JP2014079349A - Washing machine - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a washing machine capable of preventing a reattachment of dirt to laundry and preventing clothing from becoming dark without a change such as extending a washing time or increasing the amount of a detergent which imposes a burden on a user.SOLUTION: The washing machine includes: a circulation path 12 having an end communicating with a water intake 5, provided in an outer tub 2, and configured to lead to a discharge port 11 opening in a direction of a washing tub 3; a circulation pump 13 for taking a washing liquid into the circulation path 12 and discharging the washing liquid into the washing tub from the discharge port 11; and control means 16 for controlling the washing machine. When the cloth quality of laundry is determined to be low in water absorption, a control is performed for increasing an amount of water in the washing tub 3. Thus, it is possible to reduce the whole concentration of dirt in washing water in which much dirt is eluted and to control a washing operation so as to prevent reattachment of dirt to the laundry.

Description

  The present invention includes a laundry tub that is rotatable and accommodates laundry in an elastically supported outer tub, and has a drum-type washing machine or a drying function for washing, rinsing, and dehydrating the laundry in the laundry tub. The present invention relates to a drum-type washing and drying machine provided.

  In a drum-type washing machine, after the laundry is put into the washing tub, tap water is supplied from the outside of the washing machine by the water supply means, and the washing tub is accommodated through a detergent container in which a predetermined amount of detergent is put in advance. Water is poured into the outer tub or washing tub until a predetermined water level is detected by the water level sensor. After pouring water, rotate the washing tub at low speed, wet the laundry sufficiently with the washing liquid, and then rotate the washing tub for a certain period of time so that the laundry does not stick to the wall of the washing tub. Washing is performed by removing dirt by the impact when the laundry falls from the top of the washing tub as it rotates.

  In particular, in a drum-type washing machine, the amount of water supply is reduced so that the laundry does not float on the washing liquid because the laundry is dropped from the upper part of the washing tub to remove dirt, so that the entire laundry can be fully immersed. Since there is no amount of water in the liquid, the washing liquid is circulated up and down the washing tub using a circulation pump and discharged toward the laundry as a circulation shower to allow the washing liquid to permeate evenly.

  However, in a drum type washing machine, since the amount of water at the time of washing is small, dirt raised from the laundry may adhere to the laundry again, which may cause darkening of clothing.

  For this reason, in order to prevent reattachment to clothing, it is considered that pre-washing is performed and much of the dirt is drained first (for example, see Patent Documents 1 and 2).

JP2012-077555 JP 2012-090829 A

  However, in such a conventional configuration, there is a problem that the washing time is extended for pre-washing, and a large amount of pre-wash detergent is required.

  Furthermore, since the washing machine generally controls the amount of water supply depending on the water level, especially in clothing such as chemical fibers, the water absorption is low, so there is often a small amount of water at the time of washing. There is a problem that redeposition to laundry tends to occur.

  The present invention solves the above-mentioned conventional problems, and prevents reattachment of dirt to the laundry without making a change that burdens the user such as extending the washing time or increasing the detergent. It aims at providing the washing machine which can suppress darkening.

  In order to solve the above problems, a washing machine of the present invention includes a washing tub that accommodates and rotates laundry, an outer tub that accommodates the washing tub, a motor that drives the washing tub, and a water supply valve. A water supply port that supplies water into the outer tub, a water intake port that is connected to the outer tub and into which washing liquid enters, and a discharge port that is provided in the outer tub with one end communicating with the water intake port and opening in the direction of the laundry tub A circulation path configured to guide to the circulation path, a circulation pump that takes the washing liquid into the circulation path and discharges the washing liquid from the discharge port into the washing tub, and controls the washing machine and the quality of the laundry Control means for performing determination, and when the control means determines that the cloth quality of the laundry has low water absorption, it performs control to increase the amount of water in the washing tub.

  Accordingly, it is possible to control the washing operation so as to reduce the overall concentration of dirt in the washing liquid in which a large amount of dirt is dissolved in the washing liquid and to prevent the redeposition of dirt on the laundry.

