JP2006167079A - Full automatic washing machine - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To urge a user to reset the time when the time to correct the time timed by a built-in clock part comes in a full automatic washing machine. <P>SOLUTION: The full automatic washing machine 1 is provided with a blower 72 for circulating air in a water tub 20 through a circulation duct 71 and a heater 73 for heating a circulation air stream in addition to the water tub 20 and a drum 30, and can dry laundry as well. A controller 80 in charge of the operation of the full automatic washing machine 1 is provided with a time timing circuit 90 and a nonvolatile memory 91 for storing the time setting time, and when it is decided that prescribed time has elapsed from the previous time setting time, displays a message urging the resetting of the time at the display device 101 of the operation panel 100. Also, the full automatic washing machine 1 is shifted to a time setting mode. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a fully automatic washing machine having a clock function.

  The fully automatic washing machine has a clock function in order to allow the laundry to proceed according to the program or to start the laundry at the reserved time. An example of such a fully automatic washing machine can be seen in US Pat.

Currently, in Japan, the hourly power rate system has been introduced. In other words, the electricity charge for general household light lines is cheaper at night (11:00 pm to 7:00 am, depending on the region), so that power consumption is shifted from daytime to nighttime, and power demand is leveled. Yes. There has also been proposed a fully automatic washing machine having a function of effectively utilizing such a time-based power rate system. Examples thereof can be seen in Patent Documents 2 and 3.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-304959 (page 2 to page 5, FIGS. 1 to 5) Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 6-165374 (pages 3 to 5, FIGS. 1 to 5) JP-A-5-168787 (2nd to 3rd pages, FIGS. 1 to 4)

  When the timer reservation function of the fully automatic washing machine is used to set the washing work to be performed during the nighttime electricity rate discount time, the washing work is usually set to start at a fixed time every day. By the way, there is an error in the clock, and the error accumulates as the date and time elapses. Although the initial setting was within the framework of the electricity rate discount time zone from the start to the end of the laundry work, as the date and time passed, the time counted by the clock deviated from the correct current time, and the electricity rate discount time zone There may be a situation in which the laundry work is started before the laundry, or the laundry work is finished after the power rate discount time period has passed. Even when the electricity price discount time zone is not used, it is a problem that the laundry operation is not started as expected by the user. Therefore, the timekeeping time of the fully automatic washing machine must be corrected before the accumulated error becomes large.

  The fully automatic washing machine described in Patent Document 1 includes a voice recognition device, and performs time setting by time notification flowing from a telephone. According to this, accurate time setting can be easily performed. However, it does not tell when to set the time, so if the user leaves it for a long period of time, the clock time is correct even though it has an advanced time setting function. It will deviate greatly from the time.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and when the time to correct the time measured by the clock unit has come, the user is prompted to reset the time to correct the time held by the washing machine, As a result, it is an object of the present invention to provide a fully automatic washing machine that can always perform washing work based on the correct time.

  (1) In order to achieve the above object, a fully automatic washing machine of the present invention provides an operation key unit for various settings, a display unit, a clock unit, and a time of the clock unit to a control device that controls driving. A memory for storing the time setting date and time when the setting is performed, and a comparison unit for comparing the time setting date and time stored in the memory with the current date and time are provided. When it is determined that the date has passed, the control device displays a message for prompting resetting of the time counted by the clock unit on the display unit.

  According to this configuration, the user can clearly recognize that it is time to correct the time counted by the clock unit. And the time of the clock part of the washing machine can be adjusted to the correct time, and the subsequent washing operation can be performed based on the correct time.

  (2) According to the present invention, in the fully automatic washing machine configured as described above, the control device displays a message for prompting resetting of time on the display unit, and the washing machine is operated by operating the operation key. It is characterized by making it transfer to the time setting mode which sets the time measured by the part.

  According to this configuration, the user does not need to perform an operation for shifting to the time setting mode by himself / herself, which is easy to use. Further, by automatically shifting to the time setting mode, the user can recognize very clearly that the washing machine is in a situation where the time needs to be reset.

  (3) Further, in the fully automatic washing machine having the above configuration according to the present invention, the control unit is configured to compare the comparison unit only when an operation course for performing operation control using time information measured by the clock unit is set. It is characterized by validating the comparison result.

