JP6282200B2 - Washing and drying machine - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a washing and drying machine capable of washing clothes from washing to drying.

  Drying clothes with a washing and drying machine that can perform washing to drying continuously creates high-temperature, low-humidity dry air with a blower fan and heat source, and blows it into the washing tub to increase the temperature of the clothes. The water is evaporated from the water, and the evaporated water is discharged outside the apparatus.

  As a method for removing evaporated water, an exhaust drying system (always supplying fresh air) that directly discharges the air containing the evaporated water to the outside of the washing dryer, and the water containing the evaporated water is cooled and condensed to remove the water. There is a dehumidification circulation drying method (the same air is circulated). In addition, air-cooling or water-cooling dehumidification is performed in the first half of the drying process in order to reduce time and reduce the amount of water used and power consumption, and in the latter half, dry air outside the machine is supplied and warm air is blown onto the laundry. There is a combined system that exhausts air as it is. The prior art relating to this is described in Patent Document 1 below.

  In addition, since the washing and dewatering tank performs a drying operation while rotating, foreign matters such as lint and dust that have been peeled off from the clothing move along with the air in the air blowing path as the drying proceeds. Therefore, a drying filter is provided in the air blowing path and upstream of the air blowing fan to remove foreign substances in the air. For example, Patent Document 2 below discloses a method for detecting clogging of the dry filter.

  On the other hand, dust and the like adhere to the air passage before reaching the drying filter. The following Patent Document 3 describes a configuration in which a cleaning nozzle for flowing tap water is provided for the purpose of washing away dust adhering to the air passage.

JP 2010-17270 A JP 2007-37716 A JP 2013-66587 A

  However, not all dust in the air duct can be washed away, and as dust accumulates over many years, phenomena such as a reduction in the cross-sectional area of the air duct or, in severe cases, blockage of the air duct, occur. There is a concern that the drying performance will be lowered, that is, the drying time becomes longer and the drying condition becomes worse.

  In this case, it is common to display an error code indicating that the product is malfunctioning or degraded. However, unlike the dry filter, if the product is clogged with dust, the user cleans it (removes the clogged dust). May be difficult, and maintenance personnel may have to disassemble and clean most of the product.

  If the maintenance person does not know the abnormal part of the product, it takes time to disassemble or replace many parts. In the case of disassembly, a new problem of reassembly failure is caused.

    An object of this invention is to provide the washing-drying machine which can determine the factor location of the drying performance fall which cannot be eliminated even if it cleans a drying filter in view of said subject.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides an outer tub whose inside becomes a drying chamber at the time of drying, a washing / dehydrating tub that is rotatably arranged in the outer tub and stores laundry, and the washing / dehydrating tub A motor for driving the air, an air passage through which air for drying the laundry flows, a drying device having heating means and an air blowing device, and a drying filter provided in the air passage and upstream of the drying device in washing and drying machine provided with a, it has a dust clogging determining means for determining the dust clogging in the blowing path portion leading to the dry filter from the inlet of the outer tub, provided on the discharge port side of the blower means A first temperature sensor; and a second temperature sensor provided on an air inlet side of the air blowing unit, wherein the determination unit detects the detection value of the first temperature sensor and the detection of the second temperature sensor. Before the value difference is greater than or equal to the first predetermined value Determines that air passage is clogged, it is determined that the first predetermined value smaller than the second predetermined value or less when the heating means is clogged.

  According to the present invention, when the drying efficiency is reduced due to dust clogging in places other than the drying filter, it is determined where the product is clogged in the air passage without disassembling the product, and unnecessary disassembly is prevented. By doing so, maintainability is improved.

It is an external view which concerns on the Example of this invention and shows a drum type washing-drying machine. FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing an internal structure by cutting a part of a drum type washing machine casing according to the embodiment of the present invention. It is a side view which concerns on the Example of this invention and shows the internal structure of a drum type washing machine. It is a top view of the PTC heater which concerns on the Example of this invention. It is a flowchart which concerns on the Example of this invention, and a dust clogging determination means operate | moves during dry operation. It concerns on the Example of this invention, and shows the dust clogging determination operation | movement by operation. It concerns on the Example of this invention, and shows an example of dust clogging determination operation | movement during drying operation.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

  It demonstrates from the outline | summary of a washing-drying machine along FIGS. 1-3.

  As shown in FIG. 1-3, the casing 1 constituting the outline of the washing / drying machine is mounted on a rectangular base 1h, and includes left and right side plates 1a, 1b, a front cover 1c, a back cover 1d, and an upper surface. It is composed of a cover 1e and a lower front cover 1f. The left and right side plates 1a and 1b are connected by a U-shaped upper reinforcing material, a front reinforcing material, and a rear reinforcing material (not shown above), and form a box-shaped housing 1 including a base 1h. It has sufficient strength as a housing.

