JP2010125250A - Drum washing machine - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To more easily and swiftly detect the imbalance in the front and rear for determination of abnormal imbalance in the front and rear and for countermeasures against the abnormal imbalance, and to execute the countermeasures. <P>SOLUTION: A bottomed cylindrical rotary drum 2 is set within a resiliently supported water tub 3 with a rotation shaft 2a in the horizontal direction or inclined downward toward the rear from the horizontal direction, and the rotary drum 2 is driven by a motor 5 in the rear of the water tub 3. Under this condition, a control means 20 determines the imbalance in the rear when the size relations between the amplitude of a vibration component in the forward vertical direction and the amplitude of a vibration component in the forward back and forth direction are established both at two prescribed rotational speeds based on output signals of vibration components in a plurality of directions output from a vibration detecting means 40 in the step of rise of rotation of the rotary drum 2 in the dewatering operation. When the imbalance in the rear is determined, the outputs signals of the vibration detecting means are corrected in the process of rise thereafter, and the size of the imbalance is detected. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention is a water tank in which a rotating drum formed in a bottomed cylindrical shape is elastically supported so that the rotation axis direction is inclined horizontally or downward from the horizontal direction from the opening front side toward the back side as the bottom. The present invention relates to a drum-type washing machine installed inside and driven by a motor fixed to the rear part of a water tank.

  With reference to FIG. 1 showing the embodiment of the present invention, such a drum type washing machine has a large number of holes in a water tank 3 elastically supported by a vibration isolating damper 70 as a suspension structure in a housing 6. The rotating drum 2 is formed such that the rotating shaft direction is horizontal or inclined downward from the horizontal direction from the front side to the bottom side where the rotating drum 2 is formed, and the rotating drum 4 is disposed at the rear part of the water tank 3. The water tank unit 7 is configured to be rotationally driven by a fixed motor 5, and the front opening of the water tank 3 and the front opening of the rotary drum 2 are opened by opening a door 9 that can be opened and closed on the front side of the housing 1. The laundry can be taken in and out through the rotary drum 4 (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

  In such a drum-type washing machine, since the rotating drum is horizontal or inclined as described above, if laundry is stored in the rotating drum and rotated, the laundry and water tend to be biased downward. Vibration is likely to occur. In particular, when performing a dehydration process in which the rotating drum is rotated at a high speed to dehydrate the laundry, the laundry containing water is stored in the rotating drum after the washing or rinsing process is completed. Depending on the type, dough, or shape, there is a state where the rotating drum tends to gather at a biased position during the spin-drying process. When the laundry is biased, a large vibration is generated in the water tank that houses the rotating drum, and abnormal vibration and abnormal noise are generated in the washing machine.

Patent Document 1 discloses a drum-type washing machine of this type, in which the rotational speed of the rotating drum is operated over a wide rotational speed range from a low speed to a high speed in a dehydration process, and at that time the laundry is moved in the front-rear direction along the rotational axis. If there is an unbalance, there may be a problem such as a large swinging of the rotating drum depending on the rotational speed, which may cause problems such as collision with the water tank and generating noise, especially on the front side along the rotation axis. If there is an unbalance, it is said that the swinging is more likely to occur than when there is an unbalance on the rear side. As a technique corresponding to this, Patent Document 1 detects the unbalanced position of the laundry based on the output signal of the vibration component in the plurality of directions output by the vibration detection means capable of detecting the vibration component in the plurality of directions of the water tank. To deal with unbalanced abnormalities.
JP 2006-311884 A

  By the way, with respect to the vibration source of the rotating drum as disclosed in Patent Document 1, the water tank is a resonance target. For this reason, when the water tank resonates at the first and second resonance points, it causes abnormal vibration of the entire water tank unit described above and generates abnormal noise. To solve this problem, it is important to preferentially determine the front imbalance as in the technique described in Patent Document 1 and to deal with it, so that the problem remains, and there is a limit to the rear imbalance.

