JP2006311884A - Method of detecting position of imbalance in drum type washing machine and drum type dewaterer capable of detecting position of imbalance - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a method of detecting the position of imbalance in a drum type washing machine, and a drum type dewaterer capable of detecting the position of imbalance in the front/rear direction of the laundry in a rotary drum by utilizing the output of a vibration detecting means disposed in a water tub for detecting the abnormal vibration of the rotary drum. <P>SOLUTION: The vibration detecting means, such as an acceleration sensor, capable of detecting components of vibration in a plurality of directions, at least two axes, is mounted on the water tub for rotatably supporting the rotary drum. The difference between the phase angles of the components of vibration when the phase angles of the respective components of vibration are the maximum is calculated based on output signals of the components of vibration in at least two directions from the vibration detecting means at a prescribed speed of rotation. By calculating the interrelation between the difference in the phase angle and the position of imbalance in the front/rear direction of the imbalanced laundry inside the rotary drum in advance, the position of imbalance according to the difference in the phase angle can be found. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a drum type washing machine provided with an acceleration detection means for detecting vibration of a water tank, and more particularly to an unbalanced position detection method in a drum type washing machine and a drum type washing machine capable of detecting an unbalanced position.

Abnormal vibration of the aquarium is detected as voltage data proportional to the acceleration from the acceleration sensor which is a vibration detecting means, and a determination value for determining whether or not the drum rotation causes abnormal vibration based on this voltage data is determined. There has been proposed a dehydrator that changes according to the number of rotations obtained from the rotation detection means (Patent Document 1).
JP-A-3-264088 (the third page, upper left column, line 9 to the same page, lower right column, third line, FIG. 1)

  In the above-described conventional dehydrator, the acceleration sensor, which is a vibration detection means, can detect only the acceleration in the substantially horizontal direction of the aquarium, so that the vibration in the substantially longitudinal direction of the aquarium and the two shock absorbers supporting the aquarium are mainly used. It was not possible to accurately detect complex vibrations, such as vibrations in the twist direction.

  By the way, in a drum type washing machine including a dewatering function, the drum is operated over a wide range of rotation speeds from low speed to high speed, particularly in the dewatering process. At this time, if there is an unbalance of the laundry in the front-rear direction along the rotation axis, depending on the number of rotations, a large runout may occur in the rotating drum, causing a problem such as noise generated by colliding with the water tank. May occur. In particular, when there is a large unbalance on the front side along the rotation axis, swinging occurs more easily than when there is an unbalance on the rear side, so knowing the unbalance position in the front-rear direction of the laundry is washing and rinsing・ It has been recognized that it is indispensable for automatic operation control in each process of dehydration.

  Therefore, there is a problem to be solved in that the output of the vibration detection means provided in the water tub is used to detect the abnormal vibration of the rotating drum, so that the unbalance position of the laundry in the front-rear direction on the rotating drum is known. is there.

  An object of the present invention is to obtain the unbalance in the front-rear direction of the laundry on the rotating drum at low cost by using the output of the existing vibration detecting means provided in the water tank in order to detect abnormal vibration of the rotating drum. It is an object to provide an unbalanced position detection method and a drum-type washing machine capable of detecting an unbalanced position in a drum type washing machine that can be used.

  In the drum-type washing machine according to the present invention, an unbalanced position detecting method is provided in a plurality of directions on a water tub that rotatably supports a rotating drum that can accommodate laundry therein by a rotating shaft that is horizontal or inclined with respect to the horizontal. A vibration detection means for detecting a vibration component is attached, and an unbalance position in the front-rear direction along the rotation axis of the laundry is detected based on output signals of vibration components in a plurality of directions output from the vibration detection means. Have

  Further, according to the drum type washing machine of the present invention, the water tank disposed in the outer box, the water tank is rotatably supported by the rotating shaft that is horizontal or inclined with respect to the horizontal, and the laundry is accommodated therein. In a washing machine comprising a rotatable drum capable of vibration and vibration detection means attached to the water tank, the vibration detection means can detect vibration components in a plurality of directions of the water tank, and the vibration detection means outputs a plurality of vibration components in a plurality of directions. The present invention is characterized in that an unbalance position in the front-rear direction along the rotation axis of the laundry is detected based on the output signal.

