Control method of steam washing function

Abstract

The invention discloses a control method of a steam washing function, belongs to the technical field of household appliances, and solves the problems of high cost and potential safety hazards when steam is efficiently generated. The method comprises the steps that a drying fan arranged in a drying device outside a barrel of the clothes processing equipment is started, so that negative pressure is formed in a drying air duct; the spraying device is arranged outside the barrel body and located between the barrel body and a heater in the drying device and sprays spraying water; the spraying water is sucked into the drying air duct due to the negative pressure, and is scattered into fine and dense small water drops by the drying fan in the suction process; the heater used for heating the drying airflow heats the small water drops to form high-temperature steam. According to the method, a drying device and a spraying device of washing equipment are utilized to become a steam generating device through program control, and the steam washing function is safely and efficiently achieved under the condition that no hardware cost is increased.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The invention relates to the technical field of household appliances, in particular to a method for controlling a steam washing function. Background Art

[0002] In modern life, with the continuous improvement of the quality of life, people's requirements for household appliances are getting higher and higher, so clothing processing equipment with steam washing function was born.

[0003] There are three main types of steam washing principles for clothing treatment equipment on the market:

[0004] The first type is to set a sprayer outside the outer drum of the clothing treatment device to spray water to the heater in the drying channel to generate steam. This method requires an additional sprayer, which not only occupies the internal space of the device but also increases the production cost.

[0005] The second method is to set a sprayer to spray water to the washing heater to generate steam. This method requires adding a sprayer, which increases the hardware cost. When the heater is dry-burned without air cooling, long-term spraying of water on the upper surface of the heater will cause the heater to deform, thus posing a safety hazard.

[0006] The third type is to directly use a washing heater to heat the washing water to generate steam. Since the total amount of washing water is large, the heating rate is relatively slow, resulting in a small amount of steam generated and an unsatisfactory effect. Summary of the invention

[0007] The present invention aims to solve at least one of the technical problems existing in the prior art or related art, namely, the problem of high cost and potential safety hazards in efficiently generating steam.

[0008] In order to achieve the above-mentioned purpose, the present invention provides a control method for a steam washing function, which utilizes a drying device and a spraying device of the clothing processing equipment itself, and controls them through a program so as to become a steam generating device, thereby realizing the steam washing function safely and efficiently without increasing any hardware cost.

[0009] The specific technical solutions include the following:

[0010] According to an embodiment of the present application, a method for controlling a steam washing function is provided, the method comprising: starting a drying fan in a drying device arranged outside a drum of a clothing processing device to form a negative pressure in a drying air duct; a spray device arranged outside the drum and between the drum and a heater in the drying device sprays spray water; the spray water is sucked into the drying air duct due to the negative pressure, and is broken up into fine small water droplets by the drying fan during the suction process; the heater for heating the drying airflow heats the small water droplets to form high-temperature steam.

[0011] Furthermore, after the heater for heating the drying airflow heats the small water droplets to form high-temperature steam, the method further includes: the high-temperature steam enters the cylinder through the drying air duct under the action of the drying fan.

[0012] Furthermore, the heater may start heating at any step before the spray water is sucked into the drying air duct due to the negative pressure.

[0013] Preferably, the heater starts heating after the spraying device sprays the spraying water.

[0014] Furthermore, the cylinder can start rotating at any step.

[0015] Preferably, the cylinder starts to rotate while the heater for heating the drying airflow heats the small water droplets to form high-temperature steam.

[0016] Furthermore, in the process of the heater for heating the drying air flow heating the small water droplets to form high-temperature steam, the method also includes: measuring the current temperature in the drying air duct in real time through a temperature sensor; when the current temperature is ≥ a first threshold temperature, the heater stops heating; when the current temperature is ≤ a second threshold temperature, the heater starts heating.

[0017] Furthermore, the drying device is a device for providing a drying airflow for the clothing processing equipment; the connection port between the spray device and the cylinder is provided with a drying filter for filtering lint in the drying airflow, and the spray device is a device for flushing the drying filter.

[0018] Furthermore, the heater includes a heating component capable of heating the air.

[0019] Furthermore, the high-temperature steam is used for laundry washing and / or laundry care.

