EP0504052A1 - Electrical household appliance with programmer comprising an electromechanical and an electronic time-base - Google Patents

Abstract

Household electrical appliance with programmer including an electromechanical member (11) with synchronous micromotor (12) driving a continuously rotating cam forming a first time base and driving a cam unit acting on on/off switches or control switches. An electronic module (14) with microprocessor (15) makes other controls possible. The module (14) includes a second time base for controlling the stopping of the micromotor (12) of the electromechanical member (11) for specified periods of time. <IMAGE>

Description

The invention relates to an appliance with a programmer such as a washing machine, a dryer or a dishwasher.

To simplify the presentation we will refer in what follows most of the time to a washing machine. However, the invention generally applies to any type of household appliance with a programmer.

Today, washing machines operate automatically under the control of a programmer. Most of the time, this latter includes an electromechanical part with an electric motor driving a system of cams acting on control switches for the various parts of the machine: solenoid valve, heating resistor, drain pump. This electromechanical element is most often associated with an electronic module.

There are two types of programmers (mixed) with electromechanical element and electronic module. In the first type, the time base, or clock, of the programmer is determined only by the rotation of a cam which rotates continuously; in the second type the clock is only electronic, that is to say incorporated into the electronic module.

In the first type of programmer - called a continuously rotating cam - the electronic module is generally used to control the speed, direction and times of rotation of the drum drive motor, and for safety functions. The most efficient programmers allow you to vary the duration of the various operating phases of the washing machine depending on the type of fabric and / or load. The electromechanical element is then dimensioned on the program of longer duration than can run the machine and a second motor is coupled to the cams to make them advance more quickly in certain cases, for example when the load of laundry is low. Such a programmer usually has several basic times. It is complex and therefore expensive to produce.

The second type of programmer, with an electronic clock only, the electromechanical element of which - which has no time base function - consists of an electric motor driving cam means whose purpose is to act on switches or power switches, is also expensive because it is equipped with a powerful microprocessor and a control of passage of steps of the electromechanical element. In addition, to memorize the state of execution of the program in the event of an interruption in the supply of electrical energy, either the electronic module is equipped with EEPROM memories, or means are provided so that the position of the cam block of the 'electromechanical element gives information on the state of execution of the program by means of coding between the cams and the electronic module, all program steps must of course be coded. These means of memorizing the state of execution of the program, whether they are with EEPROM memory or coded, further increase the price of the programmer.

The invention provides an inexpensive programmer making it possible to vary at will the duration of each operating phase of the device which it equips.

The programmer of the device according to the invention comprises an electromechanical element with an electric motor, preferably a single one, driving a continuously rotating cam and having a time base (also preferably unique); it is characterized in that it further comprises an electronic module which has a clock constituting a second time base of the programmer and which is capable of controlling the stopping of the motor of the electromechanical element for determined times.

For each programming step of the device, that is to say for each electrical situation of the latter, the time base which controls the program will be either that of the electromechanical element, or that of the electronic module.

In this way the electromechanical element can be made very simple without significantly increasing the cost of the electronic module. In particular, this electromechanical element does not require - unlike the programmers in which the time base is only in the electronic module - means for controlling passage of steps or systematic coding of all the programming steps. In the event of a machine power outage, the program execution status is directly represented by the position of the cam block without the need for complex decoding.

In one embodiment, the position of the cam block is not coded. In this case it is the proper position of this block of cams of the electromechanical element which represents the state of execution of the program.

In another embodiment the position of the cam block is coded, which gives information directly to the electronic module to restart the execution of the program after restoration of the power supply. In this case coding is simpler than with a time-only electronic program because the number of steps can be reduced.

The time base can be brought in at will, either mostly on the electromechanical element, or mostly on the electronic module. There is thus a degree of freedom which makes it possible to optimize the cost of producing the programmer with a simple electromechanical element and / or an equally simple microprocessor.

Since the motor of the electromechanical element can rotate less often, the life of the latter is increased and the noise pollution is reduced.

The invention makes it possible to reduce the number of programming steps which, on the electromechanical element, are necessary for carrying out a washing; it is thus possible to increase the number of different cycles which can be controlled by the same programmer.

