JP2015126842A - Drying machine - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a drying machine without need of supplying water after the drying is completed, without requiring a new component, surely water sealing a trap, and capable of preventing odor and small animals from intruding into the machine.SOLUTION: The washing and drying machine 100 includes: a rotary drum 3 for accommodating laundry and drying it with dry air; a first drain pipe 91, a second drain pipe 93, and a trap 94 connected to the rotary drum 3; a heat pump 7 for generating dry air; a drain tank 75 for storing water generated by the heat pump 7; and a drainage pump 81 for feeding water stored in the drain tank 75 to the second drain pipe 93. An operation control part 11 drives the drainage pump 81 when the drying of laundry is completed to water seal the trap 94.

Description

  The present invention relates to a dryer that uses a heat pump as a heat source to dry an object to be dried accommodated in a drying chamber.

  2. Description of the Related Art A dryer is known that uses a heat pump as a heat source, circulates drying air, and dries items to be dried such as laundry housed in a drying room. The heat pump liquefied the compressor that compresses and discharges the refrigerant, the condenser that dissipates the high-temperature and high-pressure gas refrigerant discharged from the compressor, the flow valve that controls the flow rate of the refrigerant that passes through the condenser, It connects in order with the evaporator which vaporizes a refrigerant | coolant. In the condenser, the temperature of the drying air is warmed to supply heat to the object to be dried, and the evaporator is configured to cool and dehumidify the drying air containing a lot of moisture after passing through the object to be dried. Has been.

  In a dryer equipped with such a heat pump, a drain pump is connected to the heat pump, a drain tank is provided below the evaporator, and condensed water generated and dripped by the evaporator is stored in the drain tank, and the stored condensation is stored. Water is discharged out of the machine by a drain pump. At this time, to prevent the condensed water from overflowing from the drain tank, the drain pump is driven at regular intervals to discharge the condensed water, or when the water level in the drain tank is detected and the water level exceeds the threshold, the drain pump is turned on. Driven to discharge condensed water.

  Unlike the conventional dryer which uses a heater as a heat source and dehumidifies by water cooling, the heat pump dryer as described above does not use water during the drying operation. One end of a drain pipe is connected to the bottom surface of the drying chamber of the dryer, and the other end of the drain pipe protrudes from the outside of the machine and is connected to a drain groove through a trap. It is preferable that the trap is filled with water (water-sealed state) after the drying operation is completed. For example, the internal pressure increases due to clogging of the drying filter, and the trap water seal may be broken. Depending on the type of trap, there is no means to supply water to the trap and restore the water seal. Therefore, after the drying is finished, when the internal pressure drops, the odor may rise from the drain or a small animal such as a cockroach may enter.

Patent Document 1 discloses an invention of a washing and drying machine configured not to exhaust high-humidity air into a room, to reduce power consumption, and to seal a trap after completion of drying.
In this washing and drying machine, the blower is operated in the second half of the drying operation, the heat pump compressor is stopped, the intake valve is opened, the external air is sucked and warmed, and the laundry is blown onto the laundry together with the internal air of the housing. After depriving the object of moisture, this high-humidity air is passed through the drainage pipe from the drainage outlet, and the trap water seal is broken and discharged to the drainage outlet. After the drying operation is completed, the rotation speed of the blower is lowered to a pressure level that does not break the water seal, water is passed through the water supply hose from the water supply electromagnetic valve, the trap water seal is recovered, and the drying is finished.

  Further, Patent Document 2 is configured to control the operation rate of the drainage pump according to courses in which the detection result of the amount of clothes, the detection result of the cloth quality, the progress of the drying process, or the drying speed is different. An invention of a clothes dryer is disclosed.

JP 2010-17526 A JP 2011-87623 A

When water flows through a water supply hose from a water supply electromagnetic valve as in Patent Document 1, clothes after drying may get wet by this water supply.
In addition, when the water supply solenoid valve is not used and the water supply valve dedicated to the water seal is provided, the cost increases.
In any case, there is a problem that extra tap water is used.

  In the case of Patent Document 2, the drainage pump is not operated wastefully, and the drainage pump can be extended in life, and the drainage pump is not required to have a high output and large capacity. There is no guarantee that the trap will be sealed after the end of.

  The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and it is not necessary to supply water after the completion of drying, does not require new parts, and reliably seals the trap to prevent odors and small animals from entering the machine. An object is to provide a dryer that can be prevented.

  The dryer according to the present invention includes a drying chamber that contains an object to be dried and is dried by drying air, a drain pipe connected to the drying chamber, a heat pump that generates the drying air, and water generated by the heat pump. A drain tank for storing the water and a drain pump for sending the water stored in the drain tank to the drain pipe, and when the drying of the material to be dried is finished, in the dryer that drives the drain pump When the drainage pump is driven within a specified time corresponding to the progress of drying after the start of drying, the drainage pump is driven for a first time, and after the specified time has elapsed, when the drainage pump is driven, It is configured to drive for a second time shorter than the first time.

