JP2016154641A - Washing and drying machine - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a new washing and drying machine which supplies a sufficient amount of air to a drying air passage by aligning an opening of a drying air blowing port and an opening of an inlet of an inner tub drying air passage, and which improves drying efficiency by enhancing air velocity of the air blown out of an outlet of the inner tub drying air passage.SOLUTION: A washing and drying machine is constituted in such a manner that a position sensor assembly which outputs an opening matching signal when an opening of an inlet of an inner tub drying air passage is matched with an opening of a drying air blowout port of a drying duct is provided between an inner tub and an outer tub, and when the inner tub rotates and the opening matching signal is outputted from the position sensor assembly, the rotation of the inner tub is stopped. Thereby, a sufficient amount of air is supplied to a drying air passage by aligning the opening of the drying air blowout port of the drying duct and the opening of the inlet of the inner tub drying air passage, and drying time of clothes can be shortened by improving drying efficiency by enhancing the air velocity of the air blown out of an outlet of the inner tub drying air passage.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

  The present invention rotates the inner tub and rotor blades to make the clothes easy to wash, further rotates the inner tub to dehydrate the clothes, and then warms the inner tub or warm air in the outer tub ( The present invention relates to a washing / drying machine having a function of drying clothes by blowing dry air (typically referred to below).

  In general, a washing / drying machine is provided with a rotary blade at the bottom of an inner tub that contains clothing, and by rotating the rotary wing forward and backward with water stored in the inner tub and the outer tub that rotatably supports the rotary wing. Too easy to wash. In the drying process after the inner tub is rotated at a high speed and the dehydration is finished, the air containing the moisture of the clothing is guided to the circulation path by the blower fan, and the moisture is removed by the dehumidifying mechanism provided in the circulation path. Thereafter, the temperature is increased by heating the air with a heater, and the heated air is blown out again from above the inner tank into the inner tank. Further, in the drying process, the rotating blades and the inner tub are rotated in the forward and reverse directions to stir the clothes, and the air sent from the blower fan is uniformly blown onto the clothes to make the degree of drying for each piece of clothes uniform.

  However, if the clothes are stirred for a long time, the clothes are likely to be entangled or twisted, and if dried in this state, the clothes are likely to wrinkle. In addition, a washing and drying machine that spins and dehydrates the inner tub cannot be installed in the inner tub that rotates the blower fan, so the distance between the air outlet from the blower fan and the clothing becomes longer. However, there is a problem that the jet of air from the blowout port is easily diffused, the wind speed of the air hitting the clothing is decelerated, the drying efficiency is poor, and the drying time is extended.

  Therefore, as a technique for drying clothes in a short time, for example, Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 2006-15028 (Patent Document 1) discloses an inner tub that guides air blown into the inner tub from above the inner tub to below the inner tub. A washing and drying machine is described in which a drying air passage is provided along the wall surface of the inner tub, and the inner tub is rotated to intermittently supply air to the inner tub drying air passage. According to this, it is stated that it is possible to easily put in and take out clothes, improve drying efficiency and shorten drying time.

JP 2006-15028 A

  By the way, in the washing / drying machine described in Patent Document 1, there is no matching relationship between the position of the opening of the drying air blowing port of the drying duct and the position of the opening of the inner tank drying air passage when the inner tub is rotated. Not considered. For this reason, if the opening of the drying air blower opening and the opening of the inner tank drying air passage do not match well, there will be a “displacement” between the openings, and sufficient air will flow into the inner tank drying air passage. The phenomenon that does not occur. As a result, the amount of air blown from the lower side of the inner tank drying air passage is reduced and the wind speed is lowered. For this reason, there existed a subject that drying efficiency fell and clothing could not be dried in a short time.

  An object of the present invention is to supply a sufficient amount of air to the drying air path by aligning the opening of the drying air blowing port and the opening of the inner tank drying air path, and to blow out from the outlet of the inner tank drying air path An object of the present invention is to provide a novel washing / drying machine that improves the drying efficiency by increasing the wind speed.

  A feature of the present invention is that a position sensor assembly that outputs an opening coincidence signal when the opening of the inlet of the inner tank drying air passage coincides with the opening of the drying air blowing port of the drying duct is provided between the inner tank and the outer tank, When the inner tank rotates and an opening coincidence signal is output from the position sensor assembly, the rotation of the inner tank is stopped.

  According to the present invention, a sufficient amount of air is supplied to the drying air passage by aligning the opening of the drying air blowing port of the drying duct with the opening of the inlet of the inner bath drying air passage, and the outlet of the inner tank drying air passage. The drying speed of clothes can be shortened by increasing the wind speed of the air blown out from the clothes and improving the drying efficiency.

1 is an external view of a washing / drying machine to which the present invention is applied. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view of a washing / drying machine according to a first embodiment of the present invention. It is the top view which looked at the AA cross section of FIG. 2 from the top. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view which shows the modification of the washing / drying machine shown in FIG. It is the top view which looked at the washing-drying machine which becomes other embodiment of this invention from the AA cross section of FIG. It is sectional drawing which shows the BB cross section of FIG. 5 partially. It is a flowchart which shows a part of control process of the washing / drying machine shown in FIG. It is a detailed flowchart of step 24 of the flowchart shown in FIG.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. However, the present invention is not limited to the following embodiments, and various modifications and application examples are included in the technical concept of the present invention. Is also included in the range.

