Washing and drying machine

Abstract

To provide a washing and drying machine capable of suitably smoothing wrinkles of a dried object by humidifying the inside of a tub without separately providing a humidifier, for example.SOLUTION: A washing and drying machine includes a tub into which laundry is put, a jetting mechanism configured to jet water obliquely downward toward a back side in the tub, and a heating mechanism configured to blow heated air toward the jetting mechanism in a front-back direction from below the jetting mechanism in the tub.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 6

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a washer / dryer. [Background technology]

[0002] Patent Document 1 discloses a clothes dryer equipped with a humidifier that humidifies the air inside the drum after drying is completed. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 3-55100 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] For example, there is a demand for humidifying the laundry in a washer / dryer to effectively remove wrinkles from the laundry. However, providing a separate humidifying device as in Patent Document 1 poses a problem of increased costs.

[0005] One object of the present disclosure is to provide a washer / dryer that can humidify the inside of the tub without providing a separate humidifying device, and can suitably remove wrinkles from items to be dried, for example. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] In one aspect of the present disclosure, a washer-dryer includes a tub into which laundry is placed, a spray mechanism that sprays water diagonally downward toward the back of the tub within the tub, and a heating mechanism that blows heated air from below the spray mechanism toward the spray mechanism in the front-to-rear direction within the tub. [Effects of the Invention]

[0007] According to the present disclosure, for example, it is possible to provide a washer / dryer that can humidify the inside of the tub without providing a separate humidifier and can suitably remove wrinkles from items to be dried. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0008] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a washing / drying machine. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a schematic front view showing the main parts of the washer-dryer; [Figure 3] FIG. 3 is a schematic cross-sectional view taken along line III-III in FIG. 2. [Figure 4] FIG. 3 is a schematic cross-sectional view taken along line III-III in FIG. 2. [Figure 5] FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a washing / drying machine. [Figure 6] 10 is a time chart showing a wrinkle-smoothing mode. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0009] A washer-dryer 1 (see FIG. 1, etc.) according to an embodiment of the present disclosure will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings. In the following description, components having substantially the same functions will be referred to by the same reference numerals, and the description will be incorporated herein by reference. In the following description, the side of the washer-dryer 1 on which the door 12 (see FIG. 1) is provided will be referred to as the front side, and the opposite side will be referred to as the rear side. The front-to-rear direction will sometimes be referred to as the depth direction. The right side and left side are the directions when the washer-dryer 1 is viewed from the front side to the rear side. The left-to-right direction will sometimes be referred to as the width direction. The direction perpendicular to each of the depth direction and width direction will be referred to as the height direction.

[0010] In this disclosure, a "washer-dryer" refers to any appliance that has at least one of the functions of a "washing machine" and a "dryer." A "washer-dryer" may have only the function of a "washing machine," only the function of a "dryer," or both the function of a "washing machine" and the function of a "dryer."

[0011] In the present disclosure, the term "washing machine" refers to a general device that performs various processes, such as washing, on laundry. Examples of processes that a washing machine can perform on laundry include washing, deodorizing, and sterilizing. The laundry is not particularly limited. Examples of laundry include cloth products. Specific examples of laundry include clothing such as clothes, hats, and gloves; personal belongings such as shoes, bags, handkerchiefs, and towels; bedding such as curtains, blankets, towel blankets, and futon covers; carpets; and stuffed toys.

[0012] In this disclosure, the term "dryer" refers generally to an appliance that reduces the moisture content of an object to be dried, such as laundry. The dryer may be, for example, an appliance that reduces the moisture content of an object to be dried by heating the object. The dryer may be, for example, an appliance that reduces the moisture content of an object to be dried by supplying air to the object. The dryer may be, for example, an appliance that reduces the moisture content of an object to be dried by supplying heated air to the object to be dried, or by heating the object while supplying air.

[0013] (1 washer / dryer) Fig. 1 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the washer-dryer 1. Fig. 2 is a schematic front view showing the main parts of the washer-dryer 1. Figs. 3 and 4 are schematic cross-sectional views taken along line III-III in Fig. 2. Fig. 5 is a block diagram of the washer-dryer 1. Note that in the present disclosure, hatching of cross sections is omitted.

