JP2023127455A - laundry equipment - Google Patents

Abstract

To detect breakage of a regulation part of a lock device.SOLUTION: A laundry equipment has an opening and closing part capable of blocking an input port to a drum, a lock device to lock the opening and closing part, and a control device. The lock device has an engagement part to engage the opening and closing part by being moved to an engagement position so that the opening and closing part maintains closed state, an engagement sensor to detect that the engagement part is located at the engagement position, a regulation part that is movably disposed in the lock device and regulates movement of the engagement part at the engagement position by being moved to the regulation position, a regulation drive part to drive the regulation part to move to the regulation position, and a regulation sensor to detect that the regulation part is located at the regulation position. The control device has an engagement determination part 302 to determine whether or not the engagement part is located at the engagement position, a regulation determination part 304 to determine whether or not the regulation part is located at the regulation position, and a state determination part 305 that determines that the lock device is abnormal when it is determined that the engagement part is not located at the engagement position and that the regulation part is located at the regulation position.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 11

Description

Embodiments of the present invention relate to laundry equipment that performs at least washing or drying.

Conventionally, laundry equipment has been provided with an opening/closing part configured as a door or a lid at the input port of the drum that accommodates the objects to be washed or dried, which can close the input port, and a door or lid that can close the input port. A locking device was provided to lock the opening/closing part to prevent contact.

Generally, a locking device includes a locking part and a restriction part, the restriction part locks the opening/closing part with the slot closed, and the restriction part immobilizes the locking part that locks the opening/closing part. By regulating, the opening/closing part is locked. In addition, the locking device is equipped with a sensor that detects that the regulating section is regulating the locking section, and the laundry equipment control device is activated only when the regulating section is regulating the locking section. , performs operational control for washing and drying.

In such a locking device, for example, when an excessive force is applied to the opening/closing part in a locked state, a portion of the regulating part that regulates the locking part is damaged. Since the above-mentioned sensor detects that the restriction part is in the position to restrict the locking part, the control device starts operation control in a state where the opening/closing part is not locked.

JP 03-284296 JP2003-326087 JP2007-229515 JP2014-113187

The problem to be solved by the invention is to provide a technique that can detect damage to a regulating part of a locking device.

The laundry equipment of the embodiment includes a drum capable of accommodating at least objects to be washed or dried, an opening/closing part capable of closing an input port to the drum, and a closed state in which the opening/closing part closes the input port. A laundry device comprising a locking device for locking the opening/closing part and a control device, wherein the locking device is movably provided in the locking device by a user of the laundry device, and is moved to a locking position. a locking part that locks the opening/closing part so that the opening/closing part maintains the closed state; a locking sensor that detects that the locking part is in the locking position; and a locking sensor movably provided in the locking device. a regulation part that regulates movement of the locking part in the locking position by being moved to the restriction position; a regulation driving part that drives the restriction part to move the restriction part to the restriction position; a restriction sensor that detects that the locking portion is in the locking position, and the control device is configured to perform locking determination that determines whether or not the locking portion is in the locking position based on a detection result by the locking sensor. a restriction determining unit that determines whether the restricting portion is in the restricting position based on a detection result by the restricting sensor; and a locking determining unit that determines whether the locking portion is not in the locking position. and a state determining section that determines that the lock device is abnormal when the restriction determining section determines that the restricting section is in the restricting position.

It is a front view showing a schematic structure of laundry equipment. FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a schematic configuration of laundry equipment. FIG. 3 is a front view showing the configuration of the lever handle. FIG. 3 is a side view showing the configuration of the lever handle. FIG. 3 is a front view showing the configuration of the locking device. FIG. 3 is a rear view showing the configuration of the locking device. It is a front view showing the structure of a locking part. FIG. 3 is a rear view showing the configuration of a locking portion. It is a side view showing the structure of a locking part. It is a block diagram showing the composition of the control system in laundry equipment. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the functional configuration of a control device. It is a flowchart which shows operation of state judgment processing. FIG. 3 is a rear view showing a normal locking device. FIG. 7 is a rear view showing a locking device with a damaged regulating portion.

Hereinafter, details of embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In the following description, the side where the input port is provided in the laundry equipment will be referred to as the front side.