  FIG. 1 shows the appearance of the washing / drying machine 100, and FIG. 2 shows a longitudinal section of the washing / drying machine 100. The flow of air blown on the clothing during the drying process is indicated by arrows. Moreover, FIG. 2 has shown the cross section of the state which the drying air ventilation port of the drying duct and the inlet_port | entrance of the inner tank drying air path faced.

  In FIG. 1, a washing / drying machine 100 includes a casing 1 constituting an outer shell, and a power switch 5 and a detergent / finishing agent container 28 are provided on the front side of the top cover 2 at the top of the casing 1. Further, the housing 1 is provided with an outer lid 3 so as to cover the clothes insertion port 2a. A handle 3a and an operation panel 8 having an operation switch 6 and a display 7 are provided on the front side of the outer lid 3. When the handle 3a is pulled upward, the outer lid 3 is bent and opened at the center. ing. The operation panel 8 is electrically connected to a control device 14 provided at the bottom of the housing 1. Further, the housing 1 is provided with a water supply electromagnetic valve 4, which is opened when water is supplied to supply tap water into the outer tub.

  An outer tub 10 for storing water is elastically supported inside the housing 1. A vibration sensor 27 for detecting the vibration of the outer tub 10 during washing or dehydration is provided on the outer side surface of the outer tub 10. An air trap 21 a is provided on the bottom surface of the outer tub 10, and the pressure inside the air trap 21 a is transmitted to the water level sensor 21 via the tube 21 b, and the water level accumulated in the outer tub 10 is detected.

  The outer tub 10 includes an inner tub 9 for storing clothing. The inner tub 9 has a large number of small through holes 9a for water flow and ventilation on the outer peripheral wall thereof, and a plurality of through holes 9b for water flow and ventilation on the bottom wall thereof, and a fluid at the upper edge thereof. A balancer 9c is provided, and a rotating blade 11 is rotatably supported inside the bottom. In addition, drying air from a drying duct, which will be described later (this air is heated by a heater and becomes warm air), is directed downward from above the inner tank 9 to the inner wall of a part of the inner periphery of the inner tank 9. An inner tank drying air passage 52 is provided for guiding the air to the inside.

  The inner tank drying air passage 52 includes an inner tank drying air passage inlet 52 a that opens toward the drying air blowing port 51 a of the drying duct 51 and an inner tank drying air passage outlet 52 b that opens toward the center of the inner tank 9. I have. The inner tank drying air passage inlet 52a is disposed on the inner diameter side of the fluid balancer 9c. In general, the inner tank 9 is made of a stainless steel plate, but the inner tank drying air passage 52 is made of a synthetic resin. The inner tank drying air passage 52 is tightly fixed to the inner peripheral wall of the inner tank 9 by fixing means. The inner tank drying air passage 52 may be introduced not with air heated by a heater but with air existing in the outer periphery of the outer tank 10. In this case, the air is warmed by the exhaust heat of the motor and the exhaust heat of the rotating mechanism, and the clothes can be sufficiently dried.

  A motor 13 is provided outside the bottom of the outer tub 10, and the rotation of the inner tub 9 and the rotary blade 9 can be operated as follows by controlling the clutch mechanism 12. One is an operation of rotating the rotating blade 11 repeatedly forward and reverse in a state where the inner tub 9 is locked so as to be stationary or released so that it can freely rotate, and is mainly used when clothes are agitated. The other is an operation of integrally rotating the inner tub 9 and the rotary blade 11 in the same direction, and is mainly used when clothes are agitated and centrifugally dehydrated.

  A tank cover 31 is provided on the upper surface of the outer tub 10, and the tank cover 31 includes a clothing input port 31a, a detergent / softening agent inlet port 28a, a dry air blowing port 51a, a water supply inlet port 32 ( 3) and a circulating water inlet 33 is provided. Further, the tank cover 31 is provided with an inner lid 23 so as to cover the clothes insertion port 31a, and can be opened and closed by a hinge 23b. The inner lid 23 is unlocked and opened by lifting the handle 23a upward, and is locked by pushing downward.

  A drying duct 51 and a dehumidifying duct 22 are provided on the rear side of the housing 1. The drying duct 51 connects between the outlet of the blower fan 19 and the dry air blowing port 51a, and includes a heater 20 as a heat source and a temperature sensor 26 in the middle thereof. On the other hand, the dehumidification duct 22 connects between the water flow vent 10b and the blower fan 19, and includes a dehumidification mechanism 22b for dehumidifying the air in the middle thereof. Further, the housing 1 is provided with a water supply electromagnetic valve 4 so that water can be supplied to the inner tank 9, the dehumidifying mechanism 22b, and the detergent / finishing agent container 28.

  The outer tub 10 is provided with a circulation pipe 17 that connects between the water flow vent 10b and the circulation water inlet 33 (see FIG. 3). In the middle of the circulation pipe 17, there are a circulation pump 16 and a foreign matter trap 18 provided at the bottom of the housing 1, and a drainage hose 24 is connected to the foreign matter trap 18 via a drainage valve 15. When the circulation pump 16 is operated, the water in the outer tub 10 is transported from the water vent 10 b through the circulation pipe 17 to the upper portion of the outer tub 10, and is introduced into the outer tub 10 from the circulating water inlet 33 of the tank cover 31. After the lint is removed, water is sprinkled into the inner tub 9.

