KR100438106B1 - A washing and drying machine - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a laundry dryer having two functions as an air dehumidifying means and a water cooling dehumidifying means as a dehumidifying unit, which supplies warm air into the water tank (5) through a dehumidifying unit (14) during a drying operation so that laundry can be dried. In a laundry dryer, the dehumidifying unit 14 is composed of an air-cooled dehumidifying means 20 and a water-cooling dehumidifying means 24, and each operation thereof is automatically selected based on the ambient environmental conditions. It is characterized in that the operation by the air-cooled dehumidification means and the water-cooled dehumidification means used at the time of operation can be selected according to the use conditions.

Description

Laundry Dryer {A WASHING AND DRYING MACHINE}

The present invention relates to a laundry dryer having two functions as an air dehumidification means and a water cooling dehumidification means.

Background Art Conventionally, a laundry dryer for arranging a vertical rotary bath for accommodating laundry in a water tank and automatically performing washing to drying has been provided. However, in general, in a washing operation having a plurality of different strokes such as washing, rinsing, and dehydration, it is inherently a drying administration alone and requires a long time for such drying operation, and also allows a drying allowance of laundry that can be dried at one time. It is easy to become a relatively small amount compared to the washing allowance. This is because the laundry expands greatly as the drying proceeds, and spreading widely during drying requires a relatively large space space (rotary bath) in order to obtain a constant and good drying performance.

Thus, a laundry dryer equipped with an air-cooled dehumidifier has been developed to improve the drying efficiency. As is well known, this configuration is intended to condense and remove moisture by cooling exhaust hot air containing a large amount of moisture after contributing to drying by ambient air, and to heat the so-called dehumidified air again for use in the drying operation.

It is reliably effective as a cooling action for dehumidification if the outside air put in as cold wind is below a predetermined temperature, and it has the advantage of being able to dry efficiently with less operation cost at the time of dry temperature with a relatively simple structure.

By the way, in the case of employing such an air-cooled dehumidification means, the outside air used for cooling is heat-exchanged, and the temperature naturally rises. As a result, the surrounding environment temperature rises, and the temperature of the whole outside air put in for cooling increases due to the influence of the environmental conditions of the temperature rise, and the cooling effect effective for dehumidification decreases. In some cases, a long and desired improvement in drying performance could not be obtained. Therefore, it is generally conceivable to employ a water-cooled dehumidifier with good dehumidification performance. However, in general, tap water is often used as cooling water as a heat exchange medium, and a large amount of water is consumed every time a drying operation requiring a relatively long time is required. In addition, when the operating cost is high and the water temperature of the cooling water is high, there is a problem in that sufficient dehumidification performance is not obtained.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and therefore its object is to provide an air dehumidification means and a water cooling dehumidification means as a dehumidification unit for obtaining an efficient drying performance. It is to provide a laundry dryer that can be selected according to the conditions of use.

1 is a partially broken side view showing a schematic configuration of the entire laundry dryer in the first embodiment of the present invention;

2 is a plan view showing a schematic layout of the entire upper side;

3 is an enlarged cross-sectional view showing a main part;

4 is an enlarged front view of the operation panel;

5 is a view for explaining the temperature characteristics and operation in the drying stroke,

6 is a view showing the setting contents and selection criteria of the dehumidification means;

7 is a correspondence of FIG. 3 showing a second embodiment of the present invention, and

It is sectional drawing cut | disconnected along the A-A line | wire of FIG.

* Explanation of symbols for main parts of the drawings

1: main body 3: control panel

4: controller 5: water tank

8: rotating tank 9: drive motor

12: hot air circulation path 14, 37: dehumidification unit

17, 38: heat exchanger 18: cooling fan device

19: wind tunnel (cooling stove) 20, 40: air-cooled dehumidifier (air-cooled dehumidification means)

21: water supply switching valve (water supply means) 22: water passage (water supply means)

24, 41: water-cooled dehumidifier (water-cooled dehumidification means) 26: high temperature sensor

27: outside temperature sensor 36: dehumidification selection switch

39: cold air duct

In order to achieve the above object, the laundry dryer of the present invention is a dewaterable water tank, a rotating tank installed in the water tank to accommodate laundry, and both ends are formed in communication with the water tank, and a warm air circulation path having a hot air generating device along the upstream of the circulation path. And a dehumidifying unit for condensing and removing moisture from the air sent to the side, wherein the dehumidifying unit has an air cooling dehumidifying means and a water cooling dehumidifying means, and the operation of the air cooling or water cooling dehumidifying means is carried out to the ambient environment conditions during the drying operation. It was made possible to select automatically based on the invention (invention of Claim 1).

According to this structure, it can select automatically under the conditions suitable for air-cooled or water-cooled dehumidification means, can exhibit sufficient dehumidification performance, can suppress operating cost at the time of operation, and can expect efficient drying performance, and also has complicated operation setting. It is convenient because it is not required.

