JP2996811B2 - Washing machine - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a washing machine having a function of displaying a detergent level according to a set water level and a type of detergent.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As a washing machine of this type, for example, in a washing machine for both dehydration, there is a washing machine provided with a dedicated display device for displaying the amount of detergent on an operation panel. An example of this display device is shown in FIG. In FIG. 7, a display device 1 includes pictorial indicators 2 and 2 (in this case, two measuring cups) indicating a measuring cup for measuring a detergent, and 4 provided in one pictorial indicator 2.
It is composed of two light emitting diodes 3 a to 3 d and two light emitting diodes 3 e and 3 f arranged in the other picture display 2.

In this configuration, six light emitting diodes 3
By appropriately lighting a to 3f, the amount of detergent corresponding to the set water level and the type of detergent can be reduced to a minimum of 1/4 cup,
The maximum 6/4 cup is displayed. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 7, the three light emitting diodes 3a to 3c on the left side are turned on to display the detergent amount of 3/4 cup.

[0004]

However, in the above-mentioned conventional configuration, since the dedicated display device 1 for displaying the detergent amount is provided, there is a disadvantage that the manufacturing cost is increased. In addition, since the detergent amount is displayed in units of 1/4 cup, the detergent amount cannot be displayed in fine units. On the other hand, if the amount of detergent is displayed in units of 1/10 cup in a pictorial display so that the amount of detergent can be displayed finely, there is a problem that it is difficult for a user to visually recognize the detergent amount. Therefore, in the conventional configuration,
Attempting to display the detergent amount in units of 1/4 cup was the best.

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a function for displaying the amount of detergent, to reduce the manufacturing cost,
An object of the present invention is to provide a washing machine capable of displaying a detergent amount in fine units.

[0006]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION A washing machine according to the present invention is a washing machine having a washing lid for opening and closing a laundry entrance and a lid switch for detecting the open / closed state of the washing lid. And the like, and receives a detection signal from the lid switch, displays the amount of detergent on the display device when the laundry lid is opened, and the laundry lid is closed. It is characterized in that a display control means for displaying data other than the amount of detergent on the display device is provided when the display device is in operation.

[0007]

According to the above means, the detergent amount is displayed on the display device when the washing lid is opened, and data other than the detergent amount is displayed on the display device when the washing lid is closed. Therefore, the display device can be used for both the display of the detergent amount and the display of data other than the detergent amount. Therefore, the manufacturing cost is reduced as compared with the conventional configuration in which a dedicated display device is provided. Then, in this case, when the detergent is put, since the washing lid is opened, only by displaying the detergent amount on the display device when the washing lid is opened,
The usability is good enough. Further, when displaying the data of the detergent amount on the display device, for example, if the data is displayed by a numeral, the detergent amount can be displayed in fine units, and the visibility is not deteriorated.

[0008]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment in which the present invention is applied to a washing machine for both dehydration will be described with reference to FIGS. First, in FIG. 2 showing the entire structure of the washing machine for both dehydration, a water receiving tub 12 is elastically supported in the outer box 11, and inside the water receiving tub 12, a washing tub and a dehydrating basket are provided. A certain rotary tank 13 is provided. A stirring body 14 for washing is disposed at the inner bottom of the rotating tub 13.

At the outer bottom of the water receiving tank 12, a motor 15 for washing and dehydrating operation is provided, and a drive mechanism 16 is provided. The drive mechanism 16 reduces the rotation of the motor 15 during washing and transmits it only to the agitator 14 to rotate it.
The rotation of No. 5 is transmitted to the stirring body 14 and the rotary tank 13 so that both are rotated at a high speed integrally.

A drain valve 17 and a drain hose 19 are provided at a drain port 17 formed at the bottom of the water receiving tank 12. An air trap 20 is provided adjacent to the drain port 7. A water level sensor 21 is connected to the air trap 20 via an air tube 22. The water level sensor 21 is provided on the upper cover 23 of the outer case 11.
It is located at the rear of the interior. Also, the upper cover 23
A water supply valve 24 is provided at the rear of the inside.

Further, on the upper part of the upper cover 23, for example, a two-fold type washing lid 25 which opens and closes a slot (not shown) for taking in and out the laundry is provided.
The operation panel 2 is provided at the front of the upper cover 23.
6 (see FIG. 3). This operation panel 26
As shown in FIG. 3, there are four light emitting diodes 27 to 30 for displaying the type of detergent, four light emitting diodes 31 to 34 for displaying the water level, and a display device for displaying data such as the amount of detergent. A display device 35 including a seven-segment light emitting diode is provided. And
On the left side of the display device 35, a light emitting diode 36 for displaying data displayed on the display device 35 is provided.

