JP2019097624A - Clothes dryer - Google Patents

Abstract

To achieve a clothes dryer which suppresses charging of clothes at the drying time, which can always accurately detect a drying state of clothes, which can perform efficient and proper drying, and which has excellent energy saving properties.SOLUTION: A clothes dryer includes: a rotary drum 2 for storing clothes 4; a rotation auxiliary unit 8 disposed in the rotary drum 2; a motor 3 for rotationally driving the rotary drum 2; a control unit 13 for controlling a drying operation; and a dry detection unit 10 for detecting the dryness of the clothes 4 in the rotary drum 2. The dry detection unit 10 is constituted so as to detect a resistance value between a pair of electrodes, and includes an electricity-removing device 19 for removing electric charges generated in the clothes 4 in the rotary drum 2 during a drying operation. Thereby, the clothes dryer can be achieved which suppresses charging of the clothes 4 at the time of drying, which can always accurately detect a drying state of the clothes 4, which can perform efficient and proper drying and which has excellent energy saving properties.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to a clothes dryer for drying clothes and the like in a non-dried state after washing.

  In recent years, a clothes dryer is mainly provided with a control device that automatically stops its operation to improve usability. The configuration of a conventional clothes dryer will be described with reference to the drawings. As shown in FIG. 9, a motor 62 is suspended above the inside of the main body 51. The fan 65 and the rotary drum 53 provided on the back side in the main body 51 are rotationally driven by the motor 62 about the support shaft 52 via the belts 64 and 63, respectively. The clothes inlet 54 formed on the front surface of the rotary drum 53 is opened toward the front surface of the main body 51 and is opened and closed by the door 55.

  A hot air circulation air passage 57 is provided to communicate the air suction port 71 provided facing the lower front of the rotary drum 53 with the hot air outlet 72 provided facing the rear center of the rotary drum 53. ing. In the hot air circulation air passage 57, a blowing chamber 58 and a heat exchange chamber 59 are provided. The blower chamber 58 is disposed rearward of the rotary drum 53 and has a hot air blower outlet 60 facing the hot air blower outlet 72 of the rotary drum 53. A fan 65 is disposed in the blowing chamber 58.

  The heat exchange chamber 59 is located at the lower part in the main body 51. An evaporator 67 is disposed upstream in the heat exchange chamber 59, and a condenser 66 is disposed downstream in the heat exchange chamber 59. A heat pump is configured together with a compressor 68 and an expansion mechanism 69 such as a capillary tube.

  At the time of drying of the clothes A, first, the high humidity air from the drying chamber 56 is cooled by the evaporator 67 and dehumidified, and then becomes the drying air and reaches the condenser 66, where it is heated and becomes the high temperature low humidity air. The high temperature and low humidity air is supplied from the hot air outlet 72 into the drying chamber 56 by the fan 65 and is used to dry the clothes A contained therein.

  An electrode 61 is attached to the inside of the rotating drum 53. The electrode 61 is attached so as to be in contact with the object to be dried such as the clothes A. The electrode 61 is composed of two conductive members and an insulating member, and detects the dry state of the object to be dried by detecting the resistance value r between the two conductive members. In addition, a temperature sensor 70 such as a thermistor is disposed in the hot air circulation air passage 57 near the air suction port 71, and detects the temperature of high humidity air blown out from the rotating drum 53 (for example, Patent Document 1) reference).

  Moreover, as shown in FIG. 10, the conventional clothes dryer has a constant delay time from time t2 when the resistance value r between two conductive members becomes larger than the set value b continuously for a predetermined time T1. It is comprised so that a driving | operation may be complete | finished at the time t4 which T3 progressed (for example, refer patent document 2).

  In addition, a conductivity sensor is provided in the circulation path of the washing water as a dirt sensor to detect dirt on the washing water at the time of washing, the status of the dirt is detected by the conductivity, and the load amount and the degree of dirt of the laundry There has been proposed a washer / dryer for washing at an optimum time (see, for example, Patent Document 3).

JP, 2014-30470, A Unexamined-Japanese-Patent No. 5-25 339 gazette JP, 2013-9806, A

  However, in the clothes dryer of the conventional configuration, when the clothes A are dried in the process of drying the clothes A, static electricity is generated due to friction with the other clothes A, and the static electricity is generated by the electrodes 61 of the clothes A. There is a problem that the measurement accuracy of the resistance value r is deteriorated. In addition, when the clothes A are dried and the user takes out the clothes A from the inside of the rotary drum 53, the clothes A cling with static electricity or stick to other clothes A, making it difficult to take out the clothes A. ing.