In addition, as described in Claim 1, the ambient environmental conditions are set based on the temperature of the outside air used for cooling of a dehumidification unit, or the water supply temperature conditions for water cooling (invention of Claim 2).

According to this configuration, it is possible to easily obtain the outside air and water as a medium for heat exchange, and to prepare at the optimum conditions of the air-cooled and water-cooled dehumidification means using these temperatures as the ambient environmental conditions, and to easily set the conditions. Has the advantage.

Moreover, the air-cooled dehumidification means of Claim 1 comprised the 2-layer pipe structure, formed the warm air circulation path inside, and formed the cooling air path by outside air in the outer side (invention of Claim 3).

According to such a structure, the cooling wind in a cooling wind can exhibit the cooling effect by the enclosed outside air reliably, and the inside warm air circulation path surrounds the whole circumference with cold wind, and heat exchange between them becomes effective effectively, especially the outside air temperature is As the temperature is lower, the cooling capacity is increased, and as a result, the dehumidification performance as the air-cooled dehumidification means can be sufficiently exhibited.

Further, according to claim 1, the operation by air-cooled or water-cooled dehumidification means in the drying operation is automatically switched to selection in accordance with the progress of the drying administration (invention of claim 4).

According to such a structure, the dehumidification means suitable for this can be selected and set according to the progress of a change in high temperature characteristics, etc. in a drying process, and the effective dehumidification performance can be drawn out, and a constant and efficient drying operation is possible.

Further, according to claim 4, the progress of the drying administration includes the preheating period in the early stage of the drying operation, the constant rate period in which dehumidification is effective, and the reduction rate period in which dehumidification is almost finished. It is characterized in that it is divided into strokes, and a dehumidification means is selected and set for each of the stroke sections (claim 5).

According to such a configuration, the drying administration is specifically divided into three strokes, each of which is characterized by a specific function, and a suitable dehumidification means is selected and set for each division so that dehumidification operation can be performed effectively and the operating cost can be reduced. .

The air conditioner and the water-cooling dehumidification means according to claim 1 or 4 are characterized in that they can be operated simultaneously (invention of claim 6).

According to such a configuration, in particular, the ambient environmental conditions such as the outside temperature affecting the dehumidification performance may be undesirable. In such a case, it is possible to obtain a dehumidification performance suitable for the operation by simultaneously operating two dehumidification means. Improvement of drying performance by utilizing dehumidification function can be expected.

In addition, the cooling air path of the air-cooling dehumidification means of Claim 1 or 4 was comprised by the wind tunnel which can supply a part of cold air to the outer periphery of a tank (invention of Claim 7).

According to such a structure, heat exchange is performed through the water tank by cold air flowing toward the outer periphery of the water tank, and therefore, a dehumidification action can be promoted even through the water tank. Also preferably, the cold wind flows to cool the lower region of the water tank.

In addition, in order to achieve the above object, the laundry dryer of the present invention is a dewaterable tank, a rotating tank installed in the tank to accommodate laundry, both end portions are formed in communication with the water tank and the warm air circulation passage having a warm air generating device on the way And a dehumidifying unit arranged to be located upstream of the circulation path to condense and remove moisture from the sent air, wherein the water tank is made of a polypropylene-based glass fiber composite material (invention of claim 8).

According to such a configuration, the water tank is excellent in heat resistance, can be sufficiently utilized as a drying chamber supplied with warm air, and it is possible to raise the hot air temperature required for drying, and is connected to the improvement of the drying performance, and the water tank is easy to mold. It also has the advantage that it can be manufactured.

In addition, in order to achieve the above object, the laundry dryer of the present invention includes a water tank capable of storing water, a rotating tank installed in the tank to accommodate laundry, and both ends connected to the water tank to form a warm air circulation path and the circulation path. A dehumidification unit is provided by condensing moisture in air sent and disposed upstream of the dehumidification unit, and the dehumidification unit has an air cooling dehumidifying means and a water cooling dehumidifying means, and the operation by air cooling or water cooling dehumidifying means can be arbitrarily selected in a drying operation. It is characterized by one (invention of claim 9).

According to this configuration, since the user can select an arbitrary dehumidification means by manual operation, the number of selection increases by that amount, and it is practical to perform a drying operation in accordance with the user's intention.

(1st embodiment)

Hereinafter, a first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 6.

First, Fig. 1 is a longitudinal sectional side view showing a part of the entire construction of a laundry dryer, and a lid 2 for opening and closing a door of a laundry is provided at the center of the upper surface of the main body 1 forming the outline. As will be described later, an operation panel 3 having various selection switches is arranged, and inside it, a control device 4 composed mainly of a microcomputer for controlling the first half of the washing and drying operation is provided. .