  The washing machine of the present invention controls the washing operation so as to reduce the overall concentration of dirt in the washing liquid in which a large amount of dirt is dissolved in the washing liquid and to prevent the redeposition of dirt on the laundry. Can be suppressed.

The flowchart which shows control of the washing process of the drum type washing machine in an embodiment of the invention. Schematic configuration diagram of a drum-type washing machine in an embodiment of the present invention The figure which shows the relationship between the water supply time by the cloth quality of the laundry in embodiment of this invention, and a water level The figure of the washing sequence by the amount of clothes in an embodiment of the invention

  A washing machine according to a first aspect of the present invention includes a washing tub that accommodates and rotates laundry, an outer tub that accommodates the washing tub, a motor that drives the washing tub, and a water supply valve through the outer tub. A water supply port for supplying water, a water intake port connected to the outer tub and allowing washing liquid to enter, and a water intake port that communicates with one end of the water intake port and is provided in the outer tub and is guided to the discharge port that opens in the direction of the laundry tub. A circulation path configured as described above, a circulation pump for taking the washing liquid into the circulation path and discharging the washing liquid from the discharge port into the washing tub, and controlling the washing machine and determining the quality of the laundry Control means, and the control means performs control to increase the amount of water in the washing tub when it is determined that the cloth quality of the laundry is low in water absorption. Accordingly, it is possible to perform control that is difficult to reattach when it is determined that the laundry fabric has low water absorption.

  In the washing machine according to the second aspect of the present invention, the control means according to the first aspect of the invention performs control to increase the amount of water in the washing tub by controlling the water supply valve to supply water in the latter half of the washing step. The washing operation can be controlled so as to suppress the redeposition of dirt on the laundry in the second half of the washing in which a large amount of dirt is dissolved in the washing liquid.

  A washing machine according to a third aspect of the present invention is characterized in that the washing tub of the first or second aspect is characterized in that the rotating shaft is horizontal or inclined and has a small amount of water supply due to its structure and dissolves in the washing liquid. It is possible to perform control that is difficult to reattach when the concentration of the dirt that has come out increases.

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

(Embodiment 1)
FIG. 2 shows a schematic configuration of the washing machine according to the embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 2, 1 is an outer box of the entire washing machine, and an outer tub 2 is disposed therein, and further the outer tub. A drum 3 as a washing tub is disposed inside 2 so as to be rotatable by a rotating shaft slightly inclined from the horizontal direction. The drum 3 has a motor 4 connected to the back surface, and the drum 3 is rotated by the rotation of the motor 4. The drum 3 is provided with a plurality of water holes on the outer peripheral surface, and functions as a washing tub, a dewatering tub, and a drying tub.

  A water intake 5 is connected to the lowest part of the outer tub 2 and is connected to a drain valve 6. The drain valve 6 is connected to a drain pipe 7.

  The water intake 5 is provided with a water level sensor 8 which is a water level detecting means for detecting the water level supplied to the outer tub 2 and the drum 3. The water level sensor 8 is installed at a position that reacts immediately after the start of water supply, and detects the water level by detecting, for example, the pressure applied to the diaphragm as a deformation of the membrane. As a method for detecting the deformation of the diaphragm, a change in capacitance or a strain gauge is used.

  The water supply port 9 is connected to the water supply, and the outer tub 2 and the drum 3 are sequentially filled with water via the water supply valve 10.

  Further, a circulation path 12 connected to the discharge port 11 for discharging the washing liquid taken in from the water intake port 5 to the drum 3 is connected between the water intake port 5 and the drain valve 6, and fills the outer tub 2 and the drum 3. The washing liquid is circulated. If the uptake of water into the circulation path 12 is performed by using the circulation pump 13, the washing liquid can be circulated by the circulation path 12 only by controlling the circulation pump 13. It can be circulated irrespective of the cleaning control that controls the normal cleaning power.

  The bottom of the outer tub 2 is provided with a warm water heater 14 as a heating means such as a sheathed heater, and has a function of heating the washing liquid and washing the laundry in the drum 3 with warm water.