  In the dryer according to the present invention, the first time is a time during which all the water stored in the drain tank can be drained, and the second time is a time during which all the water stored in the drain tank cannot be drained. It is characterized by being set.

The dryer according to the present invention, means for determining the drying time based on the size or weight of the material to be dried, means for determining the specified time corresponding to the drying time determined by the means,
It is characterized by having.

  The dryer according to the present invention includes a humidity sensor in the machine, and has means for determining the specified time based on the humidity detected by the humidity sensor.

  The dryer according to the present invention includes means for determining the humidity threshold for determining the specified time based on the volume or weight of the material to be dried.

  According to the present invention, since the drainage pump is driven when the drying is completed, it is not necessary to supply water after the drying is completed, and no new parts are required, and the trap is securely sealed. be able to.

1 is a perspective view schematically showing an appearance of a washing / drying machine according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view which briefly shows the internal structure of the washing / drying machine which concerns on Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is a control block diagram of the washing / drying machine concerning Embodiment 1 of the present invention. The elapsed time after the start of drying, the relative humidity detected by the humidity sensor, the exhaust temperature in the outlet duct, the intake air temperature in the inlet duct, the discharge temperature, the condenser temperature, the evaporator outlet temperature, and the inlet temperature It is a graph which shows a relationship. It is a figure which shows the control table which shows the relationship between the weight of laundry, the threshold value of humidity of control switching, and the threshold value of completion | finish of drying. It is a flowchart which shows the procedure of the stored water discharge process by the operation control part which concerns on Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is a figure which shows the control table which shows the relationship between the weight of laundry, control switching time, and drying time. It is a flowchart which shows the process sequence of determination of the control switching time by the operation control part which concerns on Embodiment 2 of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the procedure of the stored water discharge process by the operation control part which concerns on Embodiment 2 of this invention.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings illustrating embodiments thereof.
(Embodiment 1)
FIG. 1 is a perspective view schematically showing the appearance of a washing / drying machine 100 according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view schematically showing the internal configuration of the washing / drying machine 100. The washing / drying machine 100 includes a housing 1, a water tank 2, a rotating drum 3, a drum motor 4, a drying air passage 5, a blower fan 6, a heat pump 7, a stored water discharge unit 8, a drainage unit 9, a lid 10, and an operation control unit. 11, a bellows 12, and a fluid balancer 18.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the washing / drying machine 100 includes a water tank 2 and a rotating drum 3 inside a housing 1 constituting an exterior. The aquarium 2 is a large-diameter bottomed cylindrical body having an opening 20 in the entire end portion on one side, and a plurality of support legs 16 (only one is shown) erected on the inner bottom surface of the housing 1. It is elastically supported while maintaining an inclined posture in which the opening 20 side faces upward and the axis is inclined with respect to the horizontal plane. The support leg 16 has a damper 160 in the middle, and a weight sensor 161 is provided below the damper 160. The weight sensor 161 detects the weight of the laundry stored in the rotary drum 3. Examples of the weight sensor 161 include strain gauge type, piezoelectric type, capacitance type, electromagnetic type, and tuning fork type weight sensors.
Further, the weight sensor does not directly detect the weight described above, but may detect the weight indirectly based on the magnitude of the operating current of the motor.

  On the front surface of the housing 1 (left side surface in FIG. 2), a laundry input port 19 is opened at a position facing the opening 20 of the water tub 2 so as to be opened and closed by the lid body 10. The space between the opening 20 of the water tank 2 is liquid-tightly sealed by the bellows 12. As shown in FIG. 1, a door opening button 13 is provided near the lid 10 on the front surface of the housing 1. The lid 10 is opened by operating the door opening button 13.

  The rotating drum 3 has a bottomed cylindrical shape slightly smaller in diameter than the water tank 2, and a bottom surface is fixed to the end of the output shaft 41 of the drum motor 4 fixed at the center of the bottom of the water tank 2, and an opening is formed in the water tank 2. It is supported in a state where it faces the inside of the opening 20. The rotating drum 3 supported in this way rotates inside the water tank 2 by driving the drum motor 4. A fluid balancer 18 is provided on the outer periphery of the opening of the rotating drum 3 to reduce vibration due to unbalance of the laundry during dehydration.

  As shown in FIG. 1, an operation panel 14 including an operation unit for various operations and a display unit for various displays is provided on the upper front surface of the housing 1. The operation panel 14 is connected to an operation control unit 11 (see FIG. 2) provided inside the upper portion of the housing 1. The washing / drying machine 100 performs a washing operation, a dehydrating operation, and a drying operation by the operation of the operation control unit 11 according to the operation of the operation panel 14.

