JP2008104494A - Drum-type washing machine - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a drum-type washing machine which can complete dehydration process as much as possible without frequent useless repetition of the process for the correction of imbalance. <P>SOLUTION: The drum-type washing machine has an outer tub for storing washing water, a rotary drum as a washing/dehydration tub provided inside the outer tub, a washing capacity sensing means for sensing the capacity of washing housed in the rotary drum and a vibration sensor for detecting vibrations of the outer tub. The sensing of the capacity is carried out by the washing capacity sensing means prior to the washing process made before the rinsing and dehydration processes. When a capacity is determined to be small by the capacity sensing, the number of revolutions for dehydration is controlled to increase even if the amplitude detected by the vibration sensor exceed a threshold in the mode of the number of primary resonance revolutions during the dehydration process. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a drum type washing machine having improved dewatering start-up characteristics of a laundry having a small capacity.

  Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 5-293289 (Patent Document 1) discloses a drum type washing machine that includes a cloth amount identification device (washing capacity sensing means) and an unbalance identification device (vibration sensor) to reduce vibration during dehydration. Are listed.

JP-A-5-293289

  In a drum-type washing machine, in the case of small-sized laundry such as a bath towel, when the laundry is sufficiently wet, it becomes several times its own weight. When the rotating drum is rotated at a low speed in the dehydration process, the laundry tends to be agglomerated and unbalance is likely to occur in the rotating drum tank.

  This imbalance causes the amplitude value of the vibration sensor to increase due to the primary resonance of the outer tub. For this reason, when the rotational speed control or vibration detection threshold value is set only with the amplitude of the vibration sensor in the dehydration process, when passing through the primary resonance, the rotational speed cannot be increased because it is controlled by the threshold value. There was a problem that the process of determining imbalance was repeated and the process of correcting imbalance was repeated, and the dehydration process did not end.

  An object of the present invention is to provide a drum-type washing machine that can cope with such a problem and that can quickly complete the dehydration process without repeating the process of correcting the imbalance.

  The present invention is an outer tub for storing washing water, a rotating drum as a washing and dewatering tub provided inside the outer tub, and a washing capacity sensing means for sensing the capacity of the laundry stored in the rotating drum, In the drum type washing machine having a vibration sensor for detecting the vibration of the outer tub and performing capacity sensing by the washing capacity sensing means prior to the washing process performed before the rinsing process and the dehydrating process, the capacity sensing When it is determined that the capacity is small, control is performed so that the rotation speed of dehydration is increased even when the amplitude detected by the vibration sensor is greater than or equal to a threshold value during the primary resonance rotation speed during the dehydration process.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the drum type washing machine which can complete | finish a spin-drying | dehydration process quickly without repeating the process of unbalance correction can be provided.

  Hereinafter, examples according to embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a drum type washing machine according to an embodiment of the present invention.

  On the upper part of the base 1, an outer frame housing 2 configured by combining a steel plate and a resin molded product is placed.

  A door 3 for taking in and out the laundry 30 is provided in front of the outer frame housing 2, and an opening / closing operation is performed by a door opening / closing push button switch 4.

  The door 3 is constituted by a resin molded product whose outside is a design part and a heat-resistant glass door on the inside.

  A fixing hole 5 for standing a drainage hose is provided on the side surface of the outer frame housing 2. A plurality of handles 6 are provided for carrying and moving the drum type washing machine body. A detergent tray 7 is attached to the upper surface of the outer frame housing 2.

  On the side of the detergent tray 7, an operation unit 9 and a display unit 10 are provided. Further, a drain hose 11 is drawn out from the side surface of the base 1, and legs 12 into which rubber is inserted are arranged at the four corners at the bottom.

  The door 3 and the door opening / closing push button switch 4 are supported by a front cover 14, and a filter case 13 is provided in the lower part thereof.

  FIG. 2 relates to an embodiment of the present invention, and shows a longitudinal sectional view of a drum type washing machine.

  An outer tub 20 is provided inside the outer frame housing 2.

  The lower part of the outer tub 20 is supported by a plurality of suspensions 21, and the upper part is supported by two tension springs 22, 23 arranged at the front and rear.

  The suspension 21 supports the entire weight of the outer tub 20 and has a strong structure. Further, a damping mechanism or the like is provided for absorbing the vertical vibration of the outer tub 20 generated during the dehydration operation and preventing abnormal vibration due to resonance of the outer tub 20 at the start of dehydration.

