JP7491825B2 - Clothes dryer - Google Patents

Description

An embodiment of the present invention relates to a clothes dryer.

For example, the washer-dryer disclosed in Patent Document 1 is an example of a clothes dryer that dries clothes, and is configured such that a drying duct is connected to a drying tub that contains clothes. An evaporator and a condenser that constitute a heat pump mechanism are housed in the drying duct. The evaporator dehumidifies the air flowing through the drying duct by exchanging heat with the air. The condenser heats the air flowing through the drying duct by exchanging heat with the air flowing through the drying duct. As a result, the air in the drying tub is dehumidified and heated as it circulates through the drying duct, and is returned to the drying tub as warm air. By circulating the air in the drying tub in this way, the clothes dryer is able to execute a drying process that dries the clothes in the drying tub.

JP 2005-224492 A

The air circulated through the drying duct contains foreign matter such as lint and dust generated by the clothes. For this reason, this type of clothes dryer is provided with a drying filter upstream of the evaporator and condenser that captures foreign matter contained in the air flowing through the drying duct. With this configuration, the drying filter can prevent foreign matter from reaching the evaporator and condenser.

The drying filter provided in the drying air duct in this way has the problem that the captured foreign matter accumulates and becomes clogged. In particular, for example, if maintenance such as cleaning of the drying filter has not been performed for a long period of time, or if there is a large amount of foreign matter such as lint generated by clothes, the drying filter is more likely to become clogged with foreign matter.

If the drying filter becomes clogged with foreign matter, the drying filter creates resistance to the airflow, making it difficult for air to flow through the drying airflow duct. This reduces the efficiency of heat exchange between the air flowing through the drying airflow duct and the evaporator and condenser, which can cause the condenser to become excessively hot, i.e., overheat.

When this phenomenon occurs, that is, when the condenser overheats, it is necessary to stop the compressor from operating to prevent the condenser from overheating. However, once the compressor is stopped during the drying process, even if the compressor is restarted, the evaporator may not be able to cool properly or the condenser may not be able to heat properly, and the air flowing through the drying air duct may not be able to exchange heat properly with the evaporator or condenser. In other words, if the compressor is stopped during the drying process, even if the compressor is restarted, the clothes may not be able to be dried properly. Therefore, it is preferable to avoid stopping the compressor during the drying process as much as possible.

Therefore, we provide a clothes dryer that allows clothes to continue drying without stopping the compressor even if the condenser overheats during the drying process.

The clothes dryer according to the present embodiment includes a housing constituting an outer shell, a drying tub provided within the housing for accommodating clothes, a heat pump mechanism having a compressor, a condenser, a pressure reducer, and an evaporator, a dry air duct connecting an air outlet and an air inlet provided in the drying tub, the evaporator being accommodated on the air outlet side and the condenser being accommodated on the air inlet side, a compressor accommodating section connected to an introduction port provided in the dry air duct on the air outlet side relative to the evaporator, a temperature detection section which detects the temperature of the condenser, an exhaust port provided in the dry air duct on the air outlet side relative to the introduction port, and a control section for controlling opening and closing of the introduction port and opening and closing of the exhaust port. and a control unit that controls the above. When the temperature of the condenser detected by the temperature detection unit does not exceed a predetermined temperature, the control unit closes the inlet and the exhaust port, thereby circulating the air in the drying tank through the drying air duct, and when the temperature of the condenser detected by the temperature detection unit exceeds the predetermined temperature, the control unit opens the inlet and the exhaust port, thereby sucking the air in the housing into the compressor accommodating unit, introducing the sucked air from the inlet into the drying air duct, and discharging the introduced air from the exhaust port , thereby supplying the air heated by the compressor to the evaporator .

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of a washer/dryer according to a first embodiment, showing an example of a state during execution of normal control; FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of a washer/dryer according to a first embodiment, showing an example of a state when special control is being executed; FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of a heat pump mechanism according to a first embodiment; FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of a control system of a washing/drying machine according to a first embodiment; 10 is a flow chart showing an example of control of a washer/dryer according to a second embodiment. FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of a guide port according to a modified example of the present embodiment. FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of a suction port according to a modified example of the present embodiment.

