KR20060085537A - How to remove wrinkles in clothing - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a method for removing wrinkles of clothing by using steam in a washing machine and a dryer equipped with a steam generator, and can remove wrinkles of clothing after washing or storage as well as wrinkles after washing. The purpose is to increase the effect of removing wrinkles by controlling the amount of humidification, drying temperature and drum operation according to the amount of material and load.

To this end, the present invention, in the method for removing wrinkles of clothing, it is determined whether the wrinkle removal course, if the wrinkle removal course by supplying hot air to the clothes to remove dust, supplying steam to the dust is removed to wrinkle It removes, and it supplies a hot air to the clothes | clothes to which the steam was supplied, and it dries.

Description

{Method to remove wrinkles of clothes}

1 is a cross-sectional view showing the configuration of a washing machine with a steam generator according to a first embodiment of the present invention;

2 is a cross-sectional view showing the configuration of a dryer having a steam generator according to a second embodiment of the present invention;

3 is a control block diagram of a washing machine having a steam generator according to the present invention;

4 is an operation flowchart of a wrinkle removal method of clothing using steam according to the present invention;

5 is a detailed operation flowchart of the wrinkle removal stroke in FIG.

Explanation of symbols on the main parts of the drawings

11: tank 12: rotating drum

20: water supply device 30: steam generator

40: drying device 140: control unit

The present invention relates to removing wrinkles of clothing in a washing machine and a dryer having a steam generator, and more particularly, to a method of removing wrinkles of clothing by supplying steam to a washing machine and a dryer.

In general, a dryer is a device for drying clothes by supplying hot air heated by a heater to a drum while rotating a drum containing wet clothes (laundries) at a low speed. , Drum washing machine) is being released.

Washing machine equipped with such a drying device is Republic of Korea Patent Publication No. 10-0435241.

When the washing machine disclosed in the publication performs the drying stroke after the dehydration stroke is completed, the washing machine generates and blows compressed air in a drying fan (blower) while the heater is driven to heat the space inside the chamber.

The injected compressed air passes through the interior space of the chamber and is converted into warm air, and the converted warm air is supplied to the clothes inside the drum to dry the clothes.

However, such a conventional washing machine removes moisture contained in clothing by high temperature heat heated by a heater in a state where the dehydrated clothes are left in the drum, so that the clothes tangled with each other are dried and wrinkled as they are. There was a problem that occurred a lot.

In order to solve this problem, a method of minimizing the wrinkles of clothing by supplying steam having a predetermined humidity to the dried clothing has been proposed in Korean Utility Model Publication No. 0128148.

The washing machine proposed in this publication supplies steam to clothes even when drying is completed while the clothes are entangled with each other, so the clothes have a predetermined humidity. It is possible to minimize the wrinkles of clothing by inflating the clothes while evaporating naturally, and also save time because they do not need to spray extra moisture when ironing the clothes. Wrinkles remain as it is, the user has to do a separate ironing work, and the overall problem that the drying time for evaporation of the natural vapor of the clothes is still left.

This problem remains the same in the dedicated dryer.

In addition, as a method for reducing the wrinkles of the clothes, a course that makes the ironing easier by forcibly terminating the drying at the time when the drying is not completed during the drying administration at a temperature and time divided by the clothing material in the conventional washing machine or dryer Algorithms for suggesting and functioning have been proposed, but this method can remove wrinkles of clothing only through washing or ironing, and does not provide any function for removing wrinkles of clothing generated during wearing or storage.

Therefore, the present invention is to solve the conventional problems as described above, the object of the present invention, as a separate wrinkle removal process using steam, as well as wrinkles of the laundry after washing, as well as removing wrinkles of clothing generated during wearing or storage The present invention provides a method for removing wrinkles of clothing.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a method for removing wrinkles of clothes by increasing the wrinkle removal effect by controlling the optimum amount of humidification, drying temperature and drum operation according to the degree of wrinkles, material and load of the clothes.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide a method of removing wrinkles of clothing which can remove unpleasant odors and impart fragrance by adding a softener together with steam supply.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention, in the method for removing wrinkles of clothing, it is determined whether the wrinkle removal course, if the wrinkle removal course by supplying hot air to the clothing to remove dust, steam to remove the dust Supplying to remove wrinkles, it is characterized by drying by supplying hot air to the clothes supplied steam.