In this case, the light emitting diode 27 corresponds to a synthetic standard detergent, the light emitting diode 28 corresponds to a synthetic compact detergent, the light emitting diode 29 corresponds to a standard type of soap, and the light emitting diode 30 corresponds to a compact type of soap. Yes, it is. The light emitting diode 31 corresponds to a high water level, the light emitting diode 32 corresponds to a middle water level, the light emitting diode 33 corresponds to a low water level, and the light emitting diode 34 corresponds to a small water level. Further, the light emitting diode 36 is turned on when the data displayed on the display device 35 is "remaining operation time".

The operation panel 26 is provided with a detergent setting switch 37 for selecting and setting the type of detergent, and a water level setting switch 38 for selecting and setting the water level. Although not shown, the operation panel 26 displays various kinds of light emission for displaying and setting various kinds of washing conditions such as a washing course, a strength of a water flow, a washing time, a number of times of rinsing, and a dehydration time. A diode and a setting switch are provided.

In FIG. 4 showing the electrical configuration, a control circuit, for example, a microcomputer 39 stores a control program for controlling the entire washing and dehydration operation in an internal memory. In this case, the microcomputer 39 has a function of a display control unit. The microcomputer 39 includes various switch signals from a switch input circuit 40 including various switches on the operation panel 26, a water level detection signal from the water level sensor 21, and a lid switch 41 for detecting the open / closed state of the washing lid 25. It is configured to receive an open / close detection signal. The lid switch 41 is turned on, for example, when the washing lid 25 is opened, and turned off when the washing lid 25 is closed.

The microcomputer 39 includes a motor 15, a water supply valve 24, a drain valve 18, a display circuit 42 including various light emitting diodes of the operation panel 26 and a display device 35, and drive circuits 43 to 46, respectively. It is configured to drive control via

Next, the operation of the above configuration will be described with reference to FIGS. 1, 5 and 6. The flowchart shown in FIG. 1 shows the contents of the partial control of the control program stored in the microcomputer 39, that is, the partial control for displaying the detergent amount or the remaining operation time on the display device 35 according to the open / close state of the washing lid 25. It shows.

When a washing operation is performed, laundry is put into the rotating tub 13 and various switches on the operation panel 26 are operated to set washing conditions. Here, the detergent setting switch 37 is operated to set the type of detergent,
When the water level is set by operating the water level setting switch 38, the process proceeds to "YES" in step S1, and the microcomputer 39 determines the detergent amount according to the set water level and the type of detergent. At the same time, the microcomputer 39 calculates the operation time required until the end of the washing operation based on the set washing conditions.

Subsequently, the microcomputer 39 determines whether the washing lid 25 is open based on the detection signal of the lid switch 41 (step S2). here,
When the washing lid 25 is open, the process proceeds to "YES" in step S2, and the detergent amount is displayed on the display device 35 (step S3).

More specifically, as shown in FIG. 5, the light emitting diode 27 is turned on when the synthetic standard detergent is selected and set, and the light emitting diode 31 is set when the high water level is selected and set.
Is lit, "u1.2" is displayed on the display device 35.
Is displayed. This display "u1.2" indicates the amount of detergent for 1.2 cups in the measuring cup for synthetic standard detergent. In this case, the light emitting diode 36 is turned off because the data displayed on the display device 35 is not the “remaining operation time”.

Here, the relationship between the type of detergent, the water level and the amount of detergent is shown in the following table.

[0021]

[Table 1] This table is stored in the microcomputer 39, and the microcomputer 39 determines and determines the detergent amount based on the table. In the above table, for example, the indication "u1.0" in the case of the synthetic standard detergent at the middle water level indicates the amount of detergent for one cup in the measuring cup for the synthetic standard detergent, and is the case of the synthetic compact detergent at the middle water level. The display "u1.0" indicates the amount of detergent for one cup in the measuring cup for synthetic compact detergent. That is, the display “u” indicates a measuring cup dedicated to each detergent.

On the other hand, in step S2, the washing lid 25
If is closed, the process proceeds to “NO” and the display device 3
5, the remaining operation time is displayed (step S4). now,
Since the washing operation has not been started yet, the calculated operation time, for example, “45 minutes” is set as the remaining operation time,
As shown in FIG. 6, the information is displayed on the display device 35. In this case, since the data displayed on the display device 35 is the “remaining operation time”, the light emitting diode 36 is turned on.

Thereafter, the above-described processing is repeated until the start switch is operated (step S5). That is, when the user opens the washing lid 25, the detergent amount is displayed on the display device 35 as shown in FIG.
6, the remaining operation time is displayed on the display device 35 instead of the detergent amount as shown in FIG.

Now, when the start switch is operated,
Proceeding to "YES" in step S5, the washing operation is started (step S6). Then, even after the washing operation is started, the detergent amount or the remaining operation time is displayed on the display device 35 according to the open / close state of the washing lid 25.
Specifically, it is determined whether the washing lid 25 is open based on the detection signal of the lid switch 41 (step S).
7) If the washing lid 25 is open, the process proceeds to "YES" in step S7, and the amount of detergent is displayed on the display device 35 (step S8).

