JP2022078637A - washing machine - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a washing machine which can easily switch between automatic feeding and manual feeding of laundry treatment agents.SOLUTION: A washing machine includes: tanks for storing laundry treatment agents; an automatic feeding device having feeding pumps for automatically feeding the laundry treatment agents into a rotating tub; a treatment agent case into which a user puts laundry treatment agents; treatment agent detection sensors which detect that the laundry treatment agents have been put into the treatment agent case; and a control unit which controls the operation of the automatic feeding device. The control unit determines whether or not to perform automatic feeding via the automatic feeding device depending on whether or not laundry treatment agents are in the treatment agent case.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 12A

Description

An embodiment of the present invention relates to a washing machine including an automatic charging device for automatically charging a clothes processing agent into a rotary tub and a processing agent case for charging a clothes treatment agent by a user.

Some washing machines are equipped with a charging device that automatically charges detergents, fabric softeners, etc. into the rotating tub. In this case, automatic charging is performed from a tank in which liquid detergent or the like is stored in advance. Separately, the user can put the detergent or the like into the detergent case by himself and perform the washing operation using the detergent or the like, which will be referred to as "manual putting" below.

Japanese Patent No. 6695124

In the above configuration, whether the detergent is automatically or manually added is selectively set in the washing machine. Therefore, when a user who normally puts in detergent automatically wants to wash with a different detergent and puts the detergent in the detergent case, it is necessary to change the setting of the washing machine to manual putting. There was annoyance.
Therefore, we provide a washing machine that can easily switch between automatic loading and manual loading of clothing treatment agents.

The washing machine of the embodiment has a tank for storing the clothes processing agent and a tank.
An automatic charging device having a charging pump for automatically charging the clothing treatment agent into the rotary tank, and
A treatment agent case in which the user inputs the clothing treatment agent, and
A treatment agent detection sensor that detects that the clothing treatment agent is charged in the treatment agent case, and
A control unit that controls the operation of the automatic loading device is provided.
The control unit determines whether or not to perform automatic charging by the automatic charging device according to the presence or absence of the clothing treatment agent in the treatment agent case.

Side view schematically showing a configuration example of a washing machine according to the first embodiment Top view schematically showing a configuration example of the upper part of the washing machine Perspective view schematically showing a configuration example of the automatic loading device and its peripheral parts. Longitudinal front view schematically showing a configuration example of a water injection case Longitudinal side view schematically showing a configuration example of a water injection case The figure which shows the structural example of the water supply valve unit schematicly. Perspective view schematically showing a configuration example of the rear part of the washing machine (No. 1) Perspective view schematically showing a configuration example of the rear part of the washing machine (Part 2) Perspective view schematically showing a configuration example of the rear part of the washing machine (No. 3) Functional block diagram showing the configuration of the control device for the part related to the gist Diagram showing the process when starting the washing operation The figure which shows the process when the final dehydration operation is started. Flow chart showing the process of determining ON / OFF of automatic detergent injection The second embodiment is a plan perspective view showing the configuration of the processing agent case in which the distance sensor is arranged. Top view of the treatment agent case Longitudinal side view of the treatment agent case FIG. 4 corresponding diagram showing the arrangement of the weight sensor according to the third embodiment.

(First Embodiment)
Hereinafter, the first embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 12. The washing machine 1 illustrated in FIG. 1 is a so-called vertical axis type washing machine in which the rotation center axis of the rotary tub extends in the vertical direction, and the water tub 3 is provided inside the outer box 2 constituting the outer shell of the apparatus main body. There is. The water tank 3 has a bottomed cylindrical shape with an open top for accommodating clothing. Inside the water tank 3, a rotary tank (not shown) having a bottomed cylinder with an open upper portion is rotatably provided. Further, the bottom of the rotary tank is rotatably provided with a pulsator (not shown) for stirring clothes in the rotary tank and water in the water tank 3. Further, a balance ring (not shown) for suppressing the vibration of the water tank 3 is provided on the upper part of the water tank 3.