[0014] 1, the washer / dryer 1 has a housing 11. Housing 11 houses each component of the washer / dryer 1. Inside housing 11, a water tub 13, a spin tub 14, etc. are arranged.

[0015] (Aquarium 13) Water tub 13 is open on the front side (F side) in the direction in which central axis A extends. Water tub 13 is generally cylindrical and closed on one side (rear side: R side) in the direction in which central axis A extends. Water is supplied to and stored in water tub 13. Water tub 13 is connected to a drain outlet via a drain path (not shown). Washer / dryer 1 is configured so that water stored in water tub 13 can be discharged via the drain path and the drain outlet. Water tub 13 is swingably mounted within housing 11 by support mechanism 16 including a damper, spring, etc. (not shown). Water tub 13 is non-rotatable relative to housing 11. Note that in washer / dryer 1, central axis A is inclined obliquely upward toward the front side. However, the present disclosure is not limited to this configuration. Central axis A may extend horizontally. Central axis A may also extend vertically, for example.

[0016] (Rotating tank 14) A rotating tub 14 is disposed inside the water tub 13. The rotating tub 14 is a tub into which laundry is placed. A plurality of through holes are formed in the rotating tub 14, allowing liquids such as water, detergent, and fabric softener stored in the water tub 13 to enter the rotating tub 14. This allows water and other liquids to be supplied to the laundry placed in the rotating tub 14.

[0017] Like water tub 13, rotating tub 14 is open on the front side (F side) in the direction in which central axis A extends. Rotating tub 14 is cylindrical with one side (R side) in the direction in which central axis A extends closed. Rotating tub 14 and water tub 13 are arranged concentrically. Rotating tub 14 and water tub 13 share a common central axis A. Rotating tub 14 is configured to have a smaller diameter than water tub 13. A rotation mechanism 17 is connected to rotating tub 14. Rotation mechanism 17 is configured by, for example, a motor. Rotating tub 14 is driven to rotate relative to water tub 13 by rotation mechanism 17.

[0018] For example, the rotation mechanism 17 may rotate only in one direction, clockwise or counterclockwise, about the central axis A, or may be configured to rotate in both directions, clockwise and counterclockwise. For example, the rotation mechanism 17 may be controlled to repeatedly perform one rotation operation that rotates the spin tub 14 in the clockwise direction and another rotation operation that rotates the spin tub 14 in the counterclockwise direction. For example, in the laundry washing process, the spin tub 14 may be rotated alternately in the clockwise and counterclockwise directions. For example, in the laundry tumbling and drying processes, the spin tub 14 may be rotated at a low speed in one of the clockwise and counterclockwise directions. For example, in the laundry spin-drying process, the spin tub 14 may be rotated at a high speed in one of the clockwise and counterclockwise directions.

[0019] (Door 12) Door 12 is rotatably attached to housing 11. Door 12 is located on the front side (F side) of water tub 13. Washer / dryer 1 is configured so that the opening of water tub 13 can be opened and closed by door 12.

[0020] (heating mechanism 18 and circulation path 19) The washer / dryer 1 is equipped with a heating mechanism 18. The heating mechanism 18 is a mechanism that blows heated air into the rotary tub 14. The heating mechanism 18 has a heater 18a and a fan 18b shown in FIG. 5. The heater 18a may be configured, for example, by an electric resistance heater. The air is heated in the heating mechanism 18 by the heater 18a. The air heated by the heater 18a is sent by the fan 18b to a first path 19a of a circulation path 19, which will be described later.

[0021] Heating mechanism 18 is connected to the interior of rotating tank 14 via circulation path 19. Circulation path 19 includes a first path 19a and a second path 19b. First path 19a and second path 19b connect heating mechanism 18 and rotating tank 14, respectively. Heated air from heating mechanism 18 is supplied to the interior of rotating tank 14 via first path 19a. Air in rotating tank 14 is returned to heating mechanism 18 via second path 19b and a dehumidifying mechanism 21, which will be described later.

[0022] In this embodiment, the first path 19a is connected to an outlet 14a provided in the bottom wall of the rotating tub 14. Heated air is blown out from the outlet 14a into the rotating tub 14. As shown in FIG. 2, the outlet 14a is provided in approximately the center of the bottom wall of the rotating tub 14 when viewed from the direction in which the central axis A extends. The outlet 14a is provided so that the central axis A passes through the outlet 14a. The outlet 14a is covered by a cover 20 having a plurality of through holes formed therein.

