JP2009240737A - Cloth drier - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To control water supply to a condenser 33 when operating a cooling function by the use of a heat pump for drying clothes. <P>SOLUTION: In a cloth drier, it is possible to select operation of drying clothes by circulating air in a drying chamber through a ventilation flue wherein an evaporator and the condenser of a heat pump are provided and operation of discharging air outside the ventilation flue from an air inlet provided at the ventilation flue to outside of the device through the evaporator. The cloth drier includes a sprinkler 49 which makes water flow to the condenser 33, a water supply valve 49 which supplies water to the sprinkler 49, a drain tank 65 which stores cooled water, and a chamber temperature sensor 80 which detects the temperature of air outside the ventilation flue. The water supply valve 57 varies the water supply to the sprinkler according to the detected temperature of the chamber temperature sensor 80. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a clothes dryer having a heat pump for drying clothes.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, clothes dryers that have a heat pump cycle for drying clothes have been attracting attention as having good drying performance and saving energy. In the clothes dryer equipped with this heat pump cycle, the air in the drying chamber containing the clothes is circulated through the ventilation path of the heat pump cycle in which the compressor and the cycle-connected evaporator and condenser are arranged. The air is cooled and dehumidified with an evaporator, the air is heated with a condenser, the air is sequentially fed into the drying chamber, and the air deprived of moisture from the clothing is repeatedly passed through the air passage. It is made to dry gradually.

  Therefore, for the purpose of making it possible to cool the space where the clothes dryer is installed using the heat pump for drying clothes, the air in the drying chamber is ventilated with the evaporator and condenser of the heat pump. The condenser allows the selection of the operation of drying the clothes by circulating through the road and the operation of discharging the air outside the ventilation path to the outside through the evaporator from the air inlet provided in the ventilation path. Is constituted by a refrigerant circulation pipe, and on the other hand, the refrigerant circulation pipe is provided with a water sprinkler having a plurality of water sprinkling holes arranged immediately above, and the condenser is cooled by the water spouted from the water sprinkling hole of this water sprinkler. Such clothes dryer is considered (for example, patent document 1).

  According to this, the operation of discharging the air outside the ventilation path from the intake port provided in the ventilation path to the outside of the machine through the evaporator is selected, and at the same time, the condenser is sprinkled from the sprinkling hole of the sprinkler. Drying clothes using a heat pump for drying clothes by cooling the air with the sprinkled water and cooling the air outside the ventilation path introduced from the air inlet with an evaporator and discharging it outside the machine. It is possible to cool the space where the machine is installed.

  Further, in this case, the watering device has watering holes arranged in a line directly above the tube through which the refrigerant of the condenser passes, so that water spouted from the watering hole of the watering device passes through the water of the condenser. Directly and without waste, the pipe can be efficiently and effectively sprinkled with water. Therefore, it is possible to efficiently cool the space where the clothes dryer is installed by using the heat pump for drying clothes.

However, when the condenser is water-cooled with a sprinkler as described above, it is cooled using a large amount of water, so that the cooling water that has been sprinkled on the condenser is stored in a drainage container and drained by a drainage pump. When the structure is adopted, there is a problem that the drainage cannot catch up due to the capacity of the drainage pump and the timing of the drainage, and the water stored in the drainage container overflows.
For this reason, there is a problem that the supply amount of water always overflows when supplied continuously. Therefore, it is desirable to supply an appropriate amount of water. Although the details will be described later, the supply amount is varied according to the temperature of the condenser. Things are offered.
JP 2007-135832 A

  In order to solve such a problem, it is conceivable to make the drainage container large. However, since it is necessary to secure a space for disposing the drainage container, the entire clothes dryer becomes large. It had the problem of end.

  Furthermore, if the amount of water supply is varied according to the temperature of the condenser, the temperature of the condenser increases according to the time for which the compressor is driven. There was a problem that it was not comfortable for the user because the amount of cold air discharged was relatively small and the temperature was relatively high.

  In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, in the clothes dryer of the present invention, the clothes are dried by circulating the air in the drying chamber through the air passage provided with the evaporator and condenser of the heat pump having the compressor. And an operation in which air outside the ventilation path is sucked from an intake port provided in the ventilation path and discharged from the blower outlet through the evaporator to the outside of the apparatus, and water is sprayed to the condenser. A water sprinkler, water supply means for supplying water to the water sprinkler, a drainage container for collecting and storing water sprinkled by the condenser, and a temperature detection means for detecting the temperature of air outside the ventilation path, The water supply means varies the amount of water supplied to the sprinkler according to the temperature detected by the temperature detection means.

  According to the above means, the temperature detection means for detecting the temperature of the air outside the ventilation path detects the temperature inside the cooling space, and the amount of water supplied to the condenser is varied according to the detected temperature. There is no need to increase the size of the drainage container, and thus the clothes dryer can be made smaller. Moreover, the temperature of the cool air discharged at the initial stage when the cooling is started becomes effectively low, and the user can comfortably use the cooling function.

