JP2023033724A - Washing and drying machine - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a washing and drying machine capable of stably cooling a blower fan motor at a predetermined temperature or lower during a drying operation corresponding to increase in air volume.SOLUTION: A washing and drying machine in the present invention includes: an outer tub 2 capable of storing a liquid inside; a drum 3 supported rotatably in the outer tub, and for storing laundry; heating means 22 for heating the air blown to the outer tub or the drum; a dehumidifying duct 51 for dehumidifying the air which has ventilated the drum by cooling water; blower means 20, having a fan motor 201 for cooling by cooling water, for blowing the air circulating in the outer tub or the drum, the dehumidifying duct and the heating means; and a flow passage 52 in which the cooling water of the dehumidifying duct and the cooling water of the fan motor circulate sequentially.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

The present invention relates to a washer/dryer that consistently performs washing and drying of clothes and the like.

2. Description of the Related Art In a washing and drying machine that can continuously perform washing and drying, clothes are dried by a hot air heating dehumidification system or a heat pump system.

A hot-air heating dehumidifying type washer/dryer blows air heated by a heater onto clothes to absorb moisture from the clothes. The air containing the moisture of the clothes comes into contact with a low-temperature surface in a predetermined space such as a duct portion that allows tap water to flow down into the flow path, and is cooled, and the moisture condenses and is dehumidified. Then, the dehumidified air is heated again and the hot air is blown onto the clothes. These operations are performed repeatedly to dry the clothes.

In the washer/dryer, high-temperature, high-speed air is blown onto the wet clothes, and the force of the wind pushes the clothes around to dry them, thereby reducing wrinkles after washing and drying the clothes. There is a washer/dryer that appeals to you. In this washing/drying machine, the number of revolutions of the blower fan is increased in order to blow air at the highest possible speed to the clothes.

This increase in the rotational speed of the blower fan leads to an increase in the amount of heat generated by the fan motor. When the amount of heat generated by the fan motor is large, if the coil temperature exceeds a specified value, the service life will be shortened in the long term, and in extreme cases, dielectric breakdown will occur, resulting in damage. Therefore, when the amount of heat generated from the motor is large, active cooling is required.

For example, Patent Literature 1 describes a technique in which part of the air boosted by a blower fan is bypassed and flowed near the fan motor to cool the fan motor.

JP 2006-204656 A

According to the prior art described above, it is possible to reduce wrinkles in the clothes by blowing high-temperature, high-speed air to the clothes in the drying operation.
Dry circulating air has a high saturated relative humidity at the beginning of drying. For this reason, there is a problem that the motor case requires a highly corrosion-resistant material such as aluminum or stainless steel, or a steel plate with a surface treatment such as coating.
Also, in the above prior art, in the second half of drying (decreasing rate drying period), the clothes temperature becomes higher than the almost constant wet bulb temperature up to that point, and the drying circulation air temperature rises, so the temperature difference becomes smaller and the motor There was a problem that the cooling capacity was limited.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to solve the above problems and to provide a washing and drying machine capable of stably cooling a blower fan motor during drying operation to a predetermined temperature or less corresponding to a large air volume.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the washing and drying machine of the present invention comprises an outer tub capable of storing liquid therein, a drum rotatably supported in the outer tub for containing the laundry, and the outer tub or the drum. a heating means for heating the air blown to the drum, a dehumidifying duct for dehumidifying the air blown to the drum with cooling water, and a fan motor for cooling with the cooling water, the outer tank or the drum, the dehumidifying duct, and A blowing means for blowing air circulating through the heating means, and a passage through which the cooling water of the dehumidifying duct and the cooling water of the fan motor flow in order are provided.

According to the present invention, it is possible to stably cool the dry air flow fan motor to a predetermined temperature or less during a drying process in which a large amount of air is required.

1 is an external perspective view of a drum-type washing/drying machine of Embodiment 1. FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing an internal configuration of a drum-type washing/drying machine of Embodiment 1. FIG. FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along the line II-II in FIG. 2; It is the figure which looked at the integral structure of the ventilation fan from the upper part. FIG. 4B is a cross-sectional view taken along line III-III of FIG. 4A; FIG. 4C is a cross-sectional view taken along line IV-IV of FIG. 4B; It is a figure which shows the structure of a resin-made water flow path. It is the figure which looked at the integral structure of another ventilation fan from the upper part. 6B is a cross-sectional view taken along line VV of FIG. 6A. FIG. It is the figure which looked at the integrated structure of another ventilation fan from the upper part. FIG. 7B is a sectional view taken along the line VI-VI of FIG. 7A; FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view showing the internal configuration of the drum-type washing/drying machine of Embodiment 2;

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. The same components are denoted by the same reference numerals, and repeated descriptions are omitted.