Below, several embodiments of the clothes dryer will be described with reference to the drawings. Note that components that are essentially the same in several embodiments will be given the same reference numerals and their description will be omitted.

First Embodiment
1 and 2 is an example of a clothes dryer capable of performing predetermined processes on clothes, in this case at least a washing process for washing clothes, a rinsing process for rinsing clothes, a dehydration process for dehydrating clothes, and a drying process for drying clothes. The washer-dryer 1 is a so-called drum-type washer-dryer in which the rotation axis of the rotating tub extends horizontally or in a direction inclined relative to the horizontal.

The washer/dryer 1 is provided with a clothes treatment tub 3 for washing and drying clothes inside a rectangular box-shaped housing 2 that forms the outer shell of the washer/dryer. The clothes treatment tub 3 is an example of a drying tub capable of storing clothes. The clothes treatment tub 3 is configured with a cylindrical water tub with a bottom and a rotatable drum (not shown) that is also cylindrical with a bottom. The peripheral wall of the drum is provided with a number of small holes, and the inner surface of the drum is provided with a number of baffles for stirring up the clothes.

The front opening of the clothing treatment tub 3 can be opened and closed by a door (not shown) provided on the front of the housing 2. By opening this door, the user can place clothing in the clothing treatment tub 3 through the front opening of the clothing treatment tub 3, or remove clothing from the clothing treatment tub 3. A drum motor (not shown) for rotating the drum described above is provided in the center of the back of the clothing treatment tub 3.

The washer/dryer 1 also includes a water supply unit (not shown) for supplying water into the clothing treatment tub 3, and a drainage unit (not shown) for discharging the water in the clothing treatment tub 3 to the outside of the machine. The water supply unit includes a water supply valve and a water injection case on the water supply path extending from a water source (not shown), such as a water main, to the clothing treatment tub 3. The water injection case includes an automatic injection unit for automatically injecting clothing treatment agents such as detergent and fabric softener, and a manual injection unit for manually injecting clothing treatment agents. The drainage unit also includes a drainage valve on the drainage path extending from the bottom of the clothing treatment tub 3 to the outside of the machine.

The clothing treatment tub 3 is also provided with an air outlet 3a and an air inlet 3b. The air outlet 3a is provided, for example, at the front of the top surface of the clothing treatment tub 3. The air inlet 3b is provided, for example, at the top of the rear surface of the clothing treatment tub 3. The positions of the air outlet 3a and the air inlet 3b in the clothing treatment tub 3 can be changed as appropriate.

The washer/dryer 1 also includes a dry air duct 4. The dry air duct 4 connects the air outlet 3a and the air inlet 3b of the clothes treatment tub 3. The washer/dryer 1 also includes a well-known heat pump mechanism 5.

As shown in FIG. 3, the heat pump mechanism 5 is a well-known refrigeration cycle in which a compressor 5a, a condenser 5b, a pressure reducer 5c, and an evaporator 5d are connected in a cycle by a refrigerant pipe 5e. Of these, the condenser 5b and the evaporator 5d that constitute the heat exchanger are disposed inside the drying air duct 4, as shown in FIG. 1.

The dry air duct 4 is also provided with a circulation blower 6. The circulation blower 6 circulates the air in the clothing treatment tub 3 through the dry air duct 4. When the circulation blower 6 is driven, as illustrated by the arrow A in FIG. 1, the air in the clothing treatment tub 3 is introduced into the dry air duct 4 from the air outlet 3a, flows from the upwind side, which is the air outlet 3a side, to the downwind side, which is the air inlet 3b side, and is returned to the clothing treatment tub 3 from the air inlet 3b. In other words, when the circulation blower 6 is driven, the air in the clothing treatment tub 3 is circulated through the dry air duct 4.

