JP6071250B2 - Washing machine - Google Patents

Description

  The present embodiment relates to a washing machine.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a washing machine includes a water tub, a rotating tub in the water tub, and a driving device for rotationally driving the rotating tub in the outer box. An electronic unit for supplying power to the driving device includes a heating element such as an IGBT. Such a device generates a large amount of heat because a large current flows therethrough. In view of this, the electronic unit is provided with a heat sink for heat dissipation, or a cooling fan device is provided so that heat is not trapped.

JP 2010-22390 A

However, the fins of the heat sink in the electronic unit are bulkier than other electronic components, and the size of the entire washing machine is increased with the installation of the fan device.
Then, the washing machine which can improve a cooling property and can suppress the enlargement of the whole is provided.

The washing machine of the present embodiment is provided with an electronic unit including a heating element, an outer box, a water tank disposed in the outer box, and a rotating tank provided rotatably inside the water tank. A unit case for housing the electronic unit is disposed in the outer box so that a part or all of the unit case is opposed to the peripheral wall of the water tank in the radial direction. A cooling fan for cooling the electronic unit is provided for the unit case at a position adjacent to the board on which the electronic component is mounted and further away from the water tank than the electronic unit. The cooling fan is a centrifugal fan. There, blowing position of the blowing faces the inside the unit case, and configured to blow air along the substrate toward the other end from one end of the substrate of the electronic unit .

The expanded perspective view which shows 1st Embodiment and shows the state which removed the case cover body about the unit case which accommodates an electronic unit Side view showing partially broken washing machine Schematic diagram for explaining the positional relationship between the electronic unit and the water tank in a plan view of the washing machine Schematic diagram showing the back side of the washing machine FIG. 1 equivalent view showing the case cover attached to the unit case Enlarged longitudinal side view of the electronic unit along the line AA in FIG. Schematic side view for illustrating the internal structure of the drum type washing machine according to the second embodiment

<First Embodiment>
Hereinafter, a first embodiment applied to a dehydrating combined washing machine (hereinafter referred to as a washing machine) will be described with reference to FIGS. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the outer box 1 forming the outer shell of the washing machine has a box shape as a whole, and includes an outer box main body 2, a base 3 disposed at the lower part of the main body 2, A top cover 4 mounted on the top of the box body 2 is provided. The top cover 4 has, for example, a foldable lid 5 that opens and closes the laundry entrance 5a.

  Inside the outer box 1, a water tank 7 is suspended in a swingable manner via a suspension rod 6 a of an elastic suspension mechanism 6. A rotating tub 8 for washing and dewatering is rotatably disposed in the water tub 7, and an agitator 9 is rotatably disposed on the inner bottom portion of the rotating tub 8. The water tank 7 as an outer tank has a bottomed cylindrical shape, and the rotating tank 8 as an inner tank also has a bottomed cylindrical shape. The central axis C1 of the water tank 7 and the rotating tank 8 is directed in the up-down direction as shown by a one-dot chain line in FIG. A dewatering hole 8 a is formed in the peripheral wall of the rotary tank 8. And the washing machine motor 10 which consists of an abduction-type brushless motor is fixed to the outer bottom part of the water tank 7, for example. The rotation of the rotor 10a of the washing machine motor 10 is transmitted to the stirring body 9 during washing by the action of a clutch mechanism (not shown), and is transmitted to the rotating tub 8 and the stirring body 9 during dehydration so that both rotate integrally. It has become. As described above, in the washing machine, the driving device is mainly configured by the washing machine motor 10.

An operation panel 11 is provided on the upper surface of the front portion of the top cover 4 (see FIG. 3), and an operation unit 12 is disposed on the front portion of the top cover 4 (see FIG. 2). The operation unit 12 responds to operations of various operation units of the operation panel 11, and is configured mainly with a microcomputer, for example.
An inspection port (not shown) is formed on the back surface of the outer box body 2, and the upper side of the inspection port is covered with a back plate 14 and the lower side of the inspection port is covered with a unit case 15 (see FIG. 4). The unit case 15 is fixed so as to form a rear wall portion of the outer case 1 by an attaching means such as a screw (not shown) at a peripheral portion thereof. Further, the inspection port above the unit case 15 is closed by the back plate 14 being detachably fixed to the outer box 1 by screwing.