  As shown in FIG. 1, a connection portion 15 that can be connected to a water supply source such as water supply is provided on the upper surface of the rear portion of the housing 1. The connection unit 15 is connected to a water supply valve (not shown) provided inside the housing 1. The water supply valve is a multiple solenoid valve having a plurality of water supply outlets, and switches between a plurality of switching positions including a closed position in accordance with a command from the operation control unit 11.

  A drain port 21 is provided in a rear side portion of the bottom surface of the water tank 2, and one end portion of the first drain pipe 91 of the drain unit 9 is connected to the drain port 21. The first drain pipe 91 extends diagonally forward and downward, and the other end of the first drain pipe 91 is connected to a drain valve 92 that is an electromagnetic valve. In addition, one end of a second drain pipe 93 extending in the front-rear direction is connected to the drain valve 92, and the other end portion on the second drain pipe 93 side protrudes from the housing 1, and passes through the trap 94 to the sewer pipe. It is connected to a drainage groove (not shown) connected to.

  The washing / drying machine 100 includes a blower fan 6 and a heat pump 7 at the rear of the bottom of the housing 1, and a dry air passage 5 configured to include the blower fan 6, the heat pump 7, and the water tank 2 in the middle. In the drying air passage 5, drying air led out from the rotating drum 3 and the water tank 2 and drying air introduced into the water tank 2 and the rotating drum 3 flow. As shown in FIG. 2, the drying air passage 5 has an introduction duct 51, a lead-out duct 52, and an introduction port 53 that are integrally formed with the water tank 2. The introduction port 53 is provided on the bottom surface of the water tank 2 so as to be coaxial with the output shaft 40 of the drum motor 4.

  One end of the introduction duct 51 is connected to the discharge side of the blower fan 6. The other end of the introduction duct 51 is connected to the introduction port 53. The intake side of the blower fan 6 is connected to the heat pump 7. One end of the lead-out duct 52 is connected to the upper surface of the heat pump 7, and the other end is connected to the upper surface of the water tank 2. A humidity sensor 17 is provided in the middle of the lead-out duct 52.

  The heat pump 7 includes a compressor 71, a condenser 72, an evaporator 73, and a throttle portion 74 as an expansion valve. The compressor 71, the condenser 72, the evaporator 73, and the throttle part 74 are connected by refrigerant | coolant piping. The condenser 72 and the evaporator 73 are fin tube type heat exchangers. Inside the heat pump 7, the drying air flows through the evaporator 73 and the condenser 72 in this order. The compressor 71 compresses the refrigerant and raises the temperature. The condenser 72 exchanges heat between the refrigerant compressed by the compressor 71 and the drying air, and heats the drying air. The throttle unit 74 reduces the pressure of the refrigerant that has heated the drying air. The evaporator 73 heat-exchanges the decompressed refrigerant and the drying air to cool the drying air.

  The bottom of the heat pump 7 is configured as a drain tank 75 so as to store water generated by the condenser 72 and the evaporator 73. A water level sensor 76 is provided in the drain tank 75. The water level sensor 76 detects the water level of the drain tank 75 and outputs the detected water level to the operation control unit 11. An example of the water level sensor 76 is a float type level switch. In this case, the water level sensor 76 includes a float, a magnet, and a reed switch, and the float moves up and down by the buoyancy of the stored water in the drain tank 75, and the reed switch is operated by the magnet to output a detection signal. ing.

  The stored water discharge unit 8 includes a drain pump 81, a first drain drain pipe 80, a second drain drain pipe 82, a check valve 83, and a third drain pipe 84. The opening surface at one end of the first drain drain pipe 80 faces the bottom surface of the drain tank 75, and the other end is connected to the inlet side of the drain pump 81. One end of a second drain drain pipe 82 is connected to the outlet side of the drain pump 81. The other end of the second drain drain pipe 82 is connected to the inlet side of the check valve 83, and the outlet side of the check valve 83 is connected to one end part of the third drain drain pipe 84, The other end portion of 84 is connected to the front side portion of the second drainage pipe 93 that constitutes the drainage portion 9 that drains water from the water tank 2. A connection site with the second drain pipe 93 to which the other end of the third drain drain pipe is connected is upstream of the trap 94 and downstream of the drain valve 92.

FIG. 3 is a control block diagram of the washing / drying machine 100 configured as described above.
The operation control unit 11 of the washing / drying machine 100 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 11a, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 11b, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 11c, an input / output interface (I / O) 11d, and a rewritable nonvolatile memory. This is a computer in which a memory 11e and a timer 11f are connected by a shared bus. The CPU 11a reads the control program stored in the ROM 11b into the RAM 11c and executes it. The nonvolatile memory 11e is composed of, for example, an EEPROM (Electrically Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory) or an EPROM (Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory), and stores a control table and the like to be described later.

  The operation control unit 11 receives detection signals from the water level sensor 76, the weight sensor 161, and the humidity sensor 17, and signals from operation keys on the operation panel 14. In addition to the display signal for the operation panel 14, the operation control unit 11 outputs drive signals for the drum motor 4, the drain valve 92, the blower fan 6, the heat pump 7, and the drain pump 81.

