JP2829554B2 - Detergent supply device - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a detergent supply device, and more particularly to a detergent supply device for automatically supplying a powdered detergent to a washing tub of a washing machine.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As such a conventional detergent supply apparatus, there are those disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication No. 4-679 and Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 64-15099. In the former device, the powder detergent stored and stored in the detergent storage section is sent out by rotation of a coil-shaped detergent delivery member and supplied to the washing tub. The detergent supply amount in the detergent supply device is controlled based on time control by a microcomputer. In the latter device, a detergent is charged into a detergent charging container, the detergent charging container is rotated once, and the amount of the detergent is measured and supplied to the washing tub at each rotation.

[0003]

However, in the above-described detergent supply device, the detergent supply amount is controlled based on time control. Therefore, regardless of the presence or absence of the powder detergent in the detergent storage section, the detergent delivery member is used. When driven, the detergent is supplied and there is a problem that the dispersion is large.

Further, in the latter device, there is a problem that the detergent is solidified and clogged in the opening to the detergent charging container.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and prevents water from splashing into a detergent measuring section, and accurately supplies a desired amount of powdered detergent according to the amount of washing without solidifying the detergent. It is an object of the present invention to provide a detergent supply device capable of performing the above-mentioned operations.

[0006]

To achieve the above object, a detergent supply device according to the present invention includes a detergent storage section for storing a detergent, and a measuring section is disposed below the detergent storage section.
The detergent reservoir has an inclined surface that becomes lower toward the measuring portion, and a detergent feeding member having a larger winding diameter along the inclined surface toward the measuring portion is provided in the detergent reservoir. It is characterized in that it further comprises a detergent storage section for storing a detergent, a measuring section is disposed below the detergent storage section,
A detergent receiving portion is provided below the measuring portion, a shutter is interposed between the detergent receiving portion and the measuring portion, and a detergent storing portion for storing detergent is provided. A measuring section is disposed below the detergent storing section, a detergent receiving section is disposed below the measuring section, and the bottom shape of the detergent receiving section is spirally lowered toward the cleaning inlet. Features.

[0007]

According to the above construction, the detergent feeding member is provided in the detergent storage, and the detergent feeding member is rotated by the motor. By the rotation of the detergent feeding member, the solidification of the powder detergent can be prevented. Further, a shutter is interposed between the detergent receiving portion and the measuring portion, and water from the washing tub does not scatter to the measuring portion, so that it is possible to prevent solidification of the detergent in the measuring portion. Become. Further, the bottom shape of the detergent receiving portion is spirally lowered toward the detergent inlet, so that the detergent can be flown into the washing tub without staying with water.

[0008]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of a detergent supply device according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view schematically illustrating a washing machine according to an embodiment, in which 14 denotes a washing tub, and a pulsator 15 is disposed at the bottom of the washing tub 14. It is configured to rotate with the rotation of a motor 16 disposed below the washing tub 14. On the other hand, a detergent supply device 10 is disposed above the rear part of the washing tub 14, and a detergent receiving portion 11 is formed at a lower portion of the detergent supply device 10. The detergent receiving portion 11 has a water supply valve 12.
And water is supplied through a water supply pipe 13.
A lid 17 is provided above the washing tub 14.

FIGS. 2A and 2B are a front sectional view and a side sectional view showing a detergent supply device 10 according to an embodiment. The detergent supply device 10 mainly includes a case main body 10a and a lid 10b, and includes a detergent storage unit 22 and a measuring unit 23. The bottom of the detergent storage section 22 is an inclined surface 26, which becomes lower toward the measuring section 23. The measuring portion 23 has a configuration in which a concave portion 23b extending in a substantially longitudinal direction is formed in a cylindrical main body 23a. Detergent supply device 1
A shaft 25 is disposed substantially at the center of the shaft 0. A detergent feed member 20 having a larger diameter as it goes toward the measuring section 23 along the inclined surface 26 is wound around the shaft 25. The direction of winding of the detergent feeding member 20 is reversed at the center. Further, a stirring member 21 formed in a trifurcated shape is formed at the center of the shaft 25. Further, the rotation of the gear 27 driven by a gear motor (not shown) is transmitted to the gears 28, 31 and 32, or the shaft 25 and the measuring section 23 are operated by being directly transmitted from the gear 28. . A shutter 24 made of a rubber elastic body is provided below the measuring section 23.