  Moreover, in the washing and drying machine of the conventional structure, it has the subject that dirt detection of washing water at the time of washing and drying detection at the time of drying have to be performed by separate sensors. That is, in the dirt detection, an electrode sensor is provided in the circulation path through which the wash water passes, the dirt state of the wash water is detected in its conductive state, and in the dryness detection, an electrode sensor is provided in the rotating drum, The degree of dryness of the clothes is detected in the conductive state.

  The present invention solves the problems of the above-mentioned conventional clothes drier and laundry drier, and it is possible to accurately detect the dry state of clothes by suppressing the electrification of clothes during drying. . Accordingly, it is possible to set an optimum delay time according to the volume of clothes after drying, perform efficient and appropriate drying, and provide a clothes dryer and a washer-dryer excellent in energy saving performance.

  In order to solve the above-mentioned conventional problems, a clothes dryer according to the present invention comprises a rotating drum for containing a material to be dried such as clothing, a rotation assisting portion disposed in the rotating drum, and the rotating drum. The dry detection unit includes a drive motor, a control unit that controls a drying operation, and a drying detection unit that detects the degree of dryness of the material to be dried in the rotating drum, and the drying detection unit determines the resistance value between the pair of electrodes. The apparatus is provided with a charge removing device configured to detect and removing the charge generated on the material to be dried in the rotating drum during the drying operation.

  According to the above configuration, charging of clothes and the like at the time of drying can be suppressed, and the drying state of clothes and the like can be accurately detected. Therefore, after drying, an optimum delay time can be set according to the capacity of the clothes and the like. It is possible to provide a clothes dryer capable of performing efficient and appropriate drying and having excellent energy saving properties.

  The clothes dryer of the present invention can remove static electricity of clothes and the like at the time of drying, so that the resistance value of clothes and the like can be accurately measured, and the dry state of clothes and the like can be accurately detected. And while being able to perform appropriate drying, energy saving property can be improved. Further, when the clothes and the like after drying are taken out, they can be easily taken out from the inside of the rotating drum without clinging.

The schematic diagram seen from the side which shows the structure of the clothes dryer in Embodiment 1 of this invention The schematic diagram seen from the front which shows the structure of the clothes dryer in Embodiment 1 of this invention The schematic diagram which shows the structure of the dryness detection part of the clothes dryer in Embodiment 1 of this invention The flowchart which shows the processing procedure of the (a) control part of the clothes drier (b) dryness detection device in Embodiment 1 of the present invention A graph showing the relationship between the number of times that the reciprocal of the resistance value obtained from the dryness detection unit of the clothes dryer in the first embodiment of the present invention is a threshold or more and time The schematic diagram seen from the side which shows the structure of the washing-drying machine in Embodiment 2 of this invention Flow chart showing the processing procedure of the washing and drying machine according to the second embodiment of the present invention Graph showing the relationship between the number of times that the reciprocal of the resistance value obtained from the dirt detection unit of the washing and drying machine according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention is a threshold or more and the degree of dirt Schematic cross-sectional view of a conventional clothes dryer Graph showing the relationship between the detected resistance value and the time of the electrodes of a conventional clothes dryer

  According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a clothes dryer comprising: a rotating drum for containing a material to be dried such as clothes; a rotation assisting portion disposed in the rotating drum; a motor for rotationally driving the rotating drum; A control unit to control and a drying detection unit to detect the drying degree of the material to be dried in the rotating drum, the drying detection unit being configured to detect a resistance value between a pair of electrodes The apparatus is provided with a charge removing device for removing the charge generated on the material to be dried in the rotating drum during the drying operation.

  According to this configuration, since the charged state of the clothes and the like at the time of drying can be released, the dry state of the clothes and the like can be accurately detected. Thus, efficient and appropriate drying can be performed, and energy saving can be improved. Further, when the clothes and the like after drying are taken out, they can be easily taken out from the inside of the rotating drum without clinging.

  In the second invention, in particular, in the first invention, the control unit determines the dryness of the material to be dried based on the detection information from the dryness detection unit, and the drying of the material to be dried proceeds. After the drying rate reaches a predetermined value or more, the charge removing device is operated.

  With this configuration, it is possible to operate the static eliminator in the final stage of drying where clothing and the like are highly likely to be charged and it is necessary to discharge static electricity, and it is possible to effectively eliminate clothing and the like and to improve energy saving. .