  Here, the magnitude relationship between the cross-sectional areas of the drying air blowing port 51a and the inner tank drying air channel inlet 52a will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 3 is a top view of the AA cross section in FIG. When viewed from above, the circumferential length of the inner tank 9 of the inner tank drying air passage entrance 52a is indicated by L, and the radial length is indicated by d. The channel cross-sectional area is a plane perpendicular to the air flow direction, and the channel cross-sectional area of the inner tank drying air channel inlet 52a is made larger than the channel cross-sectional area of the drying air blowing port 51a of the drying duct 51.

  Accordingly, the overlapping area of the drying air blowing port 51a and the inner tank drying air channel inlet 52a is widened as viewed from FIG. 3, so that the inner tank 9 is rotated to dry the drying air blowing port 51a and the inner tank drying air channel inlet 52a. When it is going to fix to the position which opposes, it becomes easy to position the inner tank 9, and the air which came out from the drying air ventilation port 51a can be ventilated to the inner tank drying air path 52. FIG.

  In particular, the amount by which the inner tank drying air passage 52 protrudes in the radial direction of the inner tank 9 by making the circumferential length L of the inner tank 9 of the inner tank drying air passage inlet 52a larger than the radial length d. The cross-sectional area of the flow path is secured while suppressing the air flow, and the dry air blowing port 51a and the inner tank dry air flow path inlet 52a are more easily opposed to each other. In this embodiment, the drying air blowing port 51a is circular, but the air leakage is reduced when the drying air blowing port 51a is elliptical to match the inner tank drying air channel inlet 52a.

  Further, the cross-sectional area of the inner tank drying air passage outlet 52b is made larger than the cross-sectional area of the inner tank drying air passage inlet 52a. Thereby, it can prevent that the air which flowed into the inner tank drying air path 52 flows back into the inner tank drying air path inlet 52a, and leaks. Further, the inner tank drying air passage 52 is provided with the inner tank drying air passage inlet 52a on the inner side of the fluid balancer 9c, so that the air is supplied to the inner tank drying air passage outlet 52b without impairing the vibration control performance of the fluid balancer 9c. Can guide you. Further, the inner tank drying air passage 52 is provided with an inner tank drying air passage outlet 52b below at least the center of the inner tank 9 in the vertical direction, so that the clothes collected on the lower side of the inner tank 9 during the drying process can be prevented. The air can be blown from a closer distance as compared with the case of blowing air from above the inner tub 9 to the clothing.

  Next, the flow path cross-sectional area of the drying duct 51 will be described with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3. The drying duct 51 is provided such that the flow passage cross-sectional area decreases from the outlet of the blower fan 19 toward the dry air blowing port 51a, and the flow passage cross-sectional area is minimized at the dry air blowing port 51a. Thereby, the air sent from the ventilation fan 19 is accelerated, and the speed of the air which comes out from the dry wind ventilation port 51a becomes large. At the same time, the static pressure in the vicinity of the drying air blowing port 51a decreases, so that the surrounding air flows from the gap between the drying air blowing port 51a and the inner tank drying air channel inlet 52a, so that it enters the inner tank drying air channel 52. The air volume of the introduced air will increase. In this way, by restricting the air flow at the dry air blowing port 51a, the amount of air blown from the inner tank dry air channel outlet 52b toward the clothing increases, and the wrinkles of the clothing can be further reduced.

  Here, FIG. 4 shows a configuration in which two channels of an inner tank drying air passage 52 and an inner tank drying air passage 71 having the same function are provided. By providing the inner tank drying air passage 71, the number of places where air is blown from the lower part of the inner tank 9 is increased and the clothes can be blown evenly. Therefore, the drying time is shortened and wrinkles of the clothes can be reduced.

  The center of gravity of the inner tank drying air passage 71 is provided at a position facing the center of gravity of the inner tank drying air passage 52 with respect to the rotational axis of the inner tank 9. When the inner tank 9 rotates, the inner tank drying air passage 52 alone has an unbalanced mass with respect to the rotation axis, but the inner tank 9 and the inner tank 9 are provided by providing the inner tank drying air passage 71. This is because the eccentric mass as the rotating body composed of the total of the constituent elements such as the inner tank drying air passage 52 and the inner tank drying air passage 71 fixed to the inner diameter becomes small, and it becomes easy to balance.

  In addition, the mass installed so that it may balance with a rotating shaft center when the inner tank 9 rotates is not restricted to the above-mentioned inner tank drying air path 71, but the flow path provided in the inner tank 9, the flow of water, and cloth movement The same effect can be obtained with a structure for promoting, lint collecting means, etc., and a plurality of them may be provided.

  As described with reference to FIG. 2, when the circumferential length of the inner tank 9 of the inner tank drying air passage 52a is L and the radial length is d, the cross-sectional area of the flow path of the inner tank drying air passage 52a. Is made larger than the flow path cross-sectional area of the drying air blowing port 51a of the drying duct 51. Accordingly, when the inner tub 9 is rotated and fixed at a position where the dry air blowing port 51a and the inner tub drying air passage entrance 52a are opposed to each other, the inner tub 9 is easily positioned.

