CN112746428A

CN112746428A - Washing machine

Info

Publication number: CN112746428A
Application number: CN202010952429.6A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 千叶浩司; 藁谷二郎; 菅原道太; 田边耕一; 河村嵩之
Original assignee: Hitachi Global Life Solutions Inc
Current assignee: Hitachi Global Life Solutions Inc
Priority date: 2019-10-30
Filing date: 2020-09-11
Publication date: 2021-05-04
Also published as: JP2021069528A

Abstract

The invention provides a washing machine which can switch air channels with high reliability and can restrain reduction of drying completion degree. Comprising: an air supply unit for supplying air; a first air blowing path through which the air is blown; a second air blowing path different from the first air blowing path; and an air duct switching portion that switches a flow direction of the air passing through the first air blowing path or the second air blowing path, the air duct switching portion including a shielding plate that shields an air duct, and a leakage preventing portion that is provided on a downstream side of the air duct with respect to the shielding plate and is provided at a position where the shielding plate abuts against the shielding plate, a surface to which the air of the shielding plate is blown being inclined.

Description

Washing machine

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a washing machine for washing clothes such as clothes.

Background

In an air duct switching mechanism in a drying operation of a conventional washing machine, a shielding member is used to shield each path of an air duct and allow air to flow into a selected air duct, and a leakage preventing member is provided on an upstream side of the shielding member and an abutting portion is provided on a downstream side of the shielding member by a seal portion formed by the shielding member (see, for example, patent document 1).

Documents of the prior art

Patent document

Patent document 1: japanese patent No. 5546979

Disclosure of Invention

Problems to be solved by the invention

However, when the leakage preventing member and the abutting portion are provided separately in this way, the obstruction of the air passage increases, the air flow loss increases, and the drying completion degree decreases.

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a washing machine capable of switching air passages with high reliability and suppressing a reduction in drying completion degree.

Means for solving the problems

In order to solve the above problem, a washing machine according to the present invention includes: an air supply unit for supplying air; a first air blowing path through which the air is blown; a second air blowing path different from the first air blowing path; and an air duct switching portion that switches a flow direction of the air passing through the first air blowing path or the second air blowing path, the air duct switching portion including a shielding plate that shields an air duct, and a leakage preventing portion that is provided on a downstream side of the air duct with respect to the shielding plate and is provided at a position abutting against the shielding plate, a surface to which the air of the shielding plate is blown being inclined.

The washing machine is configured to include: an air supply unit for supplying air; a first air blowing path through which the air is blown; and a second air blowing path different from the first air blowing path, the air blowing unit including: an air duct switching unit that switches a flow direction of the air passing through the first air blowing path or the second air blowing path; a first air blowing port that blows the air switched by the air duct switching unit to the first air blowing path; and a second air blowing port that blows the air switched by the air duct switching unit to the second air blowing path.

The effects of the invention are as follows.

According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a washing machine capable of switching air passages with high reliability and suppressing a reduction in drying quality.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a structural explanatory view of a washing machine according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional view showing a state in which wind is blown from above in the washing machine.

Fig. 3 is a vertical sectional view showing a state in which air is blown from below in the washing machine.

Fig. 4 is a longitudinal sectional view of the duct switching part when the second duct is selected in the washing machine.

Fig. 5 is a longitudinal sectional view of the air passage switching part when the first air passage is selected in the washing machine.

Fig. 6 is an enlarged sectional view of the leakage preventing part of the washing machine.

Fig. 7 is a perspective view of the shielding plate of the washing machine.

Fig. 8 is a perspective view showing an example of an installation structure of the air duct switching unit of the washing machine.

Description of the symbols

1-washing and drying machine, 8-washing and dewatering tank, 9-outer tank, 8 b-rotary wing, 13-air supply unit, 12-drying pipeline, 16-heater, 17-corrugated pipe, 18-first outlet, 21-corrugated pipe, 22-second outlet, 23-outlet hole, 30-air channel switching part, 31-baffle plate, 32-sealing piece, 33-leakage-proof part, 33 a-leakage-proof part, 40-first air supply outlet, 41-second air supply outlet.

