CN101006222A - Operating method for laundry machine - Google Patents

Abstract

A method for operating a washing machine in which steam can be used to remove wrinkles from clothes. The method includes supplying high-temperature steam to a washing tub containing the clothes and supplying air to the washing tub. This method facilitates the restoration of clothes, such as garments, allowing the user to wear them immediately after restoration.

Description

How to Operate a Washing Machine

technical field

The present invention relates to a method of operating a washing machine, and more particularly, to a method of operating a washing machine using steam to remove wrinkles from laundry.

Background technique

Generally, washing machines include an agitator type washing machine in which a washing tub is vertically erected, a drum type washing machine in which a washing tub is placed horizontally, a drying washing machine having both drying and washing functions, and a dryer having only a drying function.

Among these washing machines, the drying washer and dryer dries wet laundry by supplying high-temperature air to the inside of the washing tub.

Although the clothes dried in the drying washing machine and the dryer have many wrinkles, the above-mentioned washing machine does not have any structure for removing wrinkles or cannot perform any operation for removing wrinkles alone.

In particular, drying clothes in a washer and dryer does not remove wrinkles from dried clothes.

Thus, in order to wear the clothes dried by the above-mentioned washing machine, the user has to iron the dried clothes with an ironing machine, which is inconvenient.

In addition, the conventional washing machine washes laundry using washing water and detergent to deodorize, thereby wasting washing water and energy and increasing damage to laundry due to frequent washing.

Contents of the invention

The object of the present invention is to solve a problem in a method of operating a washing machine in which steam can be used to remove wrinkles from laundry, eg clothes.

Another object of the present invention is to solve the problems present in the method of operating a washing machine in which the deodorization of the laundry can be carried out economically when required.

Yet another object of the present invention is to solve the problems in the method of operating a washing machine in which the laundry can be worn by the user immediately after removing wrinkles and odors.

The object of the present invention can be achieved by providing a method of operating a washing machine, the method comprising supplying high-temperature steam to a tub containing laundry; and supplying air to the tub. The tub rotates during steam supply.

Steam supply is performed until the temperature inside the tub reaches a predetermined temperature. Preferably, the predetermined temperature ranges from 40˜60° C., and is determined by the amount of laundry contained in the washing tub.

Steam supply and air supply are performed simultaneously. The tub rotates during air supply. Air supply is performed for a predetermined time. Preferably, the predetermined time is determined by the amount of laundry contained in the tub.

The method further includes rotating the laundry tub for a predetermined time before the air supply starts after the steam supply is terminated. The method further includes spinning the tub after the air supply is started.

The air supply includes supplying cold air at a low temperature to the washing tub to simultaneously remove moisture from the laundry and cool the laundry. Cool air supply is performed until the temperature inside the tub is lower than a predetermined temperature. Preferably, the washing tub rotates during the cool air supply.

The air supply includes supplying high-temperature hot air to the washing tub to remove moisture from laundry. A condensing process for condensing air discharged from the washing tub is performed during hot air supply. Preferably, the drain pump is operated during the supply of hot air to discharge the condensed water produced by the condensing process. In addition, preferably, the washing tub rotates during hot air supply.

The air supply further includes supplying cold air at a low temperature to the washing tub to cool the laundry after the hot air supply. Cool air supply is performed until the temperature inside the washing tub is lower than a predetermined temperature or for a predetermined time.

Beneficial effect

The method of the present invention allows the washing machine to perform a recovery operation to remove wrinkles or odors from laundry, thereby improving user satisfaction with the washing machine.

In particular, after steam is supplied to the tub, air is supplied to the tub so that moisture, wrinkles, and odors are removed from the laundry and the laundry is cooled to an initial normal temperature. Therefore, immediately after the operation of the washing machine is terminated, the user can wear the laundry and feel satisfied since the laundry is in a completely dry state.

Description of drawings

The accompanying drawings, which are included to provide a further understanding of the invention, illustrate examples of the invention and together with the description serve to explain the principles of the invention.

In the attached picture:

1 is a sectional view of a washing machine used in a method for operating a washing machine according to the present invention;

Figure 2 is a top view illustrating the internal structure of the washing machine shown in Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a flow chart illustrating a method for operating a washing machine according to one embodiment of the present invention;

4 is a flowchart illustrating supplying hot air to perform a drying operation and supplying cold air to perform a cooling operation in a recovery procedure; and

FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating a method of operating a washing machine according to another embodiment of the present invention.

