CN114687109A

CN114687109A - Cleaning system

Info

Publication number: CN114687109A
Application number: CN202111260250.5A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 堀田宗佑
Original assignee: Toshiba Lifestyle Products and Services Corp
Current assignee: Toshiba Lifestyle Products and Services Corp
Priority date: 2020-12-28
Filing date: 2021-10-28
Publication date: 2022-07-01
Also published as: JP2022103482A; JP7532245B2

Abstract

The invention provides a washing system capable of determining the weight of the washed object in a washing machine with high precision. The cleaning system of the embodiment has a control unit capable of executing a control mode. The control unit performs a cloth amount sensing operation of the laundry between the first dewatering operation and the second dewatering operation in an operation program including the first dewatering operation and the second dewatering operation performed after the first dewatering operation.

Description

Cleaning system

Technical Field

Embodiments of the present invention relate to a cleaning system.

Background

In general, detection of the weight of laundry in a washing machine, particularly in a drum-type washing machine, tends to decrease the detection accuracy when the amount of laundry increases.

Documents of the prior art

Patent document

Patent document 1 Japanese patent laid-open publication No. 2013-009780

Patent document 2 Japanese patent No. 3962668

Patent document 3 Japanese patent No. 2918920

Disclosure of Invention

Problems to be solved by the invention

The invention provides a washing system capable of determining the weight of the washed object in a washing machine with high precision.

Means for solving the problems

The cleaning system of the embodiment has a control unit capable of executing a control mode. In an operation program including a first dewatering operation and a second dewatering operation performed after the first dewatering operation, a control unit performs a cloth amount sensing operation of a washing object between the first dewatering operation and the second dewatering operation.

Technical effects

According to the washing system, the weight of the washing object in the washing machine can be determined with high precision.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a first diagram showing an example of a configuration of a washing machine according to an embodiment.

Fig. 2 is a second diagram showing an example of the structure of the washing machine according to the embodiment.

Fig. 3 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of a driving circuit according to an embodiment.

Fig. 4 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of an overcurrent comparison circuit according to an embodiment.

Fig. 5 is a diagram showing an outline of a process of generating a current for driving the drum motor according to the embodiment.

Fig. 6 is a diagram showing an example of a processing flow of the washing machine according to the embodiment.

In the figure:

1 … outer box (housing), 2 … through-hole type inlet and outlet, 3 … door, 4 … water tank, 5 … roller motor, 6 … rotary shaft, 7 … roller, 8 … through-hole, 9 … multiple baffles, 10 … water supply valve, 11 … water supply valve motor, 12 … water injection box, 13 … water injection port, 14 … water discharge pipe, 15 … water discharge valve, 17 … main pipe, 18 … front pipe, 19 … fan cover, 20 … suction port, 21 … exhaust port, 22 … fan motor, 23 … rotary shaft, 24 … fan, 25 … rear pipe, 26 … circulation pipe, 27 … compressor, 28 … compressor motor, 29 … condenser (condenser), 30 … refrigerant pipe, 31 … heating sheet, 32 … inverter circuit, 33a to 33f 4 switching element, 35u, 35v, 35w … shunt resistance circuit, … shift circuit, 68538, … over-current circuit for over-current driving circuit, 40 … ac power supply, 43 … first power supply circuit, 44 … drive circuit, 45 … second power supply circuit, 46 … high voltage driver circuit, 47 … drain valve motor, 48 … water level sensor, 49 … operating panel, 82 … rotation position sensor, 200 … drive circuit, 201 … drive circuit, 202 … drive circuit, 203 … drive circuit, 204 … drive circuit, 300 … heat pump.

Detailed Description

Hereinafter, a cleaning system according to an embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings. In the following description, the same reference numerals are given to the components having the same or similar functions. Moreover, a repetitive description of these configurations may be omitted. "based on XX" means "based on at least XX", and may include cases where XX is based on other elements in addition to XX. "based on XX" is not limited to the case of directly using XX, and may include a case based on the result of performing an operation or processing on XX. "XX or YY" is not limited to either XX or YY, and may include both XX and YY. This is also the case when the selected element is three or more. "XX" and "YY" are arbitrary elements (for example, arbitrary information). The term "detect" is not limited to the case of directly sensing a physical quantity of an object, and may include the case of directly or indirectly acquiring another physical quantity related to the physical quantity of the object and estimating or determining the physical quantity of the object from the acquired other physical quantity. The term "acquisition" is not limited to the case of directly receiving the object (including information) itself, and may include the case of obtaining the object by performing calculation, processing, or the like on the directly received object (including information).

Several embodiments will be described below. The washing machine of the embodiment is a washing machine capable of accurately judging the weight of the washing object before the drying operation. The washing machine is a drum-type washing machine, a vertical washing machine, or the like. In addition, the washing machine may be a double-tub type washing machine.

< embodiment >

(integral constitution of washing machine)

The structure of the washing machine 100 according to one embodiment will be described with reference to fig. 1 to 4. Fig. 1 is a first diagram showing an example of the configuration of a washing machine 100 according to an embodiment. Fig. 2 is a second diagram showing an example of the structure of the washing machine 100 according to the embodiment. The washing machine 100 has a drying function. The washing machine 100 is a drum-type washing machine. The washing machine 100 includes, for example: an outer case (casing) 1, a through-hole-shaped doorway 2, a door 3, a water tank 4, a drum motor 5, a rotary shaft 6, a drum 7 (an example of a rotary tub), a through-hole 8, a plurality of baffles 9, a water supply valve 10, a water supply valve motor 11 (shown in FIG. 2), a water filling box 12, a water filling port 13, a water discharge pipe 14, a water discharge valve 15, a main pipe 17, a front pipe 18, the air conditioner includes a fan cover 19, an air inlet 20, an air outlet 21, a rotary shaft 23, a fan 24, a rear duct 25, a circulation duct 26, a compressor (compressor)27, a capacitor (condenser) 29, a refrigerant pipe 30, a heater sheet 31, a drive circuit 200 (shown in fig. 3), a drain valve motor 47 (shown in fig. 2), a water level sensor 48 (shown in fig. 2), an operation panel 49 (shown in fig. 2), a heat pump 300, and a rotational position sensor 82 (shown in fig. 3). The washing machine 100 is an example of a washing system.