In the preferred embodiment the electromechanical element of the programmer is dimensioned to impose the program of shorter duration and / or to carry out the sequence of the minimum number of different "electrical states" which are necessary to execute a program. In this way, rapid washing or washing at reduced load or soaking functions are carried out with a single motor and a single time delay for the electromechanical element. For the other programs, the increase in duration is determined by the electronic module which controls the stops of the electromechanical element motor. Thus it is not necessary that this electromechanical element comprises a second motor for controlling the rapid rotation of the cam; and it is not necessary either that this electromechanical element has several internal timers.

To simplify the control, it is also preferable that the electronic module controls the direction of rotation of the drum drive motor and that the cam (s) of the electromechanical element do not intervene for this control.

The single time base imposed by the rotation of a cam is advantageously short, preferably less than 3 minutes. In general, a value of the single time base of the electromechanical element will be chosen, the lower the more often the clock of the electronic module is used and / or the more complex the programming, ie that is, it allows a greater number of possibilities for operating cycles. With a short electromechanical element time base, the electromechanical element can be simplified as much as possible and involve the time base electronics for practically every phase of the device program.

For the simplest programmers it is preferable that the clock of the electronic module intervenes infrequently, which simplifies coding.

• la figure 1 est un schéma d'un programmateur selon l'invention,
• la figure 2 est un schéma d'une partie du programmateur de la figure 1,
• la figure 3 est une variante de la figure 2,
• les figures 2a et 3a représentent d'autres variantes des figures respectivement 2 et 3,
• la figure 4 est un diagramme, et
• les figures 5, 6 et 7 représentent des organes sur le tableau de commande d'un lave-linge.

Other characteristics and advantages of the invention will appear with the description of some of its embodiments, this being carried out with reference to the attached drawings in which:

• FIG. 1 is a diagram of a programmer according to the invention,
• FIG. 2 is a diagram of part of the programmer of FIG. 1,
• FIG. 3 is a variant of FIG. 2,
• FIGS. 2a and 3a represent other variants of FIGS. 2 and 3 respectively,
• Figure 4 is a diagram, and
• Figures 5, 6 and 7 show members on the control panel of a washing machine.

The example which will be described in relation to the figures relates to a washing machine programmer. Such a household appliance (not shown as a whole) usually comprises a perforated drum containing the laundry and driven in rotation in one direction and in another by a motor 10 (Figure 1). The perforated drum is placed in a tank containing water and detergents.

The operation of the washing machine is fully automatic, under the control of a programmer. The latter therefore controls the various operations of the device: opening and closing of a water supply solenoid valve, introduction of the various detergents, supply of the water heating resistor (s), control of operation of the drum drive motor 10, operation of the drain pump and safety checks.

The programmer according to the invention comprises an electromechanical member 11 with synchronous electric motor 12 driving a continuously rotating cam which itself drives a cam block 13 (sometimes called "cam block" 13) acting on switches (not shown) for controlling the various components of the washing machine: solenoid valves, water heating resistor (s), drain pump, motor supply 10. It also includes an electronic module 14 which, according to one aspect of the invention, controls the supply of the synchronous motor 12 of the member 11.

To avoid any confusion in what follows, the electric motor 10 for driving the drum will be called "motor" and the motor 12 for driving the cams 13 will be called "micromotor".

The progression, or advance by step of the cam block, is controlled by the continuously rotating cam. More precisely, a revolution of the continuously rotating cam causes, in the example, a rotation of 6 ° of the cam block and this rotation of 6 ° corresponds to a passage of steps and therefore to a modification of the state d 'a switch or an electrical situation.

The electronic module 14 comprises a microcontroller or microprocessor 15 having a clock which constitutes a second time base of the programmer, the first time base being the rotation of the continuously rotating cam driven by the micromotor 12. Of course the microcontroller or microprocessor 15 may be replaced by any other electronic device performing the same function.

The microcontroller 15 receives, by coding wires 16₁, information on certain positions of the cam unit 13. Thus the microcontroller can permanently receive information on the state of execution of the washing program, which allows, in particular after switching off then restoring the electrical power supply to the machine, restarting the program where it stopped at the time of switching off. For positions for which there is has no information provided by the electromechanical element to the microcontroller, the restarting of the operation after cutting the power supply will be carried out according to the position of the cams of the electromechanical element.

