CN1779015A - Washing machine - Google Patents

Abstract

A washing machine including: a drum; a condensation pipe that condenses air flowing in from the drum; a cooling water supply unit that supplies cooling water into the inside of the condensation pipe so that air flowing into the condensation pipe from the inside of the drum is condensed; and a control unit that The cooling water supply unit is controlled so that cooling water is intermittently supplied. Therefore, there is provided a drum washing machine capable of reducing cooling water consumption, improving drying efficiency, and shortening drying time.

Description

washing machine

References to related applications

The current application claims the benefit of Korean Patent Application No. 2004-0096831 filed with the Korean Intellectual Property Office on November 24, 2004, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.

technical field

The present invention relates to a washing machine, and more particularly, to a washing machine capable of intermittently supplying cooling water.

Background technique

In general, a drum type washing machine refers to a washing machine that washes laundry using collisions generated when laundry to be washed is dropped downward by rotating a washing tub 360 degrees. The drum type washing machine has various functions such as rinsing, spin-drying, and drying in addition to a washing function.

When the drying function of the drum type washing machine is performed, the air heated by the heater is supplied to the inside of the drum to heat the clothes therein, and the high-temperature, high-humidity air generated during the heating of the clothes is condensed to improve drying efficiency.

As shown in Figure 1, a traditional drum type washing machine includes: a drum 1; a blower fan 2 and a blower fan duct 3 arranged on the outside of the drum 1; a condensation pipe 4 connecting the drum 1 and the blower fan 3; the spray nozzle 5 inside the side; and the cooling water supply pipe 6 that supplies cooling water to the spray nozzle 5 .

In the drum washing machine having such a structure, drying-processed high-temperature and high-humidity air is sucked into the inside of the condensation duct 4 through the air outlet 1 a in the lower side of the drum 1 . In the process of flowing into the blower fan duct 3 through the condensation pipe 4, the high temperature and high humidity air sucked into the condensation pipe 4 encounters the cooling water sprayed vertically downward from the spray nozzle 5, so that the moisture contained in the air is condensed.

A conventional drum type washing machine continuously supplies cooling water throughout the drying process (before, during and after drying) in order to enhance condensation effect, thereby consuming a large amount of cooling water.

In this regard, there is a need for a drum washing machine capable of reducing cooling water consumption, improving drying efficiency, and shortening drying time.

Contents of the invention

Accordingly, an aspect of the present invention is to provide a washing machine capable of reducing cooling water consumption, improving efficiency of drying laundry, and shortening drying time of laundry.

The foregoing and/or other aspects of the present invention can be achieved by providing a washing machine, which includes: a drum; a condensation pipe communicating with the drum to condense air flowing in from the drum; a cooling water supply unit supplying cooling water into the inside of the condensation pipe so that air flowing into the condensation pipe from the inside of the drum is condensed; and a control unit which controls the cooling water supply unit so that the cooling water is intermittently supplied.

According to an aspect of the present invention, the washing machine further includes: a temperature sensor for measuring the temperature of condensed water condensed inside the condensation pipe using the cooling water of the cooling water supply unit; wherein the control unit controls the cooling water supply unit so that the cooling water is intermittently supply until the temperature of the condensed water measured by the temperature sensor reaches the specified temperature.

According to an aspect of the present invention, the control unit controls the cooling water supply unit so that the cooling water is continuously supplied after the temperature of the condensed water measured by the temperature sensor has reached a prescribed temperature.

According to an aspect of the present invention, the temperature sensor measures the temperature of the condensed water discharged from the condensed pipe.

Description of drawings

The above and/or other features and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent and easier to understand through the following description of typical embodiments in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

1 is a perspective view showing the structure of a condensation pipe of a conventional drum type machine;

2 is a perspective view showing a drum type washing machine according to the present invention;

3 is a sectional view schematically showing a drum type washing machine according to the present invention;

4 is a schematic control block diagram of a drum type washing machine according to the present invention;

5 is a control flow diagram of a drum type washing machine according to the present invention;

6 is a graph showing the temperature of condensed water and the control state of the cooling water supply unit; and

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a condensation pipe according to another exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

Detailed ways

The present invention can be applied to various types of washing machines, but the present invention will be described using a drum type washing machine as a typical embodiment with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Referring to FIGS. 2 and 3 , the drum type washing machine according to the present invention includes: a main housing 10 formed with a square frame; a cylindrical drum 20 installed inside the main housing 10 for placing laundry to be washed; The inner cylindrical laundry tank 22 has a dehydration hole on its wall surface; a drive motor 23, which is provided under the lower unit of the drum 20, is used to rotate the laundry tank 22 forward or backward, thereby performing washing, rinsing and dehydration handling of laundry; and a door 24 installed at the front of the main housing 10 for opening and closing the main housing 10 .

