JP2011104141A - Washing machine - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a washing machine capable of releasing the imbalance by efficiently detecting the weight of the laundry and disentangling the laundry according to the weight. <P>SOLUTION: The washing machine includes: a rotary drum 2 having a center axis of rotation in the horizontal direction or in an inclined direction for storing the laundry 4; a water tub 3 rotatably encasing the rotary drum 2 and elastically supported within a washing machine casing 6; a drum driving motor 5 for rotationally driving the rotary drum 2; an acceleration sensor (an acceleration detecting means) 36 for detecting the acceleration of vibration of the water tub 3; and a control means 20 disposed within a control board 13 for controlling respective steps of washing, rinsing and dewatering to be sequentially executed. The control means 20 determines the cloth volume for measuring the weight of the laundry 4 within the rotary drum 2 based on the result of detection from the acceleration sensor 36 for detecting the acceleration of vibration of the water tub 3 when the dewatering step is started, and executes the optimum disentangling motion according to the cloth volume. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a washing machine that sequentially executes washing, rinsing, and dewatering.

  Conventionally, this type of washing machine has been arranged in a water tub with the rotating drum centered in the horizontal direction or in a state where the rotating shaft is lifted forward from the horizontal direction. Therefore, the laundry is stored in the rotating drum and rotated. In this case, the laundry and water tend to be biased downward, and 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, after the washing or rinsing process is completed, the laundry containing water is stored in the rotating drum, and the laundry Depending on the type, fabric or shape, there is a state where the rotating drum tends to gather at the biased position during the spin of the dehydration process, and if the laundry is biased, a large vibration will occur in the water tank containing the rotating drum, causing abnormal vibration and Generate noise.

  When a large vibration occurs, a control operation for eliminating the unevenness of the laundry is performed by a drive control for temporarily stopping the rotation of the rotary drum and then a re-rotation or a drive control for reducing the rotation speed of the rotary drum. Yes.

  As a method for detecting the imbalance in the rotating drum, there is an unbalance detecting method in which the rotating drum is rotated for a predetermined time so as to have a predetermined rotating speed, and the imbalance in the drum is determined from the degree of fluctuation of the rotating speed. It is known (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

JP 2003-326093 A

  However, in the conventional configuration, since it is necessary to rotate the rotating drum for a predetermined time in order to detect the degree of fluctuation in the rotational speed, the time is required when repeatedly detecting imbalance until it is determined that the balance state is good. There was a problem of taking too much.

  In addition, the determination value for determining whether or not the degree of variation in the rotational speed of the rotating drum is a value indicating an unbalanced state is usually different depending on the amount of laundry. If the laundry is small at the start of washing but the laundry is added in the middle, it will not be judged with an appropriate judgment value, and it will be judged that the balance is good even in an unbalanced state. In some cases, the dehydration process is performed in an unbalanced state, resulting in an increase in vibration noise.

  The present invention solves the above-mentioned conventional problems. The balance state of the laundry in the rotating drum and the weight of the laundry are detected in a short time. The purpose is to provide a washing machine that suppresses abnormal vibration and noise even when added.

In order to solve the above-described conventional problems, a washing machine of the present invention includes a rotating drum that accommodates laundry and has a rotation center axis in a horizontal direction or an inclination direction, and includes the rotating drum rotatably. A water tank elastically supported on the drum, a drum drive motor for rotating the rotating drum, an acceleration detecting means for detecting acceleration of vibration of the water tank, and a control means for executing each operation such as washing, rinsing and dehydration And the control means performs a cloth amount determination for measuring the weight of the laundry in the rotating drum based on a detection result from the acceleration detection means at the start of a dehydrating operation. .

  Thereby, the amount of cloth at the time of dehydration can be accurately determined, and by performing the loosening operation according to the determined amount of cloth, unbalance reduction and time reduction can be reliably realized.

  The washing machine of the present invention can reduce time and vibration at the start of dehydration.

