JP2009100984A - Washing-drying machine - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a washing-drying machine provided with another drying heat source allowed to be set to a higher temperature besides a heat pump mechanism to obtain efficient drying or sterilizing function. <P>SOLUTION: The washing-drying machine includes a heat pump mechanism 9 as a first drying heat source for generating circulating drying air fed from a circulation fan 8 into a water tub 4, a heater member as a second drying heat source mounted to an inlet 13 formed in a circulation path 7, and an external blowing path 15 selectively communicating with the circulation path 7 on the basis of opening/closing operation of a damper member 18 and including a blowing fan 17. In the washing-drying machine, when the circulating drying air heated by the heater member is fed into the water tub 4, the blowing fan 17 for blowing air in a direction opposite to the circulating air is driven by an output smaller than required for the circulation fan 8. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a washing and drying machine that employs a heat pump mechanism as a drying heat source that generates drying air during a drying operation.

  Conventionally, as this type of washer-dryer, for example, a drum-type washer / dryer is provided with a rotatable drum for storing clothes in a water tank that can store water, and a washing process such as washing, rinsing, and dehydration, and a drying process are performed. It can be operated automatically or selectively. In order to increase the efficiency of heat energy used for drying, particularly in the drying process, the drying air heated to a predetermined temperature can be circulated and supplied into the drum through the water tank. For this purpose, a heat pump mechanism is employed as a drying heat source for generating a drying air in the middle of the circulation passages connected to the hot air inlets and outlets before and after the water tank.

  This heat pump mechanism dehydrates and dries laundry at a relatively low temperature with an energy-saving effect, so it can be expected to have an efficient drying effect such as a high-quality finishing effect with less wrinkles. It consists of a refrigeration cycle in which the condenser, capillary tube, and evaporator are circulated in this order by the machine, and the evaporator is heated in the middle of the circulation path by cooling and dehumidifying the air flowing in the path by heat exchange. The condenser is arranged in order.

Moreover, recently, air-conditioning means for cooling installed rooms and the like has been provided. For example, as the cooling means, the evaporator of the heat pump mechanism is skillfully used so that air cooled through the evaporator can be discharged outside the apparatus (see, for example, Patent Document 1).
The use of such cooling means is a type in which the drying air circulates during the drying operation, that is, it is installed in a convenient room (such as a washroom or a dressing room) because exhaust air is not discharged outside the machine. Assuming that it is possible to do so, it will be possible to cool the room and meet the need to comfortably perform laundry work in summer.

  By the way, when the heat pump mechanism is used as a drying heat source, the temperature in the water tub (drum) can be sufficiently secured at 50 ° C., which is usually suitable for the laundry drying operation, and can be further increased to about 60 ° C. However, it is not always sufficient when it is desired to obtain more efficient operation time by further high-temperature drying, and particularly to obtain a sterilization effect according to the demand for clean laundry drying. If an attempt is made to perform sterilization operation in the heat pump mechanism, it is necessary to raise the temperature of the drying air to a maximum temperature of about 60 ° C. and maintain this state for the same period of time as the so-called sterilization operation. However, in the heat pump mechanism, it is not easy to maintain the maximum output for a predetermined time, for example, the amount of heat of the refrigerant increases as the temperature of the circulating air increases, the pressure increases, and the compressor is overloaded. Moreover, when the maximum temperature is about 60 ° C., a sufficient result cannot be obtained as a sterilization effect, or it is not practical because a long time operation is required. Further, for example, Escherichia coli is required to be sterilized at a higher temperature (for example, 75 ° C.).

However, for the purpose of performing a sterilization process, a washing / drying machine that can supply warm air (dry air) having a temperature higher than that of a normal drying process has been proposed (for example, see Patent Document 2).
Incidentally, in the drum type laundry dryer and the vertical axis type laundry dryer described in Patent Document 2, a heater member that generates normal drying air is commonly used to enable a sterilization process at a high temperature. Yes. Therefore, as the heater member, a sheathed wire or a PTC heater is employed as a heating source capable of adjusting the temperature. As described above, the heater member that is used for both normal drying and sterilization requires a temperature variable means in a large temperature range, so that the heater itself is increased in size and disposed in the circulation path of the drying air. This is not desirable because it hinders ventilation.
JP 2007-21517 A JP 2004-16265 A

As described above, by adopting a heat pump mechanism as a drying heat source as shown in Patent Document 1, it is possible to perform an efficient drying operation such as energy saving, but it is not sufficient to obtain a sterilizing effect at a higher temperature. On the other hand, when a heater member such as a sheathed wire as shown in Patent Document 2 is used for drying and sterilization, the heater member is in the circulation passage, so that airflow is hindered, the installed room is cooled, etc. It is difficult to provide the air-conditioning means, and an efficient drying action as in the heat pump mechanism cannot be obtained.
Even if the above configurations are combined, practical problems such as complication of the configuration and a rise in cost are expected to meet various needs and obtain a sterilization effect due to high temperature.