  However, if more drying air is supplied from the drying duct 51 to the inner tank drying air passage 52, the consistency of the openings of the drying air blowing port 51a and the inner tank drying air passage inlet 52a is further improved. is necessary. Therefore, in this embodiment, an opening coincidence signal is output when the opening of the drying air duct 51a of the drying duct 51 overlaps with the opening of the inner tank drying air passage 52a of the inner tank drying air passage 52. A position sensor assembly is provided between the inner tank and the outer tank. When the inner tank 9 rotates and an opening coincidence signal is output from the position sensor assembly, the rotation of the inner tank 9 is stopped.

  As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, a permanent magnet is fixed to the upper surface of the fluid balancer 9 c of the inner tank 9. The outer circumference of the permanent magnet 42 is covered with a synthetic resin, and is fixed by a screw or the like so as to protrude from the upper surface of the fluid balancer 9c. As described above, when the permanent magnet 42 is fixed to the upper surface of the fluid balancer 9c, there is an advantage that the detection sensitivity is improved because the distance from a magnetic proximity sensor described later is reduced.

  On the other hand, since the fluid balancer 9c is made of a synthetic resin, a concave portion may be formed on the upper surface of the fluid balancer 9c and fixed by being embedded therein. In this case, since the permanent magnet 42 is embedded in the fluid balancer 9c, the possibility that the permanent magnet 42 is damaged by an obstacle can be reduced. Therefore, an appropriate one may be adopted.

  A magnetic proximity sensor 41 is provided on the projection surface of the fluid balancer 9c on the upper surface of the tank cover 31, and an output is generated when the permanent magnet 42 approaches due to the rotation of the inner tank 9. The outer periphery of the magnetic proximity sensor 41 is also covered with a synthetic resin, and is fixed to the upper surface of the tank cover 31 with screws or the like. A combination of the magnetic proximity sensor 41 and the permanent magnet 42 constitutes a position sensor assembly.

  The fixing position of the magnetic proximity sensor 41 and the permanent magnet 42 constituting the position sensor assembly is arbitrary, but the important point is that the respective openings of the drying air blowing port 51a and the inner tank drying air channel inlet 52a are aligned. Thus, the magnetic proximity sensor 41 and the permanent magnet 42 are fixed so as to be closest and generate an output. In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 3, the drying air blowing port 51a is positioned in the inner tank drying air channel inlet 52a, preferably the drying air blowing port 51a is positioned near the center of the inner tank drying air channel inlet 52a. In this state, the magnetic proximity sensor 41 is fixed on the tank cover 31 at a position substantially opposite (position rotated by 180 °) with the rotation axis of the inner tank 9 as a boundary.

  That is, in the state where the dry air blowing port 51a is located near the center of the inner tank drying air channel inlet 52a, the arrangement angle θ of the magnetic proximity sensor 41 and the arrangement of the permanent magnets 42 start from the drying air blowing port 51a. They are arranged with the same angle θ. The arrangement angle θ is an arbitrary angle as described above.

  Therefore, when the inner tub 9 rotates and the permanent magnet 42 approaches the magnetic proximity sensor 41 and comes directly below, the magnetic proximity sensor 41 outputs an opening coincidence signal to the control device 14, and the control device 14 outputs the motor 13. And the rotation of the inner tank 9 is stopped. In addition, since the rotation speed of the inner tank 9 at this time is set to about 10 rpm, even if the drive signal of the motor 13 is cut off, there is no fear that the inner tank 9 rotates due to inertia, and the dry air blowing port 51a The inner tank drying air passage inlet 52a is stopped in a state where the respective openings are aligned. If there is a risk of rotating due to inertia, the brake mechanism can be operated.

  As the magnetic proximity sensor 41, there is typically one using a reed switch, a Hall element, or a magnetoresistive element (MR element). Any of these may be used, but in this embodiment, a non-contact type magnetic proximity sensor 41 using a Hall element, a magnetoresistive element (MR element) or the like is used. According to this, even if the inner tub 9 rotates at a high speed, such as dehydration, there is no movable part, so durability can be improved.

  Note that a reed switch may be used as the magnetic proximity sensor 41, and the reed switch is inexpensive and has an effect of omitting electrical wiring since an operation power source is unnecessary. Therefore, an appropriate one may be selected according to the design specification. The position sensor assembly of the present embodiment uses a magnetic proximity sensor, but other than this, an inductive proximity sensor or a capacitive proximity sensor may be used.

  Next, another embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. The present embodiment is different from the first embodiment in that the magnetic proximity sensor 41 is disposed on the side of the tank cover 31 where the drying duct 51 is located. Since other than this is the same as in the first embodiment, detailed description thereof is omitted.

  For example, when the magnetic proximity sensor 41 is arranged on the opposite side of the drying duct 51 as in the first embodiment, it is necessary to route the wiring for sending the detection signal of the magnetic proximity sensor 41 to the control device 14 around the outer periphery of the tank cover. There is. For this reason, the subject that a wiring becomes long and an assembly work becomes complicated may arise.

