JP7345082B2 - clothes dryer - Google Patents

Description

The present disclosure relates to a clothes dryer that dries clothes.

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a washer/dryer equipped with a heat pump device is known as a clothes dryer for drying clothes (for example, Patent Document 1).

The washer/dryer in Patent Document 1 includes a rotating drum that accommodates clothing, a water tank that accommodates the rotating drum, a heat pump device that dehumidifies moisture in circulating air, a blower device that blows air to the heat pump device, a water tank, It includes a heat pump device and a circulation air path connecting the blower device.

The washer/dryer determines whether drying is complete based on the drying state of the clothes. The temperature on the downstream side of the condenser in the circulation air path and the temperature on the downstream side of the water tank are detected, and when the temperature difference becomes lower than a predetermined value, it is determined that drying has ended.

JP2011-67233A

However, when the room temperature is high, the compressor may be driven at low rotation speed in order to maintain the condenser temperature constant at the end of the drying operation. When the amount of refrigerant circulation decreases due to low-speed rotation of the compressor, the amount of heat exchanged by the heat pump device decreases. When the amount of heat exchanged by the heat pump device decreases, the amount of heat exchanged by the clothing also decreases, so the temperature after passing through the clothing becomes higher than when the condensation temperature is constant. In this state, the temperature difference between the temperature on the downstream side of the condenser in the circulation air path and the temperature on the downstream side of the water tank narrows, and it may be determined that drying is complete even though the clothes have not been sufficiently dried. There is a risk that the drying rate will decrease and the finish will deteriorate.

The clothes dryer of the present disclosure solves the conventional problems, and an object thereof is to provide a clothes dryer that can suppress a decrease in the drying rate of clothes.

A clothes dryer according to the present disclosure includes a drying chamber that stores clothes, a circulation air path that circulates air discharged from the drying chamber to the drying chamber, an air blower that blows air into the circulation air path, a compressor, A heat pump device in which a condenser and an evaporator are connected by a refrigerant pipe through which refrigerant circulates, a drying air temperature detection means for detecting the temperature of drying air after passing through the heat pump device, and air on the inlet side of the heat pump device. and a control means for controlling the rotation speed of the compressor, the control means being configured to detect the temperature of the drying air after passing through the heat pump device, which is detected by the drying air temperature detection means. The rotation speed of the compressor when the temperature difference between the temperature of the air used for use and the temperature of the air on the inlet side of the heat pump device detected by the inflow air temperature detection means reaches a first threshold value is a predetermined rotation speed. If the conditions are below, the drying operation will be extended.

The clothes dryer according to the present disclosure can suppress a decrease in drying rate by extending the drying time according to the rotation speed of the compressor and the like.

Vertical cross-sectional view of the drum-type washer/dryer in Embodiment 1 Flowchart for determining completion of drying operation of the drum type washer/dryer Flowchart for determining completion of drying operation of the drum type washer/dryer

Embodiments of the present disclosure will be described using a drum type washer/dryer as an example with reference to the drawings. Note that the present disclosure is not limited to this embodiment.

(Embodiment 1)
In the first embodiment, a clothes dryer according to the present invention is applied to a drum-type washing machine.

The basic configuration of a drum-type washer/dryer will be explained using FIG. 1. FIG. 1 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of a drum-type washer-dryer according to the first embodiment.

Inside the housing 1, a water tank 2 is elastically supported by a damper 8. The water tank 2 is formed in a cylindrical shape with a bottom, is arranged so that the opening faces the front, and is provided so that the central axis is inclined downward toward the back. A rotary drum 3 is rotatably disposed inside the water tank 2. The rotating drum 3 is formed into a cylindrical shape with a bottom, is arranged so that its opening is in the same direction as the opening of the water tank 2, and stores laundry therein. The rotating drum 3 constitutes a drying chamber during drying operation.

A water supply valve (not shown) is provided at the rear of the housing 1, and a water supply pipe (not shown) is provided to connect the water supply valve and the water tank 2. The water supply pipe supplies water into the water tank 2 when the water supply valve is opened. A drain valve 6 and a main drain pipe 5 are provided at the bottom of the water tank 2. The main drain pipe 5 discharges dirty washing water to the outside when the drain valve 6 is opened.

A drive device 4 is provided at the rear of the water tank 2, and the drive device 4 is connected to the rotating drum 3. The drive device 4 rotates the rotary drum 3 to agitate the laundry inside the rotary drum 3. A door body 10 is provided on the front surface of the casing 1 so as to cover the opening of the rotating drum 3 so as to be openable and closable. A user can open the door body 10 and take laundry into and out of the rotating drum 3.

