EP2202343B1 - Method for treating laundry and accompanying laundry machine - Google Patents

Description

The invention relates to a method for treating laundry in a washing machine and to a particularly suitable for carrying out this method washing machine. In particular, the invention relates to a process for the treatment of laundry with a controlled wetting phase (see US-A-20080282479 ). In the previously known washing machines, the water consumption is still relatively large. In addition, the water once in the drum or the tub of the washing machine is generally used only once and disposed of after use as wastewater. It is desirable to further reduce the water consumption of a washing machine.

When adjusting the amount of water required for washing in a program-controlled washing machine especially the wetting phase should be optimized so that each batch of laundry is wetted completely and evenly with a matched thereto amount of water in the tub before the actual washing process in the shortest possible time.

For this purpose, laundry in a multi-stage process has hitherto generally been treated with water by adding tap water to a drum located in a tub until the items of laundry have been sufficiently wetted. This is generally achieved when a level of water in the washing machine has reached a desired level and maintains it when the supply of water is interrupted. In this case, therefore, the water supply is generally carried out discontinuously in order to be able to detect a possible absorption of water by insufficiently wetted laundry items. This process can take up to ten minutes. The amount of water consumed and the time required for the use of the laundry depend on the absorbency of the laundry items. In general, a small amount of water and a quick and sufficient wetting (wetting) of the laundry items are desirable in order to achieve an optimal washing result.

In the DE 10 2004 039 662 A1 a program-controlled washing machine is described with a wetting process, which can be tuned to the amount of laundry in a washing drum rotatably mounted in a tub around a non-vertical axis by means of a water supply system and a control device. By the control device, the feed of water into the tub is time controllable, wherein the wetting process in as many phases (Ph1 to Ph3) is divided, as quantity levels (small, medium, large) are provided for the laundry to be treated.

In the WO 2008/000609 A1 and the WO 2008/003577 A1 In each case, a method for treating laundry is described in which the amount of water required for each washing process is to be optimized so that the respective submitted item of laundry should be completely and evenly wetted with a respective amount of water adjusted to it in as short a time as possible , A determination of the amount of laundry in such a post is not provided.

The US 2008/0282479 A1 describes a washing machine with a rotating drum and a tub, a pump for the circulation of washing liquid between the drum and tub, a water level sensor for measuring and output of the water level in the tub, and a control instrument which receives the output and controls the activation of this pump. The control instrument is programmed to determine the loading of the drum with laundry based on a changing water level in the tub. In a preferred method of determining the amount of charge, the water level in the tub is compared during the circulation in the stationary state with the water level after completion of the circulation and evaluated the difference in terms of the load.

The previously known wetting processes or phases can be further optimized. For example, the known wetting processes take insufficiently different sized laundry items into account, so that no complete wetting takes place at very large laundry loads (ie, laundry items near the loading limit). In contrast, the wetting phase for small items of laundry often takes too long, measured by their wetting success. In addition, in the known wetting processes, the uniformity of wetting can be further improved.

The object of the invention is therefore to provide a method for the treatment of laundry in a washing machine, in which a water consumption is significantly reduced and the wetting phase can be controlled so that the amount and / or type of laundry in the washing machine is taken into account.

The object is also to show a suitable for performing this method washing machine.

The solution of this object is achieved according to this invention by a method for the treatment of laundry with the features of the corresponding independent claim and the washing machine of the corresponding independent claim. Preferred embodiments of the inventive method and the washing machine according to the invention are listed in corresponding dependent claims. Preferred embodiments of the method according to the invention correspond to preferred embodiments of the washing machine according to the invention and vice versa, although this is not explicitly stated herein.

