JP2013094219A - Washing and drying machine - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To suppress an increase in water consumption by an unnecessary water supply operation and optimize a water supply timing when cleaning lint accumulated in a drain passage and a drain trap by cleaning with supply water.SOLUTION: The washing and drying machine includes: a water supply valve 30; a discharge passage 40 for discharging water from an outer tub 3 to the outside of the machine; a washing hose 33 for joining the water supply valve 30 and the discharge passage 40; turbidity detection means 45 provided in the drain passage 40 and for detecting turbidity of washing liquid; and control means 62 for controlling operations of a motor 8 and the water supply valve 30 and for successively controlling a series of steps of washing, rinsing and dewatering. The control means 62 operates the water supply valve 30 on the basis of an accumulation amount of lint detected by the turbidity detection means 45 to introduce water in the washing hose 33 and discharge water to the outside of the machine through the discharge passage 40. Thus it is possible to perform cleaning of the drain passage and the drain trap while suppressing an increase in water consumption by an unnecessary water supply operation and optimizing a water supply timing.

Description

  The present invention relates to a washing and drying machine that efficiently discharges lint accumulated in a heat exchange duct in a drying process and prevents lint from accumulating in a drainage path or a drain trap.

  Conventionally, this type of washing / drying machine uses a water supply for dehumidification to prevent lint from the clothing from adhering to the heat exchanger path during the drying process and reducing dehumidification efficiency. A means for discharging the gas to the outside of the aircraft has been proposed.

  FIG. 7 is a longitudinal sectional view of a conventional washing and drying machine. As shown in FIG. 7, a heater 120 that heats the laundry in the washing tub 107 to evaporate water, a blower 121 that blows warm air from the heater 120 into the washing tub 107, and a washing tub 107 that includes the washing tub 107. The hot air containing the steam of the laundry discharged to the lower rear of the receiving tube 103 is cooled with water in the vertically long heat exchanger 122 and the water is condensed.

  The drying device 119 thus configured and the upper and lower portions of the receiving cylinder 103 are connected by telescopic bellows 127 and 128, and the passage between the bellows 128 and the receiving cylinder 103 is set to open only during drying. A gate valve 129 is provided, and a drain valve 130 is provided between the gate valve 129 and the receiving cylinder 103. In addition, a hot water cooling water supply port (not shown) is provided above the heat exchanger 122, and a large amount of water is allowed to flow from the water supply port into the heat exchanger 122 for a certain period of time for washing. I have to.

  As a result, lint and the like do not accumulate in the heat exchanger 122, and the dehumidification and drying performance does not deteriorate, and a stable washing and drying machine can be established.

JP-A-11-347296

  However, the conventional configuration has a problem in that when the waste thread is discharged out of the machine, the waste thread may adhere to the drainage path or accumulate in the drain trap.

  The present invention solves the above-mentioned conventional problems, and detects the amount of lint accumulated in the drainage path by the turbidity detection means, and determines the water supply amount and the water supply timing based on the detection result. The purpose is to prevent a large amount of lint from being accumulated by washing the drainage path and drainage trap cleanly.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention elastically supports an outer tub in a casing to store washing water, an inner tub rotatably supported in the outer tub, and rotationally drives the inner tub. A motor, a water supply valve provided in the upper part of the housing, a drainage path for discharging water from the outer tub to the outside of the machine, a cleaning hose connecting the water supply valve and the drainage path, and a washing provided in the drainage path A turbidity detecting means for detecting the turbidity of the liquid, and a control means for controlling the operation of the motor and the water supply valve and sequentially controlling a series of steps of washing, rinsing and dehydration, the control means comprising: Based on the amount of accumulated lint detected by the turbidity detecting means, the water supply valve is operated to introduce water into the washing hose, and the water is drained out of the machine via the drainage path.

  As a result, clean water supplied from the water supply valve flows into the drainage path, so that the lint attached to the drainage path and the drain trap can be washed away cleanly. Moreover, since the waste water washing by the water supply operation is performed according to the degree of dirt, it is possible to suppress an increase in the amount of water used without wastefully using water.

