JP2020005779A - Washing and drying machine, and drying machine - Google Patents

Abstract

To prevent insufficient maintenance and to suppress deterioration in drying performance by correctly detecting clogging of a drying filter and by urging a user to clean the drying filter at proper timing.SOLUTION: A washing and drying machine includes: a blower fan for supplying drying air for drying clothing in an inner tub to a circulation air passage; a drying filter installed in the circulation air passage, and for capturing lint contained in the drying air; a drying degree sensor for detecting a drying degree of the clothing; and a control device in which output of the drying degree sensor is inputted and which controls the blower fan. The control device estimates drying time necessary for drying the clothing in the inner tub at a start of a drying step, and after the start of the drying step, it stores excess time in which the actual drying time required until the drying degree of the clothing has surpassed a predetermined threshold value has exceeded the drying time estimated at the start of the drying time, and when a cumulative value of the excess time has surpassed the predetermined threshold value, it determines that the drying filter is clogged.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 5

Description

  The present invention relates to a washer / dryer or a dryer that notifies a user of occurrence of clogging of a drying filter.

  In conventional washing / drying machines and dryers, in order to prevent lint and the like coming out of clothes during the drying operation from accumulating in the air blowers and circulation air passages arranged in the circulation air passage, the yarn performance is prevented from being adversely affected. A drying filter for trapping debris is provided in the circulation air passage.

  If lint or the like accumulates on the drying filter and clogging occurs, the amount of drying air passing through the drying filter decreases, and the drying performance deteriorates. There are washing dryers that encourage cleaning.

  For example, in Patent Document 1, in paragraph 0029 of the document, “Lint cleaning detection unit 23a detects the current value of fan motor 14b at a predetermined rotation speed of fan motor 14b. When the clogging is detected, clogging of the drying filter is detected based on the fan motor current value of the blower fan that sends the drying air into the tank. Report it.

JP 2012-75683 A

  However, Patent Literature 1 does not consider changes in the current value due to aging or failure of the fan motor, so that even if the drying filter is not clogged, there is a deviation in the fan motor current value due to a failure or the like. When this occurs, there is a problem that the occurrence of clogging is erroneously detected, the user is urged to clean the drying filter, the execution time of the drying operation is extended, and the like.

  In view of the above problems, an object of the present invention is to provide a washer / dryer or a dryer that can detect clogging of a drying filter at accurate timing without monitoring fan motor current.

  In order to achieve the above object, the washing and drying machine according to the present invention has an outer tub installed in a housing, an inner tub rotatably arranged in the outer tub, and a motor for rotating the inner tub, A blower fan for supplying drying air for drying clothes in the inner tank to the circulation air path, a drying filter installed in the circulation air path to catch lint contained in the drying air, and drying of the clothes; A dryness sensor for detecting the degree of drying, the output of the dryness sensor is input, and a control device for controlling the blower fan, the control device, at the start of the drying process, Estimate the drying time required to dry the clothes in the inner tank, after the start of the drying step, the actual drying time required until the degree of dryness of the clothes exceeds a predetermined threshold, at the start of the drying step Record the excess time that exceeds the estimated drying time. And, when the cumulative value of the excess time exceeds a predetermined threshold value, the drying filter is assumed to be determined to be clogged.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the clogging of a drying filter can be detected at an accurate timing, and thereby the cleaning of a drying filter is promoted, thereby preventing the insufficient maintenance of a drying filter and maintaining a high drying performance. Can be realized.

1 is an external perspective view of a washing / drying machine according to one embodiment. FIG. 4 is a top view showing a path of intake and exhaust of the washing and drying machine of the embodiment. FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram of the washing / drying machine of one embodiment. The top view of the operation panel of the washing dryer of one Example. 5 is a flowchart showing control contents in the washing and drying machine of one embodiment. 4 is a graph showing the relationship between the number of drying operations and the excess time during each drying operation. 5 is a graph showing the relationship between the number of drying operations and the cumulative excess time.