[0020] Compared with the prior art, the present invention has at least the following beneficial effects:

[0021] The control method of the present application does not require any additional hardware equipment cost, and only utilizes the drying device and spraying device of the clothing processing equipment itself to achieve steam generation through program control; secondly, the heater heats quickly to cause the water sucked into the drying device to quickly vaporize and generate steam, which is blown into the cylinder by the drying fan, producing an obvious steam effect; at the same time, when the heater has not yet been heated, the drying device is already filled with a large amount of water vapor, so that there is no safety risk caused by deformation of the heater during long-term use. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0022] Various other advantages and benefits will become apparent to those skilled in the art by reading the detailed description of the preferred embodiments below. The accompanying drawings are only used to illustrate the preferred embodiments and are not to be considered as limiting the present application. In the accompanying drawings:

[0023] Figure 1 is a flow chart of an embodiment of the present invention;

[0024] Figure 2 It is a schematic diagram of the structure of a drying device and a spraying device according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0025] Figure 3 It is a structural schematic diagram of a clothes processing device according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0026] Figure 4 It is a schematic diagram of the structure of the spray device and the drying filter screen according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0027] Figure 5 It is a schematic cross-sectional structure diagram of a spray device and a drying filter screen according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0028] The accompanying drawings are marked as follows:

[0029] 1-Cylinder;

[0030] 2-drying device; 21-drying fan; 22-drying air duct; 23-heater; 24-temperature sensor; 25-first interface;

[0031] 3- spray device; 31- spray pipe; 32- second interface; 4- drying filter. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0032] In order to make the purpose, technical solutions and advantages of the embodiments of the present invention clearer, the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention will be clearly and completely described below in conjunction with the drawings in the embodiments of the present invention. Obviously, the described embodiments are only part of the embodiments of the present invention, rather than all the embodiments.

[0033] The terms "first", "second", etc. (if any) in the specification and claims of the present invention are used to distinguish similar objects, rather than to describe a specific order or sequence. Even if "second" is used to distinguish before a certain technical feature, it does not necessarily indicate that "first" is present. It should be understood that in the present invention, "including" and "having" and any of their variations are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusions. It should be understood that in the present invention, "multiple" refers to two or more. "And / or" is only a description of the association relationship of associated objects, indicating that three relationships can exist. For example, X and / or Y can represent: X exists alone, X and Y exist at the same time, and Y exists alone. The character " / " generally indicates that the associated objects before and after are in an "or" relationship. "Containing X, Y and Z", "Containing X, Y, Z" means that X, Y, and Z are all included, "Containing X, Y or Z" means that one of X, Y, and Z is included, and "Containing X, Y and / or Z" means that any one, any two, or three of X, Y, and Z are included.

[0034] The technical solution of the present invention is described in detail with specific embodiments below. The following specific embodiments can be combined or replaced with each other according to actual conditions, and the same or similar concepts or processes may not be described in detail in some embodiments.

[0035] According to an embodiment of the present application, a control method for a steam washing function is provided, the method comprising: starting a drying fan 21 in a drying device 2 outside a drum 1 of a clothing processing device to form a negative pressure in a drying air duct 22; a spray device 3 arranged outside the drum 1 and between the drum 1 and a heater 23 in the drying device 2 sprays spray water; the spray water is sucked into the drying air duct 22 due to the negative pressure, and is broken up into fine small water droplets by the drying fan 21 during the suction process; and the heater 23 for heating the drying air flow heats the small water droplets to form high-temperature steam.

[0036] Furthermore, in one embodiment, after the heater 23 for heating the drying airflow heats the small water droplets to form high-temperature steam, the method further includes: the high-temperature steam enters the barrel 1 through the drying air duct 22 under the action of the drying fan 21.

[0037] Specifically, the drying device 2 and the spraying device 3 used in this solution are both devices provided by existing clothing processing equipment. Figure 2 , Figure 3As shown, the drying device 2 is a device for providing drying airflow in the clothing processing device, including a drying fan 21, a drying air duct 22, and a heater 23 arranged in the drying air duct 22. When the clothes in the barrel 1 of the clothing processing device need to be dried, the drying fan 21 is started to form a negative pressure in the drying channel 22; the airflow flows out through the second interface 32 and is sucked into the drying channel 22 by the negative pressure; the heater 23 heats the airflow entering the drying channel 22, and the heated airflow enters the barrel 1 through the drying channel 22 and the first interface 25 between the drying channel 22 and the barrel 1 under the action of the drying fan 21 to dry the clothes. It should be noted that the drying device 2 includes but is not limited to the drying fan 21, the drying air duct 22 and the heater 23, and may also include a heat pump component, such as a compressor, a condenser, an evaporator, etc.