The microcontroller 15 controls by one of its outputs 15₁, and by means of an interface 17, the direction of rotation of the motor 10. In fact, as will be seen below in detail, it is necessary, when the microphone -motor is stopped on command of the micro-controller 15, that the latter continues to supply the power to the drive motor 10 in one direction and in the other of the tank

FIG. 1 also shows an input 15 2 of the microcontroller 15 which is connected to a member 18, such as a potentiometer, for adjusting the temperature of the washing water, which is located on the control panel of machine and therefore adjustable by the user. In addition, an input 15₃ of the microcontroller 15 receives a signal supplied by a probe 19 for measuring the temperature of the water in the tank of the washing machine. The signals supplied by the potentiometer 18 and the probe 19 allow the microcontroller to control the supply of the water heating resistor. The microprocessor acts on the power supply of the micromotor 12 driving the cams 13 which open or close a switch for switching on the heating resistance of the water.

An output 15₄ of the microcontroller 15 is connected to the trigger of a triac 16 (FIGS. 1 and 2) for controlling the power of the micromotor 12

In the example of FIG. 2, the triac 16 is in parallel on the micromotor 12, this assembly in parallel being itself in series with a current limiting resistor 20. In this case the micromotor 12 stops when the triac 16 is conductive

In the example of Figure 3 the triac 16₁ is in series with the micromotor 12₁. In this case the micromotor 12₁ rotates when the triac 16₁ is conductive.

In a variant of Figure 2, shown in Figure 2a, there is provided a switch 100 in parallel on the resistor 20, this switch 100 being controlled by the electromechanical member. It allows in certain cases, when the clock is imposed by the electromechanical element itself, to control the powering down of the micromotor 12

Likewise, and for the same purpose, in the variant of FIG. 3a, a switch 101 is in parallel on the triac 16ac.

The electromechanical member 11 is dimensioned so that, in the absence of a power supply interruption to the micromotor 12 controlled by the module 14, the program executed is the program of shorter duration than the machine executes. For the other programs, therefore of longer durations, the module 14 intervenes at least once to interrupt the rotation of the micromotor 12; The module 14 therefore extends the execution time of the program by this stop time. Alternatively, even the shortest program involves one or more stops of the micromotor 12; this variant can be used to simplify organ 11 as much as possible.

To clearly understand how, in a washing program, the time base of the member 11 and the time base of the module 14 can intervene, the phases of the washing program which use these two time bases are described below. .

In general, it may be noted that it is preferable for the electronic time base of the module 14 to intervene for phases of the program extending over a relatively long period, for example of several minutes, and during which the member 11 does not command no switch. In fact, the less the member 11 intervenes, that is to say the more the micromotor 12 is stopped, the simpler the production of the cam assembly 13.

The operation phase of the device which is generally the longest is that of heating the water of washing. The first example to be described relates to this phase.

When the cams 13 command the closing of the switch (not shown) for supplying the water heating resistor, this information is transmitted by the wires 16₁ to the microcontroller 15. The latter is programmed to then stop the rotation of the micromotor 12 or 12₁, that is to say to make the triac 16 conductive (Figure 2) or block the 16₁ triac (Figure 3).

The micromotor 12 or 12₁ is again put into rotation when the temperature T _B of the water in the tank of the washing machine as detected by the probe 19 reaches the value T _B defined by the following formula: $${\text{T}}_{\text{B}}{\text{= T}}_{\text{p}}\text{- Kt₀}$$

In this formula T _p is the temperature programmed using potentiometer 18, K is the coefficient of rise in the temperature of the detergent bath as a function of time, expressed in degrees per minute, and t₀ is the basic time, expressed in minutes, of the member 11 (one turn of the continuously rotating cam). This time is for example 1.5 minutes.

Starting from the temperature T _B above, at the end of time t₀ a cam of the member 11 has made a complete revolution and has therefore opened the switch again in series with the heating resistance of the detergent bath and at this time the temperature is exactly the desired temperature T _p .

It should be noted that during the water heating operation, with the micromotor 12 stopped, the machine performs, under the control of the module 14, the repetitive operations that are the inversions of the direction of rotation. motor 10; for example this motor turns for 9 seconds in one direction, stops for 6 seconds, then turns in the other direction for 9 seconds.

