CN115247357A - Washing machine - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention provides a detergent box used for an automatic detergent feeding device, and a washing machine which enables a user to easily grasp the residual quantity of detergent in the detergent box through visual inspection. The washing machine is provided with: a washing machine main body; a water tank disposed inside the washing machine main body; and an automatic dispensing device having a treatment agent box capable of storing a plurality of washing treatment agent portions, and automatically dispensing a predetermined amount of washing treatment agent from the treatment agent box into the water tank during a washing operation. The treatment agent box is provided with a visual confirmation part, the visual confirmation part is arranged at a position which can be visually confirmed by a user, and is arranged on: the visual confirmation part is formed by a transparent or semitransparent part and is formed at the part which is overlapped with the liquid level of the washing processing agent stored in the processing agent box: gradually decreases from the rear end portion side toward the front end portion side.

Description

Washing machine

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a washing machine.

Background

In recent years, in order to meet the demand of users for improved convenience, a washing machine equipped with an automatic dispensing device has been developed, which includes: the detergent box is used for storing multiple washing treatment agents such as detergent, softener and the like, and the automatic feeding device is used for automatically feeding required amount into the water tank from the detergent box during washing operation. In such a configuration, the user needs to know the remaining amount of the washing treatment agent in the detergent box in order to know the timing of replenishing the washing treatment agent in the detergent box.

As a method for the user to know the remaining amount in the cartridge, for example, it is conceivable to set: a sensor for detecting the remaining amount, and the like. However, the provision of such sensors requires: the space for installing the sensor itself, and for installing a circuit board or the like for processing a signal output from the sensor results in an increase in size of the washing machine. Further, the number of components and the assembly work are increased by providing the sensor, the circuit board, and the like, which results in an increase in cost.

Documents of the prior art

Patent literature

Patent document 1: japanese patent laid-open publication No. 2018-11618

Disclosure of Invention

Accordingly, the present invention provides a cartridge for use in an automatic detergent dispenser, which allows a user to easily grasp the remaining amount of detergent in the cartridge by visual observation.

The washing machine of the present invention comprises: the washing machine comprises a washing machine main body, a water tank arranged in the washing machine main body, and an automatic feeding device which is provided with a processing agent box capable of storing washing processing agent for multiple times and automatically feeds a specified amount of the washing processing agent from the processing agent box into the water tank during washing operation. The treatment agent box has: a visual confirmation unit which is provided at a position where a user can visually confirm the visual confirmation unit, and the visual confirmation unit is provided with: the visual confirmation unit is formed of a transparent or translucent member and is formed to overlap with a liquid surface of the washing treatment agent stored in the treatment agent case: gradually becomes lower from the rear end portion side toward the front end portion side.

With the above configuration, the user can easily grasp the remaining amount of the cleaning agent in the cartridge by visual observation.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a perspective view showing an appearance of a washing machine according to embodiment 1 in a state where a washing machine cover is closed.

Fig. 2 is a perspective view showing an external appearance of the washing machine according to embodiment 1 in a state where a washing machine cover is opened.

Fig. 3 is a sectional view schematically showing an internal configuration of the washing machine according to embodiment 1.

Fig. 4 is an enlarged perspective view of a schematic configuration of the periphery of the treatment agent box of the washing machine according to embodiment 1.

Fig. 5 is an enlarged sectional view showing a schematic configuration of the periphery of the treatment agent cartridge of the washing machine according to embodiment 1.

Fig. 6 is an enlarged perspective view of a schematic configuration of the periphery of the treatment agent cartridge of the washing machine according to embodiment 2.

Fig. 7 is an enlarged sectional view of the schematic structure of the periphery of the treatment agent box of the washing machine according to embodiment 3.

Fig. 8 is an enlarged sectional view showing a schematic configuration of the periphery of the treatment agent cartridge of the washing machine according to embodiment 4.

Fig. 9 is an enlarged perspective view of a schematic configuration of the periphery of the treatment agent box of the washing machine according to embodiment 5.

Fig. 10 is a perspective view showing an external appearance of the washing machine according to embodiment 6 in a state where a washing machine cover is closed.

Fig. 11 is a perspective view showing an external appearance of a washing machine according to embodiment 7 in a state where a washing machine cover is opened.

Description of the reference numerals

10 method 8230, a washing machine 11 method 8230, a water tank 20 method 8230, a washing machine main body 21 method 8230, a box body 22 method 8230, a top cover 221 method 8230, an opening part 23 method 8230, a rear cover 24 method 8230, a washing machine cover 40 method 8230, an automatic feeding device 41 method 8230, a treating agent pump 501, 502 method 8230, a treating agent box 601 method 8230, a feeding opening 602 8230, an outlet part 64 method 8230, a bottom wall part 66, 71 method 8230, an inclined wall part, 67, 72, 74, 76, 77, 823030, a visual confirmation part 73 method wall part, a bent wall part 75 method wall part, and a step 75 method.

Detailed Description

Hereinafter, embodiments will be described with reference to the drawings. In the embodiments, the same components are denoted by the same reference numerals, and descriptions thereof are omitted.

(embodiment 1)

The washing machine 10 shown in fig. 1 to 3 includes: a washing machine body 20, a water tank 11, a spin tank 12, a motor 13, a drain valve 14, a water filling device 30, and an automatic dispensing device 40. In addition, the left side of fig. 3 is taken as the front side of the washing machine 10, and the right side of fig. 3 is taken as the rear side of the washing machine 10. In using the washing machine 10, a user is at the front side of the washing machine 10. The vertical lower side, which is the installation surface side of the washing machine 10, is defined as the lower side of the washing machine 10, and the vertical upper side, which is the opposite side of the installation surface, is defined as the upper side of the washing machine 10. The direction perpendicular to the front-back direction and the vertical direction of the washing machine 10 is defined as the lateral direction, which is the width direction of the washing machine 10. The washing machine 10 is: the washing machine is a so-called vertical axis type washing machine in which the rotation axis of the spin basket 12 is oriented in the vertical direction.

