JP4065109B2 - Pump device - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a washing machine, and more specifically to a mechanism for sending bubbles into a washing tub, which is expected to have an ultrasonic cleaning effect and easily dissolves detergent, by a water hammer effect of cavitation.
[0002]
[Prior art]
In general, there is a fully automatic washing machine equipped with a pump for supplying bath water to a washing tub and a pump for discharging bubbles. In this fully automatic washing machine, air bubbles are discharged during washing using an air pump, and the cleaning power is enhanced by ultrasonic waves generated when the vortex of the bubbles repels on the water surface. In this case, as shown in the schematic electric system diagram of FIG. 5, the feed water pump 101 includes a DC motor 103 driven by a direct current from an AC 100 V (50/60 Hz) power source 100 through an AC-DC converter 102 and a rotation speed and The direction of rotation is controlled by the microcomputer 104 according to a time-dependent program, and the air pump 105 is provided separately and is driven independently by the electromagnetic coil 106 directly controlled by the microcomputer 104.
[0003]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
As described above, the feed pump 101 and the air pump 105 that are independently controlled need the DC motor 103 and the electromagnetic coil 106 as their drive sources, and have a circuit configuration and wiring for controlling the DC motor 103 and the electromagnetic coil 106, respectively. Since it must be applied, the cost increases due to the labor and time required for wiring.
[0004]
Therefore, an object of the present invention is to first drive the water supply pump and the air pump with a common motor. Secondly, when the motor is applied to a water supply pump, it is rotated in a clockwise direction, and when it is applied to an air pump, it is controlled in a different direction of rotation, such as rotating counterclockwise. Third, the motor rotation speed is controlled at different rotation speeds such as about 7000 rpm when used as a water supply pump and about 3000 rpm when used as an air pump.
[0005]
Fourth, a hybrid pump that has an impeller for a water supply pump attached to one shaft end of a motor rotor and a magnet that drives an air pump attached to the other shaft end, and has both a water supply pump and an air pump with a single motor Is to configure. Fifth, a hybrid pump that serves both as a water supply pump and an air pump, in which a magnet disposed opposite to a magnet rotated by a motor of the water supply pump vibrates and repels and vibrates. Is to configure. Sixth, it is to constitute a hybrid pump provided with an air pump case provided with a fulcrum of the vibration lever of the air pump at the upper part of the water supply pump.
[0006]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to achieve the above object, a pump apparatus according to the present invention includes a water supply pump using centrifugal force for supplying water to a washing tub of a washing machine, an air pump for supplying bubbles during washing, and the water supply pump. And a common motor serving as a drive source for driving the air pump, and the water supply pump has a discharge port opened only on one side toward the tangential direction on the side surface of the circular flow path outer wall in which the impeller is housed, When the impeller rotates in the normal delivery direction, it functions as a water supply pump, and when the impeller rotates in the reverse direction to the normal delivery direction, the impeller is configured not to function as a water supply pump. It is configured so that bubbles are generated by the volume change of the pump chamber due to vibration of the pump chamber wall housed in the pump chamber, and the rotational speed of the motor is the characteristic of the air pump In the vicinity of the resonance frequency that can be followed, the bubble generation function becomes larger and functions as an air pump, and at the frequency where the rotation speed of the motor cannot follow the inertial mass of the air pump, the bubble generation function becomes smaller and does not function as an air pump When the impeller rotates in the normal delivery direction, the motor is driven at a rotational speed at which the inertial mass of the air pump cannot follow, and when the impeller rotates in the reverse direction to the normal delivery direction. The air pump is driven at a rotational speed in the vicinity of a resonance frequency that can be followed by an inertial mass of the air pump .
[0007]
And, in the present invention, before Symbol air pump is preferably configured to generate bubbles in the volume change of the pump chamber caused by magnetic interaction between one side of the magnet or magnetic body is driven by the motor .
[0008]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Embodiments of a pump device according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram showing an embodiment of a pump device according to the present invention, FIG. 1 (a) is a plan view, and FIG. 1 (b) is a cross section taken along line BB in FIG. 1 (a). FIG. In FIG. 1 (b), a cylindrical rotor magnet 16 that drives the air pump 15 is fixed by extending the end of the motor 11 of the water supply pump 10 opposite to the impeller 14 attachment end of the rotating shaft 13 of the rotor 12. The rotor magnet 16 is magnetized to a predetermined polarity. The air pump 15 includes a pair of vibration mechanisms that are symmetrically arranged on both sides of the rotor magnet 16 and have symmetrical structures (see FIG. 1A).
[0009]
In FIG. 1, reference numeral 17 denotes a vibration lever formed of an elastic body, which is arranged symmetrically with the rotor magnet 16 in between, and a fulcrum 18 that cantilever-supports one end is provided in the air pump case 19. A magnet block 20 is integrally fixed to a free end facing the rotor magnet 16 on the side opposite to the fulcrum 18 of the vibration lever 17. When the rotor magnet 16 attached to the rotor rotating shaft 13 rotates, the magnet block 20 which is magnetized with a certain polarity and arranged opposite to both sides is attracted or repelled by magnetic interaction and vibrates.
