KR20070073913A - Washer-dryer - Google Patents

Abstract

A washer-dryer comprising a water tank (3, 116), a rotary tank (4, 128), a rotary shaft (8) provided at an axial end face of the rotary tank, a drive means (6, 132) for rotating the rotary tank at a low speed during drying operation and at a high speed during dewatering operation, and a warm air supply means (72, 81, 142) for supplying warm air into the water tank through a warm air inlet (40, 89, 124) provided in the water tank. The water tank has, in its inside, a duct cover (61, 138) having an airflow path (64) that extends from the warm air inlet to the vicinity of the rotary shaft, and the water tank also has an opening (63, 139) in a section surrounding the rotary shaft. An introduction path (66) for introducing warm air, passed through the airflow path, into the rotary tank is provided in that part of the rotary tank which surrounds the rotary shaft. A seal member (68, 140, 152), extending toward the peripheral edge of the opening in the duct cover, is provided on the outer periphery of that end section of the introduction path which faces the duct cover.

Description

Laundry dryer {WASHER-DRYER}

The present invention relates to a laundry dryer which aims at improving the drying efficiency.

For example, in a drum type washing dryer, a warm air generating device is fixed to the outer surface part of a water tank, and it is comprised so that the warm air which the warm air generating device generate | occur | produces may be supplied into a rotating tank through a water tank. In this case, the hot air supply port is provided at one end having an opening in both ends of the water tank. This is because, unlike the other end of the tank in which the bearing portion for supporting the rotating shaft of the rotating tank, the motor for driving the rotating tank, etc. is installed, the structure for supplying warm air to the rotating tank at the open end of the tank is simplified.

By the way, a predetermined space is provided between the rotating tank and the water tank in order to prevent interference between the rotating tank and the water tank which rotate at high speed during dewatering. For this reason, when the air resistance in the rotary tank is large, such as when the amount of laundry contained in the rotary tank is large, or when the laundry is dried and the volume of the laundry is increased, most of the warm air supplied from the hot air supply port into the tank is rotated and the tank. There was a problem that the drying efficiency was lowered toward the space between.

Therefore, the structure which provides the wall member which closes between a water tank and a rotating tank at the opening edge part of a rotating tank, and prevents a warm air from directing to the space between a water tank and a rotating tank at the time of a drying process is proposed. Such a laundry dryer is described in, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2004-8683.

(Initiation of invention)

(Tasks to be solved by the invention)

The said wall member is comprised so that it may stand in contact with a water tank in the drying process in which a rotating tank rotates at low speed, and may be elastically deformed and separated from the water tank in the dehydration process which rotates at high speed. However, the opening end of the rotating tub may fluctuate about 5-10 mm at the time of high speed rotation compared with the end provided with the rotating shaft. For this reason, when the said wall member is enlarged and it is comprised so that the space of a water tank and a rotating tank can be completely closed, the said wall member will contact a water tank at the time of high speed rotation. Therefore, the wall member must be made small, and the space between the water tank and the rotating tank could not be sufficiently closed during the drying operation.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object thereof is to provide a laundry dryer which can almost certainly prevent the air supplied into the water tank during the drying operation from flowing into the space between the water tank and the rotating tank.

(Means to solve the task)

The present invention provides a water tank, a rotating tank rotatably disposed in the water tank, a rotating shaft provided at an axial end surface of the rotating tank, and rotating the rotating tank at a low speed during a drying operation, and rotating the rotating tank at a high speed during a dehydration operation. What is claimed is: 1. A laundry dryer comprising: a driving means for supplying hot air; and a warm air supply means for supplying warm air into the water tank through a hot air inlet installed in the water tank.

A ventilation path extending from the hot air inlet to the vicinity of the rotary shaft, and having a duct cover having an opening at the periphery of the rotary shaft in the water tank; A seal is provided to guide the warm air passing through the furnace into the rotary tub, and the seal extends toward the periphery of the opening of the duct cover on the outer periphery of the end portion of the introduction path that faces the duct cover. And a member, wherein the seal member is substantially in contact with the duct cover when the rotating tub rotates at a low speed, and is configured to elastically deform in a direction away from the duct cover when the rotating tub rotates at a high speed. do.

(Effects of the Invention)

In the laundry dryer of the present invention, the warm air introduced into the water tank from the hot air inlet at the time of drying operation reaches the opening through the ventilation path, and flows into the rotary tank through the introduction path. At this time, since the connection part between the ventilation path and the introduction path is closed by the seal member, the warm air passing through the ventilation path is almost certainly introduced into the introduction path. Moreover, the opening of the ventilation path and the introduction path were provided in the periphery of the rotating shaft, and the sealing member was provided in the outer periphery of the said introduction path. Since the distance at which the rotating tub swings at the high speed of rotation is smaller as the rotation axis is smaller, the seal member and the duct cover can be reliably separated at the time of the high speed rotation even if the size of the seal member is set to a size that is substantially in full contact with the duct cover.