1. (a) eine Menge M_o an Wasser in den Laugenbehälter eingefüllt wird, bis eine vorgegebene Höhe h_set und/oder ein vorgegebener hydrostatischer Druck p_set erreicht ist;
2. (b) nach einer vorgegebenen Zeit t_set1 und einer vorgegebenen Anzahl n_set von Drehungen der Trommel eine im Laugenbehälter vorhandene Menge M_l an ungebundenem Wasser in den Wasserspeicher gepumpt wird; und
3. (c) die Menge M_l an in den Wasserspeicher gepumptem ungebundenen Wasser, das Verhältnis M_l / M_o und/oder ein zeitlicher Gradient (Δh/Δt) für die Höhe h der wässrigen Flüssigkeit und/oder ein zeitlicher Gradient (Δp/Δt) für den hydrostatischen Druck p zur Bestimmung einer Beladungsmenge mit Wäsche und/oder einer Wäscheart ausgewertet wird.

The invention thus relates to a method for the treatment of laundry in a washing machine with a program control, a drum rotatably mounted in a tub, a sensor for determining a height h and / or a hydrostatic pressure p an aqueous liquid in the tub, a water reservoir and a between the water reservoir and the tub arranged first pump, wherein in a wetting phase

1. (A) an amount M _o of water is filled in the tub until a predetermined height h _set and / or a predetermined hydrostatic pressure p _{set is} reached;
2. (b) after a predetermined time t _set1 and a predetermined number n _set of rotations of the drum, an amount M _l of unbound water present in the tub is pumped into the water reservoir; and
3. (c) the amount M _{l of} unbound water pumped into the water reservoir, the ratio M _l / M _o and / or a time gradient (Δh / Δt) for the height h of the aqueous liquid and / or a time gradient (Δp / Δt ) for the hydrostatic pressure p is evaluated to determine a load of laundry and / or a type of laundry.

In a preferred embodiment of this method, a defined water content in the laundry is set in a step (d) as a function of the determined load with laundry and / or the type of laundry by rotating the drum with a predetermined _speed U _set for a predetermined period t _set2 .

Preferably, in the method according to the invention in a washing phase in a step (e), an amount M _{p of} the amount M _l of unbound water pumped into the water reservoir, where M _p ≦ M _l, is passed to the suds container via an induction bowl. In this case, it is again preferred that the quantity M _{p is selected} as a function of a relationship stored in the program control between the amount M _p and the loading amount with laundry and / or the type of laundry.

The introduction of water through the dispenser tray is typically performed to provide detergent for the wash phase in the drum.

In step (a) of the process according to the invention, water which is partly or exclusively present in the water reservoir is preferably passed into the lye container. Very particularly preferably, water which is present exclusively in the water reservoir is passed into the tub.

In the process according to the invention, a washing phase generally follows a wetting phase. Preferably, after a washing phase, a wash liquor is pumped out of the tub by means of the first pump for disposal. This would eliminate the need for a separate pump to dispose of the wash liquor.

Preferably, in step (b) of the process, the drum is rotated for a few seconds or minutes at a speed of 10 to 50 revolutions per minute.

The hydrostatic pressure p measured in method step (a) with the aid of the sensor can be compared with the amount of water charged. The laundry in the drum absorbs water, which therefore can not contribute to an increase in the hydrostatic pressure. By comparing the measured hydrostatic pressure and the filled amount of water M _o - the absolute values and their temporal change - with corresponding stored in the program control of the washing machine values for washing moisture can be the amount of present in the drum laundry and their Durchfeuchtungsgrad ( Wetting degree). As a result, the duration of the wetting phase can be tuned very precisely to the amount of laundry present.

The method step (c) preferably uses the circumstance that with increasing saturation of the laundry with water, there is more relatively free water, which due to gravity can run back from the laundry into the tub comparatively quickly. Thus, when the drum is at a standstill, by tracking the time change of the hydrostatic pressure p, it is possible to detect the load of laundry and its wetting or the type of laundry.

In an advantageous embodiment of the invention, the direction of rotation of the laundry drum corresponds to the direction of effectiveness of a scooping device. Here, the laundry is thoroughly moistened, so that the amount of the accumulated water can be determined more accurately.

For the determination of the filled amount of water M _o , a measuring device may be present, for example a time measuring device for determining the opening period of a feed valve for the water or a liquid amount measuring device for measuring the filled amount of liquid. These are inventively arranged in a line between the water reservoir and the tub and / or in a line between the water supply and the tub, depending on whether water from the water reservoir and / or tap water is used.