  In order to solve the above problems, the present invention provides a heater member as another drying heat source that enables setting of a higher temperature in addition to a heat pump mechanism for obtaining dry air, and a high temperature generated by the heater member. It is an object of the present invention to provide a washing / drying machine that can efficiently perform drying of the machine.

In order to achieve the above object, a washing and drying machine of the present invention includes a machine body forming an outer shell, a rotating tub provided in the machine body for storing laundry, a water tub disposed on an outer peripheral side thereof, Circulation passages connected to air inlets and outlets provided in the water tank, a circulation fan provided to circulate and supply air into the water tank via the circulation passage, and the circulation passage as a first drying heat source A heat pump mechanism including a compressor or the like in which an evaporator and a condenser are arranged in order in the middle of the circulation passage in order to heat the circulation air in the circulation passage, and the circulation on the upstream side of the evaporator in the circulation passage An external fan passage formed by branching from the passage and communicating with the outside of the fuselage, a blower fan provided to blow the air in the circulation passage out of the fuselage through the external blower passage, and the circulation passage Installed at the branch between A damper member that selectively opens and closes the circulation passage and the external fan passage, a discharge port that is formed in a circulation passage on the upstream side of the damper member, and that allows the circulation air to be discharged into the body, and the damper member Is formed in a circulation path between the air circulation fan and the air circulation fan, and is provided in the air intake port as a second drying heat source for heating the air sucked from the air intake port. A heater member for
In the drying operation by the second drying heat source,
When the circulation member is closed by the damper member and the circulation fan is driven, the circulation air in the circulation passage is discharged from the discharge port into the body, while the air in the body is discharged from the suction port into the circulation passage. The air is sucked into the heater member and heated by the heater member, and the dry air generated by the heating is circulated and supplied to the outside of the water tank, and the blower fan for blowing air toward the outside of the machine body is smaller in output than the circulation fan. A driving structure is provided (invention of claim 1).

  According to the above means, when supplying the high-temperature dry air from the heater member into the water tank by the circulation fan, the blower fan is driven with a small output and blown toward the outside of the machine body. It is possible to provide a washing and drying machine that can prevent the outside air from being sucked in and can smoothly supply high-temperature drying air that is efficiently heated.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment in which the present invention is applied to a drum-type washing / drying machine will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 is a longitudinal sectional side view showing a schematic configuration of the entire washing and drying machine, and FIG. 2 is an enlarged view of an operation panel. The overall configuration will be described based on FIGS.

  A box-shaped airframe 1 that forms the outer shell of a washing / drying machine has an operation panel 2 (details will be described later) shown in FIG. Yes. Inside the machine body 1 is a substantially non-porous and cylindrical water tank 4, and a drum 5 as a rotating tank that has a large number of through holes in its peripheral wall and can be rotated around a horizontal axis. It is arranged. Both the water tank 4 and the drum 5 have a large opening on the front side (the left side in the figure), are arranged to face the door 3, and the water tank 4 is not shown so as to be supported in a slightly upwardly inclined state. It is elastically supported on the bottom plate of the body 1 through an elastic support device. Thus, the space between the opening of the door 3 and the front opening of the aquarium 4 functions as an input port for clothes, and an elastically expandable / contractible bellows (not shown) is connected in a watertight manner. A watertight closed space that prevents leakage of water into the interior 1 is formed.

The drum 5 is directly driven to rotate by a motor 6 formed of, for example, an outer rotor type DC brushless motor provided on the back surface of the water tank 4. In addition, although not shown in the figure, as is well known, the bottom of the water tank 4 comprises drainage means to the outside including a drainage pipe and a drainage pipe through a drainage valve.
Further, the water tank 4 is provided with an air inlet / outlet at positions separated from each other in the front and rear portions, and a circulation passage 7 is formed which is connected to the inlet / outlet respectively. The circulation passage 7 is configured to have a continuous passage that bypasses the lower side of the water tank 4, and has an exhaust duct portion 7 a connected to the outlet side, which is the front part of the water tank 4, and a supply pipe connected to the inlet side of the rear part. The air duct portion 7b, the other end extending below the duct portions 7a and 7b, and the intermediate duct portion 7c arranged in a substantially horizontal state connected to each other, form a substantially circulating closed space. ing.

