JP2013158500A - Washing machine - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a washing machine capable of suppressing cloth damage to the laundry.SOLUTION: A washing machine 1 for washing the laundry by sequentially performing a washing process, a rinsing process and a dehydrating process, comprises an operation unit 71 which sets an operation time for each process within a predetermined standard time T1 before starting washing. The operation unit 71 can extend an operation time for at least one process within an upper limit time T2 longer than the standard time T1, after starting the washing.

Description

  The present invention relates to a washing machine for washing laundry, and more particularly to a washing machine capable of extending operation time.

  A conventional washing machine is disclosed in Patent Document 1. This washing machine has a washing process, and the washing process is provided with a standard operating time that can be selected. Accordingly, a standard operation time is selected before the washing process is started, and the washing process is executed. In the washing step, water is supplied into the tub into which the laundry is put, and the washing operation is performed by stirring the water in the tub. When the standard operation time has elapsed since the start of the washing process, the stirring of water is stopped and the washing process is terminated. In addition, the operation time of the washing process can be extended by pressing an extension key that extends the standard operation time after the start of the washing process.

JP-A-6-71083

  However, according to the conventional washing machine, when the operation time is extended beyond the standard operation time, the cloth is damaged in the laundry, and a sufficient cleaning effect cannot be obtained. For this reason, if the operation time of the washing process is left to the user's operation, there is a problem that the laundry is damaged by the long washing process.

  Then, an object of this invention is to provide the washing machine which can suppress the cloth damage of the laundry.

  In order to achieve the above object, the washing machine of the present invention is a standard in which the washing time, the rinsing step, and the dewatering step are sequentially performed to wash the laundry, and the operation time of each step is provided in advance before the start of washing. An operation section that is set within a time period is provided, and the operation time of at least one step can be extended by the operation section within an upper limit time longer than the standard time after the start of washing.

  According to this configuration, the operation time is variably set within the standard time by operating the operation unit before the start of washing. When washing is started, a washing process, a rinsing process, and a dehydrating process are sequentially performed. For example, the operation time of the washing process can be extended by operating the operation unit after the start of washing, but the operation time cannot be extended beyond the upper limit time.

  Further, the washing machine of the present invention has the above-mentioned upper limit time for the washing step in the above configuration, and can be set to be paused before draining at the end of the washing step, and the operation time The washing process is performed again according to the extended time when the length is extended.

  Moreover, the washing machine of the present invention has the above-described upper limit time for the rinsing process, and can be set to be temporarily stopped before draining at the end of the rinsing process. When rinsing is extended, the rinsing step is performed again according to the extension time.

  Moreover, the washing machine of the present invention has the above-mentioned upper limit time for the dehydration process in the above-described configuration, can be set to be temporarily stopped before the end of the dehydration process, and extends the operation time. In this case, the dehydration process is performed again according to the extended time.

  Moreover, the washing machine of the present invention is characterized in that, in the above configuration, the upper limit time is variable according to the quantity or quality of the laundry.

  Moreover, the washing machine of the present invention is characterized in that, in the above configuration, the upper limit time is increased as the amount of synthetic fiber contained in the laundry increases.

  According to the present invention, the operation time of the washing process can be set within the standard time before the start of washing, and the operation time can be extended within the upper limit time after the start of washing. Thereby, it is prevented that the washing process exceeding the standard time is easily executed against the intention of the user, and the fabric damage is suppressed. Further, when the user intends to improve the cleaning effect even if some fabric damage occurs, the cleaning process can be extended beyond the standard time. At this time, by setting an upper limit time, setting of an operation time in which an improvement in cleaning effect cannot be expected is prevented, and fabric damage is suppressed.

The perspective view which shows the washing machine which concerns on embodiment of this invention from the front diagonally upper viewpoint The top view which shows the external appearance of the operation part which concerns on embodiment of this invention The block diagram which shows the structure of the washing machine which concerns on embodiment of this invention. A graph showing the relationship between the washing effect of laundry and the operation time of the washing process The flowchart which shows the operation control of each process of the washing machine which concerns on embodiment of this invention. The flowchart which shows the operation control of the washing process of the washing machine which concerns on embodiment of this invention.

  Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings illustrating embodiments thereof. FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a washing machine according to an embodiment of the present invention from a front oblique upper perspective.

  The washing machine 1 is a fully automatic type and includes a rectangular parallelepiped outer box 10. The outer box 10 is formed in a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape, and its upper and lower sides are opened. The upper open portion of the outer box 10 is covered with an upper surface plate 11. An operation unit 71 for operating the washing machine is provided on the front side of the top plate 11.