The heat pump 300 dries the cleaning object. The heat pump 300 includes the fan motor 22 and the compressor motor 28 (shown in fig. 2). The heat pump 300 is an example of a drying function.

The outer case 1 forms an external appearance of the washing machine 100. The outer box 1 is formed in a hollow shape having a front plate, a rear plate, a left side plate, a right side plate, a bottom plate, and a top plate. A through-hole-shaped doorway 2 is formed in the front panel of the outer box 1. A door 3 is attached to a front plate of the outer box 1. The door 3 can be operated by a user from any one of a closed state and an open state in the front direction. In the closed state of the door 3, the doorway 2 is closed. Further, in the opened state of the door 3, the doorway 2 is opened. A water tank 4 is fixed inside the outer box 1. The water tank 4 is formed in a cylindrical shape with a closed rear surface. The water tub 4 is disposed in an inclined state in which the axis line CL of the water tub 4 is lowered from the front to the rear. The front surface of the water tank 4 is formed with an opening. The door 3 closes the front surface of the water tub 4 in an airtight state in a closed state.

At the rear plate of the water tub 4, a drum motor 5 is fixed to be located outside the water tub 4. The drum motor 5 is a motor used for washing and dewatering in washing. The drum motor 5 is, for example, a DC (Direct Current) brushless motor whose speed is controllable. A rotary shaft 6 of the drum motor 5 protrudes into the water tub 4. The rotary shaft 6 is disposed to overlap the axis CL of the water tank 4. The drum 7 is fixed to the rotary shaft 6 so as to be positioned inside the water tub 4. The drum 7 is formed in a cylindrical shape with a closed rear surface. The drum 7 rotates integrally with the rotary shaft 6 in an operating state of the drum motor 5. The front surface of the drum 7 faces the doorway 2 from behind via the front surface of the water tank 4. In the opened state of the door 3, the laundry is taken in and out of the drum 7 from the front through the doorway 2, the front surface of the water tank 4, and the front surface of the drum 7.

The drum 7 is formed with a plurality of through holes 8. The inner space of the drum 7 is connected to the inner space of the water tub 4 through each of the plurality of through holes 8. A plurality of baffle plates 9 are fixed to the drum 7. The plurality of shutters 9 move in the circumferential direction around the axis CL in accordance with the rotation of the drum 7. The washing in the drum 7 moves in the circumferential direction while scraping against each of the plurality of baffles 9, and then falls by gravity, thereby being stirred.

A water supply valve 10 is fixed inside the outer case 1. The water supply valve 10 has an inlet and an outlet. The inlet of the water supply valve 10 is connected to a tap of the water pipe. The water supply valve 10 uses a water supply valve motor 11 as a drive source. The outlet of the water supply valve 10 is switched between an open state and a closed state according to the amount of rotation of the water supply valve motor 11. The outlet of the water supply valve 10 is connected to the water filling cartridge 12. In the open state of the water supply valve 10, tap water is injected into the water filling cartridge 12 through the water supply valve 10. On the other hand, in the closed state of the water supply valve 10, tap water is not injected into the water filling cartridge 12. The water filling cartridge 12 is fixed inside the outer case 1 and is located higher than the water tank 4. The water filling case 12 has a cylindrical water filling port 13. The water filling port 13 is inserted into the water tank 4. The tap water injected into the water filling cartridge 12 from the water supply valve 10 is injected into the water tank 4 through the water filling port 13.

The upper end of the drain pipe 14 is connected to be positioned at the bottommost portion of the water tank 4. The drain pipe 14 is provided with a drain valve 15. The drain valve 15 uses a drain valve motor 47 as a driving source. The drain valve 15 is switched between the open state and the closed state according to the amount of rotation of the drain valve motor 47. In the closed state of the drain valve 15, the tap water injected into the water tank 4 from the water injection port 13 is stored in the water tank 4. On the other hand, in the opened state of the drain valve 15, the city water in the water tank 4 is drained to the outside of the water tank 4 through the drain pipe 14.

On the bottom plate of the outer box 1, a main pipe 17 is fixed to be positioned below the water tank 4. The main pipe 17 is formed in a cylindrical shape directed in the front-rear direction. The lower end of the front duct 18 is connected to the front end of the main duct 17. The front duct 18 is formed in a cylindrical shape pointing in the up-down direction. The upper end of the front duct 18 is connected to the internal space of the water tank 4 from the front end of the water tank 4. A fan cover 19 is fixed to a rear end portion of the main duct 17. The fan cover 19 has a through-hole-shaped intake port 20 and a cylindrical exhaust port 21. The internal space of the fan cover 19 is connected to the internal space of the main duct 17 via the suction port 20.

