JP3869542B2 - Centrifugal dehydrator - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a centrifugal dewatering apparatus (here, where laundry is housed in a bowl-shaped drum and the laundry is dewatered or the washing solvent is drained by rotating the drum at a high speed about a horizontal axis). Then, it shall be referred to as “centrifugal dehydration device” including the solvent centrifugal dewatering device. As a matter of course, the present invention can be used for a washing machine or a washing / drying machine that continuously performs from washing to dehydration and further to drying.
[0002]
[Prior art]
The drum type centrifugal dewatering device has a structure in which the washed laundry is accommodated in a basket-like drum and the drum is rotated at a high speed around a horizontal axis. One of the major problems with this type of centrifugal dewatering device is that if the drum is rotated at high speed while the laundry is not evenly distributed on the inner peripheral wall of the drum, abnormal vibration occurs due to imbalance in the mass distribution around the rotation axis. Or abnormal noise. In a commercially available drum type washer / dryer equipped with such a centrifugal dehydrator, a weight is attached around the outer tub in which the drum is housed in order to suppress the abnormal vibration. For this reason, this type of conventional washing and drying machine is very heavy, and the installation place is limited, and it is difficult to move and transport.
[0003]
Several drum-type centrifugal dehydrators intended to solve the problem of abnormal vibration have been proposed. For example, in the centrifugal dehydration apparatus described in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 6-254294, a method is disclosed in which the laundry in the drum is evenly distributed on the inner peripheral wall of the drum by rotating the drum at a low speed before performing the dewatering operation by rotating the drum at a high speed. Has been. More specifically, the two-stage rotation control is such that the drum is rotated at a low speed for a very short time, and then the drum is rotated at a rotational speed slightly faster than the rotational speed but sufficiently lower than the rotational speed during the dehydration operation. The combination of these is intended to disperse the laundry.
[0004]
In this prior art, a vibration monitoring sensor is installed on the pedestal portion of the apparatus as a means for detecting the uneven distribution of the laundry inside the drum, and the rotational speed of the drum is increased to a high speed for performing the dehydration operation. Sometimes, when the vibration monitoring sensor detects abnormal vibration, the rotational speed is reduced.
[0005]
However, even if the drum rotation control method as in the above-described prior art is used, the laundry is not necessarily evenly dispersed by one low-speed drum rotation. Accordingly, after trying to disperse the laundry by rotating the drum at a low speed, if the drum is rotated at a high speed and abnormal vibration occurs at that time, the rotation speed of the drum must be lowered again to redistribute the laundry. In this manner, if the dispersion of the laundry by the low-speed rotation of the drum and the detection of the eccentric load by the high-speed rotation of the drum are repeated a plurality of times, the dehydration time is prolonged.
[0006]
Furthermore, in the method of uniformly dispersing the laundry as described above, when only one piece of relatively heavy clothing (for example, jeans) is accommodated in the drum, the uniform dispersion cannot be performed and the abnormal vibration is suppressed. It becomes impossible.
[0007]
Thus, for example, Japanese Patent Publication No. 7-100095 discloses a centrifugal dewatering device that adjusts the balance by adding a weight to a part of the inner peripheral wall of the drum. In this conventional centrifugal dewatering apparatus, when the weight reaches the highest position of the drum, the laundry is determined to be in a position facing the weight with respect to the drum rotation axis due to gravity, and both are balanced, The drum is shifted from low speed rotation to high speed dewatering rotation. However, even with such a method, it is not always possible to shift to high-speed dehydration rotation in a state where the weight and the laundry are reliably balanced, and abnormal vibration cannot be completely prevented during dehydration operation. Of course, it would be possible to achieve a balance by imposing strict conditions such as storing a predetermined amount of laundry in the drum according to the weight of the weight, but this is not the case in an actual centrifugal dehydrator. Not right.
[0008]
In view of the above problem, the applicant of the present application forms a pocket-shaped balancer capable of temporarily holding water in a part of the baffle of the drum in Japanese Patent Application No. 9-249917 and the like, and the eccentric load due to the uneven distribution of the laundry Is present in the vicinity of the position facing the balancer on the drum inner peripheral wall, the balance of the entire drum is adjusted by injecting an appropriate amount of water corresponding to the amount of eccentricity into the balancer. A centrifugal dehydrator is proposed. In this centrifugal dewatering device, as long as the eccentric load due to the uneven distribution of the laundry exists in the vicinity of the position opposed to the balancer, the balance can be adjusted regardless of the amount of eccentricity (within a predetermined range).
[0009]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
In such a centrifugal dewatering device, the laundry in the drum sucks in a large amount of water before dehydration starts, and the water contained in the laundry is scattered when the drum rotates at high-speed dewatering rotation or a rotation speed close thereto. The weight of each laundry is greatly reduced. On the other hand, the weight of water injected into the balancer does not change. For this reason, even if the amount of eccentricity is kept small by balancing the laundry and the balancer before starting high-speed dewatering operation, the balancer's weight increases relatively with the progress of dewatering and there is an eccentric load on the balancer side. May cause vibration.
[0010]
The present invention is an improvement of the above-described novel centrifugal dehydration apparatus in view of such points, and its main purpose is centrifugal dehydration in which vibration and noise are reliably suppressed even when the weight of the laundry is reduced due to dehydration. To provide an apparatus.