  According to the unbalanced position detection method and the drum type washing machine of the drum type washing machine according to the present invention, the rotating drum capable of storing the laundry therein is supported rotatably by a rotating shaft that is horizontal or inclined with respect to the horizontal. The water tank is provided with vibration detecting means for detecting the vibration of the water tank in a plurality of directions, and the front / rear direction of the laundry is output using the output signals of the vibration components in the plurality of directions which are output signals of the vibration detecting means. The balance position can be detected. If the vibration detection means is a two-dimensional vibration sensor, the unbalanced position of the laundry can be detected by using the one used for detecting abnormal vibration of the washing machine as it is.

  In the drum-type washing machine according to the present invention, and in the drum-type washing machine, the output of the vibration detection means includes a vibration component in the first direction and a second direction orthogonal to the first direction. The unbalance position of the laundry in the front-rear direction can be detected based on the phase difference at the time of detecting the maximum value. As a characteristic of the vibration component in the first direction and the second direction orthogonal to the first direction included in the output of the vibration detection means, the phase difference when detecting the maximum value of both vibration components is related to the unbalance position of the laundry in the front-rear direction. It was found that Therefore, by obtaining the phase difference when detecting the maximum value of both vibration components, it is possible to know the unbalance position of the laundry in the front-rear direction. The relationship between the phase difference when detecting the maximum values of both vibration components and the unbalanced position of the laundry in the front-rear direction is significant in the low-speed rotation region where the output value is small.

  In the drum-type washing machine and the drum-type washing machine according to the present invention, the output of the vibration detection means includes the vibration component in the first direction and the second direction orthogonal thereto, and the maximum of both vibration components. An unbalanced position in the front-rear direction can be detected based on the value ratio. As a characteristic of the vibration component in the first direction and the second direction orthogonal to the first direction included in the output of the vibration detection means, the ratio of the maximum value of both vibration components may be related to the unbalanced position of the laundry in the front-rear direction. I found it. Therefore, by obtaining the ratio of the maximum values of both vibration components, it is possible to know the unbalanced position of the laundry in the front-rear direction. The relationship between the ratio between the maximum values of both vibration components and the unbalanced position of the laundry in the front-rear direction is significant in the high-speed rotation region where the output value is large.

  In the drum-type washing machine according to the present invention and the drum-type washing machine, an acceleration sensor capable of detecting acceleration in two orthogonal directions can be used as the vibration detection means. Since the output signal of the acceleration sensor is an electrical signal, the signal processing can be performed electrically, that is, using program processing in a microcomputer used for automatic operation control of washing in a drum type washing machine.

  According to the unbalance position detection method and the drum type washing machine in the drum type washing machine according to the present invention, the following effects can be obtained. That is, according to the present invention, the laundry is moved along the rotation axis based on the output signals of the vibration components in a plurality of directions output from the vibration detecting means attached to the water tank to detect abnormal vibration of the rotating drum. It is also possible to detect the unbalance position when an unbalance occurs in the front-rear direction. Further, by knowing the unbalance position of the laundry, it is possible to obtain effective information when taking a more accurate unbalance measure such as individually setting the unbalance allowance at the unbalance position.

    Embodiments of a drum type washing machine according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. The basic structure of the drum type washing machine according to the present embodiment has the form shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, and has a structure substantially similar to a conventional drum type washing machine. Hereinafter, the description will be focused on the main part and the part related to the invention.

  1 and 2 are schematic sectional views showing a drum type washing machine according to the present invention. FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing the appearance of the drum type washing machine according to the present invention. As shown in FIG. 3, the drum-type washing machine is provided with a door 8 for putting laundry in and out of the front of the outer box 1. A display / operation unit 19 related to the above is provided.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the water tank 2 is suspended from the top of the outer box 1 by a spring 5 and supported from the bottom by a vibration-proof damper 6, so that vibration generated during washing, rinsing, and dehydration is generated. It has a structure that can be absorbed. Inside the water tank 2, a drum 3 is supported and arranged so as to rotate about a horizontal axis. The peripheral wall of the drum 3 is provided with a large number of small holes 4 (only a part is given a reference numeral) for supplying or discharging washing water. A gap between the laundry door 8 and the water tub 2 is sealed by a door packing 9 so that the washing water does not leak outside the machine through the gap. A door switch (not shown) having detection means for detecting opening and closing of the door 8 is attached to the door 8.

