KR100766015B1 - home appliances with dryer and control method the same - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a home appliance having a drying function. In the present invention, to minimize the amount of condensate supplied from the outside to reduce the water consumption of home appliances. To this end, at the initial stage of the drying process, the condensate valve 88 is opened to receive condensate from the outside and to be supplied to the condensation duct 86. And the condensed water and the condensed water delivered to the lower portion of the condensation duct 86 is stored in a separate reservoir (90). When water is stored in the reservoir 90 above a predetermined level, the condensate valve 88 is closed and the water of the reservoir 90 is discharged through a regeneration water pipe 77 using a drain pump 76 to condense duct 86 ). And the water in the reservoir (90) is condensed by circulating by the operation of the drain pump 76 until the end of drying.

Home appliance, cleaning, drying, water recycling

Description

Home appliance with drying function and control method thereof {home appliances with dryer and control method the same}

1 is a front sectional view showing the configuration of a drum washing machine having a drying function according to the prior art.

Figure 2 is a side cross-sectional view of the drum washing machine shown in FIG.

Figure 3 is a front sectional view of a drum washing machine which is a preferred embodiment of a home appliance with a drying function according to the present invention.

4 is a side cross-sectional view of the embodiment of the present invention shown in FIG.

Figure 5 is a flow chart showing the operation sequence of the embodiment of the present invention.

Explanation of symbols on the main parts of the drawings

50: outer case 53: tub

55: drum 57: motor

59: door 61: wash water valve

63: washing water supply duct 65: detergent container

67: water supply duct 70: drainage connector

74: drain duct 76: drain pump

77: recycling line 78: drain pipe                 

79: drain valve 80: fan

82: hot air duct 84: heater

86: condensation duct 87: condensate pipe

88: condensate valve 89: condensate tube

90: reservoir 92: water level sensor hose

94: level sensor

The present invention relates to a home appliance, and more particularly, to a home appliance having a drying function capable of drying a laundry cloth or tableware.

In this specification, for convenience of description, a washing machine which is one of home appliances will be described as an example.

1 and 2 illustrate a configuration of a drum washing machine, which is one of home appliances having a drying function according to the prior art.

As shown in these figures, the outer case 1 constitutes an external appearance, and a tub 3 into which the washing water is introduced during washing is supported inside the outer case 1. Inside the tub 3, a laundry cloth is put in, and a drum 5 for washing or drying is installed to be rotated by the motor 7. The motor 7 is installed outside the tub 3. Here, the interior of the drum (5) is selectively communicated with the outside by a door (9) installed in the front of the outer case (1).

And the configuration for supplying the wash water for washing into the tub 3 is as follows. First, a washing water valve 11 is installed at one side of the outer case 1, and is connected to the washing water valve 11 so that the washing water supply duct 13 is installed at one side of the outer case 1. 15). A water supply duct 17 is installed to connect the detergent container 15 and the tub 3 to supply the washing water passing through the detergent container 15 to the tub 3.

On the other hand, the washing water that has been washed, rinsed, etc. in the tub 3 and the drum 5 are discharged from the tub 3 through the drain duct 19. In this case, a drain pump 21 is installed at an end of the drain duct 19, and a drain pipe 23 is extended to the outside of the outer case 1 in the drain pump 21. Therefore, the wash water in the tub 3 may be discharged to the outside through the drain pipe 23 by the driving of the drain pump 21.

Next, look at the configuration for drying the laundry cloth after washing. First, a fan 20 for flowing air into the tub 3 and the drum 5 is provided at one inner side of the outer case 1. Hot air duct 22 is provided to guide the air flow formed by the fan 20 into the tub 3 and the drum 5. The hot air duct 22 communicates the fan 20 with the tub 3.

In addition, the fan 20 and the tub 3 include a condensation duct 26 for removing moisture contained in the air in the drum 5 while discharging the air in the tub 3 and the drum 5. It is installed vertically upward toward the fan 20 to connect the.                         

The condensate duct 26 is provided inside the condensation duct 26 to supply condensed water for condensing moisture contained in the air, and the condensed water pipe 27 is provided with condensed water through the condensed water pipe 27. A condensate valve 28 is provided to control the supply of water.

On the other hand, the water level sensor hose 30 is installed to be connected to the drain connection pipe 19, the water level sensor 32 is installed on the upper end of the water level sensor hose 30, the laundry supplied to the tub (3) The water level will be detected.

In the prior art having such a configuration, drying is performed as follows.

After operating according to the selected mode, when the drying mode, the drum 5 is rotated to turn over the laundry cloth. At the same time as the fan 20 is operated, the heater 24 generates heat to supply hot air into the drum 5.