The outer box 2 has a configuration in which a top cover 2B is attached to the upper portion of a substantially rectangular box-shaped outer box main body 2A with an open upper portion. A clothing entrance / exit 4 for taking in / out clothing is provided in a substantially central portion of the top cover 2B. The clothing entrance / exit 4 is opened / closed by a lid 5 rotatably provided at the upper part of the outer box 2. Further, the washing machine 1 is located at the rear of the outer box 2 and includes a machine room 6. In this case, the machine room 6 is provided at a position behind the clothing entrance / exit 4 in the space of the top cover 2B. Inside the machine room 6, various drive system components such as an automatic charging device 100, a water injection case 200, and a water supply valve unit 300 are housed. The automatic charging device 100 is a device for automatically charging a predetermined amount of clothing treatment agent into the water tank 3 together with the water supplied from the water supply valve unit 300, for example, during a well-known washing operation for washing clothes.

As illustrated in FIG. 2, the machine room 6 forms a horizontally long space extending in the left-right direction of the outer box 2 behind the clothing entrance / exit 4. Inside the machine room 6, an automatic charging device 100, a water injection case 200, and a water supply valve unit 300 are arranged side by side along the lateral direction of the outer box 2. Further, in the machine room 6, the water supply valve unit 300 is arranged on the side of the water injection case 200, in this case, on the right side when viewed from the front side of the washing machine 1. Further, in the machine room 6, the water supply valve unit 300 is arranged so as to be located on the front side of the rear end of the automatic charging device 100 and the rear end of the water injection case 200. The entire water supply valve unit 300 is located on the front side of the rear end of the automatic charging device 100 and the rear end of the water injection case 200.

In the machine room 6, the water injection case 200 is arranged so as to be located between the automatic charging device 100 and the water supply valve unit 300 in the lateral direction of the outer box 2. In other words, the water injection case 200 is arranged so as to be sandwiched from the lateral direction of the outer box 2 by the automatic charging device 100 and the water supply valve unit 300. A water level sensor 400 is further housed inside the machine room 6. In this case, the water level sensor 400 is housed in the space on the side of the water supply valve unit 300, in this case, on the right side when viewed from the front side of the washing machine 1. The water level sensor 400 is connected to an air trap (not shown) provided at the bottom of the water tank 3 via an air tube, and detects the pressure of the air in the air trap that fluctuates according to the change in the water level in the water tank 3. Based on this, the water level in the water tank 3 can be detected.

As illustrated in FIG. 3, the automatic loading device 100 is located on the left side of the rear portion in the top cover 2B, more specifically, on the left side in the machine room 6. The automatic loading device 100 includes a case accommodating portion 101 having a substantially rectangular box shape with an open front surface. The case accommodating portion 101 is fixed to, for example, a metal bottom plate 6a constituting the bottom surface of the machine room 6 by, for example, screwing. The front opening portion of the case accommodating portion 101 is fixed to the rear wall portion of the clothing entrance / exit 4, and is opened toward the front at the rear wall portion of the clothing entrance / exit 4. In the case accommodating portion 101, a substantially rectangular box-shaped case 102 having an open upper surface is accommodated so as to be retractable along the front-rear direction of the washing machine 1. Further, the detergent tank 103 and the softener tank 104 are detachably housed in the case 102.

As an example of the clothes treatment agent, the detergent tank 103 stores a detergent for washing clothes in the water tank 3. The detergent tank 103 is a treatment agent tank having a substantially rectangular container shape and having a size and shape capable of storing detergent for a plurality of operations in the detergent tank 103. As shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, the detergent can be replenished into the detergent tank 103 from the opening by opening the lid 149 provided on the upper part of the tank 103. On the other hand, in the softener tank 104, as an example of the clothing treatment agent, the softener for applying the softening treatment to the clothes in the water tank 3 is stored. The softener tank 104 is a treatment agent tank in the shape of a substantially rectangular container having a dimensional shape capable of storing the softener for a plurality of operations in the softener tank 104. The softener can be replenished into the softener tank 104 through the opening by opening the lid 159 provided on the upper part of the tank 104.