  An outer tub 2 is provided inside the housing 1. The outer tub 2 is supported by a plurality of lower suspensions 5. The washing and dewatering tub 3 inside the outer tub 2 has a large number of through holes for water flow and ventilation in the outer peripheral wall and the bottom wall, and a plurality of lifters 3b extending in the axial direction are provided inside the outer peripheral wall. When the washing and dewatering tub 3 is rotated during washing and drying, the clothes are lifted along the outer peripheral wall by the lifter 3b and centrifugal force, and repeat the movement of dropping by gravity. Further, a fluid balancer 3c is provided on the outer periphery of the opening of the washing and dewatering tub 3 to reduce vibration due to unbalance of the laundry during dehydration.

  The outer tub 2 is cylindrical and includes a washing / dehydrating tub 3 coaxially, the front surface is open, and the motor 4 is attached to the outer center of the rear end surface. The rotating shaft of the motor 4 passes through the outer tub 2 and is connected to the washing and dewatering tub 3.

An outer tub cover 2d is provided at the opening on the front surface, and water can be stored in the outer tub. In the center of the front side of the outer tub cover 2d, there is an opening 2c for taking in and out clothing. The opening provided in the main opening 2c and the front reinforcing member is connected by a rubber bellows 10, and the outer tub 2 is sealed with water by closing the door 9.
A drain outlet 2b is provided at the bottom bottom of the outer tub 2 and a drain hose 26 is connected thereto. A drainage valve 25 is provided in the middle of the drainage hose 26. Water is stored in the outer tub 2 by closing the drainage valve and supplying water, and the drainage valve is opened to discharge the water in the outer tub 2 to the outside of the machine. The outer peripheral cover 2d has an overflow port 2e on the front outer peripheral portion, and is connected to the drain hose 26 on the downstream side of the drain valve 25 with an overflow hose.

  On the rear side of the detergent container 19, components related to water supply such as a water supply electromagnetic valve, a bath water supply pump, and a water level sensor (not shown above) are provided. The top cover 1e is provided with a water supply hose connection port 16a from a water tap and a water absorption hose connection port 17a for remaining hot water in the bath. The detergent container 19 is connected to the outer tub 2 and supplies washing water to the outer tub 2 by opening a water supply electromagnetic valve or operating a bath water supply pump.

  In the upper part of the front side, there is an operation panel 6 for the user to perform driving and setting, and there is a display unit 14 for displaying the operation content, setting state and the like.

  The air passage 29 is installed in the vertical direction inside the back surface of the housing 1. A lower portion of the air passage 29 is connected to an intake port 2a provided below the back surface of the outer tub 2 by a rubber bellows tube 29a. A water-cooled dehumidifying mechanism (not shown) is built in the air passage 29, and a cooling water hose connects the water supply electromagnetic valve and the water-cooling dehumidifying mechanism, and opens the water supply electromagnetic valve to supply cooling water to the water-cooled dehumidifying mechanism. Supply.

  The cooling water flows down along the wall surface of the air passage 29, enters the outer tub 2 from the intake port 2a, and is discharged from the drain port 2b. In addition to the water-cooled dehumidification, the water supply electromagnetic valve and the air supply passage are connected by a cleaning hose for cleaning the inside of the air supply passage, and the water supply electromagnetic valve is opened to supply cleaning water into the air supply passage. The washing water travels along the wall surface of the air passage and causes the dust attached to the wall surface to flow away.

  The upper part of the air passage 29 is connected to a filter duct 27 installed in the front-rear direction on the upper right side in the housing 1. The filter duct 27 has an air path switching valve. The filter duct 27 has an opening on the front surface, and a drawer-type drying filter 8 is inserted into the opening.

  The air that has entered the filter duct 27 from the air passage 29 flows into the mesh filter 8a of the drying filter 8, and the lint is removed. Cleaning of the dry filter 8 is performed by pulling out the dry filter 8 and taking out the mesh filter 8a at every drying operation. In addition, an opening is provided on the lower surface of the insertion portion of the dry filter 8 of the filter duct 27, and this opening is connected to the intake duct, and the other end of the intake duct is connected to the intake port of the blower unit 28. Yes.

  The blower unit 28 includes a drive motor 28a, a fan impeller (not shown), and a fan case 28b. The fan case 28b incorporates a PTC heater 31 to heat the air sent from the fan impeller.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the PTC heater 31 is composed of fins 31b for generating heat by efficiently supplying heat to a plurality of thermistor elements 31a and efficiently dissipating the generated heat.

