JP2020096982A - Washing and drying machine - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a washing and drying machine that exterminates mites by heating laundry such as a heat-sensitive blanket and is capable of efficiently removing the exterminated mites from the laundry.SOLUTION: The washing and drying machine comprises a housing, an outer tub that is supported in the housing and stores washing water therein, a washing tub that is rotatably supported in the outer tub and accommodates laundry, a rotary blade that is rotatably installed on a bottom of the washing tub, driving means that drives the washing tub and the rotary blade, air blowing means that sends air into the washing tub, heating means that heats air sent by the air blowing means, and water supply means that supplies water into the washing tub. The washing and drying machine implements water supply after a heating treatment is executed for sending hot air into the washing tub, and implements water discharge after an operation for rotating the rotary blade is conducted under a state that the washing tub is stopped.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 4

Description

The present invention relates to a washer/dryer capable of washing blankets, duvets, and the like.

In order to clean blankets and futons that often come into direct contact with human skin, it is common to wash them, dry them in the sun, and absorb them with a vacuum cleaner. It is possible to remove mite faeces and carcasses by washing and cleaning, but it is not easy to kill mites by washing and sun drying, and mites clinging to thick blankets and futon fibers can be removed. It is not easy to suck up.

It has been published that experimental results show that the most common indoor mite mites, mites, are vulnerable to heat and are killed 100% by maintaining a temperature of 50°C or higher for 20 minutes.

Patent Document 1 discloses a washing machine having a function of killing mites by such heat. In this patent document 1, "a washing tub for storing and washing laundry and a steam generating means or hot water supplying means for supplying steam to the washing tub is provided, and the steam generating means or hot water supplying means is a washing machine. A washing machine with a sterilization/miticide function that operates after the clothes are put into the tub until water is supplied, supplies steam or hot water to the clothes from above the washing tub, and then starts the normal washing process. It is described as ".

Patent Document 2 discloses a washing machine having a function of washing a blanket or a futon. In Patent Document 2, "an outer tub that is vibration-isolated and supported in an outer frame, a washing/dehydrating tub arranged in the outer tub, a rotary blade arranged in the washing/dewatering tub, and an outer frame In a dehydration washing machine having an operation section and a display section arranged on the upper part, when a course for washing a futon is selected in the operation section, the water level supplied is higher than the high water level for washing laundry of rated capacity. Water is supplied into the dehydration tub, the display unit indicates the high water level for washing the laundry of the rated capacity, and the washing/dehydration tub and the rotary blade are integrally rotated intermittently in one direction to perform washing. Dewatering washing machine characterized by."

Japanese Patent No. 2639045 Japanese Patent No. 3232892

The purpose was to sterilize and kill mites with steam or hot water, but the effect of steam penetration could hardly be expected inside or under the folded blankets or duvets.

Conventionally, the blanket washing course of a vertical type washing machine is to wash a blanket or a futon by supplying water up to the water level where the blanket is immersed and rotating the washing/dehydrating tub and the rotor in one direction. However, since the mechanical force acting on the blanket or the futon is small, it cannot be expected that the carcasses of the mites will be sufficiently removed.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a washer/dryer capable of heating laundry such as a blanket that is susceptible to heat to kill ticks and efficiently removing the killed ticks from the laundry. Especially.

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, a washing and drying machine of the present invention includes a housing, an outer tub supported in the housing for storing washing water therein, and a washing tub rotatably supported in the outer tub for accommodating laundry. A rotary blade rotatably installed at the bottom of the washing tub, driving means for driving the washing tub and the rotary blade, blowing means for sending air into the washing tub, and heating the air sent by the blowing means. The heating means and the water supply means for supplying water to the washing tub are provided, and after performing the heating process for sending hot air into the washing tub, the water supply is performed and the rotary wing is set in a state where the washing tub is stationary. After the operation of rotating, the drainage is performed.

According to the present invention, in the case of heating a laundry such as a blanket that is weak against heat to kill mites, by applying mechanical force to the laundry during the washing step or rinsing step performed after killing the mites, It is possible to efficiently remove the carcasses of.

