JPH0482589A - Drying operation method of full automatic washing and drying machine - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To improve drying performance and to shorten drying time by dehydrating while circulating humid air through a hot air supplying mechanism, drum, and dehumidifying mechanism successively to rise a temperature of washing in the drum during drying cycle. CONSTITUTION:In drying cycle, a drain valve 21 and feedwater valve 23 are opened, a circulating fan 16 is turned in the direction of the arrow P, and a drum 4 is rotated by a motor 11. Air sent by the fan 16 is heated by a heater 18 in a heating chamber 17 to be hot air, blown into the drum 4 through a small hole 6b drilled in a recessed part 6a of an edge plate 6 of the drum 4 to rise the temperature of washing A and to become humid air containing moisture thereof, and released into a tub 2 through small holes 5b, 7b, etc., of the drum 4. In a duct 19, cooling water D from a feedwater valve 3 is sprinkled from a nozzle 20, and humid air is cooled, dehumidified with the contained moisture condensed and sucked by the circulating fan 16.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to a method of operating a drying process in a fully automatic washer/dryer that automatically and consistently performs washing, dehydration, and even drying.

[Conventional technology]

Conventional fully automatic washer/dryers that perform all processes from washing to drying, dry the laundry stored in the drum, during the drying operation, for example, as described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 55-78996. Cold water is sprayed on the humid air discharged from the drum, which contains the moisture that has evaporated from the laundry, forcibly cools it down, the moisture in this humid air is condensed, the absolute humidity is lowered, and the air is heated with a heater. The laundry is then supplied to the drum again to dry the laundry.

In addition to the above, conventional fully automatic washer/dryers include:
For example, as described in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 62-221392, when drying laundry, at the same time as starting the dehydration process,
Alternatively, from midway through the rinsing process, steam or heating oil is supplied to a heating pipe fixed to the outer periphery of the rotating drum that houses the laundry to increase the temperature of the drum and the laundry stored inside it, thereby heating the laundry midway through dehydration. Air is supplied to the drum to dehydrate the laundry, then the rotational speed of the drum is reduced to below IG to agitate the laundry, and heated air is supplied into the drum to dehydrate the laundry. A drying method has also been proposed.

[Problem to be solved by the invention]

Conventional examples of fully automatic washer/dryers are roughly as described above, and the former of the above-mentioned conventional technologies reduces the amount of heated air blown into the drum from a small hole drilled in the cylindrical part of the drum during drying. The drying efficiency is increased by increasing the drying efficiency. In addition, in the latter of the above-mentioned conventional techniques, in the dehydration process before starting the drying process, steam or heated oil is supplied to a heating pipe fixed to the outer periphery of the drum, and hot water or steam is sprayed into the drum to wash the clothes. The drying time is shortened by heating the laundry to dehydrate it, increasing the dehydration effect, and then blowing heated air to dry the laundry.

Of the two drying methods mentioned above, the former method, in which heated air is blown into the drum from small holes on the outer periphery of the drum, allows hot air heated by a heater to flow between the water tank (detergent container) and the drum without entering the drum. Due to the amount of leakage air that passes through the gaps and reaches the drain, there have been problems such as not being able to expect a significant improvement in drying efficiency.

On the other hand, the latter method of increasing the temperature of the laundry to enhance the dehydration effect and then drying it can be expected to significantly shorten the drying time, but it may cause the heating pipe to stick to the outer periphery of the drum, and the steam or heating oil may not flow into the heating pipe. Piping for supply and discharge, installation of a generator for the steam or heating oil, etc. are required,
Structural complexity.

There were problems such as the aircraft becoming larger and the cost increasing.

The purpose of the present invention is to eliminate the problems of the prior art described above, improve the drying performance (thermal efficiency) of a fully automatic washer/dryer, and shorten the drying time without complicating the structure or increasing the size of the machine. It's about doing.