  Among them, a heat pump mechanism 9 as a first drying heat source to be described later is interposed in the intermediate duct portion 7c, and the circulating air flowing in the duct portion 7c is cooled and heated by heat exchange, resulting in a drying temperature. It is possible to generate so-called dry air that is wind. And the circulation fan 8 arrange | positioned in the fan casing is provided in the downstream end part of the intermediate | middle duct part 7c in the lower end part of the air supply duct part 7b, and the water tank is passed through the air supply duct part 7b of the discharge side. In order to circulate and supply the drying air into the circulation path 4, a circulation air flow is generated that flows in the direction of the solid arrow A through the closed space via the circulation passage 7 and the water tank 4.

  Here, the heat pump mechanism 9 provided in association with the intermediate duct portion 7c will be described. As is well known, the heat pump mechanism 9 includes a refrigeration cycle in which refrigerant is circulated in the order of a condenser 10, a capillary tube (throttle) (not shown), and an evaporator 11 by a compressor (not shown), of which the evaporator 11 and the condenser 10 Are arranged in the direction along the circulating air flow, and are interposed in the intermediate duct portion 7c so as to be able to exchange heat with the circulating air.

  Therefore, as its heat exchange function, the air circulating in the condenser 10 is heated to generate dry air, which is supplied from the rear inlet of the water tank 4 through the air supply duct 7b by the circulation fan 8, and the internal drum It is sent into the interior 5 and dries while removing moisture from the stored laundry. The air as a dry air containing a lot of moisture after contributing to this drying is recovered from the outlet side of the front face through the exhaust duct portion 7a to the intermediate duct portion 7c, where moisture in the air is cooled and dehumidified by the evaporator 11. The heat pump mechanism 9 functions as a first drying heat source that heats the so-called circulating air.

By the way, although the circulation passage 7 substantially forms a closed space, a discharge port 12 and a suction port 13 that open to communicate with the airframe 1 are provided at a total of two locations of the exhaust duct portion 7a and the intermediate duct portion 7c. ing.
Among them, the discharge port 12 is located at the lower end of the exhaust duct portion 7a and is opened on the upstream side, which is the inlet side of the circulating air of the evaporator 11, and will be described in detail in the description of the operation later. Makes it possible to release circulating air into the aircraft. However, at the time of a normal drying operation using the heat pump mechanism 9, for example, it is expanded at an angle substantially orthogonal to or greater than the circulating air flow so that only a part of the circulating air flowing in the direction of arrow A is released. It opens to the side wall surface (in the intermediate duct portion 7c) and is provided at a position deviated from the flow of so-called circulating air.

  On the other hand, the suction port 13 is provided in the upper wall surface of the intermediate duct portion 7c between the evaporator 11 and the condenser 10 so as to be opened in the machine body 1, and the air inside the machine will be described in detail later. Inhalation is possible in the intermediate duct portion 7c. In addition, for example, a PTC heater 14 is attached to the suction port 13 as a heater member. The PTC heater 14 heats the air sucked from the suction port 13 and functions to heat the air as a separate second drying heat source with respect to the first drying heat source of the heat pump mechanism 9. Therefore, the PTC heater 14 does not heat the air flow in the intermediate duct portion 7c, and does not protrude inward so as not to obstruct the air flow, and is flat so as to close the suction port 13. The heater member is mounted in a substantially horizontal state.

  In addition, the circulation passage 7 is provided with an outside air passage 15 communicating with the outside of the body 1. Specifically, in the vicinity of the connection portion between the intermediate duct portion 7c and the exhaust duct portion 7a, in the present embodiment, at the upstream side of the evaporator 11 of the intermediate duct portion 7c and at a position branched from the exhaust duct 7a side. An external fan passage 15 is formed. The outside air passage 15 forms a blowout opening 15a communicating with the front of the machine body 1 and is provided with an arcuate louver 16 for opening and closing the blowout opening 15a. The louver 16 is electrically driven by a stepping motor. Are configured to open and close.

  Further, a blower fan 17 composed of a cylindrical cross-flow fan driven by a motor (not shown) is provided inside the external blower passage 15, and the air sucked from the inlet 13 will be described in detail later. The air is cooled through the evaporator 11 to cool air, or heated by the PTC heater 14 to be warm air, and these can be selectively blown out of the blower outlet 15a through the blower passage 15 outside the blower. It has a means for exhibiting a so-called air-conditioning function, and the cool air or the warm air flows in the direction indicated by a thin broken line arrow B in the figure, and blows out from the open outlet 15a by the louver 16 into a room installed outside the apparatus. Is done.

