JP4835263B2 - Washing and drying machine - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a washing / drying machine for washing and drying clothes and the like.

Conventionally, as shown in FIG. 11, this type of washing / drying machine rotates around a horizontal axis in a main body 1, an outer tub 3 supported by a suspension 2 in the main body 1, and a garment. A rotating tub 4 that houses the motor, a motor 5 that drives the rotating tub 4, a damper 6 provided between the lower portion of the outer tub 3 and the main body 1, and the main body 1 for drying clothes during a drying operation. A heat source 7 that warms the air, an air circulation path 8 that supplies and circulates the air heated by the heat source 7 into the rotary tank 4, and a blowing means 9 that blows drying air through the air circulation path 8. Yes. In addition, as shown in FIG. 11, a heat source 7 that constitutes a heat pump cycle has been proposed. Further, in the air circulation path 8, the outer tub 3 vibrates during the dehydration operation, so that a flexible joint 10 that can be expanded and contracted is provided in a part of the air circulation path 8. The vibration is difficult to be transmitted to the main body 1 (see, for example, Patent Document 1).
JP 2004-201772 A

  However, in the conventional configuration, when air flows through the air circulation path 8 during the drying operation, the sound of the wind flowing through the air circulation path 8 is transmitted to generate noise. In particular, a flexible bellows-like material is used for the flexible joint portion 10 in order to make it extendable and contractible. Further, since it is necessary to reduce the thickness, the wind sound is easily transmitted therethrough during the drying operation, and noise is easily generated.

  SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention solves the above-described conventional problems, and an object thereof is to provide a washing and drying machine that maintains drying performance and reduces noise generation without reducing the air volume during drying operation.

In order to solve the above-described conventional problems, a washing and drying machine according to the present invention supplies air heated by a heat source into a rotating tub and circulates between the heat source and the air circulation path. A blower that blows air for drying, and an elastic flexible joint that suppresses vibration transmission from the outer tub is provided in the air circulation path. The flexible joint is a cavity between two bellows hoses. In addition to providing a double structure portion so as to form a portion, both ends of the cavity portion are closed, and sound absorbing materials are provided at the upper and lower portions in the cavity portion .

As a result, in addition to the sound insulation effect by overlapping the flexible joints , a sound insulation effect can be obtained by forming an air layer in the cavity, and the sound in the cavity can be absorbed by the sound absorbing material. Thus, noise can be reduced and noise during the drying operation can be reduced without impairing the flexibility of the flexible joint.

The washing / drying machine of the present invention can reduce noise caused by blowing air during the drying operation without impairing the flexibility of the flexible joint .

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an outer tub elastically supported by a washing machine outer frame, a rotating tub rotatably provided in the outer tub, a driving means for rotating the rotating tub, and air for drying clothes. A heat source for heating the air, an air circulation path for supplying air heated by the heat source into the rotating tank and circulating between the heat source, and a blowing means for blowing drying air to the air circulation path And an elastic flexible joint that suppresses vibration transmission from the outer tank is provided in the air circulation path, and the flexible joint is overlapped so that a cavity is formed between the two bellows hoses. Rutotomoni provided a heavy structure, by closing both ends of the hollow portion provided with the upper and lower sound absorbing material in the cavity, increasing the mass of the walls constituting the air circulation path, increasing the transmission loss, Improves sound insulation effect and allows the air circulation path to flow during drying operation. That by more difficult to transmit the wind, it is possible to reduce the generated noise. Moreover, in addition to the sound insulation effect by overlapping the flexible joints, a sound insulation effect can be obtained by forming an air layer in the cavity, and the sound in the cavity can be absorbed by the sound absorbing material. In addition, noise can be reduced and noise during the drying operation can be reduced without impairing the flexibility of the flexible joint.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Note that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments.

(Embodiment 1)
FIG. 1 is a sectional view of a washing / drying machine according to a first embodiment of the present invention, and FIGS. 2 to 4 are sectional views of an air circulation path. The washing machine outer frame 30 elastically supports the outer tub 33 by several tension springs 31 and two dampers 32. A rotating tub 35 for accommodating a washing or drying object (hereinafter referred to as clothing) 34 is rotatably arranged in the outer tub 33. The motor (driving means) 36 is composed of a brushless DC motor and is controlled by an inverter so that the rotational speed can be freely changed. Then, the rotating tank 34 is directly driven.