The wrinkle removal course is characterized by selecting the degree of wrinkles, clothing and fragrance generating material of the garment.

According to the selection of the fragrance-generating material is added to the softener during steam supply characterized in that to give a fragrance to the clothes.

The number of wrinkles is repeatedly set according to the degree of wrinkles, material and load of the garment, and the amount of steam, drying temperature and drum operation are controlled according to the number of wrinkles.

Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

1 is a cross-sectional view showing the configuration of a washing machine with a steam generator according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

In Figure 1, the washing machine equipped with a steam generator of the present invention is a drum-type water tank 11 is installed inside the main body 10 for the fresh water of the wash water, rotatably installed inside the water tank (11) And a rotating drum 12 in which a plurality of dehydration holes are formed.

The lower part of the tank 11 is provided with a motor 13 for rotating the rotating drum 12 in the forward or reverse direction to perform the washing, rinsing and dehydration operation, and select the user's water temperature in the lower side of the tank 11. The laundry heater 19 for heating the wash water supplied into the city tank 11 is installed.

An opening 14 is formed in front of the water tank 11 and the rotating drum 12 so that a user can take out clothing from the front of the main body 10, and opens and closes the opening 14 in front of the main body 10. The door 15 is installed.

In the upper part of the water tank 11, a detergent supply device 18 for injecting detergent and fiber softener into the water tank 11, a steam generator 30 for supplying steam to the water tank 11, the A water supply device 20 for supplying water to the detergent supply device 18 and the steam generator 30 is installed.

The detergent supply device 18 is divided into a plurality of spaces inside, and is installed on the front side of the main body 10 so that the user can easily put a softener for imparting detergent or fragrance to each space.

The water supply device 20 includes a water supply pipe 21 for supplying water toward the water tank 11 and a water supply valve 22 installed in the water supply pipe 21 to control the water supply of the water supply pipe 21. In this case, the water supply pipe 21 is connected to the detergent supply device 18 so that water supplied from the outside can be supplied toward the detergent supply device 18. In addition, a separate connection pipe 23 is installed between the detergent supply device 18 and the water tank 11 so that water passing through the detergent supply device 18 can be supplied to the water tank 11. This allows the water supplied into the water tank 11 to pass through the detergent supply device 18 so that the softener in the detergent supply device 18 can be supplied to the water tank 11 in a state in which the softener is dissolved in water.

Further, the water supply device 20 includes a steam water supply pipe 24 for supplying water to the steam generator 30, and a steam valve installed in the steam supply pipe 24 to control water supply to the steam generator 30. 25).

The steam generator 30 is installed inside the U-shaped steam heater 31 to generate a high temperature steam of 100 ℃ or more by instantaneously heating the water passing through, and installed on the outer surface of the steam generator 30 And a temperature sensor 32 for sensing a temperature of the steam generator 30, a steam supply pipe 33 extending from the steam generator 30 toward the rotating drum 12 to directly supply steam to clothes, and an inlet. Is connected to the steam water supply pipe 24 and the steam generating pipe 34, the outlet is connected to the steam supply pipe 33, and the injection nozzle 35 is installed at the outlet of the steam supply pipe (33).

In addition, the present invention includes a drying apparatus 40 for drying clothes (laundries). The drying apparatus 40 includes a drying fan 41 installed on the top of the water tank 11, an air inlet 45 formed above the discharge port 41b of the drying fan 41 and the opening 14 of the water tank 11. Condensation mounted on the rear of the water tank 11 to connect between the drying duct 42, the air outlet 46 formed in the rear lower portion of the water tank 11 and the inlet 41a of the drying fan 41 to connect between And a duct 43.