  An entrance / exit 11a for feeding laundry into the washing machine 1 is opened at the center of the top plate 11. The entrance / exit 11a is opened and closed by a lid 15 pivotally supported by a hinge 15a. By rotating the lid portion 15 up and down to open and close the entrance / exit 11a, the laundry can be put into and taken out of the dehydrating tub 30 that also serves as the washing tub. Further, both the water tank (not shown) and the dehydration tank 30 are formed in a bottomed cylindrical shape having an open upper surface, and are arranged concentrically with the water tank being on the outside and the dewatering tank 30 being on the inside with the axis being vertical. . A pulsator (not shown) is provided at the bottom of the dewatering tank 30.

  FIG. 2 is a plan view showing the appearance of the operation unit 71. The operation unit 71 includes various operation buttons such as a start key 91, a cloth quality selection key 92, a water amount setting key 93, a washing time setting key 94, a rinse time setting key 95, and a dehydration time setting key 96. The control unit 70 (see FIG. 3) executes the program in response to an input from the operation unit 71.

  A start key 91 instructs the start of washing. In addition, it instructs the re-execution after the laundry is temporarily stopped. The cloth quality selection key 92 selects the cloth quality of the laundry. By pressing the cloth quality selection key 92, “Wow” and “Normal” are switched, and “Wow” is selected when there are few chemical fibers contained in the laundry, and “Normal” is selected when there are many fibers.

  The laundry is washed by a washing process, an intermediate dehydration process, a rinsing process, and a dehydration process. A washing time setting key 94 sets the operation time of the washing process. A rinse time setting key 95 sets the operation time of the rinse process. The dehydration time setting key 96 sets the operation time of the dehydration process. The intermediate dehydration process is driven with a preset operation time.

  The washing time setting key 94, the rinsing time setting key 95, and the dehydration time setting key 96 are increased at an interval of, for example, 5 minutes with respect to the initial values when pressed, and return to the initial values when a predetermined standard time T1 is reached. The operation time of the washing process can be extended by pressing the washing time setting key 94 after the start of washing.

  The display unit 72 is provided integrally with the operation unit 71 and displays an operation screen and an operation state of the washing machine 1. The display unit 72 displays, for example, the remaining operation time in the washing process.

  FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the washing machine 1. The washing machine 1 is provided with a control unit 70 that controls each unit. A motor 41, a clutch / brake mechanism 43, a water supply valve 77, a drain valve 78, an operation unit 71, a display unit 72, a lid opening / closing sensor 73, a water level sensor 74, and a storage unit 79 are connected to the control unit 70. The control unit 70 is provided with a timer.

  The motor 41 and the clutch / brake mechanism 43 are attached to the lower surface of the water tank. During the washing process and the rinsing process, the motor 41 is connected to the pulsator by the clutch / brake mechanism 43, and the laundry is stirred by the rotation of the pulsator. In the intermediate dehydration process and the dehydration process, the motor 41 is connected to the dehydration tank 30 by the clutch / brake mechanism 43, and the laundry is dehydrated by the rotation of the dehydration tank 30. The water supply valve 77 is connected to city water, and supplies water to the dehydration tank 30 by opening the water supply valve 77. The drain valve 78 is provided in a drain hole (not shown) for draining water in the dewatering tank 30. When the drain valve 78 is opened, the water in the dewatering tank 30 is drained through the drain hose. The lid opening / closing sensor 73 detects the opening / closing state of the lid portion 15. The water level sensor 74 detects the water level in the dehydration tank 30.

  The control unit 70 reads and executes a control program stored in advance in the storage unit 79. Thereby, driving / stopping of the motor 41, the clutch / brake mechanism 43, and the water supply valve 77 can be controlled. The storage unit 79 stores a standard time T1 for each of the washing process, the rinsing process, and the dehydrating process. The standard time T1 of each process can be extended by operating the operation unit 71. However, the operation time of each process can be extended only within the upper limit time T2 longer than the standard time T1, and the upper limit time T2 is also stored in the storage unit 79 in advance.

  FIG. 4 shows the relationship between the washing effect of the laundry and the operation time of the washing process. The vertical axis represents the reflectance (unit:%) of a standard test piece, and the horizontal axis represents the operation time (unit: minute) of the washing process. When the cleaning effect is large, the reflectance of the test piece increases. According to the figure, when the operating time exceeds the standard time T1, the reflectance is substantially saturated. Therefore, the reflectance slightly increases between the standard time T1 and the upper limit time T2 longer than the standard time T1. Further, when the operation time exceeds the upper limit time T2, the reflectance hardly increases.