  In the washing operation, the user opens the lid 10, puts laundry into the rotary drum 3 from the opening 20 located inside the charging port 19, closes the lid 10, and then the operation control unit 11 supplies water. It starts by supplying water from the pipe into the water tank 2.

During the water supply, the drain valve 92 is closed, and the wash water supplied to the inside of the water tank 2 enters the filter case (not shown) through the first drain pipe 91, and passes through the filter case and the first drain pipe 91. Fulfill.
When it is determined that the water level of the washing water has reached a predetermined value, the operation control unit 11 detects the weight by the weight sensor 161, and determines the time of the washing operation, the dehydration operation, and the drying operation based on the detected weight, The drum motor 4 is driven to rotate the rotating drum 3. The laundry in the rotating drum 3 is washed by being repeatedly lifted and dropped by a baffle (not shown).

  A circulation pump (not shown) is connected to the filter case, and the circulation pump is driven continuously or intermittently during the washing operation. By this driving, the washing water in the filter case is sent to the upper part of the water tank 2 and sprayed onto the laundry in the rotating drum 3.

After the above washing operation, the operation control unit 11 stops the rotation of the rotary drum 3 and opens the drain valve 92. By opening the drain valve 92, the washing water in the water tank 2 is discharged to the drainage groove through the first drain pipe 91, the second drain pipe 93, and the trap 94.
After the drainage is completed, the operation control unit 11 performs the dehydration operation by rotating the rotary drum 3. The water contained in the laundry is spun off by the centrifugal force by the rotation of the rotating drum 3 and flows out to the water tank 2, and is discharged from the water tank 2 through the first drain pipe 91, the second drain pipe 93 and the trap 94 to the drain groove. Is done.
After the dehydration process, in order to rinse the detergent contained in the laundry, water is supplied in an amount corresponding to the weight of the laundry as in the washing operation, and the rotary drum 3 is rotated to perform rinsing. When the determined time has elapsed, the rotation of the rotary drum 3 is stopped, the drain valve 92 is opened, the drainage is performed, and the dehydration process is performed. This rinsing is performed one or more times, and finally the final dehydration is performed after the final rinsing.

As described above, after the final dehydration, the operation control unit 11 starts to control the drying operation. At this time, the rotating drum 3 functions as a drying chamber for drying the laundry. The washing / drying machine 100 uses the rotating drum 3 as a drying chamber including the water tank 2.
In order to control the drying operation, the operation control unit 11 first closes the drain valve 92. Then, the drum motor 4 is driven to rotate the rotating drum 3 and the driving of the blower fan 6 and the heat pump 7 is started. The drying air flows through the drying air passage 5 as shown in FIG.
That is, the dry air generated by the blower fan 6 flows into the water tank 2 and the rotating drum 3 through the introduction duct 51 and the introduction port 53. The laundry inside the rotary drum 3 is repeatedly lifted and dropped by the rotation of the rotary drum 3. The dry air hits the laundry in the rotating drum 3 through the water tank 2, deprives the water of the laundry, flows out into the water tank 2, and flows into the heat pump 7 through the outlet pipe 52 from the upper part of the water tank 2. The dry air flowing into the heat pump 7 is dehumidified below the dew point by the evaporator 73. The dehumidified drying air is heated by the condenser 72 so as to have a high temperature and a low humidity, and is sent to the rotating drum 3 again. Since the laundry in the rotating drum 3 is repeatedly lifted and dropped by the rotation of the rotating drum 3 as described above, contact with the drying air circulating with cooling and heating is repeated, and the laundry is efficiently dried. Be made.

  When the operation control unit 11 determines that the water level of the stored water in the drain tank 75 is equal to or higher than a predetermined value based on the detection signal output from the water level sensor 76 in the drain tank 75, the operation control unit 11 drives the drain pump 81 for a predetermined time. Then, the stored water in the drain tank 75 is discharged.

In the present embodiment, after the start of drying, the time for driving the drainage pump 81 is switched before and after the specified time (control switching time) corresponding to the progress of drying. That is, when driving the drain pump 81 before between the control switching time has elapsed, when driving the drain pump 81 by the first hour t _1, drives the drain pump 81 after between the control switching time, drainage The pump 81 is driven for a second time t ₂ shorter than the first time t ₁ . The first time t ₁ is a time during which the predetermined level of water stored in the drain tank 75 is detected by the water level sensor 76, and a predetermined amount of water can be drained by the drain pump 81. The second time t2 is a time during which all the predetermined amount of water cannot be discharged. For example, the time for draining about half of the water is set.
By controlling the drive as described above, the drain pump 81 is driven at the end of the drying operation, and all the stored water in the drain tank 75 is discharged. Thereby, the inside of the trap 94 is filled with water and reliably sealed with water.
That is, as described above, based on the specified time corresponding to the degree of progress of the drying operation, the driving time of the drainage pump 81 after the specified time (t ₁ ) with respect to the driving time (t ₁ ) of the drainage pump 81 before this specified time ( t ₂ ) is short. For this reason, the amount of stored water in the drain tank 75 is reduced. As a result, the amount of water stored in the drain tank 75 increases. Thereby, after the drying operation is completed, the drain tank 75 has sufficiently stored condensed water to be drained, and the drain pump 81 is driven to drain all the stored water, thereby filling the trap 94 with water, Can be sealed with water.