  As shown in FIG. 1, an electronic unit 16 is accommodated in the unit case 15. The electronic unit 16 is configured as means for controlling the washing machine motor 10 or as means for supplying power to each device including the motor 10 and is connected to the operation unit 12 which is another unit. The electronic unit 16 and the unit case 15 will be described with reference to FIGS.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 6, the electronic unit 16 is mounted on the circuit board 18 fixed to the bottom part of the unit case 15 (that is, the rear wall part) with a screw (not shown), or mounted on the circuit board 18. 15 and an electronic component group 19 including a heat generating element disposed in the inside. That is, the electronic unit 16 includes a power element (not shown) having a heat sink 20 for heat dissipation, connectors 21a and 21b, capacitors 22a and 22b, a relay 23, an IC 24, a resistor 25, and a noise filter 26. In FIG. 1, some of the IC 24 and the resistor 25 are shown.

  The power element is a switching element such as an IGBT. The heat sink 20 is made of, for example, aluminum having a good thermal conductivity, and integrally includes a plate portion 20a attached in thermal contact with the switching element and a plurality of fins 20b and 20c protruding from the plate portion 20a. It is comprised. In this case, in FIG. 6, the protruding length of the lower fin 20c is set larger than the protruding length of the upper fin 20b. Further, the heat sink 20 is arranged so that the extending direction of the fins 20 b and 20 c (the direction perpendicular to the fin alignment direction and the protruding direction) is along the longitudinal direction of the unit case 15. As a result, sufficient heat radiation can be performed in relation to the air blow by the cooling fan 27 described later and the direction of the fins 20b and 20c, while the dimensions can be accommodated inside the unit case 15. Although not shown in the drawings, the heat sink 20 is configured to be in the longitudinal direction in the blowing direction of the cooling fan 27 (see the arrow in FIG. 1), and includes a layout such as extending fins in the longitudinal direction. You may change suitably.

  As shown in FIG. 1, in the electronic unit 16, relatively large components such as the connectors 21a and 21b and the relay 23 are provided on the lower side of the unit case 15, and capacitors 22a and 22b and a noise filter 26 are provided. It is arrange | positioned at the left-right both sides of the said case. A cooling fan 27 is attached and fixed on the edge side (the left side in FIG. 1) in the unit case 15 so as to be aligned with the noise filter 26 in the vertical direction.

  That is, as shown in FIG. 1, the cooling fan 27 is disposed adjacent to the electronic unit 16 so as to blow air from one end side in the longitudinal direction of the unit case 15 toward the other end side. . The cooling fan 27 is composed of, for example, a sirocco fan (or a turbo fan) as a centrifugal fan. The centrifugal fan blows air in the centrifugal direction. The cooling fan 27 includes a number of forward-facing blades (not shown) provided at the peripheral edge of the cylindrical frame, a casing 27a thereof, and a fan motor (not shown). Is configured to blow air in a predetermined direction. The turbofan is a type of centrifugal fan in which rearward blades are formed on the peripheral edge of a cylindrical frame. By using such a centrifugal fan, the cooling fan 27 can be made small and can obtain a sufficiently high static pressure.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 5, the unit case 15 includes a case main body 31 that has a shallow rectangular box-like container shape, and a case lid body 32 that closes an open surface of the case main body 31. A partition wall 35 is provided inside the case main body 31 to divide into a left region where the cooling fan 27 and the noise filter 26 are disposed and a region where the circuit board 18 is disposed. A potting material 33 such as urethane resin is injected into a region on the circuit board 18 side in the case body 31 so that the circuit board 18 and a relatively small mounting component are embedded in the potting material 33.