Further, the automatic charging device 100 includes a detergent measuring pump 105 and a softener measuring pump 106 behind the case accommodating portion 101. These pumps 105 and 106 are pumps having a configuration in which a piston is driven by an actuator such as a motor or a solenoid to suck and deliver a liquid. The detergent measuring pump 105 sucks a predetermined amount of detergent from the detergent tank 103 housed in the case housing 101, in this case, the amount of detergent for one operation, and automatically feeds the sucked detergent from the outlet 105a. It is sent into the route 107. The outlet 105a is provided so as to face downward from the lower part of the detergent measuring pump 105.

The fabric softener measuring pump 106 sucks a predetermined amount of the softener, in this case, an amount for one operation, from the softener tank 104 housed in the case accommodating portion 101, and draws out the sucked softener. It is sent from 106a into the automatic loading route 107. The outlet 106a is provided so as to face downward from the lower part of the softener measuring pump 106. Both the detergent measuring pump 105 and the softener measuring pump 106 are controlled by the control device 50 shown in FIG. 10, which controls the overall operation of the washing machine 1.

The automatic charging path 107 constitutes a water supply path for automatic charging that connects the water supply valve unit 300 to the water injection case 200 via the mixing unit 108. The mixing unit 108 is provided behind the automatic charging device 100 and below the detergent measuring pump 105 and the softener measuring pump 106. The mixing unit 108 has a space inside, in which the clothing treatment agent supplied from the detergent tank 103 or the softener tank 104 and the water supplied from the water supply valve unit 300 are mixed. Further, the upper part of the mixing unit 108 is provided with two connection ports 108a and 108b communicating with the internal mixing chamber. The connection ports 108a and 108b are provided so as to face upward from the upper part of the mixing portion 108.

Of these, one connection port 108a is connected to the outlet port 105a of the detergent measuring pump 105, and the other connection port 108b is connected to the outlet port 106a of the fabric softener measuring pump 106. Therefore, the detergent led out from the outlet 105a of the detergent measuring pump 105 is introduced into the mixing chamber from the connection port 108a, and the softener led out from the outlet 106a of the softener measuring pump 106 is introduced from the connection port 108b. Introduced in the mixing chamber.

Further, the mixing portion 108 includes an upstream side connecting portion provided above and a downstream connecting portion provided below. The upstream side connection portion is connected to the water supply valve unit 300 via the upstream side connection path 109. Further, the downstream connection portion is connected to the water injection case 200 via the downstream connection path 110. The water supplied from the water supply valve unit 300 flows from the upstream connection path 109 into the mixing chamber of the mixing section 108 via the upstream connection section, and then is injected from the downstream connection section via the downstream connection path 110. It leaks into the case 200.

In the process in which the water supplied from the water supply valve unit 300 flows to the water injection case 200 via the mixing unit 108, in the mixing chamber of the mixing unit 108, the water supplied from the water supply valve unit 300 and the measuring pump for detergent are used. The garment treatment agent supplied from 105 and the measuring pump 106 for softener is mixed. As a result, the water injection case 200 is supplied with water mixed with the clothing treatment agent. Then, the water containing the clothing treatment agent supplied to the water injection case 200 is supplied from the water injection case 200 into the water tank 3.

As described above, in the well-known washing operation for washing clothes, for example, the automatic charging device 100 automatically puts a predetermined amount of clothes treating agent for one operation together with the water supplied from the water supply valve unit 300 into the water tank 3. It is configured to be ready for input.