In particular, the vibration behavior of the rotating drum at the time of unbalance is a so-called flourwood movement in which the front part swings around the rear part as disclosed in Patent Document 1, regardless of whether the rotation is unbalanced or not. From the technical viewpoint of the disclosure, there is little wobbling on the rear side of the rotating drum and there is no concern of contact with the water tank, but it is a vibration source on the weight side with a fixed motor, and greatly vibrates the front side of the water tank. In addition to this, it may cause resonance different from the previous unbalance with the aquarium, or may cause damage at the mutual joint due to differences in vibration behavior and vibration load with the aquarium.

  SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a drum type washing machine that can easily and quickly detect front and rear imbalances, and can perform determination and handling of front and rear imbalance abnormalities, and can also execute them. .

  In order to achieve the above object, a drum-type washing machine according to the present invention is configured such that a rotating drum formed in a bottomed cylindrical shape has a horizontal or horizontal rotation axis direction from an opening front side toward a back side as a bottom. A drum-type washing machine that is installed in an elastically supported water tank and is driven by a motor fixed to the rear part of the water tank so as to be inclined downward from the control means for controlling the rotation of the motor, and the water tank Vibration control means for detecting vibration components in a plurality of directions, and the control means is configured to increase the rotation of the rotating drum in a dehydrating operation after washing and rinsing steps. Based on the output signal of the vibration component in the plurality of directions to be output, the amplitude of the output signal related to the vibration component in the front and up and down direction at the predetermined first rotational speed and the output signal related to the vibration component in the front and rear direction. Using the magnitude relationship of the amplitude, the magnitude relationship between the amplitude of the output signal related to the vibration component in the front / rear direction and the amplitude of the output signal related to the vibration component in the front / rear direction at a predetermined second rotational speed, When the position of the unbalance in the direction is determined and it is determined as the rear unbalance, the output signal of the vibration detecting means is corrected and the magnitude of the unbalance is detected in the subsequent rising process of the rotating drum. It is characterized by that.

  In such a configuration, the vibration detection means is on the water tank and outputs signals corresponding to vibrations in a plurality of directions including the front vertical direction and the front front / rear direction of the water tank. The magnitude relationship between the amplitude of the output signal related to the vibration component in the vertical direction and the amplitude of the output signal related to the vibration component in the front / rear direction, and the amplitude of the output signal related to the vibration component in the front / vertical direction at a predetermined second rotational speed By using the fact that the amplitude relationship of the output signal related to the vibration component in the front / rear direction is correlated to whether it is rear unbalance, it can be determined whether it is rear unbalance or front unbalance. After the determination, the output signal of the vibration detecting means arranged at the front part of the water tank is corrected, and the magnitude of the unbalance can be detected.

  Further objects and features of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description and drawings. The features of the present invention can be employed alone or in combination as much as possible.

  According to the present invention, the amplitude of the output signal related to the vibration component in the front / up / down direction at the predetermined first rotation speed and the front / rear front / rear direction by skillfully utilizing the relationship between the two output signals output by one vibration detection means. The magnitude relationship between the amplitude of the output signal related to the vibration component in the direction, the amplitude of the output signal related to the vibration component in the front / up / down direction at the predetermined second rotational speed, and the amplitude of the output signal related to the vibration component in the front / rear direction In relation, it is possible to determine whether it is rear unbalance or front unbalance, and after determining that it is rear unbalance, the output signal of the vibration detection means arranged in the front part of the aquarium is corrected and unbalanced. Therefore, the size of the unbalance can be accurately detected by one vibration detecting means attached to the front portion of the water tank, and the cost can be reduced.

  Hereinafter, a drum type washing machine according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 5 for the understanding of the present invention. In addition, the following description is a specific example of this invention, Comprising: The content of description of a claim is not limited.