  According to a third invention, in particular, in the first or second invention, the charge removing device plasmas water molecules using a metal needle-like discharge electrode and dehumidified water obtained by drying a material to be dried. It is configured to discharge the material to be dried by discharging.

  With this configuration, by using the metal needle-like discharge electrode and the dehumidified water obtained at the time of drying, the static eliminator can be easily configured, and the charging at the time of drying can be suppressed. As a result, the dry state of the clothes and the like can be accurately detected, and the energy saving property with respect to the drying of the clothes and the like, and the accuracy and reliability of the dry detection can be surely improved.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in particular, according to any one of the first to third aspects, an outer tub rotatably incorporating the rotary drum, a water supply portion for supplying washing water to the outer tub, and washing water. The control unit may be further configured to further control a washing operation including a washing step, a rinsing step and a dewatering step.

  According to this configuration, in addition to the fact that the laundry is completed and the undried clothing can be dried, the laundry operation of the clothing can be implemented and dried as it is.

  According to a fifth invention, in particular, in the fourth invention, the drying detection unit is configured to be used as a dirt detection unit that detects a dirt level of washing water at the time of washing operation or rinsing operation.

  With this configuration, it is not necessary to provide a dirt detection unit separately from the dryness detection unit, it is possible to efficiently and accurately detect the dirt level of washing water in the washing operation, energy saving property for washing and rinsing clothes etc., dirt detection Accuracy and reliability can be reliably improved.

  According to a sixth invention, in particular, in the fourth or fifth invention, the drying detection unit is installed in the rotation auxiliary unit, and detects in real time the degree of contamination of the washing water at the time of the washing step, and performs the control The unit is configured to determine the degree of contamination of the washing water based on the detection information from the dryness detection unit, and when it is determined that the contamination is reduced, end the washing step and shift to the rinsing step.

  With this configuration, the degree of contamination of the washing water during the washing process can be detected efficiently and accurately, and the necessary and sufficient appropriate washing can be performed according to the degree and volume of the contamination of clothing etc. It is possible to surely improve the energy saving property for washing, the accuracy and reliability of the washing completion judgment.

  In a seventh invention according to any one of the fourth to sixth inventions, in particular, the drying detection unit is installed in the rotation auxiliary unit and detects in real time the degree of contamination of the washing water at the time of the rinsing step. The control unit is configured to determine the degree of contamination of the washing water based on the detection information from the dryness detection unit, and when it is determined that the amount of detergent remaining on clothes etc. is reduced, ends the rinsing step and shifts to the dewatering step. It is done.

  According to this configuration, the degree of contamination of the washing water in the rinsing step can be detected efficiently and accurately, and the necessary and sufficient appropriate rinsing can be performed according to the degree and volume of the contamination of clothing etc. The energy saving property for the rinse, etc., the accuracy and reliability of the rinse completion judgment can be surely improved.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. The present invention is not limited by the embodiment.

Embodiment 1
The configuration of the clothes dryer according to the first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a schematic view from the side showing the configuration of a clothes dryer according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. FIG. 2: is the schematic diagram seen from the front which shows the structure of the clothes dryer in Embodiment 1 of this invention. FIG. 3: is a schematic diagram which shows the structure of the dryness detection part of the clothes dryer in Embodiment 1 of this invention.

  As shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, a rotating drum 2 formed in a bottomed cylindrical shape is rotatably contained in a main body 1. The rotary drum 2 is rotationally driven around a rotary shaft 2a set substantially horizontal in the front-rear direction by a motor 3 provided on the back of the rotary drum 2. A clothing inlet 9 formed on the front of the rotary drum 2 opens toward the front of the main body 1 and is opened and closed by a door (not shown).

On the inner peripheral wall of the rotary drum 2, a plurality of rotation assisting portions 8 called baffles are provided so as to protrude inward. The rotation assisting portion 8 promotes drying of the clothes 4 by hooking the clothes 4 located in the lower part of the rotation drum 2 by the rotation of the rotation drum 2 and lifting the clothes 4 upward and dropping it. A drying detection unit 10 for detecting the degree of dryness of the clothes 4 is disposed in at least one of the plurality of rotation assisting units 8. The drying detection unit 10 includes two conductive members and an insulating member, and detects a dry state of the clothes 4 by detecting a resistance value r between the two conductive members.