[0011]
Means for Solving the Problem and Embodiment of the Invention
In order to solve the above problems, the present invention provides a centrifugal dewatering device for storing laundry in a bowl-shaped drum and dehydrating the laundry by rotating the drum around a horizontal axis.
a) a hollow body formed in a part of the drum wall surface, and a water holding part capable of pouring and draining water therein;
b) water injection means for injecting water into the water holding part;
c) a motor for rotating the drum;
d) rotation control means for controlling the motor so that the drum rotates at a predetermined rotation speed;
e) an eccentric load detecting means for detecting the magnitude and position of the eccentric load of the drum;
f) When the position of the eccentric load detected by the eccentric load detecting means is in the vicinity of the position facing the water holding portion on the drum inner peripheral wall, an amount of water corresponding to the magnitude of the eccentric load is Water injection control means for driving the water injection means to inject into the water holding unit;
g) Operation control means for controlling the rotation control means and the water injection control means, the rotation speed at which the centrifugal force acting on the laundry in the drum is greater than the gravity, and more than the resonance point of the drum. The first balance adjustment is performed by pouring water into the water holding portion when the drum is rotated at a low first rotation speed, and then the water is higher than the resonance point and water is drained from the laundry. After rotating the drum for a predetermined time at the second rotation speed, part or all of the water in the water holding part is discharged, or water is poured into the water holding part again after the discharging, so that the second balance is achieved. An operation control means that performs adjustment and shifts to high-speed dewatering operation when the magnitude of the eccentric load becomes a predetermined value or less,
It is characterized by having.
[0012]
That is, in the centrifugal dehydrator according to the present invention, the drum itself does not have an eccentric load in a state where water is not injected into the water holding unit, and when water is injected into the water holding unit by the water injection means, The drum itself has an eccentric load in accordance with the amount of.
[0013]
First, the operation control means is higher than a rotational speed (hereinafter referred to as “equilibrium rotational speed”) in which centrifugal force acting on the laundry and gravity are balanced in a state where water is not introduced into the water holding portion. The drum is rotated at a first rotational speed lower than the drum resonance point. This resonance point is a unique value that depends on the weight, inner diameter, and the like of the drum. In this type of centrifugal dewatering device, the resonance point is higher than the equilibrium rotational speed and lower than the rotational speed during high-speed dewatering operation. If the rotational speed is increased to the vicinity of the resonance point in a state where the drum balancer is not removed, a large vibration is generated. Therefore, first, the drum balance is adjusted under the rotational speed condition. When the drum rotates at the first rotation speed, the laundry in the drum sticks to the inner peripheral wall surface of the drum by centrifugal force, so that the eccentric load detection means detects the magnitude and position of the eccentric load due to the uneven distribution of the laundry. Is detected. When the position of the detected eccentric load is in the vicinity of the location facing the water holding portion on the drum inner peripheral wall, it is possible to balance the drum by injecting an appropriate amount of water into the water holding portion. It is. Therefore, the water injection control means drives the injection means to inject water into the water holding portion, and performs the first balance adjustment.
[0014]
Next, mild dehydration is performed on the laundry. At the rotational speed below the resonance point, water contained in the laundry hardly escapes. Therefore, the operation control means increases the rotational speed of the drum to a second rotational speed that is equal to or higher than the resonance point. When the drum rotates at the second rotation speed, a part of the water contained in the laundry is scattered by the centrifugal force, and the weight of the laundry is reduced by that amount, while the weight of the water in the water holding portion does not change. For this reason, the weight of the water holding part is larger than the eccentric load caused by the uneven distribution of the laundry, and the eccentric load of the drum may be larger than immediately after the end of the first balance adjustment. . Therefore, the operation control means executes the second balance adjustment so that the magnitude of the eccentric load at this time becomes a predetermined value or less.
[0015]
In this second balance adjustment, it is necessary to reduce the weight of the water holding part, so that a part of the water is discharged from the water holding part so that the magnitude of the eccentric load becomes a predetermined value or less, or After discharging part or all of the water from the water holding part, the excessive amount of water is injected again so that the magnitude of the eccentric load becomes a predetermined value or less. If the magnitude of the eccentric load becomes a predetermined value or less, it is determined that there is little vibration even if the rotation speed of the drum is increased, and the full-scale dehydration operation is performed by rotating the drum at a high speed. Since the weight of the laundry is reduced to some extent when the drum is first rotated at the second rotational speed, the degree of decrease in the weight of the laundry during the high-speed dewatering operation is small and the balance is lost. There is no.
[0016]
When the drum is rotated at the second rotational speed, the rotational speed of the drum can be increased to the rotational speed during the high-speed dewatering operation for a short time. However, in order to reliably perform mild dehydration with less vibration, the second rotational speed is high-speed dehydration that does not generate large vibrations even when the balance of the drum is slightly lost as dehydration progresses. It is preferable to set an appropriate rotational speed lower than the rotational speed during operation.
[0017]
In the centrifugal dewatering device according to the present invention, the water holding unit holds water therein by centrifugal force when the drum is rotated at a predetermined rotational speed or more, and holds the held water when the centrifugal force is lost. The operation control means rotates the drum for a predetermined time at the second rotation speed, and then temporarily stops the drum or drops the rotation speed to a rotation speed at which the centrifugal force is smaller than gravity, thereby reducing the water holding portion. It can be set as the structure which discharges one part or all part of the water accumulated in the.
[0018]
That is, the operation control means temporarily stops the drum or reduces the rotational speed to a rotational speed at which the centrifugal force is smaller than gravity, and maintains the state for a predetermined time. Then, the centrifugal force acting on the water injected into the water holding part at the time of the first balance adjustment is lost, and the water flows out of the water holding part.
[0019]
In this case, since the centrifugal force acting on the laundry is usually lost, the arrangement of the laundry changes from the time of the first balance adjustment. Therefore, after the water in the water holding part is discharged, the drum is substantially stopped so that the water holding part comes to the vicinity of the highest position of the drum in order to collect the laundry again on the drum inner peripheral wall in the vicinity of the position opposite to the water holding part. It is better to rapidly increase the rotational speed of the drum from the state of being made. When the water holding part is held in the vicinity of the highest drum position and the drum is stopped, the laundry is stacked on the drum bottom, that is, on the drum inner peripheral wall, in the vicinity of the position facing the water holding part. For this reason, when the rotational speed of the drum is rapidly increased from that state, much of the laundry is pressed against the inner peripheral wall surface of the drum in the vicinity of the opposite position of the water holding portion and quickly rotates for balance adjustment using the water holding portion. Can be migrated.