  A water supply means 37 for supplying water to the rotating tub 35 during the washing process and a drainage means 38 for draining water after the completion of washing are provided at the bottom of the outer tub 33. Further, during the drying process, a heat source 39 for warming the air for drying the clothes, an air circulation path 40 for supplying and circulating air heated by the heat source 39 into the rotating tub, and drying air in the air circulation path A blowing means (fan) 41 for blowing air is provided.

  The control device 42 is provided at the lower front portion of the washing machine outer frame 30. The control device 42 sequentially controls each process of washing, rinsing, dehydration, and drying based on the setting contents input by the operation display means 43 provided on the upper front surface of the washing machine outer frame 30. The power switching means The motor 36, the water supply means 37, the drainage means 38, etc. are sequentially controlled via (not shown).

The air circulation path 40 has a double structure in order to obtain a sound insulation effect. For example, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, a new material 43 may be bonded to the inner surface or the outer surface of the air circulation path 40. However, when the thickness of the material 43 is increased in order to increase the sound insulation effect, if the material 43 is provided on the inner surface, the cross-sectional area of the air circulation path 40 is reduced, and the amount of air (air volume) passing therethrough is reduced. Therefore, it is better to provide it outside. As for the material 43, the greater the mass, the greater the effect of sound insulation. It is clear from the transmission loss equation shown below. This expression is an expression showing the transmission loss TL [dB] for a certain frequency, and TL is as shown below.
TL = 18logMf-44 (1)
Here, M is the surface density [kg / m ³ ] of the walls constituting the air circulation path, and f is the frequency.
As the surface density (mass) increases from this equation, the transmission loss also increases. That is, the sound insulation effect is increased. Therefore, it is preferable to use a material 43 having as large a mass as possible.

  Moreover, by providing the space 44 between the air circulation path 40 and the material 43 as shown in FIG. 4, an air layer is formed in the space, and the sound insulation effect can be further increased.

  The operation and action of the washing / drying machine configured as described above will be described below. First, after putting clothes and detergent into the rotating tank 35, the operation display means 43 is operated to start operation. As a result, the water supply means 37 operates, the washing water is supplied into the rotating tub 35 and the rotating tub 35 also starts rotating. When the specified amount of washing water is supplied, the water supply means 37 stops water supply. By the rotation of the rotary tank 35, the detergent is dissolved in the washing water and becomes a washing liquid and penetrates into the clothes. The rotating tank 35 rotates at a low speed of about 30 r / min, and performs washing for a specified time to lift and drop the clothes.

  After the washing is finished, the drainage means 38 is operated, and the washing liquid in which the dirt is dissolved is drained out of the outer tub 33. After the drainage is completed, the rotation of the rotary tank 35 is gradually accelerated and dewatering is performed.

When the washing operation is completed as described above, the drying operation is started. In the drying process, while the rotating tank 35 is driven to rotate at a low speed by the motor 36 and the clothes 34 are agitated, the air is heated by the heat source 39 (for example, a heater) through the air circulation path 40 to be warm air. Then, it is fed into the rotary tank 35. After the hot air has taken away moisture from the clothes 34, it passes through the outer tub 33 and reaches the air circulation path 40. At this time, cooling water is poured into the air circulation path 40 by the water supply means 37. When the warm air containing moisture from the clothes 34 deprives the moisture passes through the air circulation path 40, it is cooled by the cooling water to cause condensation of the moisture, and the moist air is dehumidified and returned to the blowing means 41 again. . By circulating the warm air as described above, the clothes 34 in the rotating tub 35 can be dried.

  However, when warm air circulates through the air circulation path 40, the wind flows through the air circulation path 40, thereby transmitting sound from the air circulation path 40 and generating noise. Here, as shown in the present invention, by making the air circulation path 40 have a double structure, the sound insulation of the air circulation path 40 is improved, and noise can be reduced.

  As described above, in the present embodiment, the air circulation path 40 has a double structure, thereby increasing the mass effect of the walls constituting the air circulation path 40 and increasing the transmission loss, thereby providing a sound insulation effect. It is an improvement. As a result, during the drying operation, the transmission of wind flowing sound when air circulates through the air circulation path 40 can be reduced, and noise can be reduced.