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

2 is a front view of the reinforcing member,

3 is a rear view of the reinforcing member,

4 is a longitudinal side view of the reinforcing member along line 4-4 of FIG. 2;

5 is a plan view of the seal member;

6 is a longitudinal sectional view of the seal member;

7 is a perspective view of the duct cover,

8 is a schematic configuration diagram of a heat pump;

9 is a longitudinal sectional view showing the vicinity of a confluence of the washing drain pipe and the dehumidification drain pipe;

10 is a diagram corresponding to FIG. 1 showing a state in which the seal member is elastically deformed.

11 is a view corresponding to FIG. 1 showing a second embodiment of the present invention;

12 is a longitudinal front view of the exhaust duct,

FIG. 13 is a view corresponding to FIG. 11 showing a third embodiment of the present invention; FIG.

14 corresponds to FIG. 13 showing a fourth embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 15 corresponds to FIG. 13 showing a fifth embodiment of the present invention;

16 corresponds to FIG. 15 showing a sixth embodiment of the present invention;

17 is a longitudinal front view showing the entire configuration of a vertical axis type rotary laundry dryer according to a seventh embodiment of the present invention, and

Fig. 18 shows an eighth embodiment of the present invention, and is a longitudinal side view showing an enlarged warm air blowing structure.

(Best form for carrying out the invention)

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS To describe the invention in more detail, it is described in accordance with the accompanying drawings.

1 to 10 show a first embodiment in which the present invention is applied to a drum type (horizontal axis rotary type) laundry dryer. As shown in FIG. 1, the laundry dryer 1 according to the present embodiment includes an outer box 2 having a substantially rectangular shape, a cylindrical water tank 3 installed in the outer box 2, and the water tank 3. It is comprised including the cylindrical rotating tank 4 provided in the inside. The water tank 3 and the rotating tank 4 function as a washing tank, and both are arrange | positioned so that a center axis may incline to a rear lower part.

The bath 3 is supported on the bottom of the outer box 2 via a suspension (not shown). The outer rotor brushless DC motor 6 (corresponding to the driving means) is provided on the rear end surface of the water tank 3. In the center of the rear end surface of the water tank 3, the bearing 7 is attached, and the rotating shaft 8 of the motor 6 is supported by the bearing 7. The rotary shaft 8 penetrates through the rear end surface of the water tank 3 and extends into the water tank 3. Moreover, the stator 6a of the motor 6 is being fixed to the circumference | surroundings of the bearing 7 among the rear end surfaces of the water tank 3.

In the center of the rear end face of the rotating tub 4, the convex part 9 which protrudes back is provided, and the annular recess 10 which protrudes forward is provided in the circumference | surroundings of the said convex part 9. The annular recess 10 is provided with a plurality of holes 11. Moreover, the reinforcement member 12 is being fixed to the rear end surface of the said rotating tank 4. As shown in FIGS. 1 to 4, the reinforcing member 12 is fitted to the inner circumference of the annular recess 10 and the outer circumference of the base 13. It consists of three ribs 14 extended radially from the. The tip end of the rib 14 is in contact with the peripheral edge of the rear end of the rotating tub 3 and is fixed with a screw. In the center of the base portion 13, a cylindrical shaft mounting portion 15 is fitted to the outer periphery of the convex portion 9, and the shaft mounting portion 15 and the convex portion 9 of the rotary shaft 8 The tip is fixed. The rotor 6b of the motor 6 is fixed to the rotary shaft 8, and the rotating tank 4 rotates integrally with the rotor 6b of the motor 6 by the above configuration.

As shown in FIG. 1, the main wall part of the rotating tank 4 is provided with the several hole 16 which functions as a water flow hole and a ventilation hole, and the some baffle 17 inside the said main wall part. Is installed. A drain hole 18 is installed at the rear lower portion of the water tank 3, and a drain hose 20 is connected to the drain hole 18 through a laundry drain pipe 19. A washing drain valve 21 is provided at the connection portion between the washing drain pipe 19 and the drain hose 20.

An opening 22 for entering and exiting laundry and a lid 23 for opening and closing the opening 22 are provided on the front surface (left side in FIG. 1) of the outer box 2. In addition, openings 24 and 25 corresponding to the openings 22 are provided at the front end surfaces of the water tank 3 and the rotating tank 4, respectively. The opening 22 of the outer box 2 and the opening 24 of the water tank 3 are connected by bellows 26.

In the rear part of the upper part in the said outer box 2, the water supply apparatus 27 provided with a water supply valve (not shown) is arrange | positioned. Moreover, the detergent dispenser 28 is arrange | positioned in all the upper parts in the outer box 2. The detergent injector 28 and the water supply device 27 are connected via the water supply hose 29.

The ventilation duct 30 is arrange | positioned in the lower part of the said water tank 3 in the said outer box 2. A blowing fan 31 is disposed at the rear end of the ventilation duct 30, and an evaporator 32 and a condenser 33 are disposed at all and the middle of the ventilation duct 30. In the lower part of the outer box 2, there is also a compressor 35 and a capillary tube 36 (both shown in FIG. 2 only) that constitute the heat pump 34 together with the evaporator 32 and the condenser 33. It is installed. As shown in FIG. 2, the evaporator 32, the condenser 33, the compressor 35, and the capillary tube 34 are connected by a refrigerant distribution pipe 37, and the compressor 35 is driven. As a result, the refrigerant is circulated.

