KR20050074572A - Washing and drying machine - Google Patents

Abstract

A washing and drying machine comprises a water tank (2), a rotary tank (13) disposed in the water tank to receive a wash, a driving device (17) for rotatively driving the rotary tank, a hot air supplying device (18) for supplying hot air to the rotary tank, a water supplying device (26, 29, 30, 36) for supplying water to the water tank, and a control means (31) adapted to execute a drying operation for drying the wash by controlling the driving device and hot air supplying device, the control means being arranged to execute a humidifying operation for humidifying the wash by storing water in the water tank according to the amount of static charge on the wash during the drying operation.

Description

Laundry dryer {WASHING AND DRYING MACHINE}

The present invention relates to a laundry dryer having a driving course suitable for the amount of laundry or the type of laundry.

The laundry dryer is provided with a water tank, a rotating tank installed in the tank to accommodate laundry, a driving device for rotating the rotating tank, and a warm air supply device for supplying warm air into the rotating tank. In the laundry dryer, laundry is dried by supplying warm air into the rotary bath while rotating the rotary bath.

In this drying operation, the laundry is rubbed with each other or rubbed with the inner surface of the rotating tub to generate static electricity. For this reason, there was a problem that the laundry was charged and wrinkles easily occurred in the laundry, and that the laundry could not be finished in a soft state.

Thus, for example, as described in Japanese Patent No. 2688117, a laundry dryer having a configuration in which a humidification operation of humidifying laundry by storing water in a water tank for a predetermined time at the end of a drying process, for example, is performed. It is proposed. In the humidification operation, a small amount of water is stored in the tank such that the water surface does not reach the rotating tank. The water stored in the tank becomes steam by the remaining heat of the tank and the rotating tank to humidify the laundry. As a result, the amount of charge of the laundry can be suppressed and generation of wrinkles can be suppressed. In addition, the laundry can be finished in a soft and soft state.

However, in the conventional laundry dryer, the execution time of the humidification operation was constant regardless of the amount of laundry, the drying operation time, or the like. Therefore, there may be a case where the humidification amount of the laundry in the humidification operation is insufficient or excessive, and the amount of charge of the laundry cannot be sufficiently suppressed or the laundry cannot be finished in a good dry state.

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a laundry dryer capable of humidifying laundry appropriately during a drying operation.

1 is a longitudinal side view showing the overall configuration of a laundry dryer showing a first embodiment of the present invention;

2 is a block diagram showing the electrical configuration of the laundry dryer;

3 is a drying process chart,

4 is a view showing an execution time of a humidification operation in each driving course;

5 is a view showing a relationship between the amount of charge of a laundry and the amount of laundry in the standard course and the "confirmation course";

FIG. 6 shows a second embodiment of the present invention, which shows the amount of water stored in the water tank during the humidification operation in each driving course;

FIG. 7 shows a third embodiment of the present invention, and shows a driving mode of a rotating tub at the time of humidifying operation in each driving course;

8 corresponds to FIG. 3 showing a fourth embodiment of the present invention, and

Fig. 9 shows a fifth embodiment of the present invention and shows a part of the operation panel.

The laundry dryer of the present invention dries the laundry by controlling a driving device for rotating the rotating tank, a warm air supply device for supplying warm air into the water tank, a water supply device for supplying water into the water tank, the drive device, and the warm air supply device. And control means for executing a drying operation. In this case, the control means executes a humidification operation of storing water in the tank and humidifying the laundry according to the amount of charge of the laundry during the drying operation.

The amount of static electricity generated during the drying operation or the ease of charging the laundry during the drying operation depends on the execution time of the drying operation, the quantity of the laundry, and the material of the laundry. According to the above configuration, since the humidification operation is performed in accordance with the charging amount of the laundry, the laundry can be humidified without being oversized.

In order to explain the present invention in more detail, it will be described according to the accompanying drawings.