In the fan cover 19, a fan motor 22 is fixed to be located outside the fan cover 19. The fan motor 22 has a rotating shaft 23 protruding to the inside of the fan cover 19. The fan 24 is fixed to the rotating shaft 23 so as to be positioned inside the fan cover 19. The fan motor 22 rotates the fan 24. The fan 24 is a centrifugal fan. That is, the fan 24 rotates to draw air in from the axial direction and discharge the air in the radial direction. The inlet 20 of the fan cover 19 faces the fan 24 in the axial direction of the fan 24. The exhaust port 21 of the fan cover 19 faces the fan 24 in the radial direction of the fan 24.

The lower end of the rear duct 25 is connected to the exhaust port 21 of the fan cover 19. The rear duct 25 is formed in a cylindrical shape pointing in the up-down direction. The upper end of the rear duct 25 is connected to the inner space of the water tank 4 from the rear end of the water tank 4. The rear duct 25, the fan cover 19, the main duct 17, the front duct 18, and the water tank 4 constitute an annular circulation duct 26 having the internal space of the water tank 4 as a start point and an end point, respectively. When the fan motor 22 is operated in the closed state of the door 3, the fan 24 rotates in a fixed direction, and thereby the air in the water tub 4 is sucked into the fan cover 19 through the main duct 17 from the inside of the front duct 18, and is returned to the water tub 4 through the rear duct 25 from the inside of the fan cover 19.

A compressor (compressor)27 is fixed inside the outer box 1. The compressor 27 is disposed outside the circulation duct 26. The compressor 27 has a discharge port for discharging the refrigerant and a suction port for sucking the refrigerant. The compressor 27 uses a compressor motor 28 as a drive source. The compressor motor 28 is, for example, a DC brushless motor whose speed is controllable.

A capacitor (condenser) 29 is fixed to the inside of the main pipe 17. The capacitor 29 heats the air. The capacitor 29 is configured by fixing a plurality of plate-shaped heating fins 31 in a contact state on the outer peripheral surface of one refrigerant tube 30 bent in a meandering manner. The refrigerant pipe 30 of the capacitor 29 is connected to the discharge port of the compressor 27. In the operating state of the compressor motor 28, the refrigerant discharged from the discharge port of the compressor 27 enters the refrigerant pipe 30 of the compressor 29.

The water level sensor 48 is provided in the water tank 4. The water level sensor 48 detects the water level in the water tank 4. The operation panel 49 includes a display unit 49a and an operation input unit 49 b. For example, the display unit 49a and the operation input unit 49b are a panel including buttons and a display device that can be pressed by a user, a touch panel that can be operated by a user, or the like. The user can select an operation program for cleaning, start operation, and the like by operating the operation panel 49. Examples of the operation program for cleaning include a standard program, a quick program, a fashion program (delicate washing program), an indoor drying program, and a stubborn stain program. The amount of water injected into water tank 4 during washing, the flow of water in water tank 4 during rinsing, and the contents of the washing stroke differ for each washing operation program. The operation panel 49 displays a washing stroke, a remaining time until the end of the operation, a set water level, and the like.

Fig. 3 is a diagram showing a drive circuit 200 of the drum motor 5. The drive circuit 200 includes: the inverter circuit 32, the

shunt resistors

35u, 35v, and 35w, the level shift circuit 36, the overcurrent comparison circuit 38, the driving power supply circuit 39, the ac power supply 40, the first power supply circuit 43, the driving circuit 44, the second power supply circuit 45, the high-voltage driver circuit 46, and the control circuit 50 (an example of a control unit). Fig. 3 also shows a drum motor 5.

The inverter circuit 32 includes six switching elements 33a to 33 f. In the inverter circuit 32, six switching elements are connected to constitute a three-phase bridge. Hereinafter, the six switching elements 33a to 33f will be described as Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistors (IGBTs) 33a to 33 f. A flywheel diode 34a is connected between the collector and the emitter of the IGBT33 a. A flywheel diode 34b is connected between the collector and the emitter of the IGBT33 b. A flywheel diode 34c is connected between the collector and the emitter of the IGBT33 c. A flywheel diode 34d is connected between the collector and the emitter of the IGBT33 d. A flywheel diode 34e is connected between the collector and the emitter of the IGBT33 e. A flywheel diode 34f is connected between the collector and the emitter of the IGBT33 f.

The emitter of the IGBT33d on the lower arm side is grounded via the shunt resistor 35 u. The emitter of the IGBT33e on the lower arm side is grounded via the shunt resistor 35 v. The emitter of the IGBT33f on the lower arm side is grounded via the shunt resistor 35 w. The

shunt resistors

35u, 35v, and 35w are examples of the current detection unit. For example, the current can be detected by dividing the voltage between the terminals of the shunt resistor by the resistance value of the shunt resistor. A contact point between the IGBT33d and the shunt resistor 35u, a contact point between the IGBT33e and the shunt resistor 35v, and a contact point between the IGBT33f and the shunt resistor 35w are connected to the control circuit 50 via the level shift circuit 36. Further, a contact point between the IGBT33d and the shunt resistor 35u, a contact point between the IGBT33e and the shunt resistor 35v, and a contact point between the IGBT33f and the shunt resistor 35w are connected to the control circuit 50 via the overcurrent comparing circuit 38, respectively.

The level shift circuit 36 is configured to include an operational amplifier and the like. The level shift circuit 36 operates as follows: the inter-terminal voltage of shunt resistors 35u to 35w is amplified and the output range of the amplified voltage (amplified signal) is made to fall on the positive side (for example, 0 to +3.3 volts).

