JP2002011287A - Electric washing machine - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To enhance the rinsing efficiency to reduce the consumption of rinsing water. SOLUTION: In rinsing process, the rinsing water in an outer tub 5 is rotated by rotating a washing and spinning tub 2 to centrifugally push up the rinsing water along the sidewall inner surface of the outer tub, so that a part of the rinsing water is circulated so as to sprinkle water into the washing and spinning tub from above the washing and spinning tub, and the remainder is made to flow out of the outer tub through an overflow port 5a and drained.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

[0001] The present invention relates to an electric washing machine.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a general electric washing machine, an outer tub is suspended and supported by an anti-vibration support mechanism in an outer frame, and a washing / dewatering tub and a stirring blade are rotatably installed inside the outer tub. The stirring blade is independently driven by an electric driving device installed outside the bottom of the outer tub, or the washing and dewatering tub and the stirring blade are integrally rotated. Then, by opening and closing the water supply solenoid valve, water is supplied from the water supply port into the washing and dewatering tub (outer tub), and the laundry is stirred by rotating the stirring blade in a state where the washing water is stored in the outer tub. Executes the washing process of washing (washing and rinsing), drains the washing water in the outer tub by opening and closing the drain solenoid valve, and rotates the washing and dewatering tub and the stirring blades at high speed integrally to wash the laundry. A dehydration step of centrifugal dehydration is performed.

[0003]

In such an electric washing machine, in the rinsing step, the washing is stirred in the laundry by rotating the stirring blades while the rinsing water is kept in the tub. A pool rinsing method that repeats the process of dissolving water (detergent components and dirt components) in the rinsing water and then draining it,
The washing water (detergent component and dirt component) in the laundry is stirred by rotating the stirring blade and stirring the laundry while continuously supplying the rinsing water into the tub and overflowing and draining excess rinsing water. An overflow rinsing method of dissolving in water and draining water is employed.

[0004] The problem in the rinsing process of such an electric washing machine is that, since the consumption of rinsing water is large, the rinsing efficiency is increased so that detergent components and dirt components can be removed with a small amount of rinsing water. is there.

[0005] Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide an electric washing machine capable of improving the rinsing efficiency and removing detergent components and dirt components with a small amount of rinsing water.

[0006]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION According to the present invention, a washing and dewatering tub rotatably installed inside an outer tub and an electric drive device for rotatingly driving a stirring blade are installed outside the bottom of the outer tub to supply water. By opening and closing the solenoid valve, the washing and dewatering tub and the outer tub are supplied with water, and a washing step of washing by stirring the laundry by rotating the stirring blades in a state of storing the washing water is performed. In an electric washing machine that performs a dehydration step of draining washing water in an outer tub by opening and closing a valve and spinning the washing and dewatering tub at a high speed to centrifugally dehydrate the laundry, By rotating the rinsing water in the outer tub by rotating the rinsing water and pushing up the rinsing water along the inner surface of the side wall of the outer tub by centrifugal force, a part of the washing and dewatering is performed from above the washing and dewatering tub. Sprinkle in the tank Some other went up approaching brought to reflux by overflow to the outside of the outer tank from overflow port the is characterized in that so as to drainage.

[0007] In the rinsing step, the washing and dewatering tub is rotated to perform the sprinkling of the rinsing water in the outer tub and the overflow water is drained for a predetermined time, and then the rotation of the washing and dewatering tub is stopped to supply water. It is characterized in that the control is repeated.

The rotation and stop of the washing and dewatering tub and the replenishing water in the rinsing step are repeated while monitoring the degree of contamination of the rinsing water with a conductivity sensor.

Further, the water level in the rinsing step is set to be lower than the water level in the pool rinsing.

Further, the rotation speed of the washing and dewatering tub in the rinsing step is set to a rotation speed lower than the rotation speed at which the primary resonance occurs in the washing and dewatering tub.

[0011]

FIG. 1 is a vertical sectional side view of an electric washing machine according to an embodiment of the present invention. Here, a fully automatic washing machine is illustrated.

Reference numeral 1 denotes an outer frame of the electric washing machine, which constitutes a housing surrounding the internal mechanism. Reference numeral 2 denotes a washing tub and a dewatering tub provided in the outer frame 1 and provided with a balance ring 3 on an upper edge thereof. A stirring blade 4 is rotatably provided inside the bottom of the washing / dewatering tub 2.