  A circulation air passage 5 through which warm air for drying the clothes 4 circulates is provided opposite to the air suction port 6 provided facing the front upper part of the rotating drum 2 and facing the back center of the rotating drum 2 It is provided to communicate with 7. The circulation air passage 5 is provided with an air blower 14 such as a fan and a heat pump device 16 for dehumidifying and heating the passing air. At the time of drying of the clothes 4, when the blower 14 is driven, the air in the rotary drum 2 is sucked into the circulation air passage 5 from the air suction port 6, and is cooled and dehumidified and heated by the heat pump device 16 to become high temperature low humidity air . Then, the high-temperature low-humidity air is supplied from the hot-air outlet 7 into the rotating drum 2 by the blower 14 and is used to dry the clothes 4 contained therein.

  A temperature detection unit 11 composed of a thermistor or the like is disposed in the circulation air passage 5 near the air suction port 6. The temperature detection unit 11 detects the temperature of the high humidity air blown out of the rotating drum 2.

  The control unit 13 is provided at the lower part in the main body 1. The control unit 13 operates the clothes dryer by sequentially controlling the motor 3, the blower 14 and the heat pump device 16 and the like. The control unit 13 controls the air blower 14 through the air flow rate control unit 15 to control the volume of the warm air circulating in the circulation air passage 5. The control unit 13 controls the heat pump device 16 via the warm air temperature control unit 17 to control the temperature of the warm air circulating in the circulation air passage 5. The control unit 13 controls the motor 3 via the drum rotation control unit 18 to control start, stop, and rotational speed of the rotary drum 2.

  A static eliminator 19 is disposed at the front of the rotary drum 2. The charge removing device 19 discharges the clothes 4 by plasma discharge of water molecules using the discharge electrode and the dehumidified water. The static elimination device 19 discharges the needle-like discharge electrode by applying a voltage to concentrate the electric field, and the heat pump device 16 charges the clothes by ionizing the dehumidified water obtained from the clothes 4 during drying. It is configured to suppress.

  As shown in FIG. 3, a pair of metal electrodes 40 is disposed on a partial surface of the rotation assisting portion 8 so as to always contact the clothes 4 which is the object to be dried. In addition to the drying detection unit 10, a drying detection device having a power generation and storage unit 20 and a wireless communication unit 30 is provided inside the rotation assist unit 8. The dryness detection unit 10 measures the resistance value between the pair of metal electrodes 40. The drying detection unit 10 detects the surface resistance of the clothing 4 when the clothing 4 contacts both of the pair of electrodes 40. The resistance between the pair of metal electrodes 40 is small when the humidity of the clothes 4 is high, and the resistance is high when the drying progresses and the humidity is low. The wireless communication unit 30 wirelessly transmits the drying state of the clothes to the control unit 13 from the resistance value measured by the drying detection unit 10. The power generation and storage unit 20 drives the drying detection unit 10 and the wireless communication unit 30. The power generation and storage unit 20 is made of a piezoelectric material and stores a generated power by storing a generated power. It has a department.

  The operation and action of the clothes dryer configured as described above will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the processing procedure of the (a) control unit (b) drying detection device of the clothes dryer according to the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4 is divided into (a) processing on the control unit side and (b) processing on the drying detection device side to facilitate understanding of the description.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the user first opens the door of the front of the main body 1 and inserts the non-dry state clothes 4 to be dried in the rotating drum 2 (step S0). The user operates the operation unit (not displayed) provided on the main body 1 to set the dry level and various settings, and starts the drying operation by pressing the operation button (step S1).

  When the drying operation starts, the rotary drum 2 starts to rotate, and the hot air warmed by the heat pump device 16 is introduced into the rotary drum 2 by the blower 14, and after the hot air warms the clothes 4, it is robbed from the clothes 4. Wet air containing moisture is blown out from the rotary drum 2 into the circulation air passage 5. Drying of the clothes 4 is repeatedly performed by rotating the rotating drum 2 at a low speed of about 30 r / min, and lifting and dropping the clothes by the baffle which is the rotation assisting portion 8. By this operation, the clothes 4 are loosened, hot air is evenly supplied to the whole clothes 4 and dried efficiently.

  When the rotary drum 2 starts to rotate, the power generation and storage unit 20 installed inside the rotation auxiliary unit 8 also starts to rotate, and the vibration power generation unit starts to generate power due to the rotational vibration, and the generated power is stored in the storage unit. (Step S7). The drying detection unit 10 is driven by the generated electric power, and the clothing 4 is exposed to the blown-out hot air and dried using the pair of electrodes 40 provided on the surface of the rotation auxiliary unit 8 for the resistance value of the clothing 4 to be dried. It measures as dryness detection information of (step S8).