The overcurrent comparison circuit 38 detects an overcurrent in the inverter circuit 32, which is generated when the upper arm and the lower arm of the inverter circuit 32 are short-circuited or the like. Fig. 4 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of the overcurrent comparing circuit 38. The overcurrent comparison circuit 38 includes

comparators

66u, 66v, and 66w and

resistors

67, 68, and 69. The comparator 66u is a comparator for detecting an overcurrent of a current corresponding to u of the inverter circuit 32. The comparator 66v is a comparator for detecting an overcurrent of a current corresponding to v of the inverter circuit 32. The comparator 66w is a comparator for detecting an overcurrent of a current corresponding to w of the inverter circuit 32. The

resistors

67 and 68 are resistors for setting a determination threshold for determining the current in the inverter circuit 32 as an overcurrent. The resistor 69 is a resistor for pulling up the outputs of the

comparators

66u, 66v, 66 w. The outputs of the

comparators

66u, 66v, 66w are connected to the control circuit 50. When the current in any of the u-phase, v-phase, and w-phase becomes an overcurrent, the output voltage of the comparator circuit 66 changes from the High level to the Low level.

A driving power supply circuit 39 is connected to the inverter circuit 32. The driving power supply circuit 39 includes a full-wave rectifier circuit 41 and capacitors (capacitors) 42a and 42 b. The full-wave rectifying circuit 41 is constituted by a diode bridge, for example. The

capacitors

42a and 42b are connected in series. For example, when the ac power supply 40 outputs an ac voltage having an effective value of 100 volts to the driving power supply circuit 39, the driving power supply circuit 39 boosts and rectifies the ac voltage having an effective value of 100 volts output from the ac power supply 40 through the full-wave rectifier circuit 41 and the

capacitors

42a and 42b, and outputs a dc voltage of about 280 volts to the inverter circuit 32. An output terminal corresponding to u of inverter circuit 32 is connected to coil 5u corresponding to u of drum motor 5. An output terminal corresponding to v of the inverter circuit 32 is connected to the coil 5v corresponding to v of the drum motor 5. An output terminal corresponding to w of the inverter circuit 32 is connected to the coil 5w corresponding to w of the drum motor 5.

The control circuit 50 controls the entire washing machine 100. For example, when the output voltage of the comparator circuit 66 changes from a High level to a Low level, the control circuit 50 determines that an overcurrent has occurred. When determining that the overcurrent has occurred, the control circuit 50 stops a PWM (Pulse Width Modulation) signal for controlling the drum motor 5, which is output from the drive circuit 44 to the drum motor 5.

Further, the control circuit 50 detects the current Iau flowing to the coil 5u of the drum motor 5, the current Iav flowing to the coil 5v of the drum motor 5, and the current Iaw flowing to the coil 5w of the drum motor 5 via the level shift circuit 36. Specifically, the control circuit 50 detects the current via the level shift circuit 36 while the overcurrent is not detected by the overcurrent comparison circuit 38. The currents detected by the control circuit 50 via the level shift circuit 36 during the period when the overcurrent is not detected are currents Iau, Iav, Iaw. The control circuit 50 estimates the phase θ and the angular velocity ω of the rotating magnetic field in the drum motor 5 based on the detected current values of the currents Iau to Iaw, and performs orthogonal coordinate conversion and dq (direct-quadrature axis) coordinate conversion on the three-phase currents to obtain the excitation current component Id and the torque current component Iq.

Specifically, the control circuit 50 converts the current Iau, the current Iav, and the current Iaw to the orthogonal coordinates of α and β as in expressions (1) and (2) by Clarke conversion.

Then, the control circuit 50 converts the orthogonal coordinates of the α β axis to the dq axis by Park conversion as in the formulas (3) and (4).

Id＝cosθ×Iα+sinθ×Iβ…(3)

Iq＝sinθ×Iα+cosθ×Iβ…(4)

The phase θ and the angular velocity ω of the rotating magnetic field may be measured by the rotational position sensor 82. However, even when the rotational position sensor 82 is not used, the phase θ and the rotational angular velocity ω of the rotating magnetic field can be estimated as follows. The estimated value Ed of the d-axis induced voltage is calculated as the formula (5).

Ed＝Vd-R×Id+ω×Lq×Iq…(5)

Here, the control circuit 50 estimates the rotational angular velocity ω as shown in equation (6) by adding the PI control amount (Ed _ PI) for the difference between the estimated value Ed of the d-axis induced voltage obtained by calculation and 0 to the target rotational angular velocity ω com, using the fact that the estimated value Ed of the d-axis induced voltage is 0 when there is no error in the rotational position.

ω＝ωcom+(Ed PI)…(6)

Further, the phase θ of the rotating magnetic field can be derived by integrating the rotational angular velocity ω estimated by the equation (6).

Then, when receiving the speed command for the drum motor 5, the control circuit 50 generates a current command Idref and a current command Iqref based on the estimated phase θ, the estimated rotational angular speed ω, the excitation current component Id, and the torque current component Iq. Specifically, the control circuit 50 performs PI control based on a difference between the motor speed command ω ref and the detected (or estimated) rotational angular speed ω of the drum motor 5, and generates and outputs a q-axis current command value Iqref and a d-axis current command value Idref. The d-axis current command value Idref is set to "0" during the washing or rinsing operation, and is set to a predetermined value during the spin-drying operation for field-weakening control.

The control circuit 50 converts the generated current reference Idref and current reference Iqref into voltage references Vd and Vq. Specifically, the control circuit 50 performs PI control based on the subtraction result of the current references Idref and Iqref and the dq-axis current value Iq and the d-axis current value Id output by α β/dq conversion, generates the voltage reference value Vq from the q-axis current value Iq, and generates the voltage reference value Vd from the d-axis current value Id.