Reference numeral 5 denotes an outer tub, in which the washing / dewatering tub 2 and the stirring blade 4 are rotatably accommodated. At the upper end of the outer tank 5, an annular tank cover 6 with an eaves portion 6a protruding annularly inside is fitted and attached. The lower surface of the eaves 6a of the tub cover 6 faces the upper surface of the balance ring 3, and directs the rinsing water that has risen while rotating along the inner wall surface of the outer tub 5 into the washing and dewatering tub 2. A sprinkling guide path 7 for guiding and a sprinkling port 7a are formed. Further, an overflow port 5a is provided at an upper portion of the outer tank 5 to allow a part of the rinsing water that has risen along the inner wall surface of the outer tank 5 to overflow outside the tank.

On the outside of the bottom of the outer tub 5, an electric driving device 8 having a built-in brushless electric motor is mounted.
The outer tub 5 is suspended from the four corners at the upper end of the outer frame 1 by a vibration-proof support device 10.

An upper cover 11 having a clothing input opening 11a
Is provided on the outer tank 5. The upper cover 11 is
Of the front panel 12 and the back panel 13 together with the front panel 12 and the back panel 13 with mounting screws (not shown).

A front panel box 1 formed at the front of the upper cover 11 and below the front panel 12.
Reference numeral 4 denotes an operation panel 15 having an input switch group as an operation switch and a display element group and a buzzer as notification means.
And a water level sensor 17 for generating a water level detection signal corresponding to the water level in the outer tub 5.
Although not shown, the input switch group includes a power switch, a switch for setting the degree of dirt on the laundry (more dirt, standard dirt, and less dirt), a switch for setting dry mark clothing washing, and a futon washing. And a start switch. In addition, there is a switch to select the strength of the washing or rinsing water flow,
In addition, a switch indicating cloth quality is provided.

A back panel box 18 is provided below the back panel 13 at the rear of the upper cover 11. The back panel box 18 houses a water supply solenoid valve 21 that connects the water inlet side to the water supply port 19 and connects the water discharge side to the water inlet 20. The water inlet 20 is formed so as to discharge water toward the opening of the washing / dewatering tub 2. The back panel box 18 includes a pump (not shown) for supplying water such as bath water to the washing / dewatering tub 2 via a pump, or tap water from the water supply solenoid valve 21 as necessary. A filter device (not shown) for removing metal ions and supplying it to the water inlet 20 is installed.

Clothing opening 11 formed in upper cover 11
“a” is structured so as to be freely opened and closed by a lid 22.

A drain port 5b formed at the bottom of the outer tub 5 is connected to a drain hose 24 via a drain solenoid valve 23.
In addition, a conductivity sensor 25 for converting the degree of dirt of the washing water into an electric signal is installed near the drain 5b. This conductivity sensor 25 is disclosed in, for example, Japanese Patent No. 2753387.
A sensor as disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H10-209,086 is used.

An air trap 5 is provided below the outer tank 5.
c, and the air trap 5c is
6 and connected to the water level sensor 17 to detect the water level in the outer tub 5. Further, the overflow port 5a formed in the outer tank 5 is provided.
Is connected to the drain hose 24 via a flood pipe 27.

A synthetic resin base 29 having legs 28 attached to the four corners is mounted below the frame 1.

The electric drive unit 8 is covered with a cover 30 for waterproofing. The electric drive device 8 includes a brushless motor having excellent controllability as a drive motor. The power supply to the brushless motor is performed by a power control device 31 having a built-in inverter circuit. This power control device 3
Reference numeral 1 denotes an electric drive unit 8, a water supply solenoid valve 21, and a drainage solenoid valve 2 in accordance with an instruction from the operation panel control unit 16 and detection signals from the water level sensor 17 and the conductivity sensor 25.
3 to control the washing and dehydrating steps. The power supply control of the electric drive device 8 to the brushless electric motor performs PWM (pulse width modulation) control and PAM (pulse voltage modulation) control to execute a wide range of output adjustment.

The power control device 31 is mounted on a mounting portion 29a formed on the base 29 so as to be located below the outer tank 5.

Operation panel control device 16 and power control device 3
1 is integrally formed as required.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of the electric system of the electric washing machine, in which the operation panel control device 16 and the power control device 31 are integrated.