  In addition, when providing a double structure part, it is made for the air volume of the wind which flows through the air circulation path 40 not to fall by the change of the cross-sectional area of the air circulation path 40, or a shape. Moreover, when providing a double structure part, it is not necessary to make all the air circulation paths 40 into a double structure, and it is sufficient by specifying the place where a noise is likely to occur and providing the double structure part in that part. Noise reduction effect can be obtained.

(Embodiment 2)
In the present embodiment, the double-structured air circulation path 40 as shown in the first embodiment is positioned at the position shown by 41a in FIG. Side). As shown in the first embodiment, noise is generated when air flows through the air circulation path 40 during the drying operation. In particular, in the air circulation path 40 on the downstream side of the fan 41, not only the sound of the wind flowing but also the wind noise when the fan 41 rotates transmits large noise. Therefore, by providing a double structure portion in the air circulation path 40 on the downstream side of the fan 41 that generates this large noise, it is possible to effectively isolate these noises. The noise caused by the wind flow downstream of the fan 41 occupies a large factor in the noise during the drying operation. By reducing the noise in this portion, the noise during the drying operation can be effectively reduced. it can. Moreover, since only a part of the downstream side of the air circulation path 40 has a double structure, the cost is less than that in which the entire air circulation path 40 has a double structure, and noise can be reduced.

(Embodiment 3)
FIG. 5 is a configuration diagram of a washing machine according to the third embodiment of the present invention. In the present embodiment, the air circulation path 40 is provided with a flexible joint 45 that can be expanded and contracted so that the vibration of the outer tub 33 is not transmitted to the washing machine outer frame 30 during the dehydration operation. The joining portion 45 has a double structure. FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of the flexible joint 45 having a double structure.

  As shown in FIG. 6, as the flexible joint 45, for example, a flexible member such as a bellows hose is used, and a bellows hose 45b having the same shape is further stacked on the bellows hose 45a. In general, the flexible joint 45 is thin in order to provide a stretchability in order to cope with a large vibration of the outer tub 33 at the time of dehydration operation. Due to the shape, when dry air passes through the flexible joint 45, noise is more likely to be generated and sound is more easily transmitted than the other air circulation paths 40. Therefore, the sound insulation effect can be improved and the noise can be more effectively reduced by making the flexible joint portion 45 have a double structure.

(Embodiment 4)
FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view of the flexible joint in the fourth embodiment of the present invention. In the present embodiment, as in the third embodiment, a flexible joint 45 is provided in the air circulation path 40, and the inner surface of the flexible joint 45 (for example, a bellows hose) as shown in FIG. In addition, the thin film body 46 is provided so that the cross section through which the drying air passes has the same cross-sectional area as the air circulation path 40.

  The thin film body 46 is made of a flexible and soft material so as not to impair the stretchability of the flexible joint 45. For example, something like vinyl is used. The thin film body 46 may be bonded to the inner surface of the flexible joint 45. If flexibility is required, a slit may be provided in the thin film body 46. The thin film body 46 is provided so that the cross section of the air circulation path of the flexible joint 45 is uniform during the drying operation. In other words, noise is easily generated by the pleated shape of the flexible joint 45 by providing the flexible joint 45 with a cross-sectional area as constant as possible from the entrance to the outlet when dry air flows. Can be prevented.

  Furthermore, when the thin film body 46 is provided as shown in FIG. 7, since the cavity 47 is formed, an air layer is formed and the sound insulation effect can be improved. In addition, since the cross section of the air circulation path of the flexible joint 45 is constant, the pressure loss is reduced as compared with the case where the cross-sectional shape of the air circulation path is a pleat shape, and the amount of air flowing through the air circulation path is also increased. . Thereby, drying performance can also be improved. Further, if it is sufficient to maintain the drying performance, the same amount of air can be obtained even if the rotational speed of the fan 41, which is a means for blowing dry air, is slightly reduced, and the rotational speed of the fan 41 is decreased. Therefore, the effect of noise reduction can be obtained.