[0023] (Dehumidification mechanism 21) The circulation path is provided with a dehumidifying mechanism 21 shown in FIG. 5. The dehumidifying mechanism 21 is a mechanism that dehumidifies the air flowing through the circulation path. Specifically, the dehumidifying mechanism 21 is a mechanism that cools the air in the circulation path to condense it, and removes the condensed water from the circulation path. The dehumidifying mechanism 21 may be configured, for example, by disposing a cooling plate in the circulation path and cooling the cooling plate with an external cooling means to condense the moisture in the air in the circulation path on the surface of the cooling plate. Also, a condenser of a heat pump may be used instead of the heater 18a. In this case, the evaporator of the heat pump can be used as the dehumidifying mechanism 21.

[0024] (Gushing mechanism 30) The washer-dryer 1 is equipped with a water spray mechanism 30. The spray mechanism 30 is a mechanism that sprays water into the spin tub 14. The spray mechanism 30 has a nozzle at its tip, and sprays water in a shower-like manner from the nozzle. The spray mechanism 30 may, for example, supply water in the form of a line or water droplets.

[0025] (Direction of water ejection from ejection mechanism 30 and direction of heated air supply from heating mechanism 18) As shown in FIG. 4, the spray mechanism 30 sprays water diagonally downward toward the rear side (R side) of the rotating tub 14. FIG. 4 schematically illustrates a spray area a1 of water from the spray mechanism 30. The water from the spray mechanism 30 is sprayed from the spray mechanism 30, which is located at the front end of the water tub 13, to a spray area a1 that extends radially toward the rear side (R side) in the front-rear direction (FR direction). In a cross section along the front-rear direction and the height direction, the angle formed between the center line of the spray area a1 and the vertical direction is preferably greater than 0° and less than 60°, and more preferably greater than 10° and less than 45°. The spray mechanism 30 is preferably disposed so that water from the spray mechanism 30 is not sprayed directly onto the cover 20.

[0026] 1 blows heated air into an area a2 inside the rotating tub 14, extending radially from the center of the bottom wall at the R-side end of the rotating tub 14 toward the ejection mechanism 30 in the front-to-rear direction (FR direction). As shown in FIG. 2, the cover 20, which is the blowing portion from the heating mechanism 18 to the rotating tub 14, is located behind and below the ejection mechanism 30. Therefore, inside the rotating tub 14, the heating mechanism 18 blows heated air from below the ejection mechanism 30 toward the ejection mechanism 30 in the front-to-rear direction. More specifically, the heating mechanism 18 blows heated air from the center of the bottom wall of the rotating tub 14 toward the F side in the direction of the central axis A.

[0027] 2, in the washer-dryer 1, the spray mechanism 30 is disposed above the center of the bottom wall of the rotatable tub 14 in a front view. Specifically, the spray mechanism 30 is disposed diagonally above the center of the bottom wall of the rotatable tub 14 in a front view. For example, the spray mechanism 30 may be disposed directly above the center of the bottom wall of the rotatable tub 14 in a front view.

[0028] In addition, in this embodiment, an example will be described in which only one spray mechanism 30 is provided. However, the present disclosure is not limited to this configuration. For example, the washer-dryer may be provided with multiple spray mechanisms.

[0029] As shown in FIG. 5, the washer / dryer 1 further includes a control unit 23 and a discharge mechanism 22.

[0030] The control unit 23 controls each mechanism of the washer / dryer 1, including the heater 18a and the fan 18b that configure the heating mechanism 18, the dehumidifying mechanism 21, the exhaust mechanism 22, the ejection mechanism 30, and the rotation mechanism 17.

[0031] The control unit 23 may include, for example, a processor such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit) or an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit), and a storage device. The storage device stores, for example, data and computer programs. For example, the storage device temporarily stores data required for each process of the control unit 23 and stores setting data for each mechanism. The storage device may include a main storage device and an auxiliary storage device. The storage device may include, for example, a non-volatile memory, a hard disk drive, etc.