Main sectional drawing of the washing machine in a 1st embodiment of the present invention. Configuration diagram of the control device of the washing machine The block diagram of the control apparatus of the washing machine in the 2nd Embodiment of this invention First flowchart of the dehydration process of the washing machine in the third embodiment of the washing machine Second flowchart of dehydration process of the washing machine Third flowchart of dehydration process of the washing machine

  The first invention includes a rotating drum that accommodates laundry and has a rotation center axis in a horizontal direction or an inclined direction, a water tub that rotatably includes the rotating drum and is elastically supported in a washing machine casing, A drum driving motor for rotating the rotating drum; an acceleration detecting means for detecting an acceleration of vibration of the aquarium; and a control means for controlling each step of washing, rinsing, dehydration and the like to be executed sequentially. The means, at the start of the dehydration operation, based on the detection result from the acceleration detection means, to determine the amount of the laundry in the rotating drum, by making the washing machine characterized by, The motion of the laundry can be reliably captured in three dimensions, and the weight of the laundry can be reliably detected.

  According to a second aspect of the invention, in particular, in the first aspect of the invention, there is provided current detection means for detecting the drive current of the drum drive motor, and the control means is a detection result from the current detection means and acceleration detection means at the start of the dehydration operation. Based on the above, it is possible to reliably detect the vibration of the drum driving motor and the vibration of the water tank by using the washing machine characterized by performing the cloth amount determination for measuring the weight of the laundry in the rotating drum. It is possible to detect the weight of the laundry and the position of the unbalance.

  According to a third aspect of the invention, in particular, in the first or second aspect of the invention, the control means rotates the rotating drum at a predetermined rotational speed for a predetermined time in the cloth amount determination, and the laundry is predetermined before the predetermined time elapses. When a detection result indicating that the weight is reached is output, the laundry can be loosened reliably by performing a loosening operation according to the predetermined weight. Shortening process time and stable high-speed dehydration can be launched.

According to a fourth aspect of the invention, in particular, in the third aspect of the invention, the control means corrects the continuous rotation of the drum drive motor when a detection result indicating that the laundry has reached a small amount level is output in the cloth amount determination. Forward and reverse continuous rotation control of the rotating drum such that the operation of continuously dropping the laundry lifted by the rotation of the rotating drum from the height where its own weight is continuously repeated alternately and repeatedly is performed in reverse and alternately. By making the washing machine characterized by performing the loosening operation in the laundry, the laundry can be reliably loosened without sticking to the rotating drum, and the unbalance can be reduced. Abnormal vibration of the aquarium can be suppressed.

  According to a fifth aspect of the invention, in particular, in the third aspect of the invention, when the control means outputs a detection result indicating that the laundry has reached a large level in the cloth amount determination, By repeating braking alternately forward and reverse, the laundry is attached to the inner surface of the rotary drum by centrifugal force due to the sudden arc rotation of the rotary drum, and the upper part of the laundry is moved from the lowest position of the rotary drum to 90. After lifting up to a position exceeding 180 degrees and less than 180 degrees, the operation of peeling the laundry from the inner surface of the rotating drum due to its inertia and its own weight and dropping it to the side opposite to the lifting side of the lower range of the rotating drum The washing machine is characterized by performing a loosening operation by forward and reverse arc rotation control of the rotating drum, which is performed repeatedly alternately. Succoth can, it is possible to suppress the abnormal vibration of the water tank at the time of reduction and high-speed rotation of the imbalance with certainty.

  According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in any one of the first to fifth aspects of the invention, the cloth amount determination may be performed at any timing when the laundry is thrown in. By always determining the amount of clothing, the amount of cloth can be accurately determined.

  According to a seventh aspect of the invention, in particular, in any one of the first to sixth aspects of the invention, the cloth amount is accurately determined by using a washing machine characterized in that the cloth amount is determined before the drying step. It is possible to shorten the drying time and the total time.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Note that the present invention is not limited to the present embodiment.

(Embodiment 1)
FIG. 1 is a main cross-sectional view of the washing machine according to the first embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram of a control device of the washing machine.

  In FIG. 1, the washing machine 1 has the following configuration. In the washing machine housing 6, the rotating drum 2 is accommodated in the water tub 3, and the rotating shaft 2 a of the rotating drum 2 is pivotally supported by a bearing 68 provided on the back surface of the water tub 3 and a drum driving motor is connected to the rotating shaft 2 a. The aquarium unit 7 connected to 5 is inclined to the front rising state.

