shown in FIG. 6 (a), it can be seen that the higher the operating frequency, the better the drying ability, and the clothing dries in a short time. As shown in FIG. 6B, the capacity of the compressor 44 gradually improves as the operating frequency increases. However, when the operating frequency exceeds a certain value, the degree of contribution to drying decreases, and mechanical friction increases, resulting in a drying capacity with respect to the operating frequency. As a result, the power consumption per hour increases. FIG. 6C is a combination of the diagram shown in FIG. 6A and the diagram shown in FIG. 6B, so that the operating frequency at which the power consumption is minimized is shown. Existing.
In the past, the operating frequency set in the compressor 44 was often fn because the operating frequency was selected so that the drying time was as short as possible and the power consumption was relatively low. However, in the first embodiment, the operation frequency is set to fe that minimizes the power consumption regardless of the drying time.

7A shows a drying time necessary for drying clothes according to the air volume of the circulation fan 33, FIG. 7B shows power consumption per hour according to the air volume, and FIG. 7C shows power consumption due to the air volume. Represents the total amount.
From FIG. 7A, it can be seen that the higher the air volume, the better the drying ability, and the clothing dries in a short time. As can be seen from FIG. 7B, the circulation blower 33 gradually increases the power consumption per hour as the air volume increases. FIG. 7 (c) is obtained by multiplying the diagram shown in FIG. 7 (a) and the diagram shown in FIG. 7 (b), so that the operating frequency that minimizes the power consumption is obtained. Existing.

In the past, the air volume set in the circulation fan 33 was wn in many cases because the air volume was selected so that the drying time was as short as possible and the power consumption was relatively small. However, in the first embodiment, regardless of the drying time, the air volume of the circulation fan 33 is set to “we” where the power consumption is reduced most.
For example, when clothes are dried by the heat pump 46 while sleeping at night or going out during the day, it is not particularly necessary to shorten the drying time. Therefore, as described above, the drying time is slightly increased to reduce power consumption. There is no problem even if it is required.

  FIG. 8 shows the drying rate per unit time according to the drying time of the clothes using the heat pump 46. The drying rate refers to the rate of progress of drying at each time point when the end of drying is taken as 100. As shown in the figure, as the drying time elapses, the clothes become difficult to dry. As can be seen from the characteristic diagram of the mountain shape (showing the differential value of the drying rate) shown in FIG. The rate speed peak is occurring. Therefore, when the operation frequency of the compressor 44 or the air volume of the circulation fan 33 is fixed from the start of the drying process, after the peak of the drying speed is passed, only the power consumption increases and the drying efficiency decreases. .

  Therefore, in the first embodiment, first, before the peak of the drying rate speed, the operating frequency of the compressor 44 and the air volume of the circulation fan 33 are controlled by the operating method as described above, and then the elapse of the drying time. Therefore, when the speed peak of the drying rate is passed, the operating frequency of the compressor 44 and the air volume of the circulation fan 33 are reduced (for example, 30%) compared to before the peak. Here, since the relationship between the drying time and the drying rate of the clothes can be estimated by the weight of the clothes to be dried, the relationship between the weight of the clothes to be washed and the time from the start of drying to the peak of the drying speed is A table is obtained experimentally in advance (shown in FIG. 9). Based on this table, the peak time of the drying speed with respect to the weight of the clothes to be washed is grasped, and the operating frequency of the compressor 44 and the air volume of the circulation fan 33 are obtained. To control.

  According to the present embodiment, the control device 53 is connected to the router 2, and based on the weather information acquired from the weather information providing site 8 via the router 2, the operation method of the heat pump 46 (the heat pump 46 is operated). In order to control the operating frequency of the compressor 44 and the air volume of the circulation fan 33 so that the power consumption is reduced when the heat pump 46 is operated according to the calculation result. Can perform economical driving.

Further, when the speed of the drying rate passes the peak due to the elapse of the drying time, the operating frequency of the compressor 44 and the air volume of the circulation fan 33 are reduced as compared to before the peak, thereby further reducing power consumption. The clothes can be dried.
Also, immediately before the washing process and the dehydrating process are completed and the drying process is started, that is, immediately before the operation of the heat pump 46, weather information is acquired from the weather information providing site 8, and the operation method of the heat pump 46 is calculated. The operation of the heat pump 46 is controlled based on the result. For this reason, the operation of the heat pump 46 can be controlled based on the latest weather information with high accuracy, and the clothes after washing can be dry enough to satisfy the user.