[0032] (Ejection mechanism 22) Discharge mechanism 22 is a mechanism that discharges water from water tub 13 and rotating tub 14. Because multiple through-holes are formed in the peripheral wall of rotating tub 14, water from rotating tub 14 can move into water tub 13. Therefore, if discharge mechanism 22 is provided so that water from water tub 13 can be discharged, water from rotating tub 14 can also be discharged by discharge mechanism 22.

[0033] In this embodiment, discharge mechanism 22 has a discharge path connected to the bottom of water tub 13 and a discharge pump (discharge motor) disposed within the discharge path. When the discharge pump is not operating, the discharge path is closed, and no discharge occurs from water tub 13 and rotating tub 14. On the other hand, when the discharge pump is operating, the discharge path is open, and discharge occurs from water tub 13 and rotating tub 14.

[0034] The discharge mechanism 22 may have, for example, a discharge path connected to the water tank 13 and an on-off valve provided in the discharge path. In other words, an on-off valve may be provided instead of the discharge pump.

[0035] (Control of washer-dryer 1) The washer-dryer 1 according to this embodiment is a device capable of washing and drying laundry. The washer-dryer 1 may be configured to perform a washing process, a rinsing process, a spin-drying process, a wrinkle-smoothing process, and a drying process in this order when a user selects a fully automatic mode. The washer-dryer 1 may be configured to perform only the wrinkle-smoothing process and the drying process in this order when a user selects a drying mode. In this case, it is preferable that the washer-dryer 1 be configured to perform the washing process, the rinsing process, and the spin-drying process when a user inputs a selection of the washing mode. The washer-dryer 1 is also preferably configured to be capable of performing a wrinkle-smoothing mode in which dried laundry is loaded and the wrinkle-smoothing process and the drying process are performed in this order.

[0036] In this way, it is preferable that the washer / dryer 1 is configured to be able to execute at least the fully automatic mode, the drying mode, the washing mode, and the wrinkle-smoothing mode.

[0037] In the following description, a case where the user selects the wrinkle-smoothing mode will be described as an example. When the user inputs an input indicating that the wrinkle-smoothing mode has been selected into the washer / dryer 1, the wrinkle-smoothing process and the drying process are executed.

[0038] (Wrinkle removal mode) The wrinkle-removing mode is a mode for removing wrinkles from laundry that is substantially dry. When wrinkles occur in laundry that is dry, there is a desire to remove the wrinkles from the laundry. In such cases, the wrinkle-removing mode is used.

[0039] For example, a user who wishes to have laundry smoothed opens door 12 of washer / dryer 1 and places the laundry, which is substantially dry and to be smoothed, into rotatable tub 14. For example, a user places several pieces of clothing, such as shirts and pants, that the user wishes to wear into rotatable tub 14, and then closes door 12.

[0040] Next, the user operates an operation unit (not shown, for example, a touch panel or buttons provided on the housing 11) to select the wrinkle-smoothing mode. When this operation is performed, the control unit 23 executes the wrinkle-smoothing mode.

[0041] Fig. 6 shows a time chart illustrating the wrinkle-smoothing mode. In this embodiment, an example will be described in which control unit 23 performs the control shown in Fig. 6 when the user selects the wrinkle-smoothing mode. However, the present disclosure is not limited to this configuration. For example, washer-dryer 1 may be configured such that control unit 23 performs the control shown in Fig. 6 after the spin-drying process or the drying process when the user selects the fully automatic mode.

[0042] As shown in FIG. 6, in the wrinkle-smoothing mode, a wrinkle-smoothing step as a first step and a drying step as a second step are performed in this order.

[0043] (Wrinkle removal process) The wrinkle-smoothing process is a process for smoothing out wrinkles from laundry placed in the rotary tub 14. In the wrinkle-smoothing process, the control unit 23 closes the discharge path connected to the water tub 13 by the discharge mechanism 22. Specifically, the control unit 23 stops the discharge pump included in the discharge mechanism 22. This closes the discharge path.

[0044] In this state, control unit 23 rotates rotating tank 14 using rotation mechanism 17 while driving both spray mechanism 30 and heating mechanism 18. Specifically, in the wrinkle-smoothing process, control unit 23 drives both heater 18a and fan 18b included in heating mechanism 18. As a result, heated air is generated by heating mechanism 18, and the heated air is blown toward rotating tank 14 by fan 18b.