FIG. 3 is a vertical sectional view showing the structure of a washer/dryer according to an embodiment of the present invention. Functional configuration diagram of a washer/dryer according to an embodiment of the present invention Basic control flowchart of tick countermeasure course according to the embodiment of the present invention Basic control flowchart of a tick countermeasure course according to another embodiment of the present invention Control flowchart of heating and humidifying processing according to the embodiment of the present invention Blanket temperature distribution according to an embodiment of the present invention Explanatory drawing of the operation|movement and drive mode by embodiment of this invention FIG. 3 is a vertical sectional view showing the structure of a washer/dryer according to another embodiment of the present invention.

Hereinafter, a washer/dryer according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. The following embodiment is an example in which the present invention is embodied, and does not limit the technical scope of the present invention.

An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7.

FIG. 1 is a vertical sectional view showing a structure of a washer/dryer according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a functional configuration diagram of the washer/dryer according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Inside the outer frame 1 of the washer/dryer, an outer tub 2 for storing washing water is vibration-supported by four hanging members (not shown) suspended from the upper four corners of the outer frame 1, It is arranged vertically in the center of the. The washing tub 3 arranged in the outer tub 2 is made of a stainless steel plate and has a cylindrical shape with a bottom and is long in the axial direction. Through holes 7 are formed in the peripheral wall of the washing tub 3 for passing water and ventilation.

At the center of the inner bottom surface of the washing tub 3, a rotary blade 6 that stirs the laundry to perform a washing operation, a rinsing operation, a drying operation, and the like is rotatably provided. The rotary blade 6 is rotationally driven by the drive device 8 and repeats forward/reverse rotation to perform washing operation, rinsing operation, drying operation, and the like. During the dehydration operation, the washing tub 3 and the rotary blade 6 integrally rotate at a high speed to dehydrate the water contained in the laundry.

The drive unit 8 has a built-in drive motor, an electromagnetic operation clutch mechanism, and a planetary gear speed reduction mechanism that use a reversible rotation type capacitor-phase single-phase induction motor, an inverter drive motor, etc., and controls the drive motor and the electromagnetic operation clutch mechanism. By this, the stirring drive mode (first driving mode) in which the rotary wing 6 is repeatedly rotated forward and backward (reciprocally) while the washing tub 3 is stationary, and the washing tub 3 and the rotary wing 6 are integrally rotated in the same direction. The dehydration drive mode (second drive mode) to be performed and the neutral drive mode (third drive) in which the washing tub 3 is rotated in the opposite direction by the reaction of rotating the stirring wing 6 without connecting the washing tub 3 and the stirring wing 6 Form) is selectively executed.

A circulation duct 18 connected to the outer tub 2 by an exhaust connection portion 24 is installed on the rear side of the outer frame 1, and the air duct of the circulation duct 18 is evaporated from the laundry in the drying process. A water-cooling dehumidifying plate 20 for cooling and dehumidifying hot air containing water is installed, and a thread waste filter (not shown) for removing lint and the like contained in the circulating hot air is attached and detached. It is installed as possible. As shown by the white arrow, the flow of warm air passes from the outer tub 2 through the exhaust connection portion 24, from the bottom of the circulation duct 18 to the upper direction, and then to the blower 19, and after being cooled and dehumidified. And a heater 17 for heating the circulating hot air. The air heated by the heater 17 passes through the air duct 26 to supply warm air to the washing tub 3. A mist mesh 28 formed by weaving a thin metal wire into a substantially hemispherical mesh shape is attached to a supply port of warm air supplied to the washing tub 3. Above the mist mesh 28, a mist nozzle 27 projects downward in the air duct 26. When tap water is supplied to the mist nozzle 27, tap water jetted downward from the mist nozzle 27 collides with the mist mesh 28, and the tap water is atomized (misted) and sprayed in the washing tub 3. To be done.

The mesh of the mist mesh 28 is preferably made coarser than that of a water supply filter (not shown) provided inside the water supply hose connection port 10. This can prevent the mist mesh 28 from being clogged with dust in the tap water. Further, by disposing the mist mesh 28 below the mist nozzle 27, the water sprayed from the mist nozzle 27 is accelerated by the gravitational acceleration and then collides with the mist mesh 28, further promoting the miniaturization of water. can do.

A warm air temperature sensor 21 that detects the temperature of the heated warm air is installed in the blower duct 26 and is used to control the heating of the heater 17. Further, a humidity sensor (not shown) that is sensitive to the humidity of the circulating air is installed in the air passage.

A circulation temperature sensor 22 for detecting the temperature of the hot air discharged from the washing tub 3 and circulating in the circulation duct 18 is installed in the circulation duct 18, and a drainage temperature sensor 23 is provided at a position where the cooling water flows in the exhaust connection portion 24. The temperature of the cooling water that contains the condensed water that is installed and cooled and condensed and collected is detected.