<Embodiment 2>
Next, based on FIG. 10, operation control of the washing / drying machine 1 according to Embodiment 2 will be described. Generally, leaving wet clothes after washing tends to cause odors and wrinkles. Also, clothes that have been subjected to a drying process are prone to wrinkles if they are not immediately removed from the drum. Therefore, the user needs to know at the start of the operation of the washing / drying machine 1 whether or not it is necessary to dry the outside, when performing outside drying, when to dry outside, and when not performing outside drying, it is necessary to know the end time of the drying process. There is. The washing / drying machine 1 according to the present embodiment solves such problems.

  In the second embodiment, first, when the user puts clothes for washing into the rotating tub 11 (step S201) and operates the operation start button of the operation input unit 55 of the washing / drying machine 1, the washing / drying machine 1 Upon access, various weather information is transmitted from the weather information providing site 8 to the washing / drying machine 1 via the external server 7 (step S202). The control device 53 that has acquired the weather information from the weather information providing site 8 executes the “drying operation determination routine” similar to that of the first embodiment (step S203).

  The control device 53 determines whether or not to dry clothes after washing by executing the “drying operation determination routine”, and calculates how many hours to perform when performing the drying process. Based on the calculation result, the control device 53 activates the display unit 62 to display whether the clothes are to be externally dried and the operation end time of the washing / drying machine 1 to notify the user (step S204). The controller 53 sets the operation end time when the washing process, the rinsing process, the dehydration process, and the drying process are finished when the outside drying is not performed, and when the outside drying is performed, the control process 53 performs the washing process, the rinsing process, and the dehydration. The time point at which the process ends is defined as the operation end time.

  Next, when it is determined that the drying process by the heat pump 46 is performed (step S205), the washing process, the rinsing process, the dehydration process, and the drying process are executed (step S207), and it is determined that the drying process by the heat pump 46 is not performed. Then (step S205), a washing process, a rinsing process, and a dehydrating process are executed (step S206), and the control flow ends. In addition, the operating method of the compressor 44 of the heat pump 46 and the circulation fan 33 when executing the drying process is performed so as to suppress the power consumption as in the case of the first embodiment.

  According to the present embodiment, the control device 53 obtains weather information at the start of operation (at the start of the washing process), calculates the operation method of the heat pump 46, operates the display unit 62, and performs washing based on the calculation result. The operation end time of the dryer 1 is notified to the user (when the outside drying is not performed, the drying process end time by the heat pump 46, and when the outside drying is performed, the dehydration process is completed).

  Thus, at the start of operation of the washing / drying machine 1, whether or not to perform the drying process by the heat pump 46, and if the outside drying is not performed, the time at which the washing process, the rinsing process, the dehydrating process and the drying process are completed. When the user is notified and the outside drying is performed, the time at which the user can perform the outside drying or the time at which the drying ends is notified to the user when the washing process, the rinsing process and the dehydration process are completed. You can know before you start driving.

<Embodiment 3>
Next, based on FIG. 11 and FIG. 12, operation control of the washing / drying machine 1 by Embodiment 3 is demonstrated. When the user designates an end time at the start of operation, the washing / drying machine 1 needs to end the operation at the designated time. For example, in order to dry outside after the user wakes up, the timer of the washing / drying machine 1 may be set before going to bed so that the operation is finished when the user wakes up. Moreover, since it is possible to spend a long time in the drying process if driving while sleeping, it is possible to drive while saving power consumption. The washing / drying machine 1 according to the present embodiment is applied to such usage by the user.

  Further, the amount of water that can be dried and evaporated is correlated with the drying time. Therefore, if the total time for the user to dry outside, that is, the drying time is set in advance, it is possible to calculate how much can be dried by the set drying time by acquiring weather information. Therefore, in the present embodiment, from the weather information and the set drying time, it is possible to determine how much the clothes can be dried by the heat pump 46 before the clothes are dried before the clothes are dried. Is.

  In the third embodiment, first, the user puts clothes for washing into the rotary tub 11, and operates the operation start button of the operation input unit 55 of the washing / drying machine 1 (step S301). Next, the user operates the operation input unit 55 to input the operation end time (step S302). The operation end time is the time when the washing process, the rinsing process, the dehydrating process and the drying process are completed when the drying process is performed by the heat pump 46, and the washing process, the rinsing process and the dehydrating process are performed when the drying process is not performed by the heat pump 46. Means the time to end.