In step S7, the washing lid 25
If is closed, the process proceeds to “NO” and the display device 3
5, the remaining operation time is displayed (step S9). In this case, since the washing operation has been started, the remaining operation time displayed on the display device 35 is counted down, for example, by one minute in accordance with the progress of the washing operation.

Thereafter, the above-described processing is repeated until the washing operation is completed (step S10). That is, during the washing operation, when the user opens the washing lid 25, the detergent amount is displayed on the display device 35 as shown in FIG. 5, and when the washing lid 25 is closed, as shown in FIG. As shown,
The remaining operation time is displayed on the display device 35 while being counted down.

When the washing operation is completed, the process proceeds to "YES" in step S10, and only the remaining operation time is displayed on the display device 35 irrespective of the open / close state of the washing lid 25 (step S11). . Thereafter, although not shown, the rinsing operation and the dehydration operation are sequentially performed. In this case, the remaining operation time displayed on the display device 35 is configured to be counted down, for example, by one minute in accordance with the progress of the rinsing operation and the dehydration operation.

According to this embodiment having such a configuration, the amount of detergent is displayed on the display device 35 when the washing lid 25 is opened, and when the washing lid 25 is closed, the display device 35 is displayed. For example, the remaining operation time is displayed as data other than the detergent amount. When the user opens the washing lid 25 to put in the detergent, the detergent amount is displayed on the display device 35, and this display is displayed. Look at the amount of detergent
After putting that amount of detergent into the rotating tub 13, the washing lid 25
Is closed, the remaining operating time is displayed on the display device 35 instead of the detergent amount.

For this reason, in the present embodiment, the display device 35 can be used for both the display of the detergent amount and the display of the remaining operation time, so that the display device 35 is different from the conventional configuration in which the dedicated display 1 is provided (see FIG. 7). And the manufacturing cost is reduced. When the data of the detergent amount is displayed on the display device 35, the number of cups and the number are displayed by the measuring cup. Therefore, the detergent amount is displayed in a fine unit (in this case, 1/10 cup unit). And the visibility is not deteriorated because of the numerical display.

In particular, in this embodiment, since the data displayed on the display device 35 is switched according to the open / close state of the washing lid 25, when the user opens the washing lid 25, for example, to put in the detergent, The data of the detergent amount is displayed on the display device 35.
Will be displayed. That is, the optimum data required according to the operation of the user is displayed on the display device 35, so that the usability is sufficiently good.

In the above embodiment, the case where the water level is manually set by operating the water level setting switch 38 is applied. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and a cloth amount sensor for detecting the amount of laundry is provided. In addition, the present invention may be applied to a washing machine having a water level setting unit that automatically sets a water level based on a detection signal from a cloth amount sensor. In this case,
The detergent amount may be determined according to the water level automatically set by the water level setting means and the type of detergent.

In the above embodiment, the display device is a 7
Although the display device 35 including the segment type light emitting diodes is used, a dot display type liquid crystal display may be used instead. Further, in the above embodiment, the remaining operation time is displayed on the display device 35 as data other than the detergent amount. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, data such as the current time may be displayed.

[0033]

As apparent from the above description, the present invention displays the amount of detergent on the display device when the washing lid is open, and displays the amount of detergent on the display device when the washing lid is closed. Since the data other than the detergent amount is displayed, the display device can be used for both the display of the detergent amount and the display of the data other than the detergent amount, thereby reducing the manufacturing cost and displaying the detergent amount in fine units. And an excellent effect that the visibility can be sufficiently maintained.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a flowchart showing an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a vertical sectional side view of the entire washing machine.

FIG. 3 is a top view of the operation panel.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram.

FIG. 5 is a top view of the operation panel when the washing lid is opened.

FIG. 6 is a top view of the operation panel when the washing lid is closed.

FIG. 7 is a top view of a display device showing a conventional configuration.

[Explanation of symbols]

11 is an outer box, 13 is a rotating tub, 14 is an agitator, 23 is an upper cover, 25 is a washing lid, 26 is an operation panel, 35 is a display device, 37 is a detergent setting switch, 38 is a water level setting switch, and 39 is a micro switch. Computer (display control means), 4
Reference numeral 1 denotes a lid switch.

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] 1. A washing machine comprising: a washing lid for opening and closing a laundry inlet / outlet; and a lid switch for detecting an opening / closing state of the washing lid; a display device for displaying data such as a detergent amount; Upon receiving the detection signal from the lid switch, when the laundry lid is opened, the display unit displays the detergent amount,
A washing machine comprising: a display control means for displaying data other than the amount of detergent on the display device when the washing lid is closed.