  Further, the tension springs 22 and 23 supported from the upper part of the outer tub 20 are provided in order to reduce the vibrations before and after the vertical and horizontal vibrations when supporting and dehydrating the outer tub 20 in the front-rear direction. Yes.

  When it is easy to wash, water necessary for easy washing is supplied. The water supply hose 24 connected to the water tap is connected to the water supply electromagnetic valve 25, and the water is supplied from the water injection hose 26 through the detergent charging case 27 by the operation of the water supply electromagnetic valve 25.

  The supplied water is stored as washing water at the bottom of the outer tub 20 and as rinsing water at the time of rinsing.

  The detergent charging case 27 is in the detergent tray 7, and a detergent necessary for washing is charged, and a softening agent for improving the finish is charged when rinsing.

  At the time of washing, the water supplied from the water injection hose 26 is introduced from the upper part of the outer tub 20 through the flexible hose 28 while dissolving the detergent in the detergent introduction case 27.

  The rotating drum 29 inside the outer tub 20 has the laundry 30 that is put in by opening the door 3. A fluid balancer 31 is provided on the outer periphery of the opening of the rotary drum 29 to reduce vibrations caused by unbalance of the laundry 30 during dehydration.

  The rotating drum 29 is operated at high speed during dehydration. A plurality of dewatering holes 32 for dewatering moisture contained in the laundry 30 by centrifugal force are provided on the entire circumference of the rotating drum 29.

  In addition, a plurality of lifters 33 are provided inside the rotating drum 29 to lift the laundry 30 during washing.

  The rotating drum 29 is directly connected to a drum driving motor 36 via a main shaft 35 connected to a rotating drum metal flange 34. The drum drive motor 36 is attached to a metal flange 37 fixed to the outer tub 20.

  In this embodiment, the drum driving motor 36 is a magnet-embedded inner rotor, and the stator uses a DC brushless motor having concentrated windings.

  A rubber bellows 38 made of an elastic body is attached to the opening of the outer tub 20. The bellows 38 is provided so as to be in contact with the glass door 40 of the resin molded product heat-resistant glass door 40 and 39 constituting the door 3, and serves to maintain the watertightness between the inside of the outer tub 20 and the door 3. ing.

  This watertight maintenance prevents water leakage during washing, rinsing and dehydration.

  Water that has become unnecessary after being rinsed easily or water that has been dehydrated from the laundry 30 during dehydration is drained from the drainage hose 11 by opening the drain valve 41. A vibration sensor 42 for detecting the amplitude of the outer tub 20 is attached to the upper surface of the outer tub 20.

  A plurality of vibration sensors 42 may be attached at different positions depending on the purpose. For example, when it is necessary to detect vibrations in modes with different amplitudes in the front-rear direction, they are provided in the front-rear direction.

  FIG. 3 relates to the embodiment of the present invention, and is a block diagram showing an operation process of the drum type washing machine.

  In this operation process, the dirt attached to the laundry 30 is removed, the detergent by rinsing is rinsed, and the water contained in the laundry 30 is dehydrated by the centrifugal force generated by the high-speed rotation of the rotary drum 29. .

  A general automatic washing course that automatically performs a series of steps such as draining the water is shown in this block diagram.

  Each step will be described below based on the block diagram.

  Water supply 50 is performed by operating the water supply electromagnetic valve 25. In the washing step 51, when water necessary for washing is supplied into the outer tub 20, the drum driving motor 36 rotates and the rotating drum 29 is rotated.

  The rotation speed of the rotating drum 29 at this time is 40 to 50 rotations per minute, and the laundry 30 is lifted up by the lifter 33 in the rotating drum 29 by performing a right rotation and a left rotation every few minutes with a pause. While washing by tapping.

  When the washing process 51 is completed, the dirt attached to the laundry 30 is removed by washing, and the process proceeds to a draining process 52 for discharging dirty washing water to the outside of the washing machine. After the drainage is completed, the process proceeds to a dehydration step 53 for dehydrating the detergent contained in the laundry 30.

  In the dewatering step 53, the rotating drum 29 is rotated at a high speed, and the laundry 30 is dewatered from the plurality of dewatering holes 32 provided on the inner wall of the rotating drum 29 by centrifugal force.

  The number of rotations at this time is 800 to 1500 rotations per minute. When the dehydration process 53 is completed, the detergent contained in the laundry 30 is rinsed and the process proceeds to the rinsing process 54.