[Means to solve the problem]

In order to achieve the above object, in the present invention, the drying mechanism of a fully automatic washer/dryer is provided by disposing a circulation fan at the upper part of the side plate of the water tank that supports the drum horizontally at both ends, and at the center of the drum. A recessed part with a large number of small holes is formed in the circular plane part, and a heating chamber containing a heater (sheathed heater) serving as a heat source for drying is arranged in the recessed part. and a hot air supply mechanism for supplying hot air to the drum, which communicates the discharge port of the circulation fan with the heating chamber, and a duct rising from the drain port at the bottom of the water tank, connected to the suction port of the circulation fan; A water sprinkling nozzle that sprays cooling water is installed in the middle of the duct, and water from the tap is supplied to the water nozzle, and humid air containing evaporated water from the laundry is discharged from the drum. and a dehumidifying mechanism that cools the air and condenses the moisture contained therein, and during the drying process, the temperature of the humid air circulating in the order of the hot air supply mechanism, the inside of the drum, and the dehumidifying mechanism is adjusted to the inlet side of the dehumidifying mechanism, or Drying operation is performed while being detected by a temperature sensor installed on the outlet side, and the temperature of the laundry increases, and the temperature of the circulating humid air increases to a preset temperature (for example, material preheating for the drying process shown in Figure 4). When the temperature reaches or exceeds the temperature th in the period, the drum is rotated at high speed to perform dehydration operation. After the dewatering operation, the drying operation is performed again to dry the laundry.

In addition, in the above-described drying process, cooling water is supplied to the dehumidifying mechanism throughout the drying process or after the dehydration operation during the drying process.

[Effect]

In the drying process that follows the above configuration and washing, rinsing, and dehydration processes, the dehydration operation adopted in the drying process is performed by circulating moist air in the order of the hot air supply mechanism, the inside of the drum, and the dehumidification mechanism. Since the temperature of the laundry is increased before the dehydration is performed, the viscosity coefficient of the water contained in the laundry is reduced, thereby increasing the centrifugal dewatering effect in the dehydration operation. Furthermore, in order to increase the temperature of the laundry, the humid air is circulated in the order of the hot air supply mechanism, the inside of the drum, and the dehumidification mechanism, so that the amount of heat supplied from the heater of the hot air supply mechanism can be efficiently used for washing. Can transfer heat to objects. As a result, a large amount of water contained in the laundry stored in the drum is removed at an early stage of the drying process, so that it is possible to improve drying performance and shorten drying time. In addition, the temperature of the laundry is raised only after the spin-drying process is complete and the amount of water contained in the laundry has decreased, reducing the amount of heat (sensible heat) used to raise the temperature of the laundry. can.

〔Example〕

Hereinafter, the present invention will be explained based on the drawings. FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view showing the configuration of a drum-type fully automatic washing and drying mechanism to which an embodiment of the present invention is applied, and FIG. Block diagram showing the control configuration of the fully automatic washer/dryer, Figure 3~
FIG. 6 is a characteristic diagram showing the relationship between time during drying operation and the temperature of circulating humid air.

In FIG. 1, a mechanical part 1 that operates from washing to drying has a water tank 2 supported by a buffer device (not shown) and an outer frame (
(not shown). The water tank 2 that stores washing water and rinsing water is composed of a cylindrical body part 2a and end plates 2b and 2c, and has an input port 2d for loading and unloading the laundry A into the drum 4,
A drain port 2e for washing water and rinse water, a water inlet 2f for tap water supplied through the water supply valve 24, and a ventilation port 2g that is opened to blow air to the drum 4 during drying and to which the discharge port 16c of the circulation fan 16 is connected. , is drilled. A water tank lid 3 is attached to the input port 2d.

The drum 4, which serves both as a washing tub and a dehydrating tub, and also as a drying container during drying, has a cylindrical portion 5° and an end plate 6. End plate 7
The end plate 4 of the water tank 2 is horizontally supported in the center of the length of the end plate 4, and is housed in the water tank 2. The cylindrical portion 5 includes a plurality of glue lids 5a arranged at equal intervals on the inner circumference toward the center, small holes 5b with a diameter of 4 to 6 mm drilled over the entire inner circumference, and a laundry bag. In order to put in and take out A, the drum lid 5d is provided with an inlet 5c1 which is opened by cutting out the center part, and a locking device attached with a butterfly on the inlet 5c. The lifter 5a stirs the laundry A during washing, rinsing, and drying, and the small hole 5b functions as a dehydration hole during a dehydration operation and as a humid air discharge hole during a drying operation. The end plate 6 becomes the hot air blowing side during drying, and has a recessed part 6a formed in the center.
The end plate 7 has a large number of small holes 6b for blowing out hot air, which are bored in the outer periphery of the circular plane of the recessed part 6a.
It has the same shape as , and has a recessed part 7a and a large number of small holes 7b for discharging humid air. The drum 4 configured in this way,
As described above, in order to rotate the end plate 6 by receiving it rotatably in the water tank 2, a rotary shaft 8 which integrates the pub part 8a and the shaft part 8b is fixed at the center of the end plate 6. At the center of the plate 6, a rotary shaft 9, which is an integral part of a pub portion 9a and a shaft portion 9b, is fixed, and a drum driving pulley 10 is fastened to the rotary shaft 9.