1 to 5 show a first embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, the laundry dryer according to the present embodiment includes an outer box 1 and a drum-shaped water tank 2 provided inside the outer box 1. The water tank 2 is disposed in an inclined state in which the front is lifted up, and is elastically supported at the bottom of the outer box 1 by a plurality of sets of suspensions 4 (only one set is shown in FIG. 1). The front part of the water tank 2 is provided with the opening part 3 for entering and leaving a laundry.

The water storage part 5 is provided in the back part of the bottom of the said water tank 2. The drain port 6 is provided in the last part of the said storage part 5. A drain hose 9 is connected to the drain port 6 via a drain valve 7. In addition, a heating element 8 is provided in the reservoir 5.

On the other hand, the front of the outer box 1 is provided with a laundry entrance 10 and a door 12 for opening and closing the entrance 10. The opening 3 of the water tank 2 and the said entrance 10 are connected through the bellows 11.

Inside the water tank 2, a drum-shaped rotating tank 13 is rotatably provided. The rotating tank 13 is disposed in an inclined state in which the front is lifted up like the water tank 2. The opening part 14 is provided in the front part of the said rotating tank 13, The circumferential wall part of the said rotating tank 13 is equipped with the several hole 16 which serves as both a water through hole and an air through hole throughout. It is. In addition, a plurality of baffles 15 are provided on the inner surface of the circumferential wall of the rotary tub 13 to stir the laundry.

The outer rotor type motor 17 as a drive device is attached to the rear part of the water tank 2. The rotor 17a of the motor 17 has a rotating shaft 17b passing through the rear portion of the water tank 2. A rotating tub 13 is attached to the front end of the rotating shaft 17b. By the above configuration, the rotating tub 13 is directly driven to rotate by the motor 17.

An operation panel 40 having various operation switches 32 and indicators 35 (both shown only in FIG. 2) is provided on the upper portion of the front portion of the outer box 1. Moreover, the control apparatus 31 is provided in the rear part of the said operation panel 40 among the upper parts in the outer box 1.

All of the upper part of the outer box 1 is provided with a water injection case 29 for supplying water into the water tank 2. The water injection case 29 is connected to the faucet via a water supply valve 36 (shown in FIG. 2 only) and a water supply hose (not shown). In addition, a water supply pump 30 for supplying the remaining hot water of the tub in the water tank 2 is installed at the rear portion of the upper portion of the outer box 1 through the water injection case 29. A water supply device includes a water injection case 29, a water supply valve 36, and a water supply pump 30.

The warm air supply device 18 is provided in the part from the rear part to the upper part of the water tank 2. The hot air supply device 18 includes a dehumidifier 19 installed at the rear of the water tank 2, a blower 20 and a heater 21 installed at an upper portion of the water tank 2, and the dehumidifier 19, a blower 20. ) And the ducts 22 and 23 connecting the heater 21. In the lower part of the dehumidifier 19, the inlet part 18a connected in the said water tank 2 in the lower back of the water tank 2 is installed. In addition, all the ducts 23 are provided with an outlet portion 18b connected to the inside of the water tank 2 in the entire upper portion of the water tank 2.

In the upper part of the dehumidifier 19, the sprinkler 26 is provided. The sprinkler 26 is connected to the water injection case 29 via a water injection tube 25 and a water injection valve 24. The water supplied from the water injection case 29 to the sprayer 26 through the water injection tube 25 is made to be sprayed downward, as indicated by arrow A. The water injection valve 24, the water injection tube 25, and the sprinkler 26 also function as a water supply device.

The blower 20 has a wing wheel 20a. The heater 21 has a heating element 21a. By rotating the vane wheel 20a, the air in the rotating tank 13 and the water tank 12 is sucked into the dehumidifier 19 from the inlet part 18a as shown by arrow B, and the blower 20 and the heater ( It returns to the water tank 2 and the rotating tank 3 from the entrance 18b via 21. At this time, the air passing through the dehumidifier 19 is cooled and dehumidified by the water diffused in the dehumidifier 19. In addition, the air passing through the heater 21 is heated by the heating element 21a and warmed.