  Since this water tank unit 7 has heavy components such as the bearing 68 and the drum drive motor 5 attached to the back side thereof, the center of gravity position becomes unstable from the back side. The first coil spring 71 is supported between the upper support fitting 75 fixed to the upper part of the water tank 3 and the upper surface of the washing machine housing 6 by supporting the water tank unit 7 downward from the center of gravity to the front side. The water tank unit 7 is urged toward the front side by the above, and a second coil spring 72 is installed between the back surface below the support height position by the vibration isolating damper 70 and the back surface of the washing machine housing 6. Thus, it is corrected that the water tank unit 7 supported by the anti-vibration damper 70 nearer to the front side than the center of gravity position falls to the back side, and is configured to have a high vibration damping effect. A rotating drum 2 formed in a cylindrical shape with a bottom is rotatably supported in the water tank 3, and the rotating drum 2 is rotationally driven by a drum driving motor 5 attached to the back surface of the water tank 3 so that the rotation speed can be changed and the rotation direction can be switched. Is done.

  Further, since the rotary drum 2 is inclined so that the rotation axis direction thereof is inclined downward from the front side to the back side as shown in the drawing, the inclination formed on the front side of the washing machine casing 6 When the door 9 that can be opened and closed on the surface is opened, there is no need to bend in the operation of putting the laundry in and out of the rotating drum 2, and it is necessary to secure a space on the front side of the washing machine 1. Therefore, the washing machine 1 can be installed in a narrow space such as a washroom.

  1 and 2, a drying function provided with a heat pump system 18 for generating warm air in the rotary drum 2 is provided, and a series of operations from washing, rinsing, dehydration, and drying are input as instructions and the operating state of each part. A control device for controlling based on monitoring is provided. The control device 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, and the drum drive motor 5 is rotationally driven by the inverter circuit 26. In addition, 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 and the drain valve are controlled by the load drive means 37. 13. Control the operation of the heat pump system 18.

  The drum drive motor 5 includes a stator having three-phase windings 5a, 5b, and 5c, and a rotor having an 8-pole permanent magnet, and is configured as a DC brushless motor provided with three position detection elements 24a, 24b, and 24c. Then, the rotation is controlled by the 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, The rotor is rotated at a required rotational speed by controlling energization to the three-phase windings 5a, 5b and 5c of the stator.

  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 calculates the rotational speed of the rotor based on the cycle. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, an acceleration sensor (acceleration detecting means) 36 is attached to the front upper part of the water tank 3, and after the washing process is finished, the clothes are filled with a large amount of water and rotated at the start of dehydration. An evaluation table according to the acceleration of vibration of the water tank 3 while rotating the drum 2 in the forward rotation direction (right direction) by the drive circuit 25 for 3 s to 5 s and detecting the vibration of the water tank 3 in real time by the acceleration detecting means; A comparison is made and the weight of the laundry is accurately determined.

  In addition, the acceleration sensor 36 has detection axes in three directions, and can capture a three-dimensional motion of the vibration of the water tank 3. Therefore, since the acceleration varies depending on the weight of the laundry, the weight can be determined preferentially from the three-dimensional motion.

(Embodiment 2)
FIG. 3 is a configuration diagram of the control device for the washing machine according to the second embodiment of the present invention. The same components as those in the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and detailed description thereof is omitted.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the washing machine 1 according to the second embodiment has an input setting means provided at the upper front side of the washing machine housing 6 by opening the door 9 and putting the laundry into the rotating drum 2. By performing the washing input of the driving course and the driving start input from 21, the driving operation corresponding to the instructed driving course is started, and the required operation is executed under the control of the control means 20.

  The amount of laundry put into the rotary drum 2 is determined by the cloth amount determination means 30, and the control means 20 controls the opening and closing of the water supply valve 14 so as to obtain the amount of water supply according to the amount of laundry. The water is supplied into 3.