The drive mechanism for rotating the drum 4 described above includes a capacitor induction motor 11 (hereinafter simply referred to as a motor) disposed at the bottom of the water tank 2, and its input shaft is connected to the output shaft of the motor 11 through a shaft coupling 12. The belt transmission mechanism includes a reduction gear 13 capable of switching the rotational speed, a pulley 14 fastened to the output shaft of the reduction gear 13, the pulley 10, and a belt 15. The motor 11 moves the drum 4 during washing, rinsing and drying.
It is decelerated by the deceleration device 13 and the belt transmission mechanism, and the speed is reduced to 40 to 60
Rotation speed: 0.5 to 2 rpm or forward rotation
．． 5 rotations stop (turn off the power to motor 11) 0.3~2
．． 0 seconds - reverse rotation 0.5~2.5 rotation integral stop 0.3~2.0
During dehydration, it is rotated forward and reverse at a cycle of seconds (when continuously rotated in one direction without turning off the power, the rotation speed is reversed at a speed reduction ratio of 80 to 120 rpm), and during dehydration, First, it is rotated at 80 to 12 rpm, and then it is rotated at high speed (for example, 6
00~11l 100rp. The speed reduction device 13 is configured by combining a gear speed reduction section 13a and a clutch section 13b, and is equipped with a solenoid or switching motor 13c (shown in FIG. 2) for operating switching of the clutch section. The rotation is decelerated during washing, rinsing, and drying, and output without deceleration during spin-drying (however, during high-speed rotation).

Next, to explain the configuration of the drying mechanism, the drying mechanism includes a hot air supply mechanism that supplies hot air to the drum 4, and a laundry A
The hot air supply system is composed of a drum 4 that accommodates the air, and a dehumidification mechanism that dehumidifies the humid air discharged from the drum 4 and returns it to the hot air supply mechanism. In the hot air supply mechanism, during drying, the impeller 16a is rotated by the fan motor 16d (shown in FIG. 2) to remove the humid air dehumidified by the dehumidifying mechanism.
From the outlet 16b of the circulation fan 16 to the end plate 2b of the water tank 2
Air is blown to the heating chamber 17 formed inside the center of the heating chamber 1.
It is heated by a heater (such as an electrically insulated sheathed heater) 18 housed in the drum 7 and supplied to the drum 4. In the dehumidifying mechanism, during drying, the drum 4 contains water that has evaporated from the laundry A.
The humid air discharged from the duct 1 is disposed between the drain port 4e of the water tank 4 and the suction port 16c of the circulation fan 16.
9, where the water spray nozzle 2 attached to the duct 19
Cooling water is sprayed from zero to lower its temperature, condensing a portion of the contained moisture (moisture evaporated from the laundry A), and sending it to the suction port 16c of the circulation fan 16.

The drain valve (electromagnetic valve) 21 is connected to the drain port 4e and the duct 19.
A drainage hose 22 is connected to the discharge pipe. The water supply valve (electromagnetic valve) 23 is connected to the water supply valve 24 and the water supply valve 25.
It has a common tap water inlet 23a and independent discharge ports 24a, 25a, and when washing and rinsing, the water supply valve 24 opens and the water tap (not shown) is integrated. ) and the water supply hose 26 that connects the inlet 23a.
, a water injection hose 27 connecting the discharge port 24a and the water injection port 4f
, tap water is injected into the water tank 2 from the water inlet 4f, and when it is dry, the water supply valve 25 is opened and the water supply hose 26 is passed through the small diameter tube 28 connecting the discharge port 25a and the water nozzle 20. Tap water is sprayed into the duct 19.