  A drum type washing machine 1 according to the present embodiment shown in FIG. 1 houses a water tank unit 7 in a washing machine casing 6. The water tank unit 7 accommodates the rotating drum 2 in the water tank 3, and the rotating shaft 2a of the rotating drum 2 is supported by a bearing 68 provided on the back surface of the water tank 3, and the drum driving motor 5 is supported on the rotating shaft 2a by a bearing 68. Linked above. The rotating drum 2 is arranged together with the water tank 3 such that the direction of the rotating shaft 2a is inclined downward from the horizontal or horizontal direction from the front side to the back side to the bottom side. Since the water tank unit 7 is attached with heavy components such as the bearing 68 and the motor 5 on the back side thereof, the position of the center of gravity G becomes closer to the back side and becomes unstable. Therefore, the water tank unit 7 is supported by the vibration-proof damper 70 below the position of the center of gravity G and closer to the front side, and between the upper support fitting 75 fixed to the upper part of the tank 3 and the upper surface of the washing machine casing 6. The water tank unit 7 is urged toward the front side by the first coil spring 71 installed on the front side, and further between the back surface below the support height position by the vibration damping damper 70 and the back surface of the washing machine housing 6. By installing the second coil spring 72, it is corrected that the aquarium unit 7 supported by the vibration isolating damper 70 nearer to the front side than the position of the center of gravity G falls to the back side, and a support structure having a high damping effect. It is configured.

  The drum type washing machine 1 of the present embodiment is not shown in the drawing, but the drum type washing machine having a drying function provided with a blower fan for blowing warm air, a heater for generating warm air, etc. in the rotating drum 2. A control means 20 as shown in FIG. 2 is provided to control a series of operation operations including a dryer, washing, rinsing, dewatering, and drying based on an instruction input from the user and an operation state monitoring of each part. Yes.

  The control means 20 rectifies the AC power 31 by the rectifier 32, and uses the DC power smoothed by the smoothing circuit including the choke coil 33 and the smoothing capacitor 34 as the driving power to rotate the motor 5 by the inverter circuit 26. The rotation of the drum drive motor 5 is controlled based on the operation instruction input from the input setting means 21 and the monitoring information of the operation state detected by each detection means, and the water supply valve 14, the drain valve 13, and the air blow are controlled by the load drive means 37. The operation of necessary loads such as the fan 17 and the heaters 18 and 19 is controlled.

  The motor 5 includes a stator having three-phase windings 5a, 5b, and 5c and a rotor having a two-pole permanent magnet, and is configured as a DC brushless motor provided with three position detection elements 24a, 24b, and 24c. The rotation is controlled by a PWM control inverter circuit 26 constituted by the switching elements 26a to 26f. The rotor position detection signals detected by the position detection elements 24a, 24b, and 24c are input to the control means 20, and the on / off states of the switching elements 26a to 26f are PWM-controlled by the drive circuit 25 based on the rotor position detection signals. Thus, energization of the three-phase windings 5a, 5b and 5c of the stator is controlled to rotate the rotor at a required rotational speed. The control means 20 detects the cycle each time the signal state of any of the three position detection means 24a, 24b, 24c changes, and the rotational speed detection means 24 uses the rotational speed of the rotor as an internal function based on the period. Calculated by

  By the way, as described above, the rotating drum 2 of the water tank unit 7 elastically supported as described above has the direction of the rotating shaft 2a being horizontal or inclined, and when the laundry is stored and rotated, Since water tends to be biased downward, vibration is likely to occur, and in the dehydration process in which the laundry drum is dehydrated by rotating the rotary drum 2 at a high speed of 1000 to 1550 r / min shown in FIG. Alternatively, the laundry containing water tends to gather at a biased position of the rotary drum 2 depending on the type, fabric, or shape after the rinsing process is completed. When the laundry is biased, a large vibration is generated in the water tank 3 that accommodates the rotating drum, and abnormal vibration and abnormal noise are generated in the washing machine.