[0010]
A telescopic rubber bellows 21 having the same configuration is fixed between the vibration levers 17. The rubber bellows 21 is airtightly connected to the valve mounting member 22 and is provided with a suction port 23 for sucking air when the rubber bellows 21 is extended and a discharge port 24 for discharging air when the rubber bellows 21 is contracted. The valve mounting member 22 is integrally formed with the air pump case 19, and the suction port 23 of the valve mounting member 22 is communicated with a discharge port 24 provided in the air pump case 19 via an appropriate check valve.
[0011]
When the rubber bellows 21 extends, air is taken into the rubber bellows 21 through the suction port 23 of the valve mounting member 22 and via a check valve (not shown) set therein. When the rubber bellows 21 is contracted, bubbles are discharged from the discharge port 24 via a check valve (not shown) set in the air pump case 19. A felt is set as a filter (not shown) in the suction port 23 of the air pump case 19 to prevent clogging due to intrusion of dust.
[0012]
Further, a rubber packing 25 is inserted between the rubber bellows 21 and the valve mounting member 22 so as to be airtightly connected to prevent air leakage. Similarly, the connection between the air pump case 19 and the valve mounting member 22 is also kept airtight. The internal structure of the valve mounting member 22 is exactly the same as the intake / exhaust mechanism symmetrical to the rubber bellows 21 mounted on both sides. In other words, in conjunction with the rotation of the rotor magnet 16, the rubber bellows 21 repeats vibrations due to suction / repulsion simultaneously on both sides of the valve mounting member 22, whereby the air pump 15 continuously discharges bubbles from the discharge port 24. To supply into the washing tub.
[0013]
Next, the operation when the pump device 30 according to the present invention is actually used in a washing machine (not shown) will be described. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view from the back surface along line 2-2 in FIG. The water supply pump 10 has a suction port 32 at the center, and discharge ports 33a and 33b are opened in two tangential directions on the side surfaces of the substantially circular flow channel outer walls 39a and 39b in the tangential direction, and are arranged radially to raise the elevation angle. A centrifugal force is applied to the water flow taken in from the bathtub at the rotation leading surface of the plurality of blades 31 fixed with the wings, and the water flow discharged from both discharge ports 33a and 33b is formed. That is, when the water supply pump 10 of the pump device 30 is used for pumping bath water, the pump is rotated at about 7000 rpm in the clockwise direction (arrow A direction) in FIG.
[0014]
In this case, the feed water pump 10 operates without any problem as the self-priming and feed water pump 10 because the direction of the blades 31 of the impeller 14 rotates in the normal delivery direction (arrow A in the figure) (see FIG. 2). That is, the water flow (arrow B in the figure) flows from the suction port 32 at the center of the water supply pump 10 and flows out from the two discharge ports 33a and 33b shown in FIG. 2 as indicated by arrows C1 and C2. At this time, the air pump 15 is also driven by the same motor 11. The air pump 15 operates regardless of the direction of rotation of the rotor 12. However, when the rotational speed is 7000 rpm, the inertial mass of the air pump 15 cannot follow and there is a considerable deviation from the inherent resonance frequency, so the amplitude is small. The bubble generating function as the pump 15 is weak.
[0015]
When the air pump 15 of the pump device 30 is used for generating bubbles, the air pump 15 is rotated counterclockwise (arrow D in the figure) at 3000 rpm when viewed from the paper surface side of FIG. In this case, since the resonance frequency of the system including the vibration lever 17 of the air pump 15 and the rubber bellows 21 is close, the amplitude of the vibration lever 17 increases and the air pump 15 operates reliably. As the feed water pump 10 rotates in the reverse direction and the depression surface of the blade 31 precedes, the centrifugal force does not act on the flowing water and does not function as the self-priming and feed water pump 10. Switching between the water supply pump 10 and the air pump 15 (change in the rotation direction and the number of rotations) is controlled by a microcomputer 50 (see FIG. 4) incorporated in a washing machine (not shown).
[0016]
FIG. 4 is a schematic electrical system diagram of the pump device according to the present invention. The pump device 30 in which the water supply pump 10 and the air pump 15 are combined is driven by a single DC motor 11. The microcomputer 50 opens and closes the switch 53 in accordance with the washing program, and the rotation direction of the DC motor 11 that is driven by a direct current from a general household AC power source (100 volts) 51 having a commercial frequency (50/60 Hz) through an AD converter 52. It is only necessary to control the rotational speed with the control line 54, and the electric circuit configuration is considerably simplified as can be seen from comparison with the conventional electric system diagram (see FIG. 5).
[0017]
FIG. 3 shows a second embodiment of the air pump 15 denoted by reference numeral 150. Members common to the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals. (A) is a top view, (b) is the side view which showed a part in cross section. The air pump 150 of the second embodiment is a rotor magnet 16 provided with an induction core 151. When the rotor magnet 16 rotates, the induction core 151 has a central pole tooth 151a between the first pole tooth pair 151a, 151b1 and the second pole tooth pair 151a, 151b2, which are respectively formed between the pole teeth 151b1, 151b2 on both sides. Intermittent magnetic paths are formed.
