JP2014230674A - Fully automatic washing machine - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a fully automatic washing machine operating appropriately depending on type of a case of detergent or soft finishing agent, reducing water consumption, and shortening operating time.SOLUTION: A fully automatic washing machine executing a series of operation of washing step, rinsing step and dehydration step, and having a system that detergent or soft finishing agent can be charged automatically is provided detection means for discriminating presence of a siphon system in a detergent case or a soft finishing agent case, and alters control of feeding water time or feeding water timing for the auto charge of the detergent or the soft finishing agent depending on the discrimination result of the detection means.

Description

  The present invention relates to a fully automatic washing machine.

  In a conventional fully automatic washing machine, a series of processes such as a washing process, a rinsing process, and a final dehydration process are set as a fully automatic course, and the user selects the fully automatic course. The washing machine is operated on the selected fully automatic course. For products that have an automatic loading function for detergents and soft finishes, place detergents and soft finishes in the case at the start of washing according to the results of cloth quantity measurement, etc. Detergents and soft finishes are introduced by flowing water inside. Since detergents and soft finishes sometimes use liquids, the case is often provided with a siphon mechanism as in Patent Document 1, for example.

JP 2006-255300 A

In a conventional fully automatic washing machine, if a case for storing detergent or soft finish is provided with a siphon mechanism, the siphon effect is activated when water is passed through the case for storing detergent or soft finish. It is necessary to supply water. Also, if it is necessary to pour water into the case after the timing of adding detergent or soft finish, there is a possibility that water will remain in the case. Don't be. When the amount of water supply is affected by tap water pressure or the like, it is necessary to determine the water supply time in consideration of the minimum water supply amount in order not to leave water in the case. In addition, even when the detergent or soft finish case is replaced and a siphon mechanism without a siphon mechanism is selected, the same operation is performed, so that water may be used more than necessary.
An object of the present invention is to provide a fully automatic washing machine that performs an appropriate operation according to the type of a detergent or soft finish case to reduce the amount of water used and the operation time.

  In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, in the present invention, in a fully automatic washing machine having a mechanism that performs a series of operations of a washing process, a rinsing process, and a dewatering process and that can automatically add a detergent or a soft finish, Detection means for identifying the presence or absence of a siphon mechanism is provided in the soft finish case, and the control of the water supply time or the water supply timing for automatic charging of the detergent or the soft finish is changed according to the identification result of the detection means.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the fully automatic washing machine which performs suitable driving | operation according to the kind of case of detergent or a soft finish, and implement | achieves reduction of the amount of water used and shortening of driving | running time can be provided.

It is a block diagram of the control means of the fully automatic washing machine of a present Example. It is an external view of the fully automatic washing machine. It is an example of the detergent case with the siphon mechanism of the fully automatic washing machine. It is an example of the detergent case without the siphon mechanism of the fully automatic washing machine. It is an example of a detergent case identification means. It is an example of the operation | movement flow of the conventional fully automatic washing machine. It is an example of the operation | movement flow of the fully automatic washing machine of a present Example.

Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a control means of a fully automatic washing machine of the present embodiment. The fully automatic washing machine is controlled by the microcomputer 20, and the water supply valve 21, the soft finish agent valve 22, the detergent melt valve 23, the cooling water valve 24, The washing operation is performed by driving the drain valve 25, the main motor 26, the clutch 27, the lid lock 28, and the like.

  In addition, the water level is monitored by the water level sensor 31 and the lid opening / closing state of the washing machine is also monitored by the lid opening / closing sensor 33.

  The commercial power supply 39 supplies the microcomputer 20 and the load driving means 29 as control power to the microcomputer 20 and load driving means 29, and as control power to the sensors.

  FIG. 2 is an external view of the fully automatic washing machine.

  In FIG. 2, 1 is the main body of the fully automatic washing machine. An outer tub 2 is elastically supported by a suspension bar or the like in the main body 1. A washing / dehydrating tub 3 is accommodated in the outer tub 2, and the rotation of the main motor 5 is transmitted to the washing / dehydrating tub 3 or the stirring blade 4 via the clutch mechanism 11.

