JP2011004781A - Clothes dryer - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To detect defective drainage of dehumidifying water with an inexpensive structure and with excellent reliability.SOLUTION: The clothes dryer includes: an evaporator 16 and a condenser 14 for dehumidifying and heating drying air flowing through a circulation air pathway 17; compressing means 13 and pressure-reducing means 15 constituting a refrigerating cycle together with the evaporator 16 and condenser 14; condensation temperature detecting means 19 mounted in the condenser 14 for detecting the condensation temperature of a refrigerant; and control means 25 for controlling the operation. The control means 25 detects defective drainage of dehumidifying water by detecting the condensation temperature of the refrigerant by the condensation temperature detecting means 19.

Description

  The present invention relates to a clothes dryer for drying clothes.

  Conventionally, the technology for detecting poor drainage of dehumidified water in this type of clothes dryer is based on the fact that a thermistor with self-heating characteristics is provided and the thermistor is submerged when the drainage is defective, and the detected temperature of the thermistor changes. Yes (see, for example, Patent Document 1). In addition, there is a technique in which a pair of electrodes electrically insulated from a commercial power source is provided, and the electrical resistance between the electrodes changes when the drainage is poor (see, for example, Patent Document 2).

JP 2006-262924 A JP 2008-99981A

  However, the conventional configuration has a problem that the configuration including related parts is complicated and expensive.

  The present invention solves the above-described conventional problems, and an object thereof is to detect a drainage failure of dehumidified water with an inexpensive configuration.

  In order to solve the conventional problems, a clothes dryer of the present invention comprises an evaporator and a condenser for dehumidifying and heating drying air flowing through a circulation air passage, and a refrigeration cycle together with the evaporator and the condenser. A compression means and a decompression means, a condensation temperature detection means for detecting the condensation temperature of the refrigerant provided in the condenser, and a control means for controlling the operation. The control means condenses the refrigerant by the condensation temperature detection means. The temperature is detected to detect the drainage of dehumidified water.

  As a result, it is possible to realize defective drainage detection of dehumidified water with an inexpensive configuration and excellent reliability.

  The clothes dryer of the present invention can realize the detection of defective drainage of dehumidified water with an inexpensive configuration and excellent reliability.

Sectional drawing of the clothes dryer in Embodiment 1 of this invention Graph of refrigerant temperature of the clothes dryer

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a drying chamber for storing clothes, a circulation air passage for circulating the drying air through the drying chamber, a blowing means for blowing air to the circulation air passage, and drying air flowing through the circulation air passage. An evaporator and a condenser for dehumidifying and heating, a compression means and a decompression means constituting a refrigeration cycle together with the evaporator and the condenser, a condensation temperature detecting means for detecting a condensation temperature of the refrigerant provided in the condenser, and an operation And a control means for controlling the decontamination water when the dehumidification water drainage defect occurs by detecting the condensation temperature of the refrigerant by detecting the condensation temperature of the refrigerant by the condensation temperature detection means. It is possible to detect that the rise of the refrigerant condensing temperature per unit time is lower than normal when the vessel is immersed in water. Out can be realized dehumidification water poor drainage detected by means, can provide inexpensive simple and reliable clothes dryer. Further, it is possible to prevent malfunction, malfunction, water overflow and the like due to defective drainage of dehumidified water.

  In the second invention, in particular, the control means of the first invention maintains the rotation speed of the air blowing means and the compression means constant for a predetermined time, and the increase value per unit time of the temperature detected by the condensation temperature detection means is predetermined. Since it is determined that the drainage of the dehumidified water is less than the value, the drainage failure can be accurately determined based on the condensation temperature of the refrigerant.

  In particular, the third aspect of the present invention enables the washing of the clothes housed in the drying chamber of the first or second aspect of the invention, so that the clothes can be washed and dried consistently in the same tank. A space-saving washing and drying machine can be provided with a single housing.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Note that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments.

(Embodiment 1)
FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a clothes dryer according to the first embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a graph of the refrigerant temperature of the clothes dryer.