  Hereinafter, a washing / drying machine according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is an external perspective view of a washing / drying machine 100 according to the present embodiment. An outer tub (not shown), an inner tub rotatably arranged in the outer tub, and a rotatable inside the inner tub are shown in the housing of the main body. 1 shows a configuration in which a pulsator, an inner tank or a motor for driving the pulsator disposed in the rotator is provided, an operation panel 1 is provided at the upper center of the main body, and a drying filter 2 is provided on the upper right side of the main body. FIG. 2 is a top view showing an intake / exhaust path during the drying operation of the washer / dryer 100. After the outside air taken into the blower fan 6g from the path indicated by the dotted arrow is heated by a heater 6d described later, It shows a state in which the laundry is supplied to the inside of the tub along the route indicated by the solid arrow, and after the laundry is dried, is discharged through the drying filter 2 to the outside. Although FIGS. 1 and 2 illustrate a drum-type washing / drying machine, the present invention is not limited to a drum-type washing / drying machine, but may be applied to a vertical-type washing / drying machine. Alternatively, the present invention may be applied to a dryer exclusively for drying having no washing function.

  FIG. 3 is a functional block diagram of the washing / drying machine 100 of the present embodiment. The washing / drying machine 100 includes a control device 3, a power supply 4, a relay 5, and a control target in addition to the operation panel 1 and the drying filter 2 described above. It shows that the device 6 and various sensors 7 are provided.

  As shown here, the operation panel 1 includes an operation switch 10 operated by a user, a display unit 11 for notifying the user of current setting conditions and progress of washing, a buzzer 12, and the like. The control device 3 for controlling the washing and drying machine 100 includes a microcomputer 3a, a nonvolatile memory 3b, a drive circuit 3c, a timer (not shown), and the like. The control target device 6 is various devices controlled by the control device 3, and specifically, includes a motor 6a, a water supply valve 6b, a drain valve 6c, a heater 6d, a circulation pump 6e, a lid lock 6f, a blower fan 6g, and the like. is there. The various sensors 7 supply various measurement signals to the control device 3. Specifically, the lid lock detection sensor 7a, the water level sensor 7b, the vibration sensor 7c, the rotation sensor 7d, the temperature sensor 7e, the motor current sensor 7f And so on.

  FIG. 4 is a top view for explaining details of the operation panel 1. As shown here, on the operation panel 1, as the operation switches 10, a power on key 10a, a power off key 10b, a washing course key 10c, a washing and drying course key 10d, a drying course key 10e, a start / pause key 10f, A washing key 10g, a rinsing key 10h, a dehydrating key 10i, and a drying key 10j are provided. Further, the display unit 11 includes a washing time display unit 11a, a rinsing number display unit 11b, a dehydration time display unit 11c, a drying time display unit 11d, a remaining time display unit 11e, a course display unit 11f, and a filter cleaning display unit 11g. I have. By operating the operation switch 10 of the operation panel 1, the user operates the 12 operation courses, washing time of 0 to 99 minutes, rinsing frequency of 0 to 9 times, dehydration time of 0 to 9 minutes, and 0 to 99 minutes. A desired operation course or the like is selected within the range of the drying time, and is registered in the microcomputer 3a. The operation panel 1 of this embodiment is provided with a physical operation switch 10 and a display unit 11 using an LED such as a 7-segment LED. Instead of these, a touch-panel display is used. Necessary keys and information may be displayed.

  In such a washer / dryer 100, when the user operates the operation panel 1 to set a desired driving course and then presses the enter key 10a, the electric power supplied from the commercial power supply through the outlet 8 Is transformed and rectified by the rectifier circuit, the microcomputer 3b is energized and the relay 5 is turned on. The microcomputer 3b is supplied with input signals from various sensors 7 and controls the control target device 6 according to a predetermined program. At this time, the drive circuit 3c controls the conduction state in accordance with the instruction from the microcomputer 3a to control the power supply to the subordinate load, and executes the steps of washing, rinsing, dehydrating, and drying.

