JP7328175B2 - washing machine - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a washing machine for washing laundry.

In general, washing and drying machines are equipped with processes such as washing, rinsing, spin-drying, and drying as automatic operation courses. In the dehydration, the clothes are dehydrated by centrifugal force by rotating the washing/dehydration tank, but the centrifugal force causes the clothes to stick to the wall of the washing/dehydration tank, making it difficult to remove the clothes. . In addition, if the clothes stick to the tank wall of the washing and dehydrating tank after the final dehydration, the clothes are tangled at the start of drying, causing wrinkles and damage to the clothes.

In order to facilitate the removal of the clothes after the final dehydration, Patent Document 1 describes that after the final dehydration, the clothes are loosened by driving the stirring blades to prevent the clothes from getting entangled.

JP-A-2003-311074

However, in the technique disclosed in Patent Document 1, even if the agitating blade is rotationally driven after the final dehydration, depending on the degree of sticking of the clothes, when the clothes in the washing and dehydrating tank stick above the agitating blade, It is not taken into consideration that the agitating blades idle without contacting the clothes. In addition, since a mechanical force is applied to the stuck clothes to remove them, there is a problem that the clothes are entangled and wrinkled or damaged.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a washing machine that suppresses idling of the stirring blades without contacting the laundry, suppresses tangling of the laundry after the final dehydration, and prevents wrinkles and damage to the laundry. It is something to do.

In order to achieve the above object, the washing machine of the present invention comprises a housing, an outer tub supported in the housing for vibration isolation and storing washing water therein, and a laundry rotatably supported in the outer tub. a washing and dehydrating tub in which the washing and dehydrating tub is accommodated, a drive unit that rotates the washing and dehydrating tub, a blower that blows air into the washing and dehydrating tub, and a blower that blows air from above the washing and dehydrating tub. and a control unit that controls the driving unit and the blowing unit, and controls each step of the washing process, the rinsing process, and the dehydration process, and the control unit, after the dehydration process, The washing and dewatering tub is rotationally driven in a single direction, a peeling step is performed in which the air is blown out from the blowout port into the washing and dewatering tub, and the amount of air blown out from the blowout port in the peeling step or The wind speed is characterized by decreasing with time.

ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a washing machine that suppresses idling of the stirring blades without contacting the laundry, suppresses entanglement of the laundry after the final spin-drying, and hardly causes wrinkles and damage to the laundry. can.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS It is a schematic diagram which shows the whole structure of the washing-drying machine of this invention. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing the overall configuration of a washing and drying machine of the present invention and clothes after final dehydration; 2 is a perspective view of a stirring blade in the washing/drying machine shown in FIG. 1. FIG. FIG. 2 is a vertical cross-sectional view showing an internal configuration of a driving device in the washing and drying machine shown in FIG. 1; FIG. 5 is a diagram showing the air volume that changes stepwise in the peeling process of the present invention. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing the wind velocity that changes stepwise in the peeling process of the present invention. FIG. 10 is a diagram showing gently changing wind volume in the peeling process of the present invention. FIG. 10 is a diagram showing gently changing wind speeds in the peeling process of the present invention.

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

FIG. 1 is an overall configuration diagram of the washing/drying machine, and FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing the overall configuration of the washing/drying machine and the state of the clothes 56a stuck to each other after the final dehydration.