As shown in FIG. 1, the fan motor 38 which drives the blowing fan 31 is attached to the rear end surface of the said ventilation duct 30. As shown in FIG. In addition, a lint filter 39 is attached to the front end of the ventilation duct 30. The lint filter 39 is configured to be attached and detached through the opening 2a at the lower front of the outer box 2.

On the other hand, the warm air inlet 40 is provided in the upper part of the back part of the said water tank 3, and the warm air outlet 41 is provided in the upper part of the front part. The upper part of the rear end of the ventilation duct 30 and the hot air inlet 40 are connected by an air supply duct 42, and the upper part of the front end of the ventilation duct 30 and the hot air outlet 41 are exhaust duct ( 43). When the fan motor 38 is driven, the air in the water tank 3 and the rotary tank 4 is sucked into the exhaust duct 43 from the hot air outlet 41 by the blowing action of the blower fan 31, and the ventilation duct 30 ) Flows into. And after passing through the evaporator 32 and the condenser 33 in the ventilation duct 30, it discharges from the hot air inlet 40 into the water tank 3 through the air supply duct 42. As shown in FIG. Therefore, the hot air supply device 72 as a hot air supply means is constituted by the ventilation duct 30, the heat pump 34, the blowing fan 31, the fan motor 38, and the like.

Moreover, the front part of the bottom part of the ventilation duct 30 is lower than the evaporator 32, and the drain port 44 is provided in the part which descended one end. In addition, the portion between the evaporator 32 and the condenser 33 in the ventilation duct 30 is inclined downward from the evaporator 32 toward the condenser 33. A drain hose 20 is connected to the drain port 44 via a dehumidification drain pipe 45. The dehumidification drain valve 46 is provided in the connection portion of the dehumidification drain pipe 45 and the drain hose 20.

9 shows the configuration of the connection portion of the drain hose 20, the laundry drain pipe 19, and the dehumidification drain pipe 45. As shown in FIG. 9, both the washing | cleaning drain valve 21 and the dehumidification drain valve 46 are comprised by the electric operation valve (a bellows valve), and the cylindrical valve main body provided with the valve port in the lower end. (51), the bellows (52) disposed in the valve body (51) for opening and closing the valve opening, the hollow valve rod (53) fixed in the bellows (52), and the valve rod (53). The return spring 54 arrange | positioned at the outer periphery, and the tension coil spring 55 arrange | positioned in the said valve rod 53 are provided. The upper ends of the tension coil springs 55 are connected to geared motors (not shown) as driving means, respectively, and the bellows 52 of the corresponding drain valves are connected to the return springs 54 by driving the geared motors. Move up and down in resistance. As a result, the washing drain valve 21 and the dehumidification drain valve 46 are opened and closed.

Subsequently, a warm air blowing structure provided between the hole 11 of the rear end of the rotating tub 4 and the warm air inlet 40 will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 7. As shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 7, the duct cover 61 is attached to the front surface of the rear end of the water tank 3. The duct cover 61 is composed of a straight portion 61a extending downward from the periphery of the warm air inlet 40 and an annular portion 61b positioned at the periphery of the bearing 7. The outer periphery of the duct cover 61 is provided with a flange 62 throughout, and the flange 62 is fixed to the front of the rear end of the water tank 3 with screws. At this time, the rotating shaft 8 is spaced apart from the inner peripheral portion of the annular portion 61b, and a communication port 63 (corresponding to the opening) is formed between the rotating shaft 8 and the annular portion 61b. . The ventilation path 64 extending from the hot air inlet 40 toward the communication port 63 is formed between the rear end part of the water tank 3 and the duct cover 61 by the said structure.

Meanwhile, as shown in FIGS. 1 to 4, radially extending between the shaft mounting portion 15 and the main wall portion of the base portion 13 of the base portion 13 of the reinforcing member 12. A plurality of, for example, 16 pins 65 are provided. By the above configuration, a space in the shape of a substantially fan shape is formed between the adjacent pins 65 and 65. Half of the sixteen fan-shaped spaces have openings at both front and rear ends thereof, and each has an introduction path 66. The other half is open at the front end but closed at the rear end. The space where the front and rear ends are opened (introduction path 66) and the space where the rear end is closed are alternately arranged.

Moreover, the step part 67 is provided in the outer periphery of the rear end part of the said base part 13, The annular sealing member 68 is attached to the said step part 67. As shown in FIG. The seal member 68 is composed of an elastic member, and as shown in Figs. 1, 5 and 6, the tubular portion 69, the lip portion 70 extending from the end of the tubular portion 69, It consists of the some weight part 71 integrally provided in the front-end | tip of the said lip | rip part 70. As shown in FIG. The seal member 68 is attached to the reinforcing member 12 by fixing the lip portion 70 and the weight portion 71 toward the rear side by fixing the tubular portion 69 to the step portion 67 of the base portion 13. have.