A damper member 18 that selectively opens and closes the circulation passage 7 and the outside ventilation passage 15 is provided in the vicinity of the connection portion between the outside ventilation passage 15 and the circulation passage 7. 12 and the evaporator 11. The damper member 18 is driven by a stepping motor (not shown) having the same drive source as the louver 16, and when the circulation passage 7 side indicated by a solid line in the drawing is closed, the external air passage 15 side is opened and circulated. The state is maintained in communication with the intermediate duct portion 7c of the passage 7, and at the same time, the louver 16 opens the outlet 15a as shown by the solid line and is maintained in that state.
Therefore, when the damper member 18 is rotated and the position indicated by the two-dot chain line, that is, the outside air passage 15 is closed, the louver 16 is also rotated and the outlet 15a is closed as indicated by the two-dot chain line. On the other hand, the circulation passage 7 is kept open and communicated.

  In addition, 19 shown in FIG. 1 is a filter device provided on the upstream side of the discharge port 12, although detailed explanation is omitted, the waste from the air (dry air) in the exhaust duct portion 7 a of the circulation passage 7, etc. Capture lint. In addition, a temperature sensor 20 is provided in the air supply duct portion 7b on the opposite side, and will be described in detail later. However, a drying operation or the like is performed by a control device (not shown) that receives a temperature detection signal from the temperature sensor 20. Various controls such as the end of drying are made possible depending on the process.

  FIG. 2 is an enlarged view of the operation panel 2. The main configuration will be described. From the right side of the figure, a power switch key 21, an operation mode selection key 22, an air conditioner setting key 25, a start button 23, a dial 24 are shown. A sterilization setting key 26, a display unit 27, and the like. Moreover, the same figure (a) has shown the form of the panel display at the time of power activation, and the same figure (b) has shown the form of the panel display at the time of sterilization setting, but detailed explanations, such as explanation of the action, This will be described later with reference to FIGS. Incidentally, FIG. 3 shows the temperature and time generally required for sterilization for the bacteria to be sterilized, FIG. 4 shows an example of the temperature and time at the time of sterilization setting in this example, and FIG. These show the flowchart at the time of disinfection operation.

  In addition, although not shown, a control device for controlling various operations such as washing and drying is provided, which has a circuit configuration mainly composed of a microcomputer, an operation signal based on a setting operation of the operation panel 2, and a temperature sensor. 20, a detection signal such as a water level sensor (not shown) and the like are input, and based on a control program stored in advance, a motor 6 for rotating the drum 5 shown in FIG. 1, a heat pump mechanism 9, a circulation fan 8 for air circulation, The PTC heater 14, the blower fan 17 for blowing cold air or hot air out of the machine, the louver 16, the damper member 18 for switching the passage, and a water supply / drainage valve (not shown) are controlled.

Next, the operation of the drum type washing / drying machine having the above configuration will be described.
As is well known, in the operation course from standard washing to drying, the “washing” key of the operation mode selection key 22 is turned on by rotating the dial 24 on the operation panel 2 shown in FIG. It is set after confirming that it is displayed, and the operation is started by pressing the start button 23. The control device controls the rotational speed of the directly connected drum 5 by driving and controlling the motor 6, and automatically executes washing, rinsing, dehydration, and drying steps.

Of these, the drying process will be described with reference to FIG. 1. This is a normal drying operation, and a drying pump is generated by using a heat pump mechanism 9 as a first drying heat source to drive the circulation fan 8. Then, the water is circulated and supplied into the water tank 4 and the rotating drum 5 (refer to the solid line arrow A), and a drying action is performed to contact the laundry and take away moisture. In this case, the damper member 18 closes the position indicated by the two-dot chain line, that is, the outside air blowing passage 15 side, and maintains the circulation passage 7 side in a communicating state.
Therefore, the circulating air that has flowed into the intermediate duct portion 7c is cooled by the evaporator 11 to condense and dehumidify moisture in the air, and the dried air is sent to the condenser 10 side. Exchange is done and the air is heated and circulates as dry air.

  By the way, the discharge port 12 of the exhaust duct portion 7a and the suction port 13 of the intermediate duct portion 7c are always open. For this reason, although it is set as the opening structure in which a lot of circulating air is hard to come out, a part of air containing moisture is discharged | emitted by the internal space of the body 1 as shown by the broken line arrow C1 in FIG. Then, a considerable amount of air in the fuselage 1 thus released is taken into the intermediate duct portion 7c from the suction port 13 opening upstream of the condenser 10 as indicated by a broken line arrow C2, and replenished as circulating air. Is done. The PTC heater 14 is maintained in the OFF state.

  As a result, particularly as a feature of the refrigeration cycle, the amount of heat released from the condenser 10 may exceed the amount of cooling power consumed by the evaporator 11 by an amount corresponding to the power consumption of the compressor, which may overload the compressor. Thus, a safe operation by the refrigeration cycle (heat pump mechanism) can be continuously performed by suppressing the pressure increase and ensuring a stable heat radiation amount by the condenser 10.