The drying device 40 is a drying heater 44 installed inside the drying duct 42 to supply hot air to the inside of the water tank 11, and inside the rotating drum 12 to detect a dry state of the clothes. Drying sensor 47 installed in the duct, the duct temperature sensor 48 installed inside the drying duct 42 to detect the temperature in the drying duct 42 when hot air is supplied, and the wet steam generated by drying the clothes condensation duct It includes a condenser installed in the condensation duct 43 so that water can be condensed and removed in the course of passing through (43).

The condenser is installed on the inner upper portion of the condensation duct 43 and the cooling water injection nozzle 53 for injecting the cooling water into the condensation duct 43 and the water supply device 20 to supply the cooling water to the cooling water injection nozzle 53. Cooling water supply pipe 54 is connected to). The condenser has a dehumidifying effect by allowing the cooling water injected from the cooling water spray nozzle 53 on the upper portion to flow down to the lower portion along the inner surface of the condensation duct 43 so that the contact of the humid air rising from the lower portion with the cooling water is increased. It is to be improved.

In addition, the present invention is provided with a drainage device 50 for draining the water in the water tank (11). The drainage device 50 includes a drain pipe 51 connected to the lower part of the water tank 11 to guide the water in the water tank 11 to the outside, and a drain pump 52 installed on the water drain pipe 51.

2 is a cross-sectional view showing the configuration of a dryer having a steam generator according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

In Figure 2, the dryer with a steam generator of the present invention is provided with a cylindrical drum 70 of which the front and rear surfaces are opened inside the housing 60 having a substantially hexahedral shape, and the drum 70 has both front and rear ends thereof. It is supported by the front bracket (71) and the rear bracket (73), which supports the inner peripheral surface of the slide slidably, between the drum (70) and the front bracket (71) and between the drum (70) and the rear bracket (73). The sliding pad 93 is installed so that the rotational movement of the drum 70 is desired.

An intake port 74 for hot air intake is formed at an upper portion of the rear bracket 73, and an intake duct 75 for guiding hot air to the hot air intake port 74 is installed at the rear of the rear bracket 73. The intake duct 75 extends rearward from the bottom of the drum 70 and is bent upward to communicate with the intake port 74. The intake duct 75 is heated at the inlet of the intake air in the housing 60. A heater 76 is provided for this purpose.

The front bracket 71 has a central portion of the front bracket 71 so that the object to be dried can be inserted from the door 61 side, and an exhaust port 72 for discharging air containing moisture evaporated from the object to be dried to the outside thereof. Is formed.

An exhaust duct 77, a blower fan 78, and an exhaust pipe 80 for discharging air discharged from the exhaust port 72 to the outside of the clothes dryer are installed below the drum 70, and the exhaust duct 77 is provided. ) Guides the air discharged from the exhaust port 72 to the lower part of the housing 60, and the exhaust duct 77 is connected to a blowing fan 78 which generates a flow force to induce the flow of air inside the clothes dryer. do.

Air discharged by the blower fan 78 is connected to the fan casing 79 of the blower fan 78, and the other end is discharged to the outside of the clothes dryer by the exhaust pipe 80 extending outside the housing 60. do.

A drive motor 90 for simultaneously driving the blower fan 78 and the drum 70 is installed in the lower portion of the housing 60. The drive motor 90 has a drive shaft extending in both directions, and one side of the blower blows. It is connected to the fan 78, the other side is connected to the pulley 91 for driving the drum 70. The pulley 91 and the drum 70 are connected to the belt 94 to rotate the drum 70 according to the driving of the driving motor 90.

In the dryer of the present invention, the steam generator 30 is installed in the upper portion of the drum 70, like the washing machine shown in Figure 1, the steam generator 30 is the same as the configuration installed in the washing machine of Figure 1 the same The description which overlaps with a code | symbol and the same name is abbreviate | omitted.