There is no time base during this heating. The time base of module 14 is however usable to carry out heating stages with or without stirring of the linen.

We know that to improve the detergency, that is to say washing, performance, it is advantageous to carry out temperature steps, that is to say that the temperature of the detergent bath is maintained at a constant temperature, lower than the temperature you want to reach, for a predetermined time. Thus a level between 40 ° and 50 ° C promotes the enzymatic action, and a level at 60 ° C promotes the chemical action on the pigment spots. In general, the duration of these stages is approximately 10 to 15 minutes so that the total duration of the program is not excessive. These bearings (Figure 4) are usually performed with stirring, that is to say that during these operations the drum of the washing machine rotates alternately in one direction and in the other

Bearings can also be carried out without mixing or with reduced mixing. It is then soaking. In this case, the duration of the plateau is longer. Soaking is effective for washing particularly dirty laundry.

The use of the programmer according to the invention will first be described for stirring stages and then for soaking.

To facilitate the explanation, reference will be made to FIG. 4 which is a diagram showing the temperature T of the water as a function of the time t during the heating period.

Phase I, between instants 0 and t₁, is executed as described above for heating. After the passage of a step of the member 11 - 360 ° rotation of a cam of the block 13 during the basic time t₀- the module 14 determines the time of the bearing II during which a stirring is carried out. This time is preferably an integer, Q, of base time t₀ of the member 11.

The module 14 stops the micromotor 12 during the time (t₂ - t₁) of the level less the basic time t₀, that is to say in the present case (Q - 1) t₀. As a result of this time (Q - 1) t₀ the micromotor 12 turns again and at the end of a rotation of the time base cam we go to the next step, that is to say that we start again to heat the water in the detergent bath

The micromotor 12 stops when the microprocessor receives from the probe 19 the information that the temperature of the bath is T _p1 (the temperature of the first level) and that, by the wires 16₁, it receives the information that the heating switch is open. As a variant, it is only the information provided by the wires 16₁ which initiate the command to stop the micromotor 12 by the microprocessor 15.

The commands of phases III, IV, etc. of the diagram of FIG. 4 are carried out in the manner already described.

If the objective temperature T _p , determined by potentiometer 18, is lower than a programmed level temperature, during the last heating phase preceding this temperature, the microprocessor controls the start of the micromotor 12 when the measured temperature T _B is lower from Kt₀ to T _p , being the whole number of (heating) steps that the cam must take to reach the end of the heating phase.

More precisely if the number of stages is n the number of heating phases is therefore n + 1. If the target temperature T _p , defined by potentiometer 18, is reached during a heating phase m - m being smaller than n + 1 - it remains, to reach the end of the total heating phase, to pass through n + 2 - m heating phases and n + 1 - m brewing phases. The time (minimum) to pass through each phase being t₀ (the basic time of the organ 11) the module 14 will command the new start of the micromotor 12 when it detects the temperature T = T _p - Kt₀ (n + 2 - m).

If, for a temperature level, not a stirring but a soaking is desired, that is to say a level of longer duration but without stirring, or with little stirring, we programs the microprocessor 15 so that it stops the rotation of the micromotor 12 for a longer time. Preferably this time is a multiple of the basic time t₀ of the electromechanical member 11 and of the time Qt₀ of the corresponding stirring stage. Thus the time of a soaking stage is QSt₀, S being an integer. In an example: t₀ = 2 min, Q = 5 and S = 3, that is to say that a stirring stage lasts 10 min, while a soaking stage lasts 30 min.

When soaking is selected, corresponding information appears on output 15₁ of the microprocessor so as to reduce (or eliminate) the stirring of the laundry.

The control of the soaking function being carried out by simply extending the duration of control of a stirring stage, this soaking function does not complicate the electromechanical member 11 since, in the latter, the same step is used to control the bearing.

The electromechanical member 11 is preferably dimensioned so that with the shortest program there is no need to stop the micromotor 12 except may be in the heating and / or stirring phase after the desired temperature has been reached. The shortest program is usually the quick wash program, sometimes called "flash", or the "half load" program. These functions are generally activated by a selector or control button on the panel of the washing machine. This selector or button generates a signal on an input of the microprocessor 15 so that the micromotor 12 rotates constantly, except during the heating of the water.