(Laundry equipment configuration)
The configuration of the laundry equipment according to this embodiment will be described. FIGS. 1 and 2 are a front view and a perspective view, respectively, showing a schematic configuration of a laundry device.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the laundry equipment 1 according to the present embodiment includes a housing 10, a drum 12, an opening/closing door 13, a lever handle 14, an operation panel 15, and a locking device 2. This is a washer/dryer that washes and dries objects including clothes and sheets. Note that the laundry equipment 1 may be configured as a washing machine that only washes objects, or a dryer that only dries objects.

The casing 10 as a whole is formed into a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape that defines a storage space inside, and the front surface of the casing 10 has an input port that is a substantially circular opening that communicates the storage space with the outside. OP is formed. The drum 12 is formed into a substantially cylindrical shape with one end open, and is arranged inside the housing 10 so that objects can be taken in and out of the drum 12 through the input port OP.

The opening/closing door 13 is formed in a substantially disk shape capable of closing the input port OP, and is connected to the vicinity of the right end of the input port OP in the housing 10 (on the right side in FIG. 1) via a hinge mechanism (not shown). . The lever handle 14 is attached to the left end of the door 13 and is used by the user of the laundry equipment 1 to open and close the door 13. The lock device 2 is provided near the left edge of the input port OP in the housing 10 (on the left side in FIG. 1), and locks the opening/closing door 13 in cooperation with the lever handle 14, as will be described in detail later.

The operation panel 15 is a user interface for performing operations related to the operation of the laundry equipment 1, and is provided at the upper part of the front surface of the housing 10. The operation panel 15 includes a button group 151 and a display section 152. The button group 151 is an input device for the user to select a plurality of operation types set for the laundry equipment 1, and is composed of a plurality of push buttons. The display unit 152 is an output device for presenting the state of the laundry equipment 1 to the user, and is configured as a display. Note that the button group 151 and the display section 152 may be provided in a device connected to a plurality of laundry devices 1, such as a centralized payment machine, for example.

(Configuration of lock device)
The configuration of the lock device will be explained. 3 and 4 are a front view and a side view, respectively, showing the structure of the lever handle. 5 and 6 are a front view and a rear view, respectively, showing the configuration of the locking device. FIG. 7, FIG. 8, and FIG. 9 are a front view, a rear view, and a side view, respectively, showing the configuration of the locking portion. 4 shows the lever handle seen from the right side (right side in FIG. 3), and FIG. 8 shows the lever handle seen from the left side (left side in FIG. 7).

First, prior to explaining the lock device 2, the configuration of the lever handle 14 will be explained. As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the lever handle 14 includes a shaft portion 141, a grip portion 142, and a locked portion 143. The shaft portion 141 is formed in an elongated substantially cylindrical shape extending in one direction. The grip portion 142 is provided at one end of the shaft portion 141 and extends in the radial direction of the shaft portion 141, that is, in the direction perpendicular to the extending direction of the shaft portion 141. The locked portion 143 is provided at the other end of the shaft portion 141 and extends in a direction perpendicular to the extending direction of the shaft portion 141 and the extending direction of the grip portion 142.

When the opening/closing door 13 closes the input port OP, the shaft portion 141 extends in the front-rear direction, the grip portion 142 is located on the front side, and the locked portion 143 is located on the rear side. It is inserted through the opening/closing door 13 as shown in FIG. Further, the shaft portion 141 is rotated at least from a rotational position in which the extending direction of the gripping portion 142 faces to the right (right side in FIG. 1) with respect to the opening/closing door 13 to a rotational position in which the extending direction of the gripping portion 142 faces downward. It is rotatable within an angular range of .

As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the lock device 2 includes a housing 20, a locking part 21, an interlocking part 22, a locking sensor 23, a regulating part 24, a transmitting part 25, a regulating drive part 26, and a regulating sensor 27. Be prepared. The casing 20 is generally formed in a generally box-like shape with an open back, and is attached to the front of the casing 10 of the laundry equipment 1 to define a housing space. The housing space of the housing 20 accommodates a locking portion 21, an interlocking portion 22, a locking sensor 23, a restriction portion 24, a transmission portion 25, a restriction drive portion 26, and a restriction sensor 27.

An insertion hole 201, which is a through hole into which the shaft portion 141 and the locked portion 143 can be inserted, is formed on the front surface of the housing 20. Further, in the accommodation space of the housing 20, a locking guide section 202 that guides the locking section 21, an interlocking guide section 203 that guides the interlocking section 22, a regulation guide section 204 that guides the regulating section 24, and a transmission section 25 are installed. A supporting transmission support portion 205 is formed.