[0020]
In the centrifugal dehydrator according to the present invention, the water holding part has a drain hole that can be opened and closed regardless of the rotational speed of the drum, and the operation control means is configured to rotate the drum for a predetermined time at the second rotational speed. After the rotation, the drain hole can be opened to discharge part or all of the water accumulated in the water holding part.
[0021]
In other words, the operation control means reduces the weight of the water holding part by opening the drain hole while rotating the drum at a rotational speed equal to or higher than the equilibrium rotational speed. Then, after discharging an appropriate amount of water, the magnitude of the eccentric load is detected, and when the water has been discharged excessively, water may be additionally injected. Alternatively, the opening and closing of the drain hole may be controlled while detecting the eccentric load, and the water discharge may be stopped when the eccentric load falls below a predetermined value.
[0022]
【The invention's effect】
According to the centrifugal dehydrator according to the present invention, when an eccentric load due to the uneven distribution of the laundry exists in the vicinity of the position facing the water holding part on the drum inner peripheral wall, an appropriate amount of water is supplied to the water holding part. If the amount of eccentricity is reduced, the water is dehydrated lightly at a moderate rotational speed and then the balance is adjusted again to reduce the amount of water in the water holding part. Shift to full-fledged dehydration operation. For this reason, even if the balance of the drum deteriorates due to a decrease in the weight of the laundry due to the dehydration after the balance is adjusted once, the magnitude of the eccentric load can be suppressed to a predetermined value or less by the balance adjustment again. Generation of noise and noise can be reliably prevented.
[0023]
【Example】
[Example 1]
Hereinafter, a first embodiment (hereinafter referred to as “embodiment 1”) of a centrifugal dewatering apparatus according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. First, based on FIG.1 and FIG.2, the structure of the drum type washing machine provided with the centrifugal dehydration apparatus by Example 1 is demonstrated. FIG. 1 is a schematic side sectional view of the washing machine, and FIG. 2 is a rear perspective view showing the main part of the washing machine.
[0024]
An outer tub 2 is suspended from a spring 3 and a damper 4 inside the outer box 1, and a drum 5 for accommodating laundry is supported on the main shaft 8 inside the outer tub 2. A door 7 for opening and closing the front opening of the outer tub 2 is provided on the front surface of the outer box 1, and the laundry is stored inside the drum 5 by opening the door 7. A large number of water passage holes 6 are provided in the peripheral wall of the drum 5, and water supplied into the outer tub 2 flows into the drum 5 through the water passage holes 6, and conversely, from the laundry in the drum 5. The dehydrated water is scattered to the outer tub 2 through the water passage hole 6. On the inner periphery of the drum 5, four baffles 9 are provided at positions corresponding to rotation angles of 90 ° for scooping up laundry with rotation. One of the baffles 9 also serves as a balancer 10 that holds water therein. On the rear surface of the drum 5, a substantially disc-shaped water guide chamber 11 having a large water injection opening 12 is provided on the inner peripheral side of the circumference around the main shaft 8. In the water guide chamber 11, a water injection hole 13 communicating with the balancer 10 is formed on the drum 5 side, and a water discharge hole 14 is formed on the outer tub 2 side facing the water injection hole 13 approximately 180 ° with respect to the main shaft 8.
[0025]
The main shaft 8 is held by a bearing 15 mounted on the outer tub 2, and a main pulley 16 is attached to the tip of the main shaft 8. A motor 17 is disposed on the lower surface of the outer tub 2, and the rotational driving force of the motor 17 is transmitted to the main pulley 16 via the motor pulley 18 and the V belt 19. In addition, water supplied to the water supply port 20 from an external water tap or the like is injected into the outer tub 2 through the water supply valve 21 and at the same time a water injection nozzle provided in the outer tub 2 through the balance water supply valve 22. 23 is released. On the other hand, the drainage pipe 24 connected to the bottom of the outer tub 2 is provided with a drainage pump 25, and the water accumulated in the outer tub 2 is discharged to the outside when the drainage pump 25 is driven.
[0026]
The ring portion of the main pulley 16 is provided with one opening on the circumference, and a light emitting portion 261 and a light receiving portion 262 are arranged on both sides of the ring portion. Thereby, the light emitted from the light emitting unit 261 only once during the period in which the drum 5 rotates once passes through the opening and reaches the light receiving unit 262. The rotation sensor 26 described later outputs a detection signal (rotation marker) synchronized with the rotation of the drum 5 based on the light reception signal.
[0027]
Next, water injection and drainage to the balancer 10 will be described in more detail with reference to FIG. FIG. 3 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing the operating state of the balancer 10 and the water guide chamber 11. When water is discharged from the water injection nozzle 23 while the drum 5 is rotating at a predetermined rotational speed or higher, the discharged water enters the water guide chamber 11 through the water injection opening 12 and passes through the rear wall surface of the drum 5. It moves to the outer periphery side by centrifugal force while being transmitted. And as shown to Fig.3 (a), water sticks and is hold | maintained inside the water guide chamber 11 outer peripheral wall inside with centrifugal force. Since the water injection opening 12 has a large area, even if the falling direction of the water discharged from the water injection nozzle 23 varies due to variations in water pressure or the like, the majority of the water injection opening 12 surely jumps into the water guide chamber 11.