In the cloth amount determination, since the current flowing through the inverter circuit 26 changes according to the load state received by the drum drive motor 5 when the rotary drum 2 is started up at a predetermined rotational speed, the resistor connected in series with the current circuit The current amount is detected by the current detection circuit 29 from the voltage at both ends of 28, and the cloth amount determination means 30 determines the amount of laundry from the current amount. Furthermore, the amount of current detected by the current detection means 27 constituted by the resistor 28 and the current detection circuit 29 and the acceleration sensor 3
By combining the acceleration detected from 6, the movement of the laundry in the rotating drum 2 can be simultaneously known from the movement and acceleration of the drum drive motor 5 that changes depending on the load state from the amount of current. The weight of can be determined. Note that the position of the laundry and the unbalanced weight can be simultaneously measured by combining the current amount and the acceleration as described above.

(Embodiment 3)
FIG. 4 is a first flowchart of the dehydration process of the washing machine in the third embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 5 is a second flowchart of the dehydration process of the washing machine, and FIG. 6 is a dehydration process of the washing machine. It is a 3rd flowchart of this.

  Hereinafter, the operation in the dehydration process will be described. First, when the dehydration process is started in step S100, a draining operation for draining the washing water in the water tub 3 is performed in step S101, and the data is initialized, and the process proceeds to step S102. In order to determine the cloth amount in step S102, the current amount in step S103 and the acceleration in step S104 are detected while rotating in the forward rotation direction at about 45 r / min for a rotation time of 3 s to 5 s, and then in step S105 the cloth amount is detected. Make a decision.

  When the results determined in step S105 are the results of 1 kg to 6 kg of cloth amount (steps S107 to S110), respectively, the optimum loosening according to the cloth amount (steps S111 to S115) is executed. When the result determined in step S105 is different from the current amount and acceleration value corresponding to each predetermined cloth amount, the process returns to step S102, and the current amount and acceleration are detected again.

  Moreover, there is not so much entanglement in a small amount of clothing, and a strong unwinding operation is not required due to a small unbalance. However, since a large amount of clothing is entangled very strongly, it becomes necessary to separate the clothing. Therefore, by changing the loosening operation according to the amount of cloth, the unbalance can be reliably released, and abnormal vibration during rotation can be prevented. After performing a loosening operation according to the amount of cloth, the speed increases to a predetermined rotation speed (for example, 120 r / min), and acceleration (vibration value) is detected in step S116. Here, when it becomes below a predetermined threshold value, it moves to the next process in step S117. In addition, when acceleration becomes more than a predetermined threshold value in step S116, loosening according to the amount of cloth is performed again (steps S111 to S115).

  In addition to the current amount and acceleration value table corresponding to each fabric amount in the fabric amount determination in step S105, as shown in FIG. The first unwinding operation of unwinding the laundry is performed for 5 seconds at a rotation speed (for example, about 50 r / min) in the relationship of gravity> centrifugal force in the direction of rotation / reversal.

  Specifically, the first unwinding operation is performed by repeating the continuous rotation of the drum drive motor 5 alternately in the forward and reverse directions, so that the laundry 4 lifted by the rotation of the rotating drum 2 has a height that its own weight is superior. It is an operation for performing forward / reverse continuous rotation control of the rotating drum 2 such that the operation of continuously dropping is repeated alternately forward and reverse.

  By performing this first unraveling operation, in the case of a small amount of clothing, there is not so much entanglement, and the clothing is loosened while flying in the rotating drum even at a rotation of about 50 r / min. Unbalance is cancelled. In addition, it is possible to prevent abnormal vibrations and noises that occur during high-speed rotation even with a small amount of clothing. The same effect can be obtained if the rotational speed is in the relationship of gravity> centrifugal force.

  On the other hand, in the cloth amount determination in step S105, as shown in FIG. 6, when it is determined in step S120 that the level is a large amount, the rotational speed at which the rotating drum suddenly accelerates / reverses rapidly (forward / reverse rotation) For example, a second unwinding operation of unwinding the laundry is performed by using a reaction generated by rapid acceleration / rapid reversal of clothing that is entangled with each other for 3 seconds at a command rotation speed of 180 r / min).