  The washing machine of the present invention uses the turbidity detection means to estimate the amount of waste thread that accumulates in the drainage path and drain trap, and by performing a water supply operation at an appropriate timing, wasteful use of water, By suppressing the increase in the amount of water used and washing the drainage path and drainage trap cleanly, it is possible to prevent a large amount of lint from accumulating and to reduce the probability of occurrence of drainage abnormality.

1 is a longitudinal sectional view of a washing / drying machine according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. Block circuit diagram of the washer / dryer Diagram showing the washing-drying sequence of the washer / dryer The figure which shows the accumulation amount of the waste thread which changes with the water supply operation | movement of the washing dryer in Embodiment 1 of this invention The figure which shows the amount of lint accumulation which changes with the water supply operation of the washing dryer The figure which shows the amount of lint accumulation which changes with the water supply operation of the washing dryer Longitudinal section of a conventional washer / dryer

  According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an outer tub that is elastically supported in a casing and stores washing water, an inner tub that is rotatably supported in the outer tub, a motor that rotationally drives the inner tub, and the housing. A water supply valve provided at the upper part of the body, a drainage path for discharging water from the outer tub to the outside of the machine, a washing hose connecting the water supply valve and the drainage path, and a turbidity of the washing liquid provided in the drainage path. Turbidity detection means for detecting, and control means for controlling the operation of the motor and the water supply valve to sequentially control a series of steps of washing, rinsing and dehydration, and the control means is controlled by the turbidity detection means. Based on the amount of accumulated lint detected, the water supply valve is operated to introduce water into the washing hose and drain the water out of the machine through the drainage path. Estimate the amount of lint that accumulates in the trap, and at an appropriate time Water operation can be performed, water is not used wastefully, the increase in the amount of water used is suppressed, and the wastewater route and drainage trap are washed away so that a large amount of lint does not accumulate and the probability of occurrence of wastewater abnormality is increased. Can be reduced.

  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 longitudinal sectional view of a washing machine according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a block circuit diagram of the washing / drying machine.

  In FIG. 1, a housing 1 is provided with an outer tub 3 that is elastically suspended by a plurality of suspensions 2 inside, and the suspension 2 absorbs vibration during dehydration. Inside the outer tub 3, an inner tub 4 that accommodates clothes and objects to be dried is rotatably arranged around a washing / dehydrating shaft 5 having a hollow and double structure. And a pulsator 6 for stirring the object to be dried is rotatably arranged.

  In addition, the inner peripheral wall of the inner tank 4 serves as a drain hole during dehydration, and a number of vent holes 4a are provided during drying and a fluid balancer 7 is provided above. The motor 8 is attached to the outer bottom of the outer tub 3 and is connected to the inner tub 4 or the pulsator 6 via the clutch 9 for switching the transmission of rotational force to the washing / dehydrating shaft 5 and the washing / dehydrating shaft 5 during washing or dehydrating. doing. The pulsator 6 has a substantially pan-shaped shape having an inclined surface 10 on the outer peripheral portion, and forms a stirring protrusion 11 so that clothes are stirred during the washing process, and the object to be dried is rotated by the pulsator 6 during the drying process. It is easy to soar upward along the inclined surface by centrifugal force. In other words, the clothes are configured to move left and right (in the rotational direction) and also move up and down by stirring.

  The heat exchange duct 12 dehumidifies the circulating hot air (circulated air), and one end is connected to the drainage passage port 14 provided in the lower part of the outer tub 3 through the connection duct 13, and the other end is On the inlet side of the hot air circulation path 17, it is connected to one end of a circulating air receiving chamber 19 located below the drying fan 15.

  A heater 16 is provided at the upper part of the drying fan 15, and the outlet side of the hot air circulation path 17 is connected to an upper bellows-like hose 18 having a hot air ejection hole 20. A hot air circulation path 17 that is connected to the tank 4 and circulates is constituted, and the above-mentioned components including the hot air circulation path 17 constitute a hot air blowing means 21.