[0028]
The balancer 10 is a hollow body that extends further to the outer peripheral side than the water guide chamber 11 with respect to the main shaft 8. Therefore, the water poured into the water guide chamber 11 enters the balancer 10 through the water injection hole 13 by centrifugal force, and as shown in FIG. 3B, the outer peripheral wall side of the balancer 10, that is, the inner peripheral wall surface of the drum 5 It is stuck to and held. A drain hole 14 is also opened on the outer peripheral side of the water guide chamber 11, and water escapes from the water guide chamber 11 through the drain hole 14, but the amount of drainage is the amount of water poured into the water guide chamber 11. Very little compared.
[0029]
When discharging the water accumulated in the balancer 10, the balancer 10 is stopped and held at the highest position on the rotation circumference. Then, since the centrifugal force acting on the water in the balancer 10 is lost, the water flows out to the water guide chamber 11 through the water injection hole 13 as shown in FIG. The accumulated water flows out to the outer tub 2 through the drain hole 14 which is at the lowest position on the rotation circumference. Although the opening area of the water injection hole 13 and the drain hole 14 is small, the water in the balancer 10 and the water guide chamber 11 is completely discharged to the outer tub 2 when the balancer 10 is kept at the above position for a while.
[0030]
Next, the electrical configuration and operation of the parts related to centrifugal dehydration in the washing machine will be described with reference to FIG. The control unit 30 mainly composed of a microcomputer functionally includes a central control unit 31, a phase control unit 32, an eccentric load detection unit 33, a water injection control unit 34, and the like. The central control unit 31 includes a memory in which an operation program for proceeding with the dehydration operation is stored in advance. The central control unit 31 receives information on the magnitude and position of the eccentric load from the eccentric load detection unit 33 and processes the information as described below to process the desired drum. The target control speed Np of the motor 17 corresponding to the rotation speed is instructed to the phase control unit 32.
[0031]
The motor drive unit 40 includes an AC power source 41 and an AC switch 42, and functions as a rotation control unit for the motor 17 together with the phase control unit 32. A rotation speed detector 52 is attached to the motor 17, and a detection signal (for example, a pulse signal having a number corresponding to the rotation) corresponding to the actual rotation speed Nr (hereinafter referred to as “actual rotation speed”) of the motor 17 is a phase controller. 32 is fed back.
[0032]
Next, the rotation control operation of the motor 17 centering on the phase control unit 32 and the motor drive unit 40 will be described in detail with reference to FIG. The phase control unit 32 calculates the control angle α based on the difference between the target rotation speed Np and the actual rotation speed Nr, and as shown in FIG. 5B, the control angle is calculated from the position of the reference phase angle 0 °. A square wave signal that rises at a timing delayed by α and falls at a predetermined angle (for example, 140 °) is generated. The AC switch 42 is composed of a gate control type semiconductor switch such as a triac, for example, and a sinusoidal single-phase AC current as shown in FIG. 5A is supplied between the two main electrodes of the switch from the AC power source 41. ing. A square wave signal ahead of the phase control unit 32 is applied as a gate signal to the gate electrode of the switch, and the switch is turned on at the rising edge of the gate signal and turned off at the zero crossing point of the alternating current (that is, 0 ° or 180 °). . Therefore, the current is cut off during the period of 0 ° to α, and the current flows during the period of α to 180 °. That is, intermittent alternating current in a range surrounded by diagonal lines in FIG. 5C is supplied to the motor 17. The larger the area of the shaded area, the larger the electric power supplied to the motor 17, and the rotational torque of the motor 17 increases. Therefore, the phase control unit 32 decreases the control angle α when accelerating the motor 17 and increases the control angle α when decelerating. As a result, the signal width W of the gate signal applied to the AC switch 42 is wide during acceleration and narrow during deceleration.
[0033]
The eccentric load detection unit 33 detects the eccentric load of the drum 5 as follows. That is, the motor current detection unit 51 detects the drive current flowing through the motor 17, converts it into a voltage value, and gives it to the eccentric load detection unit 33. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of the time variation of the motor current. In the drawing, the rotation marker M is a marker based on a signal indicating one rotation cycle of the drum 5 obtained by the rotation sensor 26 as described above. If an eccentric load exists in the drum 5, the motor current has a fluctuation component corresponding to the eccentric load as shown in FIG. The fluctuation of the motor current corresponds to the fluctuation of the load torque of the motor 17, and the maximum peak of the motor current appears when the load torque becomes maximum within one rotation period of the drum 5. Further, the fluctuation amplitude L of the motor current corresponds to the magnitude (eccentric amount) of the eccentric load.
[0034]
FIG. 7 is a graph showing an example of the relationship between the fluctuation amplitude L and the amount of eccentricity. By examining such a relationship in advance and storing it in the memory, the amount of eccentricity can be acquired from the fluctuation amplitude L. Since the fluctuation factor of the motor current is not necessarily only the eccentric load, in order to accurately detect the fluctuation component due to the eccentric load, a filter that extracts only the frequency component near the rotational speed of the drum 5 from the fluctuation component of the motor current. Processing should be done.
[0035]
When the signal of the fluctuation component of the motor current as shown in FIG. 6 is input, the eccentric load detection unit 33 detects the maximum peak and the minimum peak at every interval of the rotation marker M, that is, every one rotation period of the drum 5. Then, the difference between the maximum and minimum peaks (variation amplitude L) is calculated, and the amount of eccentricity is obtained with reference to the relationship shown in FIG. 7 stored in the memory. Further, the position (eccentric position) of the eccentric load on the inner peripheral wall of the drum 5 is detected at the timing when the maximum peak appears (for example, the delay time from the immediately preceding rotation marker M).