  A cylindrical outer tub 2 is provided inside the main body 1, and a cylindrical inner tub 3 that accommodates clothes (not shown) is rotatably provided inside the outer tub 2, and is driven to rotate by a motor 4. Is done. The inner tub 3 becomes a clothes laundry room in the washing process, and becomes a clothes drying room 5 in the drying process. On the front surface of the main body 1, there are provided an opening 6 for putting clothes in and out and a door 7 for opening and closing the opening.

  A drain port 8 for discharging washing water and dehumidified water is provided in the lower part of the main body 1, and a drain valve 10 is provided in the washing water drain path 9. An air blowing means 11 for circulating air through the drying chamber 5 is provided, and a detachable lint filter 12 for removing foreign matters such as dust and lint in the air is provided.

  The refrigeration cycle is configured by connecting the compression means 13, the condenser 14, the decompression means 15, and the evaporator 16 in a ring shape with a pipe containing a refrigerant, and configures the drying chamber 5, the evaporator 16, the condenser 14, and the drying chamber 5. A condenser 14 and an evaporator 16 are arranged in the circulation air passage 17 so that air flows in order. The compression means 13 and the decompression means 15 are arranged outside the circulation air path 17. Discharge temperature detection means 18 for detecting the temperature of the refrigerant discharged by the compression means 13 is provided between the compression means 13 and the condenser 14. Further, the condenser 14 is provided with a condensation temperature detecting means 19 for detecting the condensation temperature of the refrigerant.

  The circulating air path 17 is provided with a circulating air temperature detecting means 20 for detecting the temperature of the circulating air that flows between the exit of the drying chamber 5 and the blowing means 11. A dehumidifying water storage unit 21 for temporarily storing dehumidified water generated in the evaporator 16 is provided below the evaporator 16, and is disposed between the evaporator 16 and the condenser 14 on the downstream side. Yes.

  The circulation air passage 17 provided with the dehumidified water storage section 21 is inclined so that the condenser 14 side is lowered. The water stored in the dehumidified water storage unit 21 is discharged out of the main body 1 through the drain pipe 23 by the operation of the drain pump 22.

  Information on the operation of the operation means 24, the discharge temperature detection means 18, the condensation temperature detection means 19, and the circulating air temperature detection means 20 is input to the control means 25, and the control means 25 includes the motor 4, the drain valve 10, and the blower means 11. The compressor 13 and the drainage pump 22 are controlled to control washing, dehydration and drying operations.

  The operation and action of the above configuration will be described. In the washing operation, water is supplied until the water level reaches a predetermined water level in the outer tub 2 with the drain valve 10 closed, and the clothes are washed by rotating the inner tub 3 containing clothes and washing water by the motor 4. In the rinsing operation after washing, water is supplied into the outer tub 2 as in the washing operation, and the inner tub 3 is rotated to rinse the clothes. In the dehydration operation, the drain valve 10 is opened to drain water to the outside of the machine, and then the motor 4 is rotated at high speed to dehydrate the inner tub 3 containing clothes.

  When the drying operation is started, the air blowing means 11 and the compression means 13 are respectively operated at a predetermined number of revolutions, and air is circulated through the circulation air passage 17. In the evaporator 16, the low-temperature low-pressure gas-liquid mixed refrigerant absorbs sensible heat and latent heat from the humid air discharged from the drying chamber 5 and evaporates to become a low-pressure superheated gaseous refrigerant. The refrigerant sucked by the compression means 13 is compressed to become a high-temperature and high-pressure gaseous refrigerant, dissipates heat into the air in the condenser 14 and condenses to become a high-pressure liquid refrigerant. Then, the pressure is reduced by the pressure reducing means 15 and flows into the evaporator 16 again.

  The inner tub 3 is rotationally driven by the motor 4 so that the clothes are stirred up and down, deprived of moisture when the circulating air passes through the gap between the clothes, exits the outer tub 2 in a humid state, flows through the circulation air passage 17 and blows air. It is sucked into the means 11 and supplied to the evaporator 16. In the evaporator 16, the air is cooled and condensed, and dehumidified from the air. This air is heated in the condenser 14 to become hot air of high temperature and low humidity, flows through the circulation air passage 17 and flows into the inner tub 3 again, and promotes drying of clothes.