The washing/drying machine is capable of washing, rinsing, dehydrating, and drying, and includes a housing 1, an outer tub 10 supported in the housing 1 in vibration isolation and storing washing water therein, and an outer tub. A washing and dewatering tub 9 which has an opening in the upper part thereof and is supported rotatably around a vertical axis to accommodate laundry such as clothes 56, and a fluid balancer 9b disposed above the washing and dewatering tub 9. and a speed reduction mechanism 63, a stirring blade 11 rotatably arranged at the bottom of the washing and dehydrating tub 9, a driving device 13 as a driving unit for rotationally driving the washing and dehydrating tub 9 and the stirring blade 11, and an outer tub. a water supply device 4 for supplying water from above to the outer tank 10; a drainage device 17 arranged at the bottom of the outer tank 10 for discharging water from the outer tank 10; a drain hose 18 for draining water from the outer tub 10; a drying mechanism 19 disposed above the outer tub 10 and blowing air 51 into the washing and dehydrating tub 9; A water level sensor 21 is generated, and an outlet 54 is arranged above the washing/drying tub 9 and blows air 51 from the drying mechanism 19, which is an air blower, to the washing/drying tub 9 from above to below the washing/drying tub 9. , a water passage hole 9a through which water and air 51 pass from the inside of the washing and dehydrating tub 9, a drying duct 10a connecting the outer tub 10 and the blowing fan 19a, and a dehumidifying mechanism (not shown) in the drying duct 10a. , a temperature sensor 26 provided on the upstream side of the drying duct 10a, a control device 8 for controlling the driving device 13 and the drying mechanism 19, and for controlling each process of washing, rinsing, dehydration, and drying. ing.

Since the washing and drying machine performs drying, the drying mechanism 19 includes a blower fan 19a that draws air into the drying mechanism 19 to generate wind 51, a heater 19b that generates heat when energized, an outlet 54, and a blower fan. It is composed of a corrugated tube 19c connecting 19a.

FIG. 3 is an external perspective view showing the structure of the stirring blade 11. As shown in FIG. The rotary blade 11 is provided with a gently inclined surface 11c and a protuberant portion 11a for repeatedly applying an upward component force to the clothes 56 put on the rotary blade 11 by rotating, and water is passed through the inclined surface 11c. And a large number of small water holes 11b for ventilation are arranged.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view of the driving device 13 in the washing/drying machine. The driving device 13 is composed of a speed reduction mechanism 63, a switching clutch mechanism 62, a clutch operating electric motor 62a, and a motor 61. As shown in FIG. The deceleration mechanism 63 is composed of a planetary gear mechanism 63a, and decelerates the rotation of the motor 61 to rotate the agitating blade 11 via the washing shaft 64 for washing and rinsing. Further, the rotation of the motor 61 directly rotates the washing and dehydrating tub 9 and the stirring blade 11 integrally through the dehydrating shaft 65 to perform dehydration. A switching mechanism 62 switches the shaft that transmits the rotation of the motor.

Here, the operation of the washing course for washing, rinsing, and dehydration of the washing/drying machine will be described with reference to the configuration shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. FIG.

When the start switch is pressed, if automatic washing is set, the agitating blade 11 is rotationally driven, and the amount of clothes 56 put into the washing and dehydrating tub 9 is detected (detergent amount sensing) to perform washing. (Washing and rinsing) The amount of water is set, and the amount of detergent corresponding to the set amount of water is set and displayed.

Next, water is supplied from the upper portion of the outer tub 10 by the water supply device 4 while the washing and dewatering tub 9 or the stirring blade 11 is driven to rotate.

In this water supply process, the agitating blade 11 is rotationally driven to detect the amount of the clothes 56 (cloth amount sensing and cloth quality sensing), and the amount and quality of the clothes 56 are estimated based on the detection results. Correction of the amount of washing water set according to the estimated amount and quality of clothes, setting of ON-OFF time limit of reverse driving, and setting of washing time are performed.

When the set amount of water is supplied, the agitating blade 11 is reversely driven to apply a mechanical force to the clothes 56 for washing agitation control. According to the ON-OFF time period and washing time of the reversal drive set according to the quantity and quality of the clothes 56 .

Here, the reversal drive is an operation in which the stirring blade 11 is repeatedly driven to rotate in the forward direction→stop→rotate in the reverse direction→stop→rotate in the forward direction. The ON time period is the time during which the motor is rotated in the forward or reverse direction (power supply time to the drive device 13), and the OFF time period is the pause time.

When the washing is completed, the washing water is drained from the drain device 17 through the drain hose 18, and the washing contained in the clothes 56 is removed by rotating the stirring blade 11 and the washing and dehydrating tub 9 in one direction at high speed. Centrifuge the water.