Humidity (relative humidity) can be cited as a factor that determines the specified time that is the control switching time. For example, the driving time of the drainage pump 81 can be set to the control switching timing from t ₁ to t _{2 when} the humidity becomes lower than the threshold value.
FIG. 4 shows the elapsed time after the start of drying, the relative humidity (a) detected by the humidity sensor 17, the exhaust temperature (b) in the outlet duct 52, the intake air temperature (c) in the introduction duct 51, and the discharge temperature (d ), The temperature (e) of the condenser 72, the outlet side temperature (f) of the evaporator 73, and the inlet side temperature (g). This graph is obtained when the weight of the laundry is 4 kg.
As shown in FIG. 4, the degree of progress of drying can be determined by monitoring the relative humidity or the temperatures b to f. Therefore, the control switching time can be determined using at least one of the relative humidity and the temperatures b to f. Hereinafter, the case where the control switching time is determined using the threshold value of the relative humidity will be described. Also, absolute humidity may be used instead of relative humidity.

When the control switching time is determined based on the humidity, it is conceivable to change the humidity threshold for determining the control switching time in accordance with the weight of the laundry.
FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a control table showing the relationship between the weight of the laundry, the humidity threshold value for control switching, and the drying completion threshold value. As described above, this control table is stored in advance in the nonvolatile memory 11e. This control table is created on the basis of the result of an experiment to determine the humidity threshold value when the trap 94 is reliably sealed when the drain pump 81 is driven at the end of the drying operation. For example, when the capacity of the drain tank 75 is 550 ml and it is preferable that 300 ml or more of water is accumulated in the trap 94 for water sealing, the humidity when about 400 ml of water remains in the drain tank 75 at the end of the drying operation is required. .

As shown in FIG. 5, the humidity threshold for determining the control switching time is changed according to the weight. When the weight of the laundry is large, the amount of water to be removed is large. Therefore, the humidity threshold value is reduced, and the drain pump 81 is driven at the first time t ₁ with a long driving time, and the discharge amount per time is large. Even if the length is increased, a sufficient amount of water can be supplied to the trap 94 at the end of drying.

Hereinafter, the stored water discharge process performed by the operation control unit 11 during the drying operation will be described.
Here, the time when the weight of the laundry is 2 kg or less and the humidity is 60% or less is determined as the control switching time, and the driving time when the drainage pump 81 is driven is switched, and the humidity is 30% or less. The case where a drying operation is complete | finished at the time of becoming will be described.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a procedure of stored water discharge processing by the operation control unit 11.
First, the operation control unit 11 determines whether or not the drying operation is started (S1). When the operation control unit 11 determines that the drying operation is not started (S1: NO), the determination process is repeated.

  When it is determined that the drying operation has been started (S1: YES), the operation control unit 11 determines whether the humidity detected by the humidity sensor 17 is 60% or less (S2).

If the operation control unit 11 determines that the humidity is not 60% or less (S2: NO), the operation control unit 11 determines whether the drain pump 81 is on (S3). As described above, the drainage pump 81 is turned on when the water level of the stored water in the drain tank 75 detected by the water level sensor 76 becomes a predetermined value or more. Instead of detecting the water level, the drain pump 81 may be turned on every predetermined time.
When it is determined that the drain pump 81 is not turned on (S3: NO), the operation control unit 11 repeats this determination process.

If the operation control unit 11 it is determined that the drain pump 81 is turned on (S3: YES), determines whether the first hour t ₁ has elapsed (S4). Here, as an example of the first time t _1, it can be selected from the range of 5 to 10 seconds. The time is measured by the timer 11f.
When it is determined that the first time t ₁ has not elapsed (S4: NO), the operation control unit 11 repeats this determination process.
If it is determined that the first time t ₁ has elapsed (S4: YES), the operation control unit 11 turns off the drain pump 81 (S5), and returns the process to step S2.

  When the operation control unit 11 determines in step S2 that the humidity is 60% or less (S2: YES), the operation control unit 11 determines whether or not the drain pump 81 is on (S6). When it is determined that the drain pump 81 is not turned on (S6: NO), the operation control unit 11 repeats this determination process.