  Next, it is determined whether or not the user inputs the clothes drying time after washing (step S303). When the user operates the operation input unit 55 and inputs the drying time, the drying time stored in the memory of the control device 53 is updated (step S304). Further, when the drying time is not input by the user, the drying time used in the previous “drying operation determination routine” stored in the memory of the control device 53 is used, or the drying time is not input. A fixed drying time (eg, set to 2 hours) is used in subsequent calculations.

  Next, various weather information is transmitted from the weather information providing site 8 to the washing / drying machine 1 through the external server 7 by access from the washing / drying machine 1 (step S305). The control device 53 that has acquired the weather information from the weather information providing site 8 executes the “drying operation determination routine” described above (step S306).

  In the “Drying Operation Determination Routine”, first, the predicted temperature and humidity are extracted from the acquired weather information, and from these and the weight of the clothes to be dried, can the clothes be sufficiently dried by the input drying time? Judgment is made. In the “Drying Operation Determination Routine”, based on the predicted temperature, the predicted humidity, and the weight of the clothing, the drying time during which the clothing can be dried without the drying process is calculated, and the calculated drying time is the input drying time. Compared with If the input drying time is equal to or longer than the calculated drying time, the clothes can be sufficiently dried by the input drying time, and the time of the drying process by the heat pump 46 is set to 0 (step S307). Accordingly, the operation start time (the start time of the washing process) is set so that the washing process, the rinsing process, and the dehydration process are completed at the input operation end time (see step S308: upper part of FIG. 12).

  On the other hand, if the input drying time is less than the calculated drying time, it is determined that the clothes cannot be sufficiently dried by the input drying time, and the time required for the drying process by the heat pump 46 before the external drying is determined. The operation start time is set so that the washing process, the rinsing process, the dehydration process and the drying process are completed at the calculated operation end time (step S308: refer to the lower part of FIG. 12). In this case, the operation method of the compressor 44 and the circulation fan 33 of the heat pump 46 is performed so as to suppress the power consumption as in the case of the first embodiment, within the range of the input operation end time. When the shortest driving time does not reach the driving end time, the display unit 62 is used to notify the user.

  Thereafter, when the operation start time comes (step S309), the washing process, the rinsing process, and the dehydration process are executed in order (step S310). When the drying process is performed by the heat pump 46 (step S311), the drying process is further executed (step S311). After step S312), this control flow ends. When the drying process by the heat pump 46 is not performed (step S311), the control flow ends after the dehydration process is performed.

  In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 5, the weather information may be acquired when the washing process, the rinsing process, and the dehydrating process are completed, and the operation method of the heat pump 46 may be calculated. In this case, before the operation of the washing / drying machine 1 (before the washing process), assuming that the operation frequency of the compressor 44 is the highest and the air flow of the circulation fan 33 is the largest, the drying process takes the shortest time. The case of ending is simulated, and when the simulated end time is later than the operation end time input by the user, the display unit 62 is used to notify the user.

  According to the present embodiment, based on the operation end time input by the user, the acquired weather information, and the clothes drying time, the operation method of the heat pump 46 so that the clothes are sufficiently dried when the drying time ends. And the operation start time of the washing / drying machine 1 is set. Thereby, power consumption can be reduced, and at the time when the user starts the operation of the washing / drying machine 1, it is possible to know the time when clothes can be dried and the time when clothes after drying can be taken in.

Moreover, since the control apparatus 53 calculates the operating method of the heat pump 46 based on the clothes drying time input by the user, the user can freely set the drying time.
<Embodiment 4>
Next, based on FIG. 13, operation control of the washing / drying machine 1 according to Embodiment 4 will be described. In the flowchart of FIG. 13, only the portion for calculating the operation method of the drying process by the heat pump 46 is shown. When carrying out the present invention, it is not only a matter of acquiring weather information and determining whether or not to perform a drying process by the heat pump 46. When 100% of the clothes are completely dried, a certain percentage of the clothes are dried by the drying process, and the rest is dried by drying the clothes. You can also. In particular, if the clothes do not dry completely during the day because the weather is not good due to cloudy weather, etc., calculate what percentage to dry by the drying process by the heat pump 46 before drying the clothes. Thus, it can be dried so that the user is satisfied at the end of the outside drying time regardless of the weather.