As shown in FIGS. 7 to 9, the locking portion 21 is a substantially fan-shaped member having a central angle of 90° or more and less than 180° when viewed from the front. A locking hole 211, a regulating hole 212, and a protrusion 213 are formed in the locking portion 21. The locking hole 211 is a hole formed in the front surface of the locking part 21 in substantially the same shape as the insertion hole 201, and is recessed rearward from the center of the fan shape of the locking part 21 to near the radially outer end. It is formed like this. The restriction hole 212 is a hole formed in the circumferential surface of the locking part 21 at a position near the radially outer end of the locking hole 211 so that the restriction part 24 can be inserted therein. communicate with. The protruding portion 213 is provided on the front surface of the locking portion 21 and is formed to protrude forward.

The locking portion 21 is rotatably guided by the locking guide portion 202 around the center point of the fan shape. The locking guide section 202 also changes the rotation angle of the locking section 21 from a non-locking position, which is a rotational position where the regulation hole 212 faces leftward (left side in FIG. 5), to a rotational position, where the regulation hole 212 faces downward. The angle range is limited to a certain locking position. Note that in FIGS. 5 and 6, the locking portion 21 is shown in the locking position.

The locked portion 143 of the lever handle 14 is connected to the locking hole when the locking portion 21 is positioned at the non-locking position and the insertion hole 201 of the housing 20 and the locking hole 211 of the locking portion 21 overlap. 211. When the lever handle 14 is rotated clockwise when viewed from the front while the lever handle 14 is inserted into the locking hole 211, the locking portion 21 is rotated clockwise by the locked portion 143. At this time, the locked portion 143 is locked by the housing 20 so that it cannot move forward. In this way, the opening/closing door 13 is maintained in the closed state via the lever handle 14.

The interlocking section 22 is a generally annular member, and is guided by the interlocking guide section 203 to linearly move a predetermined distance. The locking sensor 23 is configured as a push button switch, and detects, via the interlocking part 22, that the locking part 21 is in the locking position. The interlocking part 22 is provided in the casing 20 so that the protruding part 213 of the locking part 21 engages with the inner circumferential side surface of the interlocking part 22, so that the locking part 22 is locked when the locking part 21 is in the locking position. The button on the sensor 23 is moved in a straight line so as to press down.

The regulating portion 24 is generally a substantially rod-shaped elongated member extending in one direction, and is provided on the left side of the locking portion 21 (right side in FIG. 6) so that its longitudinal direction faces the left-right direction, It is guided so as to be movable in the left and right direction by the regulation guide section 204 . The regulating portion 24 is formed with an engaged portion 241 and two protruding portions 242 . The engaged portion 241 is formed to be engageable with one end of a transmission portion 25, which will be described in detail later. The two protruding parts 242 are both provided on the left side (right side in FIG. 6) of the engaged part 241, and are formed to protrude upward and downward, respectively.

The regulation drive unit 26 is configured as a linear solenoid, and is provided in the housing 20 so that a movable iron core formed in a rod shape faces in the left-right direction. An engaged portion 261 formed to be engageable with the other end of the transmission portion 25 is attached to the left end (right side in FIG. 6) of the movable core. The transmission section 25 is a member formed in an elongated substantially plate shape, and is provided in the housing 20 so that the longitudinal direction thereof faces in the up-down direction. The upper end portion of the transmission portion 25 engages with the engaged portion 241 of the regulation portion 24 , and the lower end portion engages with the engaged portion 261 of the regulation drive portion 26 . The transmission support part 205 is provided so as to be located between the engaged part 241 and the engaged part 261 in the vertical direction, and supports the transmission part 25 so as to sandwich it from the left and right.

When the regulation drive unit 26 is operated to move the engaged part 261 to the left (right side in FIG. 6), the lower end of the transmission part 25 moves to the left, and the upper end moves with the transmission support part 205 as a fulcrum. moved to the right. As a result, the regulation drive section 26 drives the regulation section 24 to move to the right. When the regulation drive part 26 is driven when the engagement part 21 is in the engagement position, the right end of the regulation part 24 is inserted into the regulation hole 212 of the engagement part 21 . As a result, the rotation of the locking portion 21 is restricted by the restriction portion 24, and the opening/closing door 13 is locked by the locking device 2.

(Control system configuration)
The configuration of the control system of laundry equipment will be explained. FIG. 10 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a control system in the laundry equipment.