A water supply unit for supplying washing water into the drum 20 and dissolving detergent during the water supply process is provided above the top of the drum 20 , and the water supply unit includes: a water supply valve 25 ; a water supply pipe 26 ; and a detergent dissolving unit 27 .

On top of the drum 20 is also provided a drying unit for drying the laundry after completing the dehydration operation. The drying unit includes: a blower fan 70 and a blower fan duct 72 installed on the top of the drum 20; a discharge duct 80 installed between the blower fan duct 72 and the air inlet 21a of the drum 20 so that they communicate with each other; The heater 60 inside 80; the condensation pipe 30 installed between the blower fan duct 72 and the air outlet 21b of the drum 20 so that they communicate with each other; and the cooling water supply unit 43, which supplies cooling water into the condensation pipe 30, So that the air flowing into the condensation pipe 30 from the inside of the drum 20 is condensed.

The cooling water supply unit 43 includes: a cooling water supply pipe 42 branched from the water supply valve 25 ; and a cooling water spraying member 40 that sprays cooling water from the cooling water supply pipe 42 to the inside of the condensation pipe 30 .

With this structure, the air blown by the blowing fan 70 is heated by the heater 60 while passing through the discharge duct 80, and then supplied to the inside of the drum 20 through the air inlet 21a, thereby heating and drying the laundry. The high-temperature and high-humidity air generated in the process of drying clothes flows into the inside of the condensation pipe 30 through the air outlet 21b of the drum 20, and in the process of being sucked into the blower fan 70 after passing through the condensation pipe 30, the air flowing into the inside of the condensation pipe 30 Moisture contained in the high-temperature and high-humidity air is condensed by the cooling water sprayed vertically downward by the cooling water spraying part 40 .

The ascending limiting protrusion 50 and the condensed water collecting protrusion 51 are disposed inside the condensation pipe 30, and their shape and installation position can be modified in various ways according to needs.

A drain unit including a drain pipe 28 and a drain pump 29 is disposed under a lower portion of the drum 20 to drain washed water inside the drum 20 .

As shown in FIG. 4, the drum type washing machine according to the present invention includes: a temperature sensor 91 for measuring the temperature of condensed water condensed by the cooling water of the cooling water supply unit 43; Control unit 90 for cooling water supply.

The temperature sensor 91 measures the temperature of condensed water condensed by the cooling water of the cooling water supply unit 43 and discharged to the outside of the condensation pipe 30 . Preferably, but not necessarily, a temperature sensor 91 is provided in a lower side of the condensing pipe 30 to measure the temperature of condensed water discharged from the condensing pipe 30 to a discharge unit (not shown).

A prescribed temperature to be compared with the temperature measured by the temperature sensor 91 is established in the control unit 90 , wherein the prescribed temperature refers to the highest temperature of the condensed water shown in FIG. 6 .

The control unit 90 controls the cooling water supply unit 43 so that cooling water is intermittently supplied until the temperature measured by the temperature sensor 91 reaches a prescribed temperature, and also controls the cooling water supply unit 43 so that the temperature measured in the temperature sensor 91 has reached a prescribed temperature. Cooling water is continuously supplied after temperature.

Hereinafter, an operation of drying laundry in the drum type washing machine having the above structure will be described.

As shown in FIG. 3, the air blown from the blowing fan 70 is heated by the heater 60 while passing through the discharge duct 80, and is then supplied to the inside of the drum 20 through the air inlet 21a. Accordingly, the laundry in the drum 20 is heated and dried.

The high-temperature and high-humidity air generated during the drying process flows into the condensation pipe 30 through the air outlet 21b of the drum 20, and the high-temperature and high-humidity air flowing into the condensation pipe 30 is sucked into the blower fan duct 72 after passing through the condensation pipe 30 .

When the high-temperature and high-humidity air flowing into the inside of the condensation pipe 30 passes through the condensation pipe 30 , moisture contained therein is condensed by cooling water supplied from the cooling water supply unit 43 . At this time and referring to FIG. 5 , at operation S1 , cooling water supplied through the cooling water supply unit 43 is intermittently supplied according to the control of the control unit 90 .

As shown in FIG. 6, the control unit 90 controls the cooling water supply unit 43 so that the supply and interception of the cooling water can be repeated until the temperature of the condensed water measured by the temperature sensor 91 reaches a prescribed temperature, more precisely, in the area A period.