  After measuring the resistance value, the wireless communication unit 30 wirelessly transmits the obtained resistance value to the control unit 13 as the dryness detection information of the clothes 4 (step S9).

  When the control unit 13 receives the resistance value wirelessly transmitted from the wireless communication unit 30 (step S2), the control unit 13 determines whether the resistance value is equal to or less than a preset drying signal threshold (step S3). Specifically, it is determined whether or not the inverse of the resistance value measured by the dryness detection unit 10 is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold, and the number of times equal to or greater than the threshold is counted. Now, if it is possible to count 10 times per second, the value above the threshold value is up to 600 times per minute, and in the case of the maximum capacity 8 kg of the clothes dryer, it will be about 550 times to about 600 times. The control unit 13 checks whether this count number is less than or equal to a threshold for a certain period.

  An example of the relationship between the number of times that the reciprocal of the resistance value at this time is equal to or more than the threshold value and time is shown in FIG. The vertical axis in FIG. 5 is the maximum count number in 10 seconds of 1 minute, so the maximum value is 100.

  For example, it is determined whether this count number continues 10 or less for 3 minutes, and if it continues, the control part 13 operates the static elimination apparatus 19 (step S4). By ionizing the dehumidified water by the static elimination device 19, the charging of the clothes 4 can be suppressed, the resistance value measurement by the drying detection unit 10 can be accurately performed, and the drying degree of the clothes 4 can be accurately determined.

  When the drying of the clothes 4 progresses and the moisture content decreases, static electricity is generated in the clothes 4 by contact with the other clothes 4 slightly before the drying of the clothes 4 is completed. Therefore, before the completion of drying of the clothes 4 is detected, the charge removing device 19 provided in the rotary drum 2 is used to generate the static elimination ions to suppress the charging of the clothes 4, thereby the clothes 4 by the drying detection unit 10. Can accurately measure the resistance value of

  The static elimination device 19 discharges the needle-like discharge electrode by applying a voltage to concentrate the electric field, and suppresses the charging of the clothes 4 by ionizing the dehumidified water obtained during the drying of the clothes 4 by the discharge. Do.

The control unit 13 determines that the drying is completed when the number of times the reciprocal of the resistance value measured by the dryness detection unit 10 is equal to or more than the threshold value becomes equal to or less than a predetermined value, and then extends the dryness extension time to the capacity of the clothes 4 It sets for every drying course (step S5). Conventionally, the drying extension time is set to 20 minutes regardless of the volume of the clothes 4, but after the drying determination, the clothing 4 can be sufficiently maintained by continuing the drying operation for the drying extension time set for each drying course. Can be dried. The control unit 13 performs the drying for the extended drying time, sufficiently dries the clothes 4, and ends the drying operation (step S6).

  Although the reciprocal calculation of the resistance value measured by the dryness detection unit 10 and the counting of the number of times the inverse number of the resistance value is equal to or more than the predetermined threshold are performed by the control unit 13, they are performed on the dryness detection unit 10 side. It may be configured as follows.

  Also, during the initial period of about 1 to 5 minutes after the rotation drum 2 starts to rotate, the capacity of the clothes 4 inserted into the rotation drum 2 is determined from the amount of power generation by the vibration power generation unit of the power generation / storage unit 20 be able to.

  As described above, the clothes dryer according to the present embodiment forms the pair of electrodes 40 on the surface and measures the resistance between the electrodes 40, and the clothes detected by the drying detection unit 10 Using a baffle that is a rotation auxiliary unit 8 including a wireless communication unit 30 wirelessly transmitting the drying information of 4 to the control unit 13 and a power generation / storage unit 20 that is a driving power supply of the drying detection unit 10 and the wireless communication unit 30; Thus, a compact and easy-to-use drying detection device can be configured without the need for wiring to the control unit 13.

  In addition, since the power generation and storage unit 20 always generates and stores electricity while the rotary drum 2 is rotating, the drying detection unit 10 and the wireless communication unit 30 can always operate stably, and the control unit 13 is always accurate. The dry state of the clothes 4 can be detected.

  Further, the charging of the clothes 4 can be suppressed by using the static elimination device 19 before detecting the completion of drying, and the charging of the circuit board of the drying detection device can also be suppressed. As a result, the drying detection unit 10 can accurately measure the resistance value to detect the drying state of the clothes 4, and efficient and appropriate drying can be performed, and energy saving can be improved. In addition, when the clothes 4 after drying are taken out, they can be easily taken out from the inside of the rotary drum 2 without cluttering.