During the washing operation, the circulation temperature sensor 22 or the drainage temperature sensor 23 is used to detect the water temperature of the wash water or the rinse water, and it is used to change the control content of the washing process or the rinse process according to the detected water temperature. It is also possible to do so.

The control unit 9 is mainly composed of the microcomputer 37.

The microcomputer 37 has a function of controlling the display panel 16, the water supply unit 11, and the drain valve 14. Further, the motor 32 of the drive device 8 is driven and controlled via the motor drive circuit 31, the clutch mechanism 34 is switched via the clutch drive circuit 33, and the heater switch 35 is controlled to be turned on/off, thereby energizing the heater 17. It has a function of controlling, controlling strong/weak/off, and controlling the blower 19 via the fan drive circuit 36.

FIG. 3 is a basic control flowchart of a tick countermeasure course executed by the microcomputer 37 in the control unit 9 according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram of a drive mode in which the microcomputer 37 in the control unit 9 controls the clutch mechanism 34.

When the power switch (not shown) is turned on, the microcomputer 37 executes the following control processing.

Step S01
When the power is turned on, the clutch mechanism 34 is controlled to the position at the start of washing after the initialization processing of the control processing system is performed, and if the drain valve 14 is not closed, the closing control is performed.

Step S02
Put laundry, here a blanket or futon, into the washing tub 3, operate the course selection button (not shown) of the operation switch 30 for initial setting, and execute the operation control process when the start button switch is pressed. To do. In the initial setting here, a tick countermeasure course according to the embodiment of the present invention is selected and set.

Step S03
The main water supply solenoid valve (not shown) of the water supply unit 11 is opened to start the supply of tap water. This wash water is supplied up to the set water amount, but the clutch mechanism 34 is controlled to the dehydration position to rotate the washing tub 3 and the rotary blades 6 integrally in the same direction at a low speed, and a blanket which is laundry. Controls to quickly absorb water from the futon.

Step S04
In a washer/dryer having a washing tub 3 that rotates around a vertical axis, tap water supplied to a set amount of water dilutes the detergent to a detergent concentration suitable for washing, and this washing liquid is used to wash laundry. Blankets and beddings are soaked. In this state, the drive device 8 is controlled to put the clutch mechanism 34 in the dehydration drive mode to spin wash the washing tub 3 and the rotary blades 6 integrally, and to rotate the clutch mechanism 34 in the neutral drive mode to rotate. By the reaction of rotating the blade 6, the washing of the washing tub 3 in which the washing tub 3 is rotated in the reverse direction is selectively executed.

The rotary bath washing is suitable for washing blankets and duvets without damaging them, but the mechanical cleaning power given to the blankets and duvets is small.

Bath wing washing has the advantages of both rotatory washing and agitation washing, and can give an appropriate mechanical washing power without damaging blankets or duvets.

In a so-called drum-type washer/dryer having a washing tub 3 that rotates around a horizontal axis or a tilt axis, tap water is not supplied until a blanket or a futon that is laundry is soaked, and the washing tub 3 is rotated normally/reversely. Then, lift the blanket or duvet, which is the laundry, to the top and drop it.

Step S05
The drain valve 14 is opened to drain the washing liquid out of the machine. In this washing and draining operation, the clutch mechanism 34 is controlled in the dehydration drive mode during or after draining.

Step S06
After the drainage is completed, the washing tub 3 and the rotary blades 6 are integrally rotated at a high speed in one direction to centrifugally dewater the washing liquid contained in the blanket or the futon which is the laundry.

Step S07
The drain valve 14 is closed and the main water supply solenoid valve of the water supply unit 11 is opened to supply tap water up to the set water amount.

Step S08
The drive unit 8 is controlled to execute the rinse 1 operation. In some cases, one rinse operation may be skipped to shorten the operation time.

Step S09
The drain valve 14 is opened to drain the rinse water out of the machine. In this rinse 1 drainage operation, the clutch mechanism 34 is controlled in the dehydration drive mode during drainage.

Step S10
By rotating the washing tub 3 and the rotary blades 6 integrally in one direction at a high speed, the rinse water contained in the blanket or the futon which is the laundry is centrifugally dehydrated.