FIGS. 3A and 3B are a plan view and a partial cross-sectional view schematically showing the detergent receiving portion 11, respectively. A spiral groove 29a is formed on the bottom surface of the detergent receiving portion 11, and a detergent inlet 29b is formed at the tip of the spiral groove 29a, and the spiral groove 29a becomes lower toward the detergent inlet 29b. It is formed as follows. The water supply pipe 13 allows water to flow toward the detergent receiving portion 11, and allows the detergent and water to flow into the washing tub 14 from the detergent inlet 29 b.

In the operation using the detergent supply device 10 configured as described above, first, the detergent supply device 10 is taken out from the main body of the washing machine, the lid 10b is opened, and the powder detergent is filled. When the filling is completed, the automatic detergent device 10 is attached to the washing machine body again, and the gear 27 is connected to the gear motor side. On the other hand, at the time of washing, a load is detected by a weight sensor of the washing machine main body, and a detergent amount corresponding to the load amount is supplied. For example, if the load amount is 3
If it is determined to be kg, the detergent measuring unit 23 having the 5 g measuring cell function is rotated seven times in order to supply the detergent of 35 g as standard. During the rotation of the measuring section 23, the detergent feeding member 2
0 and the stirring member 21 are also rotated, so that the detergent is carried to the center and loosened so as not to be solidified. The measured detergent falls on the shutter 24, the shutter 24 opens due to the weight of the detergent, and when the detergent falls into the detergent receiving portion 11, the elastic shutter 24 closes due to the reaction. At this time, due to the action of the spiral groove 29a, the detergent receiving portion 11 is caused to flow into the washing tub 14 from the detergent inlet 29b by the water supplied through the water supply pipe 13 without the detergent remaining.

In the present embodiment, the detergent storage member 22 is provided with the detergent feed member 20 whose winding diameter increases toward the measuring portion 23, and the inclined surface 26 is formed. And can be smoothly fed into the weighing section 23. Further, since the shutter 24 is interposed between the detergent receiving portion 11 and the measuring portion 23, water does not splash on the detergent supply device 10, so that the solidification of the detergent can be prevented. Further, since the bottom shape of the detergent receiving portion 11 is spirally lowered toward the detergent inlet 29b, the detergent can be supplied to the washing tub together with water without staying in the detergent receiving portion 11.

FIGS. 4 (a) to 4 (f) are a vertical sectional view, a plan view, a bottom view, a right side view showing the movement of a gear, and a side view showing another embodiment of the detergent supply apparatus according to the present invention. It is the left view which showed the sectional view and the movement of the shutter. The detergent supply device 30 mainly includes a case main body 30a and a lid 30b, and includes a detergent storage section 42 and a measuring section 43.
The bottom of the detergent storage section 42 has an inclined surface 46, which becomes lower toward the measuring section 43. The measuring portion 43 has a configuration in which a concave portion 43b extending in a substantially longitudinal direction is formed in a cylindrical main body 43a. A convex portion 61 is formed at one end of the measuring portion 43. A shaft 45 is provided substantially at the center of the detergent supply device 30.
Is wound with a detergent feeding member 40 whose winding diameter increases along the inclined surface 46 toward the measuring section 43. The winding direction of the detergent feeding member 40 is reversed from the center. A stirring member 41 formed in a trifurcated shape is formed at the center of the shaft 45. A gear 47 is fixed to one end of the shaft 45 by a screw.
7 meshes with a gear 48 pivotally supported by the bracket 50. The gear 48 meshes with the gear 51a, and the gear 51a
Is transmitted to the gear 51b via the drive shaft 49, and the gear 52 meshes with the gear 51b. The gear 52 is fixed to one end of the measuring section 43. On the other hand, a shutter rotation shaft 53 is provided above the measuring unit 43, and a shutter 44 is fixed to the shutter rotation shaft 53. A support piece 62 extends from the shutter 44, and a shutter 4 is provided at one end of the shutter 44.
A spring 54 for urging the cover 4 in the normally closed direction is locked.
Reference numeral 55 denotes an E-ring fixed so that the shutter 44 does not come off. 56 is a detergent supply device 3
A stay fixed to the case main body 30a to increase the strength of 0 is shown.