  In addition, the control unit 13 determines the degree of dryness of the clothes 4 based on the detection information from the dryness detection unit 10, and the drying of the clothes 4 proceeds, and the drying rate of the clothes 4 becomes equal to or higher than a predetermined value. It is configured to operate. With this configuration, the charge removal device 19 can be operated before completion of drying at the final stage of drying where the clothes 4 are highly likely to be charged and need to be discharged, and the clothes 4 can be effectively removed while saving energy. It can be improved.

  Moreover, the static elimination apparatus 19 is comprised so that the clothing 4 may be static-eliminated by carrying out the plasma discharge of the water molecule using the needle-shaped discharge electrode and the dehumidified water obtained by drying of the clothing 4. With this configuration, by using the needle-like discharge electrode and the dehumidified water obtained at the time of drying, the static elimination device 19 can be easily configured, and the charging at the time of drying can be suppressed. Thereby, the drying state of the clothes 4 can be accurately detected, and the energy saving property for drying of the clothes 4 and the accuracy and reliability of the drying detection can be surely improved.

  In addition, the said effect of the clothes dryer in this Embodiment can be acquired also in the clothes drying of the washing-drying machine provided with the same structure.

  Further, the present invention may be a clothes dryer and a laundry dryer not only for home use but also for business use, and the static eliminator may be any of corona discharge type and ionizing radiation type.

Second Embodiment
As a second embodiment of the present invention, the configuration of a washing / drying machine in which a washing function is added to the clothes dryer described in the first embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 6 is a schematic view from the side showing the configuration of the washing and drying machine according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

  The washing and drying machine according to the present embodiment has a function of performing a washing operation of washing clothes with washing water before drying clothes and performing a drying operation continuously as it is. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 6, the outer tank 1a in which the rotary drum 2 is rotatably installed, the water supply unit 21 for supplying water into the outer tank 1a, and the washing water in the outer tank 1a are drained to the outside A drain 22 is provided in the main body 1. Further, the drying detection unit 10, the power storage unit 20 and the wireless communication unit 30 incorporated in the rotation auxiliary unit 8 are modularized with a waterproof coating on the entire surface, and constitute a highly water-resistant drying detection device. doing. Furthermore, the control unit 13 includes a washing step, a rinsing step and a dewatering step, and is configured to control a series of washing and drying operations up to the drying step. It goes without saying that the control unit 13 can control any combination such as only a washing operation or only a drying operation. The other configuration is the same as the clothes dryer of the first embodiment, and the detailed description will be omitted.

  The operation and action of the washing and drying machine configured as described above will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing the processing procedure of the washing and drying machine according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

  As shown in FIG. 7, the user first opens the door of the front of the main body 1, and places the clothes 4 to be washed and dried in the rotary drum 2 (step S10). The user operates the operation unit (not displayed) provided on the main body 1 to perform various settings such as the washing course and the number of times of rinsing, and starts the washing operation by pressing the operation button (step S11).

  When the washing operation starts, the water supply unit 21 injects a predetermined amount of washing water into the outer tank 1a, and after being mixed with the detergent, the washing step is performed. In the washing operation, the rotary drum 2 is rotated at a low speed of about 30 r / min, and the clothes 4 are lifted and dropped by the baffle which is the rotation auxiliary portion 8 and washing is performed. By the washing operation, the dirt contained in the clothes 4 dissolves in the washing water.

  When the rotary drum 2 starts to rotate and the washing operation is started, the drying detection unit 10 measures the resistance value of the dirty cleaning water using the pair of electrodes 40 provided on the surface of the rotation auxiliary unit 8 . At this time, the dryness detection unit 10 operates as a dirt detection unit. After measuring the resistance value, the wireless communication unit 30 wirelessly transmits the obtained resistance value to the control unit 13 as cleaning stain detection information. The control unit 13 receives the washing detection information wirelessly transmitted from the wireless communication unit 30 (step S12).

  The power generation and storage unit 20 starts power generation by the vibration power generation unit with the start of rotation of the rotary drum 2 and stores the generated power in the storage unit. The drying detection unit 10 and the wireless communication unit 30 are driven by the stored power.

  When receiving the resistance value (washing detection information) wirelessly transmitted from the wireless communication unit 30, the control unit 13 determines whether the resistance value is equal to or less than a preset threshold value of the contamination signal (step S13). . Specifically, it is performed by the same process as the drying determination in the first embodiment. That is, the number of times the reciprocal of the resistance value is greater than or equal to a predetermined threshold is counted, and it is determined whether the count number is less than or equal to the threshold for a certain period.