Hereinafter, the present invention is applied to a washing and drying machine, and a first example (first embodiment) will be described with reference to FIGS.
First, FIG. 1 shows the overall structure of a washing / drying machine, in particular, a drum-type (horizontal axis) washing / drying machine. A water tank 2 is arranged inside the outer box 1 and rotated inside the water tank 2. A tank (drum) 3 (corresponding to a drying chamber) is provided.
Both the water tank 2 and the rotating tank 3 form a horizontal axis cylindrical shape in which the axial direction is front and rear, and have respective openings 4 and 5 at the front end face (left side in the figure). Among these, the opening 5 of the rotating tub 3 is for putting in and out the laundry (clothing), and the opening 4 of the water tub 2 surrounds it. Further, the opening 4 of the water tub 2 is connected to the opening 6 for taking in and out the laundry formed on the front surface of the outer box 1 by a bellows 7 so that the door 8 can be opened and closed at the opening 6 of the outer box 1. Provided.

The rotary tub 3 is also formed with a large number of holes 9 (only a part of which is shown) in almost the entire circumferential side portion (body portion). The holes 9 function as water passage holes during washing and dehydration. When drying, it functions as a vent hole. In addition, a plurality of baffles 10 for picking up laundry are provided on the inner peripheral surface of the rotating tub 3 (only one is shown).
In the water tank 2, a hot air outlet 11 is formed in the upper part of the front end face part (a part above the opening 4), and a hot air inlet 12 is formed in the upper part of the rear end face part. In addition, a drain valve 13 is attached to the rearmost part of the bottom of the water tank 2, and a drain hose 14 is connected to the drain valve 13 so that the water in the water tank 2 is discharged out of the machine.

A reinforcing member 15 is attached to the rear surface (back surface) of the rear end surface portion of the rotating tub 3, and an outer rotor type motor 16 that directly rotates the rotating tub 3 via the reinforcing member 15 is provided, for example. It is attached to the back surface of the water tank 2. A hot air inlet 17 is formed around the center of the reinforcing member 15, and a large number of hot air inlets 18 are formed in the end surface on the rear side of the rotating tub 3 so as to face it. On the other hand, a hot air passage 19 extending from the hot air inlet 12 to the hot air inlet 17 is formed between the reinforcing member 15 and the rear end surface portion of the water tank 2 by the hot air cover 20 and the seal member 21. ing.
The water tank 2 is elastically supported on the bottom plate of the outer box 1 by a suspension (not shown), and the support form is the horizontal axis shape and the upwardly inclined shape. The rotating tub 3 supported by 16 rotating shafts has the same configuration.

A base plate 22 is disposed below the water tank 2 (on the bottom surface of the outer box 1), and a ventilation case 23 is disposed on the base plate 22. The ventilation case 23 has an air inlet 24 at the top of the front end, and the hot air outlet 11 of the water tank 2 is connected to the air inlet 24 via a return air duct 25. The return air duct 25 is piped so as to bypass the left side of the bellows 7.
On the other hand, a casing 27 of a circulation fan 26 is connected to the rear end portion of the ventilation case 23, and an outlet portion 28 of the casing 27 is connected to the hot air inlet 12 of the water tank 2 through an air supply duct 29. Connected. The air supply duct 29 is piped so as to bypass the left side of the motor 16.
As a result, the return air duct 25, the ventilation case 23, the casing 27, and the air supply duct 29 connect the warm air outlet 11 and the warm air inlet 12 of the water tank 2 to provide the ventilation path 30.
In this case, the circulation fan 26 is a centrifugal fan, and has a centrifugal impeller 31 inside the casing 27. The centrifugal impeller 31 is provided by a motor 26a disposed outside the casing 27. I try to rotate it.

  Thus, in the ventilation path 30, the evaporator 32 is disposed at the front part and the condenser 33 is disposed at the rear part inside the ventilation case 23. The evaporator 32 and the condenser 33 constitute a heat pump 36 together with the compressor 34 and the throttle (in this case, particularly, an electronic throttle valve) 35 shown in FIG. A compressor 37, a condenser 33, a throttle valve 35, and an evaporator 32 are cycle-connected by a pipe 37 in this order (refrigeration cycle), and a compressor motor 34a (corresponding to compressor control means) built in the compressor 34 is connected. Is operated to circulate a refrigerant (not shown). That is, the comp motor 34 a operates as a drive source for the heat pump 36. The compressor motor 34a can change the rotation speed, and the higher the rotation frequency (HZ), the greater the output of the heat pump function. The compressor 34 is arranged outside the ventilation case 23 as shown in FIG.

The condenser 33 and the compressor 34 are provided with thermistors 70 and 71 for detecting the temperature, respectively (see FIG. 7).
The thermistor 70 (corresponding to the condenser temperature detecting means) is provided in the refrigerant flow pipe 47 portion of the condenser 33, and the thermistor 71 is provided at a location where the discharge temperature of the portion where the refrigerant is discharged from the compressor 34 can be measured. It is provided and temperature is detected and controlled so that each does not overheat.

  In the ventilation case 23 (ventilation path 30), an intake port 38 is formed on the upper wall of the middle part of the ventilation case 23, which is a portion between the evaporator 32 and the condenser 33. On the other hand, the ventilation case An air outlet 39 is formed in the front surface portion of the front end portion of 23. The air outlet 39 communicates with the air inlet 24 which is a portion between the rotary tank 3 and the evaporator 32 in the air passage 30, and a switching damper 40 is provided at the communication portion. Specifically, one end of the switching damper 40 is supported by a support shaft 41 so as to be rotatable up and down, and is rotated by the power of a driving source such as a motor or an electromagnet (not shown), so that the air intake port 24 of the ventilation case 23 is provided. It is designed to function as an air path switching device for switching between opening and closing of the air outlet 39 and switching the opening and closing of the air outlet 39 at the same time.