  In contrast, in this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 5, the magnetic proximity sensor 41 is arranged and fixed on the side of the tank cover 31 where the drying duct 51 is located. Specifically, the tank cover 31 is provided with an inner lid 23 so as to cover the clothes insertion port 31a and can be opened and closed by a hinge 23b. Therefore, it is provided on the upper surface of the tank cover 31 in the region closer to the drying duct 51 than the extension line CC of the hinge 23b. In this way, by arranging the magnetic proximity sensor 41 closer to the drying duct 51 than the extension line CC of the hinge 23b, the length of the wiring can be shortened, and further, the work of routing the wiring can be simplified, so that the assembly work Can be done easily.

  FIG. 6 shows a BB cross section of FIG. 5, and a permanent magnet 42 is fixed to the upper surface of the fluid balancer 9 c of the inner tank 9. Since the fluid balancer 9c is made of synthetic resin, a concave portion 43 for accommodating the magnetic proximity sensor 41 is formed on the upper surface of the fluid balancer 9c. In the permanent magnet 42, the outer periphery of the magnet body 44 is covered with a synthetic resin, and the sintered magnet body 44 is prevented from being damaged by an external force such as an impact. And the permanent magnet 42 is embed | buried and fixed to the upper surface of the fluid balancer 9c with the screw | thread.

  A magnetic proximity sensor 41 is provided on the projection surface of the fluid balancer 9c on the upper surface of the tank cover 31 in the region closer to the drying duct 51 than the extension line CC where the hinge 23b is located. When the permanent magnet 42 approaches, an output is generated. The outer periphery of the magnetic proximity sensor 41 is also covered with a synthetic resin, and is fixed to the upper surface of the tank cover 31 with screws or the like.

  The magnetic proximity sensor 41 is connected to the control device 14 by a covered wiring 45, and the magnetic proximity sensor 41 and the covered wiring 45 are liquid-tightly covered by a cover 46. Therefore, even if the tank cover 31 is flooded with washing water in a process such as washing, it is possible to prevent moisture from entering the magnetic proximity sensor 41 by the cover 46.

  In this embodiment, a non-contact magnetic proximity sensor 41 using a Hall element, a magnetoresistive element (MR element) or the like is used as the magnetic proximity sensor 41. According to this, even if the inner tub 9 rotates at a high speed, such as dehydration, there is no movable part, so durability can be improved. However, as described above, a reed switch may be used. If a reed switch is used, a drive power supply is not required unlike a non-contact type magnetic proximity sensor using a magnetoresistive element (MR element) or the like. There is an effect that wiring can be omitted.

  It should be noted that the magnetic proximity sensor 41 and the permanent magnet 42 are fixed so as to generate the output closest to each other with the respective openings of the drying air blowing port 51a and the inner tank drying air channel inlet 52a aligned. Is the same as in Example 1. Therefore, when the inner tub 9 rotates and the permanent magnet 42 approaches the magnetic proximity sensor 41 and comes directly below, the magnetic proximity sensor 41 outputs an opening coincidence signal to the control device 14, and the control device 14 outputs the motor 13. The operation signal is cut off to stop the rotation of the inner tank 9.

Next, the control flow of the washing and drying operation executed by the control device 14 will be described with reference to FIG.
<< Step S10 >>
When the power switch is turned on, power is supplied to the control device 14, and the control steps described below are executed by the built-in microcomputer.
<< Step S11 >>
Check the current operation status of the washer / dryer and make initial settings.
<< Step S12 >>
The indicator 7 of the operation panel 8 is turned on and a washing course is set according to an instruction input from the operation switch 6. When no instruction is input, the standard washing course or the previous washing course is automatically set.
<< Step S13 >>
The operation start instruction input in the operation switch 6 of the operation panel 8 is monitored, and the process proceeds to step S104 where the start input by the start switch is input. If there is no start input, the process returns to step S103 and the start switch instruction input is monitored. .
<< Step S14 >>
The clothing weight detection process is executed in the dry cloth state before the washing water is supplied. Next, a necessary detergent amount and water amount are obtained from a preset table of cloth amount, detergent amount and water amount.
<< Step S15 >>
The determined amount of detergent is displayed on the display 7 of the operation panel 8.
<< Step S16 >>
The user waits for a predetermined time until the displayed amount of detergent is put into the detergent / softening agent container 28.
<< Step S17 >>
Dissolve the detergent to produce a high concentration of wash water. First, the water supply electromagnetic valve 4 is opened and water is supplied to the detergent charging chamber of the detergent / softening agent container 28, and both the supplied water and the detergent pass through the detergent / softening agent inlet 28 a and fall to the bottom of the outer tub 10.

  Next, when the detergent is dissolved and water is supplied, the water supply is stopped. The detergent-dissolved water level means that when the inner tub 9 is rotated, the amount of water supplied to the bottom of the inner tub 9 and the water is sufficient to stir the detergent, and the water surface is lower than the height of the lower surface of the rotor blade 11. (Clothes do not get wet before the detergent is dissolved).