  The unit case 15 of the present embodiment is assembled on the back side of the outer case 1 so that the upper half of the electronic unit 16 (unit case 15) is disposed at a position facing the peripheral wall 7a of the water tank 7 in the radial direction. (See FIGS. 2 to 4). Therefore, the unit case 15 has a stepped shape with a small thickness in the upper half excluding the left and right sides so as not to contact the peripheral wall 7a of the water tank 7. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 5, a concave portion 34 is formed in the upper half of the case lid 32 so that the central portion other than the left portion 32 a and the right portion 32 b is recessed backward. On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 1, a cutout portion 31 a is formed in the upper wall portion of the case body 31 so as to be cut out in a concave shape in accordance with the concave portion 34. As a result, when the open surface of the case body 31 is closed with the case lid 32, a relatively small component of the electronic component group 19 described above is formed in the unit case 15 at a portion that becomes thinner due to the formation of the recess 34 and the notch 31a. On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 5, a relatively large part can be accommodated in the left part 32a, the right part 32b, and the lower part 32c that can ensure the thickness.

  On the lower portion 32c side of the unit case 15, in addition to the power cord 36 connected to the noise filter 26, a plurality of lead wires connected to the connectors 21a and 21b (only the lead wire 37a for the cooling fan 27 is shown in FIG. 1). ) Is extended. Specifically, the power cord 36 is led out from the lower part of the unit case 15 and has a plug 38 that is inserted into a power outlet at the tip. The cooling fan 27 is connected to the electronic unit 16 by a lead wire 37a extended from the connector 21a, and power for driving is supplied. Therefore, the cooling fan 27 does not need to lead out the lead wire 37a to the outside of the unit case 15, and the assembly work and wiring work of the fan 27 can be simplified. The lead wire (not shown) includes a lead wire for connection between the electronic unit 16 and the operation unit 12 and connection between the electronic unit 16 and the washing machine motor 10. Since the lower part 32c of the unit case 15 faces the washing machine motor 10 and is at the same vertical position as the motor 10, the length of the lead wire (including the signal line for the position detection signal of the rotor 10a) is set. It can be shortened and the influence of noise can be reduced.

  As shown in FIG. 5, vent holes 40 a and 40 b are formed on the upper and lower ends 32 a and 32 b of the case lid 32 so as to be located on the upper side. One of the ventilation ports 40 a and 40 b is located at a position facing the fan 27 in the axial direction of the cooling fan 27. Further, on the right side of the case lid 32, a ventilation hole 41 is formed by cutting out a portion facing the heat sink 20, and a plastic plate 42 is provided to cover the ventilation hole 41 from the outside (water tank 7 side). The plastic plate 42 is fixed at its upper end with a screw 42a, so that the plastic plate 42 is always attached in contact with the fin 20c (see FIG. 6) due to its own flexibility. Further, in the attached state of the plastic plate 42, water from the outside is prevented from entering while allowing ventilation through the ventilation port 41. On the other hand, inclined ribs 43 as shown in FIG. 6 are formed in the ventilation openings 40a and 40b so as to protrude toward the water tank 7 and to be inclined downward.

  For this reason, the unit case 15 is not bulky in the thickness direction (front-rear direction) even if it is attached to the position facing the peripheral wall 7a of the water tank 7 in the radial direction on the back side of the outer case 1 as described above. In addition, water intrusion is prevented. Further, in this case, the unit case 15 stores the water in the water tank 7 to the maximum water level and the water tank 7 descends, or even if the water tank 7 vibrates as the washing machine motor 10 rotates, the formation of the recess 34 is formed. Therefore, they are in a positional relationship separated by a predetermined distance L1, L2 (see FIG. 2) that does not contact the water tank 7.

  Note that inside the outer box 1, the unit case 15 (electronic unit 16) may be disposed so that all of the unit case 15 faces the peripheral wall 7 a of the water tank 7 in the radial direction. Moreover, you may comprise the said washing machine as a washing machine with a drying function provided with the well-known drying means. Although illustration and detailed description are omitted, the drying means uses, for example, a duct communicating from the outside of the outer box 1 into the water tank 7, a heater disposed in the duct, and heat generated by the heater as hot air. It is comprised with the fan apparatus supplied in the water tank 7 (as a result, the rotation tank 8).