The hot air absorbs moisture while circulating the inside of the drum 5, and then flows to the condensation duct 26 by the suction force of the fan 20. At this time, the condensation duct 26 is supplied into the condensate water through the condensate pipe 27 and falls, and is included in the air passing through the condensation duct 26 from the lower portion to the upper portion by the suction force of the fan 20. Will condense any moisture. The condensed water condensed as described above is dropped to the lower portion of the condensation duct 26 and transferred to the drain duct 19 through the tub 3 and discharged to the outside through the drain pipe 23 by the drain pump 21.

The air passes through the fan 20, passes through the heater 24, is heated, and is supplied to the drum 5 again to repeat the same process.                         

However, the prior art as described above has the following problems.

That is, in order to proceed with the drying process, the condensate valve 28 must be opened to receive water from the outside. And the condensed water thus supplied is a problem that is discarded as it is not recycled despite the relatively clean water.

On the other hand, in the conventional washing machine having the above configuration, when the drum 5 rotates by the rotation of the motor 7 during washing, rinsing and dehydration, a lot of vibration occurs. However, there is a problem that can not effectively prevent the vibration as described above.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to solve the above problems, to minimize the amount of water used in home appliances having a drying function.

Another object of the present invention is to reduce the center of gravity of home appliances to reduce the generation of vibration.

According to a feature of the present invention for achieving the above object, the present invention provides a washing unit in which the cleaning object is put into the washing or drying therein, and a washing water supply unit for supplying the washing water into the washing unit; A hot air supply unit for supplying hot air for drying the cleaning object into the cleaning unit, a condensation unit for condensing moisture contained in the air while transferring the air circulated inside the cleaning unit to the hot air supply unit, and the condensation unit; And a condensate supply unit for supplying condensed water from the outside, a storage unit for storing the water drained from the condensation unit, and a regeneration water supply unit for supplying the water stored in the storage unit to the condensation unit.

The regeneration water supply unit is connected to a pump for selectively pumping water from the storage unit and the water discharged from the cleaning unit, a regeneration water pipe connecting the pump and the condensation unit, and one side of the regeneration water pipe path to externally store the water in the storage unit. It is configured to include a drain pipe to discharge to.

It further comprises a drain valve for selectively passing the water passing through the regeneration water pipe to the condensation unit and the drain pipe.

A condensate connection duct is provided in communication with a lower end of the condensation duct constituting the condensation unit, and the condensate connection duct is connected to the storage unit.

A drain connecting pipe for discharging water from the washing unit is connected to the pump.

The pump and the storage unit are connected through a drain duct, and the drain connection pipe is connected to the drain duct, and is connected to the water level sensor for sensing the level of the cleaning unit and the storage unit in the drain duct.

According to another feature of the invention, the present invention in the home appliance to temporarily store the condensed water and the condensed water supplied to the condensation unit for drying and resupply to the condensation unit, the condensate is supplied to the condensate from the outside Performing drying, storing the condensed water and the condensed water in the condenser, maintaining the level of the water stored in the storage at a predetermined value, and supplying condensed water from the outside. Blocking and passing the stored water to the condensation unit is configured to use as condensate.                     

Blocking the supply of condensate from the outside is a point in time at which the level of the condensate and the condensed water stored in the storage unit is maintained above a predetermined value.

According to the present invention having such a configuration, it is possible to minimize the amount of condensate supplied from the outside at the time of drying, so that the water consumption can be relatively reduced, and vibrations or noise generated during operation of the home appliance can be reduced. There is an advantage.

Hereinafter, a preferred embodiment of a home appliance having a drying function according to the present invention as described above will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

First, the drum washing machine as a preferred embodiment to which the present invention is applied will be described with reference to FIGS. 3 and 4.

As shown, the outer case 50 forms the exterior of the drum washing machine, and the tub 53 filled with the washing water is supported inside the outer case 50. The tub 53 is supported by the damper 54 so as to absorb the vibration generated during the operation of the drum washing machine.

The drum 55 is installed inside the tub 53. The inner wall of the drum 55 is formed with a plurality of through-holes penetrating the inside and outside of the drum 55, the water in the tub 53 can flow into and out of the drum 55. The drum 55 is driven and rotated by a motor 57 installed behind the tub 53. The interior of the drum 55 is selectively opened and closed by a door 59 provided on the front of the outer case 50. The door 59 serves to shield the outside when the washing process is performed inside the drum 55.                     

Such a portion including the tub 53 and the drum 55 constitutes a structure for cleaning the laundry cloth, and in particular, the laundry cloth is put into the drum 55 so that washing or drying described below is performed. do.

