KR20020093470A - Pulsator type washing machine having drying function - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: A pulsator type drying and washing machine is provided to dry clothing in an inner tub directly for improving the convenience of use through the heat exchange between air and clothing while keeping the high washing efficiency by employing the pulsator type washing operation. CONSTITUTION: A pulsator type drying and washing machine includes a circulation duct(20) connected between a lower part and an upper part of an outer tub for circulating air, a blowing fan(22) mounted at a predetermined position of the circulation duct for forcibly circulating the air, a heater(15) mounted at a predetermined position of the circulation duct for heating the air flowing along the circulation duct, a discharge duct(40) connected between the upper part of the outer tub and a drain duct for discharging humid air in an inner tub to the outside, a water cooling type dehumidifying unit(70) mounted to the circulation duct for removing the humid from the air flowing in the circulation duct, and a cooling water exchange element such as a water flow channel opening/closing valve(79) to be opened for discharging cooling water of the dehumidifying unit and supplying new cooling water if the cooling water is determined higher than a predetermined temperature by a controller according to a signal output from a temperature sensor(71).

Description

Pulsator type washing machine having drying function}

The present invention relates to a washing machine, and more particularly, to a pulsator type washing machine having a washing function and a drying function.

A washing machine is a device that peels contaminants by applying energy such as impact to laundry, and may be divided into a pulsator type washing machine, a drum type washing machine, and an agitator type washing machine according to a method of applying energy to laundry. That is, the laundry is impacted by a pulsator or agitator, or the laundry is dropped by dropping the laundry by the rotation of the drum to wash the laundry. And the action of the detergent is added to this is done washing.

The above-mentioned washing machines generally have only a function of washing laundry such as clothes. Therefore, the user of the washing machine should take out the laundry from the washing machine after the washing is completed and dry it in the sun.

In recent years, it has been required to be able to artificially dry laundry which has been widely washed in the apartments in a short time due to the widespread use of apartments and changes in living patterns, and a dryer has been developed in response to this demand. The development of the dryer has made it possible to dry laundry which has been washed in a washing machine simply and quickly.

However, in general, a dryer is almost the same size as a washing machine, and therefore, it takes up a lot of space to install each of the washing machine and the dryer, and it is inconvenient to use the laundry having to be removed from the washing machine and put back into the dryer.

Therefore, the development of a washing machine having a drying function has been required. Accordingly, in the drum type washing machine, a washing machine having a drying function capable of drying directly from a drum without moving laundry after completion of washing has been proposed. In general, however, the washing machine of the pulsator type or agitator type washing machine having a better washing capacity than the drum type has no drying function. Therefore, there has been a demand for the development of a pulsator type washing machine having good washing ability and capable of drying laundry.

In order to solve the above problems, it is an object of the present invention to provide a pulsator type dry washing machine having a good washing function and drying the laundry.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide a pulsator type dry washing machine capable of effectively removing moisture contained in humid air heat exchanged with laundry.

1 is a cross-sectional view schematically showing an embodiment of a pulsator type dry washing machine according to the present invention

2 is a cross-sectional view schematically showing the water-cooled dehumidification means of FIG.

<Description of the symbols for the main parts of the drawings>

3: outer tank 5: inner tank

7: pulsator 9: driving means

10: water supply valve 11: drain duct

13: drain valve 15: heater

20: circulation duct 22: blowing fan

30: first outside air duct 32: first outside air fan

40: exhaust duct 50: second outdoor duct

52: second external fan 60: connection duct

72: reservoir 74: water pipe

76: drain pipe 79: flow path opening and closing valve

100: controller

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a circulation duct connected between the lower portion of the outer tank and the upper portion of the outer tank to circulate air; A blowing fan installed at a predetermined position of the circulation duct and forcibly circulating air; A heater installed at a predetermined position of the circulation duct to heat air flowing through the circulation duct; An exhaust duct connected between an upper portion of the outer tank and a drain duct so as to discharge the humid air of the inner tank to the outside; Water-cooled dehumidifying means installed in the circulation duct to remove moisture contained in the air flowing through the circulation duct; When the cooling water of the water-cooled dehumidifying means is a predetermined temperature or more, it provides a pulsator type dry washing machine comprising cooling water exchange means for discharging the cooling water and supplying new cooling water.

The water-cooled dehumidifying means includes a water tank surrounding the circulation duct and accommodating water therein, and a water supply pipe and a drain pipe connected to upper and lower portions of the water storage tank, respectively.

The cooling water exchange means includes a flow path opening and closing valve installed in the drain pipe, a temperature sensor installed in the water tank for sensing the temperature of the cooling water, and a controller for controlling the flow path opening and closing valve using an input signal of the temperature sensor. It is composed.

According to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the circulation duct is connected to the first outside air duct for introducing outside air, it is preferable that the first outside air duct is provided with a first outside air fan.

Therefore, according to the present invention, it is possible to effectively dry immediately in the washing machine without moving the laundry after washing, and also to effectively remove moisture contained in the humid air heat exchanged with the laundry.