Detailed ways

The invention will now be described with reference to its preferred embodiments, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings.

Hereinafter, a washing machine and a method of operating the washing machine according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 1-3.

Here, the washing machine of this embodiment is a drying and washing machine having functions of drying and washing. However, the washing machine may also be a washing machine having only a washing function, or a dryer having only a drying function.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 , a washing machine according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention includes a main body 100 , a tub 200 , a tub 300 , a steam supply unit 400 , a temperature sensor 500 and an air supply unit 600 .

The main body 100 forms an appearance of a washing machine, and an opening 110 through which laundry such as clothes can be put into the main body 100 is formed through a front surface of the main body 100 .

A door 120 for opening and closing the opening 110 is installed on the main body 100 at a position close to the opening 110, and a cylindrical edge portion 130 for hermetically sealing the inside of the opening 110 is along the inside of the opening 110 when the opening 110 is closed by the door 120. Peripheral installation.

A wash water supply pipe 140 for supplying wash water to the inside of the tub 200 is provided in the main body 100 .

A detergent box 150 is provided in the main body 100, and a wash water supply pipe 140 is connected to the inside of the tub 200 via the detergent box 150.

The tub 200 is fixedly installed in the main body 100 , and a wash water heater 210 for heating wash water supplied to the inside of the tub 200 is provided at a lower end of the tub 200 .

A drain passage 220 for draining wash water to the outside of the tub 200 is connected to a lower end of the tub 200 , and a drain pump 230 operated to forcibly drain wash water is provided on the drain passage 220 .

The washing tub 300 is rotatably installed inside the tub 200 so that an open surface of the washing tub 300 faces the opening 110 of the main body 100 to wash laundry contained therein. A driving unit 310 for rotating the washing tub 300 is connected to a lower surface of the washing tub 300 .

In order to supply a prescribed amount of steam to the washing tub 300 (or tub 200), at least one steam supply unit 400 is provided. FIG. 2 illustrates the installation of the steam supply unit 400 in detail.

The steam supply unit 400 includes a steam generator 410 for heating water stored therein to generate steam, and a steam supply pipe 420 for guiding a flow of the generated steam.

Preferably, the steam outlet side of the steam supply pipe 420 passes through the drum rim portion 130 so that the steam outlet side faces the inside of the washing tub 300 .

The temperature sensor 500 is used to sense the temperature inside the tub 200 .

Preferably, the temperature sensor 500 is disposed in the space of the tub 200 . The temperature sensed by the temperature sensor 500 is used to control operations of the steam supply unit 400 and the air supply unit 600 .

The air supply unit 600 is used to dry laundry and supply air such as hot air or cool air to the washing tub 300 .

The air supply unit 600 includes a drying duct 610, a drying heater 620, a blowing fan 630, and a fan motor (not shown).

Both ends of the drying pipe 610 are connected to the inside of the outer cylinder 200 . Preferably, one end of the drying pipe 610 is connected to the rear of the tub 200 , and the other end of the drying pipe 610 is connected to the front of the tub 200 . Otherwise, one end of the drying pipe 610 may be connected to the inside of the tub 200 , and the other end of the drying pipe 610 may be connected to the outside of the main body 100 .

The drying heater 620 is disposed in the drying duct 610 and serves to heat air flowing in the drying duct 610 .

The blowing fan 630 and the fan motor are disposed in the drying duct 610 and used to blow air in the drying duct 610 to the inside of the washing tub 300 through the drying heater 620 .

Here, reference numeral 160 denotes a steam water supply pipe for supplying tap water to the steam supply unit 400 .

In addition, reference numerals 141 and 161 are switching valves for opening and closing the wash water supply pipe 140 and the steam water supply pipe 160, respectively.

Hereinafter, a method of operating the above-mentioned washing machine according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 3 and 4 .

The method of operating a washing machine of the present invention is used in a recovery operation, in addition to various operations including a washing operation and a drying operation of the washing machine. Restoring clothes means using steam instead of wash water to remove wrinkles or odors from clothes. Therefore, the user can wear the clothes immediately after the restoration of the clothes such as clothes is terminated without drying or ironing the clothes.

First, as shown in FIG. 3 , laundry to be restored, such as clothes, is placed in a washing tub of a washing machine (S10). When the recovery operation starts, laundry may be supplied to the washing tub. Otherwise, a recovery operation may be initiated with the laundry already in the tub.

