ES2686139T3 - Procedure for the treatment of garments to be washed, as well as a washing machine suitable for this - Google Patents

Abstract

Procedure for treating garments to be washed (7) with an aqueous washing liquid in a washing machine with a drainage system for the washing liquid (18) arranged at the bottom of a washing tub (1), a drum (2) supported such that it can rotate and a heating device (13, 16) for direct heating of a load (a1) of items to be washed (7) containing the washing liquid, including steps a) adding the washing liquid to the load (a1) and wetting of the garments to be washed (7); b) direct heating of the wetted garments (7) by means of the heating device (13, 16) and c) addition of water with a temperature Tw of at most 40 ° C to release the washing liquid from the garments to be washed (7 ), characterized in that in step a) washing liquid is added in an amount (a2) less than or equal to an amount (a3) necessary to saturate the garments to be washed (7) with water, that is, the amount of saturation and in step b) the direct heating of the garments to be washed (7) containing washing liquid with hot foam, hot air and / or electromagnetic radiation, obtained using the heating device (13, 16) and without the intermediation of a rest of unbound wash liquid.

Description

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PROCEDURE FOR THE TREATMENT OF GARMENTS, AS WELL AS MACHINE

WASHER SUITABLE FOR IT

DESCRIPTION

The invention relates to a process for treating clothes to be washed in a washing machine, as well as to a washing machine especially suitable for performing that procedure.

In known washing procedures, the items to be washed are treated with a certain amount of water, which is sufficient to saturate the items to be washed with water, as well as with an additional minimum free washing liquid, in general from 2 to 3 liters, which makes possible an exchange of substances between bound and free washing liquid. In this way, a heat transfer between the heater that heats the free washing liquid and the laundry to be washed can be carried out in particular. The adjustment of the amount of water is ensured in each individual case by appropriate procedures to regulate the level of water in the drum and adapt the amount to the absorption capacity of the laundry to be washed. The free washing liquid results by subtracting the amount of water bound in the garments to be washed from the amount of water introduced into the washing machine. The cotton fabric binds approximately 200% of its own weight, whereby a loading amount of 6 kg of cotton fabric binds approximately 12 liters of water.

In this procedure, during the heating and due to the continuous exchange of washing liquid linked to free and vice versa, both the detergent substances are taken to the garment to be washed as well as the dirt dissolved from the garment to be washed. Since many kinds of dirt can only be dissolved on or in clothes to be washed at an elevated temperature, both the free and the bound washing liquid must be heated during the heating phase.

The energy consumption of a washing machine is essentially determined by the energy needed to heat the water. A reduction in the amount of water in a washing machine would therefore be desirable, in particular a reduction in the amount of free washing liquid. However, in a traditional washing machine, the transport of heat from the heater to the laundry to be washed must be guaranteed by means of the free washing liquid. Therefore, it is difficult to achieve any reduction in the free washing liquid and thus a reduction in energy consumption.

The known measures to reduce the free washing liquid in a drum washing machine are the reduction of a gap between the drum and the wash basin or an external heating of the washing liquid in a circulation heater. However, all measures have in common the need for a certain additional proportion, albeit reduced, of free washing liquid for heating.

A method with the features of the preamble of claim 1 is known from WO 2006/101362 A, An object of the invention is therefore to provide a method for treating laundry in a washing machine in which respect to known procedures can be saved energy and / or water.

An objective is also to show a suitable washing machine to perform this procedure.

In the context of the invention, these objectives are achieved by means of a procedure with the characteristics of claim 1 and by a washing machine with the characteristics of claim 11. In addition, preferred configuration variants of the process correspond to preferred configuration variants of the machine washer and vice versa, even when no reference is made to it in detail.

The invention thus relates to a process for treating clothes to be washed with an aqueous washing liquid in a washing machine with a washing liquid drainage system arranged at the bottom of a washing bucket, a drum supported such that it can rotate and a heating device for direct heating of a load of laundry to be washed containing the washing liquid, including the process the steps

a) adding the washing liquid to the load (a1) in an amount (a2) less than or equal to an amount (a3) necessary for saturation of the laundry with water ("saturation amount") and wetting the garments a to wash;

b) direct heating of the garments to be wetted by means of the heating device and

c) adding water with a Tw temperature of a maximum of 40 ° C to release the washing liquid from the items to be washed.

In a preferred embodiment of this procedure, stage c) is performed only after stage b) is completed.

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The Tw temperature of the water in step c) is preferably at most 30 ° C.