Centrifugal force is applied to the weight part 71 when the rotating tank 4 is rotationally driven. The magnitude of the centrifugal force is proportional to the mass of the weight portion 71, the distance from the center of rotation of the rotary tub 4 to the weight 71, and the square of the rotational speed of the rotary tub 4. Therefore, when the rotation speed of the rotating tank 4 becomes large, the centrifugal force applied to the weight part 71 becomes large accordingly.

In the present embodiment, during the washing process and the drying process in which the rotating tub 4 rotates at a low speed, the lip portion 70 stands up by its rigidity, and is near the rim of the vent hole 63 in the duct cover 61. Contact. In the dehydration step in which the rotating tub 4 rotates at a high speed, the lip portion 70 is elastically deformed in the radial direction and separated from the duct cover 61 by the centrifugal force acting on the weight portion 71. . 10 shows a state where the lip portion 70 is separated from the duct cover 61.

Subsequently, the operation of the above configuration will be described. The laundry dryer 1 is sequentially subjected to a washing process, a dehydration process, and a drying process when a standard driving course is started. In the washing process, the water supply device 27 is driven to feed water into the water tank 3. Then, when a predetermined amount of water is supplied to the water tank 3, the motor 6 is driven to rotate the rotating tank 4 at low speed in the forward and reverse directions. At this time, since the centrifugal force acting on the weight portion 71 of the sealing member 68 is small, the lip portion 70 is not elastically deformed and is in contact with the duct cover 61.

In the dehydration step, after the water in the water tank 3 is discharged, an operation of rotating the rotating tank 4 in one direction at high speed is performed. For this reason, the laundry in the rotating tank 4 is rotated in the state attached to the inner surface of the circumferential wall part of the rotating tank 4, and is centrifugally dewatered. At this time, since the centrifugal force acting on the weight portion 71 is large, the lip portion 70 is elastically deformed and separated from the duct cover 61 (see FIG. 10). For this reason, the occurrence of noise due to the wear of the seal member 68 and the contact of the seal member 68 with the duct cover 61 can be prevented.

In a drying process, the operation | movement which dries the laundry by supplying warm air in the rotating tank 4, rotating the rotating tank 4 at low speed in a forward and reverse direction is performed. That is, the drive of the fan motor 38 is started, and the air in the water tank 3 flows into the ventilation duct 30 from the hot air outlet 41 through the exhaust duct 43 by the blowing action of the blowing fan 31. do.

On the other hand, the drive of the compressor 35 which comprises the heat pump 34 is started. As a result, the high temperature and high pressure refrigerant flows into the condenser 33 and heat exchanges with the air in the ventilation duct 30. As a result, the temperature of the refrigerant is lowered and liquefied. After passing through the capillary tube 36, the refrigerant flows into the evaporator 32. When passing through the capillary tube 36, the refrigerant is depressurized and the gas-liquid mixed state of low temperature and low pressure. In addition, the air heated by heat exchange with the condenser 33 is directed to the warm air inlet 40 through the air supply duct 42 and flows into the water tank 3.

At this time, since the rotation speed of the rotating tank 4 is small and the centrifugal force acting on the weight part 71 is small, the lip | rip part 70 is in an upright state without elastic deformation. Thus, the lip portion 70 of the seal member 68 and the duct cover 61 are in contact. For this reason, most of the air (hot air) introduced from the hot air inlet 40 into the ventilation path 64 in the water tank 3 does not direct the communication port 63 to the space between the rotary water tank 4 and the water tank 3. It flows into the rotating tank 4 from the hole part 11 toward the introduction path 66 through. The warm air introduced into the rotary tub 4 deprives the laundry of water, and then returns to the ventilation duct 21 from the warm air outlet 41 via the exhaust duct 43.

In addition, the low temperature refrigerant introduced into the evaporator 32 is heat-exchanged with the air in the ventilation duct 30. As a result, the humid air introduced into the ventilation duct 30 through the exhaust duct 43 is cooled, and moisture in the air condenses on the surface of the evaporator 32. Water condensed on the surface of the evaporator 32 is discharged from the drain port 44 into the dehumidification drain pipe 45 and discharged to the outside through the drain hose 20. In addition, the refrigerant passing through the evaporator 32 rises in temperature and is returned to the compressor 35. In this way, the air circulates between the ventilation duct 30 and the rotary tub 4 so that the laundry in the rotary tub 4 is dried.

According to the present embodiment as described above, the following effects can be obtained. That is, the sealing member 68 is provided between the ventilation path 64 provided in the water tank 3, and the introduction path 66 provided in the rotating tank 4, and the rotating tank 4 rotates at the low speed in a drying process. When driven, the lip portion 70 of the seal member 68 was configured to close the gap between the ventilation path 64 and the introduction path 66. For this reason, most of the warm air which flowed in from the hot air inlet 40 into the water tank 3 can be guide | induced to the rotating tank 4, and improvement of drying efficiency can be aimed at.