Next, the operation of the above configuration will be described.
First, in a state where the plug 38 of the power cord 36 is connected to a power outlet, the user turns on the power switch (not shown) of the operation panel 11 and performs the setting operation of the washing operation. An operation including a stroke and a dehydration stroke (including a drying stroke if a drying function is provided) is executed. In this washing operation, the cooling fan 27 is driven, so that air is mainly introduced into the unit case 15 from the ventilation opening 40a. In this case, as indicated by arrows in FIGS. 1, 3, and 5, the cooling fan 27 is directed from one end side to the other end side in the longitudinal direction of the unit case 15, that is, the heat sink 20 in the case 15, Air is blown toward other electronic components. At this time, since the fins 20b and 20c of the heat sink 20 are extended along the air blowing direction of the cooling fan 27, the cooling effect is enhanced and the wind hits the electronic component on the other end side. Further, since the cooling fan 27 is a centrifugal fan and has a high power to send out air, it is possible to distribute the wind over the entire region in the unit case 15 and efficiently cool the heating element. The deprived air is discharged out of the case 15 from the vent 40 b and the vent 41 on the other end of the unit case 15.

As described above, in the outer box 1, the electronic unit 16 is disposed so that a part or all of the electronic unit 16 faces the peripheral wall 7 a of the water tank 7 in the radial direction, and is adjacent to the electronic unit 16 and the electronic unit 16. A cooling fan 27 that cools the electronic unit 16 is provided at a position farther from the water tank 7 than the unit 16.
According to this, the cooling fan 27 can be brought as close as possible to the electronic unit 16 and air can be blown toward the electronic unit 16. In this case, even if a part or all of the electronic unit 16 is arranged to face the peripheral wall 7a of the water tank 7 in the radial direction, the cooling fan 27 is provided at a position away from the water tank 7, so that the cooling fan 27 is installed. The accompanying enlargement of the whole washing machine can be suppressed.

  Since the cooling fan 27 is a centrifugal fan, a high static pressure air flow can be applied to the electronic unit 16. Therefore, for example, it is possible to perform appropriate and efficient cooling using a fan motor (small cooling fan 27) having a small output and a more compact configuration than in the case of using a so-called propeller fan.

  A unit case 15 that accommodates the electronic unit 16 is provided, and a concave portion 34 that is recessed so as not to contact the water tank 7 is formed in the unit case 15. According to this, by arranging a relatively small electronic component in a region corresponding to the concave portion 34 in the unit case 15 and a relatively large electronic component in a region other than the region, the thickness of the unit case 15 is reduced. It can be suppressed to the minimum necessary size according to the shape or arrangement.

  The electronic unit 16 includes a substrate 14 on which electronic components are mounted and a heat sink 20 for heat dissipation, and relatively small electronic components are mounted at positions corresponding to the recesses 34 in the substrate 14 and / or fins 20 b of the heat sink 20. , 20 c have different protrusion lengths corresponding to the recesses 34. According to this, since the arrangement of the electronic components on the substrate 14 is determined according to the concave portion 34 or the protruding length of the fins 20b and 20c is set as described above, the electronic unit 16 and the unit case 15 are more compact. However, the heat dissipation efficiency of the heat sink 20 can be increased as much as possible.

<Other embodiments>
FIG. 7 shows a second embodiment applied to a drum-type washing machine. The same parts as those already described are denoted by the same reference numerals and the description thereof will be omitted, and different points will be described below.
As schematically shown in FIG. 7, the center part of the front surface (right side in the figure) of the box-shaped outer box 51 that forms the outer shell of the drum type washing machine is a laundry entrance (not shown). A door (not shown) for opening and closing the doorway is pivotally supported by the outer box 51. A water tank 52 as an outer tank having a bottomed cylindrical shape is disposed inside the outer box 1. The water tank 52 is elastically supported in a forwardly inclined state by a pair of left and right suspensions 53 (only one is shown in FIG. 7) on the base 51a of the outer box 51 with the axial direction as front and rear.

  A washing machine motor 54 made of, for example, an abduction type brushless motor is attached to the back surface of the water tank 52. Although not shown, the washing machine motor 54 has a rotating shaft attached to the center of the rotor inserted into the water tank 52 through a bearing bracket.