  The time setting work is also a work that requires some effort. For users who use a fully automatic washing machine by selecting a driving course other than the driving course that uses the time information timed by the clock section to control driving, the clock section shows the correct time. Regardless of whether it is present or not, it is troublesome to be forced to set the time. The comparison result of the comparison unit is valid only when an operation course for performing operation control using time information timed by the clock unit is set, and when such an operation course is not set, the comparison of the comparison unit is performed. By preventing the result from being valid, a message prompting the user to reset the time is displayed only to the user who needs the clock to keep the correct time, and the time setting mode is presented. Thus, other users can use the washing machine without paying attention to the time setting, so that it is easy to use for users in any position.

  (4) Further, according to the present invention, in the washing machine configured as described above, the control device does not reset the time even though a message prompting the resetting of the time is displayed, and a predetermined time has passed. In this case, the driving course for performing the driving control using the time information measured by the clock unit is made unselectable.

  According to this configuration, when the time resetting is not executed despite the message prompting the resetting of the time, the driving course for performing the driving control using the time information timed by the clock unit is selected thereafter. Since it becomes impossible, the trouble by driving | running based on an incorrect time can be avoided.

  According to the present invention, the user makes corrections before the time measured by the clock unit of the fully automatic washing machine is largely deviated from the correct time, so that the fully automatic washing machine is always operated based on the correct time. be able to.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.

  FIG. 1 is an external perspective view of a fully automatic washing machine, and FIG. 2 is a vertical sectional view thereof. The fully automatic washing machine 1 has a drying function and has a box-shaped main body 10. Inside the main body 10, a water tank 20 and a drum 30 that accommodates laundry that is to be washed and also to be dried are disposed. Both the water tub 20 and the drum 30 are cylindrical, and each has laundry input ports 21 and 31 on one end face.

  A shaft 32 protrudes outward from the center of the bottom of the drum 30. The shaft 30 is supported by a bearing 22 provided at the center of the bottom of the water tank 20 so that the drum 30 and the water tank 20 are arranged concentrically with the drum 30 inside and the water tank 20 outside.

  The water tank 20 and the drum 30 are supported in the main body 10 so that the axis thereof is substantially horizontal by a suspension mechanism (not shown). In this embodiment, the axes of the water tank 20 and the drum 30 are inclined at an angle θ (for example, 15 °) with respect to the horizontal plane, and the laundry input ports 21 and 31 are slightly raised. This is to make it easy to see the inside of the drum 30 and to easily put in and out the laundry.

  As described above, the rotation axis of the water tank 20 and the drum 30 intersects the horizontal line, and the intersection angle θ is assumed to be in the range of 0 ° to 30 °, but the angle range is not particularly limited.

  An opening 11 is provided on the front-side outer wall of the main body 10 so as to face the laundry input ports 21 and 31. A laterally opening door 12 is provided in front of the opening 11. The door 12 can be locked in a closed state by a lock mechanism (not shown) provided in the main body 10.

  A door packing 13 made of a soft synthetic resin or rubber connects the opening 11 and the laundry input port 21. The door packing 13 prevents the splash of water generated in the drum 30, the water when the wet laundry is taken in and out, or the overflow from the laundry input port 21 from getting wet inside the main body 10.

  An annular lip 14 is integrally formed on the inner peripheral surface of the door packing 13, which is in close contact with the outer periphery of the protrusion 15 provided on the inner surface of the door 12, and water is supplied from the gap between the door packing 13 and the door 12. Prevent leakage. The protrusion 15 plays a role of preventing the laundry in the drum 30 from protruding from the laundry insertion port 21. The protrusion 15 may be formed of a transparent material so that the inside of the drum 30 can be seen through.

  A number of dewatering holes 33 are formed in the peripheral wall of the drum 30. Water goes back and forth between the drum 30 and the water tank 20 through the dewatering hole 33. A plurality of baffles 34 are provided at predetermined intervals on the inner peripheral surface of the drum 30. The baffle 34 catches and lifts the laundry with the rotation of the drum 30 and drops it from above.

  A balance weight (balancer) 35 is attached to the outer surface of the drum 30 and the laundry input port 31. FIG. 2 shows only the annular balance weight 35 attached to the laundry input port 31, and the balance weight attached to the outer surface of the drum 30 is not shown. The balance weight 35 suppresses vibration generated when the drum 30 rotates at a high speed.