    By opening the water supply valve 18, the tap water dissolves the detergent in the detergent case 21, and the generated detergent liquid is supplied into the rotating drum 3 from the water supply port 14. In order to rotate the rotating drum 3, a motor 10 is disposed in the inner part of the outer box 1. A baffle 17 that lifts the laundry in the rotary drum 3 is formed on the inner peripheral surface of the rotary drum 3, and the laundry that is lifted up while being locked to the baffle 17 as the rotary drum 3 rotates rotates. By repeating the falling action (tumbling), the laundry has a beating action, and the laundry can be washed and rinsed. The amount of clothes of the laundry can be measured based on the time until the laundry is lifted to the upper position of the rotating drum 3 when the rotating drum 3 is initially rotated.

  A drainage pump 11 for discharging the washing liquid to the outside of the machine is provided at the bottom of the outer box 1 and outside the water tank 2. In the middle of the drainage duct 7 connecting the lower part of the water tank 2 and the drainage pump 11, a lint filter 13 is provided. The lint filter 13 can be removed from the entire lower surface of the outer box 1. The water level of the washing liquid is detected as a pressure change in an air trap 16 provided on the upper portion of the lint filter 13, and the pressure change is detected by a pressure guiding pipe 15 connected between the air trap 16 and the water level sensor 12. 12 is transmitted. In the water level sensor 12, the magnetic body moves in the coil according to the transmitted pressure, and the resulting inductance change in the coil is detected as a change in the oscillation frequency, and the water level is detected based on the change in the oscillation frequency. . The detergent liquid at the time of washing and the water at the time of rinsing are supplied into the rotary drum 3 through the water supply port 14.

  A general-purpose biaxial acceleration sensor 104 is attached to the upper back side of the water tank 2 (as opposed to the inner side where the rotating drum 3 is provided) as vibration detection means for the water tank 2. The acceleration sensor 104 outputs an electrical signal proportional to the magnitude of acceleration. In this embodiment, a voltage signal of ± 0.2 V per 1 G acceleration is output with respect to a reference voltage of 2.5 V. However, the present invention is not limited to this. As shown in FIG. 4, the biaxial acceleration sensor can detect accelerations in the X and Y directions orthogonal to each other in the same plane with respect to the acceleration sensor package. For the acceleration sensor 104, the Y direction is made coincident with the front-rear direction parallel to the rotation axis when the rotation axis is horizontally arranged, and the rotation axis is arranged when the rotation axis is arranged obliquely with respect to the horizontal. It is preferable that they are arranged and attached so as to coincide with the front-rear direction within the vertical plane. In this case, the X direction is the left-right direction of the water tank 2, and the acceleration sensor 104 can detect the acceleration in the left-right direction and the front-rear direction of the water tank 2. The X direction and the Y direction correspond to the first direction and the second direction in the present invention.

  In this embodiment, the position where the acceleration in each direction is most easily detected differs depending on the manner in which the water tank 2 is fixed to the outer box 1, so two uniaxial acceleration sensors (for example, the front end portion and the back end portion of the water tank 2 are provided). ).

  In the dehydration process, the rotation speed of the rotary drum 3 varies over a wide range from low speed to high speed. Therefore, the unbalance of the laundry in the rotary drum 3 is detected using the operation state at low speed of the dehydration process. It is preferable to carry out. While rotating the rotating drum 3 at a low speed (critical speed) that allows the laundry to stick to the inner surface of the peripheral wall, unbalance detection is performed to detect the amount of eccentricity that is the magnitude of the eccentric load of the rotating drum 3. If the amount is equal to or less than the determination value, the rotary drum 3 can be shifted to high speed rotation as it is. The washing liquid and the rinsing water contained in the laundry are discharged in such a manner that the laundry is pressed against the inner surface of the peripheral wall of the rotary drum 3 by using the centrifugal force during the high-speed rotation operation of the rotary drum 3. At this time, the washing liquid and the rinsing water are blown outward from the small holes 4 of the rotating drum 3, guided to the lower part of the water tank 2, and discharged to the outside by the drain pump 11. On the other hand, if it is determined that imbalance is detected when the imbalance of the rotating drum 3 is detected, the rotation of the rotating drum 3 is stopped, and the process returns to the beginning of the dehydration process to detect imbalance. Even when abnormal vibration is detected during dehydration, the rotation may be stopped similarly to the above-described imbalance detection, and the operation of returning to the top of the dehydration process and performing unbalance detection may be performed.