Inside the main body 1, a tubular tub 5 having a water storage bottom having an upper surface opened is provided through a plurality of elastic support devices 10 (only one is shown), and the drain hole at the lowest portion thereof ( The drain valve 6 is connected to 5a), and is led out of the washing machine via the drain hose 7. In addition, the water tank (5) is made of a synthetic resin, for example, molded from a composite material containing 15 wt% or more of glass fiber based on polypropylene, and heat-resistant reinforcement is performed to use the water tank (5) as a drying chamber. have.

And inside the water tank 5, the rotating tank 8 which accommodates laundry and combines a washing tank and a dehydration tank is rotatably arrange | positioned. This rotating tank 8 is made of a metal or metal-based rigid configuration, and opens a substantially same upper surface as the water tank 5, and has a vertical length having a plurality of through holes 8a in the entire circumferential wall including the bottom portion. A cylindrical shape is formed, and a stirring body 9 is rotatably provided at the center of the inner bottom part, and a balancing ring 8b is fixed to the upper end part. By the way, the rotating tank (8) and the stirring body (9) in the washing stroke through the clutch mechanism (not shown) to be driven to rotate by the drive motor 11 mounted to the outer bottom of the water tank (5) ) Is driven, and the stirring body 9 and the rotating tank 8 are rotationally driven together during the dehydration stroke or the drying operation. However, at the time of drying operation, the rotating tank 8 is controlled by low speed rotation compared with dehydration operation.

The hot air circulation passage 12 is formed at the inner edge portion of the main body 1 so as to surround the upper end portion from the lower end portion to the upper side portion of the water tank 5 of the above configuration, and circulates and supplies the warm air in the water tank 5. . That is, each of the ducts in which the warm air circulation passage 12 opens at a position where the lower end of one end communicates with the drain port 5a near the lower part of the water tank 5 and the other end is opened toward the upper surface opening of the water tank 5 is provided. 13a, 13b, the water tank 5 which is formed through the dehumidification unit 14 provided in the middle position, and which contains the rotating tank 8, and the duct 13 and the dehumidification unit 14 as the outer side. A passageway in communication is formed.

In addition, a so-called hot air generator is formed on the downstream side of the dehumidifying unit 14 by sequentially arranging the blower 15 and the drying heater 16. Then, the hot air circulation path 12 is formed with the duct 13, the dehumidifying unit 14, and the warm air generating device through the water tank 5. 2 is a view showing a schematic arrangement of the structure seen from above the main body 1, and the warm air circulation path 12 and the dehumidification unit 14 are arranged at the corners of the main body 1.

Here, with reference to Figure 3 with respect to the specific configuration of the dehumidification unit 14, the area constituting the dehumidification unit 14 between the hot air circulation path 12 is particularly the inner and outer surfaces in this embodiment A heat exchanger (17) formed in a corrugated shape and provided with a cooling fan device (18) for supplying outside air as cold air to the circumferential side of the heat exchange unit (17), and guiding the cold air downward to form a so-called cooling air passage. A rectangular tubular wind tunnel 19 is provided to surround the upper portion of the heat exchange unit 17. As a result, the outside air driven by the cooling fan device 18 is driven to the wind tunnel 19 as the cold air by flowing the air (exhaust air wind) flowing upward in the arrow direction shown in the heat exchanger 17. By flowing the outer side of (17) downward, the inside air becomes cold, moisture is condensed and dripped, and the air-cooled dehumidifier 20 which removes moisture from what is called air is comprised.

In this case, the wind tunnel 19 has a rectangular cylindrical shape covering the upper part of the heat exchange part 17 and is open in the lower part. Since the wind tunnel 19 is disposed adjacent to the upper part of the water tank 5, part of the cold wind is removed from the water tank ( It flows along the outer peripheral wall surface of 5), and cools the lower half part of the said water tank 5. As shown in FIG. As a result, a partial heat exchange is performed between the internal exhaust air and the air via the water tank 5, and the dehumidification action by the cooling condensation of the water is promoted.

In addition, the water supply means for injecting the cooling water into the upper portion of the heat exchange unit 17 is provided. The water supply means is at least two branches from the water supply switching valve 21 connected to a water supply source such as tap water, and at least two branches from the water supply switching valve 21, one of which communicates inside the upper portion of the heat exchange unit 17, thereby providing a small amount of cooling water. A water passage 22 for flowing water as a water, and a water passage 23 for supplying a large amount of water as washing water toward the inside of the water tank 5. Therefore, a small amount of water is supplied from the water passage 22 as cooling water into the heat exchange part 17 so that it contacts and cools the air moving upward in the heat exchange part 17, whereby water in the air condenses. It is dehumidified.