  The dehumidified water generated in the evaporator 16 is stored in the dehumidified water storage unit 21 and is discharged to the outside of the main body 1 through the drain line 23 by intermittently driving the drain pump 22. Waste thread is mixed in the circulating air that has passed through the drying chamber 5, but is captured by the lint filter 12. By the above operation, the clothing is dried. As the drying progresses, the refrigerant discharge temperature, the condensation temperature, and the circulating air temperature rise. When the detected temperature of the circulating air temperature detecting means 20 exceeds a predetermined value, the control means 25 determines that the drying is finished, and the motor 4, The operations of the blowing unit 11, the compression unit 13, the drainage pump 22, and the like are stopped.

  Next, detection of defective drainage of dehumidified water, which is a feature of the present invention, will be described with reference to FIG. The defective drainage of the dehumidified water is caused by the failure of the drain pump 22 or the clogging of the drain pipe 23. If the dehumidified water is not normally discharged, the water level in the dehumidified water storage unit 21 rises and overflows into the circulation air passage 17 when the dehumidified water is full. When the condenser 14 is immersed in water, the condenser 14 radiates heat to the dehumidified water that overflows in addition to the circulating air, so that the amount of heat released from the refrigerant in the condenser 14 increases, and the condensation temperature per unit time as shown in FIG. The temperature rise ΔT / Δt0 is lower than that when the dehumidified water is normally discharged (B). When the temperature increase ΔT / Δt0 per unit time of the condensation temperature is equal to or lower than the abnormality determination threshold value Xa, the control unit 25 determines that the dehumidified water is not drained properly.

  Therefore, it is possible to realize the detection of defective dehumidified water drainage using mass temperature-produced, inexpensive and highly reliable general temperature detection means, and it is possible to provide an inexpensive, simple and reliable clothes dryer. When the dehumidified water drainage failure is detected, the control unit 25 displays the fact on the operation unit 24 and notifies the user, and stops all the operating units such as the blowing unit 11 and the compression unit 13.

In addition, by allowing washing of clothes contained in the drying chamber 5, washing and drying of clothes can be performed consistently in the same tank, providing a space-saving washing and drying machine with a single housing. can do.

  In the above embodiment, an example has been described in which a dehumidifying means is mounted on a clothes dryer with a washing function that automatically performs from washing to drying in the same tank, but the present invention is not limited to this. The same effect can be obtained even with a clothes dryer that only performs drying.

  As described above, the clothes dryer according to the present invention can realize the detection of defective drainage of the dehumidified water with an inexpensive configuration and excellent reliability, and thus is useful as a dehumidifying clothes dryer.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 5 Drying chamber 11 Blowing means 13 Compression means 14 Condenser 15 Depressurization means 16 Evaporator 17 Circulation air path 19 Condensation temperature detection means 25 Control means

Claims (3)

A drying chamber for storing clothes; a circulation air passage for circulating the drying air through the drying chamber; a blowing means for blowing air to the circulation air passage; and an evaporator for dehumidifying and heating the drying air flowing through the circulation air passage And a condenser, a compression means and a decompression means constituting a refrigeration cycle together with the evaporator and the condenser, a condensation temperature detection means provided in the condenser for detecting a condensation temperature of the refrigerant, and a control means for controlling the operation. And the control means detects the condensing temperature of the refrigerant by the condensing temperature detecting means to detect a drainage failure of the dehumidified water. The control means maintains the rotational speeds of the air blowing means and the compression means constant for a predetermined time, and determines that the dehumidified water is poorly discharged when the increase value per unit time of the temperature detected by the condensation temperature detection means is equal to or less than the predetermined value. The clothes dryer according to claim 1, which is configured as described above. The clothes dryer according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the clothes stored in the drying room can be washed.

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