  Before entering the rinsing step 54, the fresh water necessary for rinsing is supplied into the outer tub 20 in the water supply step 50 for supplying fresh water as in the washing step 51. In this embodiment, 25 to 30 liters of fresh water necessary for rinsing is supplied as in the case of washing.

  When a specified amount of fresh water is supplied, the process automatically proceeds to the rinsing process 54, and the detergent contained in the laundry 30 while the rotating drum 29 rotates at a low speed (around 45 rotations per minute) as in the washing process. Remove minutes.

  In this embodiment, the rinsing is performed twice, but the number of times of the rinsing step 54 is two to three. After the rinsing step 54 is completed, drainage is performed and the final dehydration step 55 is entered to sufficiently dehydrate the moisture contained in the laundry 30.

  The dewatering time of the final dewatering step 55 is generally 5 minutes or longer, and the rotating drum 29 is rotated at a high speed to remove the moisture of the laundry 30 by centrifugal force. The dehydration rate at this time is 60 to 65%.

  FIG. 4 relates to an embodiment of the present invention, and shows a circuit for driving a drum type washing machine.

  The commercial power supply 60 of AC100V enters the filter circuit 64 through the outlet 63 through the fuse 63 arranged in parallel with the power switch 62. From the back of the filter circuit 64, power is directly supplied to various electrical components and the rectifier circuit 65.

  A switching power supply 66 and an inverter circuit 67 for supplying a low-voltage DC power supply are connected from the rectifier circuit 65. In addition, a voltage detection circuit 68 and a fuse 69 are connected between them.

  The inverter drive circuit 70 controls the inverter drive circuit 67 by the signal of the rotational position sensor 71 attached to the drum drive motor 36 to rotate the drum drive motor 36. The entire drum type washing machine is controlled by the microcomputer 72.

  The electric parts directly driven by the commercial power source 60 include the water supply electromagnetic valve 25 and the drain valve 41, which are performed by controlling the current flowing through the relay winding 74 by the microcomputer 72 through the relay contacts 73 connected in series with each other. . The signal from the vibration sensor 42 is directly taken into the microcomputer 72.

  FIG. 5 relates to the implementation of the present invention, and shows a part of a flowchart in the dehydration process 53 and the final dehydration 55.

  Based on the dehydration process 53 as an example, the amount of laundry and the following processes will be described.

  When the dehydration process start 90 is performed, prior to the rinsing process and the washing process performed before the dehydration process, the capacity sensing is performed by the washing capacity sensing means, and the measurement information on the amount of laundry stored in the microcomputer 72 is called up. It is.

  That is, when the start button is pressed, the washing capacity sensing 91 for measuring the amount of laundry is performed by the washing capacity sensing means and stored in the microcomputer 72 prior to the washing process.

  When the dehydration process proceeds and the amount of the laundry 30 is small, the primary resonance rotational speed 92 is accelerated. In the case of the present embodiment, when the rotational speed is 150 rotations per minute, the dehydration rotational speed is accelerated 94 regardless of the amplitude threshold 93. I am letting.

  When the amount of the laundry 30 is not large, that is, small, the vibration amplitude is measured by the vibration sensor 42 at the primary resonance rotational speed 92, and is discriminated by the amplitude threshold value 93 stored in advance. Transition.

  When the amplitude is smaller than the threshold value 93, the dehydrating rotation speed acceleration 94 is performed, and when the amplitude is large, the dehydrating rotation speed deceleration 95 is performed, and an unbalance correction 96 for correcting the deviation of the laundry is performed.

  As described above, when the amount of the laundry 30 is small, even if the amplitude exceeds the threshold value 93 at the primary resonance rotational speed 92, no large vibration is generated. Will not be repeated, and the dehydration process can be completed quickly.

  When the amount of the laundry 30 is large, when the amplitude exceeds the threshold value 93 at the primary resonance rotational speed 92, the unbalance correction 96 can be performed to smoothly shift to the dehydration process.

  FIG. 6 relates to the implementation of the present invention, and shows a part of a flowchart after the primary resonance rotational speed 92 in the dehydrating step 53.

  After the primary resonance rotation speed 92, the dehydration rotation acceleration 94 is performed to reach the secondary resonance rotation speed 98.

  The secondary resonance rotation speed 98 in this embodiment is 300 to 400 rotations per minute although it depends on the eigenvalue of the entire outer tub 20.