If the operation control unit 11 it is determined that the drain pump 81 is turned on (S6: YES), determines whether the second time t ₂ has elapsed (S7). Here, an example of the second time t ₂ is 2 seconds, for example.
If the operation control unit 11 which is determined not to have passed the second time t ₂ is (S7: NO), it repeats this determination process.
If the operation control unit 11 it is determined that the elapsed second time t ₂ is (S7: YES), it turns off the drainage pump 81 (S8).

Next, the operation control unit 11 determines whether or not the humidity is 30% or less (S9).
If it is determined that the humidity is not 30% or less (S9: NO), the operation control unit 11 returns the process to step S6.
When the operation control unit 11 determines that the humidity is 30% or less (S9: YES), the driving of the drum motor 4, the blower fan 6, and the heat pump 7 is stopped to finish the drying operation, and then the drain pump 81 is turned on. It is turned on for a predetermined time (S10), and the stored water discharge process is terminated. Here, for example, the drainage pump 81 is driven for 10 seconds. The predetermined time is set to a time during which the water level detected by the water level sensor 76 can be sufficiently discharged. The predetermined time may be a first time t ₁ described above. As a result, the trap 94 is sealed with water.
Then, the drain valve 92 may be opened before the drain pump 81 is driven, the water collected in the first drain pipe 91 during drying may be removed, and then the drain valve 92 may be closed. The timing for opening the drain valve 92 may be any time after the end of the drying operation.

In this embodiment, since the drainage pump 81 is driven when the laundry is finished drying, it is not necessary to supply water after the drying is finished, no new parts are required, the trap 94 is sealed with water, and washing is performed. Odor and small animal intrusion into the dryer 100 can be prevented.
In this embodiment, the humidity in the washing / drying machine 100 during the drying operation is monitored by the humidity sensor 17, and the control switching time for switching the driving time of the drainage pump 81 when the humidity falls below the threshold value. Since it is determined (the arrival of the control switching time is grasped), the drain tank 75 is surely prevented from overflowing without wastefully driving the drain pump 81, and the trap 94 is surely sealed with water after the completion of drying. You can make it.
Since the humidity threshold is determined based on the weight of the laundry, the control switching time can be determined with high accuracy. Note that the humidity threshold may be determined based on the laundry capacity.

(Embodiment 2)
In the washing / drying machine 100 according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention, the operation control unit 11 sets the driving time of the drainage pump 81 based on the control switching time corresponding to the drying time determined according to the weight of the laundry. Except for switching, it has the same configuration as the washing and drying machine 100 according to the first embodiment.

  The nonvolatile memory 11e of the washing / drying machine 100 according to Embodiment 2 stores in advance a control table that indicates the relationship between the weight of the laundry, the control switching time, and the drying time. This control table is created based on a result obtained by experiments to determine the time for which the trap 94 is reliably sealed when the drain pump 81 is driven at the end of the drying operation. FIG. 7 is a diagram showing this control table.

As shown in FIG. 7, the control switching time is changed according to the weight. When the weight of the laundry is large, the amount of water to be removed is large, so the control switching time is lengthened, and the drain pump 81 is driven at the first time t ₁ to lengthen the period during which the amount of discharge per time is large. However, a sufficient amount of water can be supplied to the trap 94 after the drying is completed.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure for determining the control switching time by the operation control unit 11.
As described above, the operation control unit 11 detects the weight of the laundry by the weight sensor 161 after the water supply (S31).
The operation control unit 11 determines the drying time with reference to the control table stored in the nonvolatile memory 11e based on the detected weight (S32).
The operation control unit 11 determines a control switching time with reference to the control table stored in the nonvolatile memory 11e based on the detected weight (S33).

FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating a procedure of stored water discharge processing by the operation control unit 11.
The operation control unit 11 determines whether or not the drying operation has been started (S11). When the operation control unit 11 determines that the drying operation is not started (S11: NO), the determination process is repeated.
When it is determined that the drying operation has been started (S11: YES), the operation control unit 11 determines whether or not the control switching time T1 has elapsed (S12).
When it is determined that the control switching time T1 has not elapsed (S12: NO), the operation control unit 11 determines whether or not the drain pump 81 is turned on (S13). When it is determined that the drain pump 81 is not turned on (S13: NO), the operation control unit 11 repeats this determination process.

If the operation control unit 11 it is determined that the drain pump 81 is turned on (S13: YES), determines whether the first hour t ₁ has elapsed (S14). Here, as an example of the first time t _1, it can be selected from the range of 5 to 10 seconds.
When it is determined that the first time t ₁ has not elapsed (S14: NO), the operation control unit 11 repeats this determination process.
When it is determined that the first time t ₁ has elapsed (S14: YES), the operation control unit 11 turns off the drain pump 81 (S15), and returns the process to step S12.

  When it is determined that the control switching time T1 has elapsed in step S12 (S12: YES), the operation control unit 11 determines whether or not the drain pump 81 is turned on (S16). When the operation control unit 11 determines that the drain pump 81 is not turned on (S16: NO), the determination process is repeated.