Preferably, the direct heating of the clothes to be washed containing washing liquid with hot foam, hot air, water vapor and / or electromagnetic radiation, obtained using the heating device, is carried out.

The heating device for directly heating the load containing the washing liquid can be mounted on the washing machine according to the invention in various places. Preferably, the heating device is arranged in the wash basin and in particular in the drum.

When the garments to be heated moisturized with hot foam are heated, after step a) the hot foam is preferably generated by rotating the drum with a rotation speed U1 which is less than an adhesion rotation speed Ua of the garments to be washed, the heating device is connected and the foam is heated. The rate of rotation of adhesion Ua of the laundry is the speed of rotation of the drum at which the clothes to be washed can rest on an inner wall of the drum, for example a speed of rotation in the range of 300 to 500 revolutions per minute.

When heating with hot foam, direct heating of the items to be washed can be caused. The temperature gradient can be adjusted by the power of the heating device, as well as the density of the foam. Since the surface of the garments to be washed is heated in the first place, it is advantageous that the laundry is strongly twisted. This can be done advantageously by reversing the direction of rotation of the drum for a rotation speed of 30 to 100 revolutions per minute.

Heating in step b) by electromagnetic radiation is preferably caused by microwave heating and / or an infrared radiator ("IR radiator").

In the microwave heating, a direct heating of the washing liquid (surfactant solution) bound in the garments to be washed is also possible. The temperature gradient can then be adjusted by microwave power. When using microwave heating, pay attention that there is no short circuit due to metal parts, if any, existing in the laundry. In addition, certain artificial fibers, if necessary, are not stable in microwave heating. This could, for example, damage clothes to be washed when they have polyester seams.

In the case of heating with an IR radiator, direct heating of the items to be washed is also possible. The temperature gradient can be adjusted using the power of the IR radiator. Since, in particular, the surface of the pieces of fabrics is heated, it is then advantageous to redistribute the items to be washed by reversing the direction of rotation of the drum.

The heating of the garments to be wetted with hot air has the advantage that a temperature gradient can be adjusted, which can reduce heat loss.

To generate hot air, a heater known by a clothes dryer can basically be used. The use of hot air is therefore especially advantageous in a combined apparatus, which combines the function of a washing machine with that of a clothes dryer.

In hot steam heating, the air may be saturated at the temperature applied with water vapor (saturated steam) or unsaturated. The advantage of using hot steam is a better heat transmission between a heater and water.

In the process according to the invention, the drum operates in step b) preferably for a period of 10 to 30 minutes at a rotation speed of 30 to 100 revolutions per minute, especially preferably 40 to 70 revolutions. per minute. Thus, in particular, a good redistribution of the items to be washed is achieved, whereby the heating of the wetted items to be washed, which generally takes place on their surface, can be carried out as uniformly as possible, due to the better accessibility of the surface.

In stage c) only essentially dissolved dirt can be released in stage b), which has remained in the laundry.

After stage c) has elapsed, the washing process itself has generally ended. In the sequence of the program below, the clothes to be washed can be clarified and centrifuged, as in a traditional washing program.

In the process according to the invention, the items to be washed from the load contain at most the amount of water necessary for saturation of the items to be washed with washing liquid.

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Preferably, the relationship between quantity (a2) and quantity (a3) is found in the range of 0.5 to 0.9. When hot steam is used in step b), the relationship between the quantity (a2) and the quantity (a3) is preferably in the range of 0.5 to 0.7.

For example, for a load (a1) of 6 kg with clothes to be washed in cotton fabric, a quantity of water (a2) of 10 liters (for example 8 liters when using water vapor) could be used.

When it comes to cotton fabric, the amount of saturation (a3) of water is approximately double the amount of load (a1). In artificial fibers, which absorb water to a lesser extent, the amount of saturation (a3) may be clearly less. The values for the amount of saturation (a3) are known per se, so the amount of water (a2) can be prescribed in advance in a washing program.

Then the amount of charge (a1) can be determined, if necessary, by a measure known per se. Therefore, a first sensor is advantageously used in the process according to the invention to determine the amount of liquid or a foam that is in the wash basin, the sensor signal of which can be followed during the procedure.