As shown in fig. 1 to 3, the washing machine main body 20 has: a cabinet 21, a top cover 22, a rear cover 23, and a washing machine cover 24. The cabinet 21 constitutes a housing of the washing machine 10. The case 21 is formed in a substantially rectangular box shape by, for example, a steel plate, and has an open upper side. The water tank 11 is housed inside the washing machine main body 20, that is, inside the cabinet 21. The rotary tub 12 is housed inside the water tub 11. The water tank 11 is formed as follows: the upper side is in the shape of an open bottomed cylinder. Similarly, the rotary tub 12 is also formed in a bottomed cylindrical shape having an upper side opened.

The top cover 22 is formed in an outline: as shown in fig. 2, the case 21 has an opening 221 inside along the outer shape thereof. The top cover 22 is provided at an upper portion of the case 21. The rear cover 23 is integrally constituted by: a rectangle that is long in the left-right direction of the washing machine 10. As shown in fig. 2 and 3, the rear cover 23 is provided at a rear end portion and a part of an upper portion of the top cover 22. Inside the rear cover 23 are housed: a water injector 30 and a part of an automatic dispensing device 40. In addition, in the case where the washing machine 10 has a drying function, a drying unit configured by a heater or the like and generating drying air may be housed inside the back cover 23.

The washing machine cover 24 is provided on the top cover 22 and opens and closes an opening 221 of the top cover 22. The washing machine cover 24 is located at a position of a front side of the rear cover 23. Further, the washing machine cover 24 may be configured to: the central portion in the front-rear direction can be folded and bent. The upper surface of the washing machine cover 24 is formed flat, and constitutes the upper surface of the washing machine 10. When the washing machine cover 24 is closed, the washing machine cover 24 is disposed in a posture inclined downward from the rear side toward the front side. That is, when the washing machine cover 24 is closed, the upper surface of the washing machine 10 is inclined downward from the rear toward the front.

The motor 13 is disposed outside the bottom of the water tank 11, penetrates the water tank 11, and is connected to the rotary tank 12. The motor 13 may be an outer rotor type DC brushless motor, for example. The motor 13 rotates the rotary tub 12.

The water discharge valve 14 is an electromagnetically drivable opening/closing valve for liquid, and is driven and controlled by a control device, not shown. The input side of the drain valve 14 is connected to the inside of the water tank 11, and the output side of the drain valve 14 is connected to the outside of the washing machine 10. Drain valve 14 opens and closes a drain flow path for discharging water stored in water tub 11 to the outside of the washing machine. When the drain valve 14 is closed, the water tank 11 is in a state capable of retaining water. In addition, when the drain valve 14 is opened, the water remaining in the water tank 11 can be discharged to the outside of the washing machine.

The water filling device 30 is provided at the upper rear portion in the washing machine main body 20 and is provided inside the top cover 22. As shown in fig. 2 and 3, the water filling device 30 includes: a water supply valve 31, a water filling cartridge 32, process cartridges 33, 34, and a water filling hose 35. Although not shown in detail, the water injection device 30 is connected to an external water source such as a tap of tap water via a water supply hose.

The water supply valve 31 is an electromagnetically drivable opening/closing valve for liquid, and is driven and controlled by a control device, not shown. The input side of the water supply valve 31 is connected to an external water source such as tap water, and the output side of the water supply valve 31 is connected to the water filling cartridge 32. The water supply valve 31 opens and closes a water supply flow path for supplying water from an external source such as tap water into the water tank 11 through the water filling cartridge 32.

The water filling box 32 is made of, for example, resin and is formed in a box shape. The water supply valve 31 is connected to the upstream side of the water filling cartridge 32, and the water tank 11 is connected to the downstream side of the water filling cartridge 32 via a water filling hose 35.

The treatment agent boxes 33, 34 are, for example, resin containers, and are configured to: the detergent can contain a liquid or powder detergent in an amount used for 1 washing operation. In this case, the so-called washing treatment agent contains: detergents or softening aftertreatments, fragrances, bleaching agents, and the like. As shown in fig. 2, the treatment agent cartridges 33, 34 are configured to: for example, the cap 22 can be pulled out forward from the water filling box 32.

The treatment agent cartridges 33, 34 are provided with: the water supply valve 31 receives the water supplied into the water filling box 32 in the state of being accommodated in the water filling box 32. The user puts detergent, post-treatment agent, or the like into the treatment agent boxes 33, 34 in a state where the treatment agent boxes 33, 34 are pulled out forward. The treatment agent stored in the treatment agent cartridges 33 and 34 flows into the water tank 11 together with the water injected into the water tank 11 through the water injection cartridge 32. The washing machine 10 does not need to include the water supply box 32 and the treatment agent boxes 33 and 34.

The automatic dispensing device 40 includes: a function of reserving a plurality of portions of the liquid washing treatment agent in advance and automatically supplying a predetermined amount of the washing treatment agent into water tank 11 in a plurality of washing operations. As shown in fig. 1 and 3, the automatic dispensing device 40 includes: a treatment agent pump 41, and treatment agent cartridges 501 and 502. In this case, the automatic dispensing device 40 does not have: an electrical component such as a sensor for detecting the remaining amount of the washing treatment agent W remaining in the treatment agent boxes 501 and 502.