  The flow shown in FIG. 13 may be executed at the start of operation of the washing / drying machine 1 (at the start of the washing process), or may be executed at the start of the drying process. In the present embodiment, it is first necessary for the user to input by operating the operation input unit 55 that the clothes after washing are to be dried. Next, various weather information is transmitted from the weather information providing site 8 to the washing / drying machine 1 through the external server 7 by access from the washing / drying machine 1 (step S401). The control device 53 that has acquired the weather information from the weather information providing site 8 determines whether or not it is possible to dry the clothes after washing (step S402). Whether or not clothes can be dried after washing is determined by the same method as in the first embodiment.

  If it is determined that the clothes can be dried outside after washing, a washing index is calculated (step S403). The washing index is a numerical value for estimating the ease of drying of clothes from the predicted temperature, predicted humidity, sunshine duration, wind speed, etc. of the weather information. The washing index is stored in the memory of the control device 53 as a table of values obtained by experimentally associating with the predicted temperature, predicted humidity, sunshine duration, wind speed, and the like. Or you may calculate on the basis of the washing index provided from the weather information provision site 8. FIG.

  Next, the drying rate of the heat pump 46 is calculated from the calculated washing index (step S405). The drying rate is a numerical value that represents how much the heat pump 46 must be dried to sufficiently dry the clothes after washing by external drying, and is calculated according to the washing index. Also in this case, experimentally obtained values are tabulated and stored in the memory of the control device 53. Finally, based on the obtained drying rate, the drying time by the heat pump 46 is calculated (step S406), and this control flow ends. Also for the drying time, values corresponding to the drying rate are tabulated and stored in the memory of the control device 53.

On the other hand, if it is determined in step S402 that it is impossible to dry the clothes after washing, the drying time by the heat pump 46 is calculated with the drying rate as 100% (step S404).
The calculation of the washing index described above may be performed by the external server 7 based on the predicted temperature, predicted humidity, sunshine duration, wind speed, and the like. In this case, the washing / drying machine 1 acquires the laundry index from the external server 7 together with the weather information.
In the present embodiment, the operation method of the compressor 44 of the heat pump 46 and the circulation blower 33 when the drying process is executed is performed so as to suppress power consumption as in the case of the first embodiment.
According to the embodiment described above, the method of drying the clothes input by the user and the ease of drying of the clothes are estimated based on the acquired weather information, and the drying time ends based on the estimated ease of drying of the clothes. Then, the operation method of the heat pump 46 is calculated so that the clothes are sufficiently dried.
Accordingly, the clothes are dried after being dried as much as necessary by the heat pump 46, so that the clothes can be sufficiently dried when the drying time is finished without consuming unnecessary power.

<Modification of Embodiment 4>
FIG. 14 shows a modification of the above-described fourth embodiment. Only the differences from the fourth embodiment will be described below. Even when rainy weather is predicted by the weather information, the user may dry the room indoors. It is conceivable that indoor drying has poor conditions such as temperature and humidity compared to external drying, and clothing does not dry completely even after indoor drying is finished. In this case, as in the fourth embodiment, the clothes are dried to some extent by the drying process by the heat pump 46 before the room is dried, and then the clothes are completely dried at the end of the room drying time. Can be made. In this modification, when the outside is not dried and the room is dried, the drying process is performed by the heat pump 46 before the room is dried so that the clothes are completely dried by the room drying.

In this modification, it is necessary for the user to input by operating the operation input unit 55 that the clothes after washing are to be dried indoors when the outside cannot be dried. If it has been input that clothes are to be dried indoors, if it is determined that the clothes cannot be dried outside after washing (step S502), the laundry index is calculated in the same manner as described above (step S502). (S504), the indoor drying coefficient is applied to the calculated washing index (step S505). When drying indoors, the air permeability is poor and it is difficult to hit sunlight. Therefore, by estimating the ease of drying of clothes and multiplying the indoor drying coefficient by a value less than 1, a suitable washing index lower than that in the case of external drying can be obtained. This indoor drying coefficient can be obtained experimentally in advance. Thereafter, the drying rate is calculated based on the washing index multiplied by the indoor drying coefficient (step S506).
In this modification, the operation method of the compressor 44 and the circulation fan 33 of the heat pump 46 when the drying process is executed is performed so as to suppress the power consumption as in the case of the first embodiment.