[0045] Although control unit 23 may drive spray mechanism 30 throughout the entire period in which the wrinkle-smoothing process is being performed, in washer / dryer 1, spray mechanism 30 is driven intermittently multiple times during the wrinkle-smoothing process as the first process. In other words, control unit 23 controls spray mechanism 30 so that multiple periods in which water is sprayed from spray mechanism 30 are separated by periods in which water is not sprayed from spray mechanism 30. For example, control unit 23 drives spray mechanism 30 for several seconds in a range of 0.5 to 5 seconds, preferably 1 to 3 seconds, and then stops spray mechanism 30 for a period in a range of 10 to 5 minutes, preferably 30 to 5 minutes, more preferably 30 to 3 minutes.

[0046] The control unit 23 performs a spray cycle of driving and stopping the spray mechanism 30 multiple times. The number of spray cycles can be set appropriately depending on, for example, the amount of laundry that has been put in. The spray cycle is preferably performed, for example, from one to ten times, and more preferably from two to five times. In this embodiment, an example in which the spray cycle is performed three times will be described.

[0047] The jetting time and stop time in each of the multiple jetting cycles may be different from each other or may be the same from each other. In this embodiment, the control unit 23 controls the jetting mechanism 30 in the first step, the wrinkle-smoothing step, so that the multiple jetting periods during which water is jetted by the jetting mechanism 30 include one jetting period and, after the end of the one jetting period, another jetting period that is shorter than the one jetting period. In other words, the control unit 23 controls the jetting mechanism 30 so that, after jetting water in a certain jetting period, water is jetted in a jetting period that is shorter than the previous jetting period. Specifically, in this embodiment, the control unit 23 controls the jetting mechanism 30 so that the jetting periods gradually shorten in the multiple jetting cycles. The length of the jetting period following a certain jetting period is preferably 0.6 to 0.95 times the length of the previous jetting period, and more preferably 0.7 to 0.9 times the length of the previous jetting period.

[0048] By varying the ejection periods as described above or varying the amount of water ejected per unit time during the ejection periods, the control unit 23 controls the ejection mechanism 30 so that the amount of water ejected from the ejection mechanism 30 during one ejection period is less than the amount of water ejected from the ejection mechanism 30 during another ejection period following the first ejection period. Specifically, the control unit 23 controls the ejection mechanism 30 so that the amount of water ejected from the ejection mechanism 30 gradually decreases over multiple ejection cycles. The amount of water ejected during the ejection period following a given ejection period is preferably 0.6 to 0.95 times the amount of water ejected during the given ejection period, and more preferably 0.7 to 0.9 times.

[0049] Control unit 23 may cause spraying mechanism 30 to spray water immediately after the start of the wrinkle-smoothing process or some time after the start of the wrinkle-smoothing process. For example, control unit 23 may cause spraying mechanism 30 to spray water at time t1, a predetermined period of time after the start of the wrinkle-smoothing process. For example, control unit 23 may cause spraying mechanism 30 to spray water after the temperature inside rotating tank 14 reaches a predetermined temperature by driving heating mechanism 18 after the start of the wrinkle-smoothing process.

[0050] In the wrinkle-smoothing step, the control unit 23 drives the rotation mechanism 17. The control unit 23 may drive the rotation mechanism 17 for the entire period of the wrinkle-smoothing step. In this embodiment, the control unit 23 drives the rotation mechanism 17 for a part of the period of the wrinkle-smoothing step.

[0051] Specifically, control unit 23 drives rotation mechanism 17 during a rotation period that ends immediately after the start of the wrinkle-smoothing process, a predetermined time after the start of the wrinkle-smoothing process, or after the temperature inside rotating tank 14 reaches or exceeds a predetermined temperature after the start of the wrinkle-smoothing process but before time t2 when the wrinkle-smoothing process ends. The rotation period preferably continues until the end of the period during which water is intermittently ejected from ejection mechanism 30 or until a later time.