Next, a configuration for supplying water into the tub 53 will be described. First, the washing water valve 61 is installed to be connected to the external water supply source of the outer case 50. The washing water supply duct 63 is connected to the washing water valve 61 and installed inside the outer case 50. The wash water supply duct 63 is connected to the detergent container 65 installed on the upper side of the inner case 50. The water supply duct 67 connects the detergent container 65 and the tub 53. In this way, the washing water is supplied into the tub 53 through the washing water supply duct 63, the detergent container 65, and the water supply duct 67 through the washing water valve 61.

On the other hand, in order to discharge the wash water in the tub 53, the drain connection pipe 70 is installed in the lower portion of the tub 53. The drain connection pipe 70 is connected to a drain duct 74 connected to the drain pump 76. The drain duct 74 is connected to one side of the reservoir 90 to be described below. And the other side of the drain duct 74 is connected to the drain pump 76.

The drain pump 76 serves to discharge the wash water to the outside of the washing machine or to supply the water stored in the reservoir 90 to the condensation duct 86 to be described below. To this end, the drainage pump 76 is connected to a regeneration water pipe 77, and one side of the regeneration water pipe 77 is provided with a drain valve 79. In addition, a drain pipe 78 capable of discharging the water of the regeneration water pipe 77 to the outside of the washing machine by the operation of the drain valve 79 is connected to the regeneration water pipe 77.

On the other hand, by employing a bi-directional pump as the drain pump 76 and connecting the regeneration water pipe 77 and the drain pipe 78 to the bi-directional pump it is possible to transfer the water in the desired direction without the drain valve (79).

Next, a configuration for supplying hot air for drying the laundry cloth in the drum 55 will be described. First, the fan 80 forms an airflow flowing into and out of the drum 55. The fan 80 communicates with the hot air duct 82 in communication with the drum 55 to form an air flow into the hot air duct 82. And inside the hot air duct 82 is provided with a heater 84 for supplying heat to change the air flow to hot air.

Hot air made while passing through the hot air duct 82 as described above is supplied into the drum 55 to remove moisture from the laundry cloth inside the drum 55.

A condensation duct 86 is installed in communication with the tub 53 to condense the moisture contained in the air while discharging the air circulated through the drum 55. The other side of the condensation duct 86 is connected to the fan 80. In this case, the condensation duct 86 is installed at a relatively low position where the tub 53 is connected, and a portion connected to the fan 80 is at a relatively high position. The regeneration water pipe 77 and the condensate pipe 87 are connected to the condensation duct 86 to supply condensed water. The condensate tube 87 is to supply condensate from the outside of the washing machine is provided with a condensate valve 88 on one side.                     

The condensed water supplied to the condensation duct 86 through the regeneration water pipe line 77 or the condensation water pipe 87 is dropped from the upper portion of the inner portion of the condensation duct 86 to the lower portion of the air from the drum 55. Will condense.

On the other hand, the lower portion of the condensation duct 86 is formed of a substantially 'U'-shaped condensate condensate tube 89 for draining the condensate and condensed water is connected to the condensation duct 86 do. The condensate connection tube 89 delivers condensate and condensed water to the reservoir 90. Such a reservoir 90 is installed inside the outer case 50, and preferably is installed below the outer case 50. When the reservoir 90 is installed below the outer case 50, the center of gravity of the reservoir 90 is lowered by the weight of the water stored in the reservoir 90.

Next, a water level sensor hose 92 is connected to the drain duct 74 connecting the water reservoir 90 and the drain pump 76, and a water level sensor 94 is installed at the water level sensor hose 92. During operation, the water level inside the tub 53 and the water level inside the reservoir 90 are sensed.

It will be described below that this embodiment having the configuration as described above operates. Here, the process of washing, rinsing, dehydration and drying will be described.

When the user selects and executes the above steps, the washing process starts first. That is, the laundry cloth is put into the drum 55, and when the washing is started, the washing water valve 61 is opened and the washing water is supplied to the detergent container 65 through the washing water supply duct 63 from the outside. The wash water passing through the detergent container 65 is delivered to the inside of the tub 53 through the water supply duct 67 together with the detergent.

When the wash water is supplied by the set water level, the water level sensor 94 detects this and generates a detection signal. The motor 57 is driven according to the detection signal, and washing is performed while the drum 55 is rotated. The washing water supplied into the tub 53 is pressurized by the drain pump 76 after passing through the drain connection pipe 70 and the drain duct 74 when the washing is finished, to the outside through the drain pipe 78. Discharged.

In the rinsing process and the dehydration process, the supply and discharge of the wash water is the same.

On the other hand, when the drying stroke 100 is selected, the drain valve 79 closes the drain pipe 78 and opens the regeneration water pipe 77. (Step 102) Then, the drum is driven by driving the motor 57. 55 is rotated, and the fan 80 and the heater 84 are driven to supply hot air into the drum 55. The heater 84 stops when the inside of the drum 55 is above a certain temperature and generates hot air while being driven when the inside of the drum 55 is below a certain temperature.