Incidentally, as shown in the area A of FIG. 6 , even when cooling water is intermittently supplied, condensation is formed inside the condensation pipe 30 .

The condensed water rises by utilizing the air flow rising inside the condensation pipe 30 , but its rise is restricted by colliding with the rise restriction protrusion 50 and forming water droplets on the rise restriction protrusion 50 . The water droplets that have formed on the ascending restriction protrusion 50 fall down and are collected in the condensed water collecting protrusion 51 , while the water droplets collected in the condensed water collecting protrusion 51 are dispersed by the upward air flow and rise again, and then collide with the ascending restricting protrusion 50 . This series of processes is repeated continuously. As the contact of the rising air flow with the water spreads over these processes, condensation occurs inside the condensation tube 30 when the cooling water is cut off.

Next, in step S3, the temperature of the condensed water measured by the temperature sensor 91 is compared with a prescribed temperature. When the cooling water temperature measured by the temperature sensor 91 reaches a prescribed temperature as shown in FIG. 6, the control unit 90 controls the cooling water supply unit 43 so that the cooling water which has been intermittently supplied is continuously supplied at operation S5.

As shown in FIG. 6 , after the temperature of the condensed water measured in the temperature sensor 91 reaches a specified temperature, more precisely, during the B region, the control unit 90 continuously supplies cooling water to the condensing pipe 30 so that the temperature of the cooling water reduce.

After that, the control unit 90 determines whether the drying operation is finished. If it is determined that the drying operation has been completed, the control unit 90 stops the supply of cooling water.

In the drum type washing machine according to the present invention as described above, if the supply of cooling water to the condensing pipe 30 and its closing are repeated, the temperature of the condensed water in the condensing pipe 30 increases as the drying time increases. Accordingly, the temperature of the air returned to the inside of the drum 20 through the condensation pipe 30 is also raised, thereby raising the inner temperature of the drum 20 .

When the internal temperature of the drum 20 increases due to intermittent supply of cooling water to the condensation pipe 30, the efficiency of evaporating water in the laundry can be increased to shorten the drying time. In addition, the amount of cooling water consumed can be reduced.

In the above-described embodiments, the present invention has been applied to the condensation pipe 30 as shown in FIG. 3 . However, the present invention is not limited thereto, but can be applied to various types of condenser tubes. The present invention is also applicable to the condensation pipe 130 shown in FIG. 7 .

The condensation duct 130 shown in FIG. 7 includes: an air inlet 132 through which the inner air of the drum flows; a condensation unit 134 through which the air flowing through the air inlet 132 passes; and an air outlet 136 through which the air having passed through the condensation unit 134 passes. 136 are discharged.

The invention has been described with reference to a front load washing machine, but it can also be applied to a dryer.

As described above, in the washing machine according to the present invention, the consumption of cooling water can be reduced. In addition, it is possible to improve the drying efficiency of the laundry and shorten the drying time of the laundry.

While some exemplary embodiments of the present invention have been shown and described, those skilled in the art will appreciate that, without departing from the principles and spirit of the invention (the scope of which is defined in the claims and determined by the doctrine of equivalents), Variations can be made to these examples.

Claims (5)

1. washing machine comprises:

Cylinder;

Condenser pipe, this condenser pipe is communicated with cylinder, with condensation from the cylinder leaked-in air;

The chilled(cooling) water supply (CWS) unit, this chilled(cooling) water supply (CWS) unit arrives condenser pipe inside with chilled(cooling) water supply (CWS), so that be condensed from the air of cylinder inflow condenser pipe; With

Control module, this control module is controlled chilled(cooling) water supply (CWS) unit so that cooling water is supplied off and on.

2. washing machine according to claim 1 also comprises: temperature sensor, this temperature sensor measurement be by the cooling water of chilled(cooling) water supply (CWS) unit, in the temperature of the condensed water of condenser pipe internal condensation,

Control module control chilled(cooling) water supply (CWS) unit wherein so that cooling water supplied off and on, arrives set point of temperature up to the temperature of the condensed water of temperature sensor measurement.

3. washing machine according to claim 2, wherein: control module control chilled(cooling) water supply (CWS) unit, so that after the temperature of the condensed water of temperature sensor measurement has reached set point of temperature, cooling water supply continuously.

4. washing machine according to claim 3, wherein: temperature sensor measurement is from the temperature of the condensed water of condenser pipe discharging.

5. washing machine according to claim 2, wherein: temperature sensor measurement is from the temperature of the condensed water of condenser pipe discharging.

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