As disclosed in Patent Document 1, the shake of the front portion of the rotating drum 2 is particularly large, and the water tank 3 becomes an object of resonance from the rotating drum 2 only by eliminating the problem of contact with the water tank 3. , Resonance at a first resonance point near 120 r / min, a second resonance point near 250 r / min, a resonance point above 1000 r / min, etc. may cause abnormal vibration of the entire aquarium unit 7, resulting in abnormal noise. In terms of abnormal noise, in addition to the front imbalance, there is a limit to the rear imbalance, and both must be dealt with. In addition, the vibration behavior of the rotating drum 2 at the time of unbalance becomes a cause of resonance different from the previous unbalance with the water tank 3 regardless of before and after the unbalance, and the vibration behavior and vibration load with the water tank 3 are different. It is not possible to deal with damages at the joints due to.

  Therefore, in the present embodiment, the vibration detection means 40 that detects vibration components in a plurality of directions is provided at the front portion of the water tank 3, and the control means 20 outputs, for example, a rotation speed that is constant or at a certain moment. Dehydration operation after washing and rinsing process based on output signals FFR, FLR, FUD of vibration components in a plurality of directions related to front-rear direction (FFR), front left-right direction (FLR), front front-up-down direction (FUD) during rotation 3, the output signal FFR related to the vibration component in the front / rear direction and the output signal related to the vibration component in the front / up / down direction at a predetermined rotational speed R1, R2 (R1 <R2). If the magnitude relation of FLR is FFR> FUD at a predetermined rotational speed R1 and FFR <FUD at a predetermined rotational speed R2, it is determined that the rear imbalance is present, and this is used for dealing with a subsequent imbalance abnormality. Unisuru.

  Thus, the vibration detection means 40 outputs signals FFR, FLR, FUD corresponding to vibrations in a plurality of directions including the front left / right direction and the front / rear direction of the water tank 3 on the water tank 3, but the rear unbalance In this case, since the magnitude relationship between FFR and FUD changes at the first resonance point in the vicinity of 120 r / min, it is possible to determine whether it is rear unbalance or front unbalance.

  After the determination of the rear imbalance, it is possible to correct the output signal of the vibration detecting means arranged at the front part of the aquarium and to deal with the rear imbalance abnormality.

  According to such a technique, skillfully utilizing the relationship between the two output signals FFR and FUD output by the vibration detection means 40, and in the case of a subsequent unbalance, the output signal FFR related to the vibration component in the front-rear direction and By determining the rear imbalance by utilizing the feature that the magnitude relationship of the output signal FUD related to the vibration component in the front / up / down direction changes at the first resonance point near 120 r / min, the first resonance point and thereafter are determined. Be prepared to deal with unbalanced abnormalities later.

  FIG. 4 shows the temporal change in the front left / right amplitude and the front / rear amplitude due to the rear imbalance of the laundry and the peak value. The magnitude relationship between the front left / right amplitude and the front / rear amplitude is 120r. It is clearly shown that the change occurs at the first resonance point in the vicinity of / min, and it can be determined whether the rear imbalance can be determined from the relationship between the front left / right amplitude and the front front / rear amplitude.

  In addition, by providing the vibration detection means 40 in the vicinity of the front end of the water tank 3, it can be said that the vibration component in the front left / right direction and the vibration component in the front / rear direction of the water tank 3 are easily reflected in the output signal of the vibration detection means 40.

Here, in one embodiment, the first predetermined rotation speed is 100 r / min, and the second predetermined rotation speed is 120 r / min. Only when both of the above two conditions are satisfied, FFR> FUD at 100 r / min and FFR <FUD at 120 r / min, the post-unbalance is determined. However, it is not limited to this. For example, the condition of the magnitude relationship at 100 r / min is FFR> FUD + 5, or when the front-left / right direction (FLR) that clearly shows the magnitude of the unbalance itself at 120 r / min is FLR <25, the unbalance itself is Since it is small, it does not matter whether it is pre-unbalanced or post-unbalanced.

  Here, an example of the case where dehydration control is performed while there is a front / rear balance abnormality with the determination of front / rear unbalance, front / rear unbalance abnormality while increasing the rotation of the rotating drum 2, This will be specifically described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG.