Next, the configuration related to the drying function of the drum type washer/dryer will be explained.

The heat pump device 20 includes a compressor 22, a condenser 23, a pressure reducer 24, and an evaporator 25 in a heat pump device housing 21, and these are connected by a pipe 26, which is a refrigerant pipe, and are filled with refrigerant. . The compressor 22 makes the refrigerant high temperature and high pressure, and the condenser 23 exchanges heat with the air inside the heat pump device housing 21 to give heat and the refrigerant 27 is liquefied. Thereafter, the refrigerant becomes low temperature and low pressure in the pressure reducer 24, and then heat exchanges with the air inside the heat pump device housing 21 again in the evaporator 25 to remove heat and vaporize the refrigerant. The vaporized refrigerant 27 returns to the compressor 22 and forms a series of refrigeration cycles.

As the refrigerant 27 used in the heat pump device 20, general refrigerants such as HFC (hydrofluorocarbon) refrigerant, HFO (hydrofluoroolefin) refrigerant, carbon dioxide refrigerant, etc. can be used.

Next, the operation of the drum type washer/dryer during drying operation will be explained.

When the drying operation starts, the drum-type washing machine rotates the rotary drum 3 and causes the blower device 32 to circulate drying air through the circulation air path 30 consisting of the rotary drum 3 and the heat pump device 20. In the heat pump device 20, high-temperature, low-humidity air heated by a condenser 23 is sent into the rotary drum 3 through a circulating air passage 30 by a blower device 32 connected to the outlet of the heat pump device housing 21, and is then heated with a compress on the rotary drum 3. By bringing them into contact, a low temperature and high humidity air is created. This low-temperature, high-humidity air passes through the circulating air path 31 and the inlet of the heat pump device housing 21, exchanges heat with the evaporator 25, and dehumidifies the air by removing heat. The dehumidified air is heated again in the condenser 23, and this series of cycles makes it possible to dehumidify clothing.

Regarding the rotation speed of the compressor 22 during operation, in order to maintain the temperature of the warm air blown onto the clothes and to prevent the temperature of the compressor 22 from rising too much, the temperature of the condenser 23 is set to a constant value, for example 60. Control the rotation speed so that the temperature is ℃. Immediately after the start of operation, in order to quickly raise the temperature of the condenser 23 to a predetermined temperature, the compressor 22 is set to a rotation speed of, for example, about 90 rps, and after the temperature of the condenser 23 reaches the predetermined temperature, For example, it is operated at a rotation speed of about 30 to 70 rps.

The circulation air path 30 includes a first temperature sensor 33 that is a drying air temperature detection means for detecting the temperature of the drying air placed immediately after the condenser 23 of the heat pump device 20, and a first temperature sensor 33 that detects the temperature of the drying air placed immediately after the condenser 23 of the heat pump device 20, and a first temperature sensor 33 that detects the temperature of the drying air placed immediately after the condenser 23 of the heat pump device 20. A second temperature sensor 34 is provided to detect the temperature of.

The end of drying is determined using the temperature difference between the first temperature sensor 33 and the second temperature sensor 34. Since the first temperature sensor 33 is located immediately after the condenser 23 of the heat pump device 20, the temperature is, for example, about 60°C. The second temperature sensor 34 measures the temperature of the air after passing through the clothes, so if the clothes are not dry, the temperature is about 40° C., for example. As the clothes dry, the amount of heat exchanged between the warm air and the clothes decreases, and the temperature rises to, for example, about 50°C. In other words, since the temperature difference between the first temperature sensor 33 and the second temperature sensor 34 becomes smaller as the drying progresses, a termination determination threshold Y1 based on the temperature difference is set, and when this threshold Y1 is reached, the drying is terminated. judge.

However, when determining the end of drying, if the rotation speed of the compressor 22 is low, the amount of heat exchanged between the condenser 23 and the evaporator 25 is small, so the upper limit of the amount of heat exchanged with the clothes is also small, and the condensation The temperature difference between the first temperature sensor 33 after passing through the container 23 and the second temperature sensor 34 after passing through the clothing becomes small. Therefore, the end determination threshold value Y1 may be reached even though the clothes are insufficiently dried.

In order to solve this problem, in this embodiment, if the rotation speed of the compressor 22 is low when the threshold value Y1 is reached, additional heating is performed.