In the dry air duct 4, the evaporator 5d is housed on the air outlet 3a side of the clothing treatment tub 3, i.e., on the windward side of the dry air duct 4. On the other hand, the condenser 5b is housed on the air inlet 3b side of the clothing treatment tub 3, i.e., on the downwind side of the dry air duct 4. In other words, in the dry air duct 4, the evaporator 5d is positioned on the windward side of the condenser 5b.

The evaporator 5d is an example of a dehumidifying section, and functions as a dehumidifying means for cooling and dehumidifying the air flowing in the dry air duct 4 from the air outlet 3a side to the air inlet 3b side, i.e., from the windward side to the leeward side. On the other hand, the condenser 5b is an example of a heating section, and functions as a heating means for heating the air flowing in the dry air duct 4 from the air outlet 3a side to the air inlet 3b side, i.e., from the windward side to the leeward side.

The dry air duct 4 is provided with an intake port 7. The intake port 7 is provided on the dry air duct 4 closer to the air outlet 3a than the evaporator 5d, that is, on the windward side of the dry air duct 4. The intake port 7 is also provided with an intake port damper 7a that opens and closes the intake port 7.

The washer/dryer 1 is equipped with a compressor housing 8 connected to the inlet 7. The compressor housing 8 houses the compressor 5a described above. The compressor housing 8 also has a suction port 9 on the opposite side to the inlet 7. Air from inside the housing 2 can be sucked into the compressor housing 8 through the suction port 9.

The dry air duct 4 is also provided with a dry filter 10. The dry filter 10 captures foreign matter such as lint and dust contained in the air flowing through the dry air duct 4. In this case, the dry filter 10 is provided on the air outlet 3a side of the air intake 7 in the dry air duct 4, that is, on the upwind side of the dry air duct 4. The air flowing through the dry air duct 4 contains foreign matter such as lint and dust generated from the clothes in the clothes treatment tub 3. The dry filter 10 is therefore capable of capturing foreign matter generated from the clothes in the clothes treatment tub 3.

The drying air duct 4 is provided with an exhaust port 11. The exhaust port 11 is provided on the air outlet 3a side of the dry air duct 4 relative to the inlet 7 and the dry filter 10, that is, on the windward side of the dry air duct 4. The exhaust port 11 is provided with an exhaust port damper 11a that opens and closes the exhaust port 11. The exhaust port 11 is also provided with an exhaust port filter 11b that captures foreign matter contained in the air discharged from the exhaust port 11. In this embodiment, the mesh size of the exhaust port filter 11b is coarser than the mesh size of the above-mentioned dry filter 10. Therefore, the exhaust port filter 11b is less likely to become clogged with foreign matter such as lint and dust than the dry filter 10.

The washer/dryer 1 also includes a temperature sensor 12, which may be a known thermistor. The temperature sensor 12 is an example of a temperature detector, and in this case, is capable of detecting the temperature of the condenser 5b.

Next, an example of the configuration of the control system of the washer-dryer 1 will be described. The control device 20 illustrated in FIG. 4 is an example of a control unit, and is configured mainly, for example, by a microcomputer. The control device 20 controls the overall operation of the washer-dryer 1 based on a control program and various setting information. A water supply valve, a drain valve, a drum motor, etc. (not shown) are connected to the control device 20. In addition, the above-mentioned circulation blower 6, the inlet damper 7a, the exhaust damper 11a, the temperature detection sensor 12, etc. are connected to the control device 20.

The control device 20 can control the opening and closing of the inlet 7 by controlling the drive of the inlet damper 7a, in other words, adjust the opening degree of the inlet 7. The control device 20 can also control the opening and closing of the exhaust port 11 by controlling the drive of the exhaust port damper 11a, in other words, adjust the opening degree of the exhaust port 11. The control device 20 can also control the drive of the inlet damper 7a and the exhaust port damper 11a, in other words, control the opening and closing of the inlet 7 and the exhaust port 11, based on the temperature of the condenser 5b detected by the temperature detection sensor 12.