If the operation control unit 11 it is determined that the drain pump 81 is turned on (S16: YES), determines whether the second time t ₂ has elapsed (S17). Here, an example of the second time t ₂ is 2 seconds, for example.
If the operation control unit 11 which is determined not to have passed the second time t ₂ is (S17: NO), it repeats this determination process.

If the operation control unit 11 it is determined that the elapsed second time t ₂ is (S17: YES), turns off the drainage pump 81 (S18).
The operation control unit 11 determines whether or not the drying time T2 has elapsed (S19).
If it is determined that the drying time T2 has not elapsed (S19: NO), the operation control unit 11 returns the process to step S16.

When it is determined that the drying time T2 has elapsed (S19: YES), the operation control unit 11 stops driving the drum motor 4, the blower fan 6, and the heat pump 7 to end the drying operation, and then sets the drain pump 81 to a predetermined value. The time is turned on (S20), and the stored water discharge process is terminated. Here, the driving time of the drainage pump 81 is, for example, 10 seconds. As a result, the trap 94 is sealed with water.
Then, the drain valve 92 may be opened before the drain pump 81 is driven, the water collected in the first drain pipe 91 during drying may be removed, and then the drain valve 92 may be closed. The timing for opening the drain valve 92 may be any time after the end of the drying operation.

In this embodiment, since the drainage pump 81 is driven when the laundry is finished drying, it is not necessary to supply water after the drying is finished, no new parts are required, the trap 94 is sealed with water, and washing is performed. Odor and small animal intrusion into the dryer 100 can be prevented.
In the present embodiment, since the drying time and the control switching time are determined according to the weight of the laundry, the drain tank 75 does not overflow reliably without driving the drainage pump 81 unnecessarily. In addition, the trap 94 can be surely sealed with water after the completion of drying.

(Embodiment 3)
In the first and second embodiments described above, the timing for switching the driving time of the drainage pump 81 from t ₁ to t ₂ is performed based on the humidity sensor 17 and the drying time. For this reason, control is performed so that threshold values for switching timing are set according to the amount of laundry and stored.
Condensed water gradually decreases according to the degree of progress of the drying operation. Therefore, the drive time of the drainage pump 81 can be gradually shortened at the timing when the water level sensor 76 detects predetermined condensed water in the drain tank 75. In this way, the object of the present invention can be achieved with simple control without changing the amount of laundry and the threshold value based on detection by the humidity sensor 17.

For example, the time when the water level sensor 76 detects a predetermined amount after the start of the drying operation and the drain pump 81 is first driven is t ₁ . This time t ₁ is the time when all the water stored in the drain tank 75 is drained. Thereafter, the time when the water level sensor 76 detects a predetermined amount and drives the drain pump 81 is t1 / 2 hours. Thereafter, every time the water level sensor 76 detects a predetermined amount, the drive time of the drainage pump 81 is gradually shortened, such as t1 / 3, t1 / 4.
In this way, the driving time of the drainage pump 81 only needs to be gradually shortened in response to the detection of the water level sensor 76, and not only the control becomes very simple, but as in the first and second embodiments, After the drying is completed, the condensed water is sufficiently stored in the drain tank 75, and the trap 94 is surely sealed with the waste water treatment.

(Embodiment 4)
Further, the drive control of the drainage pump 81 of the third embodiment can be performed by combining the drive control of the first or second embodiment.
That is, the driving time of the drainage pump 81 according to the third embodiment is gradually shortened according to the detection of the water level sensor 76, but the timing for gradually shortening the driving time of the first or second embodiment is used. You may make it perform based.

For example, as in the first embodiment, after the humidity sensor 17 detects the set humidity (after a specified time), the time for driving the drainage pump 81 is gradually shortened based on the detection by the water level sensor 17. Control.
Further, according to the second embodiment, the time for driving the drainage pump 81 is gradually shortened based on the detection of the water level sensor 17 from the time when the set drying time has passed (after the specified time). To control. By controlling in this way, the same operational effects as the above-described embodiment can be obtained.

  As described above, the dryer (100) according to the present invention includes a drying chamber (3) for storing an object to be dried and drying with drying air, and a drain pipe (91, 91) connected to the drying chamber (3). 93, 94), a heat pump (7) that generates the dry air, a drain tank (75) that stores water generated by the heat pump (7), and water stored in the drain tank (75) A drier (100) having a drainage pump (81) for sending to the drainage pipes (91, 93, 94), and driving the drainage pump (81) when drying of the material to be dried is completed, When the drain pump (81) is driven within a specified time corresponding to the progress of drying after the start of drying, the drain pump (81) is driven for a first time, and after the specified time has elapsed, the drain pump When driving (81), the first time Characterized in that it is configured to drive shorter second time.