The treatment agent cartridges 501 and 502 are configured to: multiple portions of the laundry treatment agent can be retained. The treatment agent boxes 501 and 502 are provided in the top cover 22 or the rear cover 23, for example. The treatment agent cartridges 501, 502 may be fixed such that: the cover 22 or the rear cover 23 can not be detached, and can be arranged as follows: can be attached to and detached from the top cover 22 or the rear cover 23.

In the case of the present embodiment, the treatment agent cartridges 501, 502 are provided such that: can be detachably attached to the rear cover 23. Thus, the treatment agent cartridges 501, 502 are located: the upper side of the top cover 22 is a position of the rear side of the washing machine cover 24. In the case of the present embodiment, as shown in fig. 3 and the like, most of the processing agent cartridges 501 and 502 are located: the other remaining parts of the treatment agent boxes 501 and 502 are located above the rear end of the washing machine cover 24: and a position lower than the rear end of the washing machine cover 24.

That is, in the case of the present embodiment, as shown in fig. 1, the upper surface 231 of the rear cover 23 is inclined at an angle approximately equal to the inclination angle of the upper surface of the washing machine cover 24 when the washing machine cover 24 is closed. When the washing machine cover 24 is closed, the upper surface of the washing machine cover 24 and the upper surface 231 of the rear cover 23 are disposed on the same plane. The treatment agent cartridges 501 and 502 protrude upward from the upper surface 231 of the rear cover 23. In the present embodiment, no protruding structure is provided on the upper surface 231 of the rear cover 23 except for the treatment agent cartridges 501 and 502.

The treating agent pump 41 shown in FIG. 3 is, for example, a plunger type pump, and is provided inside the top cover 22 or inside the rear cover 23. The treatment agent pump 41 is provided between the treatment agent boxes 501 and 502 and the water injection box 32, for example, and sucks a predetermined amount of the washing treatment agent from the treatment agent boxes 501 and 502 and feeds the sucked washing treatment agent to the water supply flow path. In the present embodiment, the treatment agent pump 41 injects the washing treatment agent sucked out from the treatment agent cartridges 501 and 502 into the water injection cartridge 32. Washing machine 10 can mix the washing treatment agent necessary for the washing operation with the water flowing in water feed box 32 and feed the mixed washing treatment agent into water tank 11 by operating treatment agent pump 41 during the water feed process in the washing process or the rinsing process of the washing operation, for example.

Next, the treatment agent cartridges 501 and 502 will be described in detail. In the following description, the front-back, up-down, left-right, or width directions of the treatment agent cartridges 501 and 502 are based on a position where a user is supposed to normally stand when the user uses the washing machine 10. That is, the front-back, up-down, and left-right or width directions of the agent cartridges 501, 502 indicate: the relative positional relationship between the user and the treatment agent cartridges 501, 502. Therefore, the front-back, up-down, left-right, or width directions of the treatment agent cartridges 501 and 502 do not necessarily correspond to the front-back, up-down, left-right, or width directions of the washing machine 10, but in the present embodiment, for convenience of description, the directions correspond to the definitions of the washing machine 10.

As described above, the washing machine 10 includes: for example 2 treatment agent cartridges 501, 502. One of the 2 treatment agent cartridges 501 and 502 is for holding a liquid detergent, and the other is for holding a liquid post-treatment agent. In the present embodiment, the treatment agent cartridges 501 and 502 are arranged side by side in the left-right direction. In this case, for example, the right-side treatment agent cartridge 501 is used to retain detergent, and the left-side treatment agent cartridge 502 is used to retain post-treatment agent.

The volume of the detergent treatment agent cartridge 501 may be the same as or different from that of the post-treatment agent cartridge 502. For example, the capacity of the treatment agent cartridge 501 for detergent may be set to be larger than the capacity of the treatment agent cartridge 502 for post-treatment agent. For example, when the capacity of the detergent treatment agent cartridge 501 is set to about 1L, the capacity of the post-treatment agent cartridge 502 may be set to about 700 mL. The treatment agent cartridges 501 and 502 may be configured as separate components that are independent from each other, that is, may be configured by dividing the inside of 1 container in a watertight manner. Since the specific configurations of the treatment agent cartridges 501 and 502 are common, common symbols will be assigned to common configurations for explanation.

The treatment agent cartridges 501 and 502 each have a cartridge cover 51 and a cartridge body 60. The cartridge body 60 has a space therein capable of storing a liquid washing treatment agent, and is made of, for example, a resin material. As shown in fig. 4 and 5, the cartridge body 60 includes: a charging port 601 and an outlet port 602. In addition, the cartridge body 60 has: the plurality of wall portions constituting the cartridge body 60, that is, the plurality of wall portions constituting the process cartridges 501 and 502 include: front wall portion 61, side wall portion 62, rear wall portion 63, bottom wall portion 64, upper wall portion 65, and inclined wall portion 66.

The inlet 601 is an opening that communicates the inside and the outside of the cartridge body 60, and is a part into which a user injects a washing treatment agent. The input port 601 is preferably provided with: the position exposed to the outside, that is, the position visually recognizable to the user, and the position where the washing treatment agent remaining inside the cartridge body 60 does not leak from the inlet 601 when the washing machine 10 is in operation. The input port 601 may be provided with: the entire process agent boxes 501 and 502 are uppermost. In the present embodiment, the inlet 601 is formed to penetrate the upper wall 65, for example. In this case, the input port 601 is located: above the rear end of the washing machine cover 24, that is, above the entire washing machine cover 24.