[0038] like Figure 4 , Figure 5 As shown, in order to prevent the lint in the airflow from entering the drying device 2, a drying filter 4 is provided at the second interface 32; and the spray device 3 is provided for timely cleaning the drying filter 4. The spray device 3 is provided between the drying device 2 and the second interface 32, and the spray pipe 31 in the spray device 3 is connected to the washing water of the clothing processing device. When the drying filter 4 needs to be cleaned, the spray pipe 31 sprays water to rinse the drying filter 4.

[0039] Therefore, although the spray device 3 does not spray water toward the drying device 2, the present solution utilizes the characteristic that the drying fan 21 is started to form a negative pressure in the drying channel 22, so that the water sprayed by the spray pipe 31 toward the drying filter 4 can be sucked into the drying channel 22, and while the water is being sucked in, it is broken up by the drying fan 21 into more dense small water droplets, so that it can be quickly vaporized after being heated.

[0040] Furthermore, in one embodiment, the heater 23 may start heating at any step before the spray water is sucked into the drying air duct 22 due to the negative pressure.

[0041] Preferably, in one embodiment, the heater 23 starts heating after the spraying device 3 sprays the spraying water.

[0042] Specifically, the heater 23 can start heating at any step before the spray water is sucked into the drying air duct 22, but before the water enters the drying air duct 22, the heating temperature of the heater 23 must be controlled to prevent the heater 23 from drying out due to excessive temperature. Therefore, the best solution is to start heating after the spray device 3 sprays the spray water.

[0043] According to this, if Figure 1 As shown, the steps of specific embodiment 1 are as follows:

[0044] S1: The drying fan 21 is activated to form a negative pressure in the drying air duct 22 .

[0045] S2: The spray device 3 is activated, and the spray water is sucked into the drying channel 22 due to the negative pressure.

[0046] S3: The heater 23 is activated to gasify the small water droplets in the drying channel 22 to form high-temperature steam, which is then blown into the drum 1 by the drying fan 21 .

[0047] As described above, the heater 23 may also start heating before the spraying device 3 sprays the spraying water. The steps of the specific embodiment 2 are as follows:

[0048] S1: The drying fan 21 is activated to form a negative pressure in the drying air duct 22 .

[0049] S2: The heater 23 is activated to heat to a predetermined temperature.

[0050] S3: the spray device 3 is activated, and the spray water is sucked into the drying channel 22 due to the negative pressure. The heated heater 23 vaporizes the small water droplets in the drying channel 22 to form high-temperature steam, which is blown into the cylinder 1 by the drying fan 21.

[0051] As described above, the heater 23 may also start heating before the drying fan 21 is started. The steps of the specific embodiment 3 are as follows:

[0052] S1: The heater 23 is activated to heat to a predetermined temperature.

[0053] S2: The drying fan 21 is activated to form a negative pressure in the drying air duct 22 .

[0054] S3: the spray device 3 is activated, and the spray water is sucked into the drying channel 22 due to the negative pressure. The heated heater 23 vaporizes the small water droplets in the drying channel 22 to form high-temperature steam, which is blown into the cylinder 1 by the drying fan 21.

[0055] Furthermore, in one embodiment, the cylinder 1 can start rotating at any step.

[0056] Preferably, in one embodiment, the drum 1 starts to rotate while the heater 23 for heating the drying airflow heats the small water droplets to form high-temperature steam.

[0057] Specifically, the drum 1 can start rotating at any step in the steam washing process, but when the heater 23 heats the small water droplets to form high-temperature steam, the high-temperature steam enters the drum 1 under the action of the drying fan 21, and the clothes are officially washed. Therefore, the drum 1 starts rotating at this time, which will not affect the washing effect and is also the most energy-saving method.

[0058] Furthermore, in one embodiment, in the process of the heater 23 for heating the drying air flow heating the small water droplets to form high-temperature steam, the method also includes: measuring the current temperature in the drying air duct in real time through the temperature sensor 24; when the current temperature is ≥ a first threshold temperature, the heater 23 stops heating; when the current temperature is ≤ a second threshold temperature, the heater 23 starts heating.