  The number of revolutions is determined by the amplitude threshold value 97 regardless of the capacity, and the correspondence is determined.

  When the amplitude threshold value 97 is large, the process proceeds to the step of performing the rotational speed reduction 95 and the unbalance correction 96 as in the case of the primary resonance rotational speed 92.

  When the amplitude threshold value 97 is small, the rotational speed increases 95 and the steady dehydration rotational speed 99 is reached.

  FIG. 7 relates to the implementation of the present invention, and shows the state of acceleration of the rotational speed with respect to time in the dehydration process 53.

  This rotational speed is provided with a low constant speed rotational speed section 100 having a rotational speed slightly lower than 150, which is the primary resonant rotational speed 92. The operation time T1 in the low constant speed rotation speed section maintained below the primary resonance rotation speed is shortened.

  Similarly, a medium constant speed rotational speed section 101 having a rotational speed slightly lower than 300 to 400 rotational speeds per minute, which is the secondary resonant rotational speed, is provided. The operation time T2 in the medium constant speed rotation speed section maintained below the secondary resonance rotation speed is long.

  The operation time T2 is about 2.5 to 3 times the operation time T1. When the operation time T2 is lengthened, vibration is reduced when the secondary resonance point is raised. Further, when the secondary resonance rotational speed is exceeded, it is possible to prevent firing trouble.

  Hereinafter, this embodiment will be described in detail. In the case of a drum-type washing machine, when the laundry 30 is sufficiently wet in a small-capacity laundry 30 such as a bath towel, the weight becomes several times (4 to 5 times) its own weight.

  Moreover, since it is easy to become a lump when it is washed with one bath towel, the value of the amplitude of the vibration sensor 42 becomes large at the primary resonance rotational speed 92 during the dehydrating operation.

  Further, since the primary resonance rotational speed 92 is about 150 rotations per minute, it hardly contributes to dewatering the moisture contained in the laundry 30, and the outer tub 20 is greatly shaken and controlled by information on the threshold value 93 of the amplitude. The rotation speed cannot be accelerated forever.

  For this reason, it is not possible to dehydrate the laundry 30 having a small capacity.

  However, the net weight when the laundry 30 is dried in a small capacity is about 300 to 400 g / sheet. For this reason, when the moisture contained in the laundry 30 is dehydrated to some extent, the amplitude value is greatly reduced and the unbalance is reduced. Therefore, even if the primary resonance speed 92 is forcibly passed, it is unbalanced. The rotating drum 29 can be accelerated without causing problems such as the tank 20 contacting the outer frame 1.

  Thus, the amount of the laundry 30 is detected by the laundry capacity sensing 91, and when the laundry 30 is small, the laundry 30 is set to a rotational speed exceeding the primary resonance rotational speed 92 even if the amplitude threshold 93 is large. When the net weight at the time of drying is as small as about 300 to 400 g per sheet, dehydration activation can be performed efficiently. For this reason, the unbalance correction process is not repeated, and the dehydration process can be completed quickly.

  When the weight of the laundry 30 is large, it cannot be expected that the unbalance amount is significantly reduced by dehydration, and vibration and noise increase as the rotational speed increases, so that the primary resonant rotational speed 92 is forcibly passed. I can't do it because I can't.

  In general, the resistance to imbalance with respect to the laundry 30 in dehydration is about 600 to 800 g. If it is a poultice within this weight, dehydration can be started without any problem. Therefore, when the laundry 30 is heavy, it tends to be uniform in the rotary drum 29. For this reason, since the amount of unbalance is generally small, it tends to be better near the rated washing capacity.

  When the amount of the laundry 30 is slightly larger than the small amount, the imbalance becomes large when the secondary resonance rotational speed 98 is reached. Therefore, the intermediate constant speed rotational speed at which the rotational speed is maintained moderately at the secondary resonant rotational speed 98 or less. By taking the section 101, the moisture contained in the laundry 30 is further dehydrated, so that the amount of imbalance due to moisture can be reduced and the amplitude value can be reduced.

  Thereby, the amount of unbalance when operating at a rotational speed equal to or higher than the secondary resonance rotational speed 98 is reduced, and the rotational speed can be accelerated.

  The time of the medium constant speed rotation speed section 101 is increased as the amount of the laundry 30 increases. Since the medium constant speed rotational speed section 101 is operated at the highest rotational speed before the unbalance amount becomes large, the moisture contained in the laundry 30 is further dehydrated to reduce the unbalance amount due to the moisture, Since the value can be reduced, dehydration can be efficiently performed to reduce the unbalance amount.