The cartridge cover 51 opens and closes the inlet 601. The agent case cover 51 may be constituted by: for example, the cartridge main body 60 may be openably and closably attached using a hinge, and may be configured such that: the rubber stopper is attached by being pushed into the inlet 601 like a so-called rubber stopper.

The outlet portion 602 communicates the inside and the outside of the cartridge main body 60, and is connected to the treatment agent pump 41 via the piping member 42 or directly. When the treating agent pump 41 is driven, the washing treating agent W remaining in the cartridge body 60 is sucked out from the outlet portion 602. The outlet portion 602 is preferably provided at: it is possible to suck out as much as possible the washing treatment agent remaining in the cartridge body 60, i.e., as much as possible in a lower position in the cartridge body 60. In the case of the present embodiment, the outlet portion 602 is formed to penetrate the bottom wall portion 64. The outlet 602 may be provided at the lower portion of the rear wall 63, the side wall 62, or the front wall 61.

The front wall portion 61, the side wall portion 62, the rear wall portion 63, the bottom wall portion 64, the upper wall portion 65, and the inclined wall portion 66 are portions that form wall portions around the cartridge body 60, that is, wall portions around the process cartridges 501, 502. The front wall portion 61 is a wall portion constituting a front surface among wall portions around the cartridge body 60. Most or all of the front wall portion 61 is located below the upper surface of the washing machine cover 24.

The side wall portions 62 are wall portions constituting left and right side surfaces among wall portions around the cartridge main body 60. In addition, when 2 treatment agent cartridges 501 and 502 are integrally configured, the configuration may be such that: the 2 treatment agent cartridges 501 and 502 have 1 set of left and right side wall portions 62, respectively, as a whole. The rear wall 63 is a wall constituting a rear surface of the wall around the cartridge main body 60. Most of the rear wall 63 is located above the rear cover 23 and is exposed to the outside.

The bottom wall portion 64 is a wall portion constituting the bottom surface among the wall portions around the cartridge main body 60. Bottom wall 64 is inclined with respect to a horizontal plane toward outlet 602 provided in bottom wall 64. That is, the bottom surfaces of the treatment agent cases 501 and 502 are inclined with respect to the horizontal surface toward the outlet portion 602 provided in the bottom wall portion 64. The bottom wall 64 may be formed horizontally. That is, the bottom surface of the cartridge body 60 may be a horizontal surface.

In the case of the present embodiment, the outlet 602 is provided at the front end of the bottom wall 64. Therefore, the bottom wall portion 64 is inclined downward from the rear side toward the front side. In this case, the inclination angle of the bottom wall portion 64 with respect to the horizontal plane is set to: the same as the inclination angle of the washing machine cover 24 or smaller than the inclination angle of the washing machine cover 24.

The inclination angle of the bottom wall portion 64 with respect to the horizontal plane may be set to: the same as the inclination angle of the washing machine cover 24 or greater than the inclination angle of the washing machine cover 24. In addition, in the case where the outlet portion 602 is provided at the rear portion of the bottom wall portion 64, the bottom wall portion 64 may be configured such that: and is inclined downward toward the rear. Further, when the outlet portion 602 is provided at the right side portion or the left side portion of the bottom wall portion 64, the bottom wall portion 64 may be configured such that: and is inclined downward toward the right or left.

The upper wall portion 65 is the uppermost wall portion that is the upper surface of the wall portions constituting the periphery of the cartridge main body 60. In the case of the present embodiment, the upper wall portion 65 is arranged such that: the agent cartridges 501, 502 are horizontal in the state of being mounted on the rear cover 23.

The inclined wall portion 66 is a portion surrounded by the front wall portion 61, the side wall portion 62, and the upper wall portion 65 among the wall portions around the cartridge main body 60, and is a wall portion connecting the front end of the upper wall portion 65 and the upper end of the front wall portion 61. The surface of the inclined wall portion 66 is formed as a flat surface. In the present embodiment, the inclined wall portion 66 is inclined with respect to the horizontal plane in a direction descending from the rear side toward the front side. In this case, the inclination angle of the inclined wall portion 66 with respect to the horizontal plane may be set larger than the inclination angle of the washing machine cover 24 and the inclination angle of the bottom wall portion 64. In the present embodiment, the inclined wall portion 66 is a wall portion located closest to the user side among the wall portions 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, and 66 around the cartridge body 60, taking into account the vertical direction and the front-rear direction between the cartridge body 60 and the user.

As shown in fig. 5, the height of the liquid level H of the washing treatment agent W remaining in the agent box body 60 is set to be higher or lower according to the amount of the washing treatment agent W. In this case, among the wall portions 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, and 66 around the cartridge main body 60, the inner surfaces of the front wall portion 61, the side wall portion 62, the rear wall portion 63, the bottom wall portion 64, and the inclined wall portion 66, which are wall portions other than the upper wall portion 65, overlap with the liquid level H in accordance with the amount of the washing treatment agent W. In addition, the inclined wall portion 66 among the wall portions 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66 around the cartridge body 60 is provided: a position that can be visually confirmed by the user or a position that can be easily seen compared with the other wall portions 61, 62, 63, 64, 65. In this case, the position at which the user can visually confirm or can easily see is represented by: the visually confirmed position can be obtained without requiring a user to remove the treatment agent cartridges 501 and 502 or the like, which is an operation other than the operation normally performed when the washing operation is performed.