Detailed Description

Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings as appropriate.

The washing machine according to the embodiment of the present invention is not limited to the following embodiment examples, and various modifications and application examples are included in the technical concept of the present invention.

< washing dryer >

Fig. 1 is a structural explanatory view of a washing machine (washing and drying machine) according to an embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in fig. 1, the washing and drying machine 1 is a vertical washing machine (vertical washing and drying machine) in which the rotation axis of the washing and dehydrating tub 8 (inner tub) is substantially vertical. An upper cover 2a is provided at an upper portion of a cabinet 2 of the washing and drying machine 1, and an outer cover 3 is provided at the upper cover 2 a. The outer lid 3 is opened rearward to open the opening 2b, so that clothes and the like (laundry) can be taken in and out of the washing and dehydrating tub 8.

On the back side (rear side) of the upper cover 2a, a water supply hose connection port 4 from a faucet and a water suction hose connection port (not shown) for sucking surplus hot water in a bathtub are provided.

The washing and drying machine 1 includes a washing and dewatering tank 8, an outer tank 9, a driving device 1, a detergent/finishing agent charging device 11, a water supply unit 7, a drying duct 12, and the like in a casing 2.

The washing and dehydrating tub 8 has a bottomed cylindrical shape and has a casing plate 8a formed of a stainless steel plate or the like. A plurality of through holes 8a1 (only a part of which is shown) for water passage and ventilation are formed in the case plate 8 a. The washing and dehydrating tub 8 has a rotary blade 8b on the inner bottom surface.

The outer tub 9 has a bottomed cylindrical shape, and is configured to have a washing and dewatering tub 8 coaxially disposed therein and an outer tub cover 9a disposed at an upper portion thereof. The user of the washing and drying machine 1 can take laundry into and out of the washing and dehydrating tub 8 through the opening 2b by opening the cover 3 and the cover member 9c of the tub cover 9 a.

The driving device 10 is disposed at the outer center of the bottom surface of the outer tub 9. The driving device 10 has a motor 10a and a clutch mechanism 10b, and a rotating shaft 10c of the driving device 10 penetrates the outer tub 9 and is configured to be coupled to the washing and dehydrating tub 8 and the rotating blade 8 b. The clutch mechanism 10b has a function of transmitting the rotational power of the motor 10a to at least one of the washing and dehydrating tub 8 and the rotary blade 8 b. The motor 10a includes a rotation detection device 5 including a hall element or a photo-interrupter for detecting the rotation thereof, and a motor current detection device 6 for detecting a current flowing through the motor 10 a.

The loading device 11 is provided on the near side of the upper cover 2 a. The detergent and finishing agent are put into the space between the outer tub 9 and the washing and dehydrating tub 8 together with the tap water by the hose 11 a.

The water supply unit 7 is provided on the inner side of the upper cover 2 a. The water supply unit 7 supplies tap water from the water supply hose connection port 4 to the loading device 11 and the water-cooling dehumidification means (not shown). The water supply unit 7 can supply tap water from the water supply hose connection port 4 and bathtub water from the water suction hose connection port into the outer tub 9 through the water filling hose 11b from between the outer tub 9 and the washing and dehydrating tub 8. The water supply unit 7 can supply tap water from the water supply hose connection port 4 to the upper part of the washing and dehydrating tub 8 through the cleaning hose 11 c.

The recessed portion 9m provided on the bottom surface of the outer tub 9 is connected to the washing water discharge path 15 via the discharge valve 14.

A drain hose, not shown, for sending drain water to the outside of the device is connected to the washing water discharge path 15.

That is, by closing the drain valve 14, the washing water and the rinsing water can be stored in the outer tank 9. By opening the drain valve 14, the water (wash water, rinse water) in the outer tub 9 can be discharged to the outside of the washing and drying machine 1 through the wash water discharge passage 15.