[0036]
The control procedure during the dehydration process in the washing machine having the above configuration will be described below with reference to the flowcharts of FIGS. In the following description, a numerical value when the diameter of the drum 5 is set to 470 mm is taken as an example. However, when the drum diameter is different, it can be dealt with by appropriately changing numerical values such as each rotation speed. It is obvious.
[0037]
When the washing process is completed and the dehydration process is started, the laundry in the drum 5 is in a state of being stacked on the bottom of the drum 5. At this time, the balancer 10 does not contain any water, and the drum 5 itself has no eccentric load.
[0038]
When the dehydration process is started, the phase control unit 32 controls the motor driving unit 40 so as to gradually increase the rotational speed of the drum 5 to 130 rpm by the phase control as described above (step S1). The central control unit 31 repeatedly determines whether or not the rotation speed of the drum 5 has reached 130 rpm (step S2). At this time, the rotational speed is lower than the resonance point of the drum (about 200 rpm in this example), and is higher than the rotational speed at which an appropriate centrifugal force is obtained so that the water injected into the water guide chamber 11 is sent to the balancer 10. If it is within the range, it can be set appropriately.
[0039]
When the drum 5 rotates at 130 rpm, all the laundry rotates while being pressed against the inner peripheral wall surface of the drum 5 by centrifugal force. If the laundry is unevenly distributed on the inner peripheral wall of the drum 5 at this time, the motor current fluctuates as shown in FIG. 6, so that the eccentric load detection unit 33 is based on this fluctuation component as described above. Then, the eccentric position is detected (step S3).
[0040]
Next, the central control unit 31 determines whether or not the eccentricity a is smaller than 350 g (step S4). When it is determined in step S4 that the amount of eccentricity a is smaller than 350 g, the process proceeds to step S31 described later. If it is determined in step S4 that the amount of eccentricity is 350 g or more, it is next determined whether or not the amount of eccentricity is smaller than 1300 g (step S5). When the amount of eccentricity is 1300 g or more, even if the eccentric position is in the vicinity of the opposing position of the balancer 10 as described later, the amount of eccentricity cannot be sufficiently reduced by water injection to the balancer 10. Therefore, in this case, the process proceeds to step S16, and after performing the loosening operation, the process returns to step S1.
[0041]
In the loosening operation in step S16, the phase control unit 32 controls the motor drive unit 40 so that the drum 5 rotates left and right at a rotation speed of about 50 to 55 rpm, which is lower than the equilibrium rotation speed (about 60 rpm in this example), for example. To do. As a result, the stacked and entangled laundry is loosened, and air enters between the laundry pieces one by one, and the laundry pieces are easily separated from each other. For this reason, when the rotational speed of the drum 5 is increased next in step S1, the laundry is easily dispersed moderately.
[0042]
If it is determined in step S5 that the amount of eccentricity is smaller than 1300 g, the central control unit 31 next determines whether or not the eccentric position is in the vicinity of the opposing position of the balancer 10 (step S6). If the eccentric position is not in the vicinity of the position opposite to the balancer 10, the drum 5 cannot be balanced even if water is poured into the balancer 10, so the process proceeds to the unwinding operation in step S16 as in step S5.
[0043]
If it is determined in step S6 that the eccentric position is in the vicinity of the position opposite the balancer 10, the water injection control unit 34 opens the balance water injection valve 22 (step S7). As a result, water is discharged from the water injection nozzle 23 as described above, water enters the water guide chamber 11, and is held in the balancer 10 in a state of being stuck to the inner peripheral wall surface of the drum 5 by centrifugal force. The laundry in the drum 5 rotates in a state where it is completely pressed against the inner peripheral wall surface by centrifugal force, while the amount of water in the balancer 10 gradually increases and the weight increases, as shown in FIG. The fluctuation amplitude L gradually decreases.
[0044]
The eccentric load detecting unit 33 continuously detects the eccentric amount b that gradually changes in this way, and the water injection control unit 34 has an eccentric amount b of 1/3 or 350 g of the eccentric amount a detected in step S3. Continue to pour water until it is below the smaller value. That is, the central control unit 31 calculates a value X that is 1/3 of the amount of eccentricity a detected in step S3 (step S8), and determines whether the value X exceeds 350 g (step S9). ). If X exceeds 350 g, the central control unit 31 repeatedly determines whether or not the eccentric amount b that gradually decreases has become 350 g or less (step S10). And when the eccentric amount b becomes 350 g or less, the water injection control part 34 closes the water injection valve 22 for balance (step S12).
[0045]
On the other hand, if it is determined in step S9 that X is 350 g or less, the central control unit 31 determines whether or not the eccentric amount b that gradually decreases becomes X (that is, 1/3 of the eccentric amount a) or less. Are repeatedly determined (step S11). When the eccentric amount b becomes X or less, the water injection control unit 34 closes the balance water injection valve 22 (step S12). Thereby, the increase in the water inside the balancer 10 is stopped. Therefore, the first balance adjustment is completed when the eccentric load caused by the laundry is larger than the weight of the balancer 10 and the eccentric amount b is 350 g or less.
[0046]
Thereafter, the phase control unit 32 controls the motor driving unit 40 so that the rotational speed of the drum 5 passes through the resonance point and increases to 500 rpm (step S13). At this time, since the amount of eccentricity is small as described above, the vibration of the drum 5 and the outer tub 2 is small even when the rotational speed passes through the resonance point. The central control unit 31 repeatedly determines whether or not the rotation speed of the drum 5 has reached 500 rpm (step S14), and if it has reached 500 rpm, starts counting the internal timer and determines whether 1 minute has elapsed. The determination is repeated (step S15). Thereby, the rotational speed of the drum 5 is maintained at 500 rpm for 1 minute.