The water supply means for supplying an appropriate amount of water for cooling is provided in the heat exchange unit 17 to function as a so-called water-cooled dehumidifier 24, and the dehumidification unit 14 is provided with two air-cooling and water-cooling dehumidifying means. to be. In particular, in the present embodiment, the heat exchange part 17 is formed in a corrugated shape as described above to increase the heat exchange area and enable heat exchange efficiently, and furthermore, a stirring rib 25 is provided on the inner lower part of the heat exchange part 17. The air flowing therein is derived from reflux to promote constant contact with the cooling water, and the cooling water itself is also scattered to further improve contact with water and air.

Therefore, the dry air dehumidified via the dehumidification unit 14 is efficiently warmed by the blower 15 and the heater 16 which are the warm air generators arranged downstream, and the water tank 5 via the duct 13b. Supplied to.

In addition, although the detailed installation structure is omitted in the dehumidification unit 14 having the two dehumidification means or the warm air circulation path 12 in which the warm air generating device is arranged in the middle, it is connected and fixed to the elastically supported water tank 5 side, and thus the outside air is The cooling fan device 18 to put the is also elastically installed and supported in a position facing outward of the main body (1).

3, the internal temperature sensor 26 is arrange | positioned in the vicinity of the inlet of the duct 13a in the upstream area | region of the drain valve 6, for example as shown in FIG. The internal temperature sensor 26 detects the water temperature during the water supply process to the water tank 5 for washing water supplied to the washing or rinsing during the washing operation, and inputs the detection signal to the control device 4 at all times. Update the latest data. On the other hand, in the drying operation, the warm air temperature as exhaust wind after contributing to drying is detected at the inlet of the warm air circulation path 14, and the detection signal is also input to the control device 4.

Moreover, the outside air temperature sensor 27 which measures the outside air (indoor) temperature on the front side of the cooling fan apparatus 18, the detection signal is input into the control apparatus 4. As shown in FIG. In this way, the control device 4 starts the washing operation as well as the operation of the dehumidification unit 14 according to the program stored in advance on the basis of the detection result of various temperatures as the ambient environmental conditions and the operation input of various selection switches described later. Then, the operation is automatically controlled throughout the drying operation (the details will be described later).

4 is an enlarged front view showing the operation panel 3, and when discussing the main ones as the various selection switches described above, the course selection switch starts with having the power switch 28 or the start switch 29 on the right side. 30 and the drying changeover switch 31, and the display parts 30a and 31a which lightly display the course selected corresponding to them. On the left side, there are selector switches 32 to 35 which can select setting conditions for each stroke of washing, rinsing, dehydration and drying, and have display sections 32a to 35a corresponding to the same. The dehumidification selection switch 36 is provided in the center portion, and the display portion 36a is configured to display a light so as to select from three types of "water cooling dehumidification, air cooling dehumidification, and automatic dehumidification".

In addition, the display unit 37 displays a display relating to the overall operation. For example, although illustration and description are omitted, the amount of laundry corresponding to the amount of laundry measured by the quantity detection unit at the start of the washing operation is notified or reserved. The time and the remaining time during operation are displayed.

In addition, the start switch 29 is controlled to start operation when pressed once and operated, and when pressed during operation, the operation is stopped, and when operated again, the operation is continued to resume.

In addition, since FIG. 5 shows the characteristic of the temperature change in the inside of the water tank 5 at the time of a drying operation, especially the high temperature characteristic shown here is 20 degreeC of outside air (indoor) temperature as ambient environmental conditions. In the example, a model case is used as a reference according to the specific operation of the drying operation.

Hereinafter, a detailed description will be made based on FIG. 5. First, in a drying operation, three strokes may be specifically classified according to three phenomena according to their progress.

That is, it is divided into the "preheating period" seen in the early stage of drying, the "constant period" in which dehumidification is especially active, and the "decrease period" which is the finishing period in which drying is advanced and dehumidification is completed. Among them, immediately after the start of the "preheating period", the current outside air temperature is said to be the same as the inside temperature, and the inside temperature characteristics based on the inside temperature sensor 26 correspond to a period of rapid rise from 20 ° C to about 50 ° C.

In this phenomenon, the drying heater 16 is turned on and energized, generates heat, and acts as a so-called hot air generator, and starts supplying warm air from the duct 13b of the warm air circulation path 12 into the tank 5 inside the refrigerator. In addition, since the laundry contained in the rotary tank 8 in the water tank 5 contains a large amount of water immediately after finishing washing (dehydration), the so-called cold water is in a cold state. The inside of the shell) starts a rapid temperature rise, and heat exchange with the laundry at the initial stage of the drying operation is low in efficiency and the temperature rise due to the warm air is large and continues for a predetermined time. Therefore, the dehumidification performance in the dehumidification unit 14 is also a period that can not be greatly exhibited, it is good enough to perform the operation using the dehumidification unit 14 as necessary.