[0052] Although control unit 23 may drive rotation mechanism 17 throughout the entire rotation period to continuously rotate spin tub 14 in one rotation direction, in this embodiment, control unit 23 drives rotation mechanism 17 intermittently during the rotation period. Specifically, control unit 23 may intermittently drive rotation mechanism 17 so that the rotation directions of spin tub 14 are opposite to each other, such as by driving rotation mechanism 17 for a predetermined period so that spin tub 14 rotates in one rotation direction, and then driving rotation mechanism 17 for a predetermined period so that spin tub 14 rotates in the other rotation direction. This allows water to be supplied evenly to the entire laundry during the wrinkle-smoothing process.

[0053] During the wrinkle-smoothing process, control unit 23 does not drive dehumidifying mechanism 21. This prevents a decrease in the moisture content of the air in heated air circulation path 19, which includes heating mechanism 18 and rotating tub 14. This allows water to be efficiently supplied to the laundry.

[0054] (drying process) As shown in Fig. 6, the drying process begins at time t2 when the smoothing process is completed. The drying process, which is the second process, is a process in which, after the smoothing process, the discharge mechanism 22 opens the discharge path and the heating mechanism 18 is driven without driving the spray mechanism 30. In the drying process, the control unit 23 drives the discharge motor constituting the discharge mechanism 22 to open the discharge path. In this state, the control unit 23 drives the heating mechanism 18 without substantially driving the spray mechanism 30.

[0055] Specifically, during the drying process, from time t2 when the drying process starts until time t4 when the drying process ends, control unit 23 does not drive spray mechanism 30 and does not supply water into rotating tub 14. Even after time t2 when the drying process starts, control unit 23 continues to drive heater 18a and fan 18b that constitute heating mechanism 18 to send heated air into rotating tub 14. This causes the laundry to dry.

[0056] In the drying process, the control unit 23 drives the rotation mechanism 17. For example, the control unit 23 may control the rotation mechanism 17 so that the rotation tub 14 rotates continuously in one rotation direction throughout the entire drying process. In this embodiment, the control unit 23 intermittently drives the rotation mechanism 17 so that the rotation directions of the rotation tub 14 are opposite to each other, for example, by driving the rotation mechanism 17 for a predetermined period so that the rotation tub 14 rotates in one rotation direction, and then driving the rotation mechanism 17 for a predetermined period so that the rotation tub 14 rotates in the other rotation direction. More specifically, the control unit 23 continuously drives the rotation mechanism 17 intermittently throughout the entire drying process (from time t2 to time t4). By rotating the rotation tub 14 during the drying process, heated air with low relative humidity can be evenly supplied to the entire laundry. This allows the laundry to be dried efficiently.

[0057] Furthermore, in the drying process, control unit 23 drives discharge mechanism 22 to open the discharge path, thereby discharging liquid water and water vapor from rotating tub 14 via the discharge path. As a result, the drying of the laundry is further accelerated.

[0058] In the drying process, control unit 23 drives dehumidifying mechanism 21 to reduce the moisture content of the heated air. This reduces the relative humidity of the heated air supplied to rotating tub 14. This allows the laundry to be dried more efficiently.

[0059] The drying period during which the drying process is performed includes an early drying period from time t2 to time t3 and a late drying period from time t3 to time t4. During the early drying period, the control unit 23 drives both the heater 18a and the fan 18b, while during the late drying period, the control unit 23 continues to drive the fan 18b but does not drive the heater 18a. Therefore, during the late drying period, the temperature of the air supplied to the rotating tub 14 is lower than during the early drying period. By providing such a late drying period, it is possible to effectively prevent the temperature of the laundry from becoming too high at the end of the drying process. Therefore, it is possible to achieve laundry with a low moisture content and at a low temperature at the end of the drying process.

[0060] As described above, in washer-dryer 1, spray mechanism 30 sprays water diagonally downward toward the back of rotatable tub 14. In contrast, heating mechanism 18 blows heated air from below spray mechanism 30 toward spray mechanism 30 (F side) in the front-to-rear direction within rotatable tub 14. This makes it easy for the water sprayed from spray mechanism 30 and the heated air to collide directly within rotatable tub 14, and the water is easily broken down into fine particles or atomized by the blast of heated air. This makes it possible to more effectively moisten the laundry in rotatable tub 14 as a whole. As a result, wrinkles in the laundry can be effectively smoothed out.

[0061] From this viewpoint, it is preferable that the opening direction of the nozzle at the tip of the ejection mechanism 30 and the opening direction of the outlet for blowing heated air into the rotary tub 14 intersect within the rotary tub 14 .