As shown in fig. 4 and 5, the cartridge body 60 further includes a visual confirmation unit 67. The visual confirmation unit 67 is provided with: the treatment agent cartridges 501 and 502 are positions that can be visually recognized by the user or easily seen in the wall portions 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, and 66 around the cartridge body 60. Further, the visual confirmation unit 67 is provided with: the wall portions 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, and 66 around the cartridge body 60 overlap with the liquid level H of the washing treatment agent W remaining in the cartridge body 60. The visual confirmation unit 67 is made of a transparent or translucent member. Thus, the user can visually confirm, from the outside of the cartridge body 60, by the visual confirmation unit 67: the remaining amount of the washing treatment agent W remaining in the cartridge body 60. The visual confirmation unit 67 is formed by: the height of the visual confirmation unit 67 is gradually reduced continuously or intermittently from the rear end toward the front end, that is, from the rear side toward the front side of the washing machine 10.

Examples of the transparent or translucent member constituting the visual confirmation unit 67 include, but are not limited to, acrylic, polycarbonate, polyethylene terephthalate, polyvinyl chloride, and glass. In addition, the translucent property is only required to have: the transparency of the detergent W can be visually confirmed by the visual confirmation unit 67 to the level of the liquid level H of the detergent W remaining in the detergent box body 60.

The visual confirmation unit 67 is provided with: and a plurality of scales 68 for displaying the remaining amount of the washing treatment agent W remaining in the cartridge body 60. The user can grasp the position where the liquid level H of the washing treatment agent W overlaps the scale 68 as a target of the remaining amount of the washing treatment agent W remaining in the cartridge main body 60. The visual confirmation unit 67 is provided at a height position below the input port 601. That is, the visual confirmation unit 67 is not provided above the input port 601.

In addition, the visual confirmation portion 67 may be provided in the inclined wall portion 66. In the present embodiment, the entire inclined wall portion 66 functions as the visual confirmation portion 67. That is, the visual confirmation unit 67 constitutes: among the plurality of wall portions 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66 constituting the cartridge body 60, an inclined wall portion 66 located on the user side is formed entirely. In this case, the surface of the visual confirmation unit 67 is formed as follows: the surface of the inclined wall 66 is an inclined surface on the same plane. The wall portions 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, and 66 constituting the cartridge main body 60 may be formed integrally of the same material. That is, the cartridge body 60 may be integrally formed by the same transparent or translucent member.

According to the embodiment described above, the washing machine 10 includes: a washing machine body 20, a water tub 11, and an automatic dispensing device 40. The water tub 11 is provided inside the washing machine main body 20. The automatic dispensing device 40 has treatment agent boxes 501, 502. The treatment agent cartridges 501 and 502 are configured to: multiple portions of the laundry treatment agent can be retained. The automatic dispensing device 40 includes: a function of automatically feeding a predetermined amount of washing treatment agent from agent cases 501 and 502 into water tub 11 during a washing operation.

The treatment agent cartridges 501 and 502 have a visual confirmation unit 67. The visual confirmation unit 67 is provided with: the position visually confirmed by the user is a portion where the liquid levels H of the washing treatment agent W stored in the treatment agent cases 501 and 502 overlap. The visual confirmation unit 67 is made of a transparent or translucent member. Accordingly, the user can grasp the remaining amount of the washing treatment agent W remaining in the treatment agent boxes 501 and 502 by observing the position of the liquid surface H of the washing treatment agent W by the visual confirmation unit 67.

Further, the visual confirmation unit 67 is formed by: the visual confirmation unit 67 gradually decreases from the rear end side toward the front end side. Therefore, when the user views the visual confirmation unit 67 from the front upper side of the washing machine 10, the area of the visual confirmation unit 67 projected to the eye curtain of the user can be increased, and therefore, the visual confirmation can be improved as compared with the case where the visual confirmation unit 67 is vertically configured.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, the user can grasp the remaining amount of the washing processing agent W in the processing agent boxes 501 and 502 without providing the washing machine 10 with electric components such as a sensor for detecting the remaining amount of the washing processing agent W. As a result, according to the present embodiment, the treatment agent boxes 501 and 502 used in the automatic detergent dispenser 40 can be configured with a small number of parts, and the user can easily and visually recognize the remaining amount of the detergent W in the treatment agent boxes 501 and 502 while saving space.

Further, the visual confirmation unit 67 constitutes: among the plurality of wall portions 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, and 66 constituting the process agent cartridges 501 and 502, the wall portion located on the user side, in this case, the entire wall portion 66. That is, the entire inclined wall portion 66 constitutes the visual confirmation portion 67. Accordingly, since it is not necessary to provide the visual confirmation unit 67 separately from the wall portions 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, and 66 constituting the treatment agent cartridges 501 and 502, the number of parts constituting the visual confirmation unit 67 and the number of man-hours for assembling the visual confirmation unit 67 can be reduced.

Further, the visual confirmation unit 67 is formed on the inclined surface. That is, in this case, the visual confirmation unit 67 is formed by: a flat inclined surface having no irregularities on the surface. Accordingly, compared to the case where the surface of the visual confirmation unit 67 has irregularities, it is possible to make it difficult for dirt or dirt to be left, and it is also possible to easily clean the visual confirmation unit 67. As a result, the visual confirmation of the visual confirmation unit 67 is easily maintained.