  Since the fabric damage increases as the operation time becomes longer, the operation time of the washing process is set within the standard time T1 before the start of washing. On the other hand, the operation time of the washing process can be extended within the upper limit time T2 during or at the end of the washing process.

  Thereby, it is prevented that the washing process exceeding the standard time T1 is easily executed against the intention of the user, and the fabric damage is suppressed. Further, when the user intends to improve the cleaning effect even if some fabric damage occurs, the cleaning process can be extended beyond the standard time T1. At this time, by setting the upper limit time T2, it is possible to prevent the setting of the operation time in which the improvement of the cleaning effect cannot be expected, and the fabric damage is suppressed.

  The standard time T1 and the upper limit time T2 are varied depending on the quantity or quality of the laundry. That is, when the amount of laundry is large, detergency is required, so the standard time T1 and the upper limit time T2 are longer than when the amount is small. In addition, the laundry containing a large amount of synthetic fiber has little fabric damage even if the operation time is extended. For this reason, the standard time T1 and the upper limit time T2 are set to be longer when the amount of fiberized laundry is large (when “normal” is selected) than when it is small (when “warm” is selected).

  FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing operation control of each process of the washing machine 1. In the washing machine 1 configured as described above, the laundry and the detergent are put into the dewatering tub 30 from the entrance / exit 11a, and the operation unit 71 waits for the washing condition to be set in step # 11. For example, when the cloth quality selection key 92 is pressed to select the cloth quality of the laundry and the start key 91 is pressed, the lid opening / closing sensor 73 detects that the lid portion 15 is closed, and washing is started.

  In step # 12, the amount of laundry in the dewatering tub 30 is detected by the cloth amount detector 78. Next, based on the detected amount of laundry and the cloth quality selected by the cloth quality selection key 92, the standard time T1 of the optimum washing process is called from the storage unit 79, and the standard time T1 is substituted for the operation time T. Is done. Thus, the called standard time T1 is displayed on the display unit 72. Next, a washing process is performed in step # 13. When the washing process is completed, an intermediate dehydration process is executed in step # 14. When the intermediate dehydration process is finished, the rinsing process is executed in step # 15. When the rinsing process is completed, dehydration is performed in step # 16.

  FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing operation control of the washing process of the washing machine 1. In step # 21, the drain valve 78 is closed and the water supply valve 77 is opened to supply water to the dehydration tank 30 from the water supply port. Next, it is determined whether or not the target water level has been reached. When the target water level is reached by detection of the water level sensor 74, the water supply valve 77 is closed.

  In step # 22, a pulsator (not shown) is connected to the motor 41 by the clutch / brake mechanism 43, and in step # 23, the motor 41 is driven. Thereby, a pulsator rotates and the water in the dehydration tank 30 is stirred. The display unit 72 displays the remaining operation time of the washing process.

  In step # 24, it is determined whether or not an operation for extending the operation time T has been performed after the start of the washing process. If the operation of extending the operation time T has not been performed after the start of the washing process, the process proceeds to step # 28. The operation time T is extended by pressing the washing time setting key 94. Each time the washing time setting key 94 is pressed, a predetermined time (for example, 5 minutes) is accumulated and the operation time T is extended. If the operation time T is extended after the washing process is started, the process proceeds to step # 25.

  In step # 25, the extension time ΔT due to the extension operation is added to the operation time T. In step # 26, it is determined whether or not the operation time T after the addition exceeds the upper limit time T2. When the operation time T after the addition does not exceed the upper limit time T2, the process proceeds to step # 28. If the operation time T after the addition exceeds the upper limit time T2, the process proceeds to step # 27. In step # 27, when the operation time T exceeds the upper limit time T2, the upper limit time T2 is substituted into the operation time T.

  In step # 28, it is determined whether or not the operation time T has elapsed. If the operation time T has not elapsed, the process returns to step # 24, and steps # 24 to # 28 are repeated. When the operation time T has elapsed, it is determined in step # 29 whether or not a temporary stop after the washing process is set.

  When the temporary stop after the washing process is not set, the process proceeds to step # 32. When the temporary stop after the washing process is set, the operation of the start key 91 is waited at step # 30. When the start key 91 is operated, the washing process is resumed. In step # 31, it is determined whether or not an extension operation has been performed during the pause. If the extension operation has been performed, the process returns to step # 25.