Then, control circuit 50 performs orthogonal coordinate conversion and three-phase coordinate conversion based on voltage commands Vd, Vq. Specifically, the control circuit 50 converts the dq-axis coordinate into the α β -axis coordinate by inverse Park conversion as in equations (7) and (8).

Va＝cosθ×Vd-sinθ×Vq…(7)

Vβ＝sinθ×Vd+cosθ×Vq…(8)

Next, the control circuit 50 converts the two phases V α and V β into three phases Vu, Vv, and Vw by inverse Cleark conversion, a space vector method, or the like.

Finally, a drive signal that drives the inverter circuit 32 is generated as a PWM signal. Specifically, for example, the control circuit 50 generates a PWM signal as a base. Even if the PWM signal is directly output to the inverter circuit 32, the IGBT in the inverter circuit 32 may not be switched because the voltage is small. When the IGBT cannot be switched in this manner, the drive circuit 44 adjusts the amplitude of the PWM signal (i.e., the magnitude of the voltage) and outputs the PWM signal to the inverter circuit 32.

The inverter circuit 32 drives the drum motor 5 based on the generated PWM signal. That is, inverter circuit 32 outputs a current for driving drum motor 5 to coils 5u to 5w of drum motor 5. The drum motor 5 operates based on the current output from the inverter circuit 32.

Fig. 5 is a diagram schematically showing a process in which the inverter circuit 32 generates a current for driving the drum motor 5 based on the current command Idref and the current command Iqref. The control circuit 50 performs rotation coordinate conversion and two-phase coordinate conversion on the current Iu, the current Iv, and the current Iw detected via the level shift circuit 36. Thus, current Iu, current Iv, and current Iw are converted into current Id and current Iq. The control circuit 50 subtracts the current Id from the current reference Idref. The control circuit 50 performs PI control based on the subtraction result. Thereby, voltage command Vd is generated. Further, the control circuit 50 subtracts the current Iq from the current reference Iqref. The control circuit 50 performs PI control based on the subtraction. Thereby, voltage command Vq is generated. Control circuit 50 performs orthogonal coordinate conversion and three-phase coordinate conversion based on voltage command Vd and voltage command Vq. The control circuit 50 outputs the conversion result to the drive circuit 44. The conversion result is a voltage command for driving the drum motor 5.

The drive circuit 44 generates a PWM signal corresponding to the voltage command output from the control circuit 50. The drive circuit 44 outputs the generated PWM signal to the high voltage driver circuit 46 and the inverter circuit 32. The PWM signal output from the drive circuit 44 to the high-voltage driver circuit 46 is a signal for driving the IGBTs 33a to 33c on the upper-branch side of the inverter circuit 32. The PWM signal output from the driver circuit 44 to the inverter circuit 32 is a signal for driving the IGBTs 33d to 33f on the lower arm side of the inverter circuit 32. In addition, the PWM signal output from the driver circuit 44 to the high voltage driver circuit 46 is in an inverted relationship with the PWM signal output from the driver circuit 44 to the inverter circuit 32.

The high-voltage driver circuit 46 generates PWM signals for driving the IGBTs 33a to 33c on the upper arm side of the inverter circuit 32 (specifically, PWM signals having higher potential than the PWM signals for driving the IGBTs 33d to 33f on the lower arm side) based on the PWM signals output from the drive circuit 44. The high voltage driver circuit 46 outputs the generated PWM signal to the inverter circuit 32. PWM signals output to IGBTs 33a to 33c on the upper arm side of inverter circuit 32 by high-voltage driver circuit 46 and PWM signals output to IGBTs 33d to 33f on the lower arm side of inverter circuit 32 by drive circuit 44 are outputted, and inverter circuit 32 outputs a current for driving drum motor 5 to coils 5u to 5w of drum motor 5.

Similarly, when receiving a speed command for the fan motor 22 from the outside, the control circuit 50 generates a current command and converts the generated current command into a voltage command. Then, the control circuit 50 performs orthogonal coordinate conversion and three-phase coordinate conversion for the voltage command. Finally, a drive signal for driving an inverter circuit (not shown) for driving the fan motor 22 is generated as a PWM signal. The inverter circuit outputs a current for driving the fan motor 22 to the coil of the fan motor 22. The fan motor 22 operates based on the current output from the inverter circuit. In addition, a drive circuit 201 is also present for the fan motor 22.

Similarly, when a speed command for the compressor motor 28 is received from the outside, the control circuit 50 generates a current command and converts the generated current command into a voltage command. Then, the control circuit 50 performs orthogonal coordinate conversion and three-phase coordinate conversion for the voltage command. Finally, a drive signal for driving an inverter circuit (not shown) for driving the compressor motor 28 is generated as a PWM signal. The inverter circuit outputs a current for driving the compressor motor 28 to a coil of the compressor motor 28. The compressor motor 28 operates based on the current output from the inverter circuit. In addition, a drive circuit 202 is also present for the compressor motor 28.

Further, the control circuit 50 controls the outlet of the water supply valve 10 to be in an open state or a closed state by controlling the rotation amount of the water supply valve motor 11. Further, the control circuit 50 controls the outlet of the water discharge valve 15 to be in an open state or a closed state by controlling the amount of rotation of the water discharge valve motor 47. Further, the

drive circuits

203 and 204 are also provided separately for the water supply valve motor 11 and the drain valve motor 47, respectively.

