JP2010194078A - Drum type washing machine - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To realize a drum type washing machine having a means which can easily and surely determine whether laundry is sticking to the drum or not at the time of the completion of dehydrating, and can surely peel the laundry when the laundry has not been peeled. <P>SOLUTION: A control part 31 which controls the rotation of a motor 7 according to the sensing output of a rotation number sensing part 33 estimates a fabric amount after dehydrating which is performed after washing from the fabric amount which has been sensed before washing. The control part 31 determines whether the laundry is sticking to the inner periphery of the drum 3 or not according to a difference between the estimated value and an actually measured value of the fabric amount after dehydrating. Thus, whether the laundry is sticking to the drum 3 at the time of the completion of dehydrating or not can easily and surely be determined, and shifting to the drying process under a state wherein the laundry has not been peeled from the inner periphery of the drum 3 can be prevented from occurring. Also, unevenness in drying can be prevented from occurring, and the laundry can efficiently and surely be dried. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a drum-type washing machine having cloth amount detecting means for detecting the amount of cloth that is the amount of laundry put in a drum.

  An example of the configuration of a general drum type washing machine is shown in FIG. In the washing machine body 1, a water tank 2 is supported in a suspended state by a suspension structure (not shown). A drum 3 formed in a bottomed cylindrical shape is supported in the water tank 2 with its axial direction inclined downward from the front side to the back side. On the front side of the aquarium 2, a clothing doorway 4 leading to the opening end of the drum 3 is formed, and by opening the door 5 that opens and closes the opening provided in the upward inclined surface on the front side of the washing machine body 1, Laundry can be taken in and out of the drum 3 through the clothing entrance 4.

  The drum 3 has a large number of through holes 6 formed in the peripheral surface thereof that communicate with the water tank 2, and is provided with stirring protrusions (not shown) at a plurality of positions on the inner peripheral surface. The drum 3 is rotationally driven in the forward and reverse directions by a motor 7 attached to the back side of the water tank 2. In addition, a water injection pipe 8 and a drain pipe 9 are connected to the water tank 2, and water injection and drainage into the water tank 2 is performed by controlling a water injection valve and a water discharge valve (not shown).

  When the door 5 is opened, laundry and detergent are put into the drum 3, and the operation is started by an operation on the operation panel 10 provided on the front surface of the washing machine body 1, for example, a water injection conduit is provided in the water tank 2. A predetermined amount of water is injected from 8 and the drum 3 is rotationally driven by the motor 7 to start the washing process. By the rotation of the drum 3, the laundry stored in the drum 3 is lifted in the rotation direction by the stirring protrusion provided on the inner peripheral wall of the drum 3, and the stirring operation of dropping from the lifted appropriate height position is repeated. Therefore, the laundry has the effect of tapping and washing.

  After the required washing time, the dirty washing liquid is discharged from the drain pipe 9 and the washing liquid contained in the laundry is dehydrated by a dehydrating operation of rotating the drum 3 at a high speed. The rinsing process is performed by pouring water from 8. Also in this rinsing step, the laundry housed in the drum 3 is repeatedly washed with a stirring operation in which the laundry is lifted and dropped by the stirring protrusions by the rotation of the drum 3 to perform rinsing.

  This drum-type washing machine is provided with a function of drying laundry stored in the drum 3, and the air in the water tank 2 is exhausted and dehumidified by the circulation air passage 11 to heat and dry the air. The air is blown into the water tank 2 again. In the middle of the circulation air passage 11, a dehumidifying means such as an evaporator, a heating means such as a condenser, and a blower fan 12 serving as an air blowing means are provided. In the drying process using the circulation air passage 11, foreign matter such as lint generated from laundry such as clothes is circulated in the air circulated through the circulation air passage 11, and the eyes of the evaporator and the condenser are circulated. Since clogging, biting into the rotating part of the blower fan 12 and deposition on the inner surface of the blower fan 12 are likely to be hindered, foreign substances in the circulating air are trapped in the middle of the circulation blower path 11. A filter 13 to be removed is provided. A rotation detection unit 14 for detecting the rotation of the motor 7 is provided.

