JP6545935B2 - Clothes dryer - Google Patents

Description

  The present embodiment relates to a clothes dryer.

  In recent years, as a clothes dryer, a drum-type washing / drying machine that can be automatically performed from washing to drying of clothes has become widespread. In this drum-type washing and drying machine, there are a heater type that uses an electric heater as a heating source for drying, and a heat pump type that utilizes heat release by a condenser of a refrigeration cycle and cooling dehumidification by an evaporator.

  In the heat pump type, there is provided a refrigeration cycle in which a compressor, a condenser, a throttling device, and an evaporator are connected in a cycle, and a circulation air path in which the condenser and the evaporator are connected to a drying chamber containing clothes. It is located inside. Further, a blower for circulating the air in the drying chamber through the circulation air passage is disposed in the circulation air passage. When the refrigeration cycle is operated, the refrigerant discharged from the compressor enters the condenser in a high temperature and high pressure state, and then enters the low temperature and low pressure through the throttling device, enters the evaporator, and returns to the compressor again. repeat. Then, the air passing through the circulation air path is heated by the condenser and is warm-aired, enters the drying chamber, and warms the clothes in the drying chamber. The air which dehumidified the clothes comes out to the circulation air path and is cooled and dehumidified by the evaporator. Drying proceeds by repeating this. With such a configuration, warm air is generated by the condenser and dehumidified by the evaporator, so that clothes can be effectively dried. For this reason, in the heat pump type, compared with the heater type, the temperature level is low and drying is possible, so that the damage on the clothes is small, and there is an advantage that the electric cost can be significantly reduced and the drying time can be shortened.

JP, 2011-92329, A

Although it is a heat pump system having such features, further improvement in operating efficiency is required.
Then, the load of a compressor can be reduced and the clothes dryer which can aim at the improvement of the further operation efficiency is provided.

The clothes dryer according to the present embodiment has a hot air inlet and a hot air outlet, and is connected to a hot air inlet and a hot air outlet outside the drying chamber, and a drying room that accommodates clothes to be dried inside. The refrigeration cycle is configured by sequentially connecting the above-mentioned circulating air path, a blower that circulates the air in the drying chamber through the circulating air path, a compressor, a condenser, a throttling device that controls the flow rate of the refrigerant, and an evaporator. And a heat pump configured by arranging a condenser and an evaporator in the circulation air passage. The evaporator is disposed upstream of the condenser. The clothes dryer cools and dehumidifies the circulating air which has exited from the warm air outlet to the circulating air passage by the evaporator, and then heats the circulating air flowing in the circulating air passage by the condenser to dry it from the warm air inlet it is a configuration that teapot subjected to the room. A part of circulating air flowing in the circulation air passage between the warm air outlet and the condenser and between the warm air outlet and the evaporator in the circulation air passage to the outside of the circulation air passage a first outlet and a second outlet for discharging provided, providing an inlet for sucking the air circulation duct outside air into the air circulation path. Furthermore, the opening and closing means for opening and closing the second exhaust port is provided in a state of not closing the previous SL air circulation duct.

The figure which shows typically schematic structure of the circulating air path and heat pump of the washer / dryer (clothing dryer) by one Embodiment Schematic broken back view of the washer / dryer viewed from the back side Schematic broken right side view along line X3-X3 in FIG. 2 Diagram schematically showing the temperature change of the condenser and the change of the amount of dehumidified water in the drying process The figure which shows the temperature change of a condenser and an evaporator at the time of carrying out opening and closing control of the 2nd exhaust port in the middle of a drying process. The figure which shows a comparative example, and shows the temperature change of a condenser and an evaporator in the case where opening and closing control of a 2nd exhaust port is not carried out in the middle of a drying process.

  Hereinafter, one embodiment applied to a drum type washing and drying machine will be described with reference to the drawings. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the case 1 of the washing and drying machine has a rectangular box shape, and the front surface 1a (left side in FIG. 3) is slightly inclined forward and downward. A laundry entrance is formed on the front surface 1a (not shown), and a door 2 for opening and closing the laundry entrance is provided. A water tank 3 is disposed inside the housing 1. The water tank 3 is a horizontal axis whose axial direction is directed in the front and rear direction (left and right direction in FIG. 3) and has a cylindrical shape with a closed rear surface, and is disposed in an upward sloping state via a suspension not shown. It is done. The water tank 3 also functions as a drying chamber. The front opening of the water tank 3 is connected to the laundry entrance via a bellows 4.

