JP2016163637A - Washing machine - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To determine operation content more suitable for a state in a tub by utilizing means for illuminating the inside of the tub, regarding a washing machine which determines the operation content based on weight of the laundry in the tub.SOLUTION: A washing machine of the embodiment includes: illumination means for illuminating the inside of a tub; illuminance detection means for detecting the illuminance in the tub which is illuminated by the illumination means; weight detection means for detecting weight of laundry in the tub; and operation content determination means for determining the operation content based on the detection weight by the weight detection means and the detection illuminance by the illuminance detection means.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 5

Description

  Embodiments described herein relate generally to a washing machine.

  In the washing machine, there is provided a machine that performs a weight detection process for detecting the weight of the laundry in the tub and determines the operation content, for example, the amount of water supply and the operation time based on the detected weight. However, when relatively light laundry such as shirts and underwear is put in the tub, and when relatively heavy laundry such as bath towels and work clothes are put in the tub. Even in the same weight, the state in the tub, for example, the space occupied by the laundry in the tub greatly differs. For this reason, in the technology that determines the operation details simply based on the importance of detection by the weight detection process, there are cases where the operation cannot be performed with the operation details suitable for the actual state in the tank.

  By the way, in recent years, as disclosed in Patent Document 1, for example, a washing machine including an illuminating device that illuminates the inside of a tank has been considered. This lighting device is provided for the purpose of easily visualizing the inside of the tank, but by using this lighting device, there is a possibility that the above-described technical problems based only on the detected weight can be solved. There is.

JP 2000-157781 A

  Therefore, the present embodiment relates to a washing machine that determines the operation content based on the weight of the laundry in the tub, and determines the operation content more suitable for the state in the tub by using means for illuminating the inside of the tub. Provide a washing machine that can be used.

  The washing machine of the present embodiment includes illumination means, illuminance detection means, weight detection means, and operation content determination means. The illumination means illuminates the inside of the tank. The illuminance detection means detects the illuminance in the tank illuminated by the illumination means. The weight detection means detects the weight of the laundry in the tub. The operation content determination means determines the operation content based on the weight detected by the weight detection means and the detection illuminance detected by the illuminance detection means.

The figure which shows schematically the structural example of the washing machine which concerns on this embodiment. The figure which shows the structural example of a control apparatus The figure which shows the example of the state where the light laundry is thrown in in the tank The figure which shows the example of the state where the heavy laundry is thrown into the tank Flow chart showing an example of operation contents by washing machine Flowchart showing an example of the operation content correction process The figure which shows an example of the driving | running content corresponding to detected weight The figure which shows the example of a relationship between the space formed in a tank, and detection illumination intensity (the 1) The figure which shows the example of a relationship between the space formed in a tank, and detection illumination intensity (the 2) The figure which shows the structural example of a control apparatus Flow chart showing an example of operation contents by washing machine The figure which is used for cloth quality presumption processing, and shows the data which specified the example of the relation between detected weight and detected illuminance The figure which shows the state example in which water is supplied and the heavy laundry is thrown in in the tank The figure which shows the state example in which water is supplied and the light laundry is thrown in in the tank The figure which shows the example of adjustment in the case of adjusting a water flow according to the determination result of cloth quality Diagram showing an example of the initial state of the drying process Diagram showing an example of the middle stage of the drying process The figure which shows the example of the state which the tank is rotating in the initial stage of a drying process The figure which shows the example of the state which the tank is rotating in the middle of the drying process The figure which shows the example of the dehydration process performed by dividing into several dehydration steps

Hereinafter, a plurality of embodiments according to a washing machine will be described with reference to the drawings. In each embodiment, substantially the same elements are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof is omitted.
(First embodiment)
A washing machine 10 illustrated in FIG. 1 is a so-called horizontal-axis type drum-type washing machine in which the rotation axis direction of a rotating tub is horizontal or inclined, and a water tub 12, a drum 13, and the like are provided in a housing 11 constituting an outer shell thereof. Is provided. The water tank 12 has a bottomed cylindrical shape and is elastically supported by a suspension (not shown). The drum 13 has a bottomed cylindrical shape and is rotatably disposed in the water tank 12. The rotation axis direction of the drum 13 may be horizontal, or may be inclined so that the back side is lower than the front side.

  The drum 13 is rotated by a drive motor 14 provided on the back surface of the water tank 12. A plurality of through holes (not shown) are provided in the peripheral wall portion of the drum 13. A plurality of synthetic resin baffles (not shown) are provided on the inner peripheral surface of the drum 13 for picking up laundry. The washing machine 10 also includes a water supply path (not shown) for supplying water into the water tank 12 and a drainage path (not shown) for discharging the water in the water tank 12.

  An entrance 15 for taking in and out the laundry is provided on the front surface of the housing 11. A door 16 is attached to the doorway 15 so as to be openable and closable. Further, the doorway 15 and the front opening of the water tank 12 are watertightly connected by a bellows 17. Further, an operation panel (not shown) including various operation buttons such as an operation start button is provided on the front upper portion of the housing 11. A control device 20 is provided on the back side of the operation panel. The control device 20 is configured mainly with a microcomputer and controls the overall operation of the washing machine 10.

  The washing machine 10 has a drying function for drying the laundry in the drum 13. Thereby, the washing machine 10 can perform the drying process which dries the laundry in the drum 13. FIG. As a configuration for realizing this drying function, various configurations for supplying warm air into the drum 13 are conceivable. For example, a configuration using a heat pump mechanism including a condenser or an evaporator, a configuration including a heater, or the like can be considered. .

  The washing machine 10 further includes a lighting device 30 and an illuminance sensor 31. The illuminating device 30 is an example of an illuminating unit. Accordingly, the illumination device 30 illuminates the inside of the drum 13 obliquely from the upper front portion of the drum 13. In this case, the illuminance sensor 31 is provided at a position lower than the illumination device 30 in the entrance 15. The illuminance sensor 31 detects the illuminance in the drum 13 illuminated by the illuminating device 30 and outputs the detection result to the control device 20. In addition, the installation position of the illuminating device 30 and the illumination intensity sensor 31 can be changed and implemented suitably.

  As illustrated in FIG. 2, the control device 20 virtually implements an illuminance detection processing unit 41, a weight detection processing unit 42, and an operation content determination processing unit 43 by software by executing a control program. Note that these processing units 41 and 42 may be realized by hardware. The illuminance detection processing unit 41 is an example of an illuminance detection unit, and executes an illuminance detection process for specifying the illuminance in the drum 13 based on the detection result by the illuminance sensor 31.

  The weight detection processing unit 42 is an example of a weight detection unit, and detects the weight of the laundry in the drum 13 by executing a predetermined weight detection process. In this case, the weight detection processing unit 42 rotates the drum 13 by the drive motor 14 before water is supplied into the water tank 12, and the laundry in the drum 13 based on the rotational load generated at the drive motor 14 at that time. Detect the weight of The weight detection process is not limited to this process, and various processes may be employed as long as the weight of the laundry in the drum 13 can be detected. For example, the weight detection processing unit 42 rotates the driving motor 14 with a constant driving force before water is supplied into the water tank 12 and detects the weight of the laundry according to the number of driving signals obtained during that time. You may do it.

  The operation content determination processing unit 43 is an example of an operation content determination unit, and determines the operation content based on the detected weight obtained by the weight detection processing unit 42 and the detected illuminance obtained by the illuminance detection processing unit 41. The operation content determination processing unit 43 can also correct the determined operation content.

  Next, an example of the content of control by the washing machine 10 will be described. FIG. 3 shows an example of a state in which a relatively light amount of laundry such as a shirt or underwear is put into the drum 13 by a predetermined amount, for example, 9 kg. FIG. 4 shows an example of a state in which a relatively heavy amount of laundry such as bath towels and work clothes is put in, for example, about 9 kg. That is, even when clothes of the same weight are put in the drum 13, the state in the drum 13, for example, the space occupied by the laundry in the drum 13 is relatively large if the laundry is light, For heavy laundry it will be relatively low. For this reason, even if the operation content is determined based only on the detected weight detected by the weight detection processing unit 42, there are cases where the operation cannot be performed with the operation content suitable for the state in the actual tank.

  Therefore, the washing machine 10 according to the present embodiment determines the driving content using not only the detected weight detected by the weight detection processing unit 42 but also the detected illuminance detected by the illuminance detection processing unit 41. That is, as illustrated in FIG. 5, when the operation start button is operated, the washing machine 10 first executes weight detection processing by the weight detection processing unit 42 (A1) and is put into the drum 13. Identify the weight of the laundry. And the washing machine 10 determines the operation content based on the detected weight (A2). The operation content determination process performed in step A2 is a determination process that is performed preliminarily before the operation content is determined.

  Next, before starting the execution of the driving operation, the washing machine 10 turns on the illumination device 30 to illuminate the inside of the drum 13 (A3), and executes the illuminance detection processing by the illuminance detection processing unit 41 in that state. (A4). Thereby, the washing machine 10 detects the illuminance in the drum 13 illuminated by the lighting device 30. The washing machine 10 performs the illuminance detection process when the rotation of the drum 13 is stopped after the weight detection process. And the washing machine 10 performs the correction process of driving | operation content (A5). In this correction process, the washing machine 10 corrects the driving content that is preliminarily determined based only on the detected weight, that is, the driving content determined in Step A2, based on the detected illuminance.

  Thereby, the washing machine 10 decides the operation content to be executed, that is, this decision. Therefore, the correction process in step A5 has a function as a main determination process for determining the operation details. When this correction process is completed, the washing machine 10 performs the water supply process (A6), the washing process (A7), the rinsing process (A8), and the dehydration process (A9) according to the corrected operation content, that is, the determined operation content. The operation including the above is executed. Moreover, when the driving course including the drying process is set, the washing machine 10 executes the drying process following the dehydration process.

  Here, the operation content correction process described above will be described in more detail. That is, as illustrated in FIG. 6, the washing machine 10 determines whether or not the detected weight detected by the weight detection processing unit 42 is at the “high” level (B1). When the detected weight is at the “high” level (B1: YES), the washing machine 10 determines whether the detected illuminance detected by the illuminance detection processing unit 41 is at the “dark” level (B2). When the detected illuminance is at the “dark” level (B2: YES), the washing machine 10 determines the operation content of the weight “high” level (B3). On the other hand, when the detected illuminance is not at the “dark” level, that is, when the detected illuminance is at the “bright” level (B2: NO), the washing machine 10 determines the operation content at the weight “medium” level (B5). .

  If the detected weight is not at the “high” level (B1: NO), the washing machine 10 determines whether the detected weight is at the “medium” level (B4). When the detected weight is at the “medium” level (B4: YES), the washing machine 10 determines the operation content at the weight “medium” level (B5). If the detected weight is not at the “medium” level (B4: NO), the washing machine 10 determines the operation content at the weight “small” level (B6).

  According to this correction process, the washing machine 10 detects the driving content determined based on the detected weight “high” when the detected illuminance is “bright” level even if the detected weight is “high” level. The operation content corresponding to the weight “medium” is corrected. That is, even if the detected weight is “high” level, if the detected illuminance is “bright” level, that is, the laundry in the drum 13 is low, relatively heavy clothes are put in the drum 13 and It is presumed that the objects themselves are relatively few. Therefore, the reliability that the detected weight is at the “high” level is low. Therefore, the washing machine 10 determines that the operation content determined based only on the detected weight “high” corresponds to the detected weight “medium”. Correct to content. At this time, the washing machine 10 may correct the driving content based on the detected weight “high” to the driving content corresponding to the detected weight “small”.

  On the other hand, when the detected weight is at the “high” level and the detected illuminance is at the “dark” level, the washing machine 10 does not correct the operation content determined based on the detected weight “high”. That is, if the detected weight is “high” level and the detected illuminance is “dark” level, that is, the laundry in the drum 13 is relatively large, the relatively light clothing in the drum 13 becomes almost full. It is presumed that the battery is in the charged state. Therefore, it is highly reliable that the detected weight is at the “high” level. Therefore, the washing machine 10 adopts the operation content determined based only on the detected weight “high” without correction.

  FIG. 7 shows an example of operation contents corresponding to the detected weights “high”, “medium”, and “small”, respectively. That is, the operation content corresponding to the detected weight “medium” is smaller in the washing stroke time and water amount and the water amount in the rinsing stroke than the operation content corresponding to the detected weight “high”. In addition, the operation content corresponding to the detected weight “small” is smaller than the operation content corresponding to the detected weight “medium” in that the washing process time and amount of water, the number of shower rinses and the amount of water in the rinsing process, and the amount of water in the rinse are smaller It has become. The shower rinsing is for rinsing while supplying water in the form of a shower to the laundry in the drum 13, and the rinsing is for rinsing in a state where water is stored in the water tank 12.

  Note that the illuminance detected by the illuminance sensor 31 varies depending on the amount of laundry in the drum 13, and also varies depending on the installation positions and configurations of the illumination device 30 and the illuminance sensor 31. That is, like the washing machine 10 according to the present embodiment, the illumination device 30 and the illuminance sensor 31 are provided separately, and the illuminance sensor 31 is disposed at a lower position than the illumination device 30 in the upper front surface of the drum 13. In the configuration, the detected illuminance by the illuminance sensor 31 has a relationship as shown in FIG. 8, for example.

  That is, in the state of region a in FIG. 8, that is, in a state where the laundry is almost fully filled in the drum 13, the illuminance sensor 31 is buried in the laundry, and is irradiated from the illumination device 30 and reflected by the laundry. Is difficult to reach the illuminance sensor 31. Therefore, the detected illuminance tends to be low despite a large amount of laundry. Further, in the state of region b in FIG. 8, that is, in the state where the surface of the laundry put in the drum 13 is lower than the illuminance sensor 31 and is in the vicinity of the illuminance sensor 31, the illuminance sensor 31 is The light that is irradiated from the lighting device 30 and reflected by the laundry easily reaches the illuminance sensor 31. Therefore, the detected illuminance tends to be higher than when the laundry is almost full. For example, as shown in a region c in FIG. 8, as the amount of laundry decreases, in other words, as the surface of the laundry moves away from the illuminance sensor 31, the amount of light that is reflected by the laundry and reaches the illuminance sensor 31. The detected illumination intensity decreases.

  Further, for example, in a configuration in which the illumination device and the illuminance sensor are integrated, the detected illuminance by the illuminance sensor 31 has a relationship as shown in FIG. In this case, the illuminance sensor is not buried in the laundry even if the laundry is almost fully filled in the drum 13. for that reason. The detected illuminance decreases as the space formed in the drum 13, in other words, the amount of laundry put into the drum 13 decreases. That is, in the configuration in which the illumination device and the illuminance sensor are integrally provided, the light emitting unit and the light receiving unit are at the same position, so there is no possibility that the laundry is interposed between them. Therefore, according to this structure, the detection illumination intensity according to the quantity of the laundry in the drum 13 can be obtained.

  According to the present embodiment, the washing machine 10 determines the driving content by re-determining or correcting the driving content that is preliminarily determined based on only the detected weight, further reflecting the detected illuminance. And the washing machine 10 performs a driving | operation by this determined driving | operation content. Therefore, it is possible to determine the operation content more suitable for the actual state in the drum 13.

  Moreover, according to this embodiment, the illumination intensity detection process part 41 performs an illumination intensity detection process after a weight detection process. In the weight detection process, since the drum 13 is rotated for weight detection, the laundry in the drum 13 is loosened to some extent. Therefore, by performing the illuminance detection process after the weight detection process, it is possible to obtain a more accurate detected illuminance, and to determine or correct the operation content more suitable for the actual state in the drum 13.

  Moreover, according to this embodiment, the illumination intensity detection process part 41 performs an illumination intensity detection process, when rotation of the drum 13 which is a rotation tank has stopped. Accordingly, the illuminance can be detected in a state where the inside of the drum 13 is stable, and more accurate detected illuminance can be reflected in the determination process or correction process of the operation content.

  In addition, in this embodiment, the example which performs the correction | amendment process based on an illumination intensity detection process, ie, the main determination process of the operation content, before water supply in the water tank 12 was disclosed. However, in the present embodiment, the main determination process may be performed after supplying water into the water tank 12. In short, this determination process can be performed at an appropriate timing after the preliminary operation content determination process based only on the detected weight. Alternatively, the illuminance may be detected before the preliminary operation content determination process based only on the detected weight, and the detected illuminance may be reflected in the operation content that is preliminarily determined thereafter.

(Second Embodiment)
As illustrated in FIG. 10, in the present embodiment, the control device 20 further realizes the cloth quality estimation processing unit 44 by software by executing a control program. The cloth quality estimation processing unit 44 may be realized by hardware.

  Next, an example of the operation content determination operation according to the present embodiment will be described. As illustrated in FIG. 11, the washing machine 10 executes the cloth quality estimation process (A20) when the water supply process (A6) is completed. In addition, you may perform this cloth quality estimation process in the middle of a water supply process. This cloth quality estimation process is a process of estimating the cloth quality of the laundry in the drum 13 based on the detected illuminance detected by the illuminance detection processing unit 41. In this cloth quality estimation process, the washing machine 10 performs the illuminance detection process in a state where water is supplied into the drum 13. The washing machine 10 estimates the quality of the laundry in the drum 13 based on the detected weight obtained in step A1 and the detected illuminance detected in a state where water is supplied into the drum 13.

  In this case, the washing machine 10 estimates the cloth quality based on, for example, data shown in FIG. That is, when the detected weight is at the “heavy” level and the detected illuminance is at the “dark” level, it can be estimated that, for example, a cotton-based relatively heavy laundry or a large laundry has been put in. The illuminance in the drum 13 is dark and the detected weight is heavy, for example, as shown in FIG. 13, it is estimated that there are a lot of laundry that easily absorbs water W and laundry that easily sinks in water W. Because it can. Conversely, if the detected weight is at the “light” level and the detected illuminance is at the “bright” level, it is estimated that, for example, a relatively light laundry or small laundry of chemical fiber type is put in. it can. The fact that the detected weight is light despite the fact that the illuminance in the drum 13 is bright means that, for example, as shown in FIG. 14, there are many laundry items that do not easily absorb the water W and those that tend to float on the water W. This is because it can be estimated.

  As illustrated in FIG. 11, when the washing machine 10 finishes the cloth quality determination process, the washing machine 10 executes a second operation content correction process (A21). That is, the washing machine 10 further corrects the operation content determined by the first operation content correction process (A5) according to the quality of the laundry. Therefore, the correction process in step A21 has a function as a second main determination process that adjusts the operation content determined by the first main determination process and determines the operation content based on the adjusted content. .

  In this case, the washing machine 10 corrects the water flow in the washing process or the rinsing process according to the estimation result of the cloth quality. That is, for example, as shown in FIG. 15, the washing machine 10 resets the rotation time and the rotation speed of the motor to be small when the estimation result of the cloth quality is “chemical fiber type”. Thereby, the washing machine 10 weakens the water flow in the washing process or the rinsing process. On the other hand, when the estimation result of the fabric quality is “cotton”, the washing machine 10 resets the rotation time and rotation speed of the motor to be large. Thereby, the washing machine 10 strengthens the water flow in the washing process or the rinsing process.

  According to the present embodiment, the washing machine 10 re-determines or corrects the operation content that is preliminarily determined based only on the detected weight by reflecting the detected illuminance and the determination result of the cloth quality. Make this decision. And the washing machine 10 performs a driving | operation by this determined driving | operation content. Therefore, it is possible to determine the operation content more suitable for the actual state in the drum 13.

(Third embodiment)
In the present embodiment, when the drying process for drying the laundry in the drum 13 is executed, the illuminance detection processing unit 41 performs the illuminance detection process in the initial stage and the middle period of the drying process. Then, the operation content determination processing unit 43 compares the detected illuminance in the initial stage of the drying process with the detected illuminance in the middle, and determines or corrects the operation content based on the comparison result. That is, for example, as shown in FIG. 16, in the state where the laundry contains moisture, the laundry is likely to be hardened, and is stuck to the inner peripheral surface of the drum 13 particularly immediately after the dehydration process. Therefore, the space occupied by the laundry in the drum 13 is relatively small, and thus the detected illuminance is relatively small. However, as the laundry is dried, the laundry is peeled off from the inner peripheral surface of the drum 13, and the laundry is gradually separated. In addition, the laundry itself swells. Therefore, for example, as shown in FIG. 17, the space occupied by the laundry in the drum 13 gradually increases. Therefore, the detected illuminance gradually increases with the progress of drying.

  Thus, a clear difference is seen in the state of the laundry in the drum 13 between the initial stage and the middle of the drying process. Therefore, based on the comparison result between the detected illuminance in the initial stage of the drying process and the detected illuminance in the middle, the degree of progress of drying of the laundry can be estimated.

  According to the present embodiment, the washing machine 10 can correct the operation content, particularly the content such as the drying process time and the drying temperature, based on the comparison result between the detected illuminance at the initial stage of the drying process and the detected illuminance during the drying process. it can. Therefore, it is possible to proceed with driving while appropriately changing the content of the drying process according to the degree of drying of the laundry. Further, it is possible to avoid the drying process being continued unnecessarily even though the laundry is sufficiently dried.

(Fourth embodiment)
In the present embodiment, the illuminance detection processing unit 41 performs the illuminance detection process as needed when the drum 13 is rotating in the drying process. And the operation content determination process part 43 determines an operation content based on the change of the detection illumination intensity detected at any time when the drum 13 is rotating in the drying process. In the drying process by the washing machine 10 including the drum 13 whose rotation axis direction is horizontal or inclined, the laundry is picked up by the baffle with the rotation of the drum 13 and dried while being dropped. Here, for example, as shown in FIG. 18, in the initial stage of the drying process, the laundry containing moisture is scattered on the inner peripheral surface of the drum 13, so that there is little laundry falling in the drum 13. Therefore, there are few laundry which blocks the irradiation range by the illuminating device 30, Therefore, the change of detection illumination intensity is also few. However, for example, as illustrated in FIG. 19, when the laundry is peeled off from the inner peripheral surface of the drum 13 as the drying progresses, more laundry falls in the drum 13, and the irradiation range by the lighting device 30 is blocked. More laundry. Therefore, every time the laundry blocks the irradiation range, a change in the detected illuminance can be seen, that is, the change in the detected illuminance becomes gradually remarkable.

  Thus, as the drying of the laundry progresses, a change can be seen in the detected illuminance detected at any time. Therefore, based on the change in the detected illuminance when the drum 13 is rotating in the drying process, the progress of drying of the laundry can be estimated.

  According to the present embodiment, the washing machine 10 can correct the operation content, particularly the content such as the time of the drying process and the drying temperature, based on the change in the detected illuminance when the drum 13 is rotating during the drying process. it can. Therefore, it is possible to proceed with driving while appropriately changing the content of the drying process according to the degree of drying of the laundry. Further, it is possible to avoid the drying process being continued unnecessarily even though the laundry is sufficiently dried.

(Fifth embodiment)
In the present embodiment, the illuminance detection processing unit 41 performs the illuminance detection process during the dehydration process of dehydrating the laundry in the drum 13. Then, the operation content determination processing unit 43 determines or corrects the operation content based on the detected illuminance obtained during the dehydration process. That is, for example, as shown in FIG. 20, in the case where the dehydration process is performed in a plurality of dehydration stages, the washing machine 10 removes the laundry stuck to the inner peripheral surface of the drum 13 during each dehydration stage. A tumbling operation is performed to swing the drum 13 in order to peel it off. The washing machine 10 performs illuminance detection processing while rotating the drum 13 at the end of each tumbling operation.

  If the laundry is peeled off from the inner peripheral surface of the drum 13, the laundry that is scraped up and dropped with the rotation of the drum 13 blocks the irradiation range of the lighting device 30. Therefore, a certain amount of change is detected in the detected illuminance detected at any time. The washing machine 10 determines whether the laundry is peeled off from the inner peripheral surface of the drum 13 based on a change in detected illuminance that is detected as needed. And if the washing machine 10 determines with the laundry being peeled off, execution of the subsequent dehydration step will be stopped. That is, if the laundry is peeled off from the inner peripheral surface of the drum 13, the washing machine 10 omits the subsequent dehydrating operation.

  According to the present embodiment, it is possible to correct the operation content, particularly the content such as the time of the dehydration stroke and the number of dehydrations, based on the change in the detected illuminance during the dehydration stroke. Therefore, it can be avoided that the dehydrating operation is performed unnecessarily.

(Sixth embodiment)
In the present embodiment, the illuminance detection processing unit 41 performs the illuminance detection process before the water supply process and during the drying process. Then, the operation content determination processing unit 43 compares the detected illuminance before the water supply stroke with the detected illuminance during the drying stroke, and determines or corrects the operation content based on the comparison result. In the illuminance detection process before the water supply process, the illuminance on the dry state in which water is not contained, that is, the dry laundry is detected. And, based on the fact that the detected illuminance obtained in the drying process approaches, coincides with, or exceeds the detected illuminance in the dry cloth state, the drying of the laundry after washing is at the drying level of the laundry before washing Can be confirmed.

  According to the present embodiment, the washing machine 10 provides the details of operation, particularly the time of the drying process and the drying temperature based on the comparison result between the detected illuminance in the dry cloth state before washing and the detected illuminance during the drying process. It can be corrected. Therefore, it is possible to proceed with driving while appropriately changing the content of the drying process according to the degree of drying of the laundry. Further, it is possible to avoid the drying process being continued unnecessarily even though the laundry is sufficiently dried.

(Other embodiments)
The present embodiment is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and can be expanded or modified as follows, for example.
For example, there is a considerable period during which the rotation of the drum 13 stops while the rotation direction of the drum 13 is switched between the normal rotation direction and the reverse rotation direction. Illuminance detection processing may be performed while the drum 13 is stopped.
The reference value for determining “high”, “medium”, and “small” of the detected weight can be appropriately changed and set. Further, the detected weight may be determined by dividing into two stages or a plurality of stages of four stages or more. Further, the reference value for determining “heavy” or “light” of the detected weight can be similarly changed and implemented as appropriate.

  “Determination of operation content” in the present embodiment includes not only newly determining the operation content, but also correcting or adjusting the operation content once determined. Moreover, this embodiment is applicable also to the vertical axis | shaft type washing machine in which the rotating shaft of a rotation tank becomes a vertical direction. Moreover, you may implement combining several embodiment mentioned above.

  The washing machine according to the present embodiment described above includes illumination means, illuminance detection means, weight detection means, and driving content determination means. The illumination means illuminates the inside of the tank. The illuminance detection means detects the illuminance in the tank illuminated by the illumination means. The weight detection means detects the weight of the laundry in the tub. The operation content determination means determines the operation content based on the weight detected by the weight detection means and the detection illuminance detected by the illuminance detection means. According to this configuration, in the washing machine that determines the operation content based on the weight of the laundry in the tub, the operation content more suitable for the state in the tub is determined using the means for illuminating the inside of the tub. Can do.

  This embodiment is presented as an example and is not intended to limit the scope of the invention. These novel embodiments can be implemented in various other forms, and various omissions, replacements, and changes can be made without departing from the scope of the invention. This embodiment and its modifications are included in the scope and gist of the invention, and are included in the invention described in the claims and the equivalents thereof.

  In the drawings, 10 is a washing machine, 13 is a drum (tank, rotating tub), 30 is an illumination device (illumination means), 41 is an illuminance detection processing unit (illuminance detection means), and 42 is a weight detection processing unit (weight detection means). , 43 indicates an operation content determination processing unit (operation content determination means), and 44 indicates a cloth quality estimation processing unit (cloth quality estimation means).

Claims (8)

Lighting means for illuminating the interior of the tank;
Illuminance detection means for detecting the illuminance in the tank illuminated by the illumination means;
Weight detection means for detecting the weight of the laundry in the tub;
Driving content determination means for determining the driving content based on the detected weight by the weight detecting means and the detected illuminance by the illuminance detecting means,
Washing machine equipped with.   The washing machine according to claim 1, wherein the illuminance detection means performs an illuminance detection process after the weight detection process by the weight detection means. The tank is a rotating tank;
The washing machine according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the illuminance detection means performs an illuminance detection process when rotation of the tub is stopped. Further comprising cloth quality estimation means for estimating the cloth quality of the laundry in the tub based on the detected illuminance detected by the illuminance detection means;
The illuminance detection means performs illuminance detection processing in a state where water is supplied into the tank,
The cloth quality estimating means estimates the cloth quality of the laundry in the tank based on the detected illuminance detected in a state where water is supplied into the tank,
The washing machine according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the operation content determination unit determines the operation content based on a cloth quality estimation result obtained by the cloth quality estimation unit. The illuminance detection means performs illuminance detection processing at an initial stage and in the middle of a drying process of drying the laundry in the tub,
The washing machine according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the operation content determination unit determines the operation content based on a comparison result between a detected illuminance at an initial stage of the drying process and a detected illuminance during the drying process. The tank is a drum whose axial direction is horizontal or inclined,
The illuminance detection means performs an illuminance detection process when the drum is rotating in a drying process of drying the laundry in the tub,
The washing machine according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the driving content determination unit determines the driving content based on a change in illuminance detected by the illuminance detection unit. The illuminance detection means performs illuminance detection processing during the dehydration process of dehydrating the laundry in the tub,
The washing machine according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the operation content determination unit determines the operation content based on the illuminance detected by the illuminance detection unit. The illuminance detection means performs an illuminance detection process before a water supply process for supplying water into the tub and during a drying process for drying the laundry in the tub,
The said operation content determination means determines the operation content based on the comparison result of the detection illumination intensity before the said water supply process, and the detection illumination intensity in the middle of the said drying process, The laundry of any one of Claim 1 to 7 Machine.

Images