Next, water is supplied up to the set amount of rinsing water, and rinsing agitation control is performed to reduce detergent components from the clothes 56 . The reversal drive for rinsing and agitation is performed according to the ON/OFF time limit and the rinsing time of the reversal drive set according to the quantity and quality of the clothes 56 as in the case of washing.

When the rinsing is completed, the rinse water is drained from the drain device 17 through the drain hose 18, and the rinsing water contained in the clothes 56 is removed by rotating the stirring blade 11 and the washing and dewatering tub 9 in one direction at high speed. Centrifuge the water.

This rinsing, draining and dehydration are repeated multiple times as necessary. The final dehydration (final dehydration) is performed until the dehydration rate (=weight of dry cloth/weight of wet cloth×100) reaches 55% or more.

After the final dehydration, the clothes 56 are stuck to the tank wall 9c in the washing and dehydrating tank 9 as shown in FIG. In order to make it easier to take out the stuck clothes 56a, the washing/dehydrating tub 9 is driven to rotate in one direction, and the wind 51 is blown into the washing/dehydrating tub 9 from the outlet 54 to remove the stuck clothes 56a. , and a downward force is applied to move the clothing 56 to perform a peeling step of peeling off from the tub wall 9c in the washing and dehydrating tub 9. - 特許庁That is, after the dehydration process, the control device 8, which is a control unit, rotates the washing and dehydrating tub 9 in a single direction, and blows off the wind 51 from the outlet 54 toward the tub wall 9c in the washing and dehydrating tub 9. carry out the process.

By blowing the wind 51 toward the tank wall 9c inside the washing and dehydrating tank 9, more of the wind 51 hits the clothes 56a stuck to the tank wall 9c within the washing and dehydrating tank 9, thereby further removing the clothes. growing. In other words, the blown air 51 hits the laundry such as clothes stuck to the tank wall 9c, etc., so that the stirring blade 11 is prevented from idling without coming into contact with the laundry, thereby completing the final dehydration. It is possible to prevent wrinkles and pain from occurring in the laundry while suppressing entanglement of the laundry later.

Therefore, in order to check how the clothes 56a sticking to the tank wall 9c in the washing/dehydration tub 9 are peeled off by the wind 51 blown into the washing/dehydration tub 9, a blowout was placed above the washing/dehydration tub 9 after dehydration. An experiment was conducted in which air 51 was blown into the washing/dehydration tub 9 from the port 54 and the clothes 56a stuck to the tub wall 9c in the washing/dehydration tub 9 were peeled off by varying the air volume and velocity of the air 51. Here, the air volume and air velocity are numerical values at the outlet 54 .

In the experiment, the distance (H in FIG. 2) between the air outlet 54 and the attached clothing 56a was 0 mm (contact state), 300 mm, and 450 mm, and the weight of the clothing 56 was 1.0 kg in the dry state. 1.5 kg, 2.0 kg and 6.0 kg were performed.

Experimental results show that when the distance (H in FIG. 2) between the air outlet 54 and the stuck clothes 56a becomes shorter, the amount of wind 51 required to separate the stuck clothes 56a from the tank wall 9c in the washing and dehydrating tank 9 increases. It has been found that the force is reduced, and the air volume and wind speed of the wind 51 required for peeling off from the tub wall 9c in the washing and dehydrating tub 9 are also reduced. It was also found that the influence of the weight of the clothing 56 is extremely small compared to the influence of the distance between the air outlet 54 and the clothing 56a stuck to it.

In addition, when the distance (H in FIG. 2) between the air outlet 54 and the attached clothes 56a under the condition where the air volume or air velocity is the smallest is 0 mm (contact state), the tank wall in the washing and dehydrating tank 9 The wind 51 required to strip from 9c was 0.8 cubic meters per minute or 21 meters per second. Therefore, considering the case where the distance (H in FIG. 2) between the air outlet 54 and the stuck clothing 56a is long, the wind 51 for peeling off the stuck clothing 56a should have an air volume of 0.8 cubic meters or more per minute or Wind speeds of 21 meters per second or more are required.