1. a) eine Menge M_o an Wasser in den Laugenbehälter (1) eingefüllt wird, bis eine vorgegebene Höhe h_set und/oder ein vorgegebener hydrostatischer Druck p_set erreicht ist;
2. b) nach einer vorgegebenen Zeit t_set1 und einer vorgegebenen Anzahl n_set von Drehungen der Trommel (2) eine im Laugenbehälter (1) vorhandene Menge M_l an ungebundenem Wasser in den Wasserspeicher (16) gepumpt wird; und
3. c) die Menge M_l an in den Wasserspeicher (16) gepumptem ungebundenem Wasser, das Verhältnis M_l / M_o und/oder ein zeitlicher Gradient (Δh/Δt) für die

Höhe h der wässrigen Flüssigkeit und/oder ein zeitlicher Gradient (Δp/Δt) für den hydrostatischen Druck p zur Bestimmung einer Beladungsmenge mit Wäsche und/oder einer Wäscheart ausgewertet wird.The invention also relates to a washing machine with a program control, a rotatably mounted in a tub drum, a sensor for Determining a height h and / or a hydrostatic pressure p of an aqueous liquid present in the tub, wherein the washing machine comprises a water reservoir and a first pump arranged between the water reservoir and the tub, and wherein the program control (12) is arranged to carry out a method for Treatment of laundry, in which process in a wetting phase:

1. a) an amount M _o of water in the tub (1) is filled until a predetermined height h _set and / or a predetermined hydrostatic pressure p _{set is} reached;
2. b) after a predetermined time t _set1 and a predetermined number n _set of rotations of the drum (2) in the tub (1) existing amount M _l of unbound water in the water reservoir (16) is pumped; and
3. c) the amount M _{l of} unbound water pumped into the water reservoir (16), the ratio M _l / M _o and / or a time gradient (Δh / Δt) for the

Height h of the aqueous liquid and / or a temporal gradient (.DELTA.p / .DELTA.t) is evaluated for the hydrostatic pressure p for determining a loading amount with laundry and / or a type of laundry.

In a preferred embodiment of this washing machine, the first pump is also arranged between the tub and a waste water outlet. By this arrangement, the use of a second pump is unnecessary, because a single pump can be used both for water transport between the water reservoir and the tub and for the removal of wash liquor from the tub via a wastewater outlet.

In an alternative embodiment of the washing machine according to the invention, however, a second pump is arranged between the tub and a waste water outlet.

In general, the washing machine according to the invention has a liquor outlet system arranged at the bottom of the tub and a heater for heating the aqueous liquid. When using water from the water storage is advantageous in this case that water can be used from room temperature and possibly the heat energy required for the heating of relatively cold tap water by means of the heating can be saved.

The invention has further advantages. With the method according to the invention, it is possible to significantly reduce the amount of water used in a laundry treatment process in a washing machine, wherein at the same time a wetting phase can be optimally adjusted to the amount and / or type of laundry to be treated, so that at more uniform Wetting the laundry before the actual washing process with the optimum amount of water or alkali is wetted.

• Figur 1 zeigte eine erste Ausführungsform einer Waschmaschine, bei der nur eine Pumpe verwendet wird.
• Figur 2 zeigt eine zweite Ausführungsform einer Waschmaschine, bei der zwei Pumpen verwendet werden.

Further details of the invention will become apparent from the following description of non-limiting embodiments of the inventive method and a washing machine used in this method. Reference is made to the FIGS. 1 and 2 ,

• FIG. 1 showed a first embodiment of a washing machine in which only one pump is used.
• FIG. 2 shows a second embodiment of a washing machine, in which two pumps are used.