  In the present invention, since the drainage pump (81) is driven when the drying of the object to be dried is completed, it is not necessary to supply water after the completion of drying, no new parts are required, and the trap (94) is sealed with water. In addition, it is possible to prevent odors and small animals from entering the aircraft.

  In the present invention, a large amount of water is stored in the drain tank (75). In the initial stage of drying, the drain pump (81) is driven for a longer drive time so that the drain tank (75) does not overflow. The amount of water stored in the drain tank (75) is small. At the end of drying, the driving time when the drain pump (81) is driven is shortened so that water is stored in the drain tank (75). When the drain pump (81) is driven later, the trap (94) can be surely sealed.

  In the dryer (100) according to the present invention, the first time is a time during which all the water stored in the drain tank (75) can be drained, and the second time is stored in the drain tank (75). The time is set so that all the water cannot be drained.

  The dryer (100) according to the present invention includes a means (11) for determining a drying time based on the volume or weight of the material to be dried, and the drying time determined by the means (11). And a means (11) for determining a prescribed time.

  When the capacity or weight of the material to be dried is large, the amount of water stored in the drain tank (75) is large. In the present invention, the time for switching the drying time and the driving time of the drainage pump (81) is determined according to the size, so that the drain tank (75) can be reliably connected without driving the drainage pump wastefully. It is possible to prevent overflow and to ensure that the trap (94) is sealed with water after the end of drying.

  The dryer (100) according to the present invention includes a humidity sensor (17) in the machine, and includes means (11) for determining the specified time based on the humidity detected by the humidity sensor (17). And

  The degree of progress of drying can be known by monitoring the humidity inside the machine during drying. In the present invention, since the time for switching the driving time of the drain pump (81) is determined based on the humidity detected by the humidity sensor (17), the drain pump (81) is reliably driven without wastefully driving the drain pump (81). The tank (75) can be prevented from overflowing, and the trap (94) can be surely sealed with water after the completion of drying.

  The dryer (100) according to the present invention includes means (11) for determining the humidity threshold for determining the specified time based on the volume or weight of the material to be dried.

  When the capacity or weight of the object to be dried is large, the amount of water stored in the drain tank (75) is large even when the humidity in the machine is low. In the present invention, since the humidity threshold value for determining the time is changed based on the volume or weight of the material to be dried, the wastewater pump (81) is more reliably driven without waste. The drain tank (75) can be prevented from overflowing, and the trap (94) can be sealed with water after the completion of drying.

The embodiment disclosed this time should be considered as illustrative in all points and not restrictive. The scope of the present invention is not intended to include the above-described meanings, but is intended to include meanings equivalent to the claims and all modifications within the scope of the claims.
For example, in the first and second embodiments, the case where the present invention is applied to the washing / drying machine 100 is described. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and does not have a washing function, for example, has only a drying function. It can be applied to clothes dryer.

The control switching time may be changed based on the cloth quality detection result.
And the progress degree of a drying process may be grasped | ascertained with the temperature shown in FIG. 4 instead of humidity as mentioned above, or these combination.
Furthermore, you may decide to change control switching time according to the course from which a drying speed differs.
Note that the dryer described in the embodiment has been described by taking a laundry dryer as an example, but the present invention is also applied to dryers that exclusively dry moisture-containing objects, such as dishwashers. Can be applied.

1 Housing 2 Water tank (drying room)
3 Rotating drum (drying room)
4 Drum motor 7 Heat pump 71 Compressor 72 Condenser 73 Evaporator 74 Throttle section 75 Drain tank 76 Water level sensor 81 Drain pump 92 Drain valve 94 Trap 11 Operation control section 14 Operation panel 17 Humidity sensor 161 Weight sensor 100 Washer / dryer

Claims (5)

A drying chamber that accommodates an object to be dried and is dried by drying air; a drain pipe connected to the drying chamber; a heat pump that generates the drying air; a drain tank that stores water generated by the heat pump; A drainage pump for sending the water stored in the drain tank to the drainage pipe,
When drying of the object to be dried is finished, in the dryer that drives the drainage pump,
When the drainage pump is driven within a specified time corresponding to the progress of drying after the start of drying, the drainage pump is driven for a first time, and after the specified time has elapsed, when the drainage pump is driven, A dryer configured to be driven for a second time shorter than the first time. The first time is a time during which all the water stored in the drain tank can be drained,
2. The dryer according to claim 1, wherein the second time is set to a time during which all the water stored in the drain tank cannot be drained. Means for determining a drying time based on the volume or weight of the object to be dried;
Means for determining the prescribed time corresponding to the drying time determined by the means;
The dryer according to claim 1 or 2, wherein Equipped with a humidity sensor in the aircraft,
The dryer according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising means for determining the specified time based on the humidity detected by the humidity sensor.   5. The dryer according to claim 4, further comprising means for determining a threshold value of the humidity for determining the specified time based on a capacity or weight of the object to be dried.

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