Typically, the restoration operation is applied to dry, wrinkled laundry. However, the recovery operation may also be applied to laundry that contains a small amount of water after the washing and dehydration operations are completed.

When the above-mentioned step of supplying laundry is completed, a controller (not shown) controls the steam supply unit 400 so that high-temperature steam is supplied to the washing tub 300 (S20).

That is, water for generating steam is supplied to the steam generator 410, and then the steam generator 410 is heated to evaporate the water into steam. Then, steam is supplied to the washing tub 300 .

The steam leaves the clothes with a small amount of water. Thus, the clothes are in a state where wrinkles can be easily removed. Especially, taking into account the fact that the steam is at a high temperature, it is possible to remove wrinkles from clothes more easily. In addition, the high-temperature steam decomposes the odor molecules of the clothes, thereby achieving a deodorizing effect.

Steam generated by the steam generator 410 is sprayed into the inside of the washing tub 300 through the steam supply pipe 420 . Preferably, when steam is supplied to the inside of the washing tub 300 , the driving unit 310 rotates the washing tub 300 so that the steam is evenly supplied to clothes of the washing tub 300 .

Preferably, the washing tub 300 not only rotates in one direction but also rotates in one direction and then in the opposite direction, thereby preventing clothes in the washing tub 300 from being entangled and allowing steam to be supplied to the clothes in the washing tub 300 more uniformly.

The above-described process of supplying steam into the inside of the washing tub 300 is continuously performed until the temperature inside the washing tub 300 reaches a predetermined temperature.

The predetermined temperature is greater than 40°C. The reason is that the atmosphere inside the tub 300 can most effectively remove wrinkles and odors from clothes inside the tub 300 at a temperature greater than 40°C.

The higher the temperature in the washing tub 300 is, the easier it is to remove the wrinkles on the clothes in the washing tub 300 . However, when the temperature inside the washing tub 300 is too high, clothes may be damaged or deformed and may absorb steam excessively.

Therefore, preferably, the predetermined temperature ranges from 40 to 60° C., in which the wrinkles and odors can be removed from the clothes without damaging the clothes.

In addition, for restoring laundry, an optimum moisture content of laundry contained in the tub 300 is determined. Therefore, when the amount of clothes in the washing tub 300 is large, the amount of steam supplied to the washing tub 300 is relatively large, and when the amount of clothes in the washing tub 300 is small, the amount of steam supplied to the washing tub 300 is relatively small. . Therefore, the amount of steam supplied into the washing tub 300 and the supply time are determined by the amount of laundry contained in the washing tub 300 .

In addition, the amount of steam varies according to the temperature inside the tub 300 . When high temperature steam is continuously supplied to the washing tub 300, the amount of supplied steam is large, and the temperature inside the washing tub 300 is consistent with the temperature of the supplied steam.

Therefore, supplying steam to the tub 300 until the tub 300 reaches a relatively high temperature means a large amount of steam supply, and ultimately means a large amount of laundry contained in the tub 300 .

When the temperature inside the washing tub 300 reaches a predetermined temperature, the steam supply unit 400 is controlled to stop the steam supply.

Thereafter, the washing tub 300 is rotated for a specified time (t1) with the steam supply stopped, thereby continuing to remove wrinkles from the clothes (S30). Preferably, the specified time (t1) is set to be proportional to the amount of laundry supplied into the washing tub 300. Referring to FIG.

That is, when the amount of laundry is large, the rotation time of the washing tub 300 is set to a relatively long time so as to sufficiently remove wrinkles and odors from the clothes, and when the amount of laundry is small, the rotation time of the washing tub 300 is set to a relatively short time , which satisfactorily removes wrinkles and odors from laundry in a short period of time.

After steam is supplied to the washing tub 300, wrinkles are removed from clothes inside the washing tub 300 during rotation of the washing tub 300, but the clothes still contain moisture. In addition, the odor particles are still attached to the clothes, or the odor particles floating in the washing tub 300 or the tub 200 may be attached to the clothes again.

Therefore, after the washing tub 300 is rotated (S30), in order to remove wrinkles from the clothes until the clothes reach a wearable state, to dry moisture contained in the clothes due to steam supply, and to reliably remove odors from the clothes , to supply air into the washing tub 300 (S40 and S50).