[0018]
The pair of vibration levers 117 is formed of an elastic body, like the vibration lever 17 of the first embodiment, and one end thereof is cantilevered by a fulcrum 18 provided on the air pump case 19 and is disposed opposite to the mirror image symmetrically. A free end of each of the vibration levers 117 is bent at a right angle so as to face the first pole tooth pair 151a, 151b1 and the second pole tooth pair 151a, 151b2, and a magnet block 120 in which a predetermined magnetic pole pattern is magnetized is provided. Mounted together. When the rotor magnet 16 rotates, different poles are alternately excited in the central pole tooth 151a and the pole teeth 151b1 and 151b2 on both sides.
[0019]
For example, as shown in the figure, the magnet block 120 is magnetized with N poles on the pole teeth 151a, 151b1, 151b2 side, and at the moment when the NS magnetization of the rotor magnet 16 rotates, the S poles are inward as shown in the figure. When the north pole comes to the outside, both magnet blocks 120 are biased in the approaching direction, and when the positions of the south and north poles are reversed, both magnet blocks 120 are biased in the separating direction. Regardless of the rotation direction, following the rotor magnet 16 that rotates at a low speed close to a specific resonance frequency, both magnet blocks 120 repeat approach and separation to bring the vibration lever 117 into a vibration state.
[0020]
A rubber bellows 21 that is airtightly connected to the valve mounting member 22 is fixed to the vibration lever 117, and the mechanism for sucking air from the suction port 23 and releasing bubbles from the discharge port 24 is exactly the same as in the first embodiment. Since it is a structure, description is abbreviate | omitted. Therefore, only the air pump 150 can be operated by rotating the rotor magnet 16 at a low speed (about 3000 rpm) in the rotation direction in which the water supply pump 10 stops functioning.
[0021]
As mentioned above, although the Example of the pump apparatus which concerns on this invention was described, the said Example does not limit this invention, The summary of this invention operates a water supply pump and a bubble generation pump by one drive source. Various types of modifications and reconfigurations within the scope of the claims, such as the configuration of the integrated pump, such as the configuration of the magnetizing means and the vibration lever, and the means for completely stopping the function of the water supply pump when the air pump is activated It is naturally expected that this is possible.
[0022]
【The invention's effect】
As is apparent from the above description, according to the pump device of the present invention, the water supply pump and the air pump of the washing machine can be driven by one motor, so that the installation space is reduced and the electric circuit configuration is also reduced. It is simplified and the total cost is reduced. Moreover, since the motor matches the resonance frequency with the resonance frequency by microcomputer control, the function of the pump device is not affected by the difference in commercial frequency due to regional differences.
[Brief description of the drawings]
1A and 1B are schematic configuration diagrams showing an embodiment of a pump device according to the present invention, in which FIG. 1A is a plan view and FIG. 1B is a cross-sectional view taken along line BB in FIG.
FIG. 2 is a plan view of the back surface along line 2-2 in FIG.
3A is a plan view of a second embodiment of an air pump in the pump apparatus according to the present invention, and FIG. 3B is a side view showing a part thereof in cross section.
FIG. 4 is a schematic electrical system diagram of a pump device according to the present invention.
FIG. 5 is a schematic electrical system diagram of a conventional pump device with a bubble generator.
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Water supply pump 11 Motor 12 Rotor 13 Rotating shaft 14 Impeller 15 Air pump 16 Rotor magnet 17 Vibrating lever 18 Support point 20 Magnet block 21 Rubber bellows 22 Valve mounting member 23 Suction port (air pump)
24 Discharge port (air pump)
30 Pump device 32 Suction port (water supply pump)
33 Discharge port (water supply pump)

Claims (2)

A water supply pump using centrifugal force for supplying water to a washing tub of a washing machine, an air pump for supplying air bubbles during washing, and a common motor serving as a drive source for driving the water supply pump and the air pump The water supply pump functions as a water supply pump when a discharge port is opened only on one side in a tangential direction on the side surface of the circular flow path outer wall in which the impeller is accommodated, and the impeller rotates in a normal delivery direction. The impeller is configured not to function as a water supply pump when rotating in the reverse direction to the normal delivery direction,
In addition, the air pump is configured to generate bubbles by a change in volume of the pump chamber due to vibration of a pump chamber wall portion in which air is housed, and the rotational speed of the motor can follow the inertial mass of the air pump. The bubble generation function is increased near the resonance frequency and functions as an air pump, and the rotation speed of the motor is configured so that the bubble generation function is decreased at a frequency at which the inertial mass of the air pump cannot follow and does not function as an air pump.
The motor is driven at a rotation speed at a frequency at which the inertial mass of the air pump cannot follow when the impeller rotates in a normal delivery direction, and when the impeller rotates in the reverse direction to the normal delivery direction, the air A pump device that is driven at a rotational speed in the vicinity of a resonance frequency at which the inertial mass of the pump can follow . The said air pump is a structure which generate | occur | produces a bubble by the volume change of the pump chamber which arises by the magnetic interaction with the magnet or one side of a magnetic body driven by the said motor. Pump device.

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