As illustrated in FIGS. 4 and 5, the water injection case 200 includes a case accommodating portion 201 having a substantially rectangular box shape with an open front surface. The case accommodating portion 201 is fixed to, for example, a metal bottom plate 6a constituting the bottom surface of the machine room 6 by, for example, screwing. The front opening portion of the case accommodating portion 201 is fixed to the rear wall portion of the clothing entrance / exit 4, and is opened toward the front at the rear wall portion of the clothing entrance / exit 4.

In the case accommodating portion 201, a substantially rectangular box-shaped case 202 having an open upper surface is accommodated so as to be retractable along the front-rear direction of the washing machine 1. Further, in the case 202, a manual detergent charging section 203 and a manual softener charging section 204 are integrally provided. The user manually charges the detergent and the softener into the manual detergent charging unit 203 and the manual softener charging unit 204, respectively. Case 202 corresponds to a treatment agent case.

The upper surface 205 of the water injection case 200 is an inclined surface that is inclined so as to descend from the rear to the front. Further, on the upper surface 205 of the water injection case 200, a plurality of flow paths for flowing water supplied from the water supply valve unit 300, for example, a detergent flow path for supplying water to the manual detergent input section 203, and a manual flexible flow path. A flow path for a softener for supplying water to the agent charging section 204, a flow path for bath water for flowing bath water, and the like are formed. That is, the water supply valve unit 300 is also connected to the water injection case 200, and is configured to be able to supply water to the water injection case 200 as well.

The water supplied from the water supply valve unit 300 flows through the flow path of the upper surface 205 of the water injection case 200 and is supplied to the manual detergent charging unit 203 or the manual softener charging unit 204 in the water injection case 200. The water supplied to the manual detergent charging unit 203 or the manual softener charging unit 204 dissolves the detergent in the manual detergent charging unit 203 or the softener in the manual softener charging unit 204. Then, the water in which the detergent or the softener is dissolved in the water injection case 200 is supplied from the water injection case 200 into the water tank 3. As described above, the washing machine 1 is configured so that the clothes treatment agent manually added by the user can be supplied into the water tank 3 together with the water.

As shown in FIG. 5, a light projecting element 500S and a light receiving element 500R constituting an optical sensor 500, which is an example of a processing agent detection sensor, are arranged above and below the water injection case 200, respectively. It should be noted that these are arranged corresponding to the manual detergent charging section 203 and the manual softener charging section 204, respectively. The water injection case 200, a part of the case 202, the manual detergent charging section 203, and the manual softener charging section 204 are all made of a light-transmitting resin. The light projected from the light projecting element 500S passes through the manual detergent charging unit 203 and the manual softener charging unit 204, respectively, and is received by the light receiving element 500R. At this time, the amount of light received by the light receiving element 500R, that is, the transmittance, changes depending on the presence or absence of the detergent and the softener in the charging units 203 and 204.

As shown in FIG. 10, the control device 50, which is an example of the control unit, is mainly composed of a microcomputer, for example, and controls the entire operation of the washing machine 1 based on a control program and various setting information. The control device 50 includes, for example, various drive systems such as the above-mentioned automatic charging device 100, a water supply valve unit 300, a detergent measuring pump 105, a softener measuring pump 106, a drain valve (not shown), and a washing motor (not shown). Components and an optical sensor 500 are connected. Further, the control device 50 displays various operation-related information related to operation on a display operation panel (not shown). The control device 50 determines the presence or absence of the detergent and the softener in the manual detergent charging unit 203 and the manual softener charging unit 204 based on the light transmittance detected by the optical sensor 500.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 11, 12, and 12A. It is premised that the washing machine 1 is set in advance by the user to perform automatic loading by the automatic loading device 100. When the washing operation is started, as described above, the control device 50 determines the detergent and the softener in the manual detergent charging unit 203 and the manual softener charging unit 204 due to the light transmittance detected by the optical sensor 500. Judge the presence or absence. Here, if it is determined that neither the detergent nor the softener is "absent", the detergent and the softener are automatically charged by the automatic charging device 100 according to the setting by the user.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 11, after the weight sensing of the laundry is performed, when the control device 50 determines that the detergent and the softener are "presence", the required amount of detergent is displayed on the display operation panel. After that, the duct water supply for cleaning the dry air passage is performed, and then the process of automatically adding the detergent is skipped and the water supply is started. As a result, the detergent charged in the manual detergent charging unit 203 is dissolved in water in the water injection case 200 and supplied from the water injection case 200 into the water tank 3. Then, as shown in FIG. 12, after dehydration is performed following the first rinsing process, the control device 50 skips the process of automatically charging the softener and supplies water for performing the final rinsing process. Start.