Finally, by rotating the inner tank 9, the detergent-dissolved water and the detergent charged in the bottom of the outer tank 10 are stirred, and the detergent-dissolving is performed so as to generate washing water in which the detergent is dissolved at a high concentration.
<< Step S18 >>
Perform pre-washing. First, the stirring of rotating the rotating blades 11 forward and backward is performed intermittently while the inner tank 9 is stationary, and the circulation pump 16 is operated during the forward and reverse rotation of the rotating blades 11 to wash the bottom of the outer tank 10. Drop water on your clothing. At this time, since high-concentration washing water is sprayed on the clothes, the clothes permeate the clothes uniformly by the penetration action of the detergent. The high-concentration washing water that has penetrated into the clothing has a high oil-dissolving ability, dissolves oil-and-soil stains such as sebum stains, and has a great effect of raising the stains from the clothing, resulting in a high detergency.

Next, while the rotary blade 11 and the circulation pump 16 are stopped, the water supply electromagnetic valve 4 is opened while referring to the detection signal of the water level sensor 21 to supply water so that the water level does not exceed the set water level. By repeating this operation a plurality of times, the washing water penetrates into the clothes.
<< Step S19 >>
Perform the main wash. First, the circulating pump 16 is operated while rotating the rotating blade 11 forward and backward while the inner tub 9 is stationary, and the washing water accumulated at the bottom of the outer tub 10 is dropped on the clothes to perform washing. Finally, the rotation of the circulating pump 16 is stopped and the circulation of the washing water is stopped, so that the rotating blades 11 are rotated in the forward and reverse directions so that the clothes in the inner tub 9 are uniformly distributed and the main washing time is completed. Like that.
<< Step S20 >>
Perform a shower rinse. First, after the drain valve 15 is opened to drain the wash water accumulated at the bottom of the outer tub 10, the inner tub 9 is rotated in one direction to centrifugally dehydrate the wash water contained in the clothing. The rotational speed at the time of dehydration of the inner tank 9 is set in the same manner as the rotational speed (about 1000 r / min) in the final dehydration described later, and the dehydration operation is performed so as to realize a high dehydration rate. Next, while rotating the inner tub 9 at a predetermined rotation speed, the water supply electromagnetic valve 4 is opened to supply water so that tap water falls on the clothes on the rotor blades 11 to dilute the detergent contained in the clothes. . After performing this operation for a predetermined time, the inner tub 9 is raised to a predetermined dehydration rotation speed to perform dehydration.
<< Step S21 >>
Perform a pool rinse. First, the drainage valve 15 is closed, the water supply electromagnetic valve 4 is opened, and water is supplied to the softening agent charging chamber in the detergent / softening agent charging container 28, whereby the softening agent in the softening agent charging chamber is supplied to the outer tank 10. Supply water to the bottom. Next, as in step 110, the detergent contained in the clothing is diluted by stirring the clothing in the inner tub 9.
<< Step S22 >>
Perform final dehydration. First, the drain valve 15 is opened to drain water accumulated at the bottom of the outer tub 10, and then the inner tub 9 is rotated in one direction to centrifugally dehydrate the wash water contained in the clothes. The rotation speed and operation time of the final dehydration are set so that a desired dehydration rate can be obtained.
<< Step S23 >>
Check if the washing / drying course is set. In the case of only washing, the process proceeds to the end, and after a predetermined time has passed, a buzzer at the end of washing is sounded to end the process. On the other hand, when the washing / drying course is set, the process proceeds to step S114 to execute the drying mode.
<< Step S24 >>
When the washing / drying course is set, the drying is executed. First, after the drain valve 15 is opened, the inner tub 9 is rotated to position the inner tub 9 in order to guide the air sent from the blower fan 19 to the inner tub drying air passage outlet 52b. Specifically, the control step for performing the positioning is executed by the control flow shown in FIG. Hereinafter, this control is executed using FIG.
<< Step S24-1 >>
When washing is completed after the final dehydration is performed, the inner tub 9 is stopped. When the drying mode is started, in this step S24-1, the inner tank 9 is rotated at an extremely low speed. The rotation speed in this case is about 10 rpm. The reason why the inner tub 9 is rotated at an extremely low speed is to prevent the inner tub 9 from rotating too much due to inertia when the drying blast blowing port 51a is positioned in the inner tub drying air passage inlet 52a. When the inner tank 9 rotates, the process proceeds to step S24-2.
<< Step S24-2 >>
As the inner tank 9 rotates, the inner tank dry air passage inlet 52a comes close to the dry air blowing port 51a. When the drying air blowing port 51a is positioned in the inner tank drying air passage inlet 52a, an opening coincidence signal is output by the position sensor assembly. That is, the fluid balancer 9c is rotated together with the rotation of the inner tank 9, and the permanent magnet 42 is rotated accordingly. When the permanent magnet 42 rotates and is positioned directly below the magnetic proximity sensor 41, the magnetic proximity sensor 41 transmits an output signal to the control device 14 as an aperture coincidence signal.

  As described above, since the permanent magnet 42 is set to be positioned directly below the magnetic proximity sensor 41 when the drying air blowing port 51a is positioned in the inner tank drying air passage inlet 52a, the magnetic proximity sensor 41 is set. Output signal functions as an aperture coincidence signal. Therefore, in step S24-2, it can be determined that the drying air blowing port 51a is located in the inner tank drying air channel inlet 52a based on whether or not the opening coincidence signal is input.