Next, condensed water for condensing moisture from the air passing through the condensation duct 86 is supplied into the condensation duct 86 through the condensate pipe 87 by opening the condensate valve 88. )

On the other hand, the drying is performed in the drum 55 will be described. The hot air is supplied into the drum 55 through the hot air duct 82 while the laundry cloth is rotated by the rotation of the drum 55. That is, when the fan 80 is driven and the heater 84 is turned on, the airflow formed by the fan 80 is heated while passing through the heater 84 to be converted into hot air and supplied into the drum 55.                     

The hot air supplied into the drum 55 is absorbed by evaporating the moisture of the laundry cloth. The fan 80 flows to the condensation duct 86 by driving the fan 80. The air exiting the drum 55 and delivered to the condensation duct 86 is moved by the suction force of the fan 80 from the lower portion of the condensation duct 86 to the upper portion.

Here, the condensed water and the condensed water supplied to the condensation duct 86 are collected at the lower portion of the condensation duct 86 and are delivered to the reservoir 90 through the condensate connection pipe 89.

At this time, the water level detection sensor 94 detects the water level of the reservoir 90 (step 108), the water level of the reservoir 90 is the B level (water required to perform the drying is filled in the reservoir 90) In this case, the driving of the condensate valve 88 is stopped. (Step 110) In this case, the supply of condensate from the outside is cut off.

Then, from this time, the water of the reservoir 90 is supplied to the condensation duct 86 through the regeneration water pipe 77 by the driving of the drain pump 76, and drying proceeds. (Step 112) And the condensation After the water that has been supplied to the duct 86 has a condensation role, the condensed water is passed back through the condensate tube 89 to the water reservoir 90 and circulated continuously.

Then, when the setting time of the drying administration passes or when the drying completion state is detected (step 114), at the time of completion of drying, the motor 57, the fan 80 and the heater 84 are stopped (step 116). End (step 118).

On the other hand, in the present specification, the present invention has been described as an example applied to the drum washing machine, general washing machine, dish dryer, laundry dryer, etc., of course, can be sufficiently applied within the scope of the claims of the present invention.

In the home appliance having a drying function according to the present invention as described above in detail, if the condensate supplied from outside for collection is collected at a predetermined level or more in the reservoir, the supply of condensate from the outside is stopped and the water in the reservoir is circulated to condensate. It was used. Therefore, the amount of condensed water delivered from the outside is relatively reduced, thereby minimizing the amount of water used, and since the water stored in the reservoir is relatively clean water that is not used for washing, there is no effect of contamination of the reservoir.

And in the present invention, by installing the water storage tank at the bottom of the home appliance, the center of gravity of the home appliance can be lowered more effectively to reduce the vibration generated during use and can also be expected to increase the installation stability of the home appliance.

Claims (8)

A cleaning unit into which a cleaning object is input and which is cleaned or dried inside; A condensation unit for condensing moisture contained in the air while discharging the air circulated in the cleaning unit to the hot air supply unit; A storage unit storing water drained from the condensation unit; A water level sensor detecting the level of the cleaning unit and the storage unit; The regeneration water pipe and the condensed water pipe extending into the condenser to selectively supply the condensed water supplied from the storage part or the condensed water supplied from the external condensed water supply part according to the storage level detection result of the water level sensor. Home appliance having a drying function, characterized in that configured to include. The method of claim 1, Appliances having a drying function, characterized in that further comprising a buffer structure for supporting the cleaning unit to absorb the vibration generated during the rinsing / dehydration / drying stroke for the cleaning object. The method according to claim 1 or 2, The storage unit is a home appliance having a drying function, characterized in that installed in the lower portion of the home appliance to lower the center of gravity of the home appliance by the weight of the water stored in the storage unit. The method according to claim 1 or 2, The water level sensor, home appliance having a drying function, characterized in that installed in the water level sensor hose connected to the drain duct connecting the reservoir and the drain pump. The method according to claim 1 or 2, And a condensate connection duct in communication with a lower end of the condensation duct constituting the condensation unit, and the condensate connection duct is connected to the storage unit. The method of claim 2, The shock absorbing structure is a home appliance having a drying function, characterized in that at least one damper is installed while supporting the cleaning unit to absorb the vibration generated during the operation of the home appliance. Supplying condensate from the outside to the condensation duct through the condensate pipe when the drying stroke is selected by opening the condensate valve; Storing condensate supplied to the condensation duct and water condensed in the condensation duct in a storage unit; Detecting a level of water stored in the storage unit; When the water level of the reservoir is filled as necessary to perform drying, the drying function comprising the step of blocking the supply of condensate from the outside and supplying the water stored in the reservoir to the condensation duct to use as condensate Control method of home appliances provided. delete

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