In an operation program including a first dewatering operation and a second dewatering operation performed after the first dewatering operation, the control circuit 50 executes a control mode in which a cloth amount sensing operation of the laundry is performed between the first dewatering operation and the second dewatering operation. For example, when a predetermined condition for the washing is satisfied, the control circuit 50 executes a first control mode in which the cloth amount sensing operation is performed between the first and second dehydration operations. When the predetermined condition is not satisfied, the control circuit 50 executes a second control mode in which the cloth amount sensing operation is performed after the second spin-drying operation. For example, the control circuit 50 determines whether or not the predetermined condition is satisfied based on the information on the wash target acquired before the first spin-drying operation. The information on the laundry acquired before the first dewatering operation may be information obtained based on a pre-water-filling cloth amount sensing operation performed before initial water filling of the laundry. Specifically, the control circuit 50 may determine that the predetermined condition is satisfied when the cloth amount of the wash target obtained based on the cloth amount sensing operation before water injection is equal to or larger than a threshold value. The control circuit 50 may determine that the predetermined condition is not satisfied when the cloth amount of the wash target obtained based on the cloth amount sensing operation before water injection is smaller than a threshold value. The information on the washing target may include information obtained based on a load (an example of a motor load) of the drum motor 5 after the washing target is filled with water. Examples of the information obtained based on the load of the drum motor 5 after the water is injected to the washing object include the cloth quality of the washing object. The load of the drum motor 5 has a correlation with the moment of inertia of the laundry rotating together with the drum 7 when the amount of cloth of the laundry is determined. Further, the information on the washing object may include information obtained based on an input of a user. Examples of the information obtained by the user input include cloth amount information input by the user via the operation panel 49.

The control circuit 50 determines the content of the drying operation based on the result of the cloth amount sensing operation of the laundry performed between the first dewatering operation and the second dewatering operation. The second dewatering operation is an operation in which the dewatering effect of the washing object is greater than that of the first dewatering operation. That is, for example, the second dehydrating operation is a dehydrating operation in which the maximum rotation speed of the water tank 4 is faster than that of the first dehydrating operation, and when the same washing object is dehydrated, the second dehydrating operation is performed to more remove water from the washing object than the first dehydrating operation.

The control circuit 50 may be a control circuit that includes a hardware processor such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit) and executes a program (software) to realize the control. However, a part or all of the control may be realized by hardware (Circuit section including Circuit) such as ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit), PLD (Programmable Logic Device), FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array), or the like, or may be realized by cooperation of software and hardware.

The first power supply circuit 43 supplies a voltage generated by stepping down the driving voltage supplied to the inverter circuit 32 to the control circuit 50 and the driving circuit 44. The driving voltage supplied to the inverter circuit 32 is, for example, about 280 volts. The voltage generated by stepping down the driving voltage is, for example, 15 volts. The second power supply circuit 45 generates a control voltage to be supplied to the control circuit 50 by dropping the drive voltage to be supplied to the inverter circuit 32. The second power supply circuit 45 is, for example, a three-terminal regulator. The control voltage is, for example, 3.3 volts. The high-voltage driver circuit 46 drives the upper-branch-side IGBTs 33a to 33c in the inverter circuit 32.

Further, the rotor of the drum motor 5 is provided with a rotational position sensor 82 for detecting the position of the rotor used at the time of starting. A position signal indicating the position of the rotor output from the rotational position sensor 82 is output to the control circuit 50. That is, at the time of starting the drum motor 5, the vector control is performed using the rotational position sensor 82 until the rotational speed (for example, about 30rpm) at which the position of the rotor can be estimated is reached. After the rotational speed at which the position of the rotor can be estimated is reached, the control is switched to the sensorless vector control not using the rotational position sensor 82.

Next, the processing of the cleaning system 100 will be described. Fig. 6 is a diagram showing a process flow of the cleaning system 100. Here, a description will be given of a process performed by the cleaning system 100 when the user selects an operation program for performing a cleaning program including washing, rinsing, dewatering, and drying through the operation panel 49.

The user puts the laundry into the washing machine 100 and performs an operation of starting washing. When the washing machine 100 starts the determined operation routine, the control circuit 50 determines the laundry amount (step S1). The determination of the cloth amount is carried out before the water injection. For example, as the pre-water-filling cloth amount sensing operation, the control circuit 50 generates a PWM signal to rotate the drum motor 5 via the inverter circuit 32 as described in patent document 2 and the like, and determines the cloth amount based on the q-axis current Iq that contributes to the torque and flows to the drum motor 5 when the laundry is rotated in the drum 7. For example, the washing machine 100 may store each water injection amount in association with the cloth amount of the wash target corresponding to each water injection amount, and may perform, as the pre-water-injection cloth amount sensing operation: the control circuit 50 specifies a water injection amount corresponding to the water injection amount set by the user when determining the operation program from among the water injection amounts stored in the washing machine 100, and specifies the wash water stored in association with the specified water injection amount as the cloth amount in that case. The accuracy of the cloth amount determination here is lower than the accuracy of the cloth amount determination performed after water injection described later. Then, a cleaning agent is introduced. The input of the cleaning agent can be performed by the user. When the washing machine 100 includes an automatic detergent supply device, the washing machine 100 may supply detergent.

The control circuit 50 controls the drain valve motor 47 to close the drain valve 15, and controls the water supply valve motor 11 to perform a water supply stroke for supplying water into the drum 7 (step S2). When the water supply stroke is finished, the control circuit 50 generates the PWM signal to rotate the drum motor 5 through the inverter circuit 32, thereby performing the washing stroke (step S3). Specifically, by repeating the normal rotation and the reverse rotation of the drum motor 5 under the control of the control circuit 50, the cleaning agent water in which the cleaning agent and the cleaning agent in the drum 7 are dissolved is agitated, and the dirt attached to the cleaning object is washed away. At this time, the control circuit 50 determines the quality of the cloth by determining the variation of the current Iq flowing to the drum motor 5 (step S4). This is based on the following point: when the cleaning object is a chemical fiber, the water absorption is lower than that of a non-chemical fiber such as cotton which is a natural fiber, and the load of the drum motor 5 is smaller than that of the non-chemical fiber, and therefore, when the fluctuation of the current Iq is relatively small, the cleaning object can be judged as a chemical fiber, and when the fluctuation of the current Iq is relatively large, the cleaning object can be judged as a non-chemical fiber. The determination result of the quality of the cloth is an example of information on the laundry acquired before the first dewatering operation.