In addition, the lip portion 70 is laid down by the centrifugal force when the rotary tank 4 rotates at a high speed during the dehydration step, and is separated from the duct cover 61. Therefore, the occurrence of noise due to the wear of the lip portion 70 and the contact of the lip portion 70 and the duct cover 61 can be suppressed as much as possible. In addition, in the present Example, the introduction path 66 of the rotation shaft 8 was provided, and the sealing member 68 was provided in the outer periphery of the base part 13 which has the said introduction path 66. As shown in FIG. The distance when the rotating tub 4 rotates at high speed is as small as the vicinity of the rotating shaft 8. Accordingly, the lip portion 70 can be prevented from coming into contact with the duct cover 61 at the time of the dehydration step.

Moreover, at the high speed rotation of the rotating tub 4, the said lip | rip part 70 was comprised so that it might lie in the direction which the rotating shaft 8 extends, and is spaced apart from the duct cover 61. As shown in FIG. By employing the configuration lying in the axial direction as described above, even when the roundness of the sealing member 68 is low or when the rotation centers of the sealing member 68 and the rotating tank 4 do not coincide with each other, the rotating tank At high speed rotation of (4), the sealing member 68 and the duct cover 61 can be reliably separated.

11 and 12 show a second embodiment of the present invention, and explain the differences from the first embodiment. In addition, the same code | symbol is attached | subjected to the same part as 1st Example. In this second embodiment, a heater type hot air supply means is used in place of the heat pump type warm air supply means.

That is, the drying apparatus 81 as a hot air supply means is provided in the upper part of the water tank 3. The drying apparatus 81 includes a ventilation duct 82, a blower fan 83 disposed in the front part of the ventilation duct 82, and a heater 84 disposed in the center portion of the ventilation duct 82. Equipped. The rotary shaft 83a of the blowing fan 83 penetrates the ventilation duct 82 and protrudes above the ventilation duct 82, and is rotated by the fan motor 86 disposed on the upper surface of the ventilation duct 82. It is configured to be.

A hot air inlet 89 is formed at the upper rear end of the water tank 3, and a rear end of the vent duct 82 is connected to the hot air inlet 89. On the other hand, the hot air outlet 90 is formed in the lower part of the front end part of a water tank, and the front end part of the said ventilation duct 82 is connected to the hot air outlet 90 via the exhaust duct 91. As shown in FIG.

12 is a view of the exhaust duct 91 viewed from the front. The exhaust duct 91 is bent so that it may follow the opening 24 of the water tank 3, and the water supply pipe 92 which has the some hole 92a is provided in the upper part. The water supply pipe 92 is connected to a water supply hose 93 extending from the water supply device 27, and when water is supplied from the water supply device 27, the water in the shower state is sprayed into the exhaust duct 91. have.

Also in this embodiment, the same warm air blowing structure as that of the first embodiment is provided between the hole 11 of the rear end of the rotary tub 2 and the warm air inlet 89. Therefore, the description thereof is omitted here.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 11, the drain pump 94 is provided in the lower part in the outer box 2. As shown in FIG. The drain port 18 of the water tank 3 is connected to the drain pump 94 via the drain pipe 95. In addition, a drain hose 20 is connected to the drain pump 94.

In this embodiment, a drying operation is performed as follows. That is, the rotating tank 4 rotates at low speed by the motor 6, and the drive of the heater 84 and the fan motor 86 is started. In addition, water is injected into the exhaust duct 91 from the water supply device 27 through the water supply pipe 92. As a result, the air in the water tank 3 flows into the ventilation duct 82 from the hot air outlet 90 via the exhaust duct 91 by the blowing action of the blowing fan 83, and is heated by the heater 84 Then, it flows into the water tank 3 from the warm air inlet 89.

At this time, since the rotation speed of the rotating tank 4 is small and the centrifugal force acting on the weight part 71 is small, the lip | rip part 70 is in an upright state without elastic deformation. Thus, the lip portion 70 of the seal member 68 and the duct cover 61 are in contact. For this reason, most of the air (hot air) introduced from the hot air inlet 89 into the ventilation path 64 in the water tank 3 is not directed to the space between the rotary tank 4 and the water tank 3, so that the communication port 63 is opened. It flows into the rotating tank 4 from the hole part 11 toward the introduction path 66 through.

The warm air introduced into the rotary tub 4 deprives the laundry of water, and then flows into the exhaust duct 91 from the hot air outlet 90. After dehumidification by cooling and condensing with water injected from the main water pipe 92, the air flows through the blowing fan 83 and the heater 84 and returns to the rotary tank 4. By the circulation of such air, the laundry in the rotating tank 4 is dried.

Therefore, also in this embodiment, the same effects as in the first embodiment can be obtained.

FIG. 13 shows a third embodiment of the present invention, and describes a difference from the second embodiment. In addition, the same code | symbol is attached | subjected to the same part as 2nd Example. This third embodiment differs from the second embodiment in the configuration of the annular recess provided in the rear end of the rotary tub 4 in the warm air blowing structure. Specifically, the annular recessed portion 101 according to the present embodiment has a larger diameter than the annular recessed portion 10, and a plurality of openings 102 are formed in the peripheral wall portion thereof. In this embodiment, the diameter of the annular recess 101 is set to about five fifths of the diameter of the rotary tub 4. The opening 102 is provided in place of the hole 11 (refer to FIG. 1), and flows into the hot air path 64 in the water tank 3 from the hot air inlet 89 during the drying step by the above configuration. Air passing through the communication port 63 and the introduction passage 66 flows into the rotating tank 4 from the opening 102.