  A motor 40 is attached to the bottom outer surface of the water tank 20. The motor 40 is of a direct drive type, and the shaft 32 of the drum 30 is connected and fixed to the rotor. The bearing 22 is attached to the housing of the motor 40 and is a part of the components of the motor 40.

  A water supply valve 50 that opens and closes electromagnetically is disposed in a space above the water tank 20. A water supply hose 51 for supplying tap water such as tap water is connected to the water supply valve 50. The water supply valve 50 is of a triple type, has one input port and three output ports, and can supply and stop water independently for each output port.

  Of the three output ports of the water supply valve 50, the first and second ports are used to supply water to the drum 30 through a water supply nozzle 52 provided at a location facing the laundry input port 31. The first output port is connected to the water supply nozzle 52 via a detergent charging box (not shown). The second output port is connected to the water supply nozzle 52 via a finishing agent input box (not shown). The third output port is used to supply dehumidifying water during the drying operation, and is connected to the dehumidifying spray nozzle 53. The dehumidifying spray nozzle 53 will be described later.

  A drain outlet 23 is provided at the lowest point of the water tank 20, and one end of the drain pipe 60 is connected thereto. The other end of the drain pipe 60 is connected to the filter casing 61. A lint filter 62 is inserted into the filter casing 61. The lint filter 62 is formed of a synthetic resin net or cloth and collects lint in the water. One end of the filter casing 61 is closed by a detachable cap 63, and the lint filter 62 can be cleaned or replaced by removing the cap 63.

  A drain pipe 64 is connected to the filter casing 61, and the waste water that has passed through the lint filter 62 is discharged out of the main body 10. The drain pipe 64 is provided with a drain pump 65.

  The drain pipe 64 is provided with a circulation pump 66 at a location between the lint filter 62 and the drain pump 65. The circulation pump 66 functions to return the water that has passed through the lint filter 62 to the water supply nozzle 53 through the return pipe 67.

  The drain pump 65 is also used as a valve and does not allow water to pass when the operation is stopped. On the other hand, the circulation pump 66 does not have a valve function, and water flows freely downstream unless it is operated.

  The filter casing 61 is provided with an air trap 61a. A water level sensor 69 is provided at the upper end of the pressure guiding pipe 68 led out from the air trap 61a. The water level sensor 69 moves the magnetic body in the coil in accordance with the pressure change in the air trap 61a, detects the resulting inductance change of the coil as a change in the oscillation frequency, and reads the water level from the change in the oscillation frequency. is there. What is read here is the water level in the aquarium 20.

  The laundry that has undergone washing, rinsing, and dehydration is dried in the drum 30. The inside of the drum 30 and the water tank 20 surrounding the drum 30 is a sealed drying chamber 70. That is, the laundry is dried not by air taken from outside the fully automatic washing machine 1 but by air circulating inside the fully automatic washing machine 1.

  In order to enable the above-described circulation drying, a circulation duct 71 is formed outside the water tank 20. One end of the circulation duct 71 is connected to the vicinity of the drain outlet 23 of the water tank 20, and the other end is connected to the upper part of the door packing 13. In the middle of the circulation duct 71, a blower 72 and a heater 73 which is a heating means for drying air are provided. The blower 72 functions to suck the air in the sealed drying chamber 70 from the bottom of the water tank 20 and return the sucked air from the top of the door packing 13 to the sealed drying chamber 70. The heater 73 is downstream of the blower 72 and functions to heat the air blown into the sealed drying chamber 70.

  The air flowing through the circulation duct 71 is dehumidified by the dehumidifying means. In the present embodiment, the dehumidifying spray nozzle 54 constitutes a dehumidifying means. The circulation duct 71 rises from the bottom of the water tank 20 and has a flow passage cross-sectional area extending around a bending point where the direction of the circulation duct 71 changes toward the door packing 13. A spray nozzle 53 for dehumidification is installed in the cooling chamber 74.

  The dehumidifying spray nozzle 53 sprays water into the cooling chamber 74 as fine water droplets. The size of the water droplet is set to such an extent that it falls by gravity without flowing into the blower 72 and flows into the water tank 20.

  An operation panel 100 is provided on the front upper surface of the main body 10. A display device and various operation keys are arranged on the operation panel 100, details of which will be described later.