The water level sensor 29 is connected to a small diameter tube 3 located downward in the water tank 2.
When water is supplied for washing and rinsing, the water supply valve 2 detects the pressure that fluctuates as the water level in the water tank 2 changes.
Control 4.

During the drying process, the temperature sensor 31 detects the temperature of the circulating humid air through a drain port 40 through which the humid air passes before being cooled by the cooling water tank, or a suction port through which the humid air passes after being cooled by the cooling water tank. 16c, and detects the temperature of humid air passing through the installed position. Then, in the drying process, a control device 32 (shown in FIG. 2) controls so that the dehydration operation is performed when the detected temperature reaches or exceeds a preset temperature.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the control structure of the fully automatic washer/dryer of this embodiment. In the figure, the control device 32 is
Microprocessor (central processing unit) 32a1 Memory (storage element ROM) 32 for storing the operating program
b, an interface (input/output signal processing device) 32c, and is equipped with an operation panel (keyboard and display panel) 33 for transmitting and receiving commands for turning off the power, starting operations, program progress, etc., and displaying the same. .

The above is the configuration of the fully automatic washer/dryer of the present invention. Next, the operation in each step will be explained.

The operation is started by putting laundry A and detergent into the drum 4, turning on the power switch on the operation panel 33, selecting an operation program, and inputting it.

Washing is performed by opening the water supply valve 24, supplying water to the water tank 4 up to a preset water level, detecting this water level with the water level sensor 29, closing the water supply valve 24, and simultaneously energizing the motor 11. It will be done. The motor 11 rotates, and its rotation is reduced in speed by a speed reduction device 13 and a belt transmission mechanism and transmitted to the drum 4.

As described above, the drum 4 rotates at 40 to 60 rpm or rotates in the normal direction and reverses in short cycles to apply an impact to the laundry A with the lifter 5a and agitate the laundry A to wash the laundry A. Then, when a predetermined cleaning time has elapsed, the motor 11 is stopped and the process moves to a rinsing process.

For rinsing, first open the drain valve 21 and drain the washing water.
Thereafter, a dewatering operation to be described later is carried out, and then water is supplied into the water tank 2 and the motor 11 is operated in the same manner as the washing process described above. Then, rinsing is performed a predetermined number of times, and the process ends.

Next, in the dewatering step, the drain valve 21 is energized to drain the rinse water, and then the motor 11 is energized and the rotation of the motor 11 is decelerated by the speed reduction device 13 and the belt transmission mechanism.
The drum 4 is rotated at a low speed (80 to 120 rpm), and after a predetermined period of time has elapsed, the switching motor 13c of the clutch 13b is energized, and the rotation of the motor 11 is decelerated only by the belt transmission mechanism. 4 at high speed (600~
11l 100rp, and finally drum 4
The laundry A stuck to the inner periphery of the drum 4 is loosened by applying short-cycle forward and reverse rotation to the drum 4.

Drying is carried out by motor 11. Fan motor 16d, heater 18
, drain valve 21. The water supply valves 25 are energized, the drain valve 21 and the water supply valve 25 are opened, and at the same time, the impeller 16a of the circulation fan 16 is rotated in the direction of the arrow P by the fan motor 16d, and the motor 11 rotates the drum 4 as in the washing process. It is started by rotating or reversing it forward and backward in short periods.