At this time, since the rotating tank 4 rotates and the opening 102 is provided in the circumferential wall portion of the annular recess 101, the air flowing into the rotating tank 4 from the opening 102 is rotated. It spreads toward the main wall part of 4). That is, in this embodiment, the annular recess 101 and the opening 102 function as diffusion means. In the dehydration process, since the laundry is attached to the inner surface of the circumferential wall of the rotary tub 4 while the laundry is attached, most of the laundry is located near the circumferential wall of the rotary tub 4. Therefore, the laundry can be dried more efficiently by configuring the air flowing into the rotary tub 4 toward the circumferential wall of the rotary tub 4 as in the present embodiment.

Moreover, when the opening 102 is provided in the circumferential wall part of the annular recessed part 101, air will enter easily into the rotating tank 4 by centrifugal force, and it will connect between the rotating tank 4 and the ventilation duct 82. The flow rate of the circulating air is increased. In this respect, the drying efficiency can be improved.

Fig. 14 shows a fourth embodiment of the present invention, which is different from the third embodiment. In addition, the same code | symbol is attached | subjected to the same part as 3rd Example. In this fourth embodiment, the diffusion plate 103 is mounted on the rear surface of the annular recess 101. In this embodiment, the diffusion means is constituted by the annular recess 101, the opening 102, and the diffusion plate 103. The diffusion plate 103 is disposed radially around the convex portion 9 and functions as a blowing fan in accordance with the rotation of the rotating tub 4, that is, the rotation of the annular recess 101. Therefore, the flow volume of the air which flows into the rotating tank 4 from the opening 102 at the time of a drying process can be further increased.

FIG. 15 shows a fifth embodiment of the present invention, and describes differences from the third embodiment. In addition, the same code | symbol is attached | subjected to the same part as 3rd Example. In this fifth embodiment, the air vent 104 is provided in the baffle 17, and the annular recess 101 and the baffle 17 are connected by the warm air bypass 105. By such a structure, a part of the air which flowed into the introduction path 66 through the ventilation path 64 and the communication port 63 from the hot air inlet 89 at the time of a drying process passes from the opening 102 to the rotating tank 4 And the remaining air is introduced into the rotating tank (4) from the vent (104) via the warm air bypass (105). For this reason, air can be sprayed in both directions inside and outside with respect to the laundry stuck to the inner surface of the circumferential wall of the rotating tank 4.

FIG. 16 shows a sixth embodiment of the present invention, and describes differences from the fifth embodiment. In addition, the same code | symbol is attached | subjected to the same part as 5th Example. In this sixth embodiment, the arrangement of the holes 16 provided in the circumferential wall portion of the rotating tub 4 is different from that in the fifth embodiment. That is, it is comprised so that the installation space | interval (pitch) of the two holes 16 adjacent to an axial direction may become narrow gradually toward an axial direction forward. In other words, the number of holes 16 per unit area of the circumferential wall of the rotary tub 4, that is, the opening area of the holes is gradually increased from the rear in the axial direction toward the front.

According to such a structure, the following effects are acquired. The warm air supplied into the rotating tub 4 through the opening 102 of the annular recess 101 or the vent 104 of the baffle 17 reaches the opening 25 of the rotating tub 4. It flows out into the space between the rotating tank 4 and the water tank 3 through the hole 16, and is discharged | emitted from the hot air outlet 90 to the exhaust duct 91. FIG. Therefore, if most of the holes 16 exist in the vicinity of the inlet (opening 102 or the vent 104) of the warm air into the rotating tank 4, the warm air introduced into the rotating tank 4 contributes almost to the drying of the laundry. It flows out into the space between the rotating tank 4 and the water tank 3, without doing so. On the other hand, in the vicinity of the hot air outlet 90, since the hot air introduced into the rotary tank 4 is efficiently discharged to the exhaust duct 91, most of the warm air is taken into the space between the rotary tank 4 and the water tank 3 as much as possible. It needs to be spilled.

That is, in the present embodiment, since the pitch of the holes 16 is configured to gradually narrow toward the axial direction, the amount of warm air that contributes to drying of the laundry among the warm air supplied into the rotary tub 4 can be increased, and the rotation The warm air supplied into the tank 4 can be efficiently discharged from the warm air outlet 90 to the exhaust duct 91. Therefore, the drying efficiency can be improved.

FIG. 17 shows a seventh embodiment of the present invention applied to a vertical axis rotary laundry dryer. FIG. That is, the laundry dryer 111 is provided with the outer box 112 and the hollow top cover 113 provided in the upper part of the said outer box 112. The laundry entrance 114 is formed at the center of the top cover 113. The laundry entrance 114 is opened and closed by an outer cover 115 that can be folded into two. The outer cover 115 is provided with a plurality of cutouts (not shown) in the periphery thereof, so that a gap is formed around the outer cover 115 when the laundry entrance 114 is closed. The air permeability of the washing machine main body 111 is secured by the said gap.