According to the above-described modification, the method of drying the clothes called indoor drying input by the user and the ease of drying of the clothes are estimated based on the acquired weather information, and the drying time is determined according to the estimated ease of drying of the clothes. The operation method of the heat pump 46 is calculated so that the clothes are sufficiently dried when the process is completed.
Thus, even when it is raining, the clothes are dried indoors after being dried as much as necessary by the heat pump 46, so that the clothes can be sufficiently dried when the indoor drying is finished without consuming wasteful power. it can.

<Embodiment 5>
Next, based on FIG. 15 and FIG. 16, operation control of the washing / drying machine 1 by Embodiment 5 is demonstrated. This embodiment is a case where the user inputs a drying time in the modification of the above-described fourth embodiment, so that the user substantially sets the drying time start time and end time. (This is shown in the upper part of FIG. 16). In the flowchart of FIG. 15, only the part for calculating the operation method of the drying process by the heat pump 46 is shown. The flow shown in FIG. 15 is executed at the start of operation of the washing / drying machine 1 (at the start of the washing process).

  When the user sets the drying time, there may be a case where the time at which the drying time ends is inevitably determined, for example, when the user wants to finish drying by night or when he / she goes out and wants to capture it after returning home. When the user sets the drying time, the washing / drying machine 1 is normally operated as being dried for a fixed time after the end of the dehydration process, but it is determined that the clothes are not completely dried only by drying for the input time. The drying process is performed after the completion of the dehydration process. However, since the user schedules the end time of the drying time in advance, the drying process is inevitably performed by spending a part of the drying time that is initially input. Accordingly, the drying time is shortened. In this embodiment, the operation method of the heat pump 46 is calculated so that the input drying time is obtained by combining the drying process and the actual drying time.

  First, after the user operates the operation input unit 55 to input the drying time, various weather information is received from the weather information providing site 8 via the external server 7 by the access from the washing / drying machine 1. (Step S601). The control device 53 that has acquired the weather information from the weather information providing site 8 determines whether or not it is possible to dry clothes after washing (step S602). Whether or not clothes can be dried after washing is determined by the same method as in the first embodiment.

  If it is determined that the clothes can be dried outside after washing, a washing index is calculated (step S603). The washing index is a numerical value for estimating the ease of drying of clothes from the predicted temperature, predicted humidity, sunshine duration, wind speed, etc. of the weather information. For the washing index, values obtained by experimentally associating with the predicted temperature, predicted humidity, sunshine duration, wind speed, etc. are tabulated and stored in the memory of the control device 53. Or you may calculate on the basis of the washing index provided from the weather information provision site 8. FIG.

Further, when it is determined in step S602 that it is not possible to dry the clothes after washing, since this is the same as the modification of the fourth embodiment, detailed description thereof is omitted.
Next, a drying time coefficient is applied to the acquired washing index (step S606). The drying time coefficient is a coefficient formed according to the drying time input by the user, and is obtained by dividing the input drying time by the drying time based on the washing index. Therefore, the drying time coefficient is 1 or more when the drying time is longer than the reference drying time, and the drying time coefficient is less than 1 when the drying time is shorter than the reference drying time. Next, the drying rate of the heat pump 46 is calculated from the calculated washing index (multiplied by the drying time coefficient) as in the case of the fourth embodiment (step S607). Next, based on the obtained drying rate, the drying time t ₁ by the heat pump 46 by the _first calculation is calculated so that the clothes are sufficiently dried when the drying time is over (step S608). Also for the drying time t ₁ , values corresponding to the drying rate are tabulated and stored in the memory of the control device 53.

Next, in step S609, it is determined whether or not the drying time is based on the second and subsequent calculations. Since the drying time _{t 1} is due first operation (n = 1), the process proceeds from step S609 to step S611, it subtracts the drying time _{t 1} from the dry time input by the user. Thereafter, the process returns to step S606, the subsequent arithmetic step S606~ step S608 described above with reference subtracted dried time is repeated, the drying time _{t 2} according to the second operation is formed (step S608).