On the other hand, the temperature sensor 27 is provided in the lower portion of the rear portion of the water tank (2). The temperature sensor 27 consists of a thermistor, for example, and is comprised so that the water temperature and air temperature in the water tank 2 may be detected. In addition, a rotation sensor 28 for detecting the rotational position of the rotor 17a is provided at a portion of the lower portion of the rear surface of the water tank 2 that faces the rotor 17a.

2 is a block diagram showing the electrical configuration of the laundry dryer. The control device 31 is configured around the microcomputer, and the temperature sensor 27, the rotation sensor 28, the water level sensor 33, the operation switch 32, the door switch 34 The output signal is provided.

The water level sensor 33 is for detecting the water level in the water tank 2. The door switch 34 outputs an operation signal according to the opening and closing operation of the door 12.

In addition, the display device 35 is connected to the control device 31. In addition, the control device 31 includes the water supply valve 36, the drain valve 7, the water injection valve 24, the motor 17, the heating elements 8, 21a, and the blower 20. ) Is connected via a drive circuit 37.

Next, the operation of the above configuration will be described. First, a schematic operation of the laundry dryer will be described. The control device 31 stores a control program executed by the microcomputer. The control program includes a processing step for performing a washing operation, a drying operation (including all operations in a washing operation, a dehydration process), a drying operation process, a processing step for performing various displays on the indicator 35, and the like. Included.

When the operation switch 32 of the operation panel 40 is operated to set the driving course and the start of driving is instructed, the control device 31 performs the washing operation, the drying operation, or the washing operation and the drying operation according to the set driving course. Then, the laundry drying operation is performed. Here, the case where the laundry drying operation is executed will be described as an example.

That is, the control apparatus 31 first performs the operation | movement which detects the quantity of the laundry contained in the rotating tank 13, and then performs a washing process, a dehydration process, and a drying process (equivalent to a drying operation) in order. The driving course includes a standard course for carrying out standard laundry drying operations, a "sure course" suitable for washing thick clothes, sheets, bath towels, and the like, and a "foam course" suitable for washing blankets. The `` sure course '' and `` foam course '' are driving courses that take longer to execute the washing process, dehydration process, and drying process than the standard course.

The laundry amount is detected based on the output signal of the rotation sensor 28 at that time by rotating the motor 17 at a predetermined rotation speed.

In the washing process, the control device 31 opens the water supply valve 36 to feed the water into the water tank 2, and then drives the motor 17 to rotate the rotary tank 13 at a low speed. At this time, the control device 31 controls the operation of the water supply valve 36 so that the water level in the water tank 2 becomes a level suitable for the amount of laundry based on the output signal of the water level sensor 33.

In the dehydration process, the control device 31 opens the drain valve 7 to discharge the water in the water tank 2, and then drives the motor 17 in the state in which the drain valve 7 is opened to rotate the tub 13. Rotate at high speed. Thereby, the laundry in the rotating tank 13 is centrifugally dewatered.

In the drying process, as shown in FIG. 3, the control device 31 supplies a high-temperature air into the rotary tub 13 to dry the laundry, a blowing operation to supply low-temperature air into the rotary tub 13, The humidification operation to humidify the laundry is executed in sequence.

That is, in the drying operation, the control device 31 drives the motor 17 to operate the blower 20 and the heating element 21a while rotating the rotary tub 13 at a low speed. In addition, the water supply valve 36 and the water injection valve 24 are opened to supply water to the sprayer 26, and the water is discharged into the dehumidifier 19. Thereby, the humid air in a rotating tank flows into the dehumidifier 19, and is dehumidified. Thereafter, the heater 21 is warmed through the heater 21 and then returned to the rotary tank 13. As a result, the laundry is dried.