That is, the control device 20 executes normal control if the temperature of the condenser 5b detected by the temperature detection sensor 12 does not exceed the predetermined temperature T during the drying process. In this normal control, the control device 20 continues to drive the compressor 5a and the circulation blower 6, while closing the inlet 7 with the inlet damper 7a and closing the exhaust port 11 with the exhaust port damper 11a, as illustrated in FIG. 1. As a result, the control device 20 circulates the air in the clothing treatment tub 3 through the drying air duct 4, as illustrated by the arrow A in FIG. 1.

On the other hand, the control device 20 executes special control when the temperature of the condenser 5b detected by the temperature detection sensor 12 exceeds a predetermined temperature T during the drying process. In this special control, the control device 20 continues to drive the compressor 5a and the circulation blower 6, and opens the inlet damper 7a to open the inlet 7, and opens the exhaust damper 11a to open the exhaust port 11, as shown in FIG. 2. As a result, the control device 20 draws air from the housing 2 into the compressor housing 8 through the intake port 9, introduces the drawn air into the dry air duct 4 through the inlet port 7, and passes the introduced air through the clothes treatment tub 3 before discharging it from the exhaust port 11 to the outside of the dry air duct 4.

Here, in the washer-dryer 1 equipped with the drying filter 10 in the drying air duct 4, there is a concern that foreign matter captured in the drying filter 10 may accumulate and clog the drying filter 10. If the drying filter 10 becomes clogged with foreign matter, the drying filter 10 becomes a resistance to the air duct, making it difficult for air to flow in the drying air duct 4. This reduces the efficiency of heat exchange between the air flowing in the drying air duct 4 and the evaporator 5d and condenser 5b, and the condenser 5b may become excessively hot, i.e., may become overheated. The overheated state of the condenser 5b is, for example, a state in which the temperature is high, for example, 90 degrees or higher.

Therefore, in this embodiment, the above-mentioned predetermined temperature T is set to a temperature just before the condenser 5b becomes overheated, for example 85 degrees. Therefore, according to the control by the control device 20 described above, normal control continues unless the temperature of the condenser 5b exceeds the predetermined temperature T during the drying process, whereby the air in the clothing treatment tub 3 is circulated through the drying air duct 4 to dry the clothing in the clothing treatment tub 3. In other words, normal drying operation is performed.

However, if the temperature of the condenser 5b exceeds a predetermined temperature T during the drying process, the control is switched from normal control to special control, whereby the air in the housing 2 is sucked into the compressor housing 8 from the intake port 9, the sucked air is introduced into the dry air duct 4 from the inlet port 7, and the introduced air passes through the clothes treatment tub 3 and is discharged to the outside of the dry air duct 4 from the exhaust port 11. This allows the relatively low-temperature air in the housing 2 to be heated by the high-temperature compressor 5a in the compressor housing 8 and supplied to the dry air duct 4 and the clothes treatment tub 3, so that while the relatively low-temperature air in the housing 2 is being introduced, warm air can be supplied to the clothes treatment tub 3 to continue drying the clothes. In addition, by bringing the relatively low-temperature air in the housing 2 into contact with the high-temperature compressor 5a in the compressor housing 8, the compressor 5a can be cooled. In addition, by introducing the relatively low-temperature air in the housing 2 into the dry air duct 4, the condenser 5b can also be cooled.

In addition, if the compressor 5a is not stopped, the refrigerant continues to circulate in the heat pump mechanism 5, so the evaporator 5d continues to be cooled. Therefore, if warm air is not supplied to the evaporator 5d, which continues to be cooled, to continue heat exchange, there is a concern that the refrigerant will flow from the evaporator 5d to the compressor 5a in a liquid state. If liquid refrigerant flows into the compressor 5a, the compression efficiency of the refrigerant by the compressor 5a will decrease, which is undesirable. According to the special control by the control device 20 described above, air heated by the high-temperature compressor 5a can be supplied to the evaporator 5d, and therefore, even if the compressor 5a continues to be driven in a state in which the condenser 5b is in an overheated state, heat exchange in the evaporator 5d can be performed. Therefore, it is possible to avoid liquid refrigerant flowing into the compressor 5a.