As shown in FIG. 10, the laundry equipment 1 further includes a control device 30, a temperature sensor 41, a water level sensor 42, a drive motor 51, a water supply valve 52, a drain valve 53, a fan 54, and a heating unit 55. The control device 30 has a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 31, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 32, and a RAM (Random Access Memory) 33, and by the cooperation of the CPU 31, ROM 32, and RAM 33, various functions described below are performed. realization be done. The control device 30 acquires detection results from the temperature sensor 41, water level sensor 42, locking sensor 23, and restriction sensor 27, and controls the drive motor 51, water supply valve 52, drain valve 53, fan 54, and heating unit 55. Further, the control device 30 obtains instructions related to the operation of the laundry device 1 by operating the operation panel 15, and presents information related to the operation of the laundry device 1 to the user.

Temperature sensor 41 detects the temperature inside laundry equipment 1 . Water level sensor 42 detects the water level within drum 12. The drive motor 51 rotates the drum 12. The water supply valve 52 opens and closes a water supply channel for supplying water to the drum 12. The drain valve 53 opens and closes a drain channel for draining water from the drum 12. Fan 54 forces air into drum 12 . The heating unit 55 heats the air flowing into the drum 12 by the fan 54.

The control device 30 opens the water supply valve 52 so that the water level detected by the water level sensor 42 becomes the set water level, and the drum 12 supplied with water is rotated by the drive motor 51 to wash the object and clean the object after cleaning. Washing operation control is performed to open the drain valve 53 so that dirty water is discharged from the drum 12. Further, the control device 30 controls the fan 54 and the heating unit 55 so that the temperature detected by the temperature sensor 41 becomes the set temperature, and performs drying operation control in which the drum 12 is rotated by the drive motor 51. In the following description, washing operation control and drying operation control will not be distinguished and will be collectively referred to as operation control. Further, the control device 30 operates the regulation drive section 26 based on the detection result by the locking sensor 23 to lock the opening/closing door 13 during operation control, as will be described in detail later.

(Functional configuration)
The functional configuration of the control device will be explained. FIG. 11 is a block diagram showing the functional configuration of the control device.

As shown in FIG. 11, the control device 30 has an instruction acquisition section 301, a lock determination section 302, a restriction control section 303, a restriction determination section 304, a state determination section 305, an operation control section 306, and a notification section 307 as functions. Be prepared. The instruction acquisition unit 301 acquires instructions related to operational control of the laundry equipment 1 via the operation panel 15. The lock determination unit 302 determines whether the lock device 2 is in a locked state. The regulation control section 303 operates the regulation drive section 26 . The restriction determination unit 304 determines whether the lock device 2 is in a restricted state. The state determining unit 305 determines whether the locking device 2 is normal or not based on the determination results by the lock determining unit 302 and the restriction determining unit 304. The operation control unit 306 controls the operation of the laundry equipment 1 based on the instructions acquired by the instruction acquisition unit 301. The notification unit 307 provides notification regarding the state of the lock device 2 via the operation panel 15.

(Status determination process)
A state determination process for determining the state of the lock device will be described. FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing the operation of the state determination process. FIGS. 13 and 14 are rear views showing a normal locking device and a locking device with a damaged regulating portion, respectively. In addition, in FIG. 12, it is assumed that the laundry equipment is in a state where the operation is controlled.

As shown in FIG. 12, the state determination unit 305 first determines whether the operation control of the laundry equipment 1 by the operation control unit 306 has been stopped (S101). Here, stopping the operation control includes a temporary stop of the operation control by a user operation and an end of the operation control.

When the operation control is stopped (S101, YES), the locking determination unit 302 determines whether the locking device 2 is in the locked state, that is, whether the locking portion 21 is in the locking position. (S102).

If the lock device 2 is not in the locked state (S102, NO), the state determining unit 305 causes the restriction control unit 303 to operate the restriction drive unit 26 (S103), and the restriction determining unit 304 determines that the lock device 2 is in the restricted state. It is determined whether or not, that is, whether the regulating section 24 is in the regulating position (S104). Note that depending on the rotation speed of the lever handle 14 by the user and the positional relationship between the locking sensor 23 and the regulation hole 212, the locking portion 21 may change from a state where it is not in the locking position, that is, a state where the locking sensor 23 is not pressed down. There is a possibility that a time delay may occur until the regulating portion 24 can be inserted into the regulating hole 212. Therefore, the determination in step S104 may be made after a predetermined period of time has elapsed since the determination by the lock determination unit 302, for example, after several seconds have elapsed.