  Inside the main body 10, a control device 80 that controls the operation of the fully automatic washing machine 1 is disposed in the vicinity of the operation panel 100. FIG. 3 shows the configuration of the control device 80. A main component of the control device 80 is a microcomputer 81. The microcomputer 81 includes a RAM 83, a ROM 84, and an input / output unit 85 in addition to a central processing unit 82 having a control unit and a calculation unit. The central processing unit 82 is attached with a count unit 86 and a timer 87. A power supply circuit 88 and a reset circuit 89 are connected to the microcomputer 81.

  The microcomputer 81 performs various controls according to programs stored in the ROM 84. The counting unit 86 counts operation time and the like, and the counted time and the like are temporarily stored in the RAM 83. The reset circuit 89 initializes the microcomputer 81.

  The following elements are connected to the input / output unit 85. That is, a time counting circuit 90 that functions as a clock unit, a nonvolatile memory 91 that functions as a memory, an input key circuit 92, a state detection circuit 93, a load drive circuit 94, a display device 101, and a buzzer 103.

  The time counting circuit 90 measures time as a clock. A battery is mounted on the time counting circuit 90, and time can be measured even when power is not supplied from the light line. The non-volatile memory 91 stores data such as operation conditions, time, and a power rate discount time zone. The state detection circuit 93 includes sensors such as a water level sensor 69 and a circuit that converts signals from these sensors into digital signals.

  The load driving circuit 94 is connected to the next load. That is, the motor 40, the water supply valve 50, the drainage pump 65, the circulation pump 66, the blower 72, and the heater 73.

  Based on the setting, the control device 80 notifies the user by the notification means that the power rate discount time zone has been switched to the power rate non-discount time zone. The buzzer 103 disposed in the control device 80 constitutes the notification means.

  FIG. 4 shows a layout of the operation panel 100. A display unit is disposed on the operation panel 100. The display unit 101 includes a liquid crystal panel or the like. There is a time display unit 102 at the left end of the display device 101, and various displays appear in the right space as required. One of the various displays is a time setting display 104 that prompts the user to reset the time.

  The outside of the display device 101 is an operation key unit, and membrane switch type operation keys are arranged as follows. First, at the right end of the operation panel 100, a power key 110 and a start key 111 are arranged vertically. On the left side of the power key 110, various setting keys, that is, a reservation key 112, a washing manual key 113, a rinsing manual key 114, a dehydration manual key 115, a drying manual key 116, and a course key 117 are arranged in a horizontal row. A time setting key 118 is arranged on the left side of the reservation key 112. The time setting key 118 includes a “sume” key 119a and a “return” key 119b.

  The power key 110 is used to turn on / off the power. The start key 111 is used to start or temporarily stop the operation of the fully automatic washing machine 1. The reservation key 112 is used for setting a washing time. The washing manual key 113 is used to set operation details of the washing process. The rinsing manual key 114 is used to set operation details of the rinsing process. The dehydration manual key 115 is used to select the operation content of the dehydration process. The drying manual key 116 is used to select the operation details of the drying process. The coskii 117 is used to select a driving course. The time setting key 118 is used to advance or delay the set time.

  Next, the operation of the fully automatic washing machine 1 will be described. Open the door 12 and put the laundry in the drum 30. A detergent is put in a detergent charging box (not shown). If necessary, the finishing agent is put in a finishing agent charging box (not shown).

  After preparing the detergent, the door 12 is closed and the operation panel 100 is operated. If the power key 110 is set to “ON” and the start key 111 is pressed, the operation of the fully automatic washing machine 1 starts. Although the operation of the fully automatic washing machine 1 proceeds according to the operation mode set in advance, it is possible to correct the operation mode setting by operating various operation keys before pressing the start key 111. The setting method will be described later.

  First, water is supplied until the water level sensor 69 detects that the water in the water tank 20 has reached a predetermined water level. At this time, water is supplied using the first output port of the water supply valve 50, and the water is poured into the drum 30 from the water supply nozzle 52 while dissolving the detergent in the detergent charging box. At this time, the drain pump 65 is in an operation stop state, and the drain pipe 64 is closed. When the water level sensor 69 detects the set water level, the water supply valve 50 is closed. And the washing process is started.

  The first is the “familiar tumbling” stage, in which the drum 30 rotates at a low speed. The laundry is lifted from the water at a slow pace and falls back into the water. The purpose of “familiarizing tumbling” is to allow the laundry to sufficiently absorb water and to release air trapped in various parts of the laundry.