  During the drying operation of these steps, the air sent from the blower fan 6g is heated by the heater 6d to generate drying air. After the drying air is sent into the tank and used for drying the clothes, the drying air passes through the drying filter 2 via the air passage, and lint and the like in the drying air are captured. At the start of the drying operation, the amount of the clothing and the quality of the clothing are measured, and the time required to complete the drying is predicted to determine the specified time. As a method of detecting the degree of dryness of clothes, the temperature sensor 7e measures the temperature of cooling water used for dehumidification, and constantly monitors the degree of dryness of clothes. That is, in this embodiment, the temperature sensor 7e is used as a dryness sensor for detecting the dryness of clothing. When the degree of drying detected by this method exceeds a predetermined threshold, the drying is completed, and the drying operation is terminated. When the drying operation is completed, the relay 5 is turned off by a signal from the microcomputer 3a, and the supply of power is cut off.

  Next, a method for detecting clogging of the drying filter 2 in the washing and drying machine 100 of the present embodiment will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

  First, when the user presses the enter key 10a and turns on the power, the control device 3 checks the state of the amount of cloth in the tank and displays the initial setting course on the display unit 11 (step S1). Thereafter, the user operates the operation switch 10 to set the operation contents such as the washing course, the washing time, the number of rinses, the dehydration time, the drying time, the use of bath water, and the like (step S2), and then the start / pause When the key 10f is pressed (step S3), the operation content set by the control device 3 is executed. That is, when the washing step and the dehydration step are set, the drying step (steps S5 to S12) is executed after the washing step / dehydration step (step S4) is executed. In addition, when the washing process and the dehydration process are not set or when the drying machine is used, the drying process (steps S5 to S12) is immediately performed.

  When the drying process is started, the control device 3 estimates a time required for the drying process based on a cloth amount, a cloth quality, and the like at the start of the drying process (step S5). During the actual operation of the drying process, the control device 3 detects the degree of drying of the clothes by the above method (step S6), and completes the drying when the detected degree of drying exceeds the drying end threshold (S7).

  If the elapsed time from the start of the drying process (Step S5) to the completion of drying (Yes in Step S7) exceeds the time estimated in Step S7 (Yes in Step S8), the excess time is stored in the nonvolatile memory. 3b (step S9). At the same time, the excess time is accumulated, and it is determined whether the accumulated excess time exceeds a predetermined threshold T1 (step S10). If the accumulated excess time exceeds the threshold T1 (Yes in step S10), it is determined that the cleaning filter 2 is clogged, and a "cleaning required flag" indicating that the drying filter 2 needs to be cleaned is displayed. Is generated and stored in the nonvolatile memory 3b as setting information (step S11).

  When the drying process is completed (step S12), the control device 3 determines whether a “cleaning required flag” is recorded in the nonvolatile memory 3b (step S13), and if the flag is registered (Yes in step S13). The control device 3 prompts the user to clean the drying filter 2 by a notification operation of blinking the filter cleaning display section 11g or sounding the buzzer 12 (S14). Note that the excess time stored in the nonvolatile memory 3b may be reset when the notification to the user is executed, or may be reset after the user cleans the drying filter 2.

  Next, a method of detecting clogging of the drying filter 2 by the washer / dryer 100 of this embodiment will be described in detail with reference to the graphs of FIGS.

  The graph shown in FIG. 6 shows the excess time for each drying operation. The excess time is the time actually required until the drying is completed (the actual drying time from step S5 in FIG. 5 to Yes in step S7) is the time estimated at the start of the drying operation (in step S5 in FIG. 5). (Estimated drying time), a positive value if the actual drying time is longer than the estimated drying time, and zero if shorter.

  FIG. 6 illustrates the excess time of each time when the drying operation immediately after the cleaning of the drying filter 2 is performed for the first time. By repeating the drying operation, trapping of lint and the like in the drying filter 2 proceeds. There is a tendency that the air volume of the drying air decreases and the excess time increases. The extra time during the third drying operation is more prominent than before and after. This indicates that the third drying operation was special for large or insufficiently dehydrated laundry. It is shown.