In the blowing operation, the control device 31 drives the motor 17 to operate the blower 20 while rotating the rotating tub 13 at a low speed. In addition, the water is sprayed through the water sprayer 26 in the dehumidifier 19. Thereby, low temperature (room temperature) air is supplied in the rotating tank 13, and laundry is cooled.

In the humidification operation, the control device 31 closes the drain valve 7. Thereby, the water supplied into the dehumidifier 19 through the water sprayer 26 is stored in the water tank 2. When the water level in the water tank 2 reaches a predetermined water level, the water supply valve 36 and the water injection valve 24 are closed, and the motor 17 is driven to rotate the rotary tank 13 at a low speed in the forward and reverse directions. And blower 20 at the same time. For example, 500 ml of water is stored in the water tank 2. In addition, the motor 17 is driven at a cycle of 37 seconds ON / 3 seconds OFF.

At this time, the water stored in the water tank 2 becomes water vapor by the remaining heat of the water tank 2 and the rotating tank 13. The water vapor is supplied into the rotating tank 13 by the blowing action of the blower 20, and humidifies the laundry which is stirred in the rotating tank 13.

When the above drying process is completed, the drain valve 7 is opened and water in the water tank 2 is discharged.

In addition, in this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 4, the execution time of the humidification operation | movement in a drying process changes with a driving course and a laundry amount. Specifically, it is configured so that the humidifying operation time becomes longer as the condition that the charge amount of laundry in the drying step increases.

Here, the charge quantity of the laundry in a drying process is demonstrated, referring FIG. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing the relationship between the amount of charge of a laundry and the amount of laundry in the standard course and the "sure course". FIG.

In the drying process, as the laundry is dried, the laundry rotates in the rotating tub 13 in a dispersed state. As the laundry moves, the laundry is charged with each other, or the laundry and the rotating tub 13 are rubbed and thus static electricity is generated. The smaller the amount of the laundry, the easier the laundry is to rotate in the rotary tub 13, and the friction is more likely to occur between the laundry or between the laundry and the rotary tub 13. In addition, the longer the time of the drying step, the longer the time that the laundry and the laundry and the rotating tub 13 rubs. For this reason, the smaller the amount of laundry, the greater the amount of static electricity generated, that is, the amount of charge of the laundry. In addition, since the running time of the drying process is longer than that of the standard course, the "sured course" increases the charge amount of the laundry in the drying step than the standard course.

Therefore, in the present embodiment, as shown in Fig. 4, the smaller the amount of laundry is, the longer the humidification operation time is. In addition, the same amount of laundry, the longer the operation course of the drying process, the longer the humidification operation time. In addition, the execution time of the drying process of the "foam course" is longer than the standard course, and shorter than the "sure course". Therefore, the humidification operation time of the "foam course" is longer than the standard course, shorter than the "sure course" or the same as the "sure course".

As described above, according to this embodiment, the humidification operation is performed for a time corresponding to the charge amount of the laundry in the drying step. Therefore, the amount of charge of the laundry can be suppressed without excess and deficiency, and the laundry can be finished in a soft dry state with less generation of wrinkles.

Fig. 6 shows a second embodiment of the present invention, and describes different parts from the first embodiment. In addition, the same code | symbol is attached | subjected to the part same as 1st Example.

In the present embodiment, the smaller the amount of laundry, the less the amount of water stored in the water tank 2, and the humidifying operation is performed.

Specifically, in the standard course and the "confirmation course", 500 ml of water is stored in the water tank 2 when the laundry amount is 1 kg and 2 kg, and 800 in the water tank 2 when the laundry amount is 3 kg and 4 kg. Store ml of water.

On the other hand, in the "fofocos", 800 ml of water is stored in the water tank 2 even if the laundry amount is 1 kg and 2 kg. This is because the laundry of the "foam course" (that is, the blanket) has a large volume even if the weight of the laundry of the standard course or the "sure course" is the same.