Step S11
The drain valve 14 is closed, and the control unit 9 controls the blower 19, the heater 17, and the drive device 8 to execute the heating and humidifying process.

Specifically, as shown in the flowchart of FIG. 5, the drive device 8 is controlled to rotate the washing tub 3 at a low speed (step S501). Then, the control unit 9 controls the fan drive circuit 36 to operate the blower 19 to supply air into the washing tub 3 (step S502).

After that, the control unit 9 controls the heater switch 35 to be ON and strongly operates the heater 17 (step S503). The warm air temperature sensor 21 installed in the air duct 26 heats the blanket or the futon, which is the laundry, until the temperature of the hot air reaches 80° C. or higher (step S504). When the warm air temperature sensor 21 detects that the warm air temperature exceeds 80° C., the control unit 9 controls the water supply unit 11 to intermittently supply tap water from the mist nozzle 27 (step S505). ..

The mist water supply solenoid valve (not shown) of the water supply unit 11 can supply 0.2 to 0.5 L of tap water per minute to the mist nozzle 27, but in the present embodiment, a blanket or a futon that is laundry is used. It is necessary to keep the temperature at which the mite is killed while preventing the fibers from being deformed by heat to make the texture stiff, so after turning on the mist water supply solenoid valve for 10 seconds, turn off the intermittent water supply for 170 seconds. To do. This ON/OFF time distribution is one control scheme, and by setting it according to each washing/drying machine, it is possible to prevent the temperature of the blanket or bedding, which is the laundry, from rising too high.

A circulating temperature sensor 22 installed in the circulation duct 18 heats a blanket or a futon, which is laundry, while intermittently spraying mist until the temperature of the warm air circulating in the circulation duct 18 exceeds 50°C. Humidification is continued (step S506).

When the circulation temperature sensor 22 detects that the circulation temperature exceeds 50° C., the control unit 9 turns off the mist water supply electromagnetic valve of the water supply unit 11 to stop the intermittent spraying of the mist (step S507). After that, the controller 9 controls the heater switch 35 to weakly operate the heater 17 (step S508). At the same time as starting the weak operation of the heater 17, the weak operation timer is started (step S509), and the weak operation is continued until 30 minutes have elapsed (step S510). This is a process for keeping a blanket or a futon, which is a laundry, at a temperature of 50° C. or higher for 20 minutes in order to kill ticks, and the laundry put in the washing tub 3 rotating around the vertical axis. That is, it is difficult to raise the temperature of the lower part of the blanket or futon. In a washer/dryer having a washing tub 3 that rotates around a horizontal axis or a tilt axis, a blanket or a futon that is laundry can change its position by rotating the washing tub 3, so that a weak operation may be skipped. It is possible. When the weak operation timer has passed 30 minutes, the control unit 9 turns off the heater switch 35 to stop heating by the heater 17 (step S511). At the same time when the heating by the heater 17 is stopped, the blower operation timer is started (step S512). The blower 19 is operated until the blowing operation has passed for 15 minutes (step S513). When the blowing operation has passed for 15 minutes, the control unit 9 controls the fan drive circuit 36 to stop the operation of the blower 19 (step S514). ..

After stopping the blowing operation, the control unit 9 controls the drive device 8 to stop the rotation of the washing tub 3 (step S515).

Step S12
The main water supply solenoid valve of the water supply unit 11 is opened to supply tap water up to the set amount.

Step S13
The drive unit 8 is controlled to execute the rinse 2 operation.

In the rinsing 2 operation, the clutch mechanism 34 is set to the stirring drive mode and the washing tub 3 is rotated in a stationary state in order to apply a mechanical force for removing dead carcasses of mite to a blanket or a futon which is laundry. Stirring washing for rotating the blade 6 in the normal/reverse direction or washing of the tub blade for rotating the washing tub 3 in the reverse direction by reaction of rotating the rotary blade 6 with the clutch mechanism 34 in the neutral drive mode are selectively executed.

Step S14
As in step S09, the rinse water is drained out of the machine.

Step S15
As in step S10, the rinse water contained in the blanket or the futon which is the laundry is centrifugally dehydrated. Hereinafter, similarly, step S16, step S17, and step S18 are executed, but these can be omitted depending on the case.

Step S19
The blanket or bedding, which is the laundry that has been sufficiently rinsed, is sufficiently centrifugally dehydrated in this final dehydration.