  In the water tank 3, the drum 5 which is a rotary tank is rotatably accommodated. Similarly to the water tank 3, the drum 5 is also in the form of a horizontal axis whose axial direction is directed in the front-rear direction, has a cylindrical shape with a closed rear surface, and is disposed in a front-up inclined state. In the peripheral wall portion and the back surface portion of the drum 5, a large number of holes 6 through which water can flow and air can be formed. Although not shown, a baffle for lifting and stirring the laundry is provided on the inner surface of the peripheral wall portion of the drum 5. The front opening of the drum 5 and the front opening of the water tank 3 are in communication with the laundry entrance. In the drum 5, clothes (launder) are accommodated so as to be able to be put in and out through the laundry entrance.

  A motor 7 for rotating the drum 5 is disposed on the back of the water tank 3. The motor 7 is, for example, an outer rotor type DC brushless motor, and is configured to drive and rotate the drum 5 directly. The drum 5 functions as a washing tank at the time of washing, as a dewatering tank at the time of dewatering, and as a drying tank at the time of drying.

  In the water tank 3, a hot air inlet 8 is formed at the upper part of the back surface, and a hot air outlet 9 is formed at the upper part of the front of the peripheral wall. A circulation air passage 10 is provided outside the water tank 3 so as to be located in the housing 1. The circulation air passage 10 connects between the hot air inlet 8 and the hot air outlet 9 of the water tank 3 functioning as a drying chamber, and circulates the air in the water tank 3. The circulation air passage 10 includes a drying chamber inlet duct 11 whose one end is connected to the warm air inlet 8, a drying chamber outlet duct 13 whose one end is connected to the warm air outlet 9 via the filter case 12, and A drying unit duct 14 provided between the drying chamber inlet duct 11 and the drying chamber outlet duct 13 and a fan casing 16 of the blower 15 are provided.

  The blower 15 includes a fan casing 16, a blower blade 17 provided in the fan casing 16, and a fan motor 18 for rotationally driving the blower blade 17. The fan casing 16 has a suction port 16a and a discharge port 16b, the suction port 16a is connected to the end of the drying unit duct 14, and the discharge port 16b is connected to the lower end of the drying chamber inlet duct 11. . The drying unit duct 14 and the blower 15 are disposed below the water tank 3 at the lower rear in the housing 1. A lint filter 20 is detachably provided in the filter case 12. The lint filter 20 captures lint contained in the air that has exited from the hot air outlet 9 to the filter case 12 side.

  The other end of the drying chamber outlet duct 13 extends downward from the rear, and is connected to one end of the drying unit duct 14 at the lower part in the housing 1. In the drying unit duct 14, a condenser 21 functioning as a heating unit and an evaporator 22 functioning as a dehumidifying unit are disposed. Among these, the condenser 21 is disposed between the evaporator 22 and the blower 15, and the evaporator 22 is disposed closer to the drying chamber outlet duct 13 which is the upstream side of the condenser 21. The condenser 21 and the evaporator 22 constitute a part of the heat pump 23.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the heat pump 23 passes through a compressor 24 which compresses and discharges a refrigerant, a condenser 21 which radiates and condenses the high-temperature and high-pressure refrigerant discharged from the compressor 24, and the condenser 21. A refrigeration cycle is configured by cyclically connecting a throttling device 25 that controls the flow rate of the refrigerant and an evaporator 22 that evaporates and absorbs heat from the refrigerant that has passed through the throttling device 25 through a pipe 26. In the heat pump 23, a discharge temperature sensor 27 is provided near the outlet of the compressor 24, a condenser temperature sensor 28 is provided in the condenser 21, and an evaporator inlet temperature sensor near the inlet of the evaporator 22. A temperature sensor 30 for the evaporator outlet is provided near the inlet of the compressor 24. Further, in the circulation air passage 10, a temperature sensor 31 for drying room inlet is provided near the warm air inlet 8, and a temperature sensor 32 for drying room outlet is provided near the warm air outlet 9.