  On the other hand, the graph shown in FIG. 7 indicates the cumulative excess time at the end of each drying operation, and the broken line T1 indicates a threshold for detecting clogging of the drying filter 2. As described above, since the excess time during each drying operation is a positive value or zero, the cumulative excess time increases by repeating the drying operation. Then, when the accumulated excess time exceeds the threshold value T1, it can be determined that a large amount of lint or the like is captured in the drying filter 2. Therefore, if the user is urged to clean the drying filter 2 at this timing, the lint is removed. The drying filter 2 that sufficiently captures the like can be cleaned, and the drying performance can be restored. In the present embodiment, the clogging of the drying filter 2 is detected based not on the excess time for each drying operation but on the accumulated value of the excess time. This is because when clogging is determined based on the excess time for each drying operation, clogging may be erroneously detected when an abnormal value occurs as in the third drying operation in FIG. This is because the use of the cumulative value of time can mitigate the effect of a single abnormal value and can avoid erroneous detection of clogging.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, it is possible to accurately detect that the drying filter is clogged by using the operation time extension history based on the detection of the degree of drying of the clothes, and to thereby prompt the cleaning of the drying filter, thereby improving the drying. It is possible to realize a washing / drying machine having high drying performance by preventing insufficient maintenance of the filter.

100 washing and drying machines,
1 operation panel,
2 drying filter,
3 control device,
3a microcomputer,
3b non-volatile memory,
3c drive circuit,
4 power supply,
5 relays,
6 controlled devices,
6a motor,
6b water valve,
6c drain valve,
6d heater,
6e circulation pump,
6f lid lock,
6g blower fan,
7 Various sensors,
7a Lid lock detection,
7b water level sensor,
7c vibration sensor,
7d rotation sensor,
7e temperature sensor,
7f motor current sensor,
8 outlets,
10 operation switches,
10a input key,
10b Off key,
10c laundry course key,
10d Wash-dry course key,
10e dry course key,
10f Start / Pause key,
10g wash key,
10h rinse key,
10i dehydration key,
10j drying key,
11 display unit,
11a Washing time display,
11b Rinsing number display,
11c Dehydration time display,
11d drying time display section,
11e remaining time display section,
11f course display,
11g filter cleaning display,
12 Buzzer,

Claims (4)

An outer tank installed in the housing,
An inner tank rotatably arranged in the outer tank,
A motor for rotating the inner tank;
A blower fan that supplies drying air for drying clothes in the inner tank to the circulation air passage,
A drying filter that is installed in the circulation air passage and captures lint contained in the drying air,
A dryness sensor for detecting the dryness of the clothing,
A control device that receives the output of the dryness sensor and controls the blower fan,
A washing and drying machine with
The control device includes:
At the start of the drying step, estimate the drying time required to dry the clothes in the inner tank,
After the start of the drying step, the actual drying time required until the degree of drying of the garment exceeds a predetermined threshold is stored as an excess time that exceeds the drying time estimated at the start of the drying step,
When the cumulative value of the excess time exceeds a predetermined threshold value, it is determined that the drying filter is clogged. The washing and drying machine according to claim 1,
Furthermore, it has a notification unit that provides a visual or audible notification to the user,
When the control device determines that the drying filter is clogged, it prompts a user to clean the drying filter via the notification unit. The washing and drying machine according to claim 2,
The control device resets the stored accumulated value of the excess time after prompting the user to clean the drying filter. An outer tank installed in the housing,
An inner tank rotatably arranged in the outer tank,
A motor for rotating the inner tank;
A blower fan that supplies drying air for drying clothes in the inner tank to the circulation air passage,
A drying filter that is installed in the circulation air passage and captures lint contained in the drying air,
A dryness sensor for detecting the dryness of the clothing,
A control device that receives the output of the dryness sensor and controls the blower fan,
A dryer with
The control device includes:
At the start of the drying step, estimate the drying time required to dry the clothes in the inner tank,
After the start of the drying step, the actual drying time required until the degree of drying of the garment exceeds a predetermined threshold is stored as an excess time that exceeds the drying time estimated at the start of the drying step,
When the cumulative value of the excess time exceeds a predetermined threshold value, it is determined that the drying filter is clogged.

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