If the detergent is charged into the manual detergent charging unit 203 and the softener is not charged into the manual softener charging unit 204, only the process of automatically charging the softener is skipped. On the contrary, if the detergent is not charged in the manual detergent charging unit 203 and the softener is charged in the manual softener charging unit 204, only the process of automatically charging the detergent is skipped.

FIG. 12A is a flowchart showing a process of determining whether or not the control device 50 automatically adds the detergent. When the weight is detected (S1), the amount of detergent according to the weight is determined and displayed on the display operation panel (S2). Then, it is determined whether or not the detergent has been added to the manual tray, that is, the manual detergent input section 203 (S3), and if it has been added (Yes), the automatic addition is turned off and skipped (S4), and the detergent is added. If it is not charged, (No) water is supplied (S6) with the automatic charging turned on.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, the washing machine 1 has tanks 103 and 104 for storing detergent and softener, and pumps 105 and 106 for automatically charging detergent and softener into the rotary tank, respectively. Detergent and softener are charged into the device 100, the case 202 provided with the manual detergent charging unit 203 for charging the detergent and the softener by the user, and the manual softener charging unit 204, and the charging units 203 and 204. An optical sensor 500 for detecting this is provided, and a control device 50 for controlling the operation of the automatic closing device 100 is provided.

Then, the control device 50 determines whether or not to perform automatic charging by the automatic charging device 100 according to the presence or absence of the detergent and the softener in the charging units 203 and 204. As a result, since the user uses the detergent and the softener different from the detergent and the softener stored in the tanks 103 and 104 in advance, when they are charged into the charging units 203 and 204, the user automatically loads them. Even if the operation of invalidating the setting is not performed, the process of performing automatic input is skipped, so that the user's trouble can be saved. In addition, it is possible to avoid a situation in which the user forgets to add the detergent when washing the next time or later, as in the case where the automatic charging setting is disabled and the manual loading is set.

(Second Embodiment)
Hereinafter, the same parts as those in the first embodiment are designated by the same reference numerals, the description thereof will be omitted, and different parts will be described. As shown in FIGS. 13 to 15, the second embodiment uses a case 210 instead of the case 202. The case 210 is provided with a manual detergent charging unit 213 and a manual softener charging unit 214 for charging the detergent and the softener by the user. A hollow cylindrical siphon port 215 is provided inside these charging portions 213 and 214. The siphon port 215 communicates with the water injection case 200, and when the water level of the water injected into the charging sections 213 and 214 exceeds the height of the siphon port 215, the detergent and the softener in the charging sections 213 and 214 are sucked. Then, it is discharged into the rotary tank via the water injection case 200.

A distance sensor 501, which is an example of a processing agent detection sensor, is arranged in the charging units 213 and 214. The distance sensor 501 has a base member 502 and a float member 503. As shown in FIG. 15, the base member 502 is arranged at the inner bottom portion of the input portions 213 and 214, and the float member 503 is supported on the upper surface of the base member 502 in a state of penetrating the central portion thereof. The member 504 is erected. The float member 503 is a material that floats on liquid detergents and softeners.