  The relationship between the number of times the reciprocal of the resistance value at this time is greater than or equal to the threshold value and the degree of contamination of the washing water is shown in FIG. When the degree of contamination is high, the number of times the reciprocal of the resistance value is greater than or equal to the threshold value increases, and when the degree of contamination is decreased, the number of times the reciprocal of the resistance value is equal to or more than the threshold value decreases. By using this relationship, the degree of contamination of the wash water can be determined by the resistance value of the wash water.

  If the number of times the reciprocal of the resistance value is equal to or greater than the threshold value, the control unit 13 determines that the contamination is reduced, ends the washing process, and shifts to the rinsing process (step S14).

  When the rinsing process is started, the dirty washing water in the outer tank 1a is discharged to the outside by the drainage part 22. Washing water having a predetermined amount of water is introduced into the outer tank 1a by the water supply unit 21, and a rinsing operation is performed. In the rinsing operation, the rotary drum 2 is rotated at a low speed of about 30 r / min, and the clothing 4 is lifted and dropped by the baffle serving as the rotation assisting portion 8. The rinse operation rinses the washing water containing the detergent remaining in the clothes 4 from the clothes 4. The rinse operation is performed multiple times with drainage of the rinse water and water supply.

  During the rinsing operation, the dryness detection unit 10 measures the resistance value of the contaminated rinse water using the pair of electrodes 40 provided on the surface of the rotation auxiliary unit 8. At this time, the dryness detection unit 10 operates as a dirt detection unit. After measuring the resistance value, the wireless communication unit 30 wirelessly transmits the obtained resistance value to the control unit 13 as rinse dirt information. The control unit 13 receives the resistance value wirelessly transmitted from the wireless communication unit 30 (step S15).

  When the control unit 13 receives a resistance value (rinse stain information) wirelessly transmitted from the wireless communication unit 30, the control unit 13 determines whether the resistance value is equal to or less than a preset threshold value of the stain signal. The specific determination process is performed in the same manner as the washing step. At this time, the threshold value of the dirt signal is set lower than the threshold value in the washing step (step S16).

  If the number of times the reciprocal of the resistance value is equal to or greater than the threshold value, the control unit 13 determines that the amount of the detergent component remaining in the clothes 4 has decreased, and ends the rinsing step, and shifts to the dewatering step (Step S17). After the rinse water after the final rinse operation is drained out of the machine by the drainage unit 22, a dewatering process is performed. The dewatering operation is performed by rotating the rotating drum 2 at a high speed of 700 to 900 r / min. Thus, the water remaining in the clothes 4 is dehydrated by centrifugal force.

  When the dehydration is completed, the process proceeds to the drying step (step S18). The drying and charge removing process (steps S18 to S22) of the clothes 4 in the drying step is performed in the same manner as the process (steps S1 to S5) of the clothes dryer in the first embodiment. Detailed description of these processes is omitted. The control unit 13 performs drying for a dry extension time corresponding to the volume of the clothes 4, sufficiently dries the clothes 4, and ends the drying process (step S23).

  As described above, when the washing process is started, the washing and drying machine according to the present embodiment measures the resistance value of the washing water by the dryness detection unit 10 which is the dirt detection unit, and measures the degree of contamination of the washing water and rinse water. Are detected, and the wireless communication unit 30 transmits information on the state of each contamination to the control unit 13. The control unit 13 detects the state of the detergent, the state of the stain, and the state of the rinse based on the received information on the degree of stain, determines the completion of the washing and the rinse, and shifts the operation to the next process.

  Further, also in the drying step, as in the clothes dryer in the first embodiment, it is possible to measure the resistance value of the clothes 4 and determine the degree of dryness of the clothes 4. Furthermore, by suppressing the charging of the clothes 4 and the circuit board using the static elimination device 19, it is possible to measure an accurate resistance value and determine the end of drying. In addition, when the clothes 4 after drying are taken out, they can be easily taken out from the inside of the rotary drum 2 without sticking.

In addition, the drying detection unit 10, which is a dirt detection unit, the power generation and storage unit 20, and the wireless communication unit 30 are modularized, waterproofed on the entire surface, and installed in the baffle that is the rotation auxiliary unit 8. An easy dirt detection device can be configured. In addition, by using this dirt detection device also as a dryness detection device, it is possible to accurately sense not only the dry state of the clothes 4 but also the dirt state and the rinse state with one sensor in the rotating drum 2 . As a result, the configuration relating to the dirt detection and the dryness detection can be simplified, and an inexpensive and reliable washing / drying machine can be provided.