In the meantime, when the internal temperature reaches about 50 ° C, the rapid temperature rise stops and the temperature characteristic rises slightly close to the flat shape. This phenomenon causes the laundry to actively dry and the drying rate reaches about 95%. Corresponds to "long term period" for a relatively long time until next. The stroke until the drying rate reaches about 95% is carried out efficiently for drying the laundry, and the heat exchange effect against the constantly supplied warm air is balanced to achieve sufficient dehumidification performance. It is kept at a constant temperature.

Therefore, in this period, since the effective drying action can be obtained by using the dehumidification unit 14, it is the air-cooled dehumidifier 20 of the dehumidification unit 14 or the water-cooled dehumidifier 24 according to the ambient environmental conditions such as the outside air. The period suitable for dehumidification operation of the selected dehumidification operation or both functions simultaneously.

In addition, when the drying process proceeds and the drying rate reaches about 95% as described above, the process proceeds to the "decrease period" and may be referred to as the period of final drying. In this case, the control according to the drying rate inputs the detection result of the exhaust temperature of the internal temperature sensor 26, for example, and the control unit 4 has reached a drying rate of about 95% based on the pre-stored data. To determine that. However, in this stroke period, when it reaches about 60 ° C, which is referred to as the internal temperature, it exhibits a rapidly rising temperature characteristic, after which the heater 16 is turned off and circulation supply according to the blowing (cold wind) is continued, and then the total operating time is It corresponds to period to end.

In this case, as shown in the drawing, the heater 16 is turned off at about 72 ° C in the present embodiment. However, the heater 16 exhibits a tendency to increase temporarily even afterwards by the excess amount that has been warmed up to now. In particular, when the drying operation proceeds to this "decrease rate period", the drying operation of the laundry proceeds considerably, and the drying rate reaches about 95%. Accordingly, the warm air supplied while the heater 16 is ON is operating. This is because the heat exchange tends to be small and the heating tendency due to the warm air is increased in the furnace.

However, although the phenomenon showing this high temperature shows a general tendency in the model case shown in Fig. 5, it is usually necessary to increase the temperature by about 30 DEG C more than the temperature of the above-mentioned "continuity period" for better drying. Therefore, in this administrative period, the dehumidification performance is lower than that of the previous term "constant period", and it is shortly terminated. However, in the beginning, the warming by the heater 16 is also performed, and when the dehumidification unit 14 is used, Since it is certain that there is a tendency to be improved, depending on the ambient environment conditions, either dehumidifying means of air cooling or water cooling is selected and executed.

In this way, the drying administration is specifically classified into three types of "preheating period, potency period, deceleration period", and depending on the progress of these administrations, in the case of using or dehumidifying the dehumidification unit 14, depending on the ambient air condition or air cooling By selecting the dehumidifying means, and selecting them to function at the same time again, while exhibiting an effective dehumidifying performance while suppressing the running cost at the time of operation, the drying performance can be improved, and an efficient drying operation can be expected.

In this regard, FIG. 6 shows various setting contents pre-programmed so that the dehumidification means can be selected by the dehumidification selection switch 36 of the operation panel 3 based on the model case according to the specific stroke disclosed in FIG. 5. It is a diagram showing. However, the selection means indicated by the so-called "water cooling dehumidification" and "air cooling dehumidification" on the display portion 36a of the operation panel 3 corresponds to the dehumidification means of "manual water cooling" in FIG. 6, and the latter " It is equivalent to the dehumidification means of manual air cooling ", and a user can select arbitrary dehumidification means in any dry operation by manual operation.

In contrast, in the " automatic dehumidification " of the display section 36a, the dehumidification means is automatically selected according to the ambient environmental conditions such as the outside air temperature and the cooling water temperature. In addition, as shown in FIG. Four dehumidification means of "automatic 1, 2, 3, 4" set as means are prepared. Then, it is determined by the control device 4 that inputs a detection signal by the outside air sensor 27 or the internal temperature sensor 26 based on the contents described in the "selection conditions" of the same drawing as the ambient environmental conditions. Dehumidification means corresponding to the selected, it is to be controlled.

Next, the operation of the laundry dryer having the above configuration will be described.

First, when the washing operation is briefly described, the laundry is put into the rotary tank 8 to operate the power switch 28 and the start switch 29 as described above, and the operation starts. Then, the amount of detergent corresponding to the laundry amount is added, and the water supply switching valve 21 and the water passage 23 which are water supply means are opened, and the washing water is supplied to a predetermined level. Subsequently, the driving motor 11 is energized and started, and the washing stroke is executed by the rotation operation of the stirring body 9. After a predetermined time, the washing motor is shifted to the rinsing stroke, and for example, two washings are performed in the same manner as the washing operation. In the dehydration stroke, the rotating tub 8 and the stirring body 9 are integrally rotated through a clutch mechanism (not shown) to dehydrate the laundry.