  When driving at a rotational speed equal to or higher than the secondary resonant rotational speed 98, the secondary resonant rotational speed 98 is exceeded if it is smaller than the amplitude threshold value 97 regardless of the amount of the laundry 30, and when it is larger. The rotational speed is decreased 95, and the process proceeds to the unbalance correction 96 step. Thereby, the process of the unbalance correction 96 can be performed early and the correction time can be shortened.

  FIG. 8 shows a state in which the weight of the laundry 30 before the dehydration operation is dehydrated and the mass is reduced as the water is dehydrated from the laundry 30 with the dehydration acceleration operation time.

  The laundry 30 has a weight of about 3 to 4 times, especially when a towel-based material is washed and contains moisture.

In the operation time T1 of the low constant speed rotation speed section shown in FIG. 7, the dehydration speed is constant, so that water is hardly dehydrated due to centrifugal force, and the mass of the laundry 30 does not decrease. When the rotation speed (about 250 rpm) is about the operating time T2, the moisture contained in the laundry 30 is greatly reduced. If this T2 section is lengthened, the moisture contained in the laundry 30 is dehydrated and the laundry 30 The mass decreases and the laundry 30 becomes lighter.

  Incidentally, if the dehydration rate after the completion of the dehydration operation in the final dehydration step is 50%, the mass of the laundry 30 is twice the mass before the laundry that does not contain moisture.

  That is, if the weight of the laundry 30 of the bath towel before washing is 300 g, the weight of the laundry after the final dehydration is 600 g when the dehydration rate is 50%, and the moisture is finished including 300 CC.

  The target product of the present invention can be applied not only to the drum type washing machine but also to the drum type washing machine.

The perspective view of a drum type washing machine which concerns on the Example of this invention is shown. The longitudinal cross-sectional view of the drum-type washing machine according to the embodiment of the present invention is shown. It is a block diagram which concerns on the Example of this invention and shows the driving | operation process of a drum type washing machine. The circuit which drives a drum-type washing machine according to the embodiment of the present invention is shown. A part of the flowchart in the dehydration step 53 is shown according to the implementation of the present invention. A part of the flowchart after the primary resonance rotational speed 92 in the dehydration step 53 is shown according to the implementation of the present invention. In accordance with the implementation of the present invention, an increase in the number of revolutions with respect to time in the dewatering step 53 is shown. This relates to the implementation of the present invention, and shows the change in the mass of the laundry with respect to time in the dewatering step 53.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 20 ... Outer tub, 29 ... Rotating drum, 30 ... Laundry, 42 ... Vibration sensor, 51 ... Washing process, 53 ... Dehydration process, 54 ... Rinsing process, 91 ... Washing capacity sensing, 92 ... Primary resonance rotation speed, 93 ... Threshold value of amplitude, 98 ... secondary resonance rotational speed, 100 ... low constant speed rotational speed section, 101 ... medium constant speed rotational speed section.

Claims (3)

An outer tub for storing washing water;
A rotating drum as a washing and dewatering tank provided inside the outer tub;
Washing capacity sensing means for sensing the capacity of the laundry stored in the rotating drum;
Having a vibration sensor for detecting the vibration of the outer tub,
Prior to the rinsing step, the washing step performed before the dehydration step, in the drum type washing machine in which the volume sensing is performed by the washing volume sensing means,
When the capacity sensing determines that the capacity is low, the drum type is configured to increase the spin speed of dehydration even when the amplitude detected by the vibration sensor is equal to or greater than a threshold at the primary resonance speed during the spin-drying process. Washing machine. In the drum type washing machine according to claim 1,
A drum-type laundry characterized in that when the rotation speed of dehydration is accelerated and the amplitude detected by the vibration sensor when passing through the secondary resonance rotation speed is greater than or equal to a threshold value, the increase in the rotation speed is suppressed. Machine. In the drum type washing machine according to claim 1 or 2,
The rotating drum has a low constant speed rotational speed section where the rotational speed is less than the primary resonant rotational speed, and a medium constant speed rotational speed section where the rotational speed of the rotating drum is equal to or higher than the primary resonant rotational speed and less than the secondary resonant rotational speed. And
The drum type washing machine, wherein the medium constant speed rotation speed section time is longer than the operation time of the low constant speed rotation speed section.

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