Since the drying time _{t 2} is one that is calculated on the second (n = 2), the process proceeds from step S609 to step S610, the one difference between the dry time _{t 2} and _{t 1} is smaller than the predetermined threshold value X not Is determined. When the difference between the drying time t ₂ and t ₁ is smaller than the predetermined threshold value X, the drying time t _{2 at} that time is determined as the drying time by the heat pump 46. On the other hand, if the difference between the dry time t ₂ and t ₁ is not smaller than a predetermined threshold value X, again, after subtracting the dry time t ₂ from the dried time entered by the user at the start of the operation (step S611), to step S606 Returning, the calculation of step S606 to step S608 is repeated again for the subtracted drying time.

As described above, the calculation of the drying time is repeated until the difference between the drying time t _n and t _n−1 becomes smaller than the predetermined threshold value X, and the user first inputs the drying time t _n when the condition is satisfied. The time subtracted from the drying time is set to the actual drying time (shown in the lower part of FIG. 16). In the embodiment, the operation method of the compressor 44 of the heat pump 46 and the circulation fan 33 when the drying process is executed is different from the case of the first embodiment, and the method of completing the drying in a short time is selected. This is because the total power consumption is smaller when drying is completed in a short time and the drying time is longer than when operating at low power for a long time.

  According to the present embodiment, based on the clothes drying time input by the user and the acquired weather information, the operation method of the heat pump 46 is calculated so that the clothes are sufficiently dried when the drying time is over. The operation of the heat pump 46 is controlled so that the actual drying time is obtained by subtracting the drying time calculated by the heat pump 46 from the input drying time.

  Thus, the operation is terminated at the same time as when the drying stroke is not executed, even though the drying stroke is performed by the heat pump 46 so as to compensate for the drying time without consuming unnecessary power.

<Embodiment 6>
It goes without saying that the ease of drying when clothes are dried depends most on the weather information, but depending on the household, the `` drying area is facing north and not exposed to sunlight '', `` It is hard to hit the dried goods '', `` In some cases, there are special environmental factors for drying clothes, such as “there are many thick clothes to wear”. Such environmental factors have a great influence on how the clothes are dried, but such information is not extracted from general information and must be individually input by the user.

  Therefore, an environmental coefficient may be provided based on the superiority or inferiority of the environment, and when there is such an environmental factor at home, the user may input the environmental coefficient from the operation input unit 55 in advance. The environmental coefficient takes a value of less than 1, and becomes smaller as the environmental condition of the household deteriorates. In the above-described fourth embodiment, the modified example of the fourth embodiment, and the fifth embodiment, the environmental coefficient is added to the calculation of the operation method of the heat pump 46. Therefore, the environmental coefficient is used to calculate the drying time and the like. be able to.

In addition, the environmental coefficient can be taken into account when calculating the drying time necessary for sufficiently drying the clothes in the first and second embodiments.
In addition, the environmental factor can be taken into consideration when calculating the drying time necessary for sufficiently drying the garment without the drying process in the third embodiment.
In addition, after the clothes washed using the washing / drying machine 1 according to the present invention are dried, the user evaluates the degree of drying and inputs the evaluation value, and the washing / drying machine 1 adds up the inputted evaluation values. Therefore, it is possible to automatically calculate the environmental factor of the household. In this case, for example, what is necessary is just to input what percentage of dryness with respect to the dryness expected at the beginning by looking at the clothes after the user actually dried.

<Other embodiments>
The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and can be modified or expanded as follows.
When the heat pump 46 is operated, only the operating frequency of the compressor 44 may be set to a value at which the power consumption is reduced most, and the circulation fan 33 may be set to an arbitrary air volume according to the dry state of the clothes.

Further, in the present invention, since the control device 53 determines whether or not the drying process by the heat pump 46 is performed, at the end of the operation of the washing / drying machine 1, the user does not know whether or not the clothes need to be dried. There are many. Therefore, at the end of the operation of the washing / drying machine 1, the display unit 62, the operation terminal device 3, or another audio device such as a buzzer may notify the user whether clothes need to be dried.
Further, at the end of the operation of the washing / drying machine 1, the power consumption or the usage cost due to the operation may be displayed on the display unit 62 or the operation terminal device 3 so as to inform the user of the economic effect. .