To determine the amount of charge (a1), for example, a hydrostatic pressure p measured with the amount of water or washing liquid introduced can be compared at the stage of the process a). The laundry found in the drum absorbs water or washing liquid, which cannot therefore contribute to increasing the hydrostatic pressure. By comparing the measured hydrostatic pressure p and / or the time gradient of the hydrostatic pressure p with the corresponding values stored in a program controller of a washing machine for thorough wetting of the laundry, the load of laundry (load quantity (a1)) and its degree of wetting or wetting. As a result, the wetting duration in step a) can be adjusted with great precision to the predetermined casting load. In this way, a wetting of the laundry load sufficient for the process according to the invention is signaled in general, whereby stage a) has ended and stage b) can begin.

In the process according to the invention, it is advantageous to monitor a temperature in the drum. For this, a second sensor is preferably arranged in the washing machine to determine the temperature in the drum.

The amount of water or washing liquid to be used in the process according to the invention can be further reduced by rotating the drum during steps a) and / or b) with a high rotational speed. The water / washing liquid contained in the garments to be washed is then centrifuged and a reduction in the amount of water or washing liquid necessary for saturation is achieved.

In addition, a washing machine with a program controller for controlling a program sequence, a drum supported by a wash basin such that it can rotate, a washing liquid drain system arranged at the bottom of the water tray washing and a drive motor for the drum, the washing machine additionally having a heating device for directly heating a load (a1) with laundry items containing the washing liquid.

The heating device is, in a first preferred embodiment, a device for generating steam or hot air. In a second preferred embodiment, the heating device is a microwave heating apparatus and / or an IR radiator.

Preferably, in the washing machine according to the invention, a first sensor is used to determine an amount of a liquid and, in the case, foam found in the wash basin, the sensor signal being able to be followed preferably during the procedure.

It is further preferred that a second sensor is arranged in the washing machine according to the invention to determine a temperature in the drum.

The invention has the advantage over traditional procedures that a clearly smaller amount of water or washing liquid is heated. This amount essentially corresponds to the amount necessary for saturation of the laundry to be washed, which can be reduced even by an adequate rapid rotation of the drum during heating. In this way a clear saving of water and energy is possible.

An exemplary embodiment of the invention will be described in more detail below based on Figure 1.

Figure 1 is a schematic representation of the parts that are relevant for the following description of an embodiment of a washing machine in which a procedure as described above can be performed. You can also think of other embodiments.

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The washing machine of the embodiment shown in Fig. 1 has a wash basin 1, on which a drum 2 is supported such that it can rotate and can be driven by a drive motor 14. The axis of rotation 3 of the drum 2 is oriented with respect to the horizontal at a small angle (for example 13 °) forward and upward, whereby an easy access and inspection possibility is obtained inside the drum 2. A few draggers of the laundry 4 allow a redistribution of the laundry items 7 when the drum rotates 2. Blade devices 5 enable intense rinsing of laundry items 7 that have already been cleaned.

In the embodiment shown in Figure 1 there is a heating device 16 outside the wash basin 1 and the drum 2. The heating device 16 shown in Figure 1 can in particular provide hot air or water vapor.

Alternatively, a foam can be heated if necessary in step b) of the process described above and generated by rotating the drum 2 with the laundry items 7 by means of a heating device 13 disposed at the bottom of the wash basin 1. By rotating the The washing liquid is centrifuged in part from the garments to be washed 7 and thoroughly mixed with air intensely such that foam 7 is formed. The rotating drum 2 can also introduce air into the washing liquid under the drum. 2 in the wash basin 1 and thus cause foaming. Foaming can be reinforced by adding a corresponding detergent to the washing liquid.

The washing machine of Figure 1 also presents a washing liquid inlet system 8, 9, 10 that includes a water connector, for the domestic water network 8, a valve 9 that can be electrically controlled and a connection 10 for the wash basin 1, which, if necessary, can be conducted through a detergent mixing device (“mixing box”) 11, from which the inlet water with a detergent previously placed there can be transported to the wash basin 1. The valve 9, like the heating device 13, can be controlled by a control device ("program controller") 12 based on a program sequence plan, which can be linked to a time program and / or that certain parameter measurement values are reached, such as the speed of rotation of the drum 2 inside the washing machine.

A washing liquid drainage system 18 with the possible necessary ducts, as well as a drain valve and pump for the washing liquid, have only been schematically represented as an arrow, for a better view of the assembly, since they are known per se.

A first sensor 15 for measuring the hydrostatic pressure p is provided in the wash basin 1. In addition, a second sensor 17 is provided to determine a temperature in the drum 2. The second sensor 17 can of course also be located in an intermediate space between the wash basin 1 and drum 2.