  If a lot of foreign matter such as laundry fibers or hair is contained during the circulation of the washing liquid, the circulation pump 13 or the drain pipe 7 may be clogged. Therefore, a filter 15 is installed at the end of the water intake 5 for washing. Try to remove foreign matter such as fiber and hair.

  The control means 16 is constituted by a microcomputer or the like, and inputs a water level detection signal from the water level sensor 8 to open / close the drain valve 6 and the water supply valve 10, control the motor 4, the circulation pump 13 and the hot water heater 14. By doing so, control of all the washing steps is performed. Furthermore, it also has a function as a cloth amount detecting means for detecting the current signal flowing through the motor 4 and the rotation angle to determine the weight of the drum 3, that is, the weight of the laundry.

  Next, the operation of the washing machine of the present embodiment will be described with reference to the control flowchart of FIG. 1 and FIG.

  When the laundry is put into the washing machine and the laundry is started, first, the control unit 16 detects the amount of the laundry (S1). The detection of the amount of laundry relates to at least one motor operation such as the magnitude of the current signal of the motor 4 when the drum 3 is rotated together with the laundry by controlling the motor 4, and the change in the amount of current and the rotation angle. This is done by detecting information.

  The basic water supply and washing time are determined based on the amount of laundry. For example, when it is determined that the amount of laundry is “small”, the “low” water level is set as the set water level, and the washing time is set as the set time A1. When it is determined that the amount of laundry is “medium”, the “medium” water level is set as the set water level, and the washing time is set as the set time A2. When it is determined that the amount of laundry is “large”, the “high” water level is set as the set water level, and the washing time is set as the set time A3.

  Next, the control means 16 opens the water supply valve 10 (S2), starts counting the water supply time t, and supplies water until the water level reaches a predetermined water level that reaches the outer tub 2 and the drum 3 with a water amount smaller than the set water level. Perform (S3).

  In the water supply, if the control means 16 controls the circulation pump 13 to circulate the detergent water supplied together with the detergent from the discharge port 11 to the outer tub 2 via the circulation path 12, Melting can be promoted. In this case, if the circulating water is discharged from the discharge port 11 into the drum 3, the laundry absorbs the water before the detergent dissolves in the water. It is necessary to control to the extent that it does not.

  If the water supply time t required from the start of water supply to the predetermined water level is longer than the predetermined time T1 at the time when the water level reaches the predetermined level (YES in S3), the control for suppressing reattachment is performed (S11).

  As shown in FIG. 3, when water is supplied to the drum type washing machine at the same flow rate, it can be seen that the time for reaching the predetermined water level varies depending on the cloth quality such as the material of the laundry. For example, if all the laundry is a cotton towel, the time to reach the predetermined water level is very fast. Conversely, if only the polyester jersey of chemical fiber is used, the time to reach the predetermined water level is very slow. The fabric quality can be determined by checking the water supply time t.

  In addition, it has been found that chemical fibers such as polyester and nylon have a higher reattachment rate than cotton often used in clothing, and tend to cause darkening. For this reason, if it is determined by cloth quality detection that there are many chemical fibers such as polyester, control for suppressing reattachment is performed.

  When the set water level is reached (YES in S3), the water supply valve 10 is closed (S5), and the initial water supply process is terminated.

  Next, the control means 16 controls the motor 4 and starts stirring while rotating the drum 3 at a low speed (S6). The rotational speed of the drum 3 is applied to the wall surface of the drum 3 by centrifugal force so that the laundry is lifted in the drum 3 and falls by gravity from the upper part of the drum 3 and the kinetic energy at the time of dropping is effectively applied. However, it is preferably 60 rpm or less, depending on the amount of laundry. The rotation direction may be the same direction or periodically switched.

  During the stirring of the drum 3, the circulation pump 13 is driven so that the washing liquid passes through the circulation path 12, and the washing liquid is circulated from the discharge port 11 into the drum 3 through the circulation path 12 (S7). Enhance the wettability of the laundry by washing the laundry with detergent.

  When one minute has passed since the activation of the circulation pump 13, the control means 16 stops the circulation pump 13 and stops the circulation of the washing liquid. Further, when one minute has elapsed since the circulation pump 13 was stopped, the circulation pump 13 is again driven for one minute.