  Inside the water tank 52, a drum 55 is disposed as an inner tank having a bottomed cylindrical shape. The drum 55 is also supported in an upwardly inclined manner concentric with the water tank 52 by being attached to the front end portion of the rotating shaft of the motor 54 at the center portion of the rear portion thereof in the axial direction (see FIG. 7). (See center axis C2). As a result, the drum 55 is rotated by a washing machine motor 54 as a rotating tub, and a driving device is configured with the washing machine motor 54 as a main component. A small hole 55 a is formed in the peripheral wall of the drum 55. Although not shown, the drum 55 and the water tank 52 both have an opening on the front surface, and an annular bellows is mounted between the opening of the water tank 52 and the laundry entrance / exit. .

An operation panel (not shown) is provided on the front upper portion of the outer box 51, and the unit case 15 is provided on the rear side thereof, that is, on the front upper portion in the outer box 51. Although illustration is omitted, the unit case 15 is disposed such that a part or all of the electronic unit accommodated in the unit case 15 faces the peripheral wall 52a of the water tank 52 in the radial direction. Similar to the electronic unit 16 of the first embodiment, the electronic unit of the second embodiment includes a heating element. A cooling fan (not shown) for cooling the electronic unit is provided in the unit case 15 at a position adjacent to the electronic unit and further away from the water tank 52 than the electronic unit. Like the cooling fan 27 of the first embodiment, the cooling fan is accommodated in the unit case 15 on the end side in the direction away from the central axis C2 that is the rotation axis (the direction perpendicular to the paper surface of FIG. 7). .
Further, since the cooling fan of the present embodiment is also a centrifugal fan, the heating element can be effectively cooled, and the entire washing machine can be made compact. Play.

  What is necessary is just to arrange | position the cooling fan of 1st and 2nd embodiment in the position away from the water tank rather than the electronic unit. For example, the cooling fan of the second embodiment may be accommodated in the end of the unit case 15 in the direction away from the water tank 52 in the direction of the central axis C2 (on the right side in FIG. 7). In other words, the cooling fan may be arranged on the front side in the unit case 15 so as to be in a positional relationship that does not oppose the peripheral wall 52a of the water tank 52 in the radial direction. Even in this case, the electronic unit and the cooling fan can be arranged close to each other so as not to be bulky in the unit case 15 along the inner wall of the outer box 51, and the overall size can be reduced.

  Although several embodiments of the present invention have been described, these embodiments are presented by way of example and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention. These embodiments can be implemented in various other forms, and various omissions, replacements, and changes can be made without departing from the spirit of the invention. These embodiments and their modifications are included in the scope and gist of the invention, and are also included in the invention described in the claims and the equivalents thereof.

  In the drawings, 1, 51 are outer boxes, 7, 52 are water tanks, 7a, 52a are peripheral walls, 8, 55 are rotating tanks, 15 are unit cases, 16 are electronic units, 18 are substrates, 27 are cooling fans, 20 are The heat sink, 20b and 20c are fins, and 34 is a recess.

Claims (3)

A washing machine having an electronic unit including a heating element,
An outer box,
A water tank disposed in the outer box;
A rotating tank provided rotatably inside the water tank,
In the outer box, a unit case that houses the electronic unit is disposed so that a part or all of the unit case faces the peripheral wall of the water tank in the radial direction,
In the unit case, a cooling fan for cooling the electronic unit is provided on the unit case at a position adjacent to the substrate on which electronic components of the electronic unit are mounted and at a position farther from the water tank than the electronic unit. ,
The cooling fan is a centrifugal fan, and the blowing position of the cooling fan faces the inside of the unit case, and is configured to blow along the board from one end side to the other end side of the board of the electronic unit. A washing machine characterized by that. The washing machine according to claim 1 , wherein a recess is formed in the unit case so as not to contact the water tank . The electronic unit includes the substrate on which electronic components are mounted and a heat sink for heat dissipation,
The washing machine according to claim 2 , wherein a relatively small electronic component is mounted at a position corresponding to the concave portion on the substrate, and / or fins of the heat sink are set to a protruding length corresponding to the concave portion. .

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