However, if the strong wind 51 continues for a long time, the clothes 56 will be twisted and wrinkled during drying. Here, the strong wind 51 means the wind 51 with an air volume of 0.8 cubic meters or more per minute or a wind speed of 21 meters per second or more. The cause of this twisting of the clothes 56 is that the centrifugal force of dehydration causes a plurality of clothes 56 to clump together in the washing/dehydration tank 9 depending on the type, material, fiber state, and arrangement of the clothes 56 . A portion that is difficult to peel off from the tank wall 9c and a portion that is easy to peel off without hardening are generated, and the portion that is difficult to peel off remains solidified, and the portion that is easy to peel off immediately. This is because the movement causes it to twist.

Therefore, when the clothes 56 begin to come off the tank wall 9c in the washing and dehydrating tank 9, the amount or velocity of the wind 51 striking the clothes is reduced over time to suppress the movement of the clothes 56, thereby suppressing the twisting of the clothes 56. be able to.

Here, the air volume and wind speed of the wind 51 may decrease stepwise as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6. FIG. In this embodiment, the reduction is made in three stages, but the number of stages may be one or another number of stages.

Also, the air volume and wind speed of the wind 51 may be gently decreased as shown in FIGS. 7 and 8 . The gradual drop method may be stepped by a fixed amount or by a different amount instead of a fixed amount.

After the peeling process is finished, the driving device 13 rotates the agitating blade 11 to agitate the clothes 56 peeled off from the washing/dehydrating tub 9 . The applied mechanical force is reduced, the clothes 56 can be loosened without being damaged, and the clothes 56 can be easily taken out after the final dehydration.

In addition to the washing course, the washing/drying machine has a washing/drying course in which washing and drying are performed continuously. Drying is carried out by rotating the agitating blade 11 or the washing and dehydrating tub 9 with the driving device 13 while driving the blower fan 19a and energizing the heater 19b. Warm air 51 is blown into the washing and dehydrating tub 9. - 特許庁The air 51 which warms the clothes 56 and evaporates the moisture and becomes high temperature and high humidity goes out to the outer tank 10 through the water passage hole 9a, is sucked into the drying duct 10a, and is cooled and dehumidified by the cooling water flowing down inside the dehumidifying mechanism. It becomes dry and cold air. The low-temperature air is sucked into the drying mechanism by the blower fan 19a, heated again by the heater 19b, and circulated so as to be blown out into the washing and dehydrating tub 9. As shown in FIG.

However, even in the dehydration before drying, the clothes 56 are centrifugally dehydrated by rotating the washing/dehydration tub 9 as in the dehydration in the washing course, and the centrifugal force causes the clothes 56 to move into the washing/dehydration tub. It sticks to the tank wall 9c inside 9. At the start of drying, the agitating blade 11 is driven to rotate while sticking to the inside of the washing/dehydrating tub 9, so mechanical force is applied to the stuck clothes 56a to separate them from the tub wall 9c in the washing/dehydrating tub 9. The clothes 56 are entangled, and the clothes 56 are wrinkled or damaged.

Therefore, in order to suppress the entanglement of the clothes 56, the washing and dewatering tub 9 is driven to rotate in one direction, and the air 51 is blown out from the outlet 54 into the washing and dewatering tub 9, and the clothes 56a to which the wind 51 is stuck. , and a downward force is applied to move the clothing 56 to perform a peeling step of peeling off from the tub wall 9c in the washing and dehydrating tub 9. - 特許庁That is, before the drying process, the washing/drying tub 9 is rotationally driven in one direction, and the peeling process is performed in which the wind 51 is blown out from the outlet 54 toward the tub wall 9c in the washing/drying tub 9 . As a result, as in the washing course, the blown air 51 hits the laundry such as clothes stuck to the tank wall 9c, etc., and the stirring blade 11 is prevented from idling without coming into contact with the laundry. As a result, it is possible to prevent wrinkles and pain from occurring in the laundry while suppressing the tangling of the laundry after the final spin-drying.