  In the drum type washing machine having the above-described configuration, the amount of laundry such as clothes put in the drum 3 is detected, and the washing time and the like are determined according to the amount of cloth. An example of a method for detecting the amount of cloth disclosed in Patent Document 1 will be described below with reference to FIG.

  The cloth amount is detected by a control circuit (not shown) having a function of controlling the motor 7 for driving the drum 3 to rotate.

  When washing is started, first, the control circuit starts the motor 7 and a detection output is input from the rotation detection unit 14. The detection frequency of the rotation detection unit 14 changes linearly with the rotation of the motor 7. The control circuit increases the average voltage of the power supply voltage of the motor 7 by means of phase control when the input frequency from the rotation detector 14 is small, and decreases the average voltage when the frequency increases.

  In the cloth amount detection step, while performing rotation control, the average voltage applied to the motor 7 is gradually increased inside the control circuit to shift to high-speed rotation, and the clothes are uniformly attached to the inner periphery of the drum 3 by centrifugal force. Like that. In this state, the rotation of the motor 7 is stopped after continuing the rotation for a predetermined time. Thereby, the inertial rotation of the drum 3 is in a state where the motor 7 is rotated.

  At this time, as shown in FIG. 5, the rotation detection unit 14 converts the inertial rotational force of the drum 3 to gradually decrease due to the friction torque and stops the rotation, and outputs the result. In FIG. 5, the horizontal axis represents time, and the vertical axis represents the number of rotations of the drive motor (motor 7). The time from the stop of energization of the motor 7 to the stop of the drum 3 is long when the amount of cloth is large, and short when the amount of cloth is small. The cloth amount is detected by utilizing the fact that the difference in time required for the stop is proportional to the cloth amount.

  Here, when the weight of the cloth is m, the average radius of the cloth distributed on the inner periphery of the drum 3 is r, and the inertia moment of the drum 3 or the motor 7 is Jd, the inertia moment J of the cloth is obtained by Expression (1).

  Further, assuming that the generated torque of the motor 7 is T, the friction torque of the drum rotation shaft is Tb, and the angular acceleration of the drum 3 is α, these relationships are expressed by Expression (2).

  Since the angular acceleration α is expressed by the equation (3) as a function of the angular velocity ω and the time t, as shown in the equation (4), if the average radius r of the cloth is constant, the rotation depends on the weight m of the cloth. The number or angular velocity ω changes.

In other words, the cloth amount can be known by stopping energization of the motor 7 and rotating the drum 3 by inertia, and measuring the change in the number of rotations in a certain time interval until the drum 3 stops (for example, patent document). 1).
JP-A-5-168786

  However, in such a conventional drum-type washing machine, the laundry may stick to the inside of the drum due to centrifugal force during dehydration, and the drum may not come off even when it is stopped. Then, it takes time to peel off the stuck laundry, there is a risk of injury to the laundry when it is put in, and there is a risk of injury to the hand, and if it enters the drying process with it stuck, the laundry after drying Wrinkles are left and the hot air applied to the laundry becomes difficult to hit to dry it, so that the drying efficiency deteriorates, and even if the laundry is not completely dry, it may be falsely detected as completely dry, There were various problems related to the sticking of laundry to the inner periphery of the drum.

  The present invention solves the above-described conventional problems, and can make a simple and reliable determination of whether the laundry is stuck at the end of dehydration by skillfully utilizing the detected information on the amount of cloth. An object of the present invention is to provide a drum-type washing machine having means for surely removing the laundry by repeating the process of peeling the laundry when the item is not peeled off.

  In order to solve the above-mentioned conventional problems, the drum type washing machine of the present invention estimates the amount of cloth after dehydration performed after washing from the amount of cloth detected before washing, and estimates the amount of cloth after dehydration. This is a drum-type washing machine that determines whether the laundry is stuck to the inner periphery of the drum based on the difference in measured values.

  The drum type washing machine of the present invention makes it possible to easily and reliably determine whether the laundry is stuck at the end of dehydration by skillfully utilizing the detected information on the amount of cloth, and the laundry is not peeled off In this case, since the process of peeling the laundry is repeated until the laundry is peeled off, the laundry can be surely peeled off, so that it is possible to prevent the laundry from moving to the drying process without being peeled off from the inner periphery of the drum. It is possible to prevent drying unevenness from occurring, and to dry laundry efficiently and reliably.