In the outer box 112, a cylindrical water tank 116 is provided through the elastic support mechanism 117. An upper surface opening of the water tank 116 is provided with a water tank cover 119 having an inner cover 118. In addition, a drain port 120 is provided at the bottom of the water tank 116. A drain hose 122 is connected to the drain hole 120 through a drain valve 121.

The ventilation duct 123 is provided in the right part of the said water tank 116. The ventilation duct 123 communicates with the inside of the water tank 116 through a warm air inlet 124 provided under the water tank 116.

In the water tank 116, the cylindrical rotating tank 128 which functions as a washing tank, a dehydration tank, and a drying tank is provided so that longitudinal axis rotation is possible. The circumferential wall portion of the rotating tub 128 is provided with a plurality of holes 128a serving as water passage holes and air passage holes. A circular balancer 129 is provided at the upper end of the rotating tub 128. In addition, a stirring body 130 is rotatably provided at the bottom of the rotating tank 128. A drive mechanism 131 is provided below the water tank 116 to rotationally drive the rotating tank 128 and the stirring body 130. The drive mechanism 131 includes a rotation shaft 133 and a clutch (not shown) for selectively transmitting rotation of the outer rotor-type motor 132 and the motor 132 to the rotating tank 118 and the stirring body 130. And the like. The rotating shaft 133 is supported by a bearing 134 provided at the bottom of the water tank 116.

The reinforcing member 135 is fixed to the lower surface of the bottom of the rotating tub 128. Openings 136 and 137 are formed at the bottom of the rotating tank 128 and at the periphery of the rotating shaft 133 among the reinforcing members 135, respectively. On the other hand, the duct cover 138 is attached to the upper surface of the bottom of the water tank 116. The duct cover 138 has substantially the same configuration as the duct cover 61 (see FIG. 1, etc.), and has a straight portion 38a extending from the periphery of the warm air inlet 124 toward the bearing 134. It is comprised by the annular part 138b located in the periphery of the bearing 134, and is fixed to the bottom part of the water tank 116 by fixing the flange 138c with a screw. The inner circumferential edge of the annular portion 138b and the rotation shaft 133 are spaced apart from each other, and a communication port 139 (corresponding to the opening) is formed between the rotation shaft 133 and the annular portion 138b.

From the above, the ventilation path 141 is formed between the bottom of the water tank 116 and the duct cover 138. The communication port 139 and the openings 136 and 137 face each other in the vertical direction. The sealing member 140 is attached to the periphery of the opening 137 in the lower surface of the reinforcing member 135. The seal member 140 is spaced apart in the axial direction from the duct cover 138 by rotating the rotating tub 128 at high speed, and the rotating tub 128 contacts the duct cover 138 by rotating or stopping at low speed.

That is, in this embodiment, a warm air blowing structure is provided between the bottom of the rotating tank 128 and the bottom of the water tank 116.

On the rear side of the top cover 113, a warm air supply device 142 (corresponding to a warm air supply means), a water supply device (not shown), or the like is provided. A louver-shaped outside air inlet 143 is provided at the rear of the warm air supply device 142 of the top cover 113. The warm air supply device 142 is a casing 145 for receiving a blowing fan 144 and a heater (not shown), and is fixed to the front of the casing 145 to drive the blowing fan 144 to rotate The fan motor 146 is provided. An exhaust duct 147 is formed on the front surface of the casing 145, and a bellows-shaped blowing duct 148 is connected to the lower end of the exhaust duct 147. The lower end of the blowing duct 148 is connected to the upper end of the vent duct 123.

In the present embodiment, when the fan motor 146 and the heater are driven during the drying process, the outside air is blown from the outside air inlet 143 by the blowing operation of the blowing fan 14. Then, after being heated by the heater to warm the air, the warm air flows into the ventilation path 141 from the warm air inlet 124 through the exhaust duct 147 and the air blowing duct 148. The warm air introduced into the ventilation path 141 flows into the rotating tank 128 through the communication port 139 and the openings 136 and 137.

Since the rotation speed of the rotating tank 128 is small at the time of a drying process, the sealing member 140 is standing up and is in contact with the duct cover 138. Therefore, the warm air from the ventilation path 141 into the rotary tank 128 is certainly introduced into the rotary tank 128 without directing to the gap between the water tank 116 and the rotary tank 128. Then, the warm air introduced into the rotating tub 128 is in contact with the laundry to take the moisture of the laundry, the opening of the upper portion of the rotating tub 128 is discharged into the outer box 112 through the gap of the water tank cover 119, It is discharged to the outside from the gap between the laundry entrance 114 and the outer cover 115 and the like. Therefore, also in this embodiment, an operation and effect almost the same as in the first embodiment can be obtained.