[0059] Specifically, when it is necessary to dry clothes, the temperature of the drying airflow must be within an appropriate range. Too low a temperature will result in low drying efficiency of clothes, while too high a temperature will damage clothes and even cause safety accidents. Therefore, the temperature sensor 24 is also provided in the drying air duct 22 to ensure the temperature of the drying airflow. In this solution, the temperature of the high-temperature steam required for steam washing also needs to be within an appropriate range to ensure efficient and safe washing. To this end, according to the need for high-temperature steam, this solution sets the first threshold temperature and the second threshold temperature to control the temperature of the generated high-temperature steam to be between the first threshold temperature and the second threshold temperature. The first threshold temperature and the second threshold temperature can be set according to actual needs, and the setting factors include but are not limited to the texture of the washed clothes, the detergent used, the water quality of the place of use, etc.

[0060] Furthermore, in one embodiment, the heater 23 includes a heating component capable of heating the air. Specifically, the heater 23 is used to heat the airflow when drying clothes, so a component capable of heating the air is required.

[0061] Furthermore, in one embodiment, the high temperature steam is used for laundry washing and / or laundry care.

[0062] Specifically, unlike the traditional physical rubbing and stirring washing method, steam washing is to spray steam with a certain pressure on the clothes to assist in washing, so as to easily break down stubborn dirt such as oil stains and sweat stains. The biggest advantage of steam washing is that the tiny steam molecules can penetrate the fibers, effectively reducing the wrinkles caused by rubbing, removing stains and making the fabric of clothes fresh and smooth; at the same time, steam washing also has the function of sterilization and mites removal, which greatly reduces the contact between allergens and the human body.

[0063] It should be noted that the clothing processing equipment that can use the control method of this solution includes but is not limited to washing machines, shoe washing machines, etc., and any equipment that can use steam to wash items can be used.

[0064] In addition to the above-mentioned preferred embodiments, the present invention also has other implementation modes. Based on the embodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by ordinary technicians in this field without making any creative work are within the scope of protection requested by the present invention.

Claims

1. A method for controlling a steam washing function, characterized in that: The method comprises: The drying fan in the drying device disposed outside the drum of the clothes processing device is started to form a negative pressure in the drying air duct; A spraying device disposed outside the cylinder and between the cylinder and the heater in the drying device sprays spray water; The spray water is sucked into the drying air duct due to the negative pressure, and is broken up into fine water droplets by the drying fan during the suction process; The heater for heating the drying airflow heats the small water droplets to form high-temperature steam.

2. The method for controlling the steam washing function according to claim 1, characterized in that: After the heater for heating the drying airflow heats the small water droplets to form high-temperature steam, the method further includes: Under the action of the drying fan, the high-temperature steam enters the cylinder through the drying air duct.

3. The method for controlling the steam washing function according to claim 1, characterized in that: The heater may start heating at any step before the spray water is sucked into the drying air duct due to the negative pressure.

4. The method for controlling the steam washing function according to claim 1, characterized in that: The heater starts heating after the spraying device sprays the spraying water.

5. The method for controlling the steam washing function according to claim 1, characterized in that: The cylinder can start rotating at any step.

6. The method for controlling the steam washing function according to claim 1, characterized in that: The cylinder starts to rotate while the heater for heating the drying airflow heats the small water droplets to form high-temperature steam.

7. The method for controlling the steam washing function according to claim 1, characterized in that: In the process of heating the small water droplets to form high-temperature steam by the heater for heating the drying airflow, the method further comprises: Measuring the current temperature in the drying air duct in real time by a temperature sensor; When the current temperature is greater than or equal to a first threshold temperature, the heater stops heating; When the current temperature is less than or equal to a second threshold temperature, the heater starts heating.

8. The method for controlling the steam washing function according to claim 1, characterized in that: The drying device is a device used by the clothes processing equipment to provide drying airflow; A drying filter screen for filtering lint in the drying airflow is provided at the connection port between the spray device and the cylinder, and the spray device is a device for flushing the drying filter screen.

9. The method for controlling the steam washing function according to claim 1, characterized in that: The heater includes a heating member capable of heating air.

10. The method for controlling the steam washing function according to claim 1, characterized in that: The high-temperature steam is used for laundry washing and / or laundry care.

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