  The drying unit duct 14 is provided with a drain tank 33 (see FIG. 2) for storing dehumidified water dehumidified by the evaporator 22, and the dehumidified water stored in the drain tank 33 is discharged to the outside of the machine A drain pump 34 (see FIG. 3) is provided for this purpose. In FIGS. 1 and 2, the upper part of the drying unit duct 14 is provided with a first exhaust port 36 having an opening located near the upstream side of the evaporator 22, and the evaporator 22 and the condenser are provided. 21 and an intake port 37 formed of an opening.

  Then, a second exhaust port 38 which is located on the downstream side of the lint filter 20 and includes an opening is provided on the upper side of the drying chamber outlet duct 13 and the second exhaust port 38 is provided. A communicating exhaust duct 39 is provided. The exhaust duct 39 is provided with a damper device 40 which constitutes an opening / closing means for opening and closing the second exhaust port 38. The damper device 40 includes a damper plate 41 that opens and closes the second exhaust port 38, and a damper motor 42 that rotates the damper plate 41. The damper motor 42 is configured by, for example, a pulse motor.

  The exhaust duct 39 has one end 39a communicating with the inside of the drying chamber outlet duct 13 through the second exhaust port 38, and the other end 39b extends laterally in a bent state so as to rise upward. The upper surface of the other end 39 b is in contact with the inner surface of the ceiling wall 1 b of the housing 1 from below. On the upper surface of the other end 39 b of the exhaust duct 39, a plurality of vents 43 consisting of an opening are formed, and the ceiling wall 1 b of the housing 1 is vented to the site corresponding to the vents 43. A plurality of vents 44 communicating with 43 are formed.

Here, the opening area S2 of the second exhaust port 38 is set larger than the opening area S1 of the first exhaust port 36 (S2> S1). Specifically, the opening area S1 of the first exhaust port 36 is 2 mm × 200 mm = 400 mm ² , and the opening area S2 of the second exhaust port 38 is 20 mm × 50 mm = 1000 mm ² . Further, the total opening area of the vents 43 in the exhaust duct 39 and the total opening area of the vents 44 in the ceiling wall 1 b of the housing 1 are set to be larger than the opening area S2 of the second vent 38. There is.

  Although not shown, an operation panel is provided on the top of the front surface 1 a of the housing 1. The operation panel and the display unit are provided on the operation panel. A control device 45 (see FIG. 3) which constitutes control means is provided at the lower part of the front part in the housing 1. The control device 45 is mainly composed of a microcomputer and has a function of controlling the overall operation of the washing and drying machine. Although not shown, the washing and drying machine is provided with a water supply means for supplying water into the water tank 3 at the time of washing, and a drainage means for discharging the water in the water tank 3 to the outside of the machine.

  In the above-described configuration, a drying process of drying the clothes (launder) contained in the drum 5 will be described. In the drying step, the motor 7 is started by rotating the drum 5 at low speed in both forward and reverse directions at low speed, and by driving the compressor 24 of the heat pump 23 and the blower 15 by energization. When the drying process starts, the second exhaust port 38 is closed by the damper plate 41 of the damper device 40.

  Among the above, the laundry in the drum 5 is agitated by rotating the drum 5 in the forward and reverse directions at a low speed. Further, the blower 15 is driven to be energized, and the air in the water tank 3 which is a drying chamber is circulated through the circulation air passage 10 as indicated by the solid line arrow in FIG. 1 to FIG. Further, with the operation of the compressor 24, the air passing through the circulation air passage 10 is heated by the condenser 21 to be warm aired, and the warm air is supplied from the warm air inlet 8 into the water tank 3, and further into the drum 5. The clothes in the drum 5 are warmed in contact with the warm air. The warm air which has warmed the clothes and deprived of water flows from the warm air outlet 9 through the filter case 12 and the drying chamber outlet duct 13 to the drying unit duct 14 side. At this time, lint contained in the air passing through the filter case 12 is captured by the lint filter 20.

  Then, the warm air that has flowed to the drying unit duct 14 side is cooled and dehumidified in the process of passing through the evaporator 22. The dehumidified warm air is heated when passing through the condenser 21 again. By repeating this, drying of the clothes in the drum 5 proceeds. The dehumidified water dehumidified by the evaporator 22 is stored in the drain tank 33. Dehumidified water stored in the drain tank 33 is drained to the outside of the machine by the drain pump 34 at regular intervals.