  Thus, the washing and drying machine of the present embodiment is equipped with a very compact and accurate soil and drying detection system, which accurately determines the end of the washing, rinsing, and drying steps, and responds to the clothes volume. An optimum drying extension time can be set, clothes can be dried efficiently and accurately, and a washer / dryer excellent in energy saving can be provided.

  In each of the above-described embodiments, a piezoelectric body that generates electric power by vibration at the time of rotation of the rotary drum 2 is used as a power generation device. However, electric power may be generated using heat generated at the time of drying.

  In addition, the electrode sensor may be configured to detect the resistance between the baffle as the rotation auxiliary unit 8 and the rotating drum 2. Further, the charge removal device 19 may remove the charge of the circuit board in the baffle intensively, and the charge removal device 19 may be provided in the vicinity of the circuit substrate. Also, a battery may be used instead of the power storage unit 20.

  Further, in order to cause the clothes dryer and the laundry dryer to perform the above operation by the control unit 13 and the drying detection unit 10, a processing procedure to be performed by the computer and various set values and thresholds are recorded. You need your own computer readable program. The processing described in the embodiment of the present invention makes hardware resources such as an electric / information device, a computer, a server, etc. provided with a CPU (or microcomputer), RAM, ROM, storage / recording device, I / O etc cooperate. It may be implemented in the form of a program. In the form of a program, distribution / update of new functions and their installation can be easily performed by recording on recording media such as magnetic media and optical media, or by using a communication line such as the Internet. it can.

  As described above, according to the present invention, the charge of the clothes during drying can be suppressed by providing the static elimination device, and the dry state can be accurately detected. As a result, a clothes dryer and a washer-dryer having an efficient drying function and excellent energy saving performance can be provided, which is useful as a household clothes dryer and a washer-dryer. In addition, it can be used not only for home use but also for business use such as an office or a factory.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 main body 1a outer tank 2 rotating drum 3 motor 5 circulation air path 8 rotation auxiliary part 10 drying detection part 13 control part 14 air blower 16 heat pump apparatus 19 charge removal apparatus 20 electric power storage part 21 water supply part 22 drainage part 30 wireless communication part 40 electrode

Claims (7)

A rotary drum for containing a material to be dried such as clothes, a rotation assisting portion disposed in the rotary drum, a motor for rotationally driving the rotary drum, a control unit for controlling a drying operation, and the inside of the rotary drum A drying detection unit for detecting the degree of dryness of the material to be dried,
The drying detection unit is configured to detect a resistance value between a pair of electrodes, and the clothes drying apparatus includes a charge removing device that removes a charge generated on a drying object in the rotating drum during a drying operation. Machine. The control unit determines the degree of dryness of the material to be dried based on the detection information from the dryness detection unit, and the drying of the material to be dried proceeds, and the drying rate of the material to be dried becomes a predetermined value or more. The clothes dryer according to claim 1, wherein the clothes dryer is configured to operate. 3. The charge removal device according to claim 1, wherein the material to be dried is removed by plasma discharge of water molecules using needle-like discharge electrodes and dehumidified water obtained by drying the material to be dried. Clothes dryer as described in. The control unit further includes an outer tub rotatably incorporating the rotary drum, a water feed portion for feeding water into the outer tub, and a drain portion for draining washing water, and the control portion comprises a washing step, a rinsing step and a dewatering step. 4. A clothes dryer according to any one of the preceding claims, arranged to further control the washing operation involved. 5. The clothes dryer according to claim 4, wherein the drying detection unit is configured to be used as a contamination detection unit that detects the degree of contamination of washing water during the washing operation. The drying detection unit is installed in the rotation auxiliary unit, and detects in real time the degree of contamination of the washing water at the time of the washing step, and the control unit detects the degree of contamination of washing water according to detection information by the drying detection unit. The clothes dryer according to claim 4 or 5, configured to end the washing process and shift to the rinsing process when it is determined that it is determined that stains have been reduced. The drying detection unit is installed in the rotation auxiliary unit, and detects in real time the degree of contamination of the washing water at the time of the rinsing step, and the control unit detects the degree of contamination of washing water according to the detection information by the drying detection unit. The clothes dryer according to any one of claims 4 to 6, wherein the rinse step is finished and the process proceeds to a dewatering step when it is determined that it is determined that the amount of detergent remaining in the clothes etc. has decreased.