[0062] In the washer-dryer 1, the spray mechanism 30 also has the function of supplying water into the rotatable tub 14, for example, during the rinsing process. As described above, the spray mechanism 30 has a nozzle at its tip, from which water is sprayed in a shower-like manner. By supplying water in a shower-like manner into the rotatable tub 14 during the rinsing process, the laundry in the rotatable tub 14 is sprayed over a wide area, allowing the laundry to be rinsed with a small amount of water. In this embodiment, the shower-like supply of water during the rinsing process and the spraying of water during the smoothing process are both performed by the common spray mechanism 30. This eliminates the need for a separate mechanism for humidifying the laundry during the smoothing process, for example. Furthermore, because the shower-like water is sprayed over a wide area from the nozzle of the spray mechanism 30, the heated air blown out from the outlet 14a collides with the water sprayed from the spray mechanism 30 over a wide area, making it easier for the water to be broken down into fine particles or atomized. Therefore, laundry can be evenly humidified with a simple configuration, the configuration of the washer-dryer 1 can be simplified, and the cost of the washer-dryer 1 can be reduced.

[0063] In the washer / dryer 1, in the wrinkle-smoothing process as the first process, the rotation mechanism 17 rotates the rotation tub 14 while both the spray mechanism 30 and the heating mechanism 18 are driven, so that water is sprayed onto the laundry that is moving or changing position inside the rotation tub 14. This allows finely divided or atomized water to be supplied evenly to the entire laundry, thereby more effectively smoothing out wrinkles.

[0064] Furthermore, the control unit 23 performs the wrinkle-smoothing process with the discharge mechanism 22 closing the discharge path. This prevents the moisture content of the air in the spin tub 14 from decreasing. This allows the laundry to be moistened more effectively. As a result, wrinkles in the laundry can be smoothed out more effectively.

[0065] On the other hand, in the drying step as the second step, control unit 23 opens the discharge path using discharge mechanism 22. In this state, control unit 23 drives heating mechanism 18 without driving jet mechanism 30. This reduces the moisture content of the air in rotatable tub 14 and can maintain a high temperature inside rotatable tub 14. This reduces the relative humidity inside rotatable tub 14. As a result, the laundry after the wrinkle-smoothing step can be dried efficiently.

[0066] From the viewpoint of preventing a decrease in the relative humidity in rotary tub 14 during the wrinkle-smoothing step, it is preferable that control unit 23 not drive dehumidifying mechanism 21 during the wrinkle-smoothing step as the first step. From the viewpoint of increasing the drying speed of the laundry during the drying step, it is preferable that control unit 23 drive dehumidifying mechanism 21 during the drying step as the second step.

[0067] In the washer / dryer 1, the control unit 23 intermittently drives the spray mechanism 30 during the wrinkle-smoothing process. This prevents water from being supplied to a specific part of the laundry, compared to when the spray mechanism 30 is continuously driven, and allows the laundry to be more evenly moistened. This allows wrinkles to be effectively smoothed out from the entire laundry.

[0068] For example, the moisture content of the laundry tends to increase each time the spray mechanism 30 is driven, compared to immediately after the start of the wrinkle-smoothing process. Furthermore, because the heating mechanism 18 is driven throughout the wrinkle-smoothing process, the temperature inside the rotatable tub 14 is maintained at a high temperature. Therefore, immediately after the start of the wrinkle-smoothing process, it is preferable to supply a large amount of water to the laundry by, for example, extending the period during which the spray mechanism 30 supplies water or increasing the amount of water sprayed per unit time. Even water that is not completely atomized and remains attached to the laundry as clumps is vaporized by heating with the heating mechanism 18. After the moisture content of the laundry increases, the amount of water supplied to the laundry may be reduced by shortening the period during which the spray mechanism 30 supplies water or reducing the amount of water sprayed per unit time. This can effectively smooth out wrinkles in the laundry while preventing clumps of water from remaining attached to the laundry at the end of the wrinkle-smoothing process (time t2). Therefore, for example, the time required for the drying process can be shortened. Therefore, the time required to perform the wrinkle removal mode and the time required to perform the fully automatic washing mode can be shortened.