  When the drum 3 is stirred by repeatedly driving and stopping the circulation pump 13, the laundry absorbs water and the water level is lowered. Therefore, the control means 16 opens the water supply valve 10 and sets the level of the set water level. Supply the shortage again.

  When 6 minutes have elapsed from the start of drum stirring, the control means 16 energizes the hot water heater 14 to start heating the washing water, and ends the heating when a predetermined heating time has elapsed. The predetermined heating time may be set by the user at the start of washing, or may be set by the control means 16 judging from the amount of laundry.

  Furthermore, if the set time A for the washing process has not elapsed (NO in S8), the stirring operation of the drum 3 and the operation of the circulation pump 13 are repeated.

  After the set time A has elapsed (YES in S8), when it is set to perform control for suppressing reattachment (YES in S12), that is, when it is determined that the laundry has a large amount of chemical fiber, 10 is opened (S13), and water is supplied until the additional water level is reached (S14).

  The additional water level may be set by setting the water level 20 mm higher than the water level at the start of water supply or by setting the water level 10 mm higher than the set water level determined in the initial stage.

  If it becomes an additional water level (YES of S14), a water supply valve will be closed (S15) and a washing process will be continued as it is.

  Thereafter, the stirring operation of the drum 3 and the operation of the circulation pump 13 are repeated, and if the set time B has elapsed (YES in S16), the washing process is terminated, and the next rinsing and dehydration processes are started.

  The set time B is set longer than the set time A set according to the amount of laundry, may be a fixed time, or may be a predetermined time added to the set time A. For example, in FIG. 4, the set time A is set to 20 minutes, the set time A2 is set to 30 minutes, and the set time A3 is set to 40 minutes according to the amount of laundry, and the set time B is set to 15 for each set time A. It is assumed that minutes are added.

  As described above, when the control is set to control the re-adhesion of many chemical fibers in the laundry, additional water supply is performed in the latter half of the washing, so the dirt that has melted out by the first half of the washing process is removed. Since the overall concentration of dirt contained in the washing liquid containing a large amount is reduced and the dirt does not easily re-adhere to the laundry, it is possible to suppress darkening of clothes of chemical fibers in particular.

  In addition, although the configuration of the washing machine in each of the above embodiments has been described with a drum-type washing machine having a rotating shaft in which the washing tub is inclined from the horizontal direction, the washing machine has a drum-type washing machine having a rotating shaft in the horizontal direction. Even if the washing tub is a vertical washing machine having a vertical rotation axis, the same effect as described above can be obtained.

  As described above, the washing machine according to the present invention controls water supply and suppresses reattachment of dirt to the laundry, and thus can be applied to uses such as a cleaning device for fibers and the like.

1 Outer box 2 Outer tub 3 Drum (washing tub)
4 Motor 5 Water intake 6 Drain valve 7 Drain pipe 8 Water level sensor 9 Water supply port 10 Water supply valve 11 Discharge port 12 Circulation path 13 Circulation pump 14 Hot water heater 15 Filter 16 Control means

Claims (3)

A laundry tub that accommodates and rotates laundry;
An outer tub for accommodating the washing tub;
A motor for driving the washing tub;
A water supply port for supplying water into the outer tub through a water supply valve;
A water intake port connected to the outer tub and into which washing liquid enters;
A circulation path configured to guide the discharge port and one end thereof in communication with each other and provided in the outer tub and opened in the washing tub direction;
A circulation pump for taking the washing liquid into the circulation path and discharging the washing liquid from the discharge port into the washing tub;
Control means for controlling the washing machine and determining the quality of the laundry,
The said control means is a washing machine which performs control which increases the amount of water in the said washing tub, when it determines with the cloth quality of the laundry being a low water absorption. 2. The washing machine according to claim 1, wherein the control unit performs control to increase the amount of water in the washing tub by controlling the water supply valve to supply water in the latter half of the washing step. The washing machine according to claim 1 or 2, wherein a rotation axis of the washing tub is horizontal or inclined.

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