An air blower 42 is installed in front of the air outlet 39 of the ventilation case 23. In this case, the air blower 42 is a crossflow fan, and has a horizontally long impeller 44 inside the casing 43, and a motor (not shown) disposed outside the crossflow impeller 44 and the casing 43. ).
In addition, the casing 43 of the blower blower 42 has an inlet portion that communicates with the inside of the ventilation case 23 via the air outlet 39, and an outlet portion that is formed at the lower portion of the front portion of the outer box 1. The outlet 46 has a shutter 46 that opens and closes the outlet 45. The shutter 46 is opened and closed by being rotated by the power of a driving source such as a motor or an electromagnet (not shown).

Here, as shown in detail in FIGS. 3 and 5, the condenser 33 brings a heat transfer material, for example, aluminum radiating fins 48 into contact with, for example, a copper pipe (refrigerant circulation pipe) 47 through which the refrigerant passes. The refrigerant circulation pipe 47 has a row 47a of meandering up and down, which is connected at the upper and lower ends, and has a plurality of rows (three rows on the left and right in FIG. 3). Yes. On the other hand, the radiating fins 48 have a rectangular thin plate shape, and a large number are arranged side by side (up and down in FIG. 3).
Although not shown, the evaporator 32 has the same configuration, and a wind flowing through the ventilation case 23 as described later passes between the fins.

A sprinkler 49 is disposed immediately above the condenser 33 of the ventilation case 23. Specifically, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the water sprayer 49 includes a container main body 49 a having a rectangular parallelepiped box shape whose planar shape is substantially the same size as the condenser 33, and a lid attached to the cover body 49. The plate 49b (see FIG. 4) constitutes the outer shell.
Among them, the vessel main body 49a is open at the bottom and faces the condenser 33 through an opening (not shown) formed in the ventilation case 23 with substantially the same size. have. A plurality (in this case, a large number) of sprinkling holes 50 are formed so as to line up directly above the refrigerant flow pipe 47 of the condenser 33. In this case, the refrigerant circulation pipes 47 to which the water spray holes 50 are arranged are the two refrigerant circulation pipes 47 in the front row and the last row, but in addition to the refrigerant circulation pipes 47 in the middle row, It is also possible to form a line.

  Further, the water spray holes 50 are formed so that their centers face the heat radiation fins 48 of the condenser 33, and are arranged along the row 47 a of the refrigerant flow pipes 47, and the refrigerant flow pipes thereof. The positions are shifted for every 47 columns 47a, for example, in a staggered arrangement. On the other hand, the rib 51 surrounds the sprinkling holes 50 for each row (alignment). However, in the left and right intermediate portions 52, the spaces 53 enclosed for each row are communicated.

A water inlet 54 is formed at one end of the lid plate 49b, and the rib 51 has an opening 55 on the side of the water inlet 54 of the intermediate portion 52 with respect to the water inlet 54. ing. Accordingly, the water inlet 54 is communicated with the space 53 in which the rib 51 is enclosed for each row of the water spray holes 50 at the opening portion 55, and as a result, communicates with the water spray holes 50 in each row.
In this case, the water spray holes 50 are all circular holes having a diameter of 1 [mm], for example, and the space between the radiating fins 48 of the condenser 33 is not less than the diameter of the water spray holes 50. Have.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 1, the water inlet 54 of the water sprayer 49 is connected to the distal end portion of the water injection tube 56, and the base end portion on the opposite side of the water injection tube 56 is in the outer box 1. It connects with one of the exit parts of the water supply valve 57 attached to the rear upper part. The water supply valve 57 has a plurality of outlet portions in addition to the outlet portion to which the base end portion of the water injection tube 56 is connected, and these are connected to the water supply box 58 arranged at the upper front side in the outer box 1. They are connected by a pipe 59.
As will be described in detail later, the water supply valve 57 (corresponding to the water supply means) opens only the outlet on the water injection tube 56 side when the cooling function is operating, so that a predetermined water supply amount can be injected into the water sprayer 49. It functions as a water supply means.
Although not shown in detail, the water supply box 58 has a detergent charging part and a softening agent charging part, and the water supply valve 57 has a detergent charging part of the water supply box 58 at the time of washing by selecting opening of the outlet part. Water is supplied into the water tank 2 through the water supply tube 58 when the final rinsing is performed, and then the water is supplied into the water tank 2 through the soft finishing agent input part of the water supply box 58. The water sprayer 49 is poured through 56.
In addition, a control device 60 is provided on the back side of the upper portion of the front portion of the outer box 1. The control device 60 is mainly composed of a microcomputer, for example, and functions as a control means for controlling the overall operation of the washing / drying machine.

  In addition, drain ports 61 and 62 are formed in a portion of the ventilation case 23 immediately below the condenser 33 and a portion directly below the evaporator 32, respectively, which can capture lint. The filters 63 and 64 having the above are mounted. A common drain tank 65 (corresponding to a drainage container) is provided below the filters 63 and 64, and a portion 65a on the condenser 33 side is shallower than a portion 65b on the evaporator 32 side. The bottom part gradually inclines downward toward the part 65b.