  If the extension operation has not been performed, the motor 41 is stopped in step # 32. In step # 33, the drain valve is opened to drain the water in the dewatering tank 30. And it returns to the flowchart of FIG.

  In the intermediate dewatering step, a dewatering shaft (not shown) is connected to the motor 41 by the clutch / brake mechanism 43. Thereby, the dehydrating tank 30 is rotated at a high speed by the drive of the motor 41 and the dehydrating operation is performed. The water splashed from the laundry by the high-speed rotation of the dewatering tank 30 is discharged from the drain hose (not shown) to the outside of the outer box 10. The rinsing process operates in the same manner as the washing process, and the laundry is rinsed and drained. The dehydration process operates in the same manner as the intermediate dehydration process, and the dehydration operation is performed. When the dehydration step is performed for a predetermined time, the display unit 72 notifies the user that all the operations have been completed, a voice, or the like.

  According to this embodiment, the operation time T of the washing process can be set within the standard time T1 before the start of washing, and the operation time T can be extended within the upper limit time T2 after the start of washing. Thereby, it is prevented that the washing process exceeding the standard time T1 is easily executed against the intention of the user, and the fabric damage is suppressed. Further, when the user intends to improve the cleaning effect even if some fabric damage occurs, the cleaning process can be extended beyond the standard time T1. At this time, by setting the upper limit time T2, it is possible to prevent the setting of the operation time in which the improvement of the cleaning effect cannot be expected, and the fabric damage is suppressed.

  Moreover, since it can pause temporarily before draining at the time of completion | finish of a washing process, after a user confirms a washing | cleaning state, operation time can be extended and a washing process can be restarted. Therefore, the convenience of the washing machine can be improved.

  Moreover, since it can pause before draining at the time of completion | finish of a rinse process, after a user confirms a washing | cleaning state, operation time can be extended and a rinse process can be restarted. Therefore, the convenience of the washing machine can be improved.

  Moreover, since it can pause before draining at the time of completion | finish of a spin-drying | dehydration process, after a user confirms a spin-dry | dehydrated state, operation time can be extended and a spin-drying | dehydration process can be restarted. Therefore, the convenience of the washing machine can be improved.

  Further, by changing the upper limit time according to the quantity or quality of the laundry, it is possible to set the optimum upper limit time T2 calculated from the relationship between the cleaning effect and the degree of cloth damage of the laundry. In addition, by increasing the upper limit time T2 as the amount of synthetic fiber contained in the laundry increases, it is possible to increase the cleaning time by providing a longer operation time for laundry with a low degree of fabric damage. In this embodiment, the standard time T1 and the upper limit time T2 are provided in the washing process, but the standard time T1 and the upper limit time T2 may be provided in the intermediate dehydration process, the rinsing process, or the dehydration process.

  The present invention is widely applicable to washing machines capable of extending the operation time.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Washing machine 10 Outer box 11 Top plate 11a Entrance / exit 30 Dehydration tank 41 Motor 43 Clutch / brake mechanism 70 Control part 71 Operation part 72 Display part 73 Cover open / close sensor 74 Water level sensor 77 Water supply valve 78 Drain valve 79 Storage part

Claims (6)

  In a washing machine for washing laundry by sequentially performing a washing step, a rinsing step, and a dehydration step, an operation unit that sets the operation time of each step within a standard time set in advance before the start of washing is provided, and after the start of washing The washing machine characterized in that the operation time of at least one step can be extended by the operation unit within an upper limit time longer than the standard time.   The upper limit time is provided for the washing process, and can be set to be temporarily stopped before draining at the end of the washing process, and the washing process is adapted to the extended time when the operation time is extended. The washing machine according to claim 1, wherein the washing machine is performed again.   The upper limit time is provided for the rinsing process, and can be set to be temporarily stopped before draining at the end of the rinsing process, and when the operation time is extended, the rinsing process depends on the extended time. The washing machine according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the washing machine is performed again.   The upper limit time is set for the dehydration process, and the dehydration process can be set to be paused before the end of the dehydration process, and when the operation time is extended, the dehydration process is performed again according to the extended time. The washing machine according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein   The washing machine according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the upper limit time is varied according to the quantity or quality of the laundry.   6. The washing machine according to claim 5, wherein the upper limit time is increased as the amount of synthetic fiber contained in the laundry increases.

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