FIG. 1 is an external perspective view of a drum-type washing/drying machine 100 according to an embodiment.
The user opens the door 9 provided on the front surface of the housing 1, puts the clothes or the like to be selected into the drum 3, puts detergent or softener into the inlet 11, and operates the operation panel 10 to wash. Instruct necessary driving operations such as chiseling and drying.

A stainless steel drum 3 (inner tub) for storing clothes is provided inside a housing 1 that constitutes the outer shell of the washing/drying machine 100, and an outer tub 2 that rotatably supports the drum 3 is provided on the outer periphery of the drum 3. (Fig. 2) are arranged. The outer tank 2 is capable of storing liquid inside.

A door 9 is provided on the front surface of the housing 1 so as to cover the opening of the drum 3 . A hinge 91 is provided at the end of the door 9 to support the door 9 so that it can be opened and closed.
A flexible rubber bellows 12 is provided between the housing 1 and the door 9, and when the door 9 is closed, the door is in close contact with the inside due to elastic deformation of the bellows. It has a structure that can prevent water leakage and moisture leakage from the housing to the outside.

Next, the internal configuration of the drum-type washing/drying machine 100 according to the embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3. FIG. FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing the internal configuration of the drum-type washer/dryer 100 of the embodiment, showing a front view of the washer/dryer 100 with the front panel removed from the housing 1 . FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along line II--II of FIG.

Inside the housing 1 shown in FIG. 2, there are provided a drum 3 for storing clothes therein, and a concentric outer tub 2 arranged around the outer periphery of the drum 3 with a predetermined gap. The drum 3 is cantilevered by a shaft inserted into a bearing inserted into the inner bottom of the outer tub 2 . One end of the shaft is connected to the center of the bottom of the drum and the other end of the shaft is either directly connected to the motor 31 (FIG. 3) or connected to the motor 31 via a pulley and belt attached to the shaft. .

An outer tank 2 containing a rotating drum 3 is provided with a plurality of suspensions 6 for vibration isolation. A plurality of suspension springs 61 for vibration isolation are provided on the upper portion of the outer tub 2 . A plurality of suspension springs 61 are arranged between the housing 1 and the outer tub 2 to suspend the outer tub 2 from the housing 1 .

A drain hose 28 communicating with the outer tub 2 is provided in the lower part of the housing 1, and a drain valve 44 for draining water accumulated in the outer tub 2 is provided.

The lifter 32 is a plurality of protrusions for temporarily raking up the clothes as the drum 3 rotates. The lifter 32 agitates the clothes in the rotating drum 3 during washing, rinsing and drying.

A plurality of small holes 3a (FIG. 3) are formed in the wall surface of the cylindrical portion of the drum 3, and water passes through the small holes 3a. In particular, when the drum 3 is dehydrated at high speed after washing and rinsing, the clothes are pressed against the cylindrical inner surface of the drum 3 by centrifugal force, and moisture contained in the clothes is released into the plurality of small holes formed in the drum 3. Dehydration to the outer tub 2 through 3a is performed.

A drying unit, which is a main part of the drying process, is composed of a dehumidification duct 51 (FIG. 3), a blower fan 20 (blowing means), a heater 22 (heating means), and a blowout nozzle 26 . The warm air containing the moisture of the clothes passes through the small holes 3a of the drum 3, is sucked from the dehumidification duct inlet 51a at the inner part of the outer tub 2, and circulates through the drying unit.

Next, with reference to FIG. 3, a more detailed configuration of the drying unit will be described.
The hot air containing the moisture absorbed by the clothes sucked from the dehumidification duct suction port 51a flows from the drum 3 on the back surface of the outer tub 2 into the dehumidification duct 51 provided at a communicable position.

The dehumidification duct 51 is supplied with cooling water for a blower fan 20 to be described later from an upper cooling water supply system 52 (flow path). The supplied cooling water drips or flows down the inner wall surface 50 of the dehumidification duct 51 , flows out to the outer tank 2 , and is drained through the drain hose 28 .

When the humid air passes through the dehumidification duct 51, the water vapor contained in the air condenses when the surface temperature of the cooling water flowing down from the upper part of the dehumidification duct 51 is lower than the dew point temperature of the flowing air. , the moving air is dehumidified by removing moisture. The condensed water flows out to the outer tank 2 together with the cooling water and is drained through the drain hose 28. - 特許庁

Air dehumidified by the dehumidification duct 51 is sucked by the blower fan 20 .
The blower fan 20 includes a fan motor 201 , a resin water flow path 202 through which cooling water flows to cool the fan motor 201 , and a casing 205 , which will be described later in detail.