If it is determined in step S24-2 that no opening coincidence signal is input, the process returns to step S24-2 again to monitor the input state of the opening coincidence signal. On the other hand, if it is determined that the aperture coincidence signal has been input, the process proceeds to step S24-3.
<< Step S24-3 >>
When the opening coincidence signal is input and the drying air blowing port 51a is positioned in the inner tank drying air passage inlet 52a, no further rotation of the inner tank 9 is necessary, and the drive signal to the motor 13 is cut off. When the drive signal to the motor 13 is cut off, the rotation of the inner tub 9 is stopped at this position. When the inner tank 9 is stopped, the process proceeds to step S24-4.
<< Step S24-4 >>
In step S24-4, the brake is operated to lock the inner tank 9 so that the position of the inner tank 9 does not change. As a result, the inner tank 9 is in a fixed state, the relative positions of the inner tank drying air passage inlet 52a and the drying air blowing port 51a are fixed, and the opening of the inner tank drying air passage 52a and the opening of the drying air blowing port 51a are aligned. Will be improved. When this control step ends, the process proceeds to step S25.

This step S24-4 can be omitted when the inner tub 9 is positioned so as not to move by the motor 13. Further, the order of step S24-3 and step S24-4 can be reversed, and further, the operations of step S24-3 and step S24-4 can be performed simultaneously.
<< Step S25 >>
Since the drying air blowing port 51a is located in the inner tank drying air channel inlet 52a in the process of step S24, the blowing fan 19 starts blowing air.
<< Step S26 >>
The heater 20 is energized to heat the air sent from the blower fan 19. At this time, the air sent from the blower fan 19 is blown out from the dry air blowing port 51a toward the inner tank drying air passage inlet 52a through the drying duct 51 as indicated by the arrow in FIG. The clothes are sprayed from the inner tank drying air path outlet 52b through the path 52 to warm the clothes and evaporate the water. The air that has become hot and humid passes through the through-holes 9a and 9b, exits the outer tub 10, is sent to the dehumidifying duct 22 from the water vent 10b, becomes dehumidified by the dehumidifying mechanism 22b, and is heated again by the heater 20 Then, it is circulated so as to be blown into the inner tank 9.
<< Step S27 >>
The clothes are agitated by rotating the rotary blade 11 forward and backward so that the air emitted from the inner tank drying air passage outlet 52b uniformly strikes the clothes. The forward / reverse rotation of the rotary blade 11 may be performed intermittently or continuously.
<< Step S28 >>
By rotating the inner tub 9, air is blown from the dry air blowing port 51a to the upper layer portion of the clothing. With this operation, the positional relationship between the drying air blowing port 51a and the inner tank drying air channel inlet 52a facing each other in step S117 is canceled, and air is not supplied from the drying air blowing port 51a but the inner tank drying air channel outlet 52b. Since the air is blown, the distance between the position where the air blows toward the clothing and the clothing is increased. However, since the drying duct 51 is provided so that the flow passage cross-sectional area of the drying air blowing port 51a is minimized, the air blown from the drying air blowing port 51a is directly applied to the clothing without passing through the inner tank drying air channel 52. Even when blowing, high-speed air can be blown onto clothing.

  In addition, while it blows with the ventilation fan 19 at a drying process, the time when the inner tank 9 is rotating is made shorter than the time when the rotary blade 11 is rotating. That is, while the air is blown by the blower fan 19, the time during which the rotation of the inner tub 9 is stopped is made longer than the time during which the rotary blade 11 is stopped with respect to the inner tub 9. Thereby, since the rotary blade 11 can be moved in a state where the dry air blowing port 51a and the inner tank drying air channel inlet 52a face each other, the high speed air flow is blown from the inner tank drying air channel outlet 52b. The clothes can be agitated by 11, and air can be blown uniformly on the clothes.

  In addition, air can be continuously led to the inner tank dry air passage outlet 52b close to the clothing, and air having a higher wind speed than that of blowing air from the dry air blowing port 51a far from the clothing can be supplied to the clothing for a long time. Due to these functions and effects, the time until the clothes are uniformly dried is shortened, and the wrinkles of the clothes can be continuously stretched with high-speed air, so that the wrinkles of the clothes can be reduced.

However, the time during which the inner tank 9 is stopped includes the time during which the inner tank 9 is released so that it can be freely rotated without being locked. The time during which the positional relationship between the dry air blowing port 51a and the inner tank drying air channel inlet 52a is eliminated is not included. Thus, wrinkles of clothing can be reduced by making the time for blowing air from the dry air outlet 52b to the clothing as long as possible.
<< Step S29 >>
Similarly to step S24, the inner tub 9 is rotated, and the inner tub 9 is fixed at a position where the dry air blowing port 51a exists in the inner tub dry air passage inlet 52a.
<< Step S30 >>
When the rate of temperature change of the drying air detected by the temperature sensor 26 reaches a predetermined value, it is determined that the clothes have been dried. If the clothes are not dry, the operations from step S27 to step S29 are repeated. However, since the effect of reducing the wrinkle of the clothes is the highest in the method of blowing air from the inner tank drying air passage outlet 52b close to the clothes, the inner tank 9 is rotated and air is applied to the upper layer of the clothes. Step S29 may be omitted, and only step S27 for sending air to the lower layer of the clothing while stirring with the rotary blade 11 may be used.
<< Step S31 >>
Stop energization of the heater 20. In this embodiment, energization of the heater 20 is continued until the clothes are dried. However, in order to reduce power consumption, the energization of the heater is not energized consistently or in the middle of steps S27 to S29. When the operation is stopped, or energization may be performed intermittently.
<< Step S32 >>
Blowing by the blower fan 19 is stopped.
<< Step S33 >>
The drying process is finished, and the user is notified by the display 7 or the buzzer 43.