According to the washer-dryer 1 exemplified above, if the condenser 5b overheats during the drying process, instead of continuing the normal control that circulates the air in the clothes treatment tub 3 through the drying air duct 4, the normal control is switched to the special control, and the relatively low-temperature air in the housing 2 is taken in, heated by the compressor 5a, and supplied to the evaporator 5d. As a result, even if the compressor 5a continues to operate, the heat exchange in the evaporator 5d can be continued, and it is possible to prevent liquid refrigerant from flowing into the compressor 5a. Therefore, even if the condenser 5b overheats during the drying process, the clothes can be dried continuously without stopping the operation of the compressor 5a.

The washer/dryer 1 also includes an exhaust port filter 11b that captures foreign matter contained in the air exhausted from the exhaust port 11. This configuration makes it possible to prevent foreign matter from being exhausted outside the dry air duct 4 during special control in which air is exhausted from the exhaust port 11.

In addition, in the washer/dryer 1, the mesh size of the exhaust port filter 11b is coarser than the mesh size of the drying filter 10. This configuration makes it possible to make the exhaust port filter 11b less likely to become clogged, and allows for good exhaust from the exhaust port 11 during special control.

The washer/dryer 1 also includes an inlet damper 7a that opens and closes the inlet 7, and an exhaust damper 11a that opens and closes the exhaust 11. With this configuration, the opening and closing of the inlet 7 and the exhaust 11 can be controlled separately and with high accuracy.

Furthermore, in the washer-dryer 1, the compressor housing 8 has an intake port 9 that draws in air from within the housing 2. With this configuration, during special control, the air from within the housing 2 can be efficiently introduced into the compressor housing 8 and thus into the dry air duct 4.

Second Embodiment
In the second embodiment, the control device 20 is configured to be able to execute air volume adjustment control. This air volume adjustment control is a control that reduces the amount of air discharged from the exhaust port 11 after the temperature of the condenser 5b detected by the temperature detection sensor 12 exceeds a predetermined temperature T, that is, when the temperature of the condenser 5b detected by the temperature detection sensor 12 becomes lower than the predetermined temperature T during execution of the above-mentioned special control.

That is, as shown in FIG. 5, when the control device 20 starts special control (S1), it opens the exhaust port damper 11a to fully open the exhaust port 11 (S2). If the exhaust port 11 is fully open from the beginning of the special control, the control device 20 maintains it in the fully open state. Then, the control device 20 reduces the drive frequency of the compressor 5a from the normal drive frequency to a predetermined minimum frequency, for example, 40 Hz (S3). The normal drive frequency of the compressor 5a is, for example, 75 Hz, but may vary depending on the mode of the drying operation being performed and the temperature of the surrounding environment. The minimum frequency can be appropriately changed and set at a frequency lower than the normal drive frequency.

Then, the control device 20 monitors whether or not a predetermined condition is satisfied (S4). In this case, the predetermined condition is condition 1: "When the temperature of the condenser 5b is at or above a predetermined temperature T, for example, 85 degrees, for a predetermined time, for example, 5 minutes or more" or condition B: "When the temperature of the condenser 5b is higher than the predetermined temperature T, for example, exceeds 88 degrees." Then, when the predetermined condition is satisfied, that is, when either condition A or condition B is satisfied (S4: YES), the control device 20 rotates the exhaust port damper 11a in the closing direction to set the exhaust port 11 to a half-open state (S5). Note that the opening degree of the exhaust port 11 in the half-open state is half the size of the opening degree of the exhaust port 11 in the fully-open state.

Then, the control device 20 monitors whether a predetermined time, for example, one minute, has elapsed since the exhaust port 11 was set to the half-open state (S6). Then, when the predetermined time has elapsed since the exhaust port 11 was set to the half-open state (S6: YES), the control device 20 redetects the temperature of the condenser 5b (S7).

If the redetected temperature of the condenser 5b is within the predetermined first temperature zone (S8: YES), the control device 20 rotates the exhaust port damper 11a in the opening direction to fully open the exhaust port 11 (S9). In this case, the first temperature zone is set to a temperature range of 85 degrees or higher, i.e., a predetermined temperature T or higher. The upper limit value of the first temperature zone does not need to be set, and can be appropriately changed and set at a temperature higher than 85 degrees.