Automatic dispensing device 40 further includes a treatment agent pump 41 for sucking a predetermined amount of washing treatment agent W from treatment agent cases 501 and 502. The treatment agent cartridges 501 and 502 further have: connected to the outlet portion 602 of the treating agent pump 41. The bottom surfaces of the treatment agent cases 501 and 502, that is, the bottom wall portion 64 of the agent case main body 60, are inclined in a direction of descending toward the outlet portion 602. This enables the washing treatment agent W stored in the treatment agent cartridges 501 and 502 to be efficiently collected in the outlet portion 602. As a result, the treatment agent pump 41 can suck out the washing treatment agent W stored in the treatment agent cases 501 and 502 until the end.

The cartridge body 60 of the treatment agent cartridges 501, 502 has a delivery port 601. The inlet 601 is a part for allowing the user to inject the washing treatment agent by connecting the inside and the outside of the cartridge body 60. The inlet 601 is provided with: a position at the same height as the uppermost part of the visual confirmation unit 67 or a position higher than the uppermost part of the visual confirmation unit 67.

Accordingly, the input port 601 is provided with: since the height of the visual confirmation unit 67 is the same as the height of the uppermost part of the visual confirmation unit 67 or is higher than the height of the uppermost part of the visual confirmation unit 67, the user can easily confirm the liquid level H of the washing treatment agent W viewed by the visual confirmation unit 67 when replenishing the washing treatment agent in the treatment agent boxes 501 and 502. As a result, workability related to replenishment of the washing treatment agent can be improved.

The washing machine main body 20 further has: a cabinet 21, a top cover 22, a rear cover 23, and a washing machine cover 24. The case 21 is formed in a box shape with an open upper side, and accommodates the water tank 11 therein. The top cover 22 has an opening 221 and is provided above the case 21. The rear cover 23 is disposed at a rear side of the top cover 22 and the washing machine cover 24. The washing machine cover 24 is provided on the top cover 22 and opens and closes the opening 221.

In this case, when the treatment agent boxes 501 and 502 are provided on, for example, the top cover 22, the upper sides of the treatment agent boxes 501 and 502 are covered by the washing machine cover 24 provided on the top cover 22. Therefore, when the user wants to confirm the remaining amount of the washing treatment agent W remaining in the treatment agent boxes 501 and 502, the user needs to open the washing machine cover 24 to expose the treatment agent boxes 501 and 502.

In contrast, in the present embodiment, the treatment agent cartridges 501 and 502 are provided in the rear cover 23. Accordingly, the treatment agent boxes 501 and 502 are not covered by the washing machine cover 24 provided on the top cover 22. That is, according to the present embodiment, it is possible to maintain: the visual confirmation unit 67 of the treatment agent cartridges 501 and 502 is always exposed, that is, visually confirmed by the user. Therefore, when the user wants to check the remaining amount of the washing treatment agent W stored in the treatment agent boxes 501 and 502, the user does not need to open the washing machine cover 24 to expose the treatment agent boxes 501 and 502. Therefore, the user can more easily check the remaining amount of the washing treatment agent W remaining in the treatment agent cartridges 501 and 502.

(embodiment 2)

Embodiment 2 will be described with reference to fig. 6. In embodiment 2 shown in fig. 6, the treatment agent cartridges 501 and 502 have inclined wall portions 71 instead of the inclined wall portions 66 of embodiment 1, and have visual confirmation portions 72 instead of the visual confirmation portions 67 of embodiment 1. In this case, the processing agent cartridges 501 and 502 include: a kit cover 51, a kit body 60, and a visual confirmation unit 72. The visual confirmation unit 72 is formed separately from the cartridge cover 51 and the cartridge body 60, and is attached to a part of the inclined wall portion 66. The visual confirmation unit 72 is transparent or translucent. The user can visually confirm the inside of the cartridge body 60 by the visual confirmation part 72.

The inclined wall portion 71 is formed in the same manner as the inclined wall portion 66 of embodiment 1: gradually decreases from the rear end portion side toward the front end portion side. In addition, although not shown in detail, the inclined wall portion 71 of the present embodiment includes: a hole or cutout for insertion of the visual confirmation part 72. The visual confirmation portion 72 is formed in a rectangular plate shape, for example, and is fitted into a hole or a cutout portion of the inclined wall portion 71. In this case, the surface of the inclined wall portion 71 and the surface of the visual confirmation portion 72 may be formed as continuous flat surfaces. In this case, the inclined wall portion 66 may not be a transparent or translucent member. That is, in the present embodiment, the parts of the process agent cartridges 501 and 502 other than the visual confirmation unit 72, that is, the cartridge body 60 including the inclined wall portion 66 and the cartridge cover 51 may be formed of opaque members.

This can produce the same operational effects as those of embodiment 1.

In addition, according to the present embodiment, the visual confirmation unit 67 and the wall portions 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 71 other than the visual confirmation unit 67 in the cartridge main body 60 may be formed of different types of members. Accordingly, the design width of the treatment agent cartridges 501, 502 becomes wide, so that the appearance design of the treatment agent cartridges 501, 502 appears good. In this case, the entire cartridge body 60 may be made of a transparent or translucent material, and the visual confirmation unit 67 may be formed to have translucency by performing processing that does not have translucency such as printing, coating, or sticking a film to a portion other than the visual confirmation unit 67.

(embodiment 3)

Next, embodiment 3 will be described with reference to fig. 7. In the present embodiment, the treatment agent cartridges 501 and 502 have curved wall portions 73 instead of the inclined wall portions 66 and 71 of the above embodiments, and have visual confirmation portions 74 instead of the visual confirmation portions 67 and 72 of the above embodiments. In this case, the cartridge body 60 is configured to: including a visual confirmation 74.