(Embodiment 5)
FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view of the flexible joint in the fifth embodiment of the present invention. In the present embodiment, as in the third and fourth embodiments, the air circulation path 40 is provided with a flexible joint 45, and as shown in FIG. 8, the flexible joint 45 (for example, a bellows hose). The gel-like body 47 is provided on the inner surface. The gel-like body 47 may be fixed by bonding to the inner surface of the flexible joint 45 or the like. The gel-like body 47 is soft, so long as it is provided around the deformed space when the gel-like body 47 is deformed, the amount of deformation is not limited, and even if it is provided on the inner surface of the flexible joint 45, The flexibility is not impaired. Moreover, since the gel-like body 47 has a certain amount of mass, it has a sufficient sound insulation effect, and a noise reduction effect during the drying operation can also be obtained.

(Embodiment 6)
FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view of the flexible joint in the sixth embodiment of the present invention. In the present embodiment, similarly to the third to fifth embodiments, the air circulation path 40 is provided with a flexible joint 45, and the flexible joint 45 has a hollow structure as shown in FIG. ing. Specifically, two bellows hoses may be used so as to form a cavity 48, and the gap portion may be sealed and bonded using another rubber member 49 or the like.

  As a result, not only the sound insulation effect due to the mass effect by overlapping the flexible joints 45 but also the sound insulation effect due to the cavity 48 forming an air layer can be obtained, and noise can be more effectively achieved. Can be reduced.

(Embodiment 7)
In the present embodiment, a liquid is provided in the cavity 48 in the flexible joint 45 of the sixth embodiment. By providing the liquid, a larger mass effect can be obtained and the sound insulation effect can be improved than when the cavity 48 is an air layer. The type of liquid may be water, but salt water or the like may be used to obtain a larger mass effect.

(Embodiment 8)
FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view of the flexible joint in the eighth embodiment of the present invention. In the present embodiment, the sound absorbing material 50 is provided around the upper and lower portions of the cavity 48 in the flexible joint 45 of the sixth embodiment. Thereby, the sound between the cavity parts 48 is absorbed and the further noise reduction effect is acquired. Further, since the sound absorbing material 50 is provided only around the upper part and the lower part of the cavity 48, noise during the drying operation can be reduced without substantially impairing the flexibility of the flexible joint 45.

  As described above, the washing / drying machine according to the present invention can improve the noise performance without deteriorating the drying performance when clothes are dried, and is useful for uses such as a washing / drying machine.

Configuration diagram of the washing and drying machine in Embodiment 1 of the present invention (A) Cross-sectional view of the air circulation path of the washer / dryer (b) Vertical cross-sectional view of the air circulation path (A) Cross-sectional view of another air circulation path of the washer / dryer (b) Vertical cross-sectional view of the air circulation path (A) Cross-sectional view of another air circulation path of the washer / dryer (b) Vertical cross-sectional view of the air circulation path The block diagram of the washing-drying machine in Embodiment 3 of this invention Sectional view of the flexible joint of the washer / dryer (A) Cross sectional view of flexible joint in embodiment 4 of the present invention (b) Vertical cross section of the flexible joint Sectional drawing of the flexible junction part of the washing-drying machine in Embodiment 5 of this invention Sectional drawing of the flexible junction part of the washing-drying machine in Embodiment 6 of this invention Sectional drawing of the flexible junction part of the washing-drying machine in Embodiment 8 of this invention Configuration diagram of a conventional washing and drying machine

30 Washing machine outer frame 33 Outer tub 35 Rotating tub 36 Driving means 39 Heat source 40 Air circulation path 41 Blower means 45 Flexible joint

Claims (1)

An outer tub elastically supported by the outer frame of the washing machine, a rotating tub rotatably provided in the outer tub, a driving means for rotating the rotating tub, a heat source for warming air for drying clothes, An air circulation path for supplying air heated by a heat source into the rotary tank and circulating between the heat source and a blowing means for blowing drying air to the air circulation path, the air circulation path suppressing telescopic flexible joint transmission of vibration from the outer tub is provided, the flexible joint, Ru provided a double structure by superposing such that a cavity portion is formed between the two bellows hose In addition, a washing and drying machine in which both ends of the hollow portion are closed and a sound absorbing material is provided at the upper and lower portions in the hollow portion .