  FIG. 5 is a block diagram of a control circuit of the drum type washing machine according to the present embodiment. A main component of the control circuit 20 is a microcomputer 22, and the microcomputer 22 includes a CPU (central processing circuit) 23, a RAM 24, a ROM 25, a timer 26, a system bus 27, and a plurality of I / O ports 28. Yes. The microcomputer 22 operates when a constant voltage is supplied from the power supply circuit 31 to the power supply terminals Vdd and Vss, and can be reset by a signal input from the reset circuit 32 to the RESET terminal.

  The CPU 23 includes a control unit 29 and a calculation unit 30. The control unit 29 takes out an instruction stored in the ROM 25 and executes the instruction. The arithmetic unit 30 performs operations such as binary addition, logical operation, increase / decrease, and comparison on data input from various input devices and the RAM 24 based on a control signal given from the control unit 29 in the execution stage of the instruction. . Therefore, the ROM 25 stores in advance means for operating various devices, conditions set for various determinations, rules for processing various information, and the like.

  The microcomputer 22 is connected to an input key circuit 33, a state detection circuit 34, a display device driving circuit 35, a buzzer driving circuit 36 and a load driving circuit 37 via a plurality of I / O ports 28. The input key circuit 33 is connected to various operation buttons (input setting means 101), the state detection circuit 34 is a rotation detection means 105, a water level sensor 12, an unbalance detection means 100 for detecting an unbalance state during dehydration, and an acceleration. It is connected to the detection means 104. The display device drive circuit 35 is connected to the display device 102 and drives the display device 102. The buzzer drive circuit 36 is connected to the buzzer 103, and is used to sound the buzzer 103 when the key input is completed, at the end of the operation, or when an abnormality occurs to notify the user. Furthermore, the load drive circuit 37 is connected to the drainage pump 11, the drive motor 10, and the water supply valve 17, and drives and controls these elements. The microcomputer 22 performs an operation based on input signals input from the input key circuit 33 and the state detection circuit 34 and outputs signals to the display device drive circuit 35, the buzzer drive circuit 36, and the load drive circuit 37. . As the rotation detecting means 105, a method of detecting based on a signal from a hall sensor or a tachometer is generally used.

  The drum type washing machine of this embodiment is configured as described above, and a washing process, a rinsing process, and a dehydrating process are sequentially performed. The washing process is started by opening the open / close door 8, loading laundry from the laundry insertion port, and turning on the start switch of the operation panel 19. When the start switch is turned on, the rotary drum 3 starts to rotate at a low speed by driving the drive motor 10. Then, the water supply valve 18 is opened, and the water from the water supply valve 18 dissolves the detergent in the detergent case 21 on the way to become a detergent liquid and is supplied into the rotating drum 3 from the water supply port 14.

  When the water level sensor 12 detects that the water tank 2 has reached a predetermined water level, the water supply valve 18 is closed. The supplied detergent solution is poured onto the laundry that is rotating in the rotary drum 3 and penetrates into the laundry. The laundry containing the detergent solution is repeatedly tumbled, and the laundry is washed by the impact force when dropped. This tumbling can be performed by rotating the rotating drum 3 at 55 rpm for 10 seconds, for example, and stopping for 3 seconds.

  Then, when a predetermined time set in advance elapses, the rotary drum 3 is stopped, and the washing liquid in the water tank 2 and the rotary drum 3 is drained through the drainage duct 7 by driving the drainage pump 11. At the time of this drainage, the yarn waste contained in the drainage liquid is removed by the yarn waste filter 13 disposed in the drainage path between the drainage duct 7 and the drainage pump 11.

  Next, in the rinsing process, water injection rinsing is performed in which the rotary drum 3 rotates while the water supply valve 18 and the drainage pump 11 are in operation. Although the case where the water injection rinse process is performed after a washing process is demonstrated to an example below, after the washing process, the above-mentioned intermediate dehydration process and the reservoir rinse process may be performed, and the water injection rinse process may be performed after that.