  Specifically, in the second loosening operation, the laundry 4 is rotated by the centrifugal force due to the sudden arc rotation of the rotating drum 2 by repeating the rapid driving and sudden braking of the drum drive motor 5 alternately in the forward and reverse directions. The upper part of the laundry 4 is attached to the inner surface of the drum 2 and the upper part of the laundry 4 is lifted from the lowest position of the rotating drum 2 to a position of more than 90 degrees and less than 180 degrees. It is an operation for performing forward / reverse arc rotation control of the rotating drum 2 such that the operation of peeling from the inner surface and dropping the lower range of the rotating drum 2 to the side opposite to the lifting side is repeated in the forward and reverse directions.

  By performing this second unraveling operation, a large unbalance can be released, and abnormal vibration and abnormal noise during startup and high-speed rotation can be reduced. Moreover, since it is possible to start up to high speed rotation with a small number of unwinding times, it is possible to expect a reduction in the time of all processes at the same time. The same effect can be obtained if the rotational speed at which rapid acceleration / rapid reversal is in the range of 120 r / min to 180 r / min. The same effect can be obtained even if the rotation time is 2 s. By performing the above detection before the drying step, it becomes a guide for the drying time according to the weight of the clothes, so that the time can be shortened and energy can be saved.

  As described above, the washing machine according to the present invention can loosen clothes for a short time and can release unbalance. Further, since vibration at the start of dehydration can be suppressed, it is useful as a washing machine and a washing / drying machine having a drying function.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Washing machine 2 Rotating drum 3 Water tank 4 Laundry 5 Drum drive motor 6 Washing machine housing 13 Control board 20 Control means 36 Acceleration sensor (acceleration detection means)

Claims (7)

A rotating drum that accommodates the laundry and has a rotation center axis in the horizontal direction or the inclined direction, a water tank that rotatably includes the rotating drum and is elastically supported in a washing machine housing, and rotationally drives the rotating drum A drum drive motor; acceleration detecting means for detecting acceleration of vibration of the aquarium; and control means for controlling each step of washing, rinsing, dehydration and the like to be executed sequentially, the control means starting dehydration operation The washing machine is characterized in that, based on a detection result from the acceleration detection means, a cloth amount determination for measuring a weight of the laundry in the rotating drum is performed. Current detection means for detecting the drive current of the drum drive motor is provided, and the control means is configured to determine the weight of the laundry in the rotating drum based on the detection results from the current detection means and the acceleration detection means at the start of the dehydration operation. 2. The washing machine according to claim 1, wherein the amount of cloth is measured. In the cloth amount determination, the control means rotates the rotating drum at a predetermined rotation speed for a predetermined time, and when a detection result indicating that the laundry has reached a predetermined weight is output before the predetermined time elapses, The washing machine according to claim 1 or 2, wherein a loosening operation is performed according to a predetermined weight. When the detection result indicating that the laundry has reached a small amount is output in the cloth amount determination, the control means repeats the continuous rotation of the drum drive motor alternately in the forward and reverse directions to lift it by the rotation of the rotating drum. 4. The loosening operation in the forward / reverse continuous rotation control of the rotating drum is performed such that the operation of continuously dropping the washed laundry from the height where its own weight is won is repeated alternately forward and reverse. The washing machine described. When the detection result indicating that the amount of laundry has reached a large level is output in the cloth amount determination, the control means repeatedly performs rapid driving and rapid braking of the drum driving motor alternately in the forward and reverse directions, thereby After pasting the laundry on the inner surface of the rotating drum by centrifugal force due to rapid arc rotation and lifting the upper part of the laundry to a position of more than 90 degrees and less than 180 degrees from the lowest position of the rotating drum, Forward / reverse arc rotation of the rotating drum such that the laundry is peeled off from the inner surface of the rotating drum due to its inertia and its own weight and dropped to the side opposite to the lifting side of the lower range of the rotating drum. 4. The washing machine according to claim 3, wherein a loosening operation is performed under control. The washing machine according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the determination of the amount of cloth is performed at any timing when the laundry is put in. The washing machine according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the cloth amount is determined before the drying step.