  When the “fatigue tumbling” stage is completed, the drum 30 moves to the “wash tumbling” stage. The drum 30 rotates at a speed higher than that in the “familiar tumbling”, and the laundry is lifted and dropped. Due to the impact at the time of dropping, a jet of water in which the detergent is dissolved is generated between the fibers of the laundry, and the laundry is washed.

  During the “wash tumbling”, the circulation pump 66 is operated. As a result, the water in the water tank 20 circulates along the path of the drain pipe 60 → the lint filter 62 → the circulation pump 66 → the return pipe 67 → the water supply nozzle 52, and the lint in the water is captured by the lint filter 62. The circulation pump 66 is similarly operated in the rinsing process.

  After the “wash tumbling” stage is completed, the process proceeds to the “balance process”. In the “balance process”, the drum 30 rotates gently. If the drum 30 rotates slowly, the laundry falls off the drum 30 at a lower position before being lifted to a higher position. For this reason, the laundry does not stick to the inner wall of the drum 30 as if it was dropped from a high position, but rather feels like rolling on the inner wall of the drum 30, and the laundry is relatively soft. And overlap. In this state, when the drum 30 starts high-speed dehydration rotation, the laundry is easily dispersed in all directions. That is, it is easy to balance. For this reason, the drum 30 is gently rotated to loosen the laundry and prepare for dehydration rotation.

  After the washing process, the process proceeds to a rinsing process through a dehydration process. In the dehydration process, the circulation pump 66 stops operation, and the drain pump 65 starts operation. When the drain pump 65 starts operation, the water in the water tank 20 is drained outside the machine through the drain pipe 64.

  When a predetermined amount of time has passed and most of the water has drained from the laundry, the drum 30 starts rotating at a relatively low speed. Water contained in the laundry is shaken off by centrifugal force and drained out of the water tank 20 through the drain port 23. After low-speed dehydration, move to high-speed dehydration and thoroughly shake off water. Then the drum 30 stops. The drainage pump 65 is also stopped, and the system for preparing the rinsing water in the water tank 20 is prepared.

  Rinsing water is supplied to the laundry after dehydration. In a normal case, the water supply valve 50 supplies water through the first output port. When the water level in the water tank 20 reaches the set water level, the water supply is stopped and the rinsing process is started.

  First, as in the washing step, there is a “familiar tumbling” stage, and then the “rinse tumbling” stage. The drum 30 lifts and drops the laundry as it passes through the water. As a result, the laundry is rinsed.

  After the “rinse tumbling” stage is completed, the process proceeds to the dehydration process through the “balance process” as in the washing process. The rinse process is repeated a set number of times.

  When finishing the laundry with the finishing agent, the second output port of the water supply valve 50 is opened at an appropriate timing, and the finishing agent in the finishing agent charging box is poured into the rinsing water.

  In the above description, it is assumed that “rinse rinsing” is performed in which the rinsing water is stored in the water tank 20, but the rinsing is always performed by refilling with fresh water, or the shower in which water is poured into the laundry. Rinsing may be performed.

  After the final rinsing process and the subsequent dehydration process are completed, the process proceeds to the drying process. In the drying process, the blower 72 and the heater 73 are energized while rotating the drum 30 at a low speed. The blower 72 forms a circulating airflow that circulates through the sealed drying chamber 70 and the circulation duct 71, and the heater 73 heats the circulating airflow. The laundry to be tumbled is heated and exposed to a circulating air current that has become warm air, and moisture is taken away.

  The control device 80 monitors the temperature and humidity in the hermetic drying chamber 70 with a temperature sensor and a humidity sensor (not shown), and supplies water to the dehumidifying spray nozzle 53 from the third output port of the water supply valve 50 at an appropriate timing. The supplied dehumidifying spray nozzle 53 generates spray of dehumidified water. The spray of dehumidified water is constituted by relatively large water droplets as described above, and the water droplets fall without being blown toward the blower 72 by the circulating airflow. When the circulating airflow comes into contact with the falling water, the temperature of the circulating airflow decreases, and moisture in the circulating airflow condenses. The condensed moisture is integrated with the dehumidified water and flows down the circulation duct 71 and enters the water tank 20. And it drains from the drain 23.