When this washing operation is complete | finished, it transfers to a drying operation. Here, the rotating tank 8 is rotated at a low speed, and the hot air generator comprising the blower 15 and the heater 16 is driven and supplied from the hot air circulation path 12 into the water tank 5 in which the warm air is stored. 8) Blow out the warm air with the laundry accommodated in the drying is carried out. The exhaust after contributing to the drying flows in the direction of the arrow shown through the through hole 8a of the rotating tank 8 to reach the bottom of the water tank 5, and is discharged from the duct 13a to the dehumidifying unit 14 side.

In the dehumidification selection switch 36, "auto dehumidification" is selected, and when both the outside air temperature and the cooling water temperature, which are the ambient environmental conditions, are detected, for example, 25 ° C or higher, the "automatic 4" shown in FIG. Dehumidification means is automatically selected, and dehumidification operation is executed. In this case, the outside air temperature is detected by the outside air temperature sensor 27, and the coolant temperature is controlled as the detection result by the result of detecting the temperature of the wash water by the high temperature sensor 26 in the water supply process during the previous washing operation. It is input to the apparatus 4. Therefore, when this "automatic 4" is selected, as shown in FIG. 6, the heat exchange part 17 of the dehumidification unit 14 is not used in the initial "preheating period", as shown in FIG. The cooling operation for dehumidification proceeds to the setting content of "no cooling" that is not performed.

Subsequently, when it progresses to a "constant period," two dehumidification means of "water cooling + air cooling" function simultaneously and dehumidification operation. This is because the environmental conditions inherent in both the outside air and the coolant temperature are 25 ° C or more inherently undesirable, so that the water-cooling and air-cooling dehumidification means are operated at the same time, and the setting contents are obtained to obtain a suitable maximum dehumidification performance under these conditions. . Therefore, the outside air as the cold wind is inserted in accordance with the rotational drive of the cooling fan device 18, guided to the wind tunnel 19 in the direction of the arrow shown, and sent out along the outer surface of the corrugated heat exchanger 17, Heat exchanges with the exhaust hot air in the heat exchange unit 17. In this case, since the heat exchange part 17 constituting a part of the warm air circulation path 12 has a wider surface area in the shape of a corrugation, heat exchange is effectively performed, thus effectively cooling the exhaust hot air and condensing the moisture contained therein. And so-called air-cooled dehumidifier 20 to dehumidify.

On the other hand, in the water supply switching valve 21, the water passage 22 for cooling water is opened, and a predetermined amount of water is supplied from the upper portion of the heat exchange unit 17. By this water supply, the exhaust temperature is brought into direct contact with water, cooled, and brought into contact with the stirring ribs 25 efficiently, and after the water is cooled, condensed and dipped to dehumidify, as a so-called water-cooled dehumidifier 24. It functions, and the condensed dropping water is discharged out of the washing machine in the drain valve (6). Thus, in the "constant period", as shown in Fig. 6, both dehumidification means of air cooling and water cooling are dehumidified at the same time, and the drying operation is also performed with the greatest dehumidification effect.

Subsequently, when the laundry is dried and judged by the controller 4 to reach a drying rate of about 95%, the process shifts to a "decrease period" called a finish drying period, and the heater 16 is also turned off in the middle. The drying process in the blowing (cold) state is performed. In this process, as shown in Fig. 6, the operation is switched to the operation of only the "air cooling" dehumidification means, the dehumidification operation is efficiently carried out while effectively performing the dehumidification in the reduced exhaust, and the motor 11 after a predetermined time. ), The cooling fan device 18, the blower 15, and the like are stopped, and the whole operation is finished.

However, in this period, as described above, the temperature in the water tank 5 which has been inflated by the excess even after the heater 16 is turned off reaches up to 90 ° C, which is 30 ° C higher than about 60 ° C in the "constant period". Good drying performance is achieved. In addition, the water tank 5, which functions as a drying chamber, needs a material having excellent heat resistance, and since the glass fiber is formed from a composite material of 15 wt% or more based on polypropylene as in the present embodiment, the heat resistance temperature is secured to approximately 100 ° C. In addition, it is possible to ensure reliability sufficient for supplying practically.

In the above, the case where "automatic dehumidification" is selected by the dehumidification selection switch 36 and the dehumidification means is set automatically according to the ambient environmental conditions, but the manual operation simply selected "water cooling dehumidification" or "air cooling dehumidification". In this case, as shown in FIG. 6, the dehumidification operation is performed according to the selection means only in the drying stroke, regardless of the surrounding environmental conditions.

In the case of "automatic dehumidification", when "automatic 1" shown in FIG. 6 is automatically selected and set as other environmental conditions, for example, this is a dehumidification performance due to air cooling because the temperature is lower than 15 ° C. It is in environmental condition that can fully exert Therefore, in such a case, it is possible to expect a desirable dehumidification action according to the advancement degree of the drying stroke as disclosed by the temperature characteristic of FIG. In this way, the operation is controlled to obtain the drying performance efficiently.