  The washing and drying operation described above is a standard course, and in the case of a special course for blankets and easy-to-wear clothes, it is better that the time for rotating the rotary blade 11 is short so that the clothes are not damaged. In this case, at the beginning of the drying process, dry air is blown from the dry air blowing port 51a toward the upper layer of the clothing while rotating the inner tub 9, and finally the dry air blowing port 51a and the inner tub drying air channel inlet 52a By facing each other and blowing air from the inner tank drying air passage outlet 52b toward the clothing, wrinkles can be reduced while preventing the clothing from being damaged.

  Moreover, although the present Example demonstrated using the heater 20 as a heat source which heats air, the same effect can be acquired even if a heat source is based on a heat pump. Furthermore, although the present embodiment has been described using the heater 20 as a heat source, the same effect can be obtained even if the heat source is a heat pump.

  As described above, according to the present invention, the position sensor assembly that outputs an opening coincidence signal when the opening of the inlet of the inner tank drying air passage coincides with the opening of the drying air blowing opening of the drying duct is provided with the inner tank and the outer tank. The inner tank is rotated, and when the opening coincidence signal is output from the position sensor assembly, the rotation of the inner tank is stopped.

  According to this, a sufficient amount of air is supplied to the drying air passage by aligning the opening of the drying air blowing port of the drying duct with the opening of the inlet of the inner bath drying air passage, and blows out from the outlet of the inner bath drying air passage. The drying speed of clothing can be shortened by increasing the wind speed of air and improving the drying efficiency.

  In addition, this invention is not limited to an above-described Example, Various modifications are included. For example, the above-described embodiments have been described in detail for easy understanding of the present invention, and are not necessarily limited to those having all the configurations described. Further, a part of the configuration of one embodiment can be replaced with the configuration of another embodiment, and the configuration of another embodiment can be added to the configuration of one embodiment. Further, it is possible to add, delete, and replace other configurations for a part of the configuration of each embodiment.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Housing, 9 ... Inner tank, 10 ... Outer tank, 11 ... Rotor blade, 14 ... Control apparatus, 19 ... Fan, 22 ... Dehumidification duct, 51 ... Drying duct, 41 ... Magnetic proximity sensor, 42 ... Permanent magnet 51a ... Dry air blowing port, 52 ... Inner tank drying air channel, 52a ... Inner tank drying air channel inlet, 52b ... Inner tank drying air channel outlet.

Claims (5)

A housing, an outer tub elastically supported by the housing, an inner tub rotatably supported by the outer tub, a rotary blade for stirring clothes at a lower portion of the inner tub, and drying air A blower fan that blows air into the tank, a drying duct that guides drying air to the inside of the inner tank, and a part of the inner circumference of the inner tank, and the drying air blown from the drying duct In the washing and drying machine provided with the inner tank drying air passage leading from the upper side of the inner tank to the lower side,
A position sensor assembly that outputs an opening coincidence signal when the opening of the inlet of the inner tank drying air passage coincides with the opening of the drying air blowing port of the drying duct is provided between the inner tank and the outer tank. Features a washing dryer. In the washing and drying machine according to claim 1,
The position sensor assembly includes a permanent magnet and a magnetic proximity sensor, the permanent magnet is provided in the inner tank, and the magnetic proximity sensor is attached to a tank cover of the outer tank. Washing and drying machine. In the washing and drying machine according to claim 2,
2. The washing / drying machine according to claim 1, wherein the magnetic proximity sensor is mounted on a projection surface of the fluid balancer of the tank cover on the drying duct side with respect to a hinge of an inner lid of the tank cover. In the washing and drying machine according to claim 3,
The washing / drying machine, wherein the permanent magnet is attached to an upper surface of a fluid balancer of the inner tub, and the magnetic proximity sensor is attached to a projection surface of the fluid balancer on an upper surface of the tub cover. A housing, an outer tub elastically supported by the housing, an inner tub rotatably supported by the outer tub and rotated by an electric motor, a rotating blade for stirring clothes at a lower portion of the inner tub, and a drying device A blower fan that blows air into the inner tub, a drying duct that guides drying air to the inside of the inner tub, and a drying blown from the drying duct that is provided in a part of the inner periphery of the inner tub In the washing and drying machine comprising an inner tank drying air passage that guides the working air from the upper side to the lower side of the inner tank, and a control device that controls the rotation of the electric motor and the blower fan,
A position sensor assembly that outputs an opening coincidence signal to the control device when the opening of the inlet of the inner tank drying air passage coincides with the opening of the drying air blowing port of the drying duct is located between the inner tank and the outer tank. The washing / drying machine according to claim 1, wherein the control device stops the driving signal of the electric motor when the inner tub rotates in a drying operation and an opening coincidence signal is output from the position sensor assembly.

Images