  In this case, some of the moist air is diluted and diffused in the airframe 1, and the air in the airframe 1 exceeds the intake amount from the suction port 13 into the circulation passage 7, so that the internal pressure in the airframe 1 is increased. The air is exhausted out of the body 1 from each connecting portion of the assembly part constituting the body 1 and other minute gaps, or, conversely, the outside air may be sucked in, so that the exchange action with the outside air is performed. As appropriate. Therefore, the inside of the airframe 1 is not condensed by the air containing a part of moisture. Of course, you may provide the communication port which introduces external air in the body 1 separately.

  On the other hand, when it is desired to cool or heat the indoor space where the washing / drying machine is installed, the air conditioner setting key 25 is operated on the operation panel 2 shown in FIG. The air conditioner setting key 25 can be set by switching between cold air operation and hot air operation by repeating the pressing operation, and displaying “cold air” or “hot air” on the display unit 27. Of course, it is not displayed, but includes operation OFF.

  Therefore, first, when it is desired to cool, a cold air operation is selected with the air conditioner setting key 25, and an appropriate operation time is set while rotating the dial 24 and observing the time displayed on the display unit 27. Then, the cold air operation is started by pressing the start button 23, and the control device (not shown) drives the damper member 18 and holds it at the position indicated by the solid line as shown in FIG. That is, while the circulation passage 7 is blocked, the outside air blowing passage 15 is opened to be in communication with the intermediate duct portion 7 (c). Simultaneously with the driving of the damper member 18, the louver 16 is also driven and rotated to the position indicated by the solid line in which the outlet 15a is opened, and then held in the opened position.

  In this state, the heat pump mechanism 9 and the blower fan 17 are energized. As a result, an air flow reverse to that in the above-described drying operation is generated in the intermediate duct portion 7c, and the air taken into the intermediate duct portion 7c from the suction port 13 or the like is indicated by a thin broken line arrow B in FIG. As shown in the figure, the air is cooled by passing through the evaporator 11, and the cold air reaches the outside air passage 15 and is blown out of the body 1 from the blowout port 15 a by the rotation of the air blowing fan 17. Cool indoor spaces such as offices and dressing rooms. In this cooling operation, the air in the airframe 1 is released to the outside, while the outside air is appropriately taken into the airframe 1 through a gap such as a connecting portion of the constituent members of the airframe 1 so that it is executed for a predetermined time without trouble. .

  On the other hand, when the hot air operation is set to perform heating, the heat pump mechanism 9 is in a stopped (OFF) state, but the PTC heater 14 is energized and controlled. Therefore, the air sucked from the suction port 13 is heated, and the warm air generated by this heating flows in the same direction as the thin broken line arrow B in the external blower passage 15 and is blown out of the device through the blowout port 15a. Heat the rooms such as the bathroom and dressing room.

Next, the case where sterilization operation is performed will be described. This sterilization operation can be performed alone, but a case where it is performed following a normal drying operation will be described.
First, after setting a standard operation course from washing to drying as described above, the sterilization process is additionally set by the sterilization setting key 26 shown in FIG. That is, the sterilization setting key 26 can selectively set the presence / absence of a sterilization process and a preset sterilization temperature and time by repeating the pressing operation. For example, as shown in FIG. 4, the time corresponding to the sterilization temperature is programmed in advance, the time is long (1 hour) at a relatively low temperature of 60 ° C., and the time is short (15 hours at a high temperature of 80 ° C. Min)).

Such temperature and time settings take into consideration the actual temperature and time effective for sterilization as shown in FIG. 3 and the type and quality of laundry (heat resistance and shrinkage) for the bacteria to be sterilized. The combination of temperature and time shown in FIG. 4 is programmed.
Accordingly, as shown in FIG. 2B, in response to the pressing operation of the sterilization setting key 26, a “sterilization” character is displayed in the vicinity of the sterilization setting key 26 and “60 ° C.” is displayed. -1 hour "or" 70 ° C-30 minutes "or" 80 ° C-15 minutes "characters are selectively lit and displayed so that the user can set the time simultaneously with the desired temperature setting for multiple stages of temperature setting. Can do.

  Then, after setting the sterilization temperature and time, the operation is started by operating the start button 23, and from the washing to the drying operation as described above. However, in the normal drying process, based on the temperature detection by the temperature sensor 20, the control device controls the completion of drying based on the fact that the drying rate of the laundry has reached almost 100%, whereas the sterilization process is additionally performed. In the operation course, for example, when a drying rate of 90% is detected immediately before the end of drying, the process proceeds to the sterilization process.

  In the description of the sterilization process, the temperature in the water tank 4 and the drum 5 is controlled to approximately 60 ° C. by the supply of the drying air generated by the heat pump mechanism 9 as the first drying heat source in the immediately preceding drying process. The drying operation is performed, and the sterilization temperature is set to 80 ° C. (see FIG. 4).