Thus, according to this embodiment, the following effects are obtained.

First, the present invention, in the laundry dryer for supplying warm air in the water tank (5) through the dehumidification unit 14 during the drying operation, the laundry can be dried, the dehumidification unit 14 is air-cooled dehumidification means and water-cooled dehumidification Means were also provided, and the operation by these air-cooled or water-cooled dehumidification means can be automatically selected and executed based on the ambient environmental conditions such as the outside air temperature.

In this way, air drying or water-cooling dehumidification means can be automatically selected and used according to the surrounding environmental conditions, so that sufficient dehumidification performance can be exhibited under each suitable condition. It is easy to use because it can expect drying performance and does not require complicated operation settings.

Further, as the surrounding environment, a setting suitable for exerting the dehumidifying performance on the basis of the detection result of the cooling air temperature (room temperature) used for the dehumidification means or the water supply temperature which is the wash water at the time of water supply can be set. In this case, in the above embodiment, a plurality of suitable dehumidifying means ("automatic 1-4") have been selected from the outside air temperature and the water supply temperature in FIG. 6, but the present invention is not limited thereto. For example, according to the selection conditions of FIG. It is possible to set "Auto 1, 2, 3" or "Auto 1, 3, 4" even on the basis of the outside air temperature, and it is possible to easily set the setting based on the water supply temperature. Even in this case, the same effects as those of the above embodiment can be expected.

However, since these two air-cooled and water-cooled dehumidification means can be operated at the same time, the dehumidification performance can be maximized. Therefore, even when the above-mentioned environmental conditions are not necessarily desirable, the two dehumidification means are operated simultaneously. As the setting contents, the dehumidification performance can be sufficiently exhibited, and the drying performance can be improved.

In addition, two dehumidification means are carefully selected and set according to each advance degree of the specific "preheating period, potency period, deceleration period" during a drying administration, and the dehumidification means which can exhibit dehumidification performance efficiently according to each administration period is selected. In addition, it is possible to expect an appropriate drying operation in consideration of the operation cost and drying effect at the time of operation.

On the other hand, the dehumidification means according to the ambient environmental conditions can be selected, and the dehumidification performance can be sufficiently exhibited as shown in the model case of FIG. It is possible to control, and it is possible to make the water tank 5 made of polypropylene, and in particular, since it is manufactured by combining 15 wt% or more of glass fibers as in this embodiment, it is possible to increase the reliability against heat resistance, and furthermore, The water tank 5 can be provided practically enough as a drying chamber, etc., also connected to show a large drying performance under high temperature, and can be manufactured easily by mold shaping | molding.

Moreover, since the wind tunnel 19 which forms the cooling air flow which flows along the heat exchange part 17 of the air cooling dehumidification means made some cold air flow to the outer peripheral side of the adjacent water tank 5, the inside and outside of the water tank 5 are made. Through the heat exchange action occurs, in particular in contact with the cold wind to the bottom side of the water tank (5) can be exchanged with the exhaust hot air, it is possible to promote the cooling condensation action of the water.

In addition, in the present embodiment, since the heat exchanger 17 is formed into a corrugated shape and the heat exchange area is increased, the heat exchanger 17 can be efficiently heat exchanged through the heat exchanger 17, and the dehumidification performance can be improved. Can be.

On the other hand, as described above, the user can select an arbitrary dehumidification means by automatically selecting the dehumidifying means according to the surrounding environment. Therefore, the number of selection increases and the drying operation according to the user's intention is increased. It is possible to provide it practically and practically.

(2nd embodiment)

7 and 8 show a second embodiment of the present invention, the same parts as those of the first embodiment will be denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof will be omitted, and only the other parts will be discussed. FIG. 7 is an equivalent view of FIG. 3, and FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line A-A of FIG. 7. This second embodiment differs in that the first embodiment employs a dehumidification unit 37 having a two-layer pipe configuration that further improves heat exchange performance with respect to the dehumidification unit 14.

That is, as shown in FIG. 7, the dehumidifying unit 37 of the present embodiment forms two layers between the heat exchange part 38 constituting the hot air circulation path 12 and the cold air duct 39 forming the cooling air path. have. Specifically, the cold air duct 39 communicates with the opening at the upper and lower sides of the main body 1, the cooling fan device 18 is arranged with one opening as the outside air inlet 39a, and the other as the outlet 39b. It has a hollow shape. Accordingly, as can be seen from the arrow directions shown in Figs. 8 and 7 showing the cross-sectional structure of the two-layered part, the exhaust hot air moves in the inner layer part, and the cooling fan device 18 is provided in the outer layer part surrounding the entire circumference. Cold air which is obtained outside air flows through. This heat-exchanges through the heat exchange part 38, whereby water condenses and dehumidifies in exhaust gas, and functions as what is called an air-cooled dehumidifier 40. As shown in FIG.