If the redetected temperature of the condenser 5b is within the second temperature zone (S10: YES), the control device 20 keeps the exhaust port 11 half-open (S11). In this case, the second temperature zone is set to a temperature range of 75 degrees or more and less than 85 degrees.

If the redetected temperature of the condenser 5b is within the predetermined third temperature zone (S12: YES), the control device 20 further rotates the exhaust port damper 11a in the closing direction to adjust the opening of the exhaust port 11 to, for example, 1/4 of the fully open state (S13). In this case, the third temperature zone is set to a temperature range below 75 degrees. The lower limit of the third temperature zone does not need to be set, or can be appropriately changed and set at a temperature lower than 75 degrees. In addition, in this step S13, the opening of the exhaust port 11 is not limited to 1/4 of the fully open state, but can be appropriately changed and set at an opening smaller than at least 1/2 of the fully open state.

As described above, when the temperature of the condenser 5b detected by the temperature detection sensor 12 exceeds the predetermined temperature T and the temperature of the condenser 5b detected again by the temperature detection sensor 12 falls below the predetermined temperature T, the control device 20 performs air volume adjustment control to reduce the amount of air discharged from the exhaust port 11, that is, control to reduce the opening of the exhaust port 11.

Here, there is a concern that if the temperature of the condenser 5b drops, the temperature of the air supplied to the clothing treatment tub 3 will drop, resulting in a deterioration in clothing drying efficiency. According to the air volume adjustment control described above, when the temperature of the condenser 5b drops while special control is being executed, the amount of air discharged from the exhaust port 11 can be reduced by adjusting the opening of the exhaust port 11 to be smaller. Therefore, even if the temperature of the condenser 5b drops, the temperature of the air supplied to the clothing treatment tub 3 can be prevented from dropping.

The temperature ranges of the first, second, and third temperature zones described above can be changed as appropriate.

Other Embodiments
The present embodiment is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications and extensions can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention. For example, the clothes dryer may be configured by appropriately combining the above-described embodiments.

The size and shape of the inlet 7 and the size and shape of the intake 9 can be modified as appropriate. For example, as shown in FIG. 6, the inlet 7 can be configured with vertical ribs 7Ra and horizontal ribs 7Rb formed in a lattice pattern. With this configuration, foreign matter contained in the air passing through the inlet 7 can be caught by the vertical ribs 7Ra and horizontal ribs 7Rb, preventing the foreign matter from entering the dry air duct 4.

As shown in FIG. 7, the suction port 9 may be configured to include at least a vertical rib 9Ra. With this configuration, the vertical rib 9Ra can prevent, for example, an operator's fingers from getting into the compressor housing 8 through the suction port 9. The suction port 9 may be configured to include at least a horizontal rib, or may be configured to include both a vertical rib 9Ra and a horizontal rib.

The control device 20 may be configured to notify the user when normal control is switched to special control. Such a notification operation can be performed, for example, by displaying information on the screen of an operation panel (not shown) of the washer-dryer 1. The information displayed on the operation panel screen may be information that simply conveys the processing content as it is, such as "Normal control has been switched to special control," or information processed based on such information, such as "The drying filter is clogged" or "Please clean the drying filter." In other words, the information may be information indicating the reason for switching from normal control to special control, or information indicating the work that is recommended to be performed when switching from normal control to special control. If the control device 20 has a communication function with an external information processing terminal, it may be configured to transmit information to the external information processing terminal.

The washer-dryer 1 may also be configured to have a damper at the inlet 9. The washer-dryer 1 may also be configured to not have the inlet damper 7a or the exhaust damper 11a. The components that open and close the inlet 7 and the exhaust 11 may be, for example, shutters. The washer-dryer 1 may also be configured to have blower fans at the inlet 7, the inlet 9, and the exhaust 11 to promote air flow. The washer-dryer 1 may also be configured to have the inlet 7 and the inlet 9 at different heights in the compressor housing 8. With this configuration, the length of the air flow path in the compressor housing 8 can be increased, promoting contact of air with the compressor 5a and efficiently cooling the compressor 5a.