  According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a drum having a central axis of rotation in a horizontal direction or an inclination direction, accommodating a laundry and performing a rotational movement, and rotatably enclosing the drum in a washing machine body. A water tank, a motor that rotationally drives the drum, a rotation number detection unit that detects the rotation number of the motor, and a control unit that controls the rotation of the motor based on the detection output of the rotation number detection unit, The control unit estimates the amount of cloth after dehydration performed after washing from the amount of cloth detected before washing, and the laundry is stretched around the inner periphery of the drum according to the difference between the estimated value of the cloth amount after dehydration and the actually measured value. By determining whether the laundry is attached, it is possible to easily and reliably determine whether the laundry is stuck at the end of the dehydration by skillfully utilizing the detected information on the amount of cloth.

  According to a second aspect, in the first aspect, the control unit generates a predetermined acceleration torque in the motor, and the acceleration angular acceleration a1 while the drum rotation speed is increased and the acceleration time when the motor is energized. The current Ia is measured, and the angular acceleration b1 during deceleration and the deceleration current Ib energized to the motor are measured while the rotational speed of the motor is decreased, and the amount of cloth is detected based on these values and changes over time. A cloth amount detecting means is provided, and the cloth amount detecting means estimates a value for determining a cloth amount after dehydration performed after washing from a cloth amount detected before washing, and an estimated value of a detection result after dehydration By determining whether the laundry is stuck to the inner circumference of the drum based on the difference between the measured value and the actual measurement value, it is possible to determine the amount of cloth and the sticking to the inner circumference of the drum from the driving information of the motor that rotates the drum that stores the laundry. Easy to do And it is possible to perform high-precision determination.

  According to a third invention, in the first or second invention, when the control unit determines that the laundry is stuck to the inner periphery of the drum, the laundry is removed by performing a cloth peeling process. In the state where it is not peeled off, it is possible to prevent the transition to the drying process, to prevent the occurrence of drying unevenness, and to dry the laundry efficiently and reliably.

  In a fourth aspect based on the third aspect, after the cloth peeling process is performed, the control unit determines whether the laundry is stuck to the inner periphery of the drum due to a difference between the estimated value of the amount of cloth after dehydration and the actually measured value. If it is determined that the laundry is still stuck to the inner periphery of the drum by the determination again, a cloth peeling process is performed, that is, the laundry is peeled off until the laundry is peeled off from the inner periphery of the drum. By repeating the peeling process, the laundry can be reliably peeled off from the inner periphery of the drum, and it is possible to prevent the laundry from moving to the drying step when the laundry is not peeled off from the inner periphery of the drum, resulting in uneven drying. The laundry can be dried efficiently and reliably.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. It should be understood that the embodiments disclosed below are illustrative in all respects and are not restrictive. The technical scope of the present invention is shown not by the content disclosed in the embodiment but by the description of the scope of claims, and further includes all modifications within the meaning and scope equivalent to the scope of claims. Should be understood.

(Embodiment 1)
The schematic structure of the drum type washing machine in Embodiment 1 of the present invention is the same as that of the conventional example shown in FIG. Accordingly, the same components as those in the conventional example are designated by the same reference numerals and the description thereof is omitted.

  The control device for controlling the operation of the drum type washing machine in the present embodiment has a schematic configuration as shown in FIG. In the control device shown in FIG. 1, AC power from a commercial power source 20 is rectified by a rectifier 21, and DC power smoothed by a smoothing circuit including a choke coil 22 and a smoothing capacitor 23 is used as drive power, and a motor is driven by an inverter circuit 24. 7 is driven to rotate. Further, the rotation of the motor 7 is controlled based on the driving instruction input from the input setting unit 25 and the monitoring information of the driving state detected by each detecting means (not shown), and the water supply valve 27 is controlled by the load driving unit 26. The operation of the drain valve 28, the blower fan 12, and the heater 29 is controlled.