  When the dehydration process starts in step 100, a draining operation for draining the washing water in the water tank 3 is performed in step 101. After that, in order to loosen the laundry such as clothes which are biased in step 102, the rotating drum 2 is rotated forward at a third predetermined rotational speed (for example, about 40 r / min), and the reversing operation (unraveling step) is performed. Next, in step 103, the laundry is gradually raised to a fourth predetermined rotational speed (about 70 r / min) that allows the laundry to stick to the inner surface of the rotary drum 2. Thereafter, the rotational speed of the rotary drum 2 is further increased, and control is performed in step 104 to maintain the rotary drum 2 at a fifth predetermined rotational speed (for example, about 80 rpm) lower than the primary resonance rotational speed for a predetermined time. At this time, the rotation unevenness, that is, the presence / absence of initial imbalance, is detected. However, it is only necessary to detect and cope with an imbalance more than the extent that causes an imbalance abnormality in the subsequent high speed operation. It is sufficient to determine the unbalanced state on behalf of the front left / right unbalance, which also reflects. The determination can also be made by not outputting signals from the detected rotational speed detecting means (position detecting means 24a, 24b, 24c) at a predetermined interval.

  Here, if there is an unbalance greater than or equal to a predetermined value, it is determined that the rotation unevenness is large and the balance state is poor, and it is determined in step 105 whether or not N = 4. If N = 4 is not satisfied, the rotating drum 2 is temporarily stopped in the next step 106, and 1 is added to N at the present time in step 107 and the process returns to step 102. If the operation from step 102 to 107 is repeated a predetermined number of times, that is, if N = 4 in step 105, it can be considered that the bias of the selection will not be eliminated by repeating the unwinding process in step 102, so give up dehydration. To the next step. If there is no rotation unevenness and it is normal, the process proceeds to the next step 109 as it is.

  In step 108, the rotary drum 2 determines the magnitude relationship between the front vertical amplitude and the front front / rear amplitude of the water tank unit 7 at 100 r / min (first predetermined rotational speed) based on the output signal from the vibration detecting means 40. The magnitude relationship between the front vertical amplitude and the front front / rear amplitude of the water tank unit 7 when the rotary drum 2 is 120 r / min (second predetermined rotational speed) in step 110 is determined by the output signal from the vibration detection means 40. To do. At the same time, the front and rear imbalance abnormalities are also performed by the output signal from the vibration detecting means 40. The determination of the front or rear imbalance is confirmed. If the imbalance is abnormal, the process returns to step 106. If the front or rear imbalance abnormality does not occur and is normal, the process proceeds to the next step 110 as it is. Here, the determination of the front and rear imbalance is made as the rear imbalance only when both front and rear amplitudes> front and rear amplitudes at 100 r / min and front and rear amplitudes> front and rear amplitudes at 120 r / min. Can be determined easily and early.

  If the rear imbalance is determined, the vibration detection means 40 is attached to the front part of the water tank unit 7 and the output signal becomes small. Therefore, correction such as multiplying the output value by 1.2 is performed, and the rear unbalance abnormality Corresponding to

  Further, when the front left / right amplitude at 120 r / min is smaller than 25 mm, the imbalance itself is small, so it is effective even if the front / rear unbalance determination is not performed.

In step 110, before and after the water tank unit 7 at 121 to 800 r / min, an abnormality in the rear imbalance is determined based on an output signal from the vibration detecting means 40. If there is an abnormality in the front or rear imbalance, the process returns to step 106. If the front or rear imbalance abnormality does not occur and is normal, the process proceeds to the next step 111 as it is. Note that the determination of the front-rear unbalance here is performed using the above-described determination.