According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, air supply (S40 and S50) into the washing tub 300 is performed after the washing tub 300 is rotated (S30). However, the air supply to the washing tub (S40 and S50) may be performed without performing the rotation of the washing tub 300 (S30) upon completion of the steam supply (S20).

In this embodiment, the air supply (S40 and S50) includes supplying high temperature dry hot air to the washing tub 300 to perform a drying operation (S40), and supplying low temperature cold air to the washing tub 300 to perform a cooling operation (S50).

Hereinafter, the hot air supply ( S40 ) and the cool air supply ( S50 ) will be described in detail with reference to FIG. 4 .

First, the drying heater 620 of the air supply unit 600 is operated. Thus, the air in the drying duct 610 is heated to a high temperature. Simultaneously, the fan motor operates, thereby rotating the blower fan 630 . Thus, the air heated in the drying duct 610 flows along the drying duct 610 and blows into the inside of the tub 200 . Accordingly, heated air blown into the inside of the tub 200, that is, hot air is supplied to the washing tub 300 for a specified time (t2).

Preferably, the drying heater 620 is turned on and off according to the temperature in the washing tub 300 sensed by the temperature sensor 500, so that the temperature in the washing tub 300 is maintained within a specified range. For example, during hot air supply (S40), the drying heater 620 is turned on when the temperature inside the tub 300 is lower than a lower limit (T _L ), and turned off when the temperature inside the tub 300 is higher than an upper limit (T _H ). Preferably, the temperature range (between T _L and T _H ) used to control the drying heater 620 in this embodiment is lower than that during conventional hot air supply to the washing machine (for example, during washing and dehydration of a drum type washing machine). during the drying operation after operation) is used to control the temperature range of the drying heater. Since the amount of moisture contained in the laundry required for wrinkle removal is smaller than that contained in the laundry to be dried in conventional drying operations, the laundry may be damaged when hot air at an excessively high temperature is supplied to the wrinkle-removing laundry .

During the above hot air supply (S40), in order to uniformly supply hot air to clothes contained in the wash tub 300, preferably, the wash tub 300 is rotated. Here, in order to prevent the clothes from being entangled and to supply hot air to the clothes more uniformly, the washing tub 300 is more preferably alternately rotated in normal and reverse directions. In addition, the washing tub 300 may repeatedly rotate and stop in a designated cycle.

Preferably, the specified time (t2) for performing hot air supply varies in proportion to the amount of clothes supplied into the washing tub 300 . That is, when the amount of clothes is small, the time (t2) is set to about 10 minutes, and when the amount of clothes is large, the specified time (t2) is set to about 20 minutes.

Preferably, the above time (t2) is set before the recovery operation starts, that is, before steam is supplied to the washing tub 300. Referring to FIG.

When high-temperature hot air is supplied to the washing tub 300, moisture contained in the clothes is evaporated as described above, so that the clothes return to a dry state.

Since the inside of the washing tub 300 reaches a rather high temperature during the hot air supply (S40), it is dangerous to take out clothes from the washing tub 300, and the clothes cannot be worn immediately after the hot air supply (S40).

Therefore, when the time (t2) of hot air supply is completed, the drying heater 620 is turned off, and the blower fan 630 continues to operate, so that the operation (S50) of supplying low-temperature cold air into the inside of the washing tub 300 is performed for a specified time (t3). ).

Of course, the temperature of the washing tub 300 may be naturally lowered by continuing to rotate the washing tub 300 after the hot air is supplied (S40). However, in order to increase reliability of the washing machine, it is preferable to perform cold air supply (S50) after supplying hot air (S40).

According to this embodiment of the present invention, cold air supply (S50) is performed for a specified time (t3), as described above. However, the cool air supply (S50) may be performed until the temperature of the washing tub 300 is lower than a specified temperature.

More preferably, the washing tub 300 is rotated during the supply of cool air (S50), so that the temperature of the washing tub 300 can be lowered more effectively.

The above-mentioned hot and cold air supplies (S40 and S50) the dried and cooled laundry, and discharges odor particles attached to the laundry or present in the tub to the outside, thereby more effectively deodorizing the laundry.

In the above-described embodiments, when the air circulates through the drying duct 610 during the hot air supply (S40) and the cool air supply (S50), the process of condensing moisture in the air is not performed.

However, during hot air supply ( S40 ) and cool air supply ( S50 ), condensed water may be supplied to the inside of the drying duct 610 through the condensed water supply pipe 650 . The condensed water removes moisture from the air circulated through the drying duct 610, thereby increasing the drying capacity.