[0069] From the viewpoint of shortening the time required for the drying step, it is preferable that control unit 23 not drive spray mechanism 30 and not supply water to the laundry at least at the end of the period during which the wrinkle-smoothing step is being performed (the period from time t1 to time t2). This is because it is possible to reduce the moisture content of the laundry at the end of the wrinkle-smoothing step and the start of the drying step (time t2), and to prevent water remaining in the laundry that cannot be vaporized in time even when heated by heating mechanism 18.

[0070] From the same viewpoint, it is preferable that in the wrinkle-smoothing step, the control unit 23 continues driving the rotation mechanism 17 even after stopping the driving of the ejection mechanism 30.

[0071] From the viewpoint of more effectively removing wrinkles from the laundry in the smoothing process, it is preferable to heat the laundry to a high temperature and blow strong air onto the laundry in the smoothing process. Therefore, it is preferable that control unit 23 controls heating mechanism 18 so that the temperature inside rotatable tub 14 in the smoothing process (the first process) is higher than the temperature inside rotatable tub 14 in the drying process (the second process). It is also preferable that control unit 23 controls heating mechanism 18 so that the flow rate of air supplied from heating mechanism 18 in the smoothing process is higher than the flow rate of air from heating mechanism 18 in the drying process. For example, it is preferable that control unit 23 inputs more power to heater 18a in the smoothing process than in the drying process to heat heater 18a to a high temperature and rotates fan 18b at a high speed.

[0072] Although the present embodiment has been described as an example in which a set including one smoothing step and one drying step is performed only once, a series of steps including the smoothing step followed by the drying step may be repeated multiple times. In this case, the control contents of heating mechanism 18, discharge mechanism 22, dehumidifying mechanism 21, ejection mechanism 30, and rotation mechanism 17 performed by control unit 23 may be the same or different from one another in the multiple series of steps.

[0073] The embodiments disclosed herein should be considered to be illustrative in all respects and not restrictive. The scope of the present invention is defined by the claims, not by the above description, and is intended to include all modifications within the meaning and scope of the claims. Furthermore, configurations obtained by combining the configurations of the different embodiments described in this specification are also included in the scope of the present invention. [Explanation of symbols]

[0074] 1: Washer / dryer 14: Rotating tank 17: Rotation mechanism 18:Heating mechanism 18a: Heater 18b: Fan 19: Circulation route 21:Dehumidification mechanism 22: Ejection mechanism 23: Control section 30:Ejection mechanism

Claims

1. A tub into which laundry is put; a jetting mechanism that jets water obliquely downward toward the back side of the tank; a heating mechanism that blows heated air from below the ejection mechanism toward the ejection mechanism in the front-to-rear direction within the tank; Equipped with a washer / dryer.

2. a rotation mechanism that rotates the tank; a discharge mechanism that opens and closes a discharge path for discharging water from the tank; A control unit; Furthermore, The control unit a first step of rotating the tank by the rotation mechanism while driving both the ejection mechanism and the heating mechanism in a state where the discharge path is closed by the discharge mechanism; a second step of driving the heating mechanism without driving the ejection mechanism in a state where the discharge path is opened by the discharge mechanism after the first step; The washing and drying machine according to claim 1 ,

3. The washer-dryer according to claim 2 , wherein the control unit intermittently drives the ejection mechanism a plurality of times in the first step.

4. 3. The washer-dryer according to claim 2, wherein the control unit controls the spray mechanism so that, in the first step, the plurality of spray periods during which water is sprayed by the spray mechanism include one spray period and another spray period that is shorter than the one spray period and that occurs after an end of the one spray period.

5. The washer / dryer according to claim 2 , wherein the control unit controls the heating mechanism so that a temperature in the tub during the first step is higher than a temperature in the tub during the second step.

6. 3. The washer-dryer according to claim 2, wherein the control unit controls the heating mechanism so that a flow rate of air supplied from the heating mechanism in the first step is greater than a flow rate of air supplied from the heating mechanism in the second step.

7. a circulation path connecting the heating mechanism and the tank; a dehumidifying mechanism that dehumidifies the air flowing through the circulation path; Furthermore, The washer / dryer according to claim 2 , wherein the control unit does not drive the dehumidifying mechanism in the first step, and drives the dehumidifying mechanism in the second step.

Images