When the washing stroke is completed, the control circuit 50 controls the drain valve motor 47 to open the drain valve 15, thereby executing a drain stroke for discharging water from the drum 7 (step S5). When the draining stroke is finished, the control circuit 50 generates the PWM signal to rotate the drum motor 5 via the inverter circuit 32, thereby executing the first dehydrating stroke for dehydrating (step S6). The rotation speed of the drum motor 5 in the first dehydration stroke is, for example, 600 rpm. When the spin-drying stroke is completed, the control circuit 50 controls the drain valve motor 47 to close the drain valve 15, and controls the water supply valve motor 11 to perform a water supply stroke for supplying water into the drum 7 (step S7).

When the water supply stroke is finished, the control circuit 50 generates the PWM signal to rotate the drum motor 5 via the inverter circuit 32, thereby executing a rinsing stroke in which the cleaning agent is rinsed (step S8). When the rinsing stroke is completed, the control circuit 50 controls the drain valve motor 47 to open the drain valve 15, thereby executing a drain stroke for draining the water from the drum 7 (step S9).

When the draining stroke is finished, the control circuit 50 generates the PWM signal to rotate the drum motor 5 via the inverter circuit 32, thereby executing a second dehydrating stroke (an example of the first dehydrating operation) for dehydrating (step S10). In the dehydration stroke, the water content of the washing object is discharged from the through-hole of the drum 7 by centrifugal force. The rotation speed of the drum motor 5 in the second dehydration stroke is slower than the rotation speed of the drum motor 5 in the third dehydration stroke (an example of the second dehydration operation) described later, and is, for example, 900 rpm. That is, the dewatering effect in the second dewatering stroke is weaker than that in the third dewatering stroke.

The control circuit 50 determines whether or not a predetermined condition thereof is satisfied based on the information on the wash-target acquired before the second dehydration stroke (step S11). Specifically, the control circuit 50 determines that the predetermined condition is satisfied when the cloth amount of the washing target obtained based on the cloth amount before water injection sensing operation as the processing of step S1 is equal to or larger than the threshold value. The control circuit 50 determines that the predetermined condition is not satisfied when the cloth amount of the wash target obtained based on the pre-water-filling cloth amount sensing operation is smaller than the threshold value. The information on the washing target may include information obtained based on the load (an example of the motor load) of the drum motor 5 after the washing target is filled with water. Examples of the information obtained based on the load of the drum motor 5 after the water is injected to the washing object include the cloth quality of the washing object. Further, the information on the washing object may include information obtained based on an input by a user. Examples of the information obtained by the user input include information on the amount of cloth and information on the quality of cloth input by the user via the operation panel 49.

When determining that the predetermined condition is satisfied (that is, the cloth amount specified by the processing of step S1 is equal to or greater than the threshold) (yes in step S11), the control circuit 50 specifies the cloth amount (step S12). The determination of the amount of cloth may be determined based on the current Iq in the same manner as the processing of step S1. For the determination of the amount of cloth, for example, a method described in patent document 2 or the like using the current Iq, that is, the moment of inertia at the time of rotation of the drum 7 may be used, but the larger the amount of cloth in the dry state, the larger the volume occupied inside the drum, and it is difficult to reflect the difference in the moment of inertia due to the difference in the amount of cloth of the washing object, and the accuracy of the determination of the amount of cloth is lowered. Therefore, in the process of determining the cloth quality of the laundry in step S12, the water content of the laundry is increased and the density of the laundry is increased, so that the weight is easily biased to the radial outer side of the drum 7, the moment of inertia is increased, and the accuracy of the cloth amount determination is improved. Since the amount of water absorbed by the wash-target is obtained by subtracting the amount of water detected by the water level sensor 48 from the amount of water indicated by the amount of supplied water, the actual weight of the wash-target can be determined, for example, by subtracting the difference between the amount of supplied water and the amount detected by the water level sensor 48 from the amount of cloth detected by the cloth amount detecting operation.

When determining that the predetermined condition is not satisfied (that is, the cloth amount determined by the processing of step S1 is smaller than the threshold) (no in step S11), the control circuit 50 executes the spin-drying stroke without executing the processing of step S12 (step S13). The rotation speed of the drum motor 5 in the third dehydration stroke is higher than the rotation speed of the drum motor 5 in the second dehydration stroke, for example, 1500 rpm.

Next, the control circuit 50 determines whether the process of step S11 is executed (step S14). When determining that the process of step S11 is not executed (no in step S14), the control circuit 50 determines the amount of cloth (step S15). The determination of the amount of cloth may be determined based on the current Iq in the same manner as the processing of step S1. Then, the control circuit 50 determines the content of the drying operation based on the determination result of the cloth amount at step S15 (step S16). Examples of the drying operation include an operation time of the heat pump 300. That is, the control circuit 50 lengthens the time of the drying operation as the determined cloth amount increases. The determination of the operation time can be corrected by the rotation speed and the rotation duration of the drum 7 in the second dehydration stroke, the degree of unbalance of the washing object, and the like.