A drying duct 12 is provided at the inner side of the back of the cabinet 2 in the longitudinal direction, and the lower part of the duct is connected to the concave part 9m of the outer tub 9 by a bellows 12a made of rubber. A water-cooling dehumidifying mechanism (not shown) is incorporated in the drying duct 12, and the water supply unit 7 supplies cooling water (tap water) to the water-cooling dehumidifying mechanism. The cooling water flows down along the wall surface of the drying duct 12 to be immersed in the recess 9m, and is discharged to the outside of the apparatus through the washing water discharge passage 15.

The washing and dewatering tub 8 includes a balance ring (also referred to as a fluid balancer) 8c made of synthetic resin or the like at an upper end edge portion of the casing plate 8 a. The balance ring 8c is configured to enclose a fluid having a large specific gravity therein, and when eccentricity occurs due to unbalance of laundry when the washing and dehydrating tub 8 rotates, the eccentricity is removed by movement of the fluid in the balance ring 8c, thereby maintaining the balance of rotation.

The outer tub cover 9a has a substantially semicircular inlet and is attached to an upper end edge portion of the outer tub 9. A lid member 9c is provided at the inlet port so as to be openably and closably attached.

An outlet of the drying duct 12 is connected to an air inlet of the air blowing unit 13, and an outlet of the air blowing unit 13 is connected to a heater 16 as a heating portion. The outlet of the heater 16 is connected to the air duct switching unit 30, and is branched into a first air duct (see fig. 2) as a first air blowing path through which air passes or a second air duct (see fig. 3) as an air blowing path different from the first air blowing path via the air duct switching unit 30. As shown in fig. 2, the first air duct is connected to the first discharge port 18 via a rubber bellows 17. As shown in fig. 3, the second air duct is connected to the second discharge port 22 via a rubber bellows 21. That is, the air passage switching portion 30 switches the flow direction of the air passing through the first air passage or the second air passage.

That is, when the blower unit 13 is driven, the air in the outer tub 9 flows into the drying duct 12 through the concave portion 9 m. The air water-cooled and dehumidified in the drying duct 12 is discharged from the blower unit 13, then heated by the heater 16, and then turned into high-temperature and low-humidity air, which is blown out from the first outlet 18 or the second outlet 22 into the washing and dehydrating tub 8.

Further, a temperature sensor is provided between the recessed portion 9 and the drain valve 14, and detects the temperature of the washing water and the temperature of the air discharged from the washing water drain passage 15 to the outside of the apparatus during the drying operation, but the illustration thereof is not given.

As shown in fig. 1, the air blowing unit 13 of the main body is disposed rearward of the center of the main body on the upper surface. The first discharge port 18 is disposed on the front surface side of the main body as the second discharge port 22.

When the washing and drying program and the drying program are set, drying is performed. The drying is carried out as follows: the drain valve 14 is kept in a released state, and the rotary wing 8b is rotated forward and backward in a state where the washing and dehydrating tub 8 is stationary, and the air blowing unit 13 provided at the rear of the drying duct 12 is operated in the same manner as in the washing step, so that the air in the outer tub 9 is sucked from the recessed portion 9m into the drying duct 12, and when passing through the drying duct 12, the drying duct 12 is dehumidified by water cooling, and the lint is caught by a lint filter (not shown), and is heated by the heater 16 and blown into the washing tub 8 from the first outlet 18 or the second outlet 22. The drying is performed while the temperature of the warm air is monitored by the temperature sensor, and is ended when the rate of temperature change becomes a predetermined value.

The first discharge port 18 is located on the upper surface of the outer tub 9, and the air must be blown over the entire upper surface of the clothes, so the air passage cross-sectional area of the first discharge port 18 is larger than that of the second discharge port 22. Therefore, it is difficult to obtain the effect of high speed and high pressure, but the wind can be fed at a large wind amount.

The second discharge port 22 is located at the lower part of the side surface of the outer tub 9, and since it is necessary to lift and spread clothes, the air passage cross-sectional area of the second discharge port 22 is smaller than that of the first discharge port 18, so that high-speed and high-pressure air can be blown out.

During the drying operation, the first air passage and the second air passage are appropriately switched by the air passage switching unit 30.