  The motor 7 includes a stator having three-phase windings 7a, 7b, and 7c and a rotor having a two-pole permanent magnet, and is configured as a DC brushless motor provided with three position detection elements 30a, 30b, and 30c. The rotation is controlled by an inverter circuit 24 of a PWM control system configured by the switching elements 24a to 24f. The rotor position detection signals detected by the position detection elements 30a, 30b, and 30c are input to the control unit 31 configured by a microcomputer. Based on this rotor position detection signal, the drive circuit 32 performs PWM control of the on / off states of the switching elements 24a to 24f, thereby controlling the energization of the three-phase windings 7a, 7b, and 7c of the stator, thereby requiring the rotor. Rotate at the number of revolutions.

  The control unit 31 includes a rotation speed detection unit 33 to which detection outputs of the three position detection elements 30a, 30b, and 30c are input. The rotation speed detection unit 33 detects the cycle each time the signal state of any of the three position detection elements 30a, 30b, and 30c changes, and calculates the rotation speed of the rotor from the cycle. The detection output of the rotation speed detector 33 is supplied to the cloth amount detector 34, and the cloth amount is detected as described below based on the detected rotation speed. Since the detection output of the rotation speed detector 33 corresponds to the rotation speed of the drum 3, the rotation speed of the drum 3 is obtained from the detection output of the rotation speed detector 33 in the following description.

  The feature of the cloth amount detection method in the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 2A shows the relationship between the number of rotations of the drum 3 and the time required for increasing the number of rotations and the time required for decreasing the number of rotations. The horizontal axis represents the elapsed time from the start of the cloth amount detection, and the vertical axis represents the rotation speed.

  When the cloth amount detection is started, after the drum 3 reaches the predetermined rotation speed A, the motor 7 generates the acceleration torque Ta, and the rotation speed is increased to the predetermined rotation speed B during the required time t1. Is done. After the first detection step is completed, the rotation speed of the drum 3 is changed from acceleration to deceleration, and then a deceleration torque Tb is generated by the motor 7 so that a predetermined time elapses or the drum 3 reaches a predetermined rotation speed. A switching step is performed in which the vehicle is decelerated until it reaches. When the switching process is completed, after the drum 3 reaches the predetermined rotation speed C, the motor 7 generates the deceleration torque Tc, and the second detection process in which the drum 3 drops to the predetermined rotation speed D during the required time t2. Done.

  FIG. 2B shows the relationship between the frictional resistance related to the rotation of the drum and the time required for the rotation speed increase or rotation speed decrease. As shown in FIG. 2B, when the rotational speed of the drum 3 is increased, the required time t1 becomes longer as the frictional resistance increases. When the rotation speed of the drum 3 decreases, the required time t2 becomes shorter as the frictional resistance increases. For this reason, the total time (t1 + t2) of the required time is canceled out by the influence of the frictional resistance, and is constant regardless of the frictional resistance if the cloth amount is the same. The difference in the total time (t1 + t2) corresponds to the difference in the amount of cloth. Accordingly, the cloth amount can be detected by measuring the relationship between the total time (t1 + t2) and the cloth amount according to the procedure shown in FIG.

  The feature of the method for detecting the sticking of laundry to the inner periphery of the drum in the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. The value in the case where the laundry after dehydration performed after washing is detected by the cloth amount detection method in the present embodiment is determined by the motor 7 after the drum 3 reaches the predetermined rotation number A from the dehydration time and the dehydration rotation number. An acceleration torque Ta is generated, and a required time t3 for increasing the rotational speed to a predetermined rotational speed B is calculated and estimated. Similarly, after the drum 3 reaches the predetermined rotation speed C, a deceleration torque Tc is generated by the motor 7, and a required time t4 for the drum 3 to drop to the predetermined rotation speed D is calculated and estimated.

  After the drum 3 reaches the predetermined rotational speed A, the acceleration torque Ta is generated by the motor 7 to detect the actual dehydrated laundry by the cloth amount detection method in the present embodiment, and the predetermined rotational speed. The required time t5 for increasing the rotational speed to B and the required time t6 for generating the deceleration torque Tc by the motor 7 after the drum 3 reaches the predetermined rotational speed C and lowering the drum 3 to the predetermined rotational speed D are measured. .

  If the laundry is not stuck to the inner periphery of the drum 3, the laundry may not be added to the frictional resistance of the rotation of the drum 3 by being thrown out into the air. When attached, the attached laundry becomes the frictional resistance of the rotation of the drum 3, so the frictional resistance is greater than when the attached laundry is not attached. Therefore, the sticking of the laundry to the inner periphery of the drum 3 can be detected from the relationship between the required time t3 and the required time t5 or the required time t4 and the required time t6.