  Further, in this embodiment, the water supply capacity of the water supply valve 18 and the auxiliary water supply valve is set to a flow rate of 10 liters / minute in total for both water supply valves, while the water discharge capacity is set to 15 liters / minute when the drainage pump 11 is driven. ing. When the drainage pump 11 is stopped, it is drained by a siphon phenomenon, and the drainage capacity is set to a flow rate of 5 liters / minute.

  FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view showing an embodiment of a drum-type washing machine having a rotating drum 3 whose rotating shaft is inclined. The same components as those in the drum type washing machine shown in FIGS. An acceleration sensor 104 as vibration detecting means is attached to the outside of the upper part of the water tank 2 which is also inclined.

  Hereinafter, detection of the unbalanced position of the drum type washing machine according to the present invention will be described. The rotating drum 3 is supported in a cantilever manner by a rotating shaft. When the laundry is unbalanced in the front-rear direction of the rotary drum 3, it has been found that the phenomenon shown in FIGS. 7 and 8 occurs as the vibration characteristics of the water tank 2. FIG. 7 is a diagram when the unbalance position of the laundry is “front”, and FIG. 8 is a diagram when the unbalance position of the laundry is “rear”. 7 and 8, the middle stage (b) is a diagram showing an unbalanced state of the rotary drum 3, and the lower stage (c) is the X (left and right) direction and the Y (front and back) direction when the rotational speed is 900 rpm. It is a graph which shows the mode of a vibration, and is a graph which shows the mode of a vibration in X (left-right) direction and Y (front-back) direction when the upper stage (a) is a rotation speed of 110 rpm, and both are obtained experimentally. FIG.

  At the front end of the rotating drum 3 near the door 8, the rotation of the rotating drum 3 tends to become unstable even if the amount of laundry unbalance is small. Conversely, when there is an unbalanced amount of laundry on the back side of the rotating drum 3, that is, on the rear side supported by the rotating shaft, the rotating drum 3 is rotated even if there is some unbalanced amount. Rotates stably. 7 and 8, when the rotational speed is relatively high (900 rpm), the phase difference between the vibration in the X direction and the vibration in the Y direction (from the time when the vibration in the X direction peaks) to the Y direction. The water tank 2 has a larger vibration pattern when the unbalance position is biased forward of the rotating drum 3 than when it is biased backward. It turns out to vibrate. FIG. 9 shows the vibration in the X direction when the rotational speed of the rotary drum is 400 rpm and the unbalance amount is 600 g, and the unbalance position is (back: 1, middle: 2, front: 3). 5 is a graph plotting a difference (degree) in phase angle between the vibration and vibration in the Y direction. It can be seen that the larger the phase angle difference, the more the unbalance position tends to shift forward.

  Further, from the upper graph (a) in FIG. 7 and FIG. 8, it is generally understood that the vibration in the X direction has a larger amplitude than the vibration in the Y direction, but FIG. When the unbalance position is before and after, the ratio of the maximum value of the vibration component in the X direction and the vibration component in the Y direction when the unbalance amount is changed (in this example, the Y direction Is a graph plotting the ratio of the vibration component in the X direction to the maximum value Y of the vibration component at X: Y). When the unbalanced position is in the front, the amplitude ratio (X / Y) is smaller than that in the rear, that is, the vibration tends to be less different between front and rear and left and right. I understand that.

  These characteristic information is stored in advance as a map, table, or expression, and based on the vibration characteristics in the X and Y directions detected by the acceleration sensor, complementation is performed if necessary. The balance position can be detected.

  FIG. 11 shows an example of the time lapse of the operation speed of the drum type washing machine according to the present invention. First, a process of loosening the laundry at an extremely low speed of about 50 rpm is provided. Thereafter, the rotating drum is rotated at a rotational speed slightly higher than the critical rotational speed of 110 rpm at which tumbling occurs, and unbalance detection is performed. When it is determined that the unbalance amount is 400 g or more, the rotational speed is decreased and loosened again, and then unbalance detection is performed again. When it is determined that the unbalance amount is less than 400 g, it is determined that there is little unevenness in the laundry, and the dehydration rotation speed is increased to the normal maximum rotation speed (900 rpm).