The blower fan 20 sucks dehumidified air from the dehumidifying duct 51 and discharges it to the heater 22 arranged on the downstream side of the blower fan 20 .
The air heated by the heater 22 is blown to the outer tub 2 or the drum 3 from a blowing nozzle 26 facing the drum 3 .

Cooling water in water flow path 202 is supplied from a water supply system for washing water and rinsing water of washing/drying machine 100 via water supply valve 421 . The cooling water supplied to the dehumidification duct 51 is supplied from the cooling water supply system 52 communicating with the water flow path 202 of the blower fan 20 .

That is, the cooling water supply system 52 (flow path) connects the fan motor 201 and the dehumidification duct 51 so that the cooling water that has cooled the fan motor 201 is supplied to the dehumidification duct 51, and the cooling water after cooling the fan motor 201 is supplied to the dehumidification duct 51. dehumidify in the dehumidification duct 51 .

The temperature sensor 70 is a temperature sensor such as a thermistor that detects the temperature of the coolant flowing through the cooling water supply system 52 .
The control unit 71 controls the opening/closing of the water supply valve 421 or the number of revolutions (rotational speed) of the fan motor 201 based on the temperature of the cooling water detected by the temperature sensor 70 .

When the temperature of the cooling water detected by the temperature sensor 70 is equal to or higher than a specified value, the control unit 71 determines abnormal heat generation of the fan motor 201 and performs an operation to reduce the rotation speed of the fan motor 201 or stop it. .
In addition to the abnormal heat generation of the fan motor 201, the control unit 71 also calculates an increase in the temperature of the cooling water detected by the temperature sensor 70 from the water temperature detected in the water supply system for washing water and rinsing water. It may be checked whether the blower fan is rotating according to the rotation instruction. Specifically, when the temperature rise does not reach a specified value, it is determined that the fan motor 201 is not rotating according to the rotation instruction.

In addition, when the temperature rise value of the cooling water detected by the temperature sensor 70 is equal to or higher than a specified value, the control unit 71 opens the water supply valve 421 to increase the flow rate of the water flow path 202, thereby increasing the flow rate of the fan motor 201. Cooling may be enhanced.
Furthermore, even if the cooling of the fan motor 201 is strengthened, the control unit 71 determines abnormal heat generation of the fan motor 201 when the temperature rise value of the cooling water detected by the temperature sensor 70 is equal to or higher than the specified value. An operation to stop the fan motor 201 may be performed.

Next, the configuration of the blower fan 20 will be described with reference to FIGS. 4A to 4C, 5A to 5B, and 6A to 6B.

4A to 4C are diagrams illustrating details of the blower fan 20 of the washing/drying machine 100 of the embodiment. FIG. 4A is a top view of the integral structure of the blower fan 20. FIG. 4B is a sectional view along line III-III of FIG. 4A, and FIG. 4C is a sectional view along line IV-IV of FIG. 4B.

First, the configuration of the blower fan 20 will be described with reference to FIG. 4B. The blower fan 20 is a centrifugal blower including a fan motor 201 and a fan unit including an impeller 203 and a casing 205 .

The fan unit of the blower fan 20 is configured by providing a spiral casing 205 having a cross-sectional area that increases in the flow direction around an impeller 203 provided with a plurality of blades. The air that has flowed in from the suction port 204 of the fan unit flows between the blades of the impeller 203 that rotates at high speed, gradually rises in pressure through the flow path of the casing 205, and flows out from the discharge port 206 (see FIG. 4C). The pressurized air is discharged to a heater 22 provided downstream of the blower fan 20 .

The fan motor 201 is, for example, an IPM motor (embedded magnet type), and a centrifugal impeller 203 is attached to the end of a shaft 201a of the fan motor 201 . A stator 201c is provided at the other end of the shaft 201a with a predetermined gap from the rotor 201b. At this time, the stator 201c, the rotor 201b, bearings (not shown), and internal air generate heat due to electrical loss and fluid loss for generating the magnetic field. The stator 201c and the motor case 201d are in mechanical press-fit contact and thermally coupled.

As shown in FIG. 4A, a water flow path 202 (cooling section) made of resin is provided so as to encircle the motor case 201d once, and cooling water flows into the flow path of the water flow path 202 from an inlet port 202a on the upper surface. The cooling water flows in the water flow path 202 clockwise when viewed from above, and flows out from the outlet port 202b.