FIG. 1 is a schematic representation of the presently relevant parts of a washing machine, in which a method now to be explained exactly. Other embodiments are conceivable. The washing machine of the FIG. 1 embodiment shown has a tub 1, in which a drum 2 rotatably mounted and operated by a drive motor 14. According to recent findings for the ergonomics in dealing with such washing machines, the axis of rotation 3 of the drum 2 from the horizontal by a small angle (eg 13 °) directed forwardly upwards so that you have easier access and insight into the interior of the drum 2 , By this arrangement, in conjunction with specially shaped Wäschemitnehmern 4 and 5 Schöpfeinrichtungen for the wash liquor 6 on the inner surface of the drum shell also also an intensification of the washing of the laundry 7 with wash liquor and a reduction of the free liquor reached, ie the amount of wash liquor in the tub , by the saturated laundry can no longer be absorbed (essentially below the lowest point of the drum 2).

The washing machine also has a liquor inlet system comprising a water connection fitting for the domestic water network 8, an electrically controllable valve 9 and a supply line 10 to the tub 1, which may optionally also be guided via a Waschmitteleinspüleinrichtung ("Einspülschale") 11, from which the feed water Can transport detergent into the tub. In addition, in the tub 1, a heater 13. The valve 9 as well as the heater 13 can be controlled by a control device ("program control") 12 in response to a program flowchart of a time program and / or the achievement of certain measurements of Parameters such as the amount of liquid in the tub, reaching the amount M _o , alkaline level, liquor temperature, speed of the laundry drum, etc. may be bound within the washing machine.

15 means a sensor for measuring a hydrostatic pressure p and / or a height h of an aqueous liquid in the tub 1. 17 means a first pump which is arranged between a water reservoir 16 and the tub 1. The water reservoir 16 is connected via a line 19 with the dispenser 11, so that water present in the water tank 16 can be used for the flushing of detergent before the actual washing phase.

At the in Fig. 1 In the embodiment shown, the pump is arranged at the same time between a waste water outlet 18 and the tub 1. Thus, by switching of ports on the first pump 17 either a connection between the water reservoir 16 and the tub 1 or between the waste water outlet 18 and the tub 1 can be made. As a result, at the in FIG. 1 shown washing machine only one pump necessary.

FIG. 2 on the other hand shows a second embodiment of a washing machine, in which two pumps are used. A first pump 17 is in this case between the water reservoir 16 and the tub 1. In addition, a second pump 20 is disposed between the waste water outlet 18 and the tub 1.

The water reservoir 16 is connected via a line 19 with the dispenser 11, so that water present in the water tank 16 can be used for the flushing of detergent before the actual washing phase.

1. a) eine Menge M_o an Wasser in den Laugenbehälter 1 eingefüllt wird, bis eine vorgegebene Höhe h_set und/oder ein vorgegebener hydrostatischer Druck p_set erreicht ist;
2. b) nach einer vorgegebenen Zeit t_set1 und einer vorgegebenen Anzahl n_set von Drehungen der Trommel 2 eine im Laugenbehälter 1 vorhandene Menge M_l an ungebundenem Wasser in den Wasserspeicher 16 gepumpt wird; und
3. c) die Menge M_l an in den Wasserspeicher 16 gepumptem ungebundenem Wasser, das Verhältnis M_l / M_o und/oder ein zeitlicher Gradient (Δh/Δt) für die Höhe h der wässrigen Flüssigkeit und/oder ein zeitlicher Gradient (Δp/Δt) für den hydrostatischen Druck p zur Bestimmung einer Beladungsmenge mit Wäsche und/oder einer Wäscheart ausgewertet wird.

In any case, in the respective washing machine, the program control 12 is set up to carry out a method for treating laundry, in which process in a wetting phase:

1. a) an amount M _o of water is introduced into the tub 1 until a predetermined height h _set and / or a predetermined hydrostatic pressure p _{set is} reached;
2. b) after a predetermined time t _set1 and a predetermined number n _set of rotations of the drum 2, an amount M _l of unbound water present in the tub 1 is pumped into the water reservoir 16; and
3. c) the amount M _{l of} unbound water pumped into the water reservoir 16, the ratio M _l / M _o and / or a time gradient (Δh / Δt) for the height h of the aqueous liquid and / or a temporal gradient (Δp / Δt ) is evaluated for the hydrostatic pressure p to determine a loading amount with laundry and / or a type of laundry.