Since a control algorithm for removing steam from clothes by generating steam from a washing machine or a dryer having a steam generator 30 is the same as a washing machine or a dryer, a washing machine having a steam generator 30 will be described as an example.

3 is a control configuration diagram of a washing machine having a steam generator according to the present invention, the signal input unit 100, the water level detecting unit 110, the temperature detecting unit 120, the drying detecting unit 130, the control unit 140 and the driving unit And 150.

The signal input unit 100 inputs selection information, such as the degree of wrinkle of the garment, the material and the softener into the control unit 140, in the wrinkle removal course for removing the wrinkle of the garment. It can be divided into a single wrinkle removal course for removal and a wrinkle removal course after administration to remove wrinkles in the washed clothes.

The water level detection unit 110 detects the water level of the wash water supplied to the water tank 11, the temperature detection unit 120 is the temperature of the washing water in the water tank 11, the temperature of the steam generator 30, The water tank 11 senses the internal temperature (tub temperature), the hot air temperature supplied into the water tank 11, and the drying detection unit 130 detects the temperature and humidity of the clothes to detect the drying state of the clothes.

The control unit 140 controls the softener input with preheating hot air and steam supply in the wrinkle removal course, and controls drying temperature, RPM and operation rate, reversing direction, frequency of wrinkle removal, etc. according to the degree of wrinkles, material and load. The driving of the water supply device 20, the steam generator 30 and the drying device 40 to effectively remove the wrinkles of the.

The driving unit 150 is a motor 13, washing heater 19, water supply valve 22, steam valve 25, steam heater 32, drying fan 41 in accordance with the drive control signal of the control unit 140. The drying heater 44 and the drain pump 52 are driven.

Hereinafter, an operation process and an effect for removing wrinkles of clothes in a washing machine and a dryer having a steam generator configured as described above will be described.

4 is an operation flowchart of a wrinkle removal method of clothes using steam according to the present invention, the wrinkle removal method of the present invention can be performed during the drying stroke or in an independent stroke irrespective of the drying stroke. Therefore, when the drying stroke is performed, the wrinkle removal stroke may be automatically set as a default or a separate option key may be provided so that the wrinkle removal stroke may be performed only when the user presses the option key.

The user inputs the garment (laundry) to remove wrinkles in the rotating drum 12 and then selects the sole wrinkle removal course or option (after the stroke continuous wrinkle removal course) (S100).

At this time, the clothing inside the rotating drum 12 may be a garment that requires less contamination and removes wrinkles generated during wearing or storage, and may also be laundry after a washing process.

In addition, after the user selects information such as wrinkle degree of the clothes, material and softener input (S200), when the operation is turned on (S300) to detect the load of the clothes put into the rotary drum 12 (S400).

Therefore, the drying temperature, RPM and operation rate of the rotating drum 12 and the reverse direction, the number of wrinkles are removed, and the steam supply time, drying temperature and drying time are set according to the degree of wrinkles, material and load of the garment. To perform the wrinkle removal administration (S500).

This wrinkle elimination administration is repeated as many times as the number of wrinkles, material and load is set.The more steam is removed, the shorter the steam supply time is, so the initial steam supply time is the longest and the repeated steam supply time is shorter. In addition, the drying temperature is gradually lowered so that the final drying temperature is about 50 ° C so that steam and drying, heating, and cooling are repeated during the wrinkle removal stroke.

In this way, when the set number of wrinkles is removed, the operation is terminated by stopping all operations of the wrinkle removal stroke (S600).

The wrinkle removal stroke (S500) will be described in detail with reference to FIG.

When the wrinkle removal course is selected, the control unit 140 controls the drying apparatus 40 to supply hot air for preheating and dust removal (S510).

The preheating hot air supply will be described in detail as follows.

By the operation of the motor 13, the rotating drum 12 is gradually rotated at a predetermined set RPM and a set operation rate. When the drying fan 41 operates in this state, the air in the water tank 11 is sucked toward the drying fan 41 through the condensation duct 43, and then again the water tank 11 through the drying duct 42. The circulation discharged to the inside is repeated.