Hereinafter, with reference to the accompanying drawings, a preferred embodiment of the pulsator type dry washing machine according to the present invention will be described.

First, referring to Figures 1 and 2, the embodiment of the pulsator type dry washing machine according to the present invention will be described. First, the components for the washing function for washing laundry will be described as follows.

An inner tub 3 for storing wash water is installed in the washing machine case 1, and an inner tub 5 in which a plurality of through holes 5a are formed is rotatably installed in the tub 3. The pulsator 7 is rotatably installed in the inside of (5). And the inner tank 5 and the pulsator 7 are rotated by the drive means 9 provided in the bottom face of the outer tank 3.

On the other hand, the upper part of the case 1 is provided with a water supply valve 10 for supplying water for washing and rinsing, the water supply valve 10 is a water supply duct (not shown) for supplying water to the inner tank (5) Connected. A drain duct 11 for discharging the dirty laundry water after the completion of washing to the outside of the washing machine is connected to the bottom of the outer tub 3, and a drain valve 13 is installed at a predetermined position of the drain duct 11. . Unexplained reference numeral 1a denotes a washing machine cover.

Next, the components for drying the laundry will be described.

Between the upper part and the lower part of the outer tank 3, a circulation duct 20 for supplying heated air for drying laundry to the inner tank 5 is installed. In detail, the lower end of the circulation duct 20 is connected to the lower portion of the outer tub 3, the upper end is located near the upper portion of the inner tub (5). Of course, a predetermined position of the circulation duct 20 is provided with a heater 15 for heating the air and a blowing fan 22 for forcibly circulating the air.

On the other hand, it is preferable that the inner cover 3a that can be opened and closed closely on the upper portion of the inner tank 5, and the tip of the circulation duct 40 is connected to the inner cover 3a. The reason for installing the inner cover 3a is to prevent leakage of heated air during drying of laundry.

On the other hand, it is preferable to install a dehumidifying means 70 for removing moisture contained in the air circulating the circulation duct 20 at a predetermined position of the circulation duct 20. This is because, when the laundry in the inner tank 5 is dried and the air discharged back to the circulation duct 20 is hot and humid, the drying efficiency is lowered when the hot and humid air is circulated.

Referring to Figure 2, the dehumidification means 70 is as follows.

The reservoir 72 filled with water is installed at a predetermined position so as to surround the circulation duct. An upper portion of the reservoir 72 is connected to a water supply pipe 74, and a drain pipe 76 is connected to a lower portion thereof. The water supply pipe 74 is connected to the water supply valve 10 or the faucet, the drain pipe 76 is connected to the drain duct (11).

On the other hand, although the water supplied to the reservoir 72 through the water supply pipe 74 may continue to flow without storing in the reservoir 72, it is possible to maintain the predetermined water level in the reservoir 72 in terms of heat exchange desirable. Furthermore, when the water (cooling water) of the reservoir 72 reaches a predetermined temperature or more, it is more preferable in terms of heat exchange to discharge water and supply new water to the reservoir 72.

Therefore, when the cooling water is above a predetermined temperature, cooling water exchange means for discharging the cooling water and supplying new cooling water is provided. That is, the drain pipe 76 is provided with a flow path opening and closing valve 79 that can selectively block the drain pipe 76. In addition, the reservoir 72 is provided with a temperature sensor 71 for sensing the temperature of the water of the reservoir 72, the temperature sensor 71 and the flow path opening and closing valve 79 is electrically connected to the controller 100. Connected.

That is, the temperature sensor 71 detects the temperature of the water in the reservoir 72, and when the controller 100 determines that the detected temperature is higher than or equal to the predetermined temperature, the flow path opening / closing valve 79 is opened for a predetermined time so that the temperature is relatively high. Discharges the elevated water and supplies new water to the reservoir 72.

On the other hand, as mentioned above, it is preferable to dehumidify by water cooling and to dehumidify by double air cooling. That is, the first outside air duct 30 for supplying the outside air is connected to a predetermined position of the circulation duct 40, and the first outside air fan for generating a suction force for sucking the outside air to the inlet of the first outside air duct 30 ( 32) is preferably installed. In this configuration, the humid air is dried in the inner tank 5 and discharged to the circulation duct 20 again to exchange heat with the water of the reservoir 72 and the relatively low temperature outside air to efficiently remove moisture.

On the other hand, in order to facilitate drying, it is preferable to discharge the humidified steam formed in the upper part of the inner tank 5 to some extent to the outside. Therefore, for this purpose, the exhaust duct 40 is preferably installed on the upper portion of the outer tub 3.

In addition, the humid air is not good to be discharged to the outside as it is through the exhaust duct 40, so it is good to discharge the temperature and humidity of the humid air to the outside to some extent. Therefore, it is preferable that a second outside air duct 50 for introducing outside air is connected to a predetermined position of the exhaust duct 40, and a second outside air fan 52 is installed at the inlet of the second outside air duct 50. Do.