When air is blown from the first outlet 18 through the first air duct, the air is blown from the upper portion of the outer tub 9 toward the upper surface of the clothes.

By rotating the washing and dehydrating tub 8 or the rotary blade 8b as a washing tub, all the clothes are heated and dried while being agitated.

When air is fed from the second outlet 22 through the second air duct, the rotation of the washing and dehydrating tub 8 is stopped and is stopped at a position where the warm air blowing hole 23 faces the second outlet 22.

The air blown out from the second discharge port 22 is blown downward toward the clothes from the blow-out holes 23, and lifts the clothes together with the rotation of the rotary wing 8 b. The clothes are spread by further blowing the wind to the lifted clothes, and wrinkles generated in the drying are reduced.

At this time, since the second discharge port 22 is located rearward of the first discharge port 18, it is located closer to the air blowing unit 13, and the pressure loss of the air blown from the air blowing unit can be reduced.

Further, since the second discharge port 22 is located rearward of the first discharge port 18, it is located closer to the heater 16 than in the conventional art, and the air heated by the heater 16 can be blown out to the washing and dehydrating tub 8 without a relatively low temperature.

Since high-speed and high-pressure air is blown out from the second discharge port 22, noise at the time of blowing tends to increase. In this case, by disposing the second discharge port 22 at the rear of the main body with respect to the first discharge port 18, the second discharge port 22 is positioned away from the user, and thus noise can be prevented from being transmitted.

In the washing and drying machine having such a configuration, the characteristic configuration and the operation of the present invention will be described next. Fig. 4 is a longitudinal sectional view of the air passage switching portion 30, showing the position of the shielding plate 31 when the second air passage is selected. Fig. 5 is a longitudinal sectional view of the air passage switching portion 30, showing the position of the shielding plate 31 when the first air passage is selected. Fig. 6 is an enlarged view showing a portion a in fig. 5. Fig. 7 shows a perspective view of the shielding plate 31. Fig. 8 is a perspective view showing a case where air duct switching unit 30 is provided in air blowing unit 13.

Fig. 4 is a cross-sectional view of air passage switching unit 30 when the second air passage is selected, and air is fed from the upper direction in the drawing. The shutter 31 is appropriately rotated by a drive motor (not shown) via a shaft to switch the air passage.

Since high-speed, high-pressure air needs to be fed when the second air duct is selected, leakage to the first air duct needs to be eliminated as much as possible. Therefore, the shielding plate 31 is inclined to facilitate the flow of the wind into the second wind path.

As shown in fig. 7, the surface of the shielding plate 31 on which the wind blows is inclined. That is, although the wind flows down from the upper direction in the drawing, for example, when the second air passage is selected, the wind can easily flow into the second air passage and the leakage to the first air passage can be suppressed by providing the inclination from the upstream direction to the downstream direction of the second air passage. Further, even if the air duct is provided with the projection, the air flow loss can be relatively reduced.

Fig. 7 shows a perspective view of the shielding plate 31. A seal 32 for sealing is circumferentially fitted to the shield plate 31, and the seal 32 comes into contact with the inner surface of the air duct to seal the air duct. The shape of the seal 32 to be attached is not limited to this, and may be other shapes such as surface contact.

A leakage preventing portion 33 is provided on the inner wall of the air path on the downstream side of the air path with respect to the shielding plate 31 and in contact with the shielding plate 31. This is a structure abutting against the shielding plate 31. The leakage preventing portion 33 allows high-speed wind to blow against the shielding plate 31, and the shielding plate 31 is pressed against the leakage preventing portion 33 by the wind pressure, thereby improving the reliability of leakage prevention.

Further, since the shielding plate 31 is supported by the leakage preventing portions in the case where the shielding plate 31 is pressed against the leakage preventing portions 33 by wind, the risk of the shaft portion of the shielding plate being damaged by the pressing in of high-speed wind can be reduced.

Fig. 4 is a sectional view of air passage switching unit 30 when the second air passage is selected, and fig. 5 is a sectional view of air passage switching unit 30 when the first air passage is selected, and air is fed from the upper direction in the drawing.