Further, a shielding plate that protrudes into the drain tank 65 from the bottom of the ventilation case 23 at the boundary portion (evaporator 32 side) between the portion 65 a on the condenser 33 side and the portion 65 b on the evaporator 32 side of the drain tank 65. In detail, the shielding plate 66 projects from the bottom of the ventilation case 23 to a position lower than the bottom of the condenser 65 side portion 65a of the drain tank 65, and the condenser 33 side portion 65a is It is shielded from the portion 65b on the evaporator 32 side.
However, the lower part of the shielding plate 66 is located at the bottom frontmost part (end part on the evaporator 32 side) of the part 65a on the condenser 33 side of the drain tank 65 and the last part (on the condenser 33 side) of the part 65b on the evaporator 32 side. This allows water to pass from the portion 65a on the condenser 33 side to the portion 65b on the evaporator 32 side.

Further, a drain pump 67 is provided at a portion 65b of the drain tank 65 on the evaporator 32 side, located at the foremost portion of the bottom. One end of a drain hose 72 is connected to the tip of the drain pump 67, and the other end functions to drain to the outside of the outer box 1 through the drain hose 14.
The reason why the drain pump 67 is provided instead of simply providing a drain port in the drain tank 65 and allowing the cooled water to flow down to the drain hose 72 is that the path of the drain hose 72 is located at the position of the drain pump 67. This is because the drain tank 67 may not be drained at a sufficient speed because it passes through a higher position or is long, and the drain tank 67 may overflow.

  By providing the drainage pump 67 in this way, the route of the drain hose 72 is not restricted, so the installation location of the drain tank 67 is not restricted and is convenient in design. Although the installation location is limited because it is equipped with a heat pump in particular, the installation location of the drain tank 67 is not limited by the use of the drainage pump. For example, it is not necessary to install it directly under the condenser 33, If it exists below, it can also arrange | position in the empty space by guiding the water after cooling with a hose etc.

The drain tank 67 is provided with two water level sensors (corresponding to water level detecting means) (see FIGS. 6 and 7), and is arranged side by side on the wall to which the drain pump 67 is connected. ing. The upper water level sensor 73 is disposed at a position that is 80% of the height of the tank in order to detect the overflow of water from the drain tank 67, and the lower water level sensor 74 (second water level detecting means) is a drain pump. In order to keep the minimum water level so that air does not spill, 67 is arranged at a position slightly higher than the drain outlet of the drain tank 67.
These water level sensors are so-called self-heating type thermistors that detect the water level by detecting that the temperature of the water level sensor varies depending on the presence or absence of water.
The drainage pump 67 can be drained without overflowing the water stored in the drain tank 65 by being driven when the water level reaches the position of the upper water level sensor 73.

  In addition, an operation panel 1a for performing various operations and a display unit 58 are disposed on the front upper portion of the outer box 1, and a control unit 60 including an operation circuit is disposed on the back surface of the operation box 1a. A pressing operation signal based on various operation keys and a rotation operation signal based on the operation of the operation dial are output to the control means 60 in the control unit.

Next, an electrical configuration diagram of the washing / drying machine will be described with reference to FIG.
As shown in the control block of the washing / drying machine in FIG. 7, the control means 60 is constituted by a detection circuit including a microcomputer, and the microcomputer performs detection based on information stored in advance and executes operation control in accordance with the detection. ing.
Then, the power from the AC power source is supplied to the control means 60 as the DC power source rectified and smoothed by the DC power source circuit, and the operation is started when the power switch is turned on. Power is supplied to the water supply valve 57, the drain valve 13, the motor 16, the heat pump 30, the circulation fan 26, the blower fan 26, the switching damper 40, the shutter 46, and the like, and is driven in accordance with instructions from the control means 60. .

  Further, the temperature of the ambient atmosphere of the washing / drying machine 1 is detected by the indoor temperature sensor 80 shown in the lower part of FIG. 1 and is input to the control means 60 to perform control in accordance with each driving process. The indoor temperature sensor 80 is located in front of the compressor 34 outside the ventilation case 23 and is installed in the vicinity of the outer box 1. A vent hole (not shown) is provided in the vicinity of the outer box 1. Several places are formed, and the temperature of the outside air can be measured.

In addition, each operation key and operation dial switch on the operation panel 1a and the display unit 58 display according to the user's operation and driving state. Display is performed according to the instruction of the control means 60 such as time.
The specification set by each operation key is stored in a non-volatile memory, and starts by displaying the air volume, operation time, and set temperature stored at the next power-on on the display unit 58.
In addition, an upper water level sensor 73 and a lower water level sensor 74 are connected to the control device 60 to detect the water level in the drain tank 67. The thermistors 70 and 71 are connected to detect the discharge temperatures of the condenser 33 and the compressor 34. Based on these pieces of information, the control device 60 controls opening / closing of the water supply valve 57, driving of the drain pump 67, and the like.