In the embodiment shown here, in step a) of the process described above to treat the laundry to be washed 7, water is introduced in an amount sufficient for a space between the wash basin 1 and the drum 2, at one end Bottom of the drum, be filled with water and can wet the clothes to be washed 7. This washing liquid is absorbed again and again by the clothes to be washed 7 until they are wetted until saturation. No more washing liquid or water has to be added. The heating of the clothes to be washed 7 with the washing liquid linked thereto is carried out directly without intermediation of a remainder of unbound washing liquid. Then the dirt of the clothes to be washed 7 is dissolved first, but it is not completely washed away by the liquid. This is only done in a next stage by means of additionally added water, not heated or in any case that has not been heated much, which no longer has to contribute to the release of dirt, but only to remove it by washing the garments to be washed 7. A relatively low temperature of a maximum of 40 ° C is sufficient for this and if possible even only a maximum of 30 ° C. The heating energy required is therefore very low, since the heating energy is consumed primarily only for the washing liquid linked to the laundry 7 to be treated.

Claims (12)

5 10 fifteen twenty 25 30 35 40 Four. Five fifty 55 60 65 1. Procedure for treating clothes to be washed (7) with an aqueous washing liquid in a washing machine with a washing liquid drainage system (18) arranged at the bottom of a washing tank (1), a drum (2 ) supported such that it can rotate and a heating device (13, 16) for direct heating of a load (a1) of laundry items (7) containing the washing liquid, including the steps a) adding the washing liquid to the load (a1) and wetting the clothes to be washed (7); b) direct heating of the items to be washed (7) moistened by the heating device (13, 16) and c) adding water with a Tw temperature of a maximum of 40 ° C to release the washing liquid from the items to be washed (7), characterized because in step a) washing liquid is added in an amount (a2) less than or equal to an amount (a3) necessary for saturation of the laundry to be washed (7) with water, that is, amount of saturation and in the stage b) the direct heating of the clothes to be washed (7) containing washing liquid with hot foam, hot air and / or electromagnetic radiation, obtained using the heating device (13, 16) and without intermediation of a remaining washing liquid not bound. 2. Method according to claim 1, characterized in that stage c) is only performed after the end of stage b). 3. Method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the Tw temperature of the water in step c) is a maximum of 30 ° C. 4. Method according to one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the wetted laundry items (7) are heated with hot foam, after step a) the hot foam is generated by rotating the drum with a rotation speed U1 which is less than a rotation speed of adhesion Ua from the laundry, the heating device (13, 16) is connected and the foam is heated. 5. Method according to one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the heating in step b) is caused by electromagnetic radiation using a microwave heater (16) or an IR radiator (16). 6. Method according to one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that the drum (2) operates reversed in step b) for a period of 10 to 30 minutes at a rotation speed of 30 to 100 revolutions per minute. 7. Method according to one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that a ratio between quantity (a2) and quantity (a3) is between 0.5 and 0.9. 8. Washing machine with a program controller (12) to control the sequence of the program, a drum (2) supported by a wash basin (1) such that it can rotate, a washing liquid drain system (18) arranged at the bottom of the wash basin (1) and a drive motor (14) for the drum (2), the washing machine having a heating device (13, 16) to directly heat a load (a1) of laundry items (7) that contains the washing liquid and equipped to perform a procedure that includes the steps: a) adding washing liquid to the load (a1) and wetting the clothes to be washed (7); b) direct heating of the items to be washed (7) moistened by the heating device (13, 16) and c) adding water with a Tw temperature of a maximum of 40 ° C to release the washing liquid from the items to be washed (7), characterized in that the washing machine is equipped to in step a) add washing liquid in an amount (a2) less than or equal to an amount (a3) necessary for saturation of the laundry to be washed (7) with water, that is, amount of saturation and in stage b ) cause direct heating of garments to be washed (7) containing washing liquid with hot foam, hot air and / or electromagnetic radiation, obtained using the heating device (13, 16) and without intermediation of a remaining washing liquid not bound. 9. Washing machine according to claim 8, characterized in that the heating device (13, 16) is a device (16) for generating hot air. 10. Washing machine according to claim 8, characterized in that the heating device (13, 16) is a microwave heating device (16) and / or an IR radiator. 11. Washing machine according to one of claims 8 to 10, 5 characterized in that the heating device (13, 16) is arranged in the wash basin (1). 12. Washing machine according to one of claims 8 to 11, characterized in that a second sensor (17) is arranged to determine a temperature in the drum (2). 10