  During this drying process, a fixed amount of circulating air is discharged from the circulation air passage 10 from the first exhaust port 36, and the same amount of air is introduced into the circulation air passage 10 from the air inlet 37 (FIGS. See the dotted arrow in 2). The intake and exhaust amount is determined by the pressure balance in the circulation air passage 10, and by performing the intake and exhaust constantly, stable operation becomes possible. During this stable operation, the amount of dehumidified water by the evaporator 22 increases as the temperature of the condenser 21 increases, and then decreases. The relationship between the temperature of the condenser 21 and the amount of dehumidified water is shown in FIG.

  The load amount (discharge pressure) of the compressor 24 shows the same tendency as the amount of dehumidified water, and becomes maximum near the temperature of the condenser 21 reaching the control temperature (stable region), and then decreases with the amount of dehumidified water (drying Will gradually decrease).

  Therefore, in the present embodiment, when the drying process proceeds and the air in the drum 5 is in a high temperature and high humidity state, the temperature of the condenser 21 (the temperature detected by the condenser temperature sensor 28) is a predetermined temperature. For example, when it is detected that the temperature has reached 62 ° C., it is determined that the load amount of the compressor 24 has reached near the maximum, and the damper motor 42 of the damper device 40 is driven to intermittently open and close the second exhaust port 38 for a predetermined time Start control (see time t1 in FIG. 5). The opening and closing control of the second exhaust port 38 is performed, for example, in a 1-minute opening / 10-minute cycle (a cycle of opening for 10 minutes in 10 minutes).

  Here, when the damper plate 41 is rotated to a position shown by a two-dot chain line in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 and the second exhaust port 38 is opened, one of the circulating air of high temperature and high humidity flowing in the circulating air passage 10 The part passes from the second exhaust port 38 through the exhaust duct 39 and is discharged from the air vents 43 and 44 to the outside of the housing 1 (outside the machine) (see arrows of dashed-two dotted line in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2). By opening the second exhaust port 38 in this manner, the amount of circulating air discharged from the circulating air passage 10 to the outside of the circulating air passage increases, and the air is drawn into the circulating air passage 10 from the air intake 37 accordingly. Intake will also increase. In the drying operation, the period during which the opening and closing control of the second exhaust port 38 is performed is, for example, time control, and the control is ended in a state where the second exhaust port 38 is closed. In FIG. 5, with the opening of the second exhaust port 38, the temperature of the condenser 21 and the temperature of the evaporator 22 slightly decrease, and with the closing of the second exhaust port 38, The temperature and the temperature of the evaporator 22 change to rise slightly.

  As described above, when it is determined that the load amount of the compressor 24 has reached the maximum in the high temperature and high humidity state, the second exhaust port 38 is intermittently opened and closed to perform refrigeration. A significant increase or decrease in the drying load which makes the cycle operation unstable can be suppressed, and the dehumidifying load can be reduced intermittently.

  Incidentally, when the opening and closing control of the second exhaust port 38 is not performed, the temperature of the condenser 21 rises to 70 ° C. or more as shown in FIG. 6 as a comparative example, and the rotational speed of the compressor 24 is increased. Control to force down or stop is required. If the number of revolutions of the compressor 24 is forcedly lowered or stopped, the operation of the refrigeration cycle becomes unstable, the drying time becomes longer, the power consumption is increased correspondingly, and the efficiency is lowered.

  In this respect, according to the present embodiment, by performing the control as described above, it is possible to suppress a significant increase or decrease in the drying load which makes the refrigeration cycle operation unstable, and to intermittently reduce the dehumidifying load amount. . As a result, the load on the compressor 24 can be reduced, a stable refrigeration cycle operation can be performed, and the drying time can be prevented from being extended, and as a result, an increase in power consumption can be suppressed, and a more efficient operation can be achieved. Is possible.