Next, operations and effects of the washing / drying machine having the above-described configuration will be described.
In the washing and drying machine having the above configuration, when a standard operation course is started, a washing (washing and rinsing) operation is started first. In this washing operation, an operation of supplying water into the water tub 2 is performed by the water supply valve 57, and then the motor 16 is operated to rotate the rotating tub 3 alternately in both forward and reverse directions at a low speed. Thereby, the laundry is stirred and washed with the washing water.
When the washing operation is completed, the dehydration operation is then started. In this dehydration operation, after the water in the water tank 2 is discharged, an operation of rotating the rotary tank 3 in one direction at a high speed is performed. Thereby, the laundry in the rotating tub 3 is centrifugally dehydrated.

  When the dehydration operation is completed, a drying operation is next performed. In this drying operation, as shown in FIG. 1, the switching damper 40 is set so as to open the air inlet 24 of the ventilation case 23 and close the air outlet 39. In this state, the circulation fan 26 is operated while rotating the rotating tub 3 in both forward and reverse directions at a low speed. Then, the air in the rotary tub 3 flows into the ventilation case 23 from the water tank 2 through the hot air outlet 11 and the return air duct 25 as shown by an arrow in FIG. .

  At this time, the operation of the compressor 34 of the heat pump 36 is started. As a result, the refrigerant sealed in the heat pump 36 is compressed into a high-temperature and high-pressure refrigerant, and the high-temperature and high-pressure refrigerant flows into the condenser 33 and exchanges heat with the air in the ventilation case 23. As a result, the air in the ventilation case 23 is heated, and conversely, the temperature of the refrigerant is lowered and liquefied. The liquefied refrigerant then passes through the throttle valve 35 and is depressurized, and then flows into the evaporator 32 and vaporizes. Thereby, the evaporator 32 cools the air in the ventilation case 23. The refrigerant that has passed through the evaporator 32 returns to the compressor 34.

As a result, the air that has flowed into the ventilation case 23 from the inside of the rotary tub 3 is cooled by the evaporator 32 and dehumidified, and then heated by the condenser 33 to be warmed. Then, the warm air is supplied into the rotary tank 3 through the air supply duct 29, the warm air inlet 12, the warm air passage 19, the warm air introduction port 17, and the warm air introduction hole 18.
The hot air supplied into the rotary tub 3 deprives the laundry of moisture and then flows into the ventilation case 23 from the water tub 2 through the hot air outlet 11 and the return air duct 25.
Thus, air circulates between the ventilation case 23 having the evaporator 32 and the condenser 33 and the rotating tub 3 so that the laundry in the rotating tub 3 is dried. Therefore, in this case, the inside of the rotary tank 3 functions as a drying chamber. During this drying operation, in the evaporator 32, condensation is generated on the surface as the air passing through the ventilation case 23 is cooled and dehumidified, and the dew drops from the evaporator 32 through the filter 64. And stored in the drain tank 65. In particular, it is stored in the portion 65b on the evaporator 32 side, and when the upper water level sensor 73 detects that it has reached a predetermined water level, the control device 60 drives the drain pump 67 to discharge the water. The stored water is discharged out of the machine.

The operation when the space where the washing / drying machine is installed is cooled will be described. First, the cooling function is selected by the operation key of the operation panel 1a, and the user inputs the desired target temperature by the operation key (corresponding to the target temperature setting means).
Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 6, the switching damper 40 is switched so as to open the air outlet 39 of the ventilation case 23 and close the air inlet 24. In this state, the operation of the compressor 34 of the heat pump 36 is performed. At the same time, the air blower 42 is operated, and the shutter 46 is opened.

  As a result, as indicated by solid arrows in FIG. 6, the air outside the ventilation case 23 is sucked into the ventilation case 23 from the intake port 38 and is cooled through the evaporator 32. Then, the cooled air is discharged from the air outlet 39 through the air blowing fan 42 to the front of the outside through the air outlet 45 where the shutter 46 is opened, until the indoor temperature sensor 80 detects the target temperature. Cool the space where the dryer is installed.

At this time, as shown by the broken line arrows in FIG. 6, water is supplied from the water supply valve 57 to the water sprayer 49 through the water injection tube 56, and the water supplied to the water sprayer 49 is shown in FIG. As shown by the arrows in FIG. 4, it flows from the water inlet 54 through the central portion on the vessel main body 49 a (between the ribs 51 surrounding the water spray holes 50 for each row), and is divided into the front and rear from the open portion 55 of the middle portion, After reaching the spaces 53 on both the front and rear sides, the water is ejected from the sprinkling holes 50 while filling the spaces 53. The jetting destination is the condenser 33. Therefore, the water jetted from the water spray holes 50 of the water sprayer 49 falls on the condenser 33 and is cooled.
This is configured such that the control device 60 drives and controls the water supply valve 57 as determined in advance according to the temperature detected by the thermistor 70 of the condenser 33 to supply the cooling water by varying the water supply amount. ing. Although details will be described later, the amount of water supply is varied according to the temperature state of the condenser 33 and is controlled so as not to use excess water.

  As described above, the heat energy absorbed when the air is cooled by the evaporator 32 and the heat energy applied by the work of the compressor 34 are released from the condenser 33 into water as a cooling medium. Then, the water is discharged from the condenser 33 together with the absorbed heat energy, so that the condenser 33 does not become abnormally high temperature, and the evaporator 32 becomes low temperature correspondingly and operates effectively as a cooling system. In addition, it is possible to cool the space where the washing / drying machine is installed.