The washer/dryer 1 may also be configured to include a heat dissipation section around the compressor 5a. With this configuration, for example, the cooling action of the compressor 5a by the air introduced from inside the housing 2 into the compressor housing section 8 can be assisted by the heat dissipation section, and the compressor 5a can be cooled more efficiently. The heat dissipation section may be, for example, a well-known heat dissipation material, or a member having a fin structure for heat dissipation.

This embodiment can be applied not only to so-called drum-type washer-dryers, but also to other types of devices, such as vertical-axis washer-dryers, so long as the clothes dryer is equipped with a circulation air duct that circulates air inside the clothes treatment tub. This embodiment can also be applied to clothes dryers that have a function of performing some kind of treatment on clothes, such as deodorizing, removing odors, disinfecting, and bleaching clothes.

Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described above, these embodiments are presented as examples and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention. These novel embodiments can be implemented in various other forms, and various omissions, substitutions, and modifications can be made without departing from the gist of the invention. These embodiments and their modifications are included in the scope and gist of the invention, and are included in the scope of the invention and its equivalents described in the claims.

In the drawings, 1 indicates a washer/dryer (clothes dryer), 2 indicates a housing, 3 indicates a clothes treatment tub (drying tub), 3a indicates an air outlet, 3b indicates an air inlet, 4 indicates a drying air duct, 5 indicates a heat pump mechanism, 5a indicates a compressor, 5b indicates a condenser, 5c indicates a pressure reducer, 5d indicates an evaporator, 7 indicates an inlet, 7a indicates an inlet damper, 8 indicates a compressor housing, 9 indicates an intake port, 10 indicates a drying filter, 11 indicates an exhaust port, 11a indicates an exhaust port damper, 11b indicates an exhaust port filter, 12 indicates a temperature detection sensor (temperature detection unit), and 20 indicates a control device (control unit).

Claims (6)

A housing constituting an outer shell;
A drying tub provided within the housing for storing clothes;
a heat pump mechanism having a compressor, a condenser, a pressure reducer, and an evaporator;
an air duct connecting an air outlet and an air inlet provided in the drying tank, the air duct housing the evaporator on the air outlet side and housing the condenser on the air inlet side;
a compressor accommodating section connected to an intake port provided in the dry air duct closer to the air outlet than the evaporator;
A temperature detection unit that detects the temperature of the condenser;
an exhaust port provided in the dry air duct closer to the air outlet than the intake port;
a control unit that controls opening and closing of the inlet and the exhaust outlet;
Equipped with
The control unit is
When the temperature of the condenser detected by the temperature detection unit does not exceed a predetermined temperature, the air in the drying chamber is circulated through the drying air passage by closing the inlet and closing the exhaust port.
When the temperature of the condenser detected by the temperature detection unit exceeds the predetermined temperature, the clothes dryer opens the inlet and the exhaust port to draw air inside the housing into the compressor housing, introduces the drawn-in air from the inlet into the dry air duct, and discharges the introduced air from the exhaust port, thereby supplying air heated by the compressor to the evaporator . The clothes dryer according to claim 1, which is provided with an exhaust port filter that captures foreign matter contained in the air discharged from the exhaust port. a drying filter that captures foreign matter contained in the air flowing through the drying air duct;
The clothes dryer according to claim 2 , wherein the mesh size of the exhaust port filter is coarser than the mesh size of the drying filter. an inlet damper for opening and closing the inlet;
an exhaust port damper that opens and closes the exhaust port;
The clothes dryer according to any one of claims 1 to 3, further comprising: The clothes dryer according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the control unit performs control to reduce the amount of air discharged from the exhaust port when the temperature of the condenser detected by the temperature detection unit becomes lower than the predetermined temperature after the temperature of the condenser detected by the temperature detection unit exceeds the predetermined temperature. The clothes dryer according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the compressor housing has an intake port that draws in air from within the housing.

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