When determining that the process of step S11 is executed (yes in step S14), the control circuit 50 determines the content of the drying operation based on the result of the laundry amount sensing operation (that is, the process of step S12) performed between the second dehydration stroke (an example of the first dehydration operation) and the third dehydration stroke (an example of the second dehydration operation) (step S16).

The control circuit 50 performs the drying process according to the determined content of the drying operation (step S17). The control circuit 50 ends the processing.

(advantages)

The washing machine 100 (an example of a washing system) according to the embodiment is described above. The control circuit 50 performs a cloth amount sensing operation of the laundry between the first dewatering operation and the second dewatering operation in an operation program including the first dewatering operation and the second dewatering operation performed after the first dewatering operation. That is, the control circuit 50 is a circuit capable of executing a control mode for performing the cloth amount sensing operation.

Accordingly, the washing machine 100 can improve the detection accuracy of the weight of the laundry by including water in the laundry during the cloth amount sensing operation.

(first modification of embodiment)

In the first modification of the embodiment, the timing at which the process of determining the amount of cloth with high accuracy is performed is not limited to the above-described timing, and any timing may be used as long as the timing after the dehydration is performed in the operation program. Further, the number of dehydration strokes need not be three. It is also not always necessary to determine the timing of performing the process of accurately specifying the cloth amount from the cloth amount specified by the process of step S1.

(second modification of embodiment)

The determination of the cloth amount may be estimated, for example, by using a learned model in which parameters are determined using teacher data having the water supply amount, the water amount detected by the water level sensor 48, and the current Iq as input data and the cloth amount (weight of the washing material) as output data. The water supply amount, the water amount detected by the water level sensor 8, the current Iq, and the cloth amount corresponding thereto are set as a set of data.

For example, consider a case where parameters in a learning model are determined using teacher data composed of 10000 sets of data. In this case, the teacher data is divided into training data, evaluation data, and test data, for example. Examples of the proportion of the training data, the evaluation data, and the test data include 70%, 15%, or 95%, 2.5%, and the like. For example, teacher data of data #1 to #10000 is divided into: data #1 to #7000 were used as training data; data #7001 to #8500 as evaluation data; data #8501 to #10000 were used as test data. In this case, data #1 as training data is input to the neural network as a learning model. And outputting the cloth amount by the neural network. Each time input data of training data is input to the neural network, the distribution amount is output from the neural network (in this case, each data of #1 to #7000 is input to the neural network), and by performing, for example, back propagation based on the output, a parameter indicating a weighting of data combination between nodes is changed (that is, a model of the neural network is changed). In this way, training data is input to the neural network to adjust the parameters.

Next, input data of evaluation data (data #7001 to #8500) is sequentially input to the neural network in which the parameters are changed by the training data. The neural network outputs a cloth amount corresponding to the inputted evaluation data. Here, when the data output by the neural network is different from the output data associated with the input data, the parameter is changed so that the output of the neural network becomes the output data associated with the input data. Thus, the neural network (i.e., the learning model) for which the parameters have been determined is the learned model.

Next, as a final confirmation, input data of test data (data #8501 to #10000) is input to the neural network of the learned model at a time. The neural network of the learned model outputs a measure corresponding to the input test data. For all test data, the neural network of the learned model is the desired model if the amount of the output of the neural network of the learned model is consistent with the amount of the input data with which the correlation is established. Further, even in the case where the cloth amount output by the neural network of the learned model does not match the cloth amount correlated with the input data for one of the test data, the parameters of the learned model are determined using the new teacher data. The determination of the parameters of the learning model described above is repeated until a learned model having desired parameters is obtained. When a learned model having desired parameters is obtained, the learned model is recorded in the storage unit.

Several embodiments of the present invention have been described, but these embodiments are disclosed as examples and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention. These embodiments may be implemented in other various ways, and various omissions, substitutions, and changes may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention. These embodiments and modifications thereof are included in the scope and gist of the invention, and are also included in the invention described in the claims and the equivalent scope thereof.

Claims

1. A washing system is provided with a control unit which can execute a control mode for performing a cloth amount sensing operation of a washing object between a first dewatering operation and a second dewatering operation in an operation program including the first dewatering operation and the second dewatering operation performed after the first dewatering operation.

2. The cleaning system of claim 1,

the control unit determines the content of the drying operation based on the result of the cloth amount sensing operation.

3. The cleaning system according to claim 1 or 2,

also comprises a rotary barrel for accommodating the cleaning object,

the second dehydrating operation is a dehydrating operation in which the maximum rotation speed of the rotary tub is faster than that of the first dehydrating operation.

4. The cleaning system of any one of claims 1 to 3,

the control unit executes a first control mode in which the cloth amount sensing operation is performed between the first dewatering operation and the second dewatering operation when a predetermined condition for the laundry is satisfied, and executes a second control mode in which the cloth amount sensing operation is performed after the second dewatering operation when the predetermined condition is not satisfied.

5. The cleaning system of claim 4,

the control unit determines whether or not the predetermined condition is satisfied based on information on the wash target acquired before the first dehydration operation.

6. The cleaning system of claim 5,

the information on the cleaning object includes information obtained based on a pre-water-filling cloth amount sensing operation performed before initial water filling of the cleaning object.

7. The cleaning system of claim 6,

the control unit determines that the predetermined condition is satisfied when the cloth amount of the wash target obtained based on the pre-water-filling cloth amount sensing operation is equal to or greater than a threshold value.

8. The cleaning system of any one of claims 5 to 7,

the information on the cleaning object includes information obtained based on a motor load after the cleaning object is filled with water.

9. The cleaning system of any one of claims 5 to 8,

the information on the washing object includes information obtained based on an input by a user.