In FIG. 4, the basic control is the same as that in the flowchart of FIG. 3 with the difference that the heating and humidifying process (step S11) is executed before the washing water supply (step S03).

FIG. 6 is a diagram simply explaining the temperature distribution of the blanket, and the cooling effect of the heating and humidifying process will be described using this diagram.

(A) shows the heat treatment in the case where the atomized water is not intermittently supplied to the washing tub 3, and (b) shows the atomized water intermittently supplied to perform the heating and humidifying process. Indicate the case.

In the section tA, the heater 17 is strongly operated, in the section tB, the heater 17 is weakly operated, and in the section tC, the heater 17 is turned off to perform the blowing operation.

A blanket or a futon, which is the laundry put into the washing tub 3 that rotates about the vertical axis, has a temperature change like temperature change T1 on the upper surface near the place where the hot air is supplied, and the temperature changes at 50° C. at the point A Exceed.
On the other hand, in the lower part of the washing tub 3, there is a temperature change such as the temperature change T2, and the heating time to the point B exceeding 50° C. becomes long. Therefore, the temperature change T1 continues to be further heated from the point A, the temperature rises rapidly as the water content in the blanket decreases, reaches the maximum temperature at the point C, and the fibers of the blanket are thermally deformed. I will end up.

When the heating and humidifying process according to the present embodiment is performed, when the hot air temperature exceeds 80° C., tap water is intermittently supplied from the mist nozzle 27 (line M). As a result, the temperature rise from point A exceeding 50° C. is moderate on the upper surface near the place where the hot air is supplied. In the lower part of the washing tub 3, the temperature change T2 exceeds 50° C. at the point B, and the temperature continues to rise thereafter. In the section tB in which the heater 17 is weakly operated, the temperature change T1 rises substantially or gradually. The heating and humidifying treatment according to this embodiment does not exceed 60°C. On the other hand, with respect to the temperature change T2, it is possible to continue the temperature increase even in the weak operation section tB and further continue the gradual temperature increase in the blowing operation section tC, and maintain 50° C. or higher for 20 minutes or more.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, by appropriately cooling and humidifying the laundry, it is possible to prevent the temperature of the laundry from rising too much, and it is possible to effectively kill the mites by maintaining a constant temperature. It will be possible.

Further, by using the mist for the above cooling treatment, it is possible to prevent the temperature from dropping sharply and to control the temperature more appropriately.

FIG. 8 is a vertical cross-sectional view showing the structure of a washer/dryer according to another embodiment of the present invention. In the heat treatment in Example 2, hot air is supplied into the washing tub 3 as in Example 1. In addition, a heater for water supply 38 is installed in a pipe for supplying water from the water supply unit 11 into the washing tub 3, and the heated water is supplied into the washing tub 3 so that a blanket or a futon which is laundry is heated at 50° C. or higher. The difference is that it is kept for a minute to effectively kill the mites.

Instead of supplying water while heating the water, a heater (not shown) for heating the water is installed between the outer tub 2 and the washing tub 3, and the supplied water is heated to provide a blanket or a futon which is laundry. Can be held at 50° C. or higher for 20 minutes.

In the case of a so-called vertical type washer/dryer, there is a large amount of water for washing a blanket or a duvet, which is laundry, and the time for heating the water is long, or the amount of power consumption is large, It is more effective to dry the blanket or duvet which is the laundry, or to dehydrate the water content and then heat with warm air.

1 Outer frame (housing)
2 Outer tub 3 Washing tub 6 Rotor blades 8 Drive device (drive unit)
9 controller 17 heater (heating means)
19 Blower (Blower supply means)
20 Water-cooled dehumidifying plate (water-cooled dehumidifying means)
21 warm air temperature sensor 22 circulation temperature sensor 27 mist nozzle (mist spraying means)
28 Mist mesh (miniaturized member, mist spraying means)

Claims (1)

Housing and
An outer tub that is supported in the housing and stores washing water inside,
A washing tub which is rotatably supported in the outer tub and accommodates laundry;
A rotary blade rotatably installed at the bottom of the washing tub,
Drive means for driving the washing tub and the rotary blade,
Blower means for sending air into the washing tub,
Heating means for heating the air sent out by the air blowing means,
Water supply means for supplying water into the washing tub,
After performing a heating process for sending hot air into the washing tub, water supply is performed, and after the operation of rotating the rotary blades with the washing tub stationary, drainage is performed. Yes, a washer/dryer.

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