At this time, the air of the drying duct 42 is introduced into the rotary drum 12 in a heated state by the drying heater 44, the temperature inside the rotary drum 12 and the clothing inside the rotary drum 12 is hot air Is heated by.

As such, the hot air is first supplied before spraying steam on the clothes to increase the internal temperature of the rotating drum 12, thereby preventing freezing of the door 15 in the winter, and the drying duct 42 and the door 15. It is possible to spray the steam smoothly by increasing the temperature of, and to remove the dust and dirt attached to the clothes by supplying hot air to the clothes.

When preheating hot air is supplied, the RPM and operation rate of the rotating drum 12 are set by the designer according to experimental data, and may be changed according to product capacity or design conditions. It may not be rotated.

When the preheating hot air is supplied, since the internal temperature of the rotating drum 12 starts to increase due to the hot air injected into the rotary drum 12 through the drying duct 42, the internal temperature D _T of the drying duct 42 is increased. Is detected by the temperature detection unit 120 and output to the control unit 140 (S520).

The control unit 140 compares the internal temperature D _{T of} the drying duct 42 input from the temperature sensing unit 120 with the set temperature ((D _TS ; preheating temperature at which steam can be smoothly sprayed, about 30 to 40 ° C.)). It is determined whether the internal temperature (D _T ) is greater than or equal to the set temperature (D _TS ) (S530).

If the internal temperature D _T is equal to or higher than the set temperature D _TS , the controller 140 determines that the internal temperature of the rotating drum 12 is sufficiently high to allow the steam to be smoothly injected, and stops the preheating hot air supply.

After the preheating hot air supply is completed, the controller 140 controls the water supply device 20 and the steam generator 30 to supply steam into the rotating drum 12 for a predetermined time while injecting a softening agent for imparting fragrance ( S540).

The softener and the steam supply will be described in detail as follows.

By the operation of the motor 13 so that the clothes inside the rotating drum 12 fall, the rotating drum 12 is set at a predetermined set RPM and a set operation ratio (on / off ratio, for example, 20 seconds on / 2 seconds off). To rotate slowly. In this state, the steam valve 25 is opened and water is supplied to the steam generator 30 through the steam water supply pipe 24, and the water supplied to the steam generator 30 is momentarily heated by the steam heater 31. Generates steam at a temperature higher than 100 ° C. This high temperature steam is supplied into the rotary drum 12 through the steam supply pipe 33 and is directly injected to the clothes.

As such, by directly spraying steam on the inner garment of the water tank 11, it is possible to remove wrinkles by acting on the rearrangement of crosslinking in the fiber, and can also be expected to sterilize the garment.

In the steam supply, the set RPM, the operation rate, the reversal direction of the rotary drum 12 is a value set according to the degree of wrinkle of the clothes, material and load.

At the same time, the water supply valve 22 is opened and water is supplied to the detergent supply device 18 through the water supply pipe 21, and the softener in the detergent supply device 18 is supplied by the water supplied to the detergent supply device 18. Various aromatic substances) are dissolved and supplied to the water tank 11. To this end, the user must put the softener into the detergent supply device 18 in advance.

At this time, when supplying water in which the softening agent is dissolved, the driving direction, RPM and operation rate of the rotating drum 12 are adjusted according to the position and direction of the water supply port so that the water supplied does not directly contact the clothes. For example, when the position of the water supply port is located on the left side of the water tank 11 when viewed from the front of the washing machine, the rotating drum 12 is rotated counterclockwise and at a low RPM (about 30 RPM) so that the clothes are rotated. Place it on the right side so that the softener does not get on the clothing

Thereafter, the steam supply time of the steam generator 30 is checked to determine whether a predetermined time (T1; the total driving time of the steam generator from about 10 minutes) has elapsed since the preheating of the steam heater (S550). When the time T1 elapses, the operation of the steam generator 30 is stopped.