The curved wall portion 73 constitutes a user-side wall portion among wall portions around the treatment agent cartridges 501, 502. The positional relationship of the curved wall portion 73 is the same as that of the inclined wall portions 66 and 71 described above. The curved wall portion 73 is formed by: a continuous curved surface shape gradually decreasing, that is, descending, from the rear end portion side toward the front end portion side. In this case, the user-side surface of the treatment agent cartridges 501 and 502 is formed as a curved surface by the curved wall portion 73.

The visual confirmation portion 74 is provided over the entire curved wall portion 73 or a part thereof. That is, the visual confirmation unit 74 is formed as a part of the cartridge main body 60 or is formed separately from the cartridge main body 60, and is attached to the curved wall portion 73. That is, as in the relation between the inclined wall portion 66 and the visual confirmation portion 67 in embodiment 1, the entire curved wall portion 73 may be used as the visual confirmation portion 74, or as in the relation between the inclined wall portion 71 and the visual confirmation portion 72 in embodiment 2, the configuration may be such that: the visual confirmation unit 74 is provided in a part of the curved wall 73. The visual confirmation unit 74 is transparent or translucent. The user can visually confirm the inside of the cartridge body 60 by the visual confirmation part 74.

The present embodiment can also produce the same operational effects as the above embodiments.

Further, the treatment agent cartridges 501 and 502 may have the curved wall portions 73 instead of the inclined wall portions 66 and 71, and the visual confirmation portion 74 may be provided on the entire curved wall portions 73 or a part thereof, whereby the visual confirmation of the visual confirmation portion 74 is ensured, and the capacity of the cartridge body 60 can be increased as compared with the configuration having the inclined wall portions 66 and 71.

(embodiment 4)

Next, embodiment 4 will be described with reference to fig. 8. In the present embodiment, the treatment agent cartridges 501 and 502 have a stepped wall portion 75 instead of the inclined wall portions 66 and 71 of embodiment 1 and the curved wall portion 73 of embodiment 3, and have a visual confirmation portion 76 instead of the visual confirmation portions 67, 72, and 74 of the above embodiments.

The step wall portion 75 constitutes a user-side wall portion among wall portions around the treatment agent cartridges 501, 502. The positional relationship of the step wall portion 75 is the same as that of the inclined wall portions 66 and 71 and the curved wall portion 73 described above. The step wall portion 75 is formed by: the shape gradually becomes lower, that is, falls, and has a plurality of steps from the rear end side toward the front end side.

The step wall portion 75 has: the plurality of horizontal portions 751 and the plurality of vertical portions 752 are alternately arranged to form a stepped shape. The horizontal portion 751 is a portion extending in the horizontal direction among the step wall portions 75. The vertical portion 752 is a portion extending in the vertical direction among the stepped wall portion 75. In this case, the so-called horizontal direction and vertical direction do not need to be completely horizontal or vertical. That is, the horizontal portion 751 may be any portion having a larger horizontal angular component than a vertical angular component. The vertical portion 752 may have a larger angle component in the vertical direction than in the horizontal direction.

The visual confirmation portion 76 is provided over the entire step wall portion 75 or a part thereof. That is, the visual confirmation unit 76 is formed as a part of the cartridge main body 60 or is formed separately from the cartridge main body 60 and is attached to the stepped wall portion 75. That is, the entire step wall portion 75 may be used as the visual confirmation unit 76 as in the relationship between the inclined wall portion 66 and the visual confirmation unit 67 in embodiment 1, or the step wall portion may be configured as in the relationship between the inclined wall portion 71 and the visual confirmation unit 72 in embodiment 2: the visual confirmation unit 76 is provided in a part of the stepped wall 75. The visual confirmation unit 76 is transparent or translucent. The user can visually confirm the inside of the cartridge body 60 by the visual confirmation part 76.

The visual confirmation unit 76 may be provided only at: one of the horizontal portion 751 and the vertical portion 752 constituting the stepped wall portion 75. That is, one of the horizontal portion 751 and the vertical portion 752 may be transparent or translucent, and the other may be opaque.

This can produce the same operational effects as those of the above embodiments.

Further, since the step formed by the horizontal portion 751 and the vertical portion 752 functions as a scale, it can be observed more easily.

(embodiment 5)

Next, embodiment 5 will be described with reference to fig. 9. In the present embodiment, the overall shape of the cartridge body 60 is different from those of the above embodiments. That is, in the present embodiment, the cartridge body 60 is formed in a substantially rectangular parallelepiped as a whole, and the visual confirmation unit 77 is provided in a portion other than the rectangular parallelepiped. In this case, the inclined wall and the visual confirmation portion 77 are not provided between the front wall portion 61 and the upper wall portion 65, and the front wall portion 61 and the upper wall portion 65 are adjacent to each other. That is, the angle formed by the front wall portion 61 and the upper wall portion 65 is substantially a right angle. Further, the visual confirmation unit 77 is provided with: side wall portions 62 on the sides of the respective process cartridges 501 and 502.

The visual confirmation unit 77 is formed of a transparent or translucent member, and is formed on a wall portion inclined similarly to the inclined wall portion 66 of embodiment 1 or the inclined wall portion 71 of embodiment 2. In this case, the visual confirmation unit 77 may be formed in a curved surface shape similar to the curved wall portion 73 described in embodiment 3, or may be formed in a stepped shape similar to the stepped wall portion 75 described in embodiment 4. Further, directly below the visual confirmation unit 77, there may be formed: a space capable of retaining a washing treatment agent. That is, the liquid level H of the washing treatment agent W remaining in the cartridge body 60 overlaps the inner surface of the visual confirmation part 77.

This can produce the same operational effects as those of the above embodiments.