Since the first air duct is of a large air volume type larger than the second air duct, airtightness with the second air duct is not required. Therefore, the leakage preventing portion 33 provided on the downstream side of the shielding plate 31 when the second air passage is selected is not provided in the second air passage. When the second air passage is selected (see fig. 4), the second air passage is not provided with the projection, so that the air flow loss is further reduced, the air blowing efficiency of the second air passage is improved, and high-speed and high-pressure air can be blown.

When the first air passage is selected, the second air passage does not have the leakage preventing portion 33, but as shown in fig. 4, the wind flows in a straight line, so that an unreasonable load is not applied to the shielding plate 31, and the risk of occurrence of a failure is small.

Further, since the wind blows in a straight line, the pressure applied to the seal 32 is reduced, and the possibility of leakage is also low.

Fig. 6 shows an enlarged cross-sectional view of the leakage preventing portion 33 (an enlarged view of a portion a of fig. 5).

By being provided perpendicularly to the first air passage, leakage of air passages other than the air passage selected in the direction of the wind is suppressed when the shielding plate 31 abuts, and here, leakage into the first air passage is suppressed as shown in fig. 4. Further, the leakage preventing portion 33 may be provided with an inclination.

With the above configuration, even if the air duct is not provided with two shapes of the leakage preventing portion and the abutting portion as in the conventional art, the effect of preventing air leakage can be obtained.

In the above description, the air passage switching unit 30 is provided outside the air blowing unit, but as shown in fig. 8, the air passage switching unit 30 may be provided inside the air blowing unit 13.

In the blower unit 13 of fig. 8, the air blown out by the rotation of the fan motor passes through the heater 16, and flows to either the first air blowing port 40, which is an output port of the first air passage, or the second air blowing port 41, which is an output port of the second air passage. Which of the first air path and the second air path is flown by the air path switching portion is controlled by switching the shielding plate 31. The first air duct and the second air duct are provided in a direction perpendicular to the direction of air blown from the fan motor, and the air blown by the rotation of the fan motor blows against the walls in front of the output ports of the first air duct and the second air duct and flows into the first air duct and the second air duct.

Further, when the shutter 31 is switched, the wind can be prevented from flowing to the unselected wind path by providing the convex leakage preventing portion 33 or the concave leakage preventing portion 33a in the wind path. The shape of the leakage preventing portion is not limited to this, and any shape may be used as long as leakage can be prevented. Among them, a shape smaller than the air duct and inclined or the like is desired so that the air flow loss does not become large when the wind is made to flow.

As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to provide a washing machine capable of switching air passages with high reliability and suppressing a reduction in drying quality.

Claims

1. A washing machine is characterized by comprising:

an air supply unit for supplying air;

a first air blowing path through which the air is blown;

a second air blowing path different from the first air blowing path; and

an air duct switching unit that switches a flow direction of the air passing through the first air blowing path or the second air blowing path,

the air duct switching part is provided with a shielding plate for shielding the air duct and a leakage-proof part which is arranged at the downstream side of the air duct relative to the shielding plate and is arranged at the position abutting against the shielding plate,

the face of the shielding plate on which the wind blows is inclined.

2. A washing machine, characterized by comprising:

an air supply unit for supplying air;

a first air blowing path through which the air is blown; and

a second air blowing path different from the first air blowing path,

the air supply unit includes:

an air duct switching unit that switches a flow direction of the air passing through the first air blowing path or the second air blowing path;

a first air blowing port that blows the air switched by the air duct switching unit to the first air blowing path; and

and a second air blowing port that blows the air switched by the air duct switching unit to the second air blowing path.

3. The washing machine as claimed in claim 1,

the shielding plate is inclined from an upstream side to a downstream side of the wind.

4. A washing machine according to claim 2,

the air duct switching portion includes a shielding plate that shields the air duct, and a leakage prevention portion that is provided on a downstream side of the air duct with respect to the shielding plate and is provided at a position where the shielding plate abuts against the shielding plate, and a surface of the shielding plate on which the air is blown is inclined.

5. A washing machine according to claim 1 or 2,

the leakage preventing part is convex or concave.