  A detergent case 16 and a soft finish case 17 are arranged for flowing the detergent and soft finish when supplying tap water. Tap water is supplied from the water supply hose 15 via the water supply valve 12 and the soft finish agent valve 13, and supplied to the outer tub 2 via the detergent case 16 and the soft finish case 17. The water accumulated in the outer tub 2 can be discharged to the drain port 8 through the drain hose 7 by operating the drain valve 6 by the drain valve driving motor 9.

  A control board 10 for controlling the driving of the main motor 5, the drain valve driving motor 9, the water supply valve 12, the soft finisher valve 13, the clutch mechanism 11, and the like is built in the lower part of the main body 1. In addition, an operation panel 14 is installed on the upper front of the main body 1 to change the user's full-automatic course setting, driving operation settings such as a washing process and a rinsing process, and to inform the user of the driving situation. Yes.

  When water is stored in the outer tub 2 because it is easy to wash, the drain valve driving motor 9 is driven to close the drain valve 6, and tap water is supplied by the water supply valve 12. When agitation is performed for easy washing, the washing / dehydrating tub 3 is fixed by the clutch mechanism 11 and the rotational force is transmitted to the agitating blade 4, and the main motor 5 is rotated in the forward and reverse directions to perform the washing / dehydrating tub. The laundry put in 3 is stirred. When draining the water accumulated in the outer tub 2, the drain valve driving motor 9 is driven to open the drain valve 6 and drain from the drain port 8 via the drain hose 7. When dehydrating, the washing / dehydrating tub 3 and the stirring blade 4 are fixed by the clutch mechanism 11 so that the rotational force is transmitted to the washing / dehydrating tub 3, and the main motor 5 is rotated at a high speed so that the washing / dehydrating tub 3 is rotated. The laundry put in is dehydrated.

  FIG. 3 is an example of a detergent case. In order to correspond to the liquid detergent, it has a siphon mechanism. Even if liquid detergent is put into the case, the liquid detergent does not flow up to the water level where the siphon does not work, and when the tap water is poured by the water supply valve 12 and the water level rises, the detergent liquid starts to flow. Even if the tap water supply is stopped, the detergent solution is sucked by the siphon mechanism and almost poured into the outer tub 2.

  FIG. 4 shows an example of a detergent case having no siphon mechanism. If it is a powder detergent or the like, it is held in the detergent case 16 unless it is washed away with tap water. When tap water is poured by the water supply valve 12, the detergent solution is poured into the outer tub 2.

  FIG. 5 shows an example of the detergent case identification means of this embodiment.

  An identification arm 43 is attached to the detergent case 16, and the length of the arm 43 varies depending on the type of the detergent case 16. The detergent case detector 44 provided on the attachment side of the detergent case 16 has a movable lever 45 and is urged by a spring 46 or the like. In the example, the detergent case detector 44 includes a variable resistor or the like as detection means, and detects the change in the resistance value in conjunction with the lever 45 to determine the type of the detergent case 16.

  With the same function, arms having different lengths are formed according to the coarseness of the filter for drying, and a drying filter detector is mounted on the mounting portion side of the drying filter.

  FIG. 6 is an example of an operation flow of a conventional fully automatic washing machine.

  When the driving operation is started, if there is a washing step in the determination of whether there is a washing step in S100, cloth amount measurement for measuring the weight of the laundry is performed in S101. In S102, the water supply operation is performed up to the amount of water corresponding to the amount of cloth determined by the cloth amount measurement. In step S103, the stirring blade is rotated to perform the washing and stirring operation. When there is no washing process, the cloth amount measurement in S101, the washing water supply in S102, and the washing stirring in S103 are skipped.

  Next, in S104, it is determined whether there is a rinsing process. When there is a rinsing process, the rinsing 1 drainage is performed to drain the washing water in S105. When the rinsing 1 draining operation is completed, the washing and dewatering tub is rotated at a high speed in S106 to perform the rinsing 1 dewatering operation. When the rinsing 1 dehydration operation is completed, the drain valve is closed in S107, and the rinsing 1 water supply operation to the specified water level is performed in the washing and dehydrating tub. When the rinse 1 water supply operation is completed, the agitation blade is rotated in S108 to perform the rinse 1 agitation operation. If there is no rinsing step, the operations of the first rinsing step and the second rinsing step are skipped.