The laundry A in the drum 4 is agitated, while the air blown from the outlet 16b of the circulation fan 16 flows into the heating chamber 17.
The hot air is heated by the heater 18 and blown into the drum 4 through a small hole 6b formed in the recess 6a of the end plate 6 of the drum 4. The hot air comes into contact with the laundry A, raises the temperature of the laundry A, evaporates the water in the laundry A, lowers its temperature, becomes humid air containing the evaporated water, and blows through the small holes of the drum 4. It is discharged into the water tank 2 from 5b, 7b, etc. The humid air discharged into the outer tank 2 is led into the duct 19 through the drain port 4e, where it is introduced into the duct 19 through the water supply valve 25.
Cooling water D (tap water, the flow rate is 0.
2 to 0.4 g/min) is sprayed by the water spray nozzle 20. This spraying of the cooling water further lowers the temperature of the humid air, condenses the moisture it contains (reduces its absolute humidity), dehumidifies the air, and draws the air into the circulation fan 16 . The humid air sucked into the circulation fan 16 is heated again by the heater 18 to become hot air, which is then supplied into the drum 4. The temperature of the laundry A is raised during the drying operation (hereinafter referred to as water-cooled dehumidifying drying) by circulating humid air as shown by the arrow, which involves heating and dehumidifying as described above, and at the same time, the moisture contained therein is evaporated. After the above-mentioned water-cooled dehumidifying and drying operation has been performed for a predetermined period of time, or when the temperature of the circulating humid air is detected by the temperature sensor 31 and the temperature reaches the preset temperature jhq or te described below. Then, the power supply to the heater 18 and the water supply valve 25 is cut off, and a dehydration operation similar to the above-described dehydration process is performed.After the dehydration process is completed, the above-mentioned water-cooled dehumidification/drying operation is performed to dry the laundry A.

The above drying and its operating method will be explained in more detail with reference to FIGS. 3 to 6.

In Figures 3 and 4, a temperature sensor 31 is installed at the drain port 4e through which the circulating humid air passes before being cooled by the cooling water tank, and the temperature t of the humid air is measured and the temperature is then dried. It is a characteristic diagram expressed in relation to the operating time θ, and Fig. 3 shows the following:
Figure 4 shows the relationship between time θ and temperature t when dehydration is not performed in the drying process. When, as shown in Figure 3,
The temperature t of the humid air corresponding to the temperature of the laundry (it is well known that the two temperatures correspond) increases from 1+ (normal temperature) as time θ passes, and at time θ, the temperature 5 h
After that, the temperature is maintained at t□, increases again at time θ2, and reaches t at the end of drying. In this drying characteristic diagram, the ■ period when the temperature changes from t1 to t□ is the material preheating period;
The ■ period when the temperature is t2h is called a constant rate drying period, and the ■ period when the temperature rises from t2h is called a decreasing rate drying period. In the T period, the amount of heat supplied from the heater 18 increases the temperature of the laundry A and the moisture contained therein, and is spent on evaporating the moisture. The laundry A is dried by evaporating the moisture contained in the laundry A.

Therefore, in order to shorten the drying end time θ3, reducing the amount of water contained in laundry A before drying is as follows:
Naturally, the amount of water contained is fixed by the centrifugal dehydration effect at room temperature in the dehydration process. Therefore, in the drying process, at the beginning (when the water content is high), the temperature of laundry A is increased to lower the viscosity coefficient of the water contained,
If dehydration is performed, the centrifugal dehydration effect can be enhanced, and the time θ
, is predicted to be shortened.

FIG. 4 shows that when laundry A is dried by dehydration operation at the beginning of the above drying process, that is, the temperature of the humid air is also
The water cooling, dehumidifying and drying operation is performed until the preset time t is reached (time O8), and then the heater 18 and water supply valve 25 are turned on.
The electricity is cut off, a dehydration operation similar to the dehydration process is performed for a predetermined time (θe-O8), and then the water cooling dehumidification drying operation described above is performed to dry the laundry A. The time θ and the temperature of the moist air are An example of the relationship with t is shown. Compared to FIG. 3, it can be seen that although the period (2) is longer, the period (2) is shortened and the drying end time θ is shortened. As a specific example, the diameter of the drum 4 is 420 m, the high rotation speed of the drum in the dewatering process is 850 rpm, the dewatering operation time is 5 min,
The heat output of the heater is 1.10KW, and the supply flow rate of cooling water is 0.
．． 3 kg/min, the circulation rate of humid air is 0.8 back/mi
When the cotton cloth was washed, dehydrated, and dried by setting t = 20°C and t = 50°C, the drying completion time θ shown in Fig. 4 was changed to the drying completion time shown in Fig. 3. time θ,
The result was a reduction of 8 to 15%.

5 and 6, a temperature sensor 31 is installed in the suction hole 16c of the circulation fan 16 through which the circulating humid air passes after being cooled by a cooling water tank, and the temperature t of the humid air is measured. FIG. 3 is a characteristic diagram showing the relationship with drying operation time θ.