According to the above-described embodiment, the following effects can be obtained.
During the drying process, the first exhaust port 36 and the intake port 37 provided in the circulation air path 10 constantly sucks and discharges circulating air, and the second exhaust port 38 provided in the circulation air path 10 when the drying load increases. The load of the compressor 24 can be reduced by opening the damper device 40 to increase the intake and exhaust amount. As a result, the load on the compressor 24 can be reduced when the drying load increases, so that the drying time can be prevented from becoming longer, and it is possible to suppress the increase in power consumption, thereby enabling more efficient operation.

  The opening area S2 of the second exhaust port 38 is set larger than the opening area S1 of the first exhaust port 36. Thereby, when the second exhaust port 38 is opened and the high humidity air is discharged from the circulating air path 10 to the outside of the circulating air path, the pressure balance between the first exhaust port 36 and the intake port 37 which is always open. The fluctuation of the intake air amount is larger than that of the second exhaust port 38 when the second exhaust port 38 is closed. Thereby, the effect of reducing the drying load can be reliably obtained without being influenced by the amount of discharge from the first exhaust port 36.

  A lint filter 20 is disposed downstream of the warm air outlet 9 in the circulation air passage 10, and the second exhaust port 38 is downstream of the lint filter 20. As a result, when the air in the circulating air passage 10 is discharged out of the air passage by opening the second exhaust port 38, the air after capturing the lint is discharged out of the air passage. Can be prevented from scattering out of the circulation air passage 10.

  An exhaust duct 39 for guiding the air exhausted from the second exhaust port 38 to the outside of the housing 1 is connected to the second exhaust port 38. According to this, the high temperature and high humidity air discharged from the second exhaust port 38 can be reliably discharged to the outside of the housing 1, and it is possible to prevent the discharged high temperature and high humidity air from being sucked again. .

  Since the exhaust duct 39 is arranged in contact with the ceiling wall 1 b constituting the housing 1, the high temperature and high humidity air passing through the exhaust duct 39 exchanges heat with the ceiling wall 1 b of the housing 1. As a result, the temperature and humidity of the air discharged from the vents 43 and 44 can be reduced. This makes it possible to prevent the environment around the installation location of the washing and drying machine from becoming unpleasant.

  The damper device 40 intermittently opens and closes the second exhaust port 38 for a predetermined time during the drying stroke. Thereby, in the state where the second exhaust port 38 is closed, the increase in humidity of the circulating air passing through the circulation air passage 10 is increased, and the second exhaust port 38 is opened when the load amount of the compressor 24 increases. Thus, high humidity air can be effectively released.

  The damper device 40 starts the intermittent opening / closing operation of the second exhaust port 38 when the temperature of the condenser 21 reaches a predetermined temperature, for example, 62 ° C. As a result, the humidity of the circulating air increases, and when the load of the compressor 24 increases, the high humidity air can be released at an effective timing.

  In this case, as a means for detecting that the load on the compressor 24 is increasing, the temperature from the condenser 21 to the hot air inlet 8 of the water tank 3 which is a drying chamber, instead of the temperature of the condenser 21. For example, when the temperature detected by the drying chamber inlet temperature sensor 31 reaches 57 ° C., the intermittent opening / closing operation of the second exhaust port 38 by the damper device 40 may be started. Also by this, it is possible to obtain the same effect as the above.

(Other embodiments)
Although the laundry drier which can be performed from washing to drying was illustrated in an embodiment, it may be a clothes drier having no washing function.
The washing and drying machine is not limited to the drum-type washing and drying machine, but can be applied to a vertical axis washing and drying machine in which the axial direction of the water tank and the rotation tank is vertically oriented.

  As described above, according to the clothes dryer of the present embodiment, during the drying process, circulating air is always sucked and discharged by the first exhaust port and the suction port provided in the circulating air passage, and the drying load is increased. The load on the compressor can be reduced by opening the second exhaust port provided in the circulation air passage by the damper device to increase the intake and exhaust amount. As a result, the load on the compressor at the time of increase in the drying load can be reduced, and the drying time can be prevented from becoming longer, which in turn makes it possible to suppress the increase in power consumption, enabling more efficient operation.

  While certain embodiments of the present invention have been described, these embodiments have been presented by way of example only, and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention. These novel embodiments can be implemented in various other forms, and various omissions, substitutions, and modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the invention. These embodiments and modifications thereof are included in the scope and the gist of the invention, and are included in the invention described in the claims and the equivalent scope thereof.