In the water flow path 202 , the cooling water absorbs heat from the high-temperature surface of the fan motor 201 and cools the fan motor 201 . In order to improve the thermal connection between the water flow path 202 and the fan motor 201, it is preferable that surfaces with small surface roughness come into surface contact with each other. The water channel 202 may be made of metal instead of being made of resin. If the fan motor 201 is made of metal, the cooling performance of the fan motor 201 is improved because the thermal resistance is small and the heat absorption effect from the motor is large.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing the configuration of the water flow path 202 made of resin. The water flow path 202 consists of a resin body 2021 and a lid 2022 having an upwardly open U-shaped cross section and is formed by welding the body 2021 and the lid 2022 together (welding portion). The configuration of the water flow path 202 is not limited to that shown in FIG. 5, and may be another configuration.

Next, another configuration of the blower fan 20 will be described with reference to FIGS. 6A and 6B. FIG. 6A is a top view of the integral structure of the blower fan 20. FIG. FIG. 6B is a cross-sectional view taken along line VV of FIG. 6A. The shapes of the impeller 203 and the casing 205 are the same as those shown in FIG. 4C, so the description is omitted.

Blower fan 20 shown in FIGS. 6A and 6B is provided with fins 202c for enlarging the heat transfer area in water flow path 202 in contrast to blower fan 20 described in FIGS. 4A and 4B. It is designed to have a hot surface. Other configurations of the blower fan 20 are the same as those of the blower fan 20 described with reference to FIGS. 4A and 4B, and therefore description thereof is omitted.

The fins 202c of the blower fan 20 can increase the heat transfer area, so that the heat resistance between the cooling water flowing through the water flow path 202 and the surface of the case of the fan motor 201 can be reduced, and the cooling performance of the fan motor 201 can be further improved. be able to.
In addition, since the heat transfer coefficient of the surface of the fins 202c changes depending on the flow velocity of the cooling water, the cooling performance of the fan motor 201 can be improved by optimizing the flow velocity.
Furthermore, the cooling performance of the fan motor 201 can be improved by optimizing the fin height of the fins 202c.

Further, another configuration of the blower fan 20 will be described with reference to FIGS. 7A and 7B. FIG. 7A is a top view of the integral structure of the blower fan 20. FIG. FIG. 7B is a sectional view along line VI-VI of FIG. 7A. The shapes of the impeller 203 and the casing 205 are the same as those shown in FIG. 4C, so the description is omitted.

Blower fan 20 shown in FIGS. 7A and 7B is different from blower fan 20 described in FIGS. 6A and 6B in that cooling water flow path 202 is formed inside the case of fan motor 201 . That is, the cooling portion of the fan motor 201 is provided inside the outer shell of the fan motor 201 .

With such a configuration, as the fan motor 201 integrated with the cooling structure, the assembly efficiency of the washing/drying machine at the manufacturing site is improved, and the cooling performance of the motor is less likely to be affected by the surroundings of the motor.

Another embodiment of the drum type washing/drying machine 100 of the present invention will be described below.
FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view showing the internal configuration of the drum type washing/drying machine 100 of the second embodiment.

The washing/drying machine 100 described in Embodiment 1 has a configuration in which the drying unit is arranged above the housing 1 (above the outer tub 2), and the cooling water is passed through the fan motor 201 and the dehumidifying duct 51 in this order. On the other hand, the washing/drying machine 100 of Example 2 has a configuration in which the drying unit is arranged in the lower part of the housing 1 (the lower part of the outer tub 2), and the cooling water is passed through the dehumidification duct 51 and the fan motor 201 in this order. and

The components of the washing/drying machine 100 of the second embodiment differ from those of the first embodiment only in the configuration of the dehumidifying duct 51, and the rest are the same as those of the washing/drying machine 100 of the first embodiment.

Although the temperature sensor 70 and the controller 71 are not shown in FIG. 8, the temperature sensor 70 and the controller 71 are provided. The fan motor 201 and water supply valve 421 are controlled based on the detected cooling water temperature.
4A to 4C, 5A to 5B, and 6A to 6B may be used as the blower fan 20. FIG.

The dehumidification duct 51 is supplied with cooling water from the wash water and rinse water supply system of the washing/drying machine 100 via the water supply valve 421 . The supplied cooling water flows through the closed space between the back surface of the dehumidification duct 51 and the partition wall 510 , and flows through the water flow path 202 of the blower fan 20 via the cooling water supply system 52 .