When the locking device 2 is in the restricted state (S104, YES), more specifically, when the movement of the restricting part 24 is obstructed by the locking part 21 as shown in FIG. It is determined that the lock device 2 is normal (S105).

On the other hand, if the locking device 2 is not in the restricted state (S104, NO), more specifically, if the movement of the restricting part 24 is not inhibited by the locking part 21 as shown in FIG. , damage to the regulating section 24 is determined as an abnormality in the locking device 2 (S106), and the notification section 307 notifies the user of the abnormality in the locking device 2 via the operation panel 15 (S107). Here, the notification unit 307 causes the display unit 152 of the operation panel 15 to display at least the fact that an abnormality has occurred, and further displays the type of abnormality. Note that the notification of abnormality in the lock device 2 may be made by other notification means including audio output from a speaker, lighting/blinking of a lamp, and the like. Further, when the laundry equipment 1 is connected to a network, the notification unit 307 may notify the administrator of the laundry equipment 1 via the network. Note that the state in which the movement of the restriction part 24 is not inhibited by the locking part 21 may be caused by damage to the locking part 21, erroneous detection by the locking sensor 23, or erroneous detection by the restriction sensor 27. Therefore, in step S106, the state determination unit 305 determines that the locking device 2 is abnormal due to damage to the locking portion 21, false detection or failure of the locking sensor 23, or false detection or failure of the restriction sensor 27. You can judge.

Further, in step S102, when the locking device 2 is in the locked state (S102, YES), the locking determination unit 302 determines again whether the locking device 2 is in the locked state (S102).

Moreover, in step S101, when the operation control is not stopped (S101, NO), the state determination unit 305 determines again whether or not the operation control of the laundry equipment 1 by the operation control unit 306 is stopped (S101).

As described above, according to the control device 30 of the present embodiment, the operation control is stopped and the regulation drive section 26 is activated after the user operates the lever handle 14 to open the opening/closing door 13. If the locking device 2 is normal, the regulating portion 24 will not move. This allows the control device 30 to detect damage to the regulating portion 24 when the locking portion 21 is not in the locking position and the regulating portion 24 is in the regulating position.

The embodiments of the invention are presented by way of example and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention. This novel embodiment can be implemented in various other forms, and various omissions, substitutions, and changes can be made without departing from the gist of the invention. This embodiment and its modifications are included within the scope and gist of the invention, as well as within the scope of the invention described in the claims and its equivalents.

1 Laundry equipment 2 Locking device 21 Locking section 23 Locking sensor 24 Regulation section 27 Regulation sensor 30 Control device 302 Locking determination section 304 Regulation determining section 305 State determining section

Claims (4)

A drum capable of accommodating at least an object to be washed or dried, an opening/closing part capable of closing an input port to the drum, and a lock locking the opening/closing part in a closed state where the opening/closing part closes the input port. A laundry device comprising a device and a control device,
The locking device includes:
a locking part that is movably provided in the locking device by a user of the laundry equipment and locks the opening/closing part so that the opening/closing part maintains a closed state when moved to a locking position;
a locking sensor that detects that the locking portion is in the locking position;
a regulating portion that is movably provided in the locking device and that regulates movement of the locking portion in the locking position by being moved to the restriction position;
a regulation drive section that drives the regulation section to move it to a regulation position;
and a regulation sensor that detects that the regulation part is in the regulation position,
The control device includes:
a locking determination unit that determines whether the locking portion is in the locking position based on a detection result by the locking sensor;
a regulation determination unit that determines whether the regulation unit is in the regulation position based on a detection result by the regulation sensor;
If the locking determining unit determines that the locking portion is not in the locking position, and the restriction determining unit determines that the restricting portion is in the restricting position, the locking device is abnormal. A laundry device comprising: a state determining unit that determines the state of the laundry; The control device further includes a regulation control section that operates the regulation drive section,
The state determination unit causes the regulation control unit to operate the regulation drive unit when the engagement determination unit determines that the engagement part is not in the engagement position after the operation of the laundry equipment is stopped. 2. The laundry equipment according to claim 1, wherein when the restriction determining section determines that the restricting section is in the restricting position in the state where the locking device is in the restricted position, it is determined that the locking device is abnormal. 2. The control device further comprises a notification unit that notifies that an abnormality has occurred in the laundry equipment when the state determination unit determines that the lock device is abnormal. Laundry equipment according to claim 2. The laundry equipment according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the state determining section determines that the regulating section is damaged as an abnormality in the locking device.