In this case, preferably, the drain pump 230 is periodically operated so that the condensed water concentrated at the lower part of the drying pipe 610 is drained to the outside.

When the specified time (t3) of supplying the cool air (S50) is completed or the temperature inside the washing tub 300 is lower than a predetermined temperature, the rotation of the washing tub 300 is stopped and the rotation of the blowing fan 630 is stopped. Thus, the restore operation is terminated.

Now, a washing machine and a method of operating the washing machine according to another embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to FIG. 5 .

The washing machine of this embodiment has the same configuration as the previous embodiment, but the method of this embodiment is different from that of the previous embodiment in that steam supply and air supply are simultaneously performed in the method of this embodiment.

Hereinafter, a method of operating a washing machine to remove wrinkles from laundry according to this embodiment will be described in detail with reference to FIG. 5 .

First, the laundry to be restored is put into the washing tub of the washing machine (S110). Preferably, the wash tub is rotated in the same manner as in the previous embodiments.

Thereafter, supplying steam to the tub is performed substantially simultaneously with supplying air to the tub. FIG. 5 illustrates steam supply and air supply (S120) performed substantially simultaneously.

Here, the air supply is performed periodically or intermittently.

In the air supply, the supplied air is hot air or cold air. The air supply is performed simultaneously with the steam supply, thereby quickly and uniformly supplying the steam to the laundry.

In addition, it is possible to shorten the time to perform recovery operations. That is, since the steam supply time is shortened and the time for performing the drying or cooling operation is shortened, it is possible to shorten the time for performing the recovery operation of the washing machine.

Thereafter, after the steam supply and the air supply are stopped (S130), the washing tub continues to rotate for a specified time (S140).

Although not shown in FIG. 5 , hot air supply and cool air supply may also be performed as shown in FIG. 3 after the rotation of the washing tub is terminated.

During air supply, when cold air is supplied to the tub, the time to remove moisture from laundry is longer than when hot air is supplied to the tub, but the time to lower the temperature of laundry is shortened or unnecessary.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made in the present invention without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Thus, it is intended that the present invention covers the modifications and variations of this invention provided they come within the scope of the appended claims and their equivalents.

Industrial Applicability

The industrial applicability of the present invention is as described above.

Claims (20)

1. A method of operating a washing machine comprising: supplying high temperature steam to the tub containing the laundry; and Air is supplied to the wash tub. 2. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the tub is rotated during the steam supply. 3. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the steam supply is performed until the temperature inside the tub reaches a predetermined temperature. 4. The method of claim 3, wherein the predetermined temperature ranges from 40 to 60°C. 5. The method as claimed in claim 3, wherein the predetermined temperature is determined by the amount of laundry contained in the tub. 6. The method of claim 1, wherein the steam supply and the air supply are performed simultaneously. 7. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the washing tub is rotated during the air supply. 8. The method of claim 1, wherein the air supply is performed for a predetermined time. 9. The method of claim 8, wherein the predetermined time is determined by an amount of laundry contained in the tub. 10. The method as claimed in claim 1, further comprising rotating the laundry tub for a predetermined time after the steam supply is terminated and before the air supply is started. 11. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the air supply comprises supplying cold air at a low temperature to the washing tub to simultaneously remove moisture from the laundry and cool the laundry. 12. The method as claimed in claim 11, wherein the cooling air supply is performed until the temperature inside the tub is lower than a predetermined temperature. 13. The method as claimed in claim 12, wherein the washing tub is rotated during the cooling air supply. 14. The method of claim 1, wherein the air supply comprises supplying high-temperature hot air to the washing tub to remove moisture from the laundry. 15. The method as claimed in claim 14, wherein a condensing procedure for condensing air discharged from the laundry tub is performed during the hot air supply. 16. The method of claim 15, wherein the drain pump is operated during the supply of hot air to discharge the condensed water generated by the condensing process. 17. The method as claimed in claim 13, wherein the washing tub is rotated during the hot air supply. 18. The method of claim 14, wherein the air supply further comprises supplying cold air at a low temperature to the laundry tub to cool the laundry after the hot air supply. 19. The method as claimed in claim 18, wherein the cooling air supply is performed until a temperature inside the washing tub is lower than a predetermined temperature, or is performed for a predetermined time. 20. The method of claim 1, further comprising spinning the tub after the air supply is started.

Images