  When the cloth bias correction operation in step 102 is performed by forward / reverse arc rotation of the rotating drum 2, the rotational speed of the rotating drum 2 is set to 40 rpm or more so that the rotating drum can be rotated during sudden braking to reverse the normal / reverse direction. Since a strong inertial force is applied to the laundry attached to 2 and peeled off from the rotating drum 2, the laundry is dropped in a direction opposite to the left and right sides, so that the laundry can be effectively peeled off. The peeled laundry has an advantage that it can be unraveled while being switched left and right by the subsequent forward and reverse arc rotation, and can be evenly distributed in the front and rear and left and right within the rotary drum 2. Such a left-right interchange of the laundry requires that the laundry be lifted higher, and therefore, it is preferable to perform forward and reverse arc rotation of the rotary drum 2 at an angle of, for example, more than 90 ° and less than 180 °.

  On the other hand, in the drum-type washing machine 1 according to the present embodiment, the support position Q and the center of gravity G by the anti-vibration damper 70 as seen in the direction of the rotating shaft 2a with respect to the central position S of the water tank 3 in the direction of the rotating shaft 2a. Both are located on the rear side, and the distance L1 between the center position S and the support position Q is greater than the distance L2 between the center position S and the center of gravity G, and the support position Q is not behind the center of gravity G when viewed in the direction of gravity. In any case, because of the relationship located near the front, the flourwood movement of the aquarium unit 7 greatly affects the front compared to the rear of the aquarium 3, regardless of whether the front or rear imbalance is present. As a result, in addition to the vibration components in the left and right, front and rear, and up and down directions of the front portion of the water tank 3, the vibration components in the rear left and right and rear and up and down are synthesized with high correlation.

  By using these correlations, it is possible to execute simple control to cope with an unbalance abnormality corresponding to a necessary unbalance of each vibration component including a rear unbalance, using only vibration information of the front part of the water tank.

  It is practically used for dewatering in a drum-type washing machine with a rotating drum installed horizontally or at an angle, and before and after imbalance judgment due to laundry bias, and before and after imbalance abnormality are judged by rotating drum Since it is performed easily and quickly while the speed is increasing, it is possible to respond appropriately to abnormalities.

Sectional drawing which shows the principal part structure of the drum type washing machine which concerns on embodiment of this invention. Block diagram of the control circuit of the drum type washing machine of FIG. An explanatory graph of unbalance determination and unbalance abnormality determination showing the rotation speed change of the rotating drum in the dehydration process 1 is a waveform diagram of output signals corresponding to the vibration components in the front and back and front and rear directions detected by the vibration detection means of the water tank of the drum type washing machine in FIG. FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing an example of control including determination of before / after unbalance, determination of before / after unbalance abnormality, and response to abnormality when the rotation speed of the rotating drum is increased in the dehydration process shown in FIG.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Drum type washing machine 2 Rotating drum 2a Rotating shaft 3 Water tank 5 Motor 6 Washing machine housing 7 Water tank unit 9 Door 20 Control means 24 Rotational speed detection means 30 Cloth amount detection means 40 Vibration detection means 70 Vibration damping damper

Claims (1)

A rotating drum formed in a cylindrical shape with a bottom is installed in a water tank that is elastically supported so that the axis of rotation is inclined horizontally or horizontally downward from the opening front side to the bottom side. In a drum type washing machine that is driven by a motor fixed to the rear part of the water tank, a control means for controlling the rotation of the motor, and a vibration detection means that is attached to the front part of the water tank and detects vibration components in a plurality of directions The control means includes a predetermined first output signal based on the output signals of the vibration components in the plurality of directions output by the vibration detection means in the process of increasing the rotation of the rotary drum in the dehydrating operation after the washing and rinsing steps. The magnitude relationship between the amplitude of the output signal related to the vibration component in the front and up and down direction at the rotational speed of 1 and the amplitude of the output signal related to the vibration component in the front and rear direction and the front and up and down at the predetermined second rotational speed Using the amplitude of the output signal related to the vibration component in the direction and the magnitude relationship between the amplitude of the output signal related to the vibration component in the front / rear direction, the position of the unbalance in the front / rear direction is determined and determined as the rear unbalance. In this case, in the subsequent ascending process of the rotating drum, the output signal of the vibration detecting means is corrected to detect the magnitude of the unbalance.