Further, the area of the upper wall portion 65 can be increased by the shape in which the front wall portion 61 and the upper wall portion 65 are connected adjacent to each other, that is, the angle formed between the front wall portion 61 and the upper wall portion 65 is approximately a right angle. That is, if the horizontal projected area is the same, that is, the area occupying the rear cover 23 is the same, the capacity of the treatment agent boxes 501 and 502 of the present embodiment can be increased as compared with the above-described embodiments. As a result, the capacity of the treatment agent cartridges 501 and 502 can be increased without unnecessarily increasing the space.

In addition, according to the present embodiment, the upper wall portion 65 can be enlarged to the maximum. This also makes it possible to increase the input port 601 provided in the upper wall portion 65 to the maximum. As a result, the user can easily perform the operation of putting the washing treatment agent into the treatment agent boxes 501 and 502 from the putting port 601, and the operability of the operator can be improved.

(embodiment 6)

Next, embodiment 6 will be described with reference to fig. 10. In embodiment 6, the specific shape of the rear cover 23 is different from that of each of the above embodiments. In the present embodiment, the structures described in the above embodiments can be applied to the treatment agent cartridges 501 and 502. That is, in the example of fig. 10, the processing agent cartridges 501 and 502 described in embodiment 1 are applied. In this case, the upper surface 231 of the rear cover 23 is located: above with respect to the upper surface of the washing machine cover 24. The upper surface 231 of the rear cover 23 is formed on the same plane as the upper surface of the upper wall portion 65 of the cartridge body 60 and the upper surface of the inclined wall portion 66.

This can produce the same operational effects as those of the above embodiments.

In addition, since the upper surface 231 of the rear cover 23 is formed on the same plane as the upper surface of the upper wall portion 65 of the cartridge body 60 and the upper surface of the inclined wall portion 66, the user can be given an overall uniform impression.

(7 th embodiment)

Next, embodiment 7 will be described with reference to fig. 11. In the present embodiment, the positions where the treatment agent boxes 501 and 502 are provided are different from those in the above embodiments. That is, in the present embodiment, the treatment agent cartridges 501 and 502 are detachably or non-detachably provided in the top cover 22. In this case, the treatment agent cartridges 501 and 502 are provided on the front side of the top cover 22 around the opening 221. Further, the treatment agent cartridges 501 and 502 are provided on both sides in the left-right direction.

The treatment agent cartridges 501 and 502 each have a visual confirmation unit 78. The visual confirmation unit 78 is configured to be a transparent or translucent member so that the inside can be visually confirmed, as in the visual confirmation units 67, 72, 74, 76, and 77 of the above embodiments. The upper surface of the visual confirmation unit 78 is configured to: on the same plane as the upper surface of the top cover 22. The user can visually check the visual check part 78 by opening the washing machine cover 24.

With this configuration, the same operational effects as those of the above embodiments can be produced. .

In addition, the above embodiments may be combined with each other. In addition, only 2 or more features of the embodiments may be extracted and combined.

The above embodiments are merely provided as examples and are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention. These new embodiments can be implemented in other various forms, and various omissions, substitutions, and changes can be made without departing from the spirit of the invention. These embodiments and modifications are included in the scope and gist of the invention, and are included in the invention described in the claims and the equivalent scope thereof.

Claims (9)

1. A washing machine is provided with:

a washing machine main body;

a water tank disposed inside the washing machine main body; and

an automatic dispensing device having a treatment agent box capable of storing a plurality of washing treatment agent portions, for automatically dispensing a predetermined amount of the washing treatment agent from the treatment agent box into the water tank during a washing operation,

the treatment agent box is provided with a visual confirmation part which is arranged at a position where a user can visually confirm and is arranged at: a portion overlapping with a liquid level of the washing treatment agent remaining in the treatment agent case,

the visual confirmation unit is formed of a transparent or translucent member and is formed such that: gradually decreases from the rear end portion side toward the front end portion side.

2. The washing machine as claimed in claim 1,

the visual confirmation unit includes: an entirety of the wall portion on the user side among a plurality of wall portions constituting the treatment agent cartridge.

3. The washing machine as claimed in claim 1,

the visual confirmation unit is configured to: a part of the wall portion on the user side among a plurality of wall portions constituting the treatment agent cartridge.

4. A washing machine according to any one of claims 1 to 3,

the visual confirmation part is formed as an inclined surface.

5. The washing machine as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 3,

the visual confirmation portion is formed as a curved surface.

6. The washing machine as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 3,

the visual confirmation portion is formed in a shape having a plurality of steps.

7. A washing machine according to any one of claims 1 to 6,

the automatic dispensing device further has a treating agent pump that sucks out a prescribed amount of the washing treating agent from the treating agent box,

the treatment agent cartridge further has an outlet portion connected to the treatment agent pump,

the bottom surface of the treatment agent box is inclined in a direction of descending toward the outlet portion.

8. The washing machine as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 7,

the treating agent box is also provided with a feeding port which communicates the inside with the outside of the treating agent box for a user to feed the washing treating agent,

the input port is provided at the same height as the uppermost portion of the visual confirmation unit or at a position higher than the uppermost portion.

9. A washing machine according to any one of claims 1 to 8,

the washing machine main body further has:

a box body which is formed into a box shape with an upper side opened and accommodates the water tank therein;

a top cover having an opening and disposed on the upper side of the case;

a washing machine cover provided on the top cover and opening and closing the opening; and

a rear cover disposed at the rear side of the top cover and the washing machine cover,

the treating agent box is arranged on the rear cover.

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