Hereinafter, it demonstrates along the flowchart of the microbe elimination operation | movement shown in FIG.
In the start of the sterilization operation, the heat pump mechanism 9 as the first drying heat source is turned off by a control device (not shown) with respect to the energization drive mode in the immediately preceding drying process, and the damper member 18 as shown by a solid line in FIG. Is rotated to shield the circulation passage 7 side. In synchronism with the drive of the damper member 18, the louver 16 is also rotated to open the outlet 15a as shown by the solid line, and the operation is started. However, in step S1 shown in FIG. 5, the circulation fan 8 is continuously driven to rotate, and the blower fan 17 is turned on and driven to rotate.

  Then, the PTC heater 14 as the second drying heat source is turned on (step S2). As a result, the circulation fan 8 is driven, but the air flow circulates along a route that skips a part of the circulation passage 7, more specifically, a part of the intermediate duct portion 7c. That is, the air discharged from the fan casing of the circulation fan 8 is supplied into the drum 5 from the rear inlet of the water tub 4 through the air supply duct portion 7b, and after exiting the contact with the laundry, the outlet at the front of the water tub 4 Is discharged to the exhaust duct portion 7a, and the flow up to this point is the same as the normal drying process as indicated by the solid line arrow A.

  However, since the circulation passage 7 is blocked by the damper member 18 in the vicinity of the connection portion with the intermediate duct portion 7c, air is discharged into the airframe 1 from the discharge port 12 opened at the upper portion thereof ( (Indicated by dashed arrow C1). Then, the air in the fuselage 1 including the released air is sucked from the suction port 13 opened in the upper wall surface of the intermediate duct portion 7c (indicated by a broken line arrow C2), passes through the condenser 10, and enters the circulation fan 8. It reaches.

  While the air circulates through the path as described above, that is, the air sucked from the suction port 13 is continuously heated by the PTC heater 14 to generate high-temperature dry air, and supply of the dry air The temperature sensor 20 monitors whether or not the temperature in the water tank 4 has reached 80 ° C., which is the sterilization set temperature (step S3).

  However, when the drying air circulates through the path as described above, the louver 16 having the same drive source as the damper member 18 opens the outlet 15a, and the air blowing action having a large output as the circulation fan 8 is as follows. Along with the negative pressure phenomenon that occurs in the intermediate duct portion 7c that is the rear side, the outside air that is not heated and that cannot be heated is taken in from the outlet 15a and the outside air passage 15 connected to the passage. As a result, it takes a long time to reduce the heating efficiency of the PTC heater 14 and raise it to a high temperature required for the sterilization temperature, which is not preferable.

  However, according to the present embodiment, the blower fan 17 is driven as described in step S1. The air blowing action directed toward the outside by the blower fan 17 (in the direction indicated by the thin broken line arrow B) is a reverse air blowing action that is essentially unnecessary for the sterilization operation. However, this blowing action works effectively to prevent the action of sucking in the outside air taken in the direction of the opposite arrow B when the blowing fan 17 is stopped as described above, thereby improving the heating efficiency by the PTC heater 14. it can. In this case, the blowing force by the blower fan 17 is sufficient with a relatively small wind force that prevents the intrusion of outside air from the blowout port 15a, and on the contrary, when it is large, it draws a dry wind useful for sterilization. Can also be captured. Accordingly, the blower fan 17 (the motor that is the drive source) that balances the blown air in the opposite direction is driven to rotate with a smaller output than the circulation fan 8. Therefore, the blower fan 17 may originally be a drive source with a small output, or may be configured as a drive source with adjustable output.

  Thus, when the temperature reaches the sterilization set temperature (80 ° C. in this case) or higher in step S3 (YES), the process proceeds to step S4 to start counting the set time, and in step S5, the set time is 15 minutes (see FIG. 4). ) Is monitored. When the set time reaches 15 minutes or longer (YES), the PTC heater 14 is turned off to end the sterilization action of the laundry by the high-temperature drying air (step S6). As a result, the heating action of the circulating air is stopped, so that the cooling action is performed on the hot laundry in the drum 5, that is, the air cooling operation by the circulation fan 8 is executed. And if the temperature in the water tank 4 and the drum 5 falls based on the temperature detection by the temperature sensor 20, and reaches below a predetermined threshold value (step S7 * YES), all energization drive will carry out OFF operation and it will complete | finish operation.

  Therefore, according to the above sterilization operation, high temperature drying is performed for 15 minutes at an internal temperature of the drum 5 of 80 ° C., various bacteria shown in FIG. 3 can be sterilized, and sanitary finish drying can be performed. After the cold operation, a moderately warm laundry can be taken out. The air cooling operation is not limited to temperature detection, and can be controlled by a preset time.