The power control device 31 (16) includes a microcomputer 31a and a load driving device 31b. The microcomputer 31a has a built-in control program for controlling the washing, dehydration and ion-exchange resin regeneration steps, and inputs signals from the input switch group 15a, the water level sensor 17 and the conductivity sensor 25 to perform washing, dehydration and ion-exchange resin. By executing the regeneration control program, the water supply solenoid valve 21, the drain solenoid valve 23, the brushless electric motor 8a and the clutch mechanism 8b of the electric drive unit 8 are controlled to execute washing, dehydration and ion exchange resin regeneration steps, and the display element The operation state is notified by controlling the turning on / off of the group 15b.

The microcomputer 31a specifically executes the following control processing in the washing and spin-drying steps. This will be described with reference to the time chart shown in FIG.

In the washing step, the water supply solenoid valve 21 is opened and closed while monitoring the detection signal of the water level sensor 17 to supply washing water to a predetermined water level, and the electric drive unit 8
By controlling the brushless electric motor 8a and the clutch mechanism 8b, the washing and dewatering tub 2 is kept stationary and the agitating blades 4 are rotated (repeatedly rotating forward, stopping and rotating backward) to agitate the laundry. .

In the rinsing step (1), first, the drain solenoid valve 23 is opened, and the washing water in the outer tub 5 and the washing and dewatering tub 2 is drained from the drain port 5b to the drain hose 24.
By controlling the electric driving device 8, the stirring blade 4 and the washing and dewatering tub 2 are integrally rotated to lightly centrifugally dehydrate the washing water contained in the laundry. This dehydration is started with a part of the washing water remaining. After that, the drain solenoid valve 23
Is closed, and the water supply electromagnetic valve 21 is opened to supply water to a predetermined rinsing water level while monitoring the detection signal of the water level sensor 17, and the washing and dewatering tub 2 is kept stationary and the stirring blade 4 Is rotated (repeatedly rotating in the forward direction, stopping, and rotating in the reverse direction) to execute the pool rinsing for stirring the laundry. At the end of the pool rinsing, balance agitation is performed to release the laundry.

After that, the rotation of the stirring blade 4 is stopped, the drain solenoid valve 23 is opened, and the rinsing water is collected and drained to a water level lower than the rinsing water level (about の of the rinsing water level). And
The stirring blade 4 and the washing and dewatering tub 2 are integrally rotated. The rotation drive speed at this time is set to a rotation speed lower than the rotation speed at which the primary resonance occurs in the washing and dewatering tub 2. In this embodiment, it is set to 150 rpm.

When the washing and dewatering tub 2 rotates in the rinsing water stored in the outer tub 5, the rinsing water rotates with the rotation of the washing and dewatering tub 2, and the centrifugal force generated by this rotation causes the rinsing water to rotate. It rises along the inner surface of the side wall in the tank 5. Most of the rinsing water that rises while rotating along the inner surface of the side wall in the outer tub 5 is guided by the tub cover 6 and guided from the sprinkling guide path 7 to the sprinkling port 7a. The water is discharged (sprinkled) into the washing and dewatering tub 2 and circulated, and the other part overflows from the overflow port 5a, is drained to the drain pipe 24 via the overflow pipe 27, and is subjected to overflow / circulation rinsing.

When the washing and dewatering tub 2 is rotated as described above, a part of the rinsing water is drained from the overflow port 5a, and the rinsing water in the outer tub 5 is reduced. Therefore, the rotation of the washing and dewatering tub 2 is stopped, the supply water is controlled by opening and closing the water supply electromagnetic valve 21, and the rinsing for rotating the washing and dewatering tub 2 is repeated a plurality of times. In this embodiment, the washing and dewatering tub 2 is rotated for 30 seconds, and the rotation driving for stopping for 10 seconds is repeated three times, so that replenishing water is supplied during the stop for 10 seconds, and then the leaning of the laundry is performed. Perform unbalanced stirring.

In this embodiment, the same rinsing step (2) as described above is performed, and two rinsings are performed. However, a preferable rinsing result is monitored while monitoring the detection signal from the conductivity sensor 25. It is advisable to appropriately change the content of each control process (such as the rotation time of the stirring blade, the rotation time of the washing and dewatering tub, the replenishment water time, and the number of repetitions) so as to obtain.