FIGS. 5A to 5F mainly show the operation state of the shutter 44 in the detergent supply device having the above-described configuration.
It will be described based on. Detergent supply device 30 from washing machine body
Is taken out, the lid 30b is opened, detergent is added, and then the washing machine body is attached again. At the time of washing, the detergent filled in the detergent supply device 30 by the driving of the gear motor is sent to the measuring section 43 by the detergent sending member 40 and the stirring member 41. When the amount of washing is detected by a sensor (not shown), the rotation speed of the weighing unit 43 according to the amount of washing is determined. For example, the measuring unit 43 can measure about 5 g / one time, and supplies 25 g of detergent when the amount of water seems to be 30 liters, and supplies 35 g of detergent when the amount of water is 40 liters. (FIG. 5A). When the measuring unit 43 is filled with the detergent in this way, the rotation of the gear motor is transmitted to the gear 52, and the measuring unit 43 is rotated and simultaneously transmitted to the gear 51b.
, From the drive shaft 49 to the gear 51a, from the gear 51a to the gear 48, and finally from the gear 48 to the gear 47. At this time, the convex portion 61 formed on the measuring section 43 engages with the support piece 62 of the shutter 44, and the rotation of the measuring section 43 pushes up the supporting piece 62 to open the shutter 44, so that the detergent in the measuring section 43 is discharged. It falls into the detergent receiving part 11 (FIGS. 5B to 5D). After the detergent is dropped into the detergent receiving portion 11, the measuring portion 43 is rotated counterclockwise as it is, whereby the engagement between the convex portion 61 and the support piece 62 is released, and the shutter 44 is closed by the load of the spring 54 ( (FIG. 5 (e)-(f)).

In this embodiment, in addition to the effects of the above embodiment, the opening and closing of the shutter 44 can be automated by driving the gear motor, so that it is possible to more reliably prevent the detergent supply device 30 from being splashed with water. Can be
The solidification of the detergent can be prevented.

[0016]

As described in detail above, in the detergent supply device according to the present invention, the invention according to claim 1 is provided with a detergent storage section for storing a detergent, and a measuring section below the detergent storage section. Is disposed, the detergent storage section has an inclined surface that decreases toward the measuring section, and the detergent feeding member whose winding diameter increases along the inclined surface toward the measuring section includes the detergent storing section. The detergent is loosened by the detergent sending member, and the detergent can be sent to the measuring section without being solidified.

The invention according to claim 2 is the same as the invention according to claim 1.
In addition to the configuration of the invention described above, a detergent receiving portion is provided below the measuring portion, and a shutter is interposed between the detergent receiving portion and the measuring portion, so that detergent is supplied to the detergent receiving portion. After dropping, the shutter closes to prevent solidification of the detergent without water splashing on the detergent supply device.

The invention according to claim 3 is the same as the invention according to claim 2.
In addition to the configuration of the above-described invention, the bottom shape of the detergent receiving portion is spirally lowered toward the cleaning inlet, so that the detergent flows with the water through the spiral detergent receiving portion. Detergent can be supplied to the cleaning tank without stagnation of the detergent. Therefore, the detergent required for the amount of washing can be supplied to the washing tub, so that there is no excessive rinsing or excessive detergent, water and detergent are prevented from being wasted, and cost can be reduced.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic sectional view showing a washing machine main body.

FIGS. 2A and 2B are a sectional view and a side sectional view showing an embodiment of a detergent supply device according to the present invention.

FIGS. 3 (a) and 3 (b) are a plan view and a partial side sectional view showing an embodiment of a detergent receiving portion according to the present invention.

FIGS. 4 (a) to 4 (f) are a cross-sectional view, a plan view, a bottom view, a right side view, a left side cross-sectional view showing the movement of a gear, and another embodiment of the detergent supply device according to the present invention. It is the left side surface sectional view showing movement of a shutter.

FIGS. 5A to 5F are schematic cross-sectional views illustrating an operation state of a shutter according to the embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

 11 Detergent receiving part 20, 40 Detergent sending member 22, 42 Detergent storage part 23, 43 Metering part 24, 44 Shutter 26, 46 Inclined surface 29b Detergent inlet

Claims (3)

(57) [Claims] 1. A detergent storage section for storing a detergent, a measuring section is provided below the detergent storing section, and the detergent storing section has an inclined surface inclined toward the measuring section. A detergent supply device, wherein a detergent feed member having an outer periphery of a winding diameter increasing along a surface toward the measuring section is provided in the detergent storage section. Wherein the detergent receiving portion disposed below the metering section, detergent supply according to claim 1, wherein a shutter is interposed between the metering unit and the detergent receiving portion apparatus. 3. 請, wherein a bottom shape of the detergent receiving portion is lower spirally toward the detergent inlet
The detergent supply device according to claim 2 .