Further, in a step (d), a defined water content in the laundry is _set for a predetermined period of time t _set2 by rotating the drum 2 at a predetermined revolution number U _set in response to the determined amount of load with laundry and / or the type of laundry. In addition, in a washing phase in a step (e), an amount M _{p of} the quantity M _l of unbound water pumped into the water reservoir 16, where M _p ≦ M _l, is conducted into the suds container 1 via an induction bowl 11. In addition, the amount M _{p is selected} depending on a relationship between the amount M _p stored in the program control and a load amount of laundry and / or a laundry type.

Claims (10)

1. Method for treating laundry in a washing machine having a program controller (12), a drum (2) mounted rotatably in an outer tub (1), a sensor (15) for determining a height h and/or a hydrostatic pressure p of an aqueous liquid located in the outer tub (1), a water tank (16) and a first pump (17) arranged between the water tank (16) and the outer tub (1), wherein in a wetting phase

   (a) a quantity M_o of water is conveyed into the outer tub (1) until a predetermined height h_set and/or a predetermined hydrostatic pressure p_set is reached, characterised in that

   (b) after a predetermined time t _set1 and a predetermined number n_set of rotations of the drum (2), a quantity M_I of free water present in the outer tub (1) is pumped into the water tank (16); and

   (c) the quantity M_I of free water pumped into the water tank (16), the ratio M_I / M_o and/or a temporal gradient (Δh/Δt) for the height h of the aqueous liquid and/or a temporal gradient (Δp/Δt) for the hydrostatic pressure p is evaluated in order to determine a load quantity with laundry and/or a type of laundry.
2. Method according to claim 1, characterised in that in a step (d), as a function of the determined load quantity with laundry and/or the type of laundry, a defined water content in the laundry is set by rotating the drum (2) at a predetermined speed U_set for a predetermined period of time t_set2.
3. Method according to claim 1 or 2, characterised in that in a wash phase in a step (e), a quantity M_p of the quantity M_I of free water pumped into the water tank (16), where M_p≤M_I, is routed through a detergent dispenser tray (11) into the outer tub (1).
4. Method according to claim 3, characterised in that the quantity M_p is selected as a function of an association, stored in the program controller, between the quantity M_p and a load quantity with laundry and/or a type of laundry.
5. Method according to one of claims 1 to 4, characterised in that in step (a), water present in part or exclusively in the water tank (16) is routed into the outer tub (1).
6. Method according to one of claims 1 to 4, characterised in that following a washing process a wash liquor is pumped out of the outer tub (1) using the first pump (17) for drainage purposes.
7. Method according to one of claims 1 to 6, characterised in that in step (b) the drum (2) is rotated with a speed of 10 to 50 rpm for a few seconds or minutes.
8. Washing machine having a program controller (12), a drum (2) mounted rotatably in an outer tub (1), a sensor (15) for determining a height h and/or a hydrostatic pressure p of an aqueous liquid located in the outer tub (1), wherein the washing machine comprises a water tank (16) and a first pump (17) arranged between the water tank (16) and the outer tub (1) and the program controller (12) is designed to carry out a method for treating laundry, in which method, in a wetting phase:

   a) a quantity M_o of water is conveyed into the outer tub (1) until a predetermined height h_set and/or a predetermined hydrostatic pressure p_set is reached, characterised in that

   (b) after a predetermined time t _set1 and a predetermined number n_set of rotations of the drum (2), a quantity M_I of free water present in the outer tub (1) is pumped into the water tank (16); and

   (c) the quantity M_I of free water pumped into the water tank (16), the ratio M_I / M_o and/or a temporal gradient (Δh/Δt) for the height h of the aqueous liquid and/or a temporal gradient (Δp/Δt) for the hydrostatic pressure p is evaluated in order to determine a load quantity with laundry and/or a type of laundry.
9. Washing machine according to claim 8, characterised in that the first pump (17) is also arranged between the outer tub (1) and a drain outlet (18).
10. Washing machine according to claim 8, characterised in that a second pump (20) is arranged between the outer tub (1) and a drain outlet (18).

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