In the dehumidification duct 51, when the partition wall 510 cooled by the cooling water is below the dew point temperature of the moist air of the clothes, the water vapor contained in the air is condensed and the moisture is removed from the moist air of the clothes. dehumidified. The condensed moisture is discharged to the outer tub 2, and the dehumidified air is sucked by the blower fan 20. - 特許庁

The cooling water flowing through the water flow path 202 of the blower fan 20 through the cooling water supply system 52 cools the fan motor 201 and is drained through the drain hose 28 .

As described above, in the washing/drying machine 100 of the second embodiment, the cooling water supply system 52 (flow path) connects the dehumidifying duct 51 and the fan motor 201 so that the cooling water dehumidified in the dehumidifying duct 51 cools the fan motor 201. The fan motor 201 is cooled by the cooling water that has been communicated and dehumidified in the dehumidifying duct 51 .

In the washing/drying machine 100 of the second embodiment, the cooling water supply system 52 is provided so that the cooling water flows from the dehumidification duct 51 to the blower fan 20 in order, thereby improving the degree of freedom of installation and allowing the drying fan to be installed in the housing. 1 (under the outer tank 2).

In the washing/drying machine 100 of the first or second embodiment described above, the cooling water that has cooled the fan motor 201 is supplied to the dehumidifying duct 51, or the cooling water that has been dehumidified in the dehumidifying duct 51 cools the fan motor 201. , a cooling water supply system 52 (flow path) is provided in which the cooling water of the dehumidifying duct 51 and the cooling water of the fan motor 201 flow in order.

As a result, the fan motor 201, which is a fan motor for flowing dry air, can be stably cooled to a predetermined temperature or less.

In addition, since it is not necessary to provide an air flow opening for the purpose of dissipating heat from the fan motor 201 on the side surface of the housing 1, noise radiated from this opening can be suppressed and noise reduction can be achieved.
Furthermore, even in a built-in structure such as an undercounter in which the housing 1 and the surrounding wall excluding the front surface of the washer/dryer 100 are close to each other, the fan motor 201 can be stably cooled and the air volume can be increased. realizable.

Moreover, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and includes various modifications. The above embodiments have been described in detail to facilitate understanding of the present invention, and are not necessarily limited to those having all the described configurations. In addition, it is possible to replace part of the configuration of one embodiment with the configuration of another embodiment, and it is also possible to add the configuration of another embodiment to the configuration of one embodiment.

2 outer tank 3 drum 20 blower fan (blower means)
201 fan motor 202 water flow path 203 impeller 205 casing 22 heater (heating means)
26 Blow-off nozzle 28 Drainage hose 51 Dehumidification duct 52 Cooling water supply system (flow path)
70 temperature sensor 71 control unit

Claims (8)

an outer tank capable of storing liquid inside;
a drum rotatably supported in the outer tub and containing laundry;
heating means for heating the air blown to the outer tank or the drum;
a dehumidifying duct for dehumidifying the air that has flowed through the drum with cooling water;
Blowing means for blowing air circulating through the outer tank or the drum, the dehumidifying duct, and the heating means, and having a fan motor for cooling with cooling water;
a flow path through which the cooling water of the dehumidification duct and the cooling water of the fan motor flow in order;
A washing and drying machine comprising: In the washing and drying machine according to claim 1,
The washing and drying machine according to claim 1, wherein the channel communicates the fan motor and the dehumidification duct so that cooling water that has cooled the fan motor is supplied to the dehumidification duct. In the washing and drying machine according to claim 1,
The washing and drying machine according to claim 1, wherein the channel communicates the fan motor and the dehumidifying duct so that cooling water dehumidified by the dehumidifying duct cools the fan motor. In the washing and drying machine according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
A washing and drying machine, wherein a cooling portion of a fan motor, which is a water flow path for cooling water, has an enlarged heat transfer surface in the water flow path. In the washing and drying machine according to claim 4,
A washing/drying machine, wherein the cooling part of the fan motor is provided inside the outer shell of the fan motor. In the washing and drying machine according to claim 4,
The washing/drying machine according to claim 1, wherein the cooling part of the fan motor is made of a resin material, and the water flow path is formed by welding at least two or more shaped parts. In the washing and drying machine according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
A temperature detection means for detecting the temperature of cooling water that cools the fan motor,
A washing/drying machine characterized in that, when the detected temperature is equal to or higher than a predetermined temperature, the number of revolutions of the fan motor is reduced. In the washing and drying machine according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
A temperature detection means for detecting the temperature of cooling water that cools the fan motor,
A washing and drying machine characterized by increasing the flow rate of cooling water when a detected temperature is equal to or higher than a predetermined temperature.

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