  In this case, the water sprinkler 49 has water sprinkling holes 50 arranged in a line directly above a refrigerant flow pipe 47 that is a pipe through which the refrigerant of the condenser 33 passes. Thereby, since the water spouted from the water spray hole 50 of the water sprinkler 49 is directly applied to the refrigerant flow pipe 47 of the condenser 33 without waste, efficient and effective water spray cooling can be performed. Therefore, it is possible to efficiently cool the space in which the clothes dryer is installed using the heat pump 36 for drying clothes.

  The condenser 33 includes a plurality of rows of refrigerant circulation pipes 47 and a plurality of heat radiation fins 48 attached to the pipes 47. Each of the water spray holes 50 of the sprinkler 49 is interposed between the heat radiation fins 48. The center is facing. As a result, the water spouted from the sprinkling holes 50 of the sprinkler 49 is applied to the refrigerant flow pipe 47 of the condenser 33 without being blocked by the radiating fins 48 as much as possible, so that more effective and effective sprinkling cooling can be achieved. it can.

Further, the water ejected from the water spray hole 50 of the water sprinkler 49 comes into contact with the heat radiation fins 48 of the condenser 33 and exerts a cooling action on the condenser 33, whereas the condenser 33 has the above-described configuration. The water sprinkler 49 has water sprinkling holes 50 arranged along the row 47 a of the refrigerant flow pipe 47 of the condenser 33 and shifted in position for each row 47 a of the refrigerant flow pipe 47. As a result, the sprinkler holes 50 can be formed in the sprinkler 49 while maintaining the necessary spacing in any row, and the sprinkler holes 50 that do not oppose in any row are formed between the radiating fins 48 of the condenser 33. Therefore, water can be brought into contact with as much of the radiating fin 48 as possible, and more effective and effective water cooling can be achieved.
In addition, this structure is not restricted to what is implemented about all the water spray holes 50 in the water sprinkler 49, What is necessary is just to implement at least one part.

Further, the water sprayed from the sprinkler 49 to the condenser 33 passes through the filter 63 and drops to the condenser 65 side portion 65a of the drain tank 65 and flows through the bottom of the portion, and the evaporator 32 side portion 65b. The drainage pump 67 is activated and discharged out of the machine.
Similarly to the water supply valve 57, the drainage pump 67 has a drainage amount in advance according to the temperature state of the condenser 33, and is driven and controlled by the control device 60 so that the predetermined amount is drained.
Further, regarding the drain tank 65, during the drying operation, air passing through the ventilation case 23 passes from the filter 64 into the drain tank 65 and returns from the filter 63 into the ventilation case 23, that is, the evaporator 32. Since the shielding plate 66 can prevent the flow to avoid contact with the condenser 33, the heat exchange between the evaporator 32 and the condenser 33 and the circulating air can be performed more reliably, and the efficiency of the drying operation can be improved. A decrease can be prevented.

Here, the driving method of the water supply valve 57 described above will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 8 shows drive control with the water supply valve 57 when the cooling function is operating, FIG. 8 (a) is a conventional control method, and FIG. 8 (b) is a control method of the present invention. .
Further, FIG. 9 is a diagram of the temperature course based on the control of FIG. 8, FIG. 9 (a) is a conventional diagram, FIG. 9 (b) is a diagram of the present invention, and FIG. It corresponds to.

As shown in FIG. 8A, the conventional method is set such that the method for driving the water supply valve 57 differs depending on the thermistor 70 that detects the temperature of the condenser 33. This relationship is stored in advance in the control device 60, and the control device 60 controls the drive of the water supply valve 57 based on this figure.
FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a temperature transition according to the passage of time when the cooling function is operating with the target temperature of the room temperature set to 25 degrees C with the setting key of the operation panel 1a. , The temperature of the condenser 33 detected by the thermistor 70 is T, the temperature of the outlet 45 from which the cold air blows into the room is U, the amount of water injected into the condenser 33 is X, and the compressor 34 Y indicates the rotational speed of the compressor motor 34a. However, the scale of each temperature on a drawing differs.

First, as shown in FIG. 8, the water supply valve 57 injects water into the water injection tube 56 and cools the condenser 33 with a maximum cooling capacity of 1.2 L / min (0.6 L / min. 30 seconds) and has a certain ability. When this is kept open for 30 seconds, 0.6 L of water is supplied.
Then, the control device 60 controls the time for opening (on) and closing (off) the water supply valve 57 so as to variably adjust the water injection amount.
This is set in advance so that the amount of water injected can be changed according to the temperature detected by the thermistor 70. When the temperature of the condenser 33 is 63 ° C. or higher, water is continuously injected and is 0 for 30 seconds. A water injection volume A of 6 L is maintained. When the temperature is between 63 ° C. and 53 ° C., the water supply valve 57 is turned on and off to intermittently operate, water is injected for 20 seconds, and a cycle of stopping for 10 seconds is repeated. Water volume B).