  A temperature detecting means 22 is provided on the inlet side of the hot air circulation path 17 and a temperature detecting means 23 is provided on the outlet side to detect the circulating air temperature during the drying process.

  A filter 24 is provided in the circulating air receiving chamber 19, and the circulating air circulates through the filter 24, and the filter 24 collects lint generated from the clothing.

  The outer tub 3 is provided with an outer tub cover 25 that hermetically covers the upper surface of the outer tub 3, and the outer tub cover 25 is provided with a hot air jet hole 20 from the upper and lower bellows-shaped hose 18 that can be expanded and contracted. Yes. Further, an inner lid 26 is provided on the outer tub cover 25 so as to be freely opened and closed so that clothes can be taken in and out.

  An upper frame 28 having a garment insertion port 27 is attached to the upper portion of the housing 1 at a substantially central portion, and an outer lid 29 is provided so as to be openable and closable so as to cover the garment insertion port 27.

  Further, a support member 31 to which the hot air blowing means 21 and the water supply valve 30 are attached is provided inside the rear portion of the upper frame body 28.

  The water supply valve 30 has a multi-valve configuration in which two or more water channels can be opened and closed. One water channel is connected to a cleaning pipe 38 formed in the drainage duct 36 by a cleaning hose 33, and one water channel is a water supply hose 34. Then, it is connected to the inner tub 4 through a water injection member (not shown) provided on the support member 31 so that it can be supplied as washing water, and one water channel is connected to the heat exchange duct 12 by a water supply hose. .

  A drainage duct 36 and a drainage valve 35 for draining the water in the outer tub 3 are provided at the bottom of the outer tub 3, and are connected to the heat exchange duct 12 and the connection duct 13 through the drainage duct 36. The drainage from the heat exchange duct 12 is guided to the drainage duct 36 and the drainage valve 35 and drained from the drainage hose 37 to the outside of the machine. As described above, the drainage duct 36 is formed with the cleaning pipe 38 to which one end of the cleaning hose 33 piped to the water supply valve 30 is connected.

The drainage path 40 includes a cleaning pipe 38, a drainage duct 36, a drainage valve 35, a drainage hose 37, and the water drained from the drainage path 40 is discharged to a drain trap 46.

  Further, a turbidity detecting means 45 comprising an optical sensor that emits and receives infrared rays (infrared rays) or visible rays is attached to the drainage passage 40 upstream of the drainage valve 35. By detecting the turbidity of the washing water, the degree of dirt on the clothes is detected.

  A conductivity detecting means 39 comprising a pair of electrodes for detecting the conductivity of the washing water and detecting the presence or absence of water and the type of detergent is provided inside the outer periphery of the outer tub 3. Since the lower part of the pulsator 6 is below the upper surface of the outer periphery of the pulsator 6, it is difficult to be affected by the water flow caused by the rotation of the pulsator 6, and the conductivity can be detected stably.

  The control device 57 is integrally formed and disposed substantially vertically on the back surface (back cover) 41 of the housing 1. The control device 57 is covered and protected by the cover 42.

  An operation display unit 60 including an input setting unit 43 and a display unit 44 described later with reference to FIG.

  In the block circuit diagram of FIG. 2, the control device 57 is connected to the motor 8, the clutch 9, the drying fan 15 and the heater 16 constituting the hot air blowing means 21, the drain valve 35, and the water supply valve via the load driving means 61. Control means 62 for controlling operations such as 30 and controlling the steps of washing, rinsing, dehydration, and drying, and the sterilization / deodorization step.

  The control means 62 is composed of a microcomputer or the like, and starts operating when power is supplied from the commercial power supply 63 when the power switch 64 is turned on. The outputs of the water level detection means 65 and the temperature detection means 22 and 23 are input and input. Based on the contents set by the user by the setting means 43, the setting contents are displayed on the display means 44, and the motor 8, the clutch is connected via the load driving means 61 constituted by a bidirectional thyristor, a relay and the like. 9. Control the operations of the drying fan 15, heater 16, drain valve 35, water supply valve 30 and the like, and control the steps of washing, rinsing, dehydration and drying. The input setting unit 43 and the display unit 44 constitute an operation display unit 60.