Overall view showing the washer-dryer according to the first embodiment connected to an external network Longitudinal sectional view of the washer / dryer Heat pump circuit diagram Block diagram of the electrical configuration of the washer / dryer Flowchart for controlling the washer / dryer according to Embodiment 1 Graph (a) showing characteristics of drying time of clothes of compressor, graph (b) showing characteristics of power consumption per hour, and graph (c) showing characteristics of total power consumption Graph (a) showing characteristics of clothing drying time of circulation fan, graph (b) showing characteristics of power consumption per hour, and graph (c) showing characteristics of total power consumption A graph showing the characteristics of the drying rate and its speed against the drying time of clothing The figure showing the time table until the drying rate reaches the peak in the drying process Control flow chart of washing and drying machine according to embodiment 2 Control flow chart of washing and drying machine according to Embodiment 3 The time chart which shows the operation content of the washing and drying machine by control of FIG. The flowchart which shows the calculation method of the operating method of the heat pump by Embodiment 4. The flowchart which shows the calculation method of the operating method of the heat pump by the modification of Embodiment 4. The flowchart which shows the calculation method of the operating method of the heat pump by Embodiment 5. The time chart which shows the operation content of the washing and drying machine by control of FIG.

Explanation of symbols

  In the drawings, 1 is a washing / drying machine, 2 is a router (communication device), 3 is an operation terminal device (information notification device), 8 is a weather information providing site, 10 is a water tank (washing device), and 11 is a rotating tub (washing device). ), 26 is a motor (washing apparatus), 38 is a ventilation path (circulation path), 43 is a condenser, 44 is a compressor, 46 is a heat pump (clothing drying apparatus), 53 is a control apparatus (operation control apparatus), 62 is A display part (information notification apparatus) is shown.

Claims (9)

A washing device for driving a rotating tub containing clothes to perform washing;
A circulation path communicating with the inside of the rotary tank, a compressor for compressing a medium for heating the air in the circulation path, and a medium compressed by the compressor are introduced to exchange heat with air. A clothes drying device for drying the clothes after washing by supplying the air heated in the condenser into the rotating tub through the circulation path,
An operation control device for controlling the operation of the washing device and the clothes drying device;
The operation control device is connected to a communication device, calculates an operation method of the clothes drying device based on weather information acquired from a weather information providing site via the communication device, and power consumption is calculated based on the calculation result. A washing / drying machine that controls the operating frequency of the compressor so as to be reduced.   The operation control device reduces the operating frequency of the compressor when the drying rate per unit time of the clothing by the clothing drying device exceeds a peak due to the passage of drying time, compared to before the peak. The washing / drying machine according to claim 1.   The operation control device calculates an operation method of the clothing drying device based on weather information acquired immediately before the operation of the clothing drying device, and controls the operation of the clothing drying device according to the calculation result. The washing / drying machine according to claim 1 or 2.   An information notification device for notifying a user of information, wherein the operation control device obtains weather information at the start of operation of the washing device and calculates an operation method of the clothes drying device; The washing / drying machine according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the washing / drying machine is operated to notify a user of an operation end time of the clothes drying apparatus based on the calculation result.   The operation control device operates the clothing drying apparatus so that the clothes are sufficiently dried when the drying time is ended based on the operation end time input by the user, the acquired weather information, and the predetermined drying time of the clothes. The laundry dryer according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the operation start time of the washing apparatus is set.   6. The washing and drying machine according to claim 5, wherein the operation control unit calculates an operation method of the clothes drying device based on a clothes drying time input by a user.   The operation control device estimates the ease of drying of the clothing based on the method of drying the clothing input by the user and the acquired weather information, and the estimated ease of drying of the clothing ensures that the clothing is sufficient when the drying time is over. The laundry dryer according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein an operation method of the clothes drying apparatus is calculated so as to dry.   The operation control device calculates an operation method of the clothes drying device based on the clothes drying time input by the user and the acquired weather information so that the clothes are sufficiently dried when the drying time ends. 2. The operation of the clothes drying apparatus is controlled so that a drying time by the clothes drying apparatus is subtracted from a drying time input by a user and the subtracted time becomes an actual drying time. Or the washing-drying machine of 2.   The user can input an environmental coefficient based on the superiority or inferiority of the environment in which clothes are dried, and the operation control apparatus calculates an operation method of the clothes drying apparatus in consideration of the input environmental coefficient. Item 9. A washing and drying machine according to any one of Items 1 to 8.

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