According to the said structure, since the said laundry can be humidified without an excess or deficiency according to the quantity of laundry, laundry can be finished more favorable.

Fig. 7 shows a third embodiment of the present invention, and describes different parts from the first embodiment. In addition, the same code | symbol is attached | subjected to the part same as 1st Example.

In this embodiment, the more the charge amount of the laundry in the drying step is, the shorter the rotation time per unit time of the rotating tub 13 is, and the humidifying operation is performed. In addition, as the charge amount of the laundry in the drying step increases, the rotary tub 13 is rotated at a low speed to perform the humidification operation. In this embodiment, the humidification operation time and the amount of water stored in the water tank 2 are made constant regardless of the amount of charge of the laundry in the drying step.

Specifically, the ON / OFF time and the rotational speed of the motor 17 with respect to the laundry amount of the standard course, the "sure course" and the "foam course" are as shown in FIG.

In the standard course and the "confirmation course", the smaller the amount of laundry is, the larger the amount of charge is, and accordingly, the rotation time of the rotating tub 13 per unit time is shorter and the rotational speed of the rotating tub 13 is smaller. In addition, the laundry of the "foam course" (foam) is made of a material that is more likely to generate static electricity due to friction and to charge than the laundry of the standard course and the "sure course". For this reason, the rotation time per unit time of the rotating tank 13 is shortened in either 1 kg or 2 kg of laundry amount.

According to the above configuration, the more the case where the humidification operation is performed under the condition that the laundry is easy to charge, the smaller the rotation speed of the rotating tub 13 during the humidification operation and the shorter the rotation time of the rotating tub 13. Therefore, the laundry and water vapor can be brought into contact with each other while preventing the laundry from being charged by the humidification operation. In addition, even if the amount of laundry is large, it can be sufficiently stirred, so that the laundry and water vapor can be brought into proper contact.

Fig. 8 shows a fourth embodiment of the present invention, and describes different parts from the first embodiment. In addition, the same code | symbol is attached | subjected to the part same as 1st Example.

8 is a view for explaining the contents of a drying step according to the present embodiment. In this embodiment, the temperature sensor 27 detects the temperature at the end of the drying process. When the detection temperature is equal to or higher than the predetermined temperature, the drying process is extended and the blowing operation is performed again. The second blowing operation is performed when the heat of the laundry cannot be sufficiently cooled by the first blowing operation, for example, when the external air temperature is high. In this embodiment, when the second blowing operation is performed, the humidifying operation is configured after that.

With the above configuration, it is possible to avoid that the charge amount of the laundry is increased or the laundry is excessively dried by the second blowing operation.

Fig. 9 shows a fifth embodiment of the present invention, and describes different parts from the first embodiment. In addition, the same code | symbol is attached | subjected to the part same as 1st Example.

In this embodiment, it is configured to select whether or not to perform a humidification operation during the drying step. Such a configuration is, for example, as shown in FIG. 9, for displaying the setting contents of the operation key 41 and the setting of the key 41 on the operation panel 40 to select whether or not to perform the humidification operation. This can be achieved by providing the light emitting display sections 42 and 43. For example, "Yes" and "None" characters are printed on the light emitting display sections 42 and 43, and it is possible to confirm whether or not the humidification operation is executed depending on which of the light emitting display sections 42 and 43 emits light.

With the above configuration, it is possible to execute the humidification operation as necessary.

In addition, this invention is not limited to said Example, For example, the following modifications are possible.

Even when only the drying operation is executed, the humidification operation may be performed according to the amount of charge of the laundry.

The present invention is not limited to the laundry dryer having the configuration in which the rotating tub rotates about the horizontal axis, and is applicable to the laundry dryer having the configuration in which the rotary tub rotates about the vertical axis.

The method of evaporating the water stored in the water tank in the humidification operation is not limited to the method of using the remaining heat of the rotating tank or the water tank, and a method of heating the heating element may be adopted.