[0047]
At this rotational speed, complete dehydration cannot be performed, but about half of the water contained in the laundry is scattered, resulting in a light squeezed state. As a result, the weight of the laundry is reduced from the time point when the eccentricity b is finally detected in step S10 or S11. On the other hand, since the weight of the water accumulated in the balancer 10 does not decrease, for example, in the case of clothing in which most of the laundry is easily dehydrated, the weight loss of the laundry is too large and the balance is lost, and the balancer 10 becomes an eccentric load. There is a fear. Therefore, after performing a light dehydration as described above, a part or all of the water in the balancer 10 is once discharged, and the second balance adjustment is performed by injecting appropriate water again.
[0048]
The phase control unit 32 controls the motor driving unit 40 so that the drum 5 stops in a state where the balancer 10 is held near the highest position of the drum 5 (step S17). The central control unit 31 determines whether or not the rotation of the drum 5 has stopped (step S18). If the rotation of the drum 5 has stopped, the central control unit 31 starts counting the internal timer and waits until 2 seconds have passed (step S18). S19). Accordingly, the balancer 10 is held near the highest position of the drum 5 for 2 seconds. At this time, since the drain hole 14 is just at the lowest position of the drum 5, the water flowing out from the balancer 10 through the water injection hole 13 to the water guide chamber 11 is discharged into the outer tub 2 through the drain hole 14. Thereby, a substantially constant amount of the water in the balancer 10 is discharged.
[0049]
If it is determined in step S19 that 2 seconds have elapsed, the phase controller 32 applies a 100 V full-wave AC voltage to the motor 17 with the control angle α = 0 in order to accelerate the drum 5 rapidly. The motor drive unit 40 is controlled (step S20). As a result, the drum 5 accelerates rapidly and exceeds the equilibrium rotational speed in a short time. The central control unit 31 repeatedly determines whether or not the rotational speed of the drum 5 has reached 100 rpm (step S21). If the central control unit 31 has reached 100 rpm, the phase control unit 32 switches the phase control to 130 rpm with the target rotational speed Np. (Step S22). The central control unit 31 repeatedly determines whether or not the rotational speed of the drum 5 has reached 130 rpm (step S23). When the central control unit 31 reaches 130 rpm, the eccentric load detecting unit 33 performs the eccentric amount c and the same as in the process of step S3. An eccentric position is detected (step S24).
[0050]
Next, the central control unit 31 determines whether or not the eccentricity c is smaller than 350 g (step S25). Here, when it is determined that the amount of eccentricity c is smaller than 350 g, the process proceeds to step S31 described later. If it is determined in step S25 that the amount of eccentricity is 350 g or more, it is next determined whether or not the amount of eccentricity is smaller than 1000 g (step S26). Here, unlike the case of the determination in the previous step S5, there is a possibility that water is contained in the balancer 10 (that is, not completely drained from the balancer 10 by the processing in steps S17 to S19). If, for example, 1000 g of eccentricity exists in a state where water remains in the balancer 10, it cannot be balanced even if water is injected into the remaining space in the balancer 10. Therefore, in consideration of the water remaining in the balancer 10, the upper limit is made stricter than in the determination in step S5.
[0051]
That is, when the eccentric amount is 1000 g or more, even if the eccentric position is in the vicinity of the position opposite to the balancer 10, there is a high possibility that the eccentric amount cannot be sufficiently reduced by water injection to the balancer 10. Therefore, in this case, the process returns to the unwinding operation in step S16.
[0052]
If it is determined in step S26 that the amount of eccentricity is smaller than 1000 g, the central control unit 31 next determines whether or not the eccentric position is near the opposing position of the balancer 10 (step S27). If the eccentric position is not near the position opposite to the balancer 10, the drum 5 cannot be balanced even if water is poured into the balancer 10. Therefore, next, the central control unit 31 determines whether or not the eccentric position is the same position as the balancer 10 (step S32). When the eccentric position is the same position as the balancer 10, it is determined that the amount of water injected into the balancer 10 is not sufficient, and the water remaining in the balancer 10 causes the eccentric load. And it returns to step S17, rotation of the drum 5 is stopped again, and the water in the balancer 10 is discharged. If it is determined in step S32 that the eccentric position is not the same position as the balancer 10, the process returns to the unwinding operation in step S16.
[0053]
If it is determined in step S27 that the eccentric position is in the vicinity of the position facing the balancer 10 on the inner peripheral wall of the drum 5, the water injection control unit 34 opens the balance water injection valve 22 (step S28). As a result, water is discharged from the water injection nozzle 23 as described above, and water is gradually introduced into the balancer 10 through the water guide chamber 11. The eccentric load detection unit 33 continuously detects the eccentric amount d at this time, and the central control unit 31 repeatedly determines whether or not the eccentric amount d is smaller than 350 g (step S29). If the eccentric amount d becomes smaller than 350 g, the water injection control unit 34 closes the balance water injection valve 22 (step S30).
[0054]
Accordingly, the drum 5 is balanced by the balance between the laundry that has been slightly dehydrated and the balancer 10, and the second balance adjustment is completed. Thereafter, the phase control unit 32 controls the rotation speed of the drum 5 to increase to 1000 rpm (step S31). Thereby, the water which has penetrated the laundry is scattered by the centrifugal force and dehydrated. In this high-speed dewatering operation, the rotation speed of the drum 5 is set to 1000 rpm corresponding to a washing course (for example, a blanket washing course, a dry-only clothes washing course, etc.) designated by the user in order to protect laundry that is likely to be damaged. You may make it restrict | limit to the following upper limit values (for example, 800 rpm).
[0055]
Since the laundry is dehydrated to some extent by the processing in steps S14 and S15, the degree of weight reduction of the laundry during the high-speed dehydration operation in step S31 is not so great. Therefore, even if the dehydration progresses and the weight of the laundry decreases, the balance of the drum 5 is maintained, and the vibration of the drum 5, the outer tub 2, and the outer box 1 is suppressed to a certain amplitude or less.