In addition, as the water-cooled dehumidifier 41, a water passage 22 is connected to the inside of the heat exchanger 38 so as to be substantially the same as the first embodiment, and water supply from the water passage 22 is in operation. By contacting the exhaust gas flowing in the direction of the arrow in the opposite state, the dehumidification effect is exerted by the cooling condensation of water. In addition, the other structure is common with the said 1st Example.

According to the said structure, the heat exchange part 38 which serves as a part of the warm air circulation path 12 is enclosed in the outside air by the cold air duct 39 surrounding the whole circumference by a two-layer structure. Therefore, as the outside temperature is at a low temperature, the cooling capacity is greatly increased, and as a result, the dehumidification performance can be sufficiently exerted, and the cold air duct 39 allows only the outside air to flow as the cooling air flow, so that the heat exchanger 38 effectively contacts and heat exchanges. It can certainly promote the action.

In addition, the first dehumidifying unit 37 having two dehumidifying means, air-cooling and water-cooling, is selected and switched in accordance with the advancement of the drying stroke, or automatically selected and operated according to the environmental conditions. The same effect as the example is shown.

In addition, the present invention is not limited only to the embodiment shown in the above and the drawings, for example, a laundry dryer having a so-called vertical rotary tank having a stirring body at the center of the rotary tank and the inner bottom, but this is discussed. Instead, the present invention can also be applied to a drum-type laundry dryer having a drum (rotary bath) that is supported and rotated in a horizontal axis shape, and the dehumidification unit is configured in combination with each of the embodiments. Various changes can be made without departing from the scope of the invention.

As described above, in the laundry dryer for supplying warm air into the water tank through the dehumidification unit during the drying operation and allowing the laundry to be dried, the dehumidification unit includes air-cooled dehumidification means and water-cooled dehumidification means, Alternatively, the operation by the water-cooled dehumidification means can be automatically selected and executed based on the ambient environmental conditions.

In this way, air drying or water cooling and dehumidifying means can be selected and used automatically according to the ambient environment conditions. Therefore, sufficient dehumidification performance can be exhibited under suitable conditions. It is possible to provide a laundry dryer that is easy to use, such as performance can be expected, and complicated operation setting is not required.

Claims (9)

Water storage tank, a rotating tank installed in the tank to accommodate the laundry, both ends are formed in communication with the water tank, the hot air circulation passage having a hot air generating device and condensed moisture in the air sent disposed upstream of the circulation passage Equipped with a dehumidification unit, The dehumidification unit has an air-cooled dehumidification means and a water-cooled dehumidification means, and the laundry dryer according to claim 1, wherein the operation by the air-cooled or water-cooled dehumidification means is automatically selected based on the ambient environmental conditions. The method of claim 1, Ambient environment conditions of the laundry dryer, characterized in that set based on the temperature of the outside air used for cooling the dehumidification unit or the water supply temperature conditions for water cooling. The method of claim 1, Air-cooled dehumidification means constitutes a two-layer pipe, the laundry dryer characterized in that it forms a circulation dehumidification air passage on the inside and a cooling air path by outside air on the outside. The method of claim 1, An operation of the laundry dryer, characterized in that the operation by air-cooled or water-cooled dehumidifying means during the drying operation is automatically selected and switched according to the progress of the drying administration. The method of claim 4, wherein The progress of the drying administration is divided into the preheating period in the early stage of the drying operation, the period of the constant period in which dehumidification is effective, and the period of deceleration period in which the dehumidification is completed, and the dehumidification means is selected for each of the above administrative sections. Laundry dryer characterized in that the setting. The method according to claim 1 or 4, Air-cooled and water-cooled dehumidification means is a laundry dryer characterized in that the operation is possible at the same time. The method according to claim 1 or 4, The cooling air passage of the air-cooled dehumidifying means comprises a wind tunnel capable of supplying a portion of the cold air to the outer periphery of the tank. A dewatering tank, a rotating tank installed in the tank to accommodate laundry, both ends are formed in communication with the tank, and the hot air circulation path having a hot air generating device is disposed on the upstream side of the circulation path and condensed moisture is removed. Equipped with a dehumidification unit, The water tank is a laundry dryer, characterized in that consisting of a polypropylene-based glass fiber composite material. Water storage tank, a rotating tank installed in the tank to accommodate the laundry, both ends are formed in communication with the water tank, the hot air circulation passage having a hot air generating device and condensed moisture in the air sent disposed upstream of the circulation passage Equipped with a dehumidification unit, The dehumidification unit has an air-cooled dehumidifying means and a water-cooling dehumidifying means, and the laundry dryer according to claim 1, wherein the operation by the air-cooling or water-cooling dehumidifying means is arbitrarily selected.