FIG. 18 shows an eighth embodiment of the present invention, and describes differences from the first embodiment. In addition, the same code | symbol is attached | subjected to the same part as 1st Example. FIG. 18 shows an enlarged view of the peripheral portion of the rotating shaft 8 among the rear ends of the water tank 3 and the rotating tank 4. As shown in FIG. 18, in the present embodiment, the annular convex portion 151 protrudes toward the base portion 13 of the reinforcing member 12 at the inner circumference of the annular portion 61b of the duct cover 61. Is installing.

On the other hand, the sealing member 152 made of an annular elastic member is attached to the stepped portion 67 of the base portion 13. Similar to the seal member 68, the seal member 152 includes a cylindrical portion 153, a lip portion 154 extending from an end portion of the cylindrical portion 153, and a plurality of pieces integrally provided at the tip of the lip portion 154. The weight part 155 is comprised. The seal member 152 is elastically deformed in the direction of arrow A when the rotational speed of the rotating tub 4 is increased and the centrifugal force applied to the weight portion 155 is increased, and the annular convex portion 151 of the duct cover 61 is It is spaced apart in the radial direction. On the other hand, when the rotational speed of the rotating tank 4 becomes small and the centrifugal force applied to the weight part 155 is small, the sealing member 152 stands up by its rigidity, and the annular convex part of the duct cover 61 is raised. 151 and its surroundings. That is, in this embodiment, since the contact area of the sealing member 152 and the duct cover 61 at the time of a drying process is large, the gap between the ventilation path 64 and the introduction path 66 can be reliably closed.

Since the configuration other than the above is the same as in the first embodiment, the same operation and effect as in the first embodiment can be obtained in this embodiment as well.

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

In the initial stage of the drying process, most of the laundry adheres to the inner surface of the circumferential wall of the rotary tub, but as the drying process proceeds, the laundry expands and spreads throughout the rotary tub. For this reason, the air resistance in a rotating tank becomes large and it becomes difficult for air to flow through a rotating tank. Therefore, you may comprise so that a rotating tank may be rotated 1 to a plurality of times at a predetermined time in the middle of the drying process in which the laundry was dried. According to such a structure, since an air passage can be made in a rotating tank, even if drying of laundry advances, it can contact laundry and air (hot air) efficiently.

In the drying process, the seal member may not be completely in contact with the duct cover. Even if a part of the seal member is separated from the duct cover, it is only necessary to prevent the air from the ventilation to the inlet passage from flowing between the rotary bath and the water tank. In this state, the seal member “substantially contacts” the duct cover. It is called a state.

Both the hole and the opening may be provided in the annular recess of the rear end plate of the rotating tub. The diameter of the annular recess may be appropriately changed. The position of the opening changes according to the diameter size of the annular recess.

As described above, the laundry dryer according to the present invention can direct most of the warm air supplied into the water tank into the rotary bath, and thus is useful as a household laundry dryer requiring shortening of the drying time.

Claims (7)

Tanks (3, 116), Rotation tanks (4, 128) rotatably disposed in the tank, A rotating shaft 8 provided at an axial end face of the rotating tub; Driving means (6, 132) for rotating the rotating tank at a low speed during a drying operation, and rotating the rotating tank at a high speed during a dehydration operation; In the laundry dryer provided with the warm air supply means (72, 81, 142) for supplying warm air into the tank through the warm air inlet (40, 89, 124) installed in the tank, Duct covers 61 and 138 provided in the water tank and having ventilation paths 64 extending therefrom to the vicinity of the rotary shaft and having openings 63 and 139 at the periphery of the rotary shaft. , An introduction passage 66 for guiding the warm air passing through the ventilation path in the periphery of the rotary shaft among the rotary tubs into the rotary tub, and It is provided in the outer periphery of the edge part which opposes the said duct cover in the said inlet path, and is provided with the sealing member 68,140,152 which extend toward the periphery of the said opening of the said duct cover, And the seal member is configured to substantially contact the duct cover when the rotating tub rotates at a low speed, and is elastically deformed in a direction away from the duct cover when the rotating tub is driven to rotate at high speed. The method of claim 1, The warm air supply means (72) comprises a heat pump (34). The method of claim 1, And the seal member (68, 140) is elastically deformed to be spaced apart from the duct cover (61, 138) in the axial direction. The method of claim 1, And a diffusion means (101, 102) for diffusing the warm air guided from the introduction passage (66) into the rotary tank (4) in the radial direction. The method of claim 4, wherein The diffusion means (101, 102, 103) is a laundry dryer, characterized in that configured to perform a blowing action in accordance with the rotation of the rotary tank (4). The method of claim 1, A hollow baffle 17 installed in the rotary tub 4 and having a vent hole 104, and And a warm air bypass (105) for guiding a portion of the warm air guided from the introduction passage (66) into the rotary bath into the baffle. The method of claim 1, It is provided in the circumferential wall portion of the rotary tub 4, and provided with a plurality of holes 16 for venting and passing water, And the opening area of the hole portion per unit area of the circumferential wall portion is configured to gradually increase from one end having the introduction passage (66) to the other end of both ends in the axial direction.

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