  Further, the control means 62 determines the type of detergent and stains on clothes based on the conductivity of the washing liquid obtained from the conductivity detection means 39, the infrared transmittance obtained from the turbidity detection means 45, and the rate of change thereof. Each stroke is controlled by detecting the degree, the amount of lint from the clothing being dried, and the like.

  Further, the control means 62 turns off the heater 16 when the temperature detected by the temperature detection means 23 reaches a first predetermined temperature (for example, 110 ° C.) in the drying process, and the temperature detection means 22 at that time. When the temperature falls to a second predetermined temperature (for example, 2k), the heater 16 is operated to adjust the temperature of the circulating air.

  In the above configuration, basic operations from washing, rinsing, dehydration to drying steps will be described. FIG. 3 shows a sequence of washing, rinsing and dehydration steps.

In the washing process, the outer lid 29 is opened, the inner lid 26 is opened, clothes and detergent are put into the inner tub 4, and when the operation is started, water is supplied into the inner tub 4 up to a predetermined water level with water supply a, and then the motor 8 is driven. At this time, the power of the motor 8 is transmitted to the pulsator 6 through the washing shaft by the clutch 9 of the transmission mechanism, and the pulsator 6 rotates, so that the clothes are caught by the agitation protrusion 11 of the pulsator 6 and the center part. Drawn into. The clothing at the center lower layer portion of the inner tub 4 is pushed up to the upper layer portion of the inner tub 4 by the drawn-in clothing. In this way, the clothes in the inner tub 4 are agitated, and the mechanical force acting by the contact between the clothes or the inner wall of the inner tub 4 or the pulsator 6 and the water flow force are used.

  In the rinsing (1) process, the drain valve 35 is opened and the water in the inner tank 4 is drained from the drain hose 37, and then the clutch 9 of the transmission mechanism is switched to the dehydrating side to power the motor 8 and the dehydrating shaft. It is performed by separating the moisture from the clothing by transmitting it to the inner tub 4 and rotating it to give centrifugal force to the clothing. Then, after the motor 8 and the clutch 9 are turned off, water is supplied to a predetermined water level with the water supply a, the motor 8 is driven again, and stirring for taking out the detergent liquid from the clothing is started.

  In the rinsing process (2), that is, the final rinsing process, draining and dewatering are performed in the same manner as in rinsing (1). Thereafter, after the drain valve 35 is closed, the water supply valve 30 is operated to supply water to the water supply hose 34. The water is supplied to the inner tank 4 through a water injection member (not shown) to a predetermined water level, and rinsing is started.

  The rinsing (1) process can be omitted depending on the degree of dirt on the clothes and the amount of clothes.

  In the dehydration process, after rinsing is completed, the drain valve 35 is opened and the water in the inner tank 4 is drained from the drain hose 37, and then the clutch 9 of the transmission mechanism is switched to the dehydration side to The water is separated from the clothing by transmitting it to the inner tub 4 and rotating it and applying centrifugal force to the clothing, thereby completing the process from washing to dehydration.

  Although omitted in the sequence table of FIG. 3, in the drying process, the clutch 9 is switched to the washing side, the motor 8 is driven and transmitted to the pulsator 6, and the pulsator 6 is rapidly rotated forward and reverse. After dehydration, the clothes attached to the inner wall of the inner tub 4 are peeled off. Next, while the pulsator 6 is rotated forward and reversely and the clothes are hooked and stirred by the stirring protrusion 11, the hot air is blown by the hot air blowing means 21 including the drying fan 15 and the heater 16. Send to. The warm air blown into the inner tub 4 from the warm air ejection hole 20 evaporates moisture from the clothing, then exits from the inner tub 4 to the inside of the outer tub 3, and further passes through the connection duct 13 from the drainage passage port 14. To the heat exchange duct 12.

