JP5243890B2 - Drum washing machine - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a washing machine that includes hot water supply means and cold water supply means, and supplies hot water and cold water so that the water temperature and the amount of water in a water tank become set values after first supplying cold water.

In a conventional drum type washing machine, cold water is first supplied (pre-watering) for a predetermined time or until a predetermined water level is reached, and then the temperature is increased by switching between hot water and cold water until the water level necessary for washing is reached. I try to adjust it. As an example, Patent Document 1 discloses a configuration in which cold water is first supplied for a predetermined time (t ₁ second), hot water is first supplied, and then water is supplied for a time corresponding to the result of calculating cold water and hot water. Has been. Patent Document 2 discloses a configuration in which cold water is first supplied to a predetermined water level, and then hot water and cold water are supplied to a predetermined water level according to a calculation result.
By the way, the above-described pre-water supply is performed for reducing damage to clothing and ensuring cleaning ability. For example, if pre-water supply is not performed or if the amount of water supply is small, the clothes may be damaged because the hot water directly touches the clothes. In addition, there may be a problem that the washing performance deteriorates due to coagulation of dirt such as protein and blood due to warm water.
JP 5-207355 A JP-A-11-9891

  However, in the configuration in which the pre-water supply amount is constant as described above, the ratio of the pre-water supply amount to the total water supply amount is high when the cloth amount is small and the total water supply amount for the washing process is small, Even with warm water, there may be cases where the temperature does not rise to an appropriate temperature for washing. Therefore, in such a case, the water temperature is raised by heating the heater, but as a result, it becomes slower to reach the proper washing temperature, which causes a problem that the washing performance deteriorates.

However, if the amount of pre-water supply is made small, insufficient wetting occurs when the amount of cloth is large, causing problems such as garment damage and reduced cleaning ability as described above.
This problem is common to both vertical washing machines and drum type washing machines. However, since the drum type washing machine uses much less water than the vertical washing machine, this problem has been solved. It is likely to occur.

  Therefore, the present invention provides a washing machine capable of reducing the deterioration in cleaning ability and damage to clothing caused by excess or deficiency of the pre-water supply amount, that is, the initial cold water supply amount, without incurring cost increase by adding hardware such as a sensor. This is the main intended issue.

  That is, the washing machine according to the present invention is provided with hot water supply means and cold water supply means, and after supplying cold water for the first time, supplies hot water and cold water to the required amount of washing so that the water temperature in the aquarium becomes a set value. The initial cold water for determining the initial cold water supply amount, which is the initial cold water supply amount, based on the cloth amount measuring means for measuring the cloth amount in the water tank and the measured cloth amount measured before the water supply by the cloth amount measurement means It is characterized by comprising water supply amount calculation means.

In such a case, since the amount of cold water corresponding to the amount of cloth is initially supplied, the initial cold water supply ratio can be prevented from increasing when the amount of cloth is small. That is, since the initial cold water supply amount can be suppressed to the minimum necessary level, it becomes easy to control the temperature by raising the washing water temperature during the subsequent main water supply. On the other hand, when the amount of cloth is large, the initial cold water supply amount can be prevented from being insufficient, so that clothing damage, protein coagulation, and the like can be suitably avoided.
In addition, since the amount of cloth can be measured by information from a rotational speed sensor or the like that has already been installed, the present invention can be realized only by improving the software, resulting in an increase in cost and failure factor due to the addition of hardware such as a sensor. Absent.

  Complicated calculation is not required, and it is easy to adjust and is practical for calculating the initial amount of cold water supply. The range of each division when the measurement cloth quantity can be divided into multiple values and the initial value corresponding to each division It is preferable to further include a water supply amount table that is paired with a cold water supply amount, and to obtain an initial cold water supply amount corresponding to the measurement cloth amount with reference to the water supply amount table.

  If the ratio of the initial cold water supply to the total water supply is too high, for example, the temperature of the wash water mixed at a standard water temperature (cold water 15 ° C, hot water 60 ° C) is added to the heat capacity of the main body, making it ideal for detergents. Temperature (25 to 40 ° C.) is not reached. On the other hand, when the initial amount of cold water supply is insufficient, as described above, the laundry is not sufficiently wet, and clothing damage, protein coagulation, and the like may occur. In view of this point, the initial cold water supply amount is the minimum amount necessary for moistening the cloth, with the upper limit being the amount of water that can maintain the water temperature in the aquarium at or above the set value when the total water supply amount for washing is supplied. It is desirable to set the limit amount of water as the lower limit.

  According to the present invention configured as described above, since cold water of an amount corresponding to the amount of cloth is initially supplied, a hardware such as a sensor is added to prevent a decrease in cleaning ability and damage to clothes caused by excessive or insufficient initial cold water supply amount. The cost can be reduced without incurring an increase in cost.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a schematic longitudinal sectional view showing the internal structure of the drum type washing machine 100 according to the present embodiment. In the figure, reference numeral 1 denotes a hollow body. On the use end side (hereinafter also referred to as the front side) of the body 1, there is an input port 11 for inputting laundry, and an input port 11 for closing the input port 11. A lid 12 that can be opened and closed is provided. Further, a water tank 2 is disposed inside the body 1, and a drum 3 is further provided inside the water tank 2.