It is also a good configuration to combine the above-described embodiments.

As mentioned above, this invention is useful as a household laundry dryer which can dry laundry in a favorable state.

Claims (10)

Water tank (2), Rotation tank 13 is installed in the tank (2) for receiving laundry, Drive device 17 for driving the rotating tub 13, Hot air supply device 18 for supplying warm air in the rotating tank 13, Water supply device (26, 29, 30, 36) for supplying water in the tank (2), and In the laundry dryer provided with the control means 31 which performs the drying operation which dries the said laundry by controlling the said drive apparatus 17 and the said hot air supply apparatus 18, And said control means (31) is configured to perform a humidification operation of storing water in said water tank (2) and humidifying said laundry in accordance with the charge amount of said laundry in a drying operation. The method of claim 1, The control means (31) is a laundry dryer, characterized in that configured to perform a long time, the humidification operation as the amount of charge of the laundry during the drying operation. The method of claim 2, The control means (31) is a laundry dryer, characterized in that the smaller the amount of laundry is configured to determine that the greater the amount of charge of the laundry. The method of claim 2, And said control means (31) is configured to selectively execute a plurality of drying operations having different execution times, wherein the longer the execution time of the drying operation is, the larger the amount of charge of laundry is. The method of claim 2, The control means (31) is a laundry dryer, characterized in that configured to determine whether or not the amount of charge of the laundry is large according to the material of the laundry. The method of claim 1, The control means (31) is a laundry dryer, characterized in that the smaller the amount of laundry is configured to perform a humidification operation by reducing the amount of water stored in the water tank (2). The method of claim 1, The hot air supply device 18 is provided with a heater 21 and a blower 20, The control means 31 drives the drive unit 17, the heater 21, and the blower 20 during the drying operation to rotate the rotary tank 13 while supplying hot air to the rotary tank ( 13, a drying operation for supplying the inside, a blowing operation for driving the driving device 17 and the blower 20 to supply low-temperature air into the rotating bath 13 while rotating the rotating tank 13, the driving Low temperature air while rotating the rotary tank 13 while driving the device 17, the water supply devices 26, 29, 30, 36 and the blower 20 to store water in the water tank 2 Washing dryer, characterized in that configured to sequentially execute the humidification operation to supply the rotating tank (13). The method of claim 7, wherein The control means 31 is configured to shorten the rotation time per unit time of the rotary tub 13 as the charge amount of the laundry increases, and to reduce the rotational speed of the rotary tub 13 to perform the humidification operation. A laundry dryer characterized by the above. The method of claim 1, The hot air supply device 18 is provided with a heater 21 and a blower 20, and further includes an outer box for accommodating the water tank 2, the rotating tank 13, and the driving device 17 ( 1) and a temperature detecting means 27 for detecting a temperature in the outer box 1, The control means 31 drives the heater 21 and the blower 20 during a drying operation to perform a drying operation for supplying high temperature air into the rotary tank 13, and then the blower 20. Is driven to perform a blowing operation for supplying low temperature air into the rotating tank 13, and when the detected temperature of the temperature detecting means 27 at the end of the drying operation is equal to or higher than a predetermined value, the blowing operation is executed again. And at the same time, thereafter configured to execute a humidification operation. water tank, Rotation tank 13 is installed in the tank (2) for receiving laundry, Drive device 17 for driving the rotating tub 13, Hot air supply device 18 for supplying warm air in the rotating tank 13, Water supply device (26, 29, 30, 36) for supplying water in the tank (2) and Control means 31 for performing a laundry drying operation consisting of a washing process, a dehydration process, and a drying process by controlling the driving device 17, the warm air supply device 18, and the water supply device 26, 29, 30, 36. In the laundry dryer equipped with And said control means (31) is configured to perform a humidification operation of storing water in said water tank (2) and humidifying said laundry in accordance with the charge amount of said laundry in a drying process.