[0056]
In the above embodiment, after the drum 5 is rotated at the rotational speed of about 500 rpm for 1 minute in step S15, the eccentric amount is once detected. If the eccentric amount is smaller than 350 g, for example, the process proceeds to step S17. A process of proceeding to step S31 without proceeding and performing a high-speed dewatering operation may be added. According to this, in the case where the balance of the drum 5 is not greatly lost even after the light dehydration, the dehydration can be quickly started up without the unnecessary second balance adjustment.
[0057]
[Example 2]
Next, a second embodiment (hereinafter referred to as “embodiment 2”) of the centrifugal dehydrator according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 10 is a schematic side sectional view of a drum type washing machine equipped with a centrifugal dewatering device according to the second embodiment, FIG. 11 is a sectional view showing a detailed configuration around a drain valve 60 in FIG. 10, and FIG. It is a flowchart which shows the control procedure of a dehydration process.
[0058]
In the first embodiment, the water accumulated in the balancer 10 is discharged through the water injection hole 13 and the drain hole 14. For this reason, in order to drain water, it is necessary to reduce the rotation of the drum 5 to such a rotational speed that the centrifugal force acting on the water accumulated in the balancer 10 is smaller than the gravity. At such a rotational speed, the laundry is also separated from the inner peripheral wall surface of the drum 5 that has been stuck so far. Therefore, when the first balance adjustment is performed and when the second balance adjustment is performed, The uneven distribution state changes. On the other hand, in the second embodiment, the structure is such that the water accumulated in the balancer 10 can be discharged to the outside while maintaining the rotational speed of the drum 5 at or above the equilibrium rotational speed, and washing is performed after the first balance adjustment. The second balance adjustment can be performed without changing the uneven distribution state of the objects.
[0059]
That is, as shown in FIG. 10, the second embodiment includes a drain valve 60 that opens a drain hole 10a on the front surface of the balancer 10 and opens or closes the drain hole 10a. Further, a solenoid 64 is fixed on a rotation circumference of the inner surface of the outer tub 2 facing the drain valve 60 over a predetermined angular range (for example, several degrees). As shown in FIG. 11, the drain valve 60 includes a main body member 61 having a leg portion that is inserted into the drain hole 10 a, and a spring 62 attached between the main body member 61 and the outer wall surface of the drum 5. The permanent magnet 63 is fixed to the main body member 61 so as to face the solenoid 64.
[0060]
As shown in FIG. 11 (a), the main body member 61 is normally pressed against the drum 5 by the contraction force of the spring 62, and the leg portion of the main body member 61 is fitted into the drain hole 10a to close it. is doing. When the drum 5 rotates while the current is supplied to the solenoid 64 and the drain valve 60 reaches a position where it faces the solenoid 64, the permanent magnet 63 is attracted to the solenoid 64. Then, as shown in FIG. 11B, the main body member 61 protrudes to the outer tub 2 side by overcoming the contraction force of the spring 62, and the leg portion of the main body member 61 is pulled out from the drain hole 10a. Thereby, the water in the balancer 10 flows out to the outer tank 2 through the drain hole 10a. Even when the solenoid 64 is in operation, when the drain valve 60 is in the rotational position of the drum 5 not facing the solenoid 64, the legs of the body member 61 block the drain hole 10a as shown in FIG. ing. The operation of the solenoid 64 is controlled by the central control unit 31.
[0061]
The control procedure during the dehydration process of the washing machine according to the second embodiment having the above-described configuration is as follows. Since the processing from step S1 to S15 is the same as that in the first embodiment (see FIG. 8), the description thereof will be omitted, and the processing of steps S40 to S44 subsequent to step S15 will be described with reference to FIG. After the drum 5 is rotated at a rotation speed of 500 rpm for 1 minute by the processing of step S15, the phase control unit 32 controls the motor drive unit 40 so that the rotation speed of the drum 5 is reduced to 60 rpm (step S40). The central control unit 31 repeatedly determines whether or not the rotation speed of the drum 5 has reached 60 rpm (step S41). The rotation speed at this time is preferably equal to or higher than the equilibrium rotation speed and as low as possible for the reason described later.
[0062]
If it determines with the rotational speed of the drum 5 having reached 60 rpm in step S41, the central control part 31 will operate the solenoid 64 and will open the drain valve 60 (step S42). When the drum 5 rotates at 60 rpm, the laundry continues to rotate while being pressed against the inner peripheral wall surface of the drum 5, so that the uneven distribution state of the laundry remains the same as before. As described above, during one rotation of the drum 5, the drain valve 60 is opened only during a period of passing through the range facing the solenoid 64. Therefore, the lower the rotational speed of the drum 5, the longer the opening time for one time, and the greater the amount of water flowing out of the balancer 10. On the contrary, when the rotational speed of the drum 5 is high, the drain valve 60 is not sufficiently opened, and the water in the balancer 10 hardly flows out. For this reason, it is desirable that the rotational speed of the drum 5 is low.
[0063]
The central control unit 31 starts measuring the internal timer immediately after the drain valve 60 is opened, and repeatedly determines whether 30 seconds have elapsed (step S43). Therefore, the water accumulated in the balancer 10 is discharged little by little for 30 seconds. When the 30 seconds have elapsed, the central control unit 31 stops the operation of the solenoid 64 and closes the drain valve 60 (step S44). Next, the phase control unit 32 controls the motor drive unit 40 so that the rotation speed of the drum 5 is increased to 130 rpm (step S22). And the process after step S22 same as Example 1 is performed.