  Next, in S109, it is determined whether there are two processes. When there are two rinsing steps, the rinsing 2 drainage is performed to drain the washing water in S110. When the rinsing 2 draining operation is completed, the rinsing 2 dehydrating operation is performed by rotating the washing / dehydrating tub at a high speed in S1111. When the rinsing 2 dehydration operation is completed, the drain valve is closed in S112, and the rinsing 2 dewatering operation up to the specified water level is performed in the washing and dewatering tub. When the rinsing 2 water supply operation is completed, the rinsing 2 stirring operation is performed by rotating the stirring blade in S113. If there are no two rinsing steps, the rinsing two step is skipped.

  When the rinsing process is finished, there is no process for supplying tap water. However, if a detergent case having a siphon mechanism is attached, there is a possibility that water remains in the detergent case. Therefore, a water supply operation is performed in step S114 in order to drain the detergent case by using the siphon mechanism.

  In S115, it is determined whether there is a final dehydration step. If there is a final dewatering step, a final dewatering operation is performed in S116 in order to drain the washing water. When the final dewatering / draining operation is completed, the final dewatering operation is performed by rotating the washing and dewatering tank at a high speed in S117. When there is no final dehydration step, the final dewatering drain of S116 and the final dehydration of S117 are skipped.

  Next, in S118, it is determined whether there is a drying process. When there is a drying process, the hot air drying operation of S119 is performed, and the cooling and drying operation for cooling the clothes and the tank is performed in S120. When there is no drying process, the hot air drying operation of S119 and the cooling drying operation of S120 are skipped.

  In the drying process, a drying filter is provided to prevent lint and the like peeled off from the clothing during drying from reattaching to the clothing or accumulating in the ventilation path. However, if lint accumulates on the drying filter, the loss of ventilation increases or the drying efficiency is reduced, so that detection of clogging of the drying filter is often performed to promote user cleaning. For example, since the current of the blower fan decreases due to the degree of clogging of the drying filter, it is possible to determine that the filter is clogged by detecting a decrease in the current of the blower fan.

  FIG. 7 is an example of an operation flow of the fully automatic washing machine of this embodiment.

  When the driving operation is started, if it is determined that there is a washing process in S200, and if there is a washing process, cloth weight measurement for measuring the weight of the laundry is performed in S201. In S202, the water supply operation is performed up to the amount of water corresponding to the amount of cloth determined by the cloth amount measurement. In S203, the stirring blade is rotated to perform the washing and stirring operation. When there is no washing step, the cloth amount measurement in S201, the washing water supply in S02, and the washing stirring in S203 are skipped.

  Next, in S204, it is determined whether there is a rinsing process. When there is a rinsing process, a rinsing 1 drain is performed to drain the washing water in S205. When the rinsing 1 draining operation is completed, the rinsing 1 dehydrating operation is performed by rotating the washing and dewatering tub at a high speed in S2006. When the rinsing 1 dehydration operation is completed, the drain valve is closed in S207, and the rinsing 1 water supply operation to the specified water level is performed in the washing and dewatering tub. When the rinse 1 water supply operation is completed, the rinse blade is rotated in S208 to perform the rinse 1 stirring operation. If there is no rinsing step, the operations of the first rinsing step and the second rinsing step are skipped.

  Next, in S209, it is determined whether there are two processes. When there are two rinsing steps, the rinsing 2 drainage is performed to drain the washing water in S210. When the rinsing 2 draining operation is completed, the washing / dehydrating tub is rotated at a high speed in S211 to perform the rinsing 2 dehydrating operation. When the rinsing 2 dehydration operation is completed, the drain valve is closed in S212, and the rinsing 2 water supply operation to the specified water level is performed in the washing and dewatering tub. When the rinsing 2 water supply operation is completed, the rinsing 2 stirring operation is performed by rotating the stirring blade in S213. If there are no two rinsing steps, the rinsing two step is skipped.