Here, the wind 51 for blowing the wind 51 into the washing and dehydrating tub 9 must have an air volume of 0.8 cubic meters or more per minute or a wind velocity of 21 meters per second or more, as in the washing course.

However, if the strong wind 51 continues for a long time, the clothes 56 will be twisted and wrinkled during drying. Here, the strong wind 51 means the wind 51 with an air volume of 0.8 cubic meters or more per minute or a wind speed of 21 meters per second or more. The cause of this twisting of the clothes 56 is that, depending on the type, material, fiber state, and arrangement of the clothes 56 , the centrifugal force of dehydration causes a plurality of clothes 56 to clump together in the washing/dehydration tank 9 . A portion that is difficult to peel off from the tank wall 9c and a portion that is easy to peel off without hardening are generated, and the portion that is difficult to peel off remains solidified, and the portion that is easy to peel off immediately. This is because the movement causes it to twist.

Therefore, as in the washing course, when the clothes 56 begin to peel off from the tank wall 9c in the washing and dewatering tank 9, the amount or speed of the wind 51 is reduced to suppress the movement of the clothes 56, thereby suppressing the twisting of the clothes 56. can be done.

Here, the air volume and wind speed of the wind 51 may decrease stepwise as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6. FIG. The number of steps may be one or any number of steps.

Also, the air volume and wind speed of the wind 51 may be gently decreased as shown in FIGS. 7 and 8 . The gradual drop method may be stepped by a fixed amount or by a different amount instead of a fixed amount.

By performing such a peeling process, the clothes 56 are not twisted at the start of drying and are untwisted. Wrinkles and scars can be suppressed.

1 Case 4 Water supply device 8 Control device 9 Washing and dewatering tank 9c Tank wall 10 Outer tank 11 Stirring blade 13 Driving device 17 Drainage device 18 Drainage hose 19 Drying mechanism 51 Wind 54 Blowout port 56 Clothes

Claims (4)

a housing;
an outer tub that is vibration-proof supported in the housing and stores washing water inside;
a washing and dehydrating tub that is rotatably supported in the outer tub and accommodates the laundry;
a driving unit that rotates the washing and dehydrating tub;
a blowing unit for blowing air into the washing and dewatering tub;
a blowing port for blowing air from the air blowing unit downward from above the washing and dewatering tub;
A control unit that controls the driving unit and the air blowing unit, and controls each step of a washing process, a rinsing process, and a dehydration process,
After the dehydration process, the control unit rotates the washing and dehydrating tank in a single direction, and performs a peeling process of blowing the air from the blowout port into the washing and dehydrating tank,
The washing machine according to claim 1, wherein the amount or velocity of air blown out from the outlet in the peeling step is reduced with the lapse of time . a housing;
an outer tub that is vibration-proof supported in the housing and stores washing water therein;
a washing and dehydrating tub that is rotatably supported in the outer tub and accommodates the laundry;
a drive unit that rotates the washing and dewatering tub;
a blowing unit for blowing air into the washing and dewatering tub;
a blowing port for blowing air from the air blowing unit downward from above the washing and dewatering tub;
A control unit that controls the driving unit and the air blowing unit, and controls each step of a washing process, a rinsing process, and a dehydration process,
After the dehydration process, the control unit rotates the washing and dehydrating tank in a single direction, and performs a peeling process of blowing the air from the blowout port into the washing and dehydrating tank,
A washing machine according to claim 1, wherein the amount or speed of air blown out from said outlet in said peeling step is gradually or gently reduced with the lapse of time. The washing machine according to claim 1 or claim 2 ,
The control unit controls the drying process,
The washing machine, wherein the control unit rotates the washing/drying tub in a single direction and performs a peeling process of blowing the air from the outlet into the washing/drying tub before the drying process. . The washing machine according to claim 1 or claim 2,
The washing machine, wherein the peeling step blows air from the outlet toward a tank wall side of the washing and dehydrating tank.

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