  The drying process is continued until a predetermined time has elapsed or until the humidity sensor detects that the humidity of the circulating airflow has decreased to a predetermined value. When the drying process ends, the entire process is completed, and the fully automatic washing machine 1 stops.

  Next, a method for setting the time on the operation panel 100 will be described with reference to FIGS. 5 and 6 in addition to FIG. 5 and 6 are explanatory diagrams of the display mode transition status of the time display unit 102. FIG.

  The state where the power is supplied to the control unit 80 but the power key 110 is “OFF” is the “power key input waiting state”. When the power key 110 is pressed here, the “power key input waiting state” is changed to the “operation setting ready state”, and the system is ready to accept the input of keys other than the power key 110.

When setting the time, the power key 110 and the reservation key 112 are pressed simultaneously while waiting for the power key input. Then, the “time setting state” is entered. In the initial display, the “hour” side of the time display unit 102 blinks as shown in FIG. In the figure, a number consisting of a set of points represents a blinking state, and a blacked-out number represents a continuous display state.

  When the “Proceed” key 119a or “Return” key 119b of the time setting key 118 is pressed, the blinking number is incremented or decremented by one. FIG. 5 shows a situation where the counting is up. When the desired number comes out, the finger is released from the time setting key 118 and the start key 111 is pressed, and “hour” is fixed.

  When “hour” is determined, the “minute” side blinks as shown in FIG. As in the case of “hour”, a desired number is selected by using the time setting key 118 and then “minute” is determined by the start key 111.

  After the time is determined as “hour” and “minute”, the time counting circuit 90 starts measuring the time from the determined time. When the power key 110 is pressed thereafter, the “operation setting ready state” returns to the “power key input waiting state”. “Time adjustment” and “timer reservation” are performed as described above.

  The fully automatic washing machine 1 prompts the user to reset the time so that the time counted by the time counting circuit 90 matches the correct time. Hereinafter, an operation mode for prompting resetting of the time will be described with reference to FIGS.

  FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing the first operation mode. First, in step # 201, it is checked whether or not the current time is set in the time counting circuit 90. This check is performed at an appropriate timing during the “power key input waiting state” or “operation setting possible state”. If it is determined that the current time is being set as a result of the check, the process proceeds to step # 202. If it is not set, the flow ends.

  In step # 202, data of the date and time when the previous time setting was performed is acquired from the data backed up in the nonvolatile memory 91. In step # 203, the current date and time data is acquired from the time counting circuit 90. Subsequently, in step # 204, the date / time data acquired in step # 202 is compared with the date / time data acquired in step # 203. The microcomputer 81 functions as a comparison unit. As a result of the comparison, if it is determined that a predetermined date and time, for example, one month has elapsed since the previous time setting date and time, the process proceeds to step # 205. If the predetermined date has not elapsed, the flow ends as it is.

  In step # 205, the time setting display 104 is displayed on the display device 101 as a message prompting the user to reset the time. The time setting display 104 blinks to attract the user's attention. The user recognizes that it is time to correct the time set in the time counting circuit 90, and switches the fully automatic washing machine 1 to the time setting mode to reset the time.

  FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing the second operation mode. Steps # 211 to # 215 are the same as the flow in FIG.

  After the time setting display 104 starts blinking in step # 215, the process proceeds to step # 216. In step # 216, it is monitored whether or not a predetermined time, for example, 10 seconds has elapsed since the time setting display 104 starts blinking. When 10 seconds have elapsed, the process proceeds to step # 217.

  In step # 217, the time setting display 104 is switched from the blinking state to the continuous lighting state. Then, the process proceeds to step # 218. In step # 218, the mode is automatically changed to the time setting mode. Then, an initial display of time setting shown in FIG.

  According to this configuration, the user does not need to perform an operation for shifting to the time setting mode by himself / herself, which is easy to use. Further, by automatically shifting to the time setting mode, the user can recognize very clearly that the fully automatic washing machine 1 is in a situation where the time needs to be reset.

  FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing the third operation mode. Step # 221 corresponds to step # 211 of FIG. 8, and step # 223 to step # 229 correspond to step # 212 to step # 218 of FIG. The difference from FIG. 8 is step # 222 placed after step # 221.