  When the rinsing process is finished, there is no process for supplying tap water. However, if a detergent case having a siphon mechanism is attached, water may remain in the detergent case. Therefore, a water supply operation is performed in step S <b> 214 in order to drain the detergent case by using the siphon mechanism. However, if the detergent case does not have a siphon mechanism, the water supply operation can be skipped because it is not necessary to drain the detergent case. For this reason, the determination of the detergent case is performed in S221, and in the case of the detergent case A having the siphon mechanism, the water supply operation for draining the detergent case in S214 is performed. In the case of the detergent case B without the siphon mechanism, the drain water supply operation of the detergent case in S214 can be skipped. In this case, since it is not necessary to perform the water supply operation wastefully, it is possible to reduce the amount of water used and the operation time. In addition, although the explanation describes the detergent case, the amount of water used for the soft finish case is also changed by changing the number of times of water supply and intermittent operation for running the soft finish without the siphon mechanism. Can be reduced and the operation time can be shortened.

  In S215, it is determined whether there is a final dehydration step. If there is a final dewatering step, a final dewatering operation is performed in S216 to drain the wash water. When the final dewatering and draining operation is completed, the final dehydrating operation is performed by rotating the washing and dewatering tank at a high speed in S217. If there is no final dewatering step, the final dewatering drain of S216 and the final dewatering of S217 are skipped.

  Next, in S218, it is determined whether there is a drying process. If there is a drying process, the hot air drying operation of S219 is performed, and the cooling and drying operation for cooling the clothes and the tank is performed in S220. If there is no drying step, the hot air drying operation in S219 and the cooling drying operation in S220 are skipped.

  In the drying process, a drying filter is provided to prevent lint and the like peeled off from the clothing during drying from reattaching to the clothing or accumulating in the ventilation path. However, if lint accumulates on the drying filter, the loss of ventilation increases or the drying efficiency is reduced, so that detection of clogging of the drying filter is often performed to promote user cleaning. For example, since the current of the blower fan decreases due to the degree of clogging of the drying filter, it is possible to determine that the filter is clogged by detecting a decrease in the current of the blower fan. By including the identification means for the dry filter, it is possible to set a determination value based on the difference in the ventilation loss of the dry filter itself due to the roughness of the filter eyes.

  According to the above-described embodiment, when it is determined by the identification means that, for example, the case of the detergent or soft finish has a structure having a siphon mechanism, the siphon mechanism is effective with respect to the timing and output time of water flow. Control to prevent water from remaining in the case. If it is determined that the case of the detergent or soft finish has a structure without the siphon mechanism, it is not necessary to consider the remaining water due to the siphon mechanism, so that it can be controlled with the necessary water supply time.

  Also, if it is determined by the identification means that a low-loss dry filter is used, clogging of the dry filter may be difficult to detect, so adjust the control for clogging determination. You can respond by doing. When a dry filter with a high collection rate is used, there is a possibility that the dry filter may be mistakenly clogged even though lint and cotton dust do not accumulate due to the large ventilation resistance. This can be dealt with by adjusting the control for clogging determination.

  As described above, it is possible to reduce the amount of water used and shorten the operation time by changing the operation control by the identification means. Further, by setting the determination threshold value to an optimum value by the identification means, it is possible to improve the usability of the user by increasing the accuracy of clogging detection of the dry filter or the like.

  1 Main body of fully automatic washing machine, 2 outer tub, 3 washing and dewatering tub, 16 detergent case, 17 soft finish case, 35 detergent case identification means

Claims (3)

  In a fully automatic washing machine equipped with a mechanism that can automatically add detergent or soft finish by performing a series of operations including washing, rinsing, and dewatering, the presence or absence of a siphon mechanism is identified in the detergent case or soft finish case A fully automatic washing machine, characterized in that a detection means is provided, and the control of the water supply time or the water supply timing for automatic addition of the detergent or soft finish is changed according to the identification result of the detection means.   2. The fully automatic washing machine according to claim 1, wherein when the detection unit identifies that the siphon mechanism is not present, water supply for draining water from the detergent case or the soft finish case is skipped.   In a dryer or a washing / drying machine having a drying filter and performing only a drying process or performing a series of operations of a washing process, a rinsing process, a dehydrating process, and a drying process, a detection means for identifying the type of the drying filter is provided, A dryer or a laundry dryer, wherein a determination threshold value including a determination of clogging of a drying filter is changed according to a determination result of a detection unit.