FIG. 2 is an operation sequence of the compressor in this embodiment. When the rotation speed of the compressor is low, for example, 40 rps or less when the end determination threshold Y1 (first end determination threshold) is reached, a new end determination threshold Y2 (second end determination threshold) is set. Then, the operation is continued until the end determination threshold value Y2 is reached.

As described above, in the drum-type washer/dryer according to the present embodiment, when the rotation speed of the compressor 22 is low at the stage of drying end determination, such as in a high temperature environment, the second end determination is performed after the first end determination. By providing additional heating until the second end determination, it is possible to suppress a decrease in the drying rate.

Note that in this embodiment, it is determined that the amount of heat exchange is decreasing based on the rotation speed of the compressor 22. Instead, the first temperature sensor 33 or the second temperature sensor 34 detects the temperature at the start of operation or at the start of drying, and if it is determined that the environmental temperature is 30° C. or higher, for example, the drying end determination step is performed. Y2 (second termination determination threshold) may be set first as the termination determination threshold assuming that the rotational speed of the compressor 22 decreases.

Further, in this embodiment, it is determined that the amount of heat exchange is small based on the rotation speed of the compressor 22. Alternatively, it may be determined that the amount of heat exchange is decreasing based on the duration of the drying operation. For example, if the drying time is 120 minutes at a standard environmental temperature, if the drying time is longer than this, Y2 (second end determination threshold) may be set as the end determination threshold.

FIG. 3 is an operation sequence of the compressor in this embodiment. If the rotational speed of the compressor is low when the end determination threshold Y1 (first end determination threshold) is reached, a means is used to extend the time from reaching the end determination threshold Y1 to the completion of operation. For example, normally the operation would be terminated immediately after reaching the termination determination threshold Y1, but if it is determined that the amount of heat exchange is decreasing, the operation is completed after additional heating for 30 minutes.

This embodiment is useful not only in a standard driving course/mode, but also in a case where a driving course is set in which the target drying rate is intentionally lowered. When considering the variation in the drying rate, in an operation course where the target drying rate is intentionally lowered, there is a risk that the drying rate will drop too much when the rotation speed of the compressor 22 decreases as described above. In the embodiment, this can be solved.

In the above, a heat pump type drum washer/dryer has been described as an example of a clothes dryer, but any clothes dryer may be used as long as it can dry wet clothes. Therefore, the washing machine is not limited to a drum type washer/dryer, but may be a vertical type washer/dryer or a clothes dryer without a washing function. Furthermore, the present invention is not limited to the example of heat pump type dehumidifying water drainage, but may be replaced with cooling water drainage of a water-cooled dryer.

The present disclosure is applicable to various clothes dryers that dry clothes.

1 Housing 2 Water tank 3 Rotating drum 4 Drive device 20 Heat pump device 21 Heat pump device housing 22 Compressor 23 Condenser 24 Pressure reducer 25 Evaporator 26 Piping 30 Circulating air path 31 Circulating air path 32 Air blower 33 First temperature sensor 34 Second temperature sensor

Claims (4)

A drying chamber for storing clothes, a circulation air path for circulating air discharged from the drying room to the drying room, an air blower for blowing air to the circulation air path, and a compressor, a condenser, and an evaporator connected to a refrigerant. A heat pump device connected by a circulating refrigerant pipe, a drying air temperature detection means for detecting the temperature of the drying air after passing through the heat pump device, and an inflow air temperature for detecting the temperature of the air on the inlet side of the heat pump device. and a control means for controlling the rotation speed of the compressor , and the control means detects the temperature of the drying air after passing through the heat pump device detected by the drying air temperature detection means and the inflow. If the rotation speed of the compressor is equal to or lower than the predetermined rotation speed when the temperature difference between the temperature of the air on the inlet side of the heat pump device and the temperature detected by the air temperature detection means reaches the first threshold value, drying is performed. Clothes dryer that extends operation. If the rotation speed of the compressor is equal to or lower than a predetermined rotation speed when the temperature difference reaches the first threshold, the control means controls a second The clothes dryer according to claim 1, wherein the drying operation is extended until a threshold value of . The clothing according to claim 1, wherein the control means continues the drying operation for a predetermined time if the rotation speed of the compressor is equal to or lower than a predetermined rotation speed when the temperature difference reaches the first threshold value. Dryer. The clothes dryer according to any one of claims 1 to 3 , comprising an operation course in which a target drying rate is lowered at the time of determination of completion.

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