  Further, the sterilization operation can be performed alone. In this case, after turning on the power as shown in FIG. 5, the temperature and time are set by the sterilization setting key 26 in the same manner as described above, and the operation is started. The sterilization operation according to the flowchart of 5 can be executed. This single operation is suitable for sterilizing laundry that has already been dried. However, when the sterilization operation is performed following the normal drying operation as described above, the rise in the temperature of the laundry or the drum 5 can be utilized, and the rise of the sterilization operation is fast. In the sterilization operation, it takes some time to rise.

According to the said Example, there exist the following effects.
Since the heat pump mechanism 9 is used to generate and circulate the drying air as the first drying heat source for generating the drying air effective for the normal drying operation, a safe, stable and efficient drying operation can be executed. . In addition, the PTC heater 14 is provided as a second drying heat source separately from the heat pump mechanism 9 so as to generate and circulate higher-temperature drying air, thereby sufficiently achieving the sterilization effect on the laundry. It is possible to secure a laundry with a good sanitary finish.

  In addition, the second drying heat source can be deployed and utilized in addition to sterilization. For example, the PTC heater 14 is energized and driven at the beginning of the drying process so that the heat pump mechanism 9 can quickly increase the temperature of the drying air in the initial stage. The first and second drying heat sources are effective, such as by supporting high temperature, or by performing high temperature drying with a PTC heater 14 instead of the heat pump mechanism 9 at the beginning of the drying process, and enabling short-time drying selectively. It can be used for many purposes.

  Moreover, according to the said Example, each drying heat source can be utilized and it can be effectively exhibited as an indoor air conditioning function. That is, when the air is desired to be cooled, the heat pump mechanism 9 is driven and the evaporator 11 is used to allow the cool air to be blown out of the outside air passage 15 and when the air is desired to be heated, the PTC heater 14 is used to warm the air. Since it can be blown out of the machine, so-called indoor air conditioning is possible for rooms such as washrooms and dressing rooms where washing and drying machines are installed. The air conditioning can be performed in the same manner as in other living spaces, and it is possible to meet the need to comfortably perform laundry work regardless of the season.

  Moreover, it is a great advantage that it can be provided with a relatively simple configuration while being able to meet a wide variety of needs such as obtaining a sterilizing effect and an air conditioning effect as described above. For example, the PTC heater 14 added as the second drying heat source is easy to control the temperature, can effectively perform drying and sterilization according to the quality of the laundry, and the heating function, and the heater 14 is essentially essential. Thus, the configuration of the circulation passage 7 can be arranged without complicating the circulation passage 7 and without disturbing the air flow in the circulation passage 7. Furthermore, the heat pump mechanism 9 which is the first drying heat source can effectively utilize the evaporator 11 to exhibit the cooling function.

  In this way, while having multiple functions that can be utilized for many purposes, for example, mainly as a configuration for cooling and heating, having an external air passage 15 as a passage of air flow other than circulating through the circulation passage 7, This can be handled with a simple configuration having a damper member 18 that selectively opens and closes the passage 15 and the circulation passage 7. Further, the high temperature drying or sterilization effect by the PTC heater 14 is configured to substantially circulate the drying air via an in-machine path that partially bypasses the original circulation path 7. That is, it is a so-called in-machine route that leads from the discharge port 12 (in the direction of arrow C1 in FIG. 1) to the suction port 13 (in the direction of arrow C2) via the inside of the machine, and thus can be configured without requiring a special ventilation duct. Therefore, it is possible to avoid complication of the configuration as much as possible, and to provide it advantageously in terms of cost.

  Moreover, in the normal discharge operation by the first drying heat source (heat pump mechanism 9), part of the circulating air is discharged from the discharge port 12 into the internal space of the machine body 1 as indicated by the arrow C1. Then, as shown by an arrow C2, the released air in the airframe 1 is taken into the intermediate duct portion 7c from the suction port 13 where the PTC heater 14 is in the OFF state and replenished as circulating air. For this reason, especially as a feature of the refrigeration cycle, the amount of heat released from the condenser 10 may exceed the amount of cooling heat of the evaporator 11 by an amount corresponding to the power consumption of the compressor, which may overload the compressor. This also has a useful effect that the safe operation by the refrigeration cycle (heat pump mechanism 9) can be continuously executed by suppressing the pressure rise of the refrigeration cycle and securing a stable heat radiation amount by the condenser 10.

  When the high temperature drying or sterilization effect using the PTC heater 14 is obtained, the external ventilation passage 15 that is in communication with the circulation passage 7 by the air flow by the circulation fan 8 that is rotationally driven with a large output. There is a risk of inhaling cold outside air. In particular, in the present embodiment, the louver 16 that rotates in synchronization with the damper member 18 opens the outlet 15a, so that it is easier to suck in the outside air. However, even if the louver 16 can be controlled independently and the outlet 15a can be closed, it is not a structure that essentially requires airtightness, so that outside air can easily enter from the gap, and substantially the same as above. Have the circumstances.