  The water tank 2 has a substantially cylindrical shape in which the rear end surface is closed and the opening 22 is provided in the front end surface, and its front side is slightly higher than the rear side with its central axis C slightly inclined from horizontal or horizontal. In such a posture, it is supported by the damper D and the elastic body S so as to be swingable. The opening 22 is connected to the inlet 11 of the body 1 via a flexible cylindrical body 23.

  The drum 3 has a cylindrical shape that is slightly smaller than the water tank 2, and the rear end surface thereof is closed like the water tank 2, and an opening 32 is provided on the front end surface thereof. The drum 3 is provided with a number of holes (not shown) penetrating the wall surface in the thickness direction, and water is allowed to enter the drum 3 from the water tank 2 through the holes. Further, a plurality of lifters (not shown) having a ridge shape for hooking and lifting the laundry are provided at a plurality of locations (three locations) on the inner peripheral surface of the drum 3.

  Reference numeral 4 denotes a DC motor for rotating the drum 3. The body 41 of the motor 4 is attached to the bottom plate 21 of the water tank 2. The rotating shaft 41 passes through the bottom plate 21 inward through a bearing and is fixed to the bottom plate of the drum 3. The motor 4 is provided with a rotation speed sensor 43 for detecting the rotation speed. The rotational speed sensor 43 uses, for example, a Hall IC that detects the rotor position of the motor 4 and outputs a pulse signal. The rotational speed sensor 43 calculates the rotational acceleration based on the rotational speed of the motor 4 and the time variation of the rotational speed. Can be measured.

Reference numeral 51 denotes cold water supply means for supplying cold water as washing water, and reference numeral 52 denotes hot water supply means for supplying hot water as washing water.
The cold water supply means 51 includes a cold water supply pipe (typically about 15 ° C.) 51b into which cold water is introduced, and an electromagnetic open / close type water supply valve 51a provided on the supply pipe 51b. The means 52 includes a hot water supply pipe (typically about 60 ° C.) 52b into which hot water is introduced, and an electromagnetic open / close hot water supply valve 52a provided on the supply pipe 52b.
Each of the water supply pipes 51b and 52b joins at the end to form one merged water supply pipe 53, and is configured so that washing water can be supplied to the laundry in the drum 3 from the front end. The base of the cold water supply pipe 51b is directly connected to the water supply, and the tap water is guided as it is, while the hot water supply pipe 52b is connected to the water supply pipe through a heater such as a water heater (not shown). The warm tap water is guided.

  Reference numeral 6 denotes a drainage mechanism for discharging the washing water in the water tank 2 and the drum 3 to the outside. The drainage mechanism 6 includes a drain pipe 61 connected to the lowermost part of the water tank 2, that is, a rear end lower part of the water tank 2, and an electromagnetic opening / closing valve 62 provided in the middle of the drain pipe 61.

  Reference numeral 7 denotes a water level measuring mechanism for detecting the water level in the water tank 2. The water level measuring mechanism 7 includes a water level measuring pipe 71 having a base end open at the bottom of the water tank 2 and extending upward, and a water level of the washing water that is guided into the water level measuring pipe 71 and maintained at the same water level as the water tank 2. And a water level sensor 72 for measuring.

  Reference numeral 8 denotes a temperature sensor that is attached to the lower part of the water tank 2 and detects the temperature of the washing water in the water tank 2.

  In addition to these configurations, the washing machine 100 acquires detection information from the rotation speed sensor 43, the water level sensor 72, the temperature sensor 8, and the like, as shown in FIG. A control device 9 (not shown in FIG. 1) that automatically controls the washing process and the like by controlling the valve 51b or the motor 4 is provided inside the body 1. The control device 9 includes a control device main body including a CPU and a memory and various driver circuits as a hardware configuration, and the CPU and its peripheral devices cooperate in accordance with a program stored in the memory. Various functions are demonstrated by moving.

  Therefore, in this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2, the control device 9 operates as a cloth amount measuring means 91, a water supply amount table 92, an initial cold water supply amount calculating means 93, a water supply control means 94, and the like. Configure the program.

  More specifically, the cloth amount measuring means 91 calculates the amount of laundry (cloth amount) in the dry cloth state before water supply from the time required to accelerate the drum 3 to a predetermined rotational speed. Specifically, the cloth amount measuring unit 91 calculates the cloth amount from an acceleration time when the drum 3 is accelerated to, for example, 100 rpm to 200 rpm from a low rotation speed at which the laundry sticks to the inner peripheral surface of the drum 3. If a constant current is applied to the motor so that the output torque of the motor does not fluctuate greatly, the acceleration time will be longer if the cloth amount is large, and the acceleration time will be shorter if the cloth amount is small. . In addition, you may make it measure from the magnitude | size (electric current value) of the torque of a motor.

  As shown in FIG. 3 as an example of the content of the water supply amount table 92, the range of each division when the value that can be taken by the measurement cloth amount is divided into a plurality of ranges and the initial cold water supply amount corresponding to each division are paired. Is. Actually, since the water supply amount and the opening time of the water supply valve 51a correspond to each other almost one-to-one, the water supply amount table 92 in this embodiment includes the measurement cloth amount and the initial cold water supply time (water supply valve). 51a (the opening time of 51a). Thus, when the vertical axis is the initial cