JP2022044870A - washing machine - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a washing machine capable of preventing reduction in reliability of an electromagnetic suspension, even when a regenerated voltage is generated.SOLUTION: A washing machine comprises an outer tank disposed in a housing, an inner tank in which laundry is accommodated, an electromagnetic suspension that is operated corresponding to the vibration of the outer tank, a first control unit that controls washing operation, a second control unit that controls the electromagnetic suspension, a first power supply unit that supplies power to the first control unit or the second control unit, and a second power supply unit that is connected to the electromagnetic suspension and the second control unit. When the first power supply unit is on, the power is supplied from the first power supply unit to the second control unit. When the first power supply unit is off, a regenerated voltage from the electromagnetic suspension is charged to the second power supply unit.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 6

Description

The present invention relates to a washing machine for washing laundry.

In conventional washing machines, suspensions are used around the washing tub for vibration isolation to suppress the vibration of the washing tub. Most of the suspensions used here are passive suspensions such as hydraulic type and friction type. In this case, the passive suspension always physically operates regardless of whether or not the power supply is connected to the washing machine, and exhibits an anti-vibration effect.

In recent years, Patent Document 1 discloses a suspension that actively controls an electromagnetic suspension with vibration of a washing tub to realize low vibration and low noise.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2011-62346

When the suspension as in Patent Document 1 has electromagnetic compatibility, when the inner tank vibrates when the control unit of the electromagnetic suspension is not operating, a regenerative voltage is generated from the electromagnetic suspension. When a regenerative voltage is applied from the electromagnetic suspension to the control unit, there is a risk of failure of the control unit or leakage of electricity, and reliability is reduced.

An object of the present invention is to provide a washing machine capable of suppressing a decrease in reliability of an electromagnetic suspension even when a regenerative voltage is generated.

In order to achieve the above object, the washing machine of the present invention includes an outer tub provided in the housing, an inner tub in which the laundry is housed, an electromagnetic suspension that operates in response to vibration of the outer tub, and a washing operation. The first control unit that controls the electromagnetic suspension, the second control unit that controls the electromagnetic suspension, the first power supply unit that supplies electric power to the first control unit or the second control unit, and the electromagnetic suspension and the second control unit are connected to each other. When the first power supply unit is ON, power is supplied from the first power supply unit to the second control unit, and when the first power supply unit is OFF, the regenerative voltage from the electromagnetic suspension is provided. Is configured to charge the second power supply unit.

According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a washing machine capable of suppressing a decrease in reliability of an electromagnetic suspension even when a regenerative voltage is generated.

It is an external perspective view which shows the drum type washing machine which concerns on 1st Embodiment. It is a right side sectional view which showed by cutting a part of the housing in order to show the internal structure of the drum type washing machine of this invention which concerns on 1st Embodiment. It is a vertical sectional view which shows the internal structure of the actuator which concerns on 1st Embodiment. FIG. 3 is an end view taken along the line II-II of FIG. It is a schematic diagram which shows the structure of the elastic support mechanism which concerns on 1st Embodiment. It is a figure which shows an example of the control circuit of the elastic support mechanism which concerns on 1st Embodiment. It is a figure which shows the circuit state in the control circuit of FIG. 6 when the washing machine is not operated. It is a figure which shows the circuit state at the time of washing machine operation in the control circuit of FIG.

An embodiment for carrying out the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
<First Embodiment>
FIG. 1 is an external perspective view showing the drum-type washing machine 100 according to the first embodiment, and FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view on the right side showing a part of the housing cut out to show the internal structure. be. The housing 1 constituting the outer shell is mounted on the base 1a, and is composed of left and right side plates 1b, a front cover 1c, a back cover, a top cover 1d, and a lower front cover 1f. The left and right side plates 1b are bonded to a U-shaped upper reinforcing material, a front reinforcing material, and a rear reinforcing material to form a box-shaped housing 1 including the base 1a and have sufficient strength. There is. The door 2 is provided in the substantially center of the front cover 1c to close the input port 1g for taking in and out clothes, and is supported by a hinge provided on the front reinforcing material so as to be openable and closable. The operation / display panel 3 provided in the center of the upper part of the housing 1 includes a power switch 4, an operation switch 5, and a display 6. The operation / display panel 3 is electrically connected to the control device 7 provided at the lower part of the housing 1. A cooling fan 7a is attached to the control device 7.

As shown in FIG. 2, the washing tub 8 which is an inner tub is rotatably supported by the outer tub 9, and has a large number of through holes for water passage and ventilation in the outer peripheral wall and the bottom wall thereof, and is on the front side. An opening 8a for putting in and taking out clothes is provided on the end face. A fluid balancer 8b integrated with the washing tub 8 is provided on the outside of the opening 8a. A plurality of lifters 8c extending in the axial direction are provided inside the outer wall, and when the washing tub 8 is rotated during washing and drying, the clothes are lifted along the outer wall by the lifter 8c and centrifugal force, and fall by gravity. repeat. The rotation axis of the washing tub 8 is tilted horizontally (in the direction of the 2z axis in FIG. 2) or so that the opening 8a side is higher than the horizontal.
The cylindrical outer tub 9 coaxially encloses the washing tub 8 and is provided with a drive mechanism 10 (motor) in the outer center of the rear end surface. The shaft of the drive mechanism 10 penetrates the outer tub 9 and is coupled to the washing tub 8. The outer tank 9 has an opening 9c in the center of the front side for putting in and taking out clothes. Further, the drive mechanism 10 is provided with a rotation angle detecting device 10a for detecting the rotation angle.
The opening 9c of the outer tub 9 and the opening provided in the front reinforcing material are connected by a rubber bellows 11, and the outer tub 9 is water-sealed by closing the door 2. The drainage port 9d is provided at the bottom of the bottom surface of the outer tank 9 and is connected to the drainage hose 12. The drain hose 12 is provided with a drain valve. By closing the drain valve and supplying water, water is stored in the outer tank 9, and the drain valve is opened to drain the water in the outer tank 9 to the outside of the machine. An outer tank vibration detection device 9e is provided at the lower part of the outer tank 9 to measure the amplitude of the outer tank 9. By comparing the amplitude with the preset threshold value, the rotation of the washing tub 8 is stopped when the amplitude is large, and the rotation speed is increased only when the vibration is below the threshold value. The generation of excessive vibration is suppressed. Further, a counterweight 9f is installed in front of the outer tub 9, and by increasing the weight and the moment of inertia of the outer tub 9, vibration when the clothes are biased is reduced.
The outer tank 9 is vibration-proof supported by a pair of left and right elastic support mechanisms 15 (suspension) whose lower side is fixed to the base 1a. The elastic support mechanism 15 is composed of a spring 16 having a spring constant K and an actuator 30.
The control unit 40 that controls the actuator 30 can communicate with the control device 7 and receive a command value to the actuator 30. The control unit 40 may be provided in the control device 7. The drying duct 13 is vertically installed inside the back surface of the housing 1, and the lower portion of the drying duct 13 is connected to an intake port (not shown) provided below the back surface of the outer tank 9 by a rubber bellows 13a. .. The upper part of the drying duct 13 is connected to the blower unit 14. The blower unit 14 is installed in the front-rear direction on the upper part of the housing 1, and includes a drying fan 14a and a drying heater 14b for blowing air. The front of the blower unit 14 is connected to the warm air outlet 9g of the outer tank 9 by a rubber bellows 14c. The drying fan 14a sends air to the drying heater 14b, and the warm air is blown into the washing tub 8 from the warm air outlet 9 g to dry the clothes.

The structure of the actuator 30 will be described with reference to FIGS. 3 to 5.

FIG. 3 is a vertical sectional view showing the internal structure of the actuator 30 according to the first embodiment. As shown in FIG. 3, the xyz axis is defined. Further, in FIG. 3, half of the actuator 30 is shown in the z direction, but the configuration of the actuator 30 is symmetrical with respect to the xy plane. The actuator 30 includes a stator 31 and a mover 32, and is provided by a magnetic attraction / repulsion force in the y-axis direction between the stator 31 and the plate-shaped mover 32 extending in the y direction. It is a motor that linearly changes the relative positions of the stator 31 and the mover 32 in the y direction. The stator 31 includes a core 31a formed by laminating electromagnetic steel sheets and a winding 31b wound around the magnetic pole teeth T of the core 31a. Further, the mover 32 includes a plurality of metal plates 32a extending in the y direction and permanent magnets 32b1, 32b2, 32b3 installed on the metal plate 32a at predetermined intervals in the y direction.

FIG. 4 is an end view taken along the line II-II of FIG. Note that FIG. 4 shows the entire actuator 30 instead of half of the actuator 30 in the z direction (see FIG. 3). As shown in FIG. 4, the core 31a of the stator 31 includes an annular portion S and magnetic pole teeth T (T1, T2), and the annular portion S constitutes a magnetic circuit. The pair of magnetic pole teeth T1 and T2 extend inward in the x direction from the annular portion S and face each other. The distance between the magnetic pole teeth T1 and T2 is slightly larger than the thickness of the plate-shaped movable element 32. Windings 31b (31b1, 31b2) are wound around the magnetic pole teeth T1 and T2, respectively. By energizing the winding 31b, the stator 31 functions as an electromagnet.

As shown in FIG. 3, two pairs of magnetic pole teeth T are provided in the y direction (moving direction of the mover 32). Further, the winding 31b wound around each of the two pairs of magnetic pole teeth T forms one winding, and both ends thereof are connected to the control unit 40.

The permanent magnets 32b1, 32b2, 32b3 shown in FIG. 3 are magnetized in the y direction. More specifically, a permanent magnet magnetized in the positive direction of the y direction (for example, permanent magnets 32b1 and 32b3) and a permanent magnet magnetized in the negative direction of the y direction (for example, the permanent magnet 32b2) are y. They are arranged alternately in the direction. Then, a thrust in the y direction acts on the mover 32 by the attractive force / repulsive force between the mover 32 and the stator 31 that functions as an electromagnet. The "thrust" is a force that changes the relative positions of the mover 32 and the stator 31.

FIG. 5 is a schematic view showing the structure of the elastic support mechanism 15 (suspension) according to the first embodiment. As described above, the elastic support mechanism 15 is an electromagnetic suspension composed of a spring 16 and an actuator 30 and operates in response to vibration of an outer tank, an inner tank, or a housing. The upper end of the mover 32 penetrates the suspension base 33 on the outer tank side, the rubber bushes 35a and 35b, and the metal plates 37a and 37b, and is fixed by the nut 38a. On the other hand, the stator 31 penetrates the suspension base 34 on the housing side, the rubber bushes 36a and 36b, and the metal plates 37c and 37d, and is fixed by the nut 38b. The outer tank side suspension base 33 is connected to the outer tank 9, and the housing side suspension base 34 is fixed to the housing 1. The spring 16 is arranged between the stator 31 and the metal plate 37a. Further, the stator 31 is provided with a displacement sensor 17 so that the distance between the stator 31 and the mover 32 in the y-axis direction can be measured.

As shown in FIG. 3, the stator 31 has a winding 31b, and both ends of the winding 31b need to be connected to the control device 7. Therefore, by connecting the stator 31 to the housing 1 side, the stator 31 can be connected. The harness connecting both ends of the winding 31b and the control unit 40 can reduce the risk of disconnection due to the vibration of the outer tank 9. However, it is not always necessary to have the configuration shown in FIG. 5, and as shown in FIG. 6, the stator 31 may be connected to the outer tank 9 and the mover 32 may be connected to the housing 1.
FIG. 6 is an example of a control circuit configuration in a washing machine.
Electromagnetic waves of the second control unit provided in the washing machine control board 50 and control unit 40 of the first control unit to control the washing operation (washing operation such as washing, rinsing, dehydration, etc.) provided in the control device 7 and to control the electromagnetic suspension. The power supply 51 of the first power supply unit that supplies power to the suspension control board 52, the washing machine control board 50 and the electromagnetic suspension control board 52, the battery 53 of the second power supply unit connected to the electromagnetic suspension and the electromagnetic suspension control board 52, and the power consumption. This is the configuration of the resistance R of the consumption unit.
The electromagnetic suspension control board 52 is configured to supply voltage from the washing machine control board 50, and as the washing machine control board 50 starts, the electromagnetic suspension control board 52 also starts. The a contact relay 54 is arranged on the current path of the electromagnetic suspension control board 52 and the electromagnetic suspensions 15a and 15b which are elastic support mechanisms 15. The a-contact relay 54 is a switching element that is energized when it receives a control signal from the electromagnetic suspension control unit 60, and is de-energized when there is no electric signal. Further, a b-contact relay 55 is arranged between the electromagnetic suspensions 15a and 15b and the battery 53. This b-contact relay 55 operates in the opposite direction to the a-contact relay 54, and is a switching element that is in a non-energized state when a control signal from the electromagnetic suspension control unit 60 is received, and is in an energized state when no control signal is transmitted. be. Further, an a-contact relay 56 is also installed between the battery 53 and the discharge resistor R.

Since the washing machine control board does not start when the washing machine is not in operation (when the power is turned off), the electromagnetic suspension control board 50 cannot be started. Therefore, since the control signal is not transmitted from the electromagnetic suspension control unit 60 to each relay, the a-contact relays 54 and 56 are in the non-energized state, and the b-contact relay 55 is in the energized state. Become.

Since the electromagnetic suspensions 15a and 15b and the battery 53 are electrically connected as shown in FIG. 7 when the washing machine is not in operation (when the power is turned off), when the washing tub 8 vibrates, the regenerative voltage is regenerated from the electromagnetic suspensions 15a and 15b. Occurs. By charging the connected battery with the generated regenerative voltage, no current flows through the electromagnetic suspension control unit and the washing machine control board, and failure can be prevented.

Further, when the power button is pressed when the washing machine is not in operation, that is, when the washing machine is in operation (when the power is turned on), the washing machine control board 50 is activated and the electromagnetic suspension control board 52 is also activated. After the electromagnetic suspension control board 52 is started, the control unit transmits an ON control signal to each relay. As a result, the a-contact relays 54 and 56 are in the energized state, and the b-contact relay 55 is in the non-energized state, so that the circuit configuration is as shown in FIG.

While the washing machine is running, the washing machine control board 50 and the electromagnetic suspension control board 52 are starting up. When washing is started and the washing tub 8 starts to vibrate, the electromagnetic suspensions 15a and 15b and the electromagnetic suspension control board 52 are electrically connected, so that the electromagnetic suspension control unit 60 controls the electromagnetic suspensions 15a and 15b. Can be done. Further, since the b-contact relay 55 is in a non-energized state when it receives a control signal, no current flows from the electromagnetic suspension control unit 60 to the battery 53, and the control of the electromagnetic suspension is not adversely affected.
Further, when the battery 53 is charged, the a-contact relays 54 and 56 are energized and can be discharged by the discharge resistance. Therefore, when the washing machine is not in operation, even if the battery 53 is charged with the regenerative voltage, it is washed. Since the machine can be discharged again when it is in the operating state, it is possible to avoid a state in which the battery 53 continues to be charged and the regenerative voltage cannot be charged.
As described above, when the power supply 51, which is the first power supply unit, is ON, power is supplied from the power supply 51 to the electromagnetic suspension control board 52 while the washing machine is operating, and when the power supply 51, which is the first power supply unit, is OFF, washing is performed. By charging the battery 53, which is the second power supply unit, with the regenerative voltage from the electromagnetic suspensions 15a and 15b during non-operation of the machine, it is possible to suppress the deterioration of the reliability of the electromagnetic suspension even when the regenerative voltage is generated. Can provide a washing machine.
Further, when the power supply 51, which is the first power supply unit, is OFF, and while the washing machine is not in operation, power is supplied from the battery 53, which is the second power supply unit, to the electromagnetic suspension control board 52 of the second control unit. Further, when the power supply 51, which is the first power supply unit, is ON, power is supplied from the battery 53, which is the second power supply unit, to the resistance R, which is the power consumption unit, while the washing machine is operating.
The a-contact relays 54 and 56 in FIG. 6 can be replaced with rectifying elements. The resistance R in FIG. 6 can be replaced with another electronic component such as an LED. The battery 53 in FIG. 6 can be replaced with another charging element such as a capacitor.

1 Housing 7 Control device 8 Washing tub 9 Outer tub 15 Elastic support mechanism 15a, 15b Electromagnetic suspension 16 Spring 30 Actuator 50 Washing machine control board 51 Power supply 52 Electromagnetic suspension control board 53 Battery 54 a Contact relay 55 b Contact relay 56 a Contact Relay 60 Electromagnetic suspension control unit

Claims (3)

With the housing
The outer tank provided in the housing and
The inner tub where the laundry is stored and
An electromagnetic suspension that operates in response to the vibration of the outer tank,
The first control unit that controls the washing operation and
The second control unit that controls the electromagnetic suspension and
A first power supply unit that supplies electric power to the first control unit or the second control unit,
It has the electromagnetic suspension and a second power supply unit connected to the second control unit.
When the first power supply unit is ON, power is supplied from the first power supply unit to the second control unit.
A washing machine characterized in that when the first power supply unit is turned off, the regenerative voltage from the electromagnetic suspension is charged to the second power supply unit. The washing machine according to claim 1.
A washing machine in which electric power is supplied from the second power supply unit to the second control unit when the first power supply unit is OFF. The washing machine according to claim 1.
A washing machine in which power is supplied from the second power supply unit to the power consumption unit when the first power supply unit is ON.

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