Further, even when the temperature is between 53 ° C. and 25 ° C., the cycle of intermittent operation, water injection for 10 seconds and stop for 20 seconds is repeated, and the water injection capacity is maintained at 0.2 L / 30 seconds (referred to as water injection amount C). And when temperature becomes 25 degrees C or less, water injection is stopped (it is called the amount of water injection D), and the condenser 33 is not cooled.
By varying the amount of water injection from A to D in this way, the heat energy of the condenser 33 can be varied, and the temperature of the air from the inlet 38 to the evaporator 32 shown in FIG. As a result, the influence of heat on the evaporator 32 is also varied. As a result, the temperature U of the cold air blown into the room from the outlet 45 is varied. As a result, the cooling capacity into the room is varied.
This can also be seen from the fact that the blowing temperature is gradually lowered by changing the amount of water injection from C to A as shown in FIG. 9 (a).

  The compressor 34 is also driven and controlled, and the room temperature detected by the room temperature sensor 80 is changed to 80 Hz and 60 Hz with 28 degrees C as a boundary. That is, when the room temperature is higher than 28 ° C., the output of the compressor motor 34a is increased to increase the cooling capacity of the evaporator 32, and the temperature of the cold air at the outlet 45 is decreased. And when room temperature becomes low, it is comprised so that the output of the compressor motor 34a may be made small, cooling capacity may be made low, and the temperature of the cold wind of the blower outlet 45 may be made low.

  As shown in FIG. 9A, when the cooling operation is started, it is detected that the room temperature is 28 ° C. or more, and the comp motor 34a is driven at an output of 80 Hz. When the driving time elapses, the temperature of the condenser 33 gradually increases, and the water injection amount X to the condenser 33 by the water supply valve 57 increases accordingly, and the water injection amount D → C → B → A changes. To do. Therefore, the blowing temperature U gradually decreases. Correspondingly, the temperature S in the room also decreases and the room is cooled.

At the time of water injection amount A, since the water is continuously injected, the condenser temperature T starts gradually decreasing and switches to the water injection amount B.
When the room temperature S falls to 28 ° C., the output of the compressor motor 34a is switched to 60 Hz in order to weaken the operation of the compressor 34. At that time, the temperature of the condenser 33 also decreases slightly, so that the supply of water further changes to the water injection amount C. Thereafter, the room temperature shifts from 28 degrees C to 25 degrees C and reaches the target temperature. Thereafter, the process proceeds to a process of maintaining the target temperature of 25 ° C., and the condenser temperature T and the outlet temperature U become substantially constant and become an equilibrium state.

However, according to such a conventional control method, the amount of water injection is changed in accordance with the temperature of the condenser 33, and the transition of the condenser temperature Y gradually increases. The amount of water is small and the amount of water injection increases over time.
That is, in such a configuration, the outlet temperature immediately after the start of cooling has a problem that the outlet temperature U is not lowered because the amount of water injection is small, and as a result, the temperature in the room cannot be lowered immediately.

  In this case, if the water is continuously poured and maintained at the maximum water injection amount A, the temperature of the condenser 33 is lowered and the outlet temperature U is lowered, so that the room temperature can be lowered at a stroke. As in the example, in the case of having the drain tank 65 for storing the injected water, there is also a problem that if the water is continuously poured, the water exceeds the volume capacity of the drain tank 65 and overflows.

Therefore, the amount of water injection is controlled by drive control as shown in FIG.
This drive control differs from FIG. 8A in that when the temperature of the condenser 33 is within a predetermined range of 25 ° C. to 63 ° C., the set temperature of the cooling is independent of the temperature of the condenser. The difference between the (target temperature) and the room temperature is that the water injection amount is set to be variable at a predetermined temperature (for example, 4 degrees C).
When the temperature difference is 4 ° C. or more, that is, when the temperature difference deviates from the target temperature, the amount of water supplied to the condenser 33 is set as the water injection amount B to increase the cooling capacity. On the other hand, when the temperature difference is 4 degrees C or less, that is, when the temperature approaches the target temperature, the water injection stress is set to the water injection amount C to control the cooling capacity.

If it sets in this way, as shown in FIG.9 (b), immediately after the air_conditioning | cooling start, the supply amount of water will be set to the water injection amount B, and it will flow more compared with FIG. Is blown out from the air outlet 45. Then, according to the temperature, the temperature S in the result chamber changes so as to decrease immediately compared to FIG. 9A (see the broken line (a)).
After that, when the room temperature approaches the target temperature and the temperature difference ΔS between the target temperature and the room temperature becomes 4 degrees C or less, the room temperature S is gradually lowered by switching to the water injection amount c.
And after that, when the condenser temperature T changes to 63 degree C, it switches to the water injection amount A and supplies water continuously. The room temperature continues to fall and reaches the target temperature.
In this process, when the room temperature S reaches 28 ° C., the output of the compressor is switched from 80 Hz to 60 Hz. Since the condenser temperature suddenly drops to 63 degrees C or less, the water injection amount C is switched.