Such a quick wash or reduced load function generally requires less water to rinse. To this end, the member 11 being programmed to perform a certain number (for example four) of rinses, the selector or activated control button makes it possible, by acting on a switch associated with the cams, to avoid emptying between two successive rinses. In addition, the member 11 is such that these two successive rinses, without intermediate emptying, have the same duration as a rinsing. usual if the engine 12 does not stop. On the other hand, when the quick wash or reduced load function is deactivated, the microprocessor 15 controls the stopping of the micromotor 12 so that each of these two successive rinses, then separated by a drain, have the same duration as the other rinses.

The program of shorter duration does not involve stopping the micromotor 12 (except for heating and / or stirring after the desired temperature has been reached) if the base time t₀ of the member 11 is sufficiently long, for example of the order of 1 minute 30 seconds or 2 minutes. In this case if it occurs, while the micromotor is running, a cut in the power supply to the machine the position of the cams makes it possible to determine the state of execution of the program and to resume the latter at the place where it had stopped when power was restored. If the cut-off occurs while the micromotor was stopped (the module 14 then controlling the operations of the programmer), the program restarts at the location determined by the cam block and it resumes at its beginning the phase controlled by the module 14 and which had been partially executed.

If the basic time t₀ of the member 11 is relatively short, for example of the order of 30 seconds, even the shortest program will involve, for stirring, stops of the micromotor 12 controlled by the member 14. For example for a fast program or reduced load the micromotor 12 is, for a given phase of the program, blocked for a time (f - 1) t₀, ft₀ (f integer) being the mixing time corresponding to the fast program, and for a normal washing program this micromotor 12 is stopped for a time (g - 1) t₀ for the same phase of the program, gt₀ (whole g) being greater than ft₀.

As seen above, it is usually expected that the laundry will be brewed after a heating period. This brewing time (after any steps) is generally longer as the temperature reached is lower. Thus for the programs with the highest bath temperatures (90 ° C in general) the stirring time after heating is the shortest. In this case, the member 11 is dimensioned to impose, after heating, a stirring time (the shortest) corresponding to the heating at the highest temperature. For heating at lower temperatures, the microprocessor controls the stopping of the micromotor 12 for a time all the longer as this temperature is lower. The stopping times of the micromotor 12 are for example in memory of the module 14, in a table giving these stopping times as a function of the heating temperature.

For the user, the program selection is made using rotary members 50 (FIG. 5) and 52 (FIG. 6). The button 50 has a notch 51 which can be positioned either on a PL mark or on a L start program mark. The PL position corresponds to a prewash and the L position to a washing without prewash. The button 52 has a notch 53 which can be positioned opposite the marks C, D, E, F, etc., corresponding to the desired temperature.

We see that unlike the prior art, the program start is the same (PL or L) regardless of the type of laundry and whatever the temperature selected.

In the prior art, the prewash is most often provided only with a cycle at 90 ° C. Even if it is planned with a cycle at lower temperature, the total execution time corresponds to the longest program: duration of a prewash and duration of the cycle at the highest temperature.

The invention makes it possible to adapt the execution time of the program to the programmed temperature, that is to say that, in one embodiment, it is provided that the prewash can be associated with any cycle, that is that is, the total duration will therefore be the duration of the prewash plus that of the programmed cycle. If the user selects a prewash the rotary switch 50 is positioned on this prewash mark. And the microprocessor 15 is programmed so that the cycle following the prewash corresponds to the temperature displayed by the potentiometer 18 (associated with the member 52).

In what has been described above in connection with FIG. 5, the member 50 actuated by the user rotates during the execution of the program from the starting position (prewash PL in the example) until the final position F. This rotation takes place at an angle slightly less than 360 °.