  A plurality of thermistor elements 31a are arranged in parallel, and the PTC heater 31 changes in the amount of heat generated by the amount of air passing through the ceramic element 31a and the fins 31b (the amount of air is determined by the speed of air flowing through the cross-sectional area). The calorific value increases and the calorific value decreases as the air volume decreases.

  When the amount of air passing through the PTC heater 31 decreases, the temperature of the PTC heater 31 increases, the electrical resistance increases, and it becomes difficult for current to flow, so the amount of heat generation decreases.

  However, since the surface temperature of the PTC heater 31 is increased, the temperature of the components around the PTC heater 31 and the ambient air is increased.

  On the other hand, when the amount of air passing through the PTC heater 31 is increased, the temperature of the PTC heater 31 is decreased, the electric resistance is decreased, and the current easily flows, so that the heat generation amount is increased. However, since the surface temperature of the PTC heater 31 is lowered, the temperature of the components around the PTC heater 31 and the surrounding air is lowered.

  When the amount of air passing through the ceramic element 31a and the fin 31b of the PTC heater 31 is reduced, the amount of heat generated by the PTC heater 31 is reduced, and the time for drying the clothes is extended, so that the drying performance is lowered. There is dust adhesion to the surface of the PTC heater 31 as a factor of decreasing the air volume.

  In order for the PTC heater 31 to efficiently and stably generate heat, it is necessary to secure the amount of air passing through each of the thermistor elements 31a and the fins 31b.

  The discharge port of the blower unit 28 is connected to the hot air duct 30. The hot air duct 30 is connected to a front outlet 32 provided in the outer tank cover 2d through a rubber bellows tube 30a and a bellows tube joint 30b.

  In this embodiment, since the blower unit 28 is provided on the upper right side in the housing 1, the front outlet 32 is provided at a position on the upper right side of the outer tank cover 2d, and the distance to the front outlet 32 is set. It is made as short as possible to minimize pressure loss and heat escape.

  A temperature sensor H (not shown) is provided at the discharge port of the blower unit 28 to detect the temperature of the heated air that has passed through the PTC heater 31. A temperature sensor M (not shown) is also provided at the air inlet of the blower unit 28, and the air when the warm air blown to the clothing passes through the blower passage 29 and is sucked into the blower unit 28 again. The temperature is detected.

  The drain port 2b is provided with a temperature sensor L (not shown).

  The drum type washing and drying machine configured as described above puts laundry into the washing and dewatering tub 3 in the washing operation step, supplies water with the drain valve 25 closed, and stores the washing water in the outer tub 2, The washing and dewatering tub 3 is rotated to wash the laundry. In the dehydration operation process, the drain valve 25 is opened to drain the washing water in the outer tub 2, and the washing and dehydration tub 3 is rotated to perform centrifugal dehydration.

  In the drying operation, the washing and dewatering tub 3 is rotated, the air blowing unit 28 is driven, the air in the outer tub 2 is sent to the air blowing passage 29 and heated again by the PTC heater 31 and washed from the front outlet 32. Circulating air that is blown toward the laundry in the dehydration tank 3 is generated.

  When the laundry is heated and the evaporation of moisture begins, dehumidification is performed by flowing cooling water into the air passage 29. Alternatively, the air inside the housing is sucked and the evaporated water is discharged through the drain hose 26.

  The dehumidifying method for drying can be set on the operation panel 6 by the user before starting operation.

  In the present invention, the dust clogging determination by the dust clogging determination means 100 is performed 5 minutes after the start of the drying operation, and therefore the description of the entire drying operation is omitted.

  The dust clogging determination by the dust clogging determination means 100 is performed inside the control device 38. Details will be described with reference to FIG. When the drying operation is started [S000] and 5 minutes have passed after the operation [S001], the dust clogging determination [S002] is performed.

For the dust clogging determination, the value T _{H of} the temperature sensor _H and the value T _M of the temperature sensor _M are used. T _H and -T _M calculated to check whether there is a difference of more than 40 degrees. [S003]
At [S003], if T _H -T _M is 40 degrees or more, it is determined that dust clogging of the airflow path 29 [S004], notifying when the operation ends [S005]. The notification is displayed on the display unit 14 as an error code.

In [S003], when T _H -T _M is 40 degrees or more, the air passage 29 is greatly reduced in cross-sectional area due to dust clogging, and the circulating air volume is reduced. Therefore, the amount of air passing through the PTC heater 31 is small, the temperature in the vicinity of the PTC heater 31 rises, and the temperature sensor H provided at the discharge port shows a high value.

  On the other hand, the amount of circulating air that passes through the PTC heater 31 and passes through the hot air duct 30, the washing and dewatering tub 3, the clothing, and the air passage 29 and is sucked into the air blowing unit 28 again is small. Therefore, when the air heated by the PTC heater 31 passes through the clothing, the air passage 29, and the like and is sucked into the air blowing unit 28 again, the temperature of the air is lowered and the temperature detected by the temperature sensor M is also lowered. For this reason, a temperature difference of 40 degrees or more occurs.