Therefore, FIG. 5 corresponds to the above-mentioned FIG. 3, and FIG. 6 corresponds to the above-mentioned FIG. 4, respectively, and j2e+te is t
This is the temperature after cooling the humid air for 2h+th. Note that in period (2), the temperature of the humid air after cooling shows a downward trend.

In addition, in the drying operation described above, the temperature of the humid air is
Until the preset th or te is reached, humid air is heated and circulated without supplying cooling water.
Even if the supply of cooling water is started after the dehydration operation, the same effect as the above result can be obtained.

The above is one embodiment related to the drying operation method of the present invention,
According to this embodiment, the drying mechanism includes the aforementioned hot air supply mechanism that blows hot air from the center of the drum, the drum to which the hot air is supplied, and the spraying of cooling water on the humid air discharged from the drum. A dehumidifying mechanism that dehumidifies, can be configured with a small and simple structure, and can be used at the beginning of the drying process (material preheating period).
In addition, the temperature of the laundry is raised using the humid air circulating through the drying mechanism, and a dehydration operation is performed to remove a large amount of water contained in the laundry and dry it, thereby shortening the drying time. In order to raise the temperature of the laundry before the spin-drying operation, the humid air is heated and circulated by the drying mechanism after the spin-drying process is completed and the moisture content in the laundry is reduced. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the amount of heat consumed to raise the temperature of the laundry, and the amount of heat supplied from the heater can be efficiently transferred to the laundry.

The above is an embodiment of the present invention, and in the present invention, even if the dehydration operation performed during the drying process is performed at the beginning of the constant rate drying period (period ■), the drying time can be shortened. Further, instead of attaching a temperature sensor, the drying time can be shortened by performing a drying operation for a predetermined time, then performing a dehydration operation, and then performing a drying operation.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As explained above, according to the present invention, in a fully automatic washer/dryer that automatically performs everything from washing to drying, the drying mechanism is replaced by a hot air supply mechanism that blows hot air from the center of the drum, and a hot air supply mechanism that blows hot air from the center of the drum. Drums (drying containers) supplied,
The dehumidifying mechanism is configured to dehumidify the humid air by spraying cooling water on the humid air discharged from the drum, and after the dehydration process, in the drying process, the humid air is heated and circulated to raise the temperature of the laundry and dehydrate it. By adopting a drying operation method in which the laundry is dried using water-cooled dehumidifying drying, it is possible to shorten drying time and improve drying efficiency (thermal efficiency) without increasing the size or complexity of the machine.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view showing the configuration of a fully automatic washer/dryer to which an embodiment of the present invention is applied; FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the control configuration of the fully automatic washer/dryer of FIG. 1; 3 to 6 are characteristic diagrams showing the relationship between time and the temperature of circulating humid air during drying operation.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A fully automatic washer/dryer that automatically performs everything from washing to drying, comprising: a hot air supply mechanism equipped with a circulation fan and a heater that supplies heated air to a drying container; and the heated air. A drying container containing laundry, into which air is blown, and a dehumidifying mechanism that sprays water to cool and dehumidify the air discharged from the drying container, and returns the air to the hot air supply mechanism. In the drying process, the drying operation initially increases the temperature of the laundry in the drying container and heats and circulates the air in the drying mechanism, followed by the dehydration operation in which the drying container is rotated at high speed. A drying operation method for a fully automatic washer/dryer, comprising the steps of: drying the laundry by a drying operation in which air in the drying mechanism is heated and circulated while being dehumidified. 2. The drying operation method for a fully automatic washer/dryer according to claim 1, further comprising: installing a temperature sensor in the drying mechanism to detect the temperature of the air circulating through the drying mechanism during the drying operation; A drying operation method for a fully automatic washer/dryer, characterized in that the dehydration operation is performed when the temperature of the washing machine reaches a preset temperature. 3. In the drying operation method for a fully automatic washer/dryer according to claim 2, the temperature sensor detects the temperature of the air drained from the drying container or the air after passing through the dehumidification mechanism, and the temperature of the air is When the temperature reaches the preset temperature,
A drying operation method for a fully automatic washer/dryer characterized by performing dehydration operation.