  In step # 222, it is checked whether or not an operation course for performing operation control using the time information measured by the time counting circuit 90, for example, a reservation course or a night operation course is set. If it is not set, the flow ends. Only when it is set, the process proceeds to step # 223.

  Thereby, only when the driving course for performing the operation control using the time information timed by the time clock circuit 90 is set, the data of the date and time when the previous time setting is performed by proceeding to step # 225 and the data of the current date and time. And the comparison result is valid. Then, a message prompting to reset the time is displayed, and the time setting mode is presented.

  When an operation course for performing operation control using the time information timed by the time clock circuit 90 is not set, the process does not proceed to step # 225, and the date and time data for the previous time setting and the current date and time are set. There is no comparison with the data. Naturally, no message prompting the user to reset the time is displayed, and the time setting mode is not presented. Thereby, the user can use the washing machine without paying attention to the time setting.

  FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing the fourth operation mode. Step # 231 to step # 234 correspond to step # 211 to step # 214 in FIG. Steps # 237 to # 240 correspond to steps # 215 to # 218 in FIG. The difference from FIG. 8 is step # 235 and step # 236 placed after step # 234.

  If it is determined in step # 234 that one month has passed since the previous time setting, the process proceeds to step # 235. In step # 235, it is checked whether or not a predetermined date has passed in addition to one month. This is to check whether the time has not been reset without being reset even though a message prompting the resetting of the time is displayed at one month.

  If the predetermined date and time is, for example, one month, it is checked in step # 235 whether or not two months have passed since the previous time setting. If it is determined that two months have not elapsed, the process proceeds to step # 237. If it is determined that two months have passed, the process proceeds to step # 236.

  In step # 236, an operation course for performing operation control using the time information timed by the time counting circuit 90 cannot be selected. That is, it is prohibited to select or set the reserved driving course and the night driving course. As a result, the user cannot select the reserved driving course and the night driving course unless the time is reset.

  From step # 236, the process proceeds to step # 237. If the time is reset in the subsequent steps, the reserved driving course and the night driving course can be selected again.

  According to this configuration, when the resetting of the time is not executed in spite of a message prompting the resetting of the time, the driving course in which driving control is performed using the time information timed by the time counting circuit 90 thereafter. Therefore, it is possible to avoid trouble caused by driving based on an incorrect time.

    Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the scope of the present invention is not limited to these embodiments, and various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the invention.

    The present invention is widely applicable to fully automatic washing machines having a clock function.

External perspective view of washing machine Vertical section of washing machine Control block diagram Front view of the operation panel Illustration of the transition of the display mode of the time display section Illustration of the transition of the display mode of the time display section Flow chart of first operation mode for prompting resetting of time Flow chart of second operation mode for prompting resetting of time Flow chart of third operation mode for prompting resetting of time Flow chart of fourth operation mode for prompting resetting of time

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Washing machine 10 Main body 20 Water tank 30 Drum 40 Motor 50 Water supply valve 52 Water supply nozzle 64 Drain pipe 65 Drain pump 71 Circulation duct 72 Blower 73 Heater 80 Control apparatus 81 Microcomputer (comparison part)
90 Timekeeping circuit (clock part)
91 Nonvolatile memory (memory)
100 Operation panel 101 Display device (display unit)
102 Time display section 104 Time setting display

Claims (4)

  For the control device that controls the operation of the fully automatic washing machine, an operation key part for various settings, a display part, a clock part, a memory for storing the time setting date and time when the time setting of this clock part was performed, A comparison unit that compares the time setting date and time stored in the memory with the current date and time is provided, and when the comparison unit determines that a predetermined date and time has elapsed from the previous time setting date and time, the control device A fully automatic washing machine, wherein a message prompting resetting of the time measured by the clock unit is displayed on the display unit.   The control device causes the display unit to display a message prompting the resetting of the time, and causes the washing machine to shift to a time setting mode in which the time measured by the clock unit is set by operating the operation key. The fully automatic washing machine according to claim 1, wherein:   The control device makes the comparison result of the comparison unit valid only when an operation course for performing operation control using time information measured by the clock unit is set. Fully automatic washing machine as described in.   The control device uses the time information measured by the clock unit when a predetermined time has passed without resetting the time even though a message prompting the resetting of the time is displayed. The fully automatic washing machine according to claim 1 or 2, wherein an operation course for performing operation control is made unselectable.

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