If a difference of 40 degrees or more cannot be confirmed in [S003], it is confirmed whether T _H −T _M is 25 degrees or less [S006].

   If it is 25 degrees or less in [S006], it is determined that the air passage 29 and the PTC heater 31 are clogged [S007], and a notification is given when the operation is completed [S008]. The notification is displayed on the display unit 14 as an error code.

   In the case of 25 degrees or less in [S006], dust is attached to the PTC heater 31, and in particular, dust is often attached to the surface of the fin 31b constituting the PTC heater 31. In this case, heat transfer to the air is reduced, and the value of the temperature sensor H does not increase so much. Therefore, the difference between the values of the temperature sensor H and the temperature sensor M becomes small.

If the temperature difference is higher than 25 degrees in [S006], it is determined that the state is normal [S009], and no notification is given even when the operation is completed. [S010]
In this embodiment, the temperature difference used for dust clogging determination is set to 40 degrees or more and 25 degrees or less. However, when the configuration changes, it is desirable to set appropriately.

  The dust clogging determination in FIG. 6 includes a process [S203] for confirming the number of drying operations. When the number of drying operations is small, no determination is made because dust clogging does not occur. In this embodiment, the determination of clogging with dust is performed when the number of drying operations is 100 times or more, but it is desirable that the number of drying operations is appropriately set according to the structure of the washing / drying machine. The determination content is the same as the content described in FIG.

  FIG. 7 shows that the dust clogging determination is not performed during operation, but is performed by the user or maintenance operator by operating the operation panel 6, and is used to check whether the performance of the product has deteriorated. is there. The contents of the determination are the same as described above, and will be omitted.

  The process is started when the user or maintenance person presses a specific button on the operation panel [S100]. Dust clogging determination [S101] to [S106] is performed, the result is displayed on the display unit 14, and the process ends [S107]. Since it is different from normal operation, it is desirable to operate by simultaneously pressing multiple buttons or long pressing.

  Further, the values of the temperature sensor H and the temperature sensor M can be displayed on the display unit 14 by operating the operation panel 6 during the drying operation, and can be determined by the user or the maintenance person himself / herself. It is also possible to operate by pressing a specific button on the operation panel during driving.

  Even when the user or the maintenance person decides by himself / herself, it is necessary to consider the number of times of drying operation, and the number of times of drying operation is displayed on the display unit 14 by pressing a specific button on the operation panel during the drying operation or standby. It is desirable to do.

  The present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above, and includes various modifications. For example, the above-described embodiments have been described in detail for easy understanding of the present invention, and are not necessarily limited to those having all the configurations. Further, a part of the configuration of one embodiment can be replaced with the configuration of another embodiment, and the configuration of another embodiment can be added to the configuration of one embodiment. Further, it is possible to add, delete, and replace other configurations for a part of the configuration of each embodiment.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Housing | casing, 2 ... Outer tub, 3 ... Washing and dehydration tub, 4 ... Motor, 5 ... Suspension, 6 ... Operation panel, 8 ... Drying filter, 9 ... Door, 10 ... Bellows, 19 ... Detergent container, 25 ... Drain valve, 26 ... Drain hose, 27 ... Filter duct, 28 ... Blower unit, 29 ... Blower channel, 30 ... Warm air duct, 31 ... PTC heater, 32 ... Front outlet, 38 ... Control device, 66 ... Overflow hose 100: Dust clogging determination means

Claims (2)

An outer tub whose inside becomes a drying chamber at the time of drying, a washing / dehydrating tub that is rotatably arranged in the outer tub, stores laundry, a motor that drives the washing / dehydrating tub, and dries the laundry In the washer / dryer comprising a blower passage through which air flows, a drying device having heating means and blower means, and a drying filter provided in the blower passage and upstream of the drying device, the outer tub dust clogging have a dust clogging determining means for determining from the inlet in air flow passage portion leading to the drying filter,
A first temperature sensor provided on the discharge port side of the blower means, and a second temperature sensor provided on the intake port side of the blower means, wherein the determination means includes the first temperature sensor When the difference between the detected value and the detected value of the second temperature sensor is equal to or greater than a first predetermined value, it is determined that the air passage is clogged, and is equal to or smaller than a second predetermined value smaller than the first predetermined value. It is determined that the heating means is clogged . In claim 1 laundry dryer, wherein the determination unit, when the number of the drying operation has become the predetermined or more, it is determined whether dust into the heating means and the air passage each is clogged A washing dryer characterized by that.