In a variant (FIG. 7) the rotary member 55 actuated by the user rotates by a much smaller angle between the start and the end of the execution of the program. For a first program C₁, for example for washing cotton, the member 55 rotates from position C₁ to position D₁, this position D₁ corresponding to the end of the program. On the other hand, when the switch is initially positioned on the E₁ position, it executes another program, for example of synthetic textiles, and turns to the F₁ position. One of these positions may correspond to a delayed start. The number of programs which it is possible to select in such an embodiment is all the more important as the number of operations which the electromechanical member with continuously rotating cam has to carry out is low. In other words, the number of programming possibilities is all the more important the lower the number of steps of the member 11, which are necessary for carrying out a program. Since with the invention this number of programming steps is reduced, the number of independent programs which it is possible to implement on the electromechanical element is therefore increased.

Such an organization of the command is called an organization in "chained programs". One revolution of the member 55 corresponds to the total number N of steps that the cam block can execute. Each program execution corresponds to a rotation of a determined angle of the rotary member 55. Given that with the invention the number of program steps of the cam block which are implemented is reduced it is understood why we can then provide a greater number of linked programs than with the previously known embodiments.

Claims (19)

Scheduled household appliance comprising, on the one hand, an electromechanical member (11) with micromotor (12), preferably synchronous, driving a cam (13) with continuous rotation forming a first time base and driving a cam block acting on switches or switches for controlling the first device (s) of the device, and, on the other hand, an electronic module (14) for controlling the second device (s) (10) of this device apparatus, characterized in that the module (14) comprises a second time base for controlling the stopping of the micromotor (12) of the member (11) during determined times which depend on the phases of the program itself. Apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that the electromechanical member (11) is dimensioned to control the program of the machine of shorter duration when the electronic module (14) does not command to stop the micromotor (12), longer programs being executed with stops, controlled by the module (14), of the micromotor (12). Apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the electromechanical member (11) is dimensioned for the sequence of the minimum number of different electrical situations necessary to execute a program. Apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the elementary time of the time base of the module (14) is equal to the minimum elementary time (t₀) between two operations controlled by the electromechanical member (11) . Apparatus according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that, in order to extend the duration of a program phase occurring between two switching operations controlled by a switch of the electromechanical member (11) by a determined time, the duration d the micromotor (12), controlled by the electronic module, is equal to this time determined minus the elementary time (t₀) of this organ (11). Apparatus according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that it comprises a tank in which a liquid is heated, with a probe (19) for measuring the temperature of this liquid and a member (18) for adjusting the setpoint temperature, and means for the module (14) to interrupt the operation of the micromotor (12) during the heating period until a temperature equal to the setpoint temperature (T _p ) reduced by the rise in temperature (Kt₀) corresponding to the passage time of the electromechanical member (11). Apparatus according to claim 6, characterized in that the electronic module (14) is provided for controlling the stopping of the rotation of the micromotor (12) for a predetermined time between two heating periods. Apparatus according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that a triac (16) controls the rotation of the micromotor (12). Apparatus according to any one of the preceding claims, this apparatus being a drum washing machine driven by an electric motor (10), characterized in that the electronic module (14) controls the operation of this drive motor (10) of the drum. Apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that at each operating phase of this apparatus, the module (14) imposes a downtime of the micromotor (12) of the electromechanical member (11). Washing machine type device according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that it includes a prewash program which can be associated with several washing temperatures, the total time of execution of the program varying with the temperature of the program. Apparatus according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the elementary time of the electromechanical member is at most 3 minutes. Washing machine type appliance according to any one of the preceding claims, comprising a rotary switch (50) for starting a program associated with the electromechanical member (11), characterized in that the programmer is arranged so that the starting position program is independent of the water heating temperature. Apparatus according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the electronic module (14) comprises a microprocessor or microcontroller (15) for managing the stops of the micromotor (12). Apparatus according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the micromotor (12) of the electromechanical member (11) is unique. Apparatus according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the cam means of the electromechanical member (11) are arranged so that the elementary time of this member is unique. Washing machine type device according to claim 1, characterized in that the module (14) imposes a downtime of the micromotor (12) of the electromechanical member (11) during temperature or soaking steps. Washing machine type device according to claim 1, characterized in that it includes a program with fast execution or reduced load for which, during an operating phase, the micromotor of the electromechanical member is not stopped , the same operating phase for a different program involving a stop of the micromotor controlled by the module (14). Washing machine type apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that different types of washing are controlled by separate successions of steps of the electromechanical member.

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