  In the drawings, 1 is a housing, 1b is a ceiling wall (wall), 3 is a water tank (drying chamber), 8 is a warm air inlet, 9 is a warm air outlet, 10 is a circulating air path, 15 is a blower, 20 is a lint filter 21 is a condenser, 22 is an evaporator, 23 is a heat pump, 24 is a compressor, 25 is a throttling device, 28 is a condenser temperature sensor, 31 is a drying chamber inlet temperature sensor, 36 is a first exhaust port, 37 Is an intake port, 38 is a second exhaust port, 39 is an exhaust duct, 40 is a damper device (opening and closing means), 41 is a damper plate, 42 is a damper motor, 43 and 44 are vents, 45 is a control device (control means) Indicates

Claims (8)

A drying room having a hot air inlet and a hot air outlet and containing clothes to be dried inside;
A circulating air passage provided in connection with the warm air inlet and the warm air outlet outside the drying chamber;
A blower for circulating air in the drying chamber through the circulation air passage;
A compressor, a condenser, a throttling device for controlling the flow rate of the refrigerant, and an evaporator are sequentially connected to constitute a refrigeration cycle, and among these, the condenser and the evaporator are disposed in the circulation air passage. Equipped with a heat pump,
The evaporator is disposed upstream of the condenser,
The circulating air exiting from the warm air outlet to the circulating air passage is cooled and dehumidified by the evaporator, and then the circulating air flowing through the circulating air passage is heated by the condenser to be introduced into the drying chamber from the warm air inlet in the clothes dryer of the test that teapot configuration,
A part of circulating air flowing in the circulation air passage between the warm air outlet and the condenser and between the warm air outlet and the evaporator in the circulation air passage to the outside of the circulation air passage a first outlet and a second outlet for discharging provided, wherein the air circulation duct outside air with Keru set an inlet for sucking the air circulation path, the second in a state that does not close the air circulation duct A clothes dryer provided with opening and closing means for opening and closing the exhaust port of A drying room having a hot air inlet and a hot air outlet and containing clothes to be dried inside;
A circulating air passage provided in connection with the warm air inlet and the warm air outlet outside the drying chamber;
A blower for circulating air in the drying chamber through the circulation air passage;
A compressor, a condenser, a throttling device for controlling the flow rate of the refrigerant, and an evaporator are sequentially connected to constitute a refrigeration cycle, and among these, the condenser and the evaporator are disposed in the circulation air passage. Equipped with a heat pump,
The evaporator is disposed upstream of the condenser,
The circulating air exiting from the warm air outlet to the circulating air passage is cooled and dehumidified by the evaporator, and then the circulating air flowing through the circulating air passage is heated by the condenser to be introduced into the drying chamber from the warm air inlet in the clothes dryer of the test that teapot configuration,
A part of circulating air flowing in the circulation air passage between the warm air outlet and the condenser and between the warm air outlet and the evaporator in the circulation air passage to the outside of the circulation air passage a first outlet and a second outlet for discharging provided with Keru set an inlet for sucking the air circulation duct outside air into the air circulation path, the opening and closing means for opening and closing the second exhaust port Set up
A lint filter is disposed on the downstream side of the warm air outlet in the circulating air passage,
The second exhaust port is located downstream of the lint filter,
Clothing dryer.   The clothes dryer according to claim 1 or 2, wherein an opening area of the second exhaust port is set larger than an opening area of the first exhaust port. The drying chamber and the circulating air passage are disposed in a housing,
The clothes dryer according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein an exhaust duct for guiding air discharged from the second exhaust port to the outside of the housing is connected to the second exhaust port.   The clothes dryer according to claim 4, wherein the exhaust duct is disposed in contact with a wall constituting the housing.   The clothes dryer according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the opening and closing means intermittently opens and closes the second exhaust port for a predetermined time during the drying process of the clothes.   The clothes dryer according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the opening and closing means starts the intermittent opening and closing operation when the temperature of the condenser reaches a predetermined temperature.   The clothes drying according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the opening and closing means starts the intermittent opening and closing operation when the temperature from the condenser to the warm air inlet of the drying chamber reaches a predetermined temperature. Machine.

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