  When hot air containing moisture from the clothing deprived of moisture passes through the inner wall of the outer tub 3 or the heat exchange duct 12, the water from the water supply valve 30 installed inside the rear part of the upper frame 28 is outside. The outer wall of the tank 3 or the heat exchange duct 12 is cooled, moisture condensation occurs inside, the moist hot air is dehumidified, enters the circulating air receiving chamber 19, passes through the filter 24, and then the drying fan. Return to 15. By circulating the warm air in this circulation path, the clothes in the inner tub 4 can be dried.

  In the latter half of the drying process, lint is generated from the clothes being dried in the inner tub 4, and the lint is carried along with the circulating air to the drainage duct 36 and the heat exchange duct 12, and from the water supply valve 30 to the heat exchange duct 12 and drainage duct. The water supplied to 36 is led to a drain valve 35 and a drain hose 37 and discharged outside the apparatus.

  In the discharging process, when the lint carried by the dehumidified water passes through the drain duct 36, the turbidity detecting means 45 detects the lint contained in the dehumidified water.

  FIG. 4 shows the amount of lint accumulation detected by the control means 62. From FIG. 4, it can be seen that clothes such as towels that tend to generate lint accumulate in the drainage passage 40 and drain trap 46 in a shorter time than clothes that are difficult to generate lint such as synthetic fibers. If left as it is in FIG. 4, a large amount of lint accumulates in the drainage path 40 and the drain trap 46 and the drainage becomes abnormal.

  In FIG. 5, the water supply valve 30 is opened and water is introduced into the washing hose 33 so that lint does not accumulate in the drainage path 40 and the drain trap 46 so as not to cause abnormal drainage. It is a figure which shows the timing which wash | cleans by draining from.

  When the amount of lint accumulation reaches a limit lint accumulation amount (hereinafter referred to as a threshold value) that does not cause drainage abnormality as shown in FIG. 5, water is supplied from the water supply valve 30. The supplied clean water passes through the drainage path 40 such as the drainage duct 36, drainage valve 35 and drainage hose 37 from the washing hose 33 while washing out the lint, and finally the lint accumulated in the drain trap 46 is cleaned with clean water. The water is pushed out of the drain trap 46 at a moment.

  This discharging operation by water supply is performed each time the amount of lint accumulation detected by the turbidity detecting means 45 exceeds a threshold value.

  FIG. 6 shows the timing of performing drainage washing by water supply when performing chemical laundry, and when the accumulated amount of chemical lint reaches the threshold value that does not cause drainage abnormality as shown in FIG. Is passed through the drainage passage 40 while washing out the lint, and finally the lint accumulated in the drain trap 46 is pushed out of the drain trap 46 with the force of clean water.

  As described above, in the present embodiment, the water supply valve 30 is operated based on the calculation result of the amount of lint accumulated by the control means 62, and the cleaning hose 33 connected to the water supply valve 30 is connected via the drain hose 37. Since the accumulated lint in the drain trap 46 can be swept away, not only a cloth such as a towel having a large amount of lint generation but also an effective yarn can be used even with a synthetic fiber with a small amount of lint generation. It is possible to reduce waste discharge and the probability of wastewater abnormality.

  As described above, the washing and drying machine according to the present invention performs drainage washing by water supply operation according to the degree of dirt, and can cleanly wash off lint attached to the drainage path and drainage trap. It can also be applied to the use of equipment having a function.

3 Outer tank 4 Inner tank 8 Motor 30 Water supply valve 33 Washing hose 40 Drainage path 45 Turbidity detection means 62 Control means

Claims (1)

An outer tub that is elastically supported in the housing and stores washing water, an inner tub that is rotatably supported in the outer tub, a motor that rotationally drives the inner tub, and an upper portion of the housing. A water supply valve, a drainage path for discharging water from the outer tub to the outside of the machine, a cleaning hose connecting the water supply valve and the drainage path, and a turbidity detecting means provided in the drainage path for detecting the turbidity of the washing liquid And control means for controlling the operation of the motor and the water supply valve and sequentially controlling a series of steps of washing, rinsing and dewatering, the control means comprising a waste thread detected by the turbidity detecting means. A washing and drying machine that operates the water supply valve based on the accumulation amount to introduce water into the washing hose, and drains the water to the outside through the drainage path.