When the drive control as shown in FIG. 8B is performed as described above, the blow-out temperature U immediately after the start of cooling can be made lower than that in FIG. 9A, and as a result, the temperature in the room can be lowered immediately. Therefore, the room temperature S can be quickly reached the target temperature, which is highly convenient for the user.
In particular, the temperature U of the cool air discharged at the initial stage when the cooling is started is further lowered, and the user can immediately feel cool and can comfortably use the cooling function.
In this way, the temperature detection means for detecting the temperature of the air outside the ventilation path detects the temperature inside the cooling space, and the amount of water supplied to the condenser is varied according to the detected temperature. There is no need to supply the maximum water injection amount, and it is not necessary to increase the size of the drainage container for storing the water supply, thereby reducing the size of the clothes dryer.
Therefore, since the stored water is surely drained without overflowing from the drain tank 65, the drain tank can be made compact, and the drain tank 65 can be installed in a gap between various parts such as a heat pump mechanism. 1 can be miniaturized, and the washing / drying machine can be miniaturized.
In addition, the indoor target temperature can be set by the operation panel 1a. After the driving, when the indoor temperature approaches the target temperature and the temperature difference ΔS between the target temperature and the indoor temperature becomes 4 degrees C or less, the water injection amount c Therefore, it is possible to save water without unnecessary water injection, and further, the overflow from the drain tank 65 is prevented.

The compressor 34 is provided with a compressor motor 34a for controlling the driving rotational speed, and the rotational speed is lowered when the temperature of the indoor temperature sensor 80 is lower than 28 degrees C. Therefore, even after reaching a comfortable temperature. Because it does not maintain high output rotation, it saves energy.
Further, a thermistor 70 for detecting the temperature of the condenser 33 is provided, and the amount of water injected is variably controlled according to the temperature. The range of the condenser temperature T from 25 degrees C to 63 degrees C is the temperature of the indoor temperature sensor 80. If the water injection amount is varied based on the information and the condenser temperature T is 63 degrees or more, which is the other temperature range, it is considered that the condenser temperature has reached the abnormal temperature, and the water injection amount is increased. I tried to do it. Therefore, the optimal water injection amount can be controlled within an appropriate temperature range.

Thus, when the temperature of the condenser is within a predetermined range, the amount of water injected into the condenser is varied according to the room temperature, so that an appropriate amount can be secured to quickly lower the room temperature, and the capacity of the drain tank 65 is increased. It is possible to secure an appropriate amount to be stored so as not to overflow and to perform well-balanced water injection control.
In addition, since water level sensors 73 and 74 are provided in the drain tank 61, and the drain pump 67 is driven to detect and drain the stored water after the detection, water overflows from the drain tank 61. Can be prevented.
In addition, the present invention is not limited only to the embodiment described above and shown in the drawings. In particular, the entire washing / drying machine is not limited to the above-described horizontal axis shape, and the water tank and the rotating tank are formed in a vertical axis shape. It may have a vertical axis, and is not limited to a washing and drying machine that originally has both washing and drying functions, but can be applied to a clothes drying machine that has only a drying function. May be implemented with appropriate changes.

Overall profile side view Cycle diagram of heat pump Top view of the watering device of the present invention Perspective view of watering device alone Perspective view of a single condenser Figure 1 equivalent figure in different states Electrical configuration diagram Water supply valve drive control diagram Injection timing chart for water injection

Explanation of symbols

  In the drawings, 3 is a rotating tank, 26 is a circulation fan, 30 is a ventilation path, 32 is an evaporator, 33 is a condenser, 36 is a heat pump, 40 is a switching damper, 42 is a blower for wind blowing, and 47 is a refrigerant flow pipe. , 48 radiating fins, 49 watering device, 50 watering hole, 56 water injection tube, 57 water supply valve, 60 control device, 67 drainage pump, 70, 71 thermistor, 73, 74 water level sensor, Show.

Claims (7)

The operation of drying clothes by circulating the air in the drying chamber through the ventilator with the evaporator and condenser of the heat pump with the compressor, and the air outside the ventilator from the air intake provided in the ventilator In which it is possible to select the operation of inhaling and discharging from the outlet through the evaporator to the outside of the machine,
A watering device for spraying water into the condenser;
A water supply means for supplying water to the watering device;
A drainage container for collecting and storing water sprinkled by the condenser;
Temperature detecting means for detecting the temperature of the air outside the ventilation path,
The clothes drier according to claim 1, wherein the water supply means varies the amount of water supplied to the sprinkler according to the temperature detected by the temperature detection means.   2. The clothes dryer according to claim 1, wherein the water supply means comprises a water supply valve, and the water supply amount is varied by intermittently turning on and off the water supply valve and changing the time. Having target temperature setting means for setting the temperature outside the ventilation path to a desired temperature;
The water supply means varies the amount of water supply based on the temperature difference between the temperature detected by the temperature detection means and the temperature set by the target temperature setting means. Clothes dryer. The compressor has compressor control means for controlling the driving rotational speed,
The clothes dryer according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein when the temperature detected by the temperature detecting means is lower than a predetermined temperature, the driving rotational speed is decreased. Condenser temperature detection means for detecting the temperature of the condenser is provided,
The clothes dryer according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the water supply means varies the amount of water supplied according to the temperature detected by the condenser temperature detection means. The water supply means varies the amount of water supplied based on the temperature of the air outside the ventilation path detected by the temperature detection means in the temperature range within the predetermined range detected by the condenser temperature detection means,
6. The clothes dryer according to claim 5, wherein the supply amount of water is varied based on the temperature of the condenser in other temperature ranges. The drainage container has a water level detection means for detecting the water level of the stored water,
A drainage pump for draining this water,
The clothes dryer according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the drainage pump is driven to drain the water in the drainage container when the water level detection means detects a predetermined water level.

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