  Thus, according to the above embodiment, the air blowing action directed in the direction of the outside of the machine by the blower fan 17 (in the direction indicated by the thin broken line arrow B) is the outside air taken in the opposite arrow B direction when the blower fan 17 is stopped as described above. Therefore, the heating efficiency can be improved so as to obtain high-temperature dry air from the PTC heater 14. In this case, a relatively small wind force sufficient to prevent the outside air from entering from the blowout port 15a is sufficient for the blowing force by the blowing fan 17, and the blowing fan 17 that balances the blowing in the opposite direction (the driving source thereof). The motor) functions sufficiently only by being driven to rotate with a small output as compared with the circulation fan 8. Therefore, the blower fan 17 may be a drive source that originally has a small output, or may be a drive source that can adjust the output.

  The present invention is not limited to the embodiment described above and shown in the drawings. For example, the rotating tub is not limited to the drum around the horizontal axis, and is also adopted in a washing / drying machine having a washing / dehydrating tub around the vertical axis. it can. Further, the heater member as the second drying heat source is not limited to the PTC heater but may be an electric heater such as a sheathed wire, and is not limited to a configuration having an air-conditioning function, and is connected to the circulation passage through an external ventilation passage. The present invention can be implemented with various modifications without departing from the gist of the present invention, such as a configuration provided with a blower fan for blowing air outside the machine.

A longitudinal side view showing an overall schematic configuration of an embodiment in which the present invention is applied to a drum-type washing and drying machine. The enlarged view which shows each display form (a) of the different operation state in an operation panel, (b) Diagram showing temperature and time required for sterilization The figure which shows one Example of disinfection temperature and time The figure which shows the flowchart at the time of disinfection operation

Explanation of symbols

  In the drawings, 1 is an airframe, 2 is an operation panel, 4 is a water tank, 5 is a drum (rotating tank), 7 is a circulation passage, 7c is an intermediate duct portion, 8 is a circulation fan, 9 is a heat pump mechanism, 10 is a condenser, 11 is an evaporator, 12 is a discharge port, 13 is a suction port, 14 is a PTC heater (heater member), 15 is an external ventilation passage, 15a is a blowout port, 16 is a louver, 17 is a blower fan, 18 is a damper member, Reference numeral 20 denotes a temperature sensor, 23 denotes a start button, 24 denotes a dial, 25 denotes an air conditioner setting key, 26 denotes a sterilization setting key, and 27 denotes a display unit.

Claims (3)

The aircraft that forms the outer shell,
A rotating tub provided in the machine body for storing laundry, and a water tub disposed on an outer peripheral side thereof;
A circulation passage communicating with each of the air inlets and outlets provided in the water tank, and a circulation fan provided to circulate and supply air into the water tank via the circulation passage;
As a first drying heat source, in order to heat the circulating air in the circulation passage, a heat pump mechanism comprising a compressor or the like in which an evaporator and a condenser are sequentially arranged in the middle of the circulation passage;
An external fan passage formed by branching from the circulation passage on the upstream side of the evaporator of the circulation passage and communicating with the outside of the machine body;
A blower fan provided to blow the air in the circulation passage out of the fuselage through the external blower passage;
A damper member that is provided at a branch portion between the circulation passage and the outside air passage, and selectively opens and closes the circulation passage and the outside air passage;
A discharge port formed in a circulation passage on the upstream side of the damper member, and capable of releasing circulating air into the airframe;
An inlet that is formed in a circulation path between the damper member and the circulation fan, and that is capable of inhaling air in the airframe;
A second drying heat source, provided at the suction port, and a heater member for heating the air sucked from the suction port;
In the drying operation by the second drying heat source,
When the circulation member is closed by the damper member and the circulation fan is driven, the circulation air in the circulation passage is discharged from the discharge port into the body, while the air in the body is discharged from the suction port into the circulation passage. And is heated by the heater member, and the dry air generated by this heating is circulated and supplied into the water tank,
A washing / drying machine characterized in that the blower fan for blowing air toward the outside of the machine body is driven with a smaller output than the circulation fan.   2. The laundry according to claim 1, wherein in the drying operation by the second drying heat source, the temperature of the drying air can be set in a plurality of stages, and the operation time corresponding to the set temperature is automatically set. Dryer.   3. The washing / drying machine according to claim 2, wherein when the operation time at the set temperature reaches the set time, the energization of the heater member is turned off, and the entire operation is terminated through the air cooling operation by the circulation fan.

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