[0064]
In the second embodiment, the position of each laundry on the inner peripheral wall of the drum 5 when the first balance adjustment is performed by the processes of steps S7 to S12 is maintained, so that the process of steps S14 and S15 is performed. As long as there is no extreme variation in the degree of dehydration of each laundry at the time of mild dehydration, the eccentric position due to the uneven distribution of the laundry is also maintained on the inner peripheral wall of the drum 5 in the vicinity of the opposite position of the balancer 10 by the processing of steps S40 to S44. Be drunk. Therefore, the probability that the eccentric position is determined to be in the vicinity of the facing position of the balancer 10 in step S27 is very high, and there is little risk of returning to the unwinding operation in step S16 and re-arranging the laundry. For this reason, there is an advantage that the time required for starting up the high-speed dewatering operation can be shortened.
[0065]
In the configuration of the second embodiment, the drain valve 60 is opened until the eccentric amount becomes smaller than 350 g by continuously detecting the eccentric load at the same time when the water in the balancer 10 is discharged. A high-speed dehydration operation can be started immediately.
[0066]
In addition, although the said Example demonstrated the drum type washing machine, it is clear that this invention is applicable to the dry cleaner which uses a petroleum-type solvent etc.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a schematic side sectional view of a drum type washing machine including a centrifugal dewatering device according to a first embodiment of the present invention.
2 is a rear perspective view of the main part of the washing machine of FIG. 1. FIG.
FIG. 3 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing the operation of injecting and discharging water from the balancer in the centrifugal dehydration apparatus according to the first embodiment.
FIG. 4 is a block diagram of an electric system of the centrifugal dehydration apparatus according to the first embodiment.
FIG. 5 is a waveform diagram for explaining motor rotation control in the centrifugal dehydration apparatus according to the first embodiment.
FIG. 6 is a waveform diagram showing an example of time variation of a motor current due to the influence of an eccentric load.
FIG. 7 is a graph showing an example of the relationship between the fluctuation amplitude of motor current and the amount of eccentricity.
FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing a control operation during a dehydration process in the first embodiment.
FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing a control operation during a dehydration process in the first embodiment.
FIG. 10 is a schematic side sectional view of a drum type washing machine including a centrifugal dewatering device according to a second embodiment of the present invention.
11 is a cross-sectional view showing a detailed configuration around a water drain valve in FIG. 10;
FIG. 12 is a flowchart illustrating a control operation during a dehydration operation according to the second embodiment.
[Explanation of symbols]
5 ... Drum
9 ... Baffle
10 ... Balancer
10a ... Drain hole
11 ... Water Information Room
12 ... Water injection opening
13 ... Water injection hole
14 ... Drainage hole
22 ... Balance water injection valve
23 ... Water injection nozzle
26 ... Rotation sensor
30 ... Control unit
31 ... Central control unit
32 ... Phase control unit
33 ... Eccentric load detector
34 ... Water injection control unit
40 ... Motor drive unit
41 ... AC power supply
42 ... AC switch
51 ... Motor current detector
60 ... Drain valve
64 ... Solenoid

Claims (7)

In a centrifugal dewatering apparatus that houses laundry in a bowl-shaped drum and dewaters the laundry by rotating the drum around a horizontal axis.
a) a hollow body formed in a part of the drum wall surface, and a water holding part capable of pouring and draining water therein;
b) water injection means for injecting water into the water holding part;
c) a motor for rotating the drum;
d) rotation control means for controlling the motor so that the drum rotates at a predetermined rotation speed;
e) an eccentric load detecting means for detecting the magnitude and position of the eccentric load of the drum;
f) When the position of the eccentric load detected by the eccentric load detecting means is in the vicinity of the position facing the water holding portion on the drum inner peripheral wall, an amount of water corresponding to the magnitude of the eccentric load is Water injection control means for driving the water injection means to inject into the water holding unit;
g) Operation control means for controlling the rotation control means and the water injection control means, the rotation speed at which the centrifugal force acting on the laundry in the drum is greater than the gravity, and more than the resonance point of the drum. The first balance adjustment is performed by pouring water into the water holding portion when the drum is rotated at a low first rotation speed, and then the water is higher than the resonance point and water is drained from the laundry. After rotating the drum for a predetermined time at the second rotation speed, part or all of the water in the water holding part is discharged, or water is poured into the water holding part again after the discharging, so that the second balance is achieved. An operation control means that performs adjustment and shifts to high-speed dewatering operation when the magnitude of the eccentric load becomes a predetermined value or less,
A centrifugal dehydration apparatus comprising: The centrifugal dehydration apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the second rotation speed is a lower rotation speed than a rotation speed during a high-speed dehydration operation. The water holding unit has a structure that holds water therein by centrifugal force when the drum is rotated at a predetermined rotation speed or more, and discharges the held water when the centrifugal force is lost, After rotating the drum for a predetermined time at the second rotation speed, the drum is temporarily stopped or lowered to a rotation speed at which the centrifugal force is smaller than gravity, and a part or all of the water accumulated in the water holding part is discharged. The centrifugal dehydration apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that: The centrifugal dehydration apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the operation control means suddenly increases the rotational speed of the drum from a state in which the drum is substantially stopped so that the water holding portion comes close to the highest drum position. . The water holding part has a drain hole that can be opened and closed regardless of the rotational speed of the drum, and the operation control means opens the drain hole after rotating the drum for a predetermined time at the second rotational speed. The centrifugal dewatering device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein a part or all of the water accumulated in the water holding part is discharged. The operation control means rotates the drum at the first rotation speed after discharging water for a predetermined time, and injects water into the water holding portion according to the magnitude of the eccentric load detected at that time. The centrifugal dehydration apparatus according to claim 5. The centrifugal dehydration apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the operation control means controls opening and closing of the drain hole while detecting the magnitude of an eccentric load.

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