Next, the operation of the second embodiment will be described. When the liquid clothing treatment agent is not injected into the charging portions 213 and 214, the float member 503 of the distance sensor 501 is in contact with the base member 502. The position of the float member 503 in this state becomes the reference position. When the liquid clothing treatment agent is injected into the charging portions 213 and 214, the float member 503 floats according to the liquid level of the treatment agent, so that the float member 503 is separated from the base member 502. Therefore, the distance sensor 501 outputs a signal indicating whether the two members 502 and 503 are in a separated state or in a contacted state to the control device 50, so that the control device 50 is inside the input units 213 and 214. It is possible to detect the presence or absence of a clothing treatment agent.

(Third Embodiment)
In the third embodiment, a weight sensor is used as the processing agent detection sensor. FIG. 16 is a diagram corresponding to FIG. 4 of the first embodiment. In the first embodiment, the manual detergent charging unit 203 and the manual fabric softener charging unit 204 are integrally provided in the case 202, but in the third embodiment, the manual detergent charging unit 206 and the manual fabric softener charging unit 204 are provided integrally. The agent charging unit 207 is configured as a separate body. The weight sensors 510 and 511 are arranged between the inner bottom portion of the case accommodating portion 201 and the outer bottom portions of the charging portions 206 and 207.

That is, if the detergent and the softener are not charged into the manual detergent charging unit 206 and the manual softener charging unit 207, the weight sensors 510 and 511 detect only the weight of the charging units 206 and 207 themselves. Then, when the detergent and the softener are charged into the charging portions 206 and 207, the weight sensors 510 and 511 detect the weight added thereby, so that the control device 50 detects the detergent and the softening agent in the charging portions 206 and 207. Can be detected that is input.

(Other embodiments)
If either the detergent or the softener is present in the charging section, the automatic charging device 100 may not be used for automatic charging.
As the processing agent detection sensor, an image sensor for determining the presence or absence of the detergent and the softener in the manual detergent charging section and the manual softener charging section may be used.
It may be applied to a drum type washing machine equipped with a drum as a rotary tank.

Although some embodiments of the present invention have been described, these embodiments are presented as examples and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention. These novel embodiments can be implemented in various other embodiments, and various omissions, replacements, and changes can be made without departing from the gist of the invention. These embodiments and variations thereof are included in the scope and gist of the invention, and are also included in the scope of the invention described in the claims and the equivalent scope thereof.

In the drawing, 1 is a washing machine, 3 is a water tank, 50 is a control device, 100 is an automatic loading device, 103 is a detergent tank, 104 is a softener tank, 105 is a measuring pump for detergent, 106 is a measuring pump for softener, 202. Is the case, 203 is the manual detergent charging section, 204 is the manual softener loading section, 206 is the manual detergent loading section, 207 is the manual softener loading section, 213 is the manual detergent loading section, and 214 is the manual softener loading section. The agent charging unit, 500 indicates an optical sensor, 501 indicates a distance sensor, 510 and 511 indicate a weight sensor.

Claims (6)

A tank for storing clothing treatment agents and
An automatic charging device having a charging pump for automatically charging the clothing treatment agent into the rotary tank, and
A treatment agent case in which the user inputs the clothing treatment agent, and
A treatment agent detection sensor that detects that the clothing treatment agent is charged in the treatment agent case, and
A control unit that controls the operation of the automatic loading device is provided.
The control unit is a washing machine that determines whether or not automatic charging by the automatic charging device is performed according to the presence or absence of a clothing treatment agent in the processing agent case. The garment treatment agent is a detergent or a softener, and is
The washing machine according to claim 1, wherein the control unit does not perform automatic charging by the automatic charging device if either the detergent or the softener is contained in the processing agent case. The washing machine according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the processing agent detection sensor is an optical sensor that detects the transmittance of light through a substance. The washing machine according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the processing agent detection sensor is a distance sensor that detects a distance from a reference position to a certain position of a substance. The washing machine according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the processing agent detection sensor is an image sensor. The washing machine according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the processing agent detection sensor is a weight sensor.

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