On the other hand, the upper end of the exhaust duct 40 is preferably connected to the inner cover (3a), the lower end is preferably connected to the rear end of the drain duct 11 (rear end of the portion where the drain valve is installed). Because the drain valve 13 is normally closed during the drying process, the exhaust duct 40 is connected to the rear end of the portion where the drain valve 13 is installed so that the humid air is discharged to the outside. In addition, the exhaust duct 40 also serves to discharge it to the outside when the washing water overflows during the washing process.

On the other hand, when the lower end of the circulation duct 20 is connected to the bottom of the outer tub (3) it is preferable that the connection duct 60 is installed between the lower end of the circulation duct 30 and the drain duct (11). The connection duct 60 is a passage through which the water condensed in the circulation duct 20 flows into the drain duct 11.

The connection duct 60 is not necessarily installed. For example, when the lower end of the circulation duct 20 is installed on the side of the outer tub 3, it is not necessary to install it. In this case, the water condensed in the circulation duct 20 is discharged to the outside of the washing machine through the bottom and the drain duct 11 of the outer tank (3).

1 and 2, the operation of the pulsator type dry washing machine according to the present invention described above is as follows.

First, the washing function will be described as follows. The washing function is substantially the same as the operation of a conventional washing machine. That is, the washing stroke, the rinsing stroke and the dehydrating stroke are sequentially performed to wash the laundry. The washing water overflowing the upper portion of the inner tank 5 at the time of washing is discharged to the outside through the exhaust duct 40.

The drying process begins when washing and dehydration are complete. When the drying process starts, the outside air is sucked by the first outside air fan 32, and the sucked outside air is supplied to the circulation duct 20 through the first outside air duct 30. Of course, the air inside the tank 5 is supplied to the circulation duct 20.

The outside air supplied to the circulation duct 20 flows upward by the blowing fan 22 and is heated by the heater 15 and supplied to the inner tank 5. Heated air supplied to the inner tank (5) heats the laundry to dry the laundry, the temperature is relatively low and the humidity is increased.

Part of the humid air circulates through the circulation duct 20, and part of the humid air is discharged to the outside through the exhaust duct 40. At this time, the humid air formed in the upper portion of the inner tank 5 is mainly discharged to the outside through the exhaust duct 40, the air in the lower portion is circulated through the circulation duct 20.

The air introduced into the circulation duct 20 passes through the reservoir 72 while moving upward. At this time, the air is heat-exchanged with the water of the reservoir 72 to remove moisture. In addition, moisture is removed by exchanging heat with the outside air supplied from the first outside air duct 30. Water dehumidified in the circulation duct 20, that is, condensate, is discharged to the outside of the washing machine via the connection duct 6 and the drain duct 11 at the lower portion of the circulation duct 20. The dehumidified air having relatively low temperature and humidity is again heated by the heater 15 and supplied to the inner tank 5.

On the other hand, when the temperature of the water in the reservoir 72 is above a predetermined temperature, the flow path opening and closing valve 79 is opened to discharge the water having a relatively high temperature and supply new water to the reservoir 72. Therefore, the heat exchange efficiency of the air flowing in the circulation duct 20 and the water in the reservoir 72 is improved, and the dehumidification performance is increased.

As described above, the heated air circulates the inner tank 5 to dry the laundry in the inner tank 5, and the drying process is completed after a predetermined time cycle.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and as can be seen in the appended claims, modifications can be made by those skilled in the art to which the present invention pertains, and such modifications are within the scope of the present invention. I will understand that.

Referring to the effect of the pulsator type dry washing machine according to the present invention described above are as follows.

First, according to the present invention, since the laundry after washing can be dried immediately in the inner tank, user convenience is improved. At the same time, the present invention has the advantage that the washing efficiency is also good because the laundry is washed in a pulsator method.

Second, according to the present invention, it is possible to effectively remove the moisture contained in the humidified air by heat exchange with the laundry has the advantage that the drying efficiency can be improved.

Claims (4)

A circulation duct connected between the lower part of the outer tank and the upper part of the outer tank to circulate air; A blowing fan installed at a predetermined position of the circulation duct and forcibly circulating air; A heater installed at a predetermined position of the circulation duct to heat air flowing through the circulation duct; An exhaust duct connected between an upper portion of the outer tank and a drain duct so as to discharge the humid air of the inner tank to the outside; Water-cooled dehumidifying means installed in the circulation duct to remove moisture contained in the air flowing through the circulation duct; And a coolant exchange means for discharging the coolant and supplying new coolant when the coolant of the water-cooled dehumidifying means is equal to or higher than a predetermined temperature. The pulsator method of claim 1, wherein the water-cooled dehumidifying means includes a water tank surrounding the circulation duct and receiving water therein, and a water supply pipe and a drain pipe connected to upper and lower portions of the water storage tank, respectively. Dry Washing Machine. According to claim 2, wherein the cooling water exchange means is a flow path opening and closing valve installed in the drain pipe, a temperature sensor installed in the water tank for sensing the temperature of the cooling water, and the flow path opening and closing valve using the input signal of the temperature sensor The pulsator type dry washing machine comprising a controller for controlling. The pulsator method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the circulation duct is connected with a first outside air duct for introducing outside air, and a first outside air fan is installed in the first outside air duct. Dry Washing Machine.