The above-described method for detecting the amount of cloth and the method for detecting the sticking of the laundry to the inner periphery of the drum will be described in more detail. First, a predetermined acceleration torque Ta is generated in the motor 7 before washing. Then, the rotation speed N1 of the drum 3, the acceleration angular acceleration a1, and the acceleration current Ia energized to the motor 7 are measured while the rotation speed of the drum 3 is increased. Subsequently, a predetermined deceleration torque Tc is applied to the motor 7. Measure the rotational speed N2 of the drum 3, the angular acceleration a2 during deceleration, and the deceleration current Ib energized to the motor 7 while the rotational speed of the drum 3 decreases by generating
Based on these values and changes over time, the cloth amount detector 34 detects the cloth amount.

  After the amount of cloth is detected by the cloth amount detector 34, the rotational speed N3 of the drum 3 and the angular acceleration during acceleration are increased while the rotational speed of the drum 3 is increased by generating a predetermined acceleration torque Ta in the motor 7 after washing and dewatering. a3, the acceleration current Ic energized to the motor 7, the rotation speed N4 of the drum 3 while the rotation speed of the drum 3 is reduced by generating a predetermined deceleration torque Tc in the motor 7, the angular acceleration a4 during deceleration, A deceleration current Id to be supplied to the motor 7 is calculated and estimated.

  Then, the number of revolutions N5 of the drum 3 is increased while the number of revolutions of the drum 3 is increased by causing the motor 7 to generate a predetermined acceleration torque Ta by performing the laundry dehydration and detecting the cloth amount again after the washing and dehydration. , Acceleration angular acceleration a5, acceleration current Ie energized to the motor 7, and a predetermined deceleration torque Tc generated by the motor 7 to reduce the rotation speed N6 of the drum 3 while decelerating the rotation speed of the drum 3. The hourly acceleration a6 and the deceleration current If supplied to the motor 7 are measured, and it is detected whether the laundry is stuck to the inner periphery of the drum 3 from the difference between the measured value and the estimated value.

  FIG. 3 is a flowchart for removing the sticking of the inner periphery of the laundry drum in the present embodiment. When the sticking detection of the laundry starts (step S1), the control unit 31 predicts the time required for the laundry after dehydration from the values of t1 and t2, the dehydration time, and the dehydration speed, and the t3 and t4 A value is calculated (step S2). The controller 31 controls the motor 7 to drive the motor 7 so as to increase the rotational speed of the drum 3 from the predetermined rotational speed A by the predetermined torque Ta to reach the predetermined rotational speed B (step S3). . When the drum 3 reaches the rotational speed B (step S4), a time t5 required to reach the rotational speed B from the rotational speed A is calculated (step S5).

  Next, a deceleration torque Tc is generated by the motor 7 to decrease the rotational speed of the drum 3 (step S6). When the drum 3 reaches the predetermined rotational speed D from the predetermined rotational speed C (step S7), a required time t6 required to reach the rotational speed D from the rotational speed C is calculated (step S8). Next, t3-t5 and t6-t4 are obtained (step S9). If any of the values is larger than a predetermined value, the laundry is stuck to the inner periphery of the drum 3, so that the laundry is removed from the inner periphery of the drum 3. The process of peeling off the cloth is performed (step S10), and the process proceeds to step S3 to detect again whether the laundry is stuck. If the values of t3-t5 and t6-t4 obtained in step S9 are both smaller than the predetermined value, it is detected that the laundry is not stuck (step S11).

  In the cloth peeling process that is performed when it is detected that the laundry is stuck to the inner periphery of the drum 3, the drum 3 repeats the arc rotation in the range of 90 to 200 degrees abruptly in the forward and reverse directions several times. The control unit 31 drives and controls the motor 7 so as to perform the operation. The operation of the drum 3 in the cloth peeling process is not limited to the above method. For example, the drum 3 may be rotated by rotating the drum 3 for a few seconds and then stopped for a few seconds, or may be repeated. It is possible to apply various methods well known in the art as a cloth peeling method from the inner periphery of the fabric.