After the steam supply is completed, the control unit 140 controls the drying apparatus 40 to supply the drying hot air to the set temperature (lower than general drying information; not higher than about 70 ° C.) inside the rotating drum 12 for a set time. (S560).

The dry hot air supply is described in detail as follows.

The rotating drum 12 is gradually rotated at a predetermined set RPM and a set operation rate by the operation of the motor 13 so that the clothes inside the rotating drum 12 fall. When the drying fan 41 operates in this state, the air in the water tank 11 is sucked toward the drying fan 41 through the condensation duct 43, and then again the water tank 11 through the drying duct 42. The circulation discharged to the inside is repeated.

At this time, the air of the drying duct 42 is introduced into the rotating drum 12 in a heated state by the drying heater 44, and the clothes inside the rotating drum 12 are dried while being heated by hot air.

In this way, by supplying hot air to the clothes sprayed steam can effectively remove the wrinkles without ironing, it does not need to go through a separate drying process can easily manage the clothes.

When the dry hot air is supplied, the set RPM, operation rate, and reversal direction of the rotating drum 12 are set according to the degree of wrinkles, material, and load of clothes, and are larger than those of steam supply.

Thereafter, the hot air supply time of the drying apparatus 40 is checked to determine whether a predetermined time (T2; about 15 minutes) has elapsed (S570), and when the predetermined time (T2) has elapsed, the controller 140 controls the drying sensor ( Detecting the temperature and humidity of the clothing through 47) to determine whether the drying is complete (S580).

If the drying is not completed, it is fed back to the step S560 to continue supplying hot air, and when the drying is complete, the operation of the drying apparatus 40 is terminated.

In the present invention, the conditions for determining whether the drying is completed according to the temperature and humidity of the clothing have been described as an example of determining after the hot air supply time has elapsed, but this determination condition may be determined in advance before the hot air supply time elapses. Therefore, the hot air supply can be stopped before the set time.

On the other hand, in one embodiment of the present invention has been described taking a dry drum washing machine as an example, the present invention is not limited to this, of course, can be applied to any washing machine or dryer capable of supplying steam and hot air.

What has been described above is just one embodiment for carrying out a method for removing wrinkles of clothes using steam according to the present invention, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, the technical spirit of the present invention Various modifications are possible by those skilled in the art.

As described above, according to the method for removing wrinkles of clothing according to the present invention, as a separate wrinkle removing course using steam, it is possible to remove wrinkles of clothing that has been washed, as well as wrinkles generated during wearing or storage.

In addition, the present invention can directly remove the wrinkles without washing by spraying high-temperature steam directly to the clothes that need less pollution and only wrinkle removal, the optimum amount of humidification, drying temperature according to the degree of wrinkles, material and load of the clothes And through the drum operation control can increase the wrinkle removal effect.

In addition, the present invention can supply hot air before spraying the steam to remove the dust and dirt attached to the smooth spray of the steam and the clothing, and by adding a softener when supplying steam to remove the unpleasant odor of the clothing and aroma You can give it.

Claims (5)

In the method of removing wrinkles of clothing, Determine if it is a wrinkle removal course, The wrinkle removal course supplies hot air to the clothes to remove dust, Steam the dedusted clothing to remove wrinkles, Wrinkle removal method of the clothing, characterized in that for drying by supplying hot air to the clothes supplied steam. The method of claim 1, The wrinkle removal course is wrinkle wrinkle removal method of the clothing, characterized in that for selecting the degree of wrinkles, the material and the fragrance generating material of the clothing. The method of claim 2, Wrinkle removal method of the clothing, characterized in that to give a fragrance to the clothing by adding a softener during steam supply according to the selection of the fragrance generating material. The method of claim 2, Wrinkle removal method of the clothing, characterized in that for repeatedly setting the number of wrinkles according to the degree of wrinkles, material and load of the garment. The method of claim 4, wherein Wrinkle removal method of the clothing, characterized in that for controlling the amount of steam, drying temperature and drum operation in accordance with the number of times of wrinkle removal.

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