1 is a schematic side sectional view showing an embodiment of a drum type washing machine according to the present invention. The schematic front sectional drawing of the drum type washing machine shown in FIG. The external appearance perspective view of the drum type washing machine shown in FIG.1 and FIG.2. Schematic explanatory drawing of the acceleration sensor used for this invention. The block diagram which shows an example of the control circuit of the drum type washing machine by this invention. The schematic side sectional drawing of another embodiment with the inclined drum of the drum type washing machine by this invention. The figure which shows the example of a detection of the vibration component in case an unbalance position is "front". The figure which shows the example of a detection of the vibration component in case an unbalance position is "after." The graph which shows an example of the relationship between an unbalance position and the phase difference of a vibration component. The graph which shows an example of the relationship between an unbalance position and the ratio of the maximum value of a vibration component. The graph which shows an example of the driving | operation in the spin-drying | dehydration process of a washing machine.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Outer box 2 Water tank 3 Rotating drum 4 Small hole 5 Spring 6 Anti-vibration damper 7 Drain duct 8 Door 9 Door packing 10 Drive motor 11 Drain pump 12 Water level sensor 13 Waste thread filter 14 Water supply port 15 Induction pipe 16 Air trap 17 Baffle 18 Water supply valve 19 Operation / display unit 20 Control circuit 21 Detergent case 22 Microcomputer 23 CPU 24 RAM
25 ROM 26 Timer 27 System bus 28 I / 0 port 29 Control unit 30 Calculation unit 31 Power supply circuit 32 Reset circuit 33 Input key circuit 34 State detection circuit 35 Display device drive circuit 36 Buzzer drive circuit 37 Load drive circuit 100 Unbalance detection means 101 Input Setting Unit 102 Display Device 103 Buzzer 104 Acceleration Detection Unit 105 Rotation Detection Unit 106 Unbalance Determination Unit 107 Balancer

Claims (7)

  A vibration detecting means for detecting vibration components in a plurality of directions is attached to a water tank that rotatably supports a rotating drum capable of storing laundry therein by a rotating shaft that is horizontal or inclined with respect to the horizontal, and the vibration detecting means An unbalance position detection method in a drum type washing machine, wherein an unbalance position in a front-rear direction along the rotation axis of the laundry is detected based on output signals of vibration components in a plurality of directions output by .   The output of the vibration detection means includes a vibration component in a first direction and a second direction orthogonal to the first direction, and based on the phase difference when detecting the maximum value of both vibration components, The unbalanced position detection method in the drum type washing machine according to claim 1, wherein a balanced position is detected.   The output of the vibration detection means includes a vibration component in a first direction and a second direction orthogonal to the first direction, and the unbalance position in the front-rear direction is determined based on a ratio of the maximum values of the two vibration components. The unbalance position detection method in the drum type washing machine according to claim 1, wherein the detection is performed.   A water tank disposed in an outer box, a rotating drum that is rotatably supported by a rotating shaft that is horizontal or inclined with respect to the horizontal in the water tank, and that can accommodate laundry therein, and is attached to the water tank. In the washing machine including vibration detection means, the vibration detection means can detect vibration components in a plurality of directions of the water tub, and the washing is performed based on an output signal of the vibration components in the plurality of directions output from the vibration detection means. A drum-type washing machine that detects an unbalance position in a front-rear direction along the rotation axis of an object.   The vibration component in a plurality of directions output by the vibration detection means includes a vibration component in a first direction and a second direction orthogonal to the first direction, and is based on a phase difference when detecting the maximum value of both vibration components. 5. The drum type washing machine according to claim 4, wherein the unbalance position in the front-rear direction is detected.   The vibration acceleration in a plurality of directions output by the vibration detection means includes a vibration component in a first direction and a second direction orthogonal to the first direction, and the front and rear are based on a ratio of maximum values of the two vibration components. The drum type washing machine according to claim 4, wherein an unbalanced position in the direction is detected.   The drum type washing machine according to any one of claims 4 to 6, wherein the vibration detecting means is an acceleration sensor capable of detecting acceleration in two orthogonal axes.

Images