  In the present embodiment, the rotation center axis of the drum 3 is inclined, but the same effect can be obtained even if it is oriented in the horizontal direction.

As described above, according to the drum type washing machine of the present invention, the amount of cloth after dehydration performed after washing is estimated from the amount of cloth detected before washing, and the estimated value and the actual measurement value of the cloth amount after dehydration are estimated. By judging whether the laundry is stuck to the inner periphery of the drum due to the difference, it is possible to easily and reliably judge whether the laundry is stuck at the end of dehydration by skillfully utilizing the information on the detected cloth amount it can. In addition, when it is determined that the laundry is stuck to the inner periphery of the drum, by performing the cloth peeling process, it is possible to prevent the laundry from moving to the drying process without being peeled off from the inner periphery of the drum. It is possible to prevent unevenness of drying and efficiently and reliably dry the laundry.

  As described above, the drum type washing machine of the present invention can accurately detect the amount of cloth put into the drum with a simple configuration and perform a good dehydration process. It is useful for drum-type washing machines.

The circuit diagram which shows the control apparatus of the drum type washing machine in Embodiment 1 of this invention (A) The figure which shows the relationship between the rotation speed of a drum in the method for detecting the sticking of laundry used in the drum type washing machine, the time required for the rotation speed increase, and the time required for the rotation speed decrease (b) The figure which shows the relationship between the frictional resistance which concerns on rotation of the drum in, and the time which rotation speed rises or rotation speed falls The flowchart which shows the procedure which peels the sticking of the drum inner periphery of the laundry of the drum type washing machine Sectional drawing which shows schematic structure of the conventional drum type washing machine The figure which shows the cloth amount detection method of the drum type washing machine

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Washing machine main body 2 Water tank 3 Drum 4 Clothes entrance / exit 5 Door 6 Through-hole 7 Motor 7a, 7b, 7c Three-phase winding 8 Water injection pipe 9 Drain pipe 10 Operation panel 11 Circulation ventilation path 12 Blower fan 13 Filter 14 Rotation detection Unit 20 Commercial power supply 21 Rectifier 22 Choke coil 23 Smoothing capacitor 24 Inverter circuit 24a to 24f Switching element 25 Input setting unit 26 Load drive unit 27 Water supply valve 28 Drain valve 29 Heater 30a, 30b, 30c Position detection element 31 Control unit 32 Drive circuit 33 Rotational speed detection unit 34 Cloth amount detection unit (cloth amount detection means)

Claims (4)

A drum having a central axis of rotation in a horizontal direction or an inclined direction and accommodating a laundry to perform a rotational movement; a water tub that rotatably includes the drum and elastically supported in a washing machine body; and the drum A motor that rotates the motor, a rotational speed detector that detects the rotational speed of the motor, and a controller that controls the rotation of the motor based on the detection output of the rotational speed detector. Estimate the amount of cloth after dehydration performed after washing from the previously detected amount of cloth, and determine whether the laundry is stuck to the inner periphery of the drum by the difference between the estimated value of the amount of cloth after dehydration and the measured value Drum type washing machine. The control unit measures the acceleration angular acceleration a1 while the drum rotation speed is increased by generating a predetermined acceleration torque in the motor and the acceleration current Ia energized to the motor, and further the rotation speed of the motor. A cloth amount detecting means for measuring the deceleration angular acceleration b1 while the motor is decreasing and the deceleration current Ib energized to the motor, and detecting the cloth amount based on the value and the change over time. Thus, a value for judging the amount of cloth after dehydration performed after washing is estimated from the amount of cloth detected before washing, and the laundry is changed to the drum according to the difference between the estimated value of the detection result after dehydration and the actually measured value. 2. The drum type washing machine according to claim 1, wherein it is determined whether or not the inner periphery is stuck. The drum type washing machine according to claim 1 or 2, wherein when the control unit determines that the laundry is stuck to the inner periphery of the drum, the control unit performs a cloth peeling process. The drum type washing machine according to claim 3, wherein the control unit determines whether the laundry is stuck to the inner periphery of the drum based on a difference between an estimated value of the amount of cloth after dehydration and an actually measured value after performing the cloth peeling process.

Images