In such a rinsing step, an overflow / circulation rinsing is performed in which a part of the rinsing water in the outer tub 5 and the washing and dewatering tub 2 is circulated in a reduced state while a part of the rinsing water is overflowed and drained. Therefore, the laundry can be efficiently rinsed with a small amount of rinsing water.

In the dewatering step, the drainage solenoid valve 23 is opened to drain the rinsing water in the outer tub 5, and when the rinsing water in the outer tub 5 drops to a predetermined water level, the electric driving device 8 is controlled. The washing and dewatering tub 2 and the stirring blade 4 are integrally started to rotate at a high speed, and the rotation speed is increased to about 950 rpm to centrifugally dehydrate the rinsing water contained in the laundry.

[0036]

According to the electric washing machine of the present invention, the rinsing water in the outer tub is rotated by rotating the washing and dewatering tub, and the rinsing water is pushed up along the inner surface of the side wall of the outer tub by centrifugal force. Thus, a part of the washing and dewatering tub was refluxed from above the washing and dewatering tub so as to be sprinkled into the washing and dewatering tub, and another rising part was overflowed from the overflow port to the outside of the outer tub to be drained. Thereby, the rinsing efficiency can be increased, and the detergent component and the dirt component can be removed with a small amount of rinsing water.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a vertical sectional side view of an electric washing machine according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of an electric system of the electric washing machine shown in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a time chart of a washing and dehydrating process of the electric washing machine shown in FIG. 1;

[Explanation of symbols]

1 ... outer frame, 2 ... washing and dewatering tub, 3 ... balance ring, 4
... stirring blades, 5 ... outer tank, 5a ... overflow port, 6 ... tank cover, 6
a ... eaves part, 7 ... watering guideway, 7a ... watering port, 8 ... electric drive device, 24 ... drainage pipe, 27 ... overflow pipe.

 ────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuing on the front page (72) Inventor Toshiyasu Kamano 1-1-1, Higashitaga-cho, Hitachi City, Ibaraki Prefecture Inside Hitachi Taga Electronics Co., Ltd. No. 1-1 Hitachi Taga Electronics Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Hiroyuki Koike 1-1-1, Higashitaga-cho, Hitachi City, Ibaraki Prefecture Co., Ltd. Hitachi Taga Electronics Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor ▲ Ai ▼ Katsuhisa Hitachi, Ibaraki 1-1-1 Higashitaga-cho, Tokyo F-term (reference) in Hitachi Taga Electronics Co., Ltd. 3B155 AA05 AA18 BB09 BB14 CA07 FB03 FD08 KB09 LB18 LB29 LB31 MA01 MA07 MA08

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A washing and dewatering tub rotatably installed inside an outer tub and an electric drive device for rotatingly driving a stirring blade are installed outside the bottom of the outer tub, and a water supply electromagnetic valve is opened and closed to open and close the water tub. The washing and dewatering tub and the outer tub are supplied by supplying water to the outer tub, storing the washing water, rotating the stirring blades to stir the laundry, and performing a washing process of washing. An electric washing machine that performs a dehydration step of centrifugally dewatering the laundry by draining the washing water inside and rotating the washing and dewatering tub at a high speed. The rinsing water is rotated and the rinsing water is pushed up along the inner surface of the side wall of the outer tub by centrifugal force to return a part of the rinsing water from above the washing and dewatering tub so as to spray water into the washing and dewatering tub. As well as An electric washing machine characterized in that the other part of the washing machine overflows from the overflow port to the outside of the outer tub and is drained. 2. The washing and dewatering tub according to claim 1, wherein in the rinsing step, the washing and dewatering tub is rotated for a predetermined period of time to carry out the sprinkling of the rinsing water in the outer tub and the overflow drainage, and then the rotation of the washing and dewatering tub is stopped. An electric washing machine characterized by repeating the control of supplying make-up water. 3. The electric machine according to claim 2, wherein the rotation and stop of the washing / dewatering tub and the makeup water in the rinsing step are repeated while monitoring the degree of contamination of the rinsing water by a conductivity sensor. Washing machine. 4. The electric washing machine according to claim 1, wherein the water level in the rinsing step is set to a water level lower than the water level in the pool rinsing. 5. The washing and dewatering tub according to claim 1, wherein the rotation speed of the washing and dewatering tub in the rinsing step is set to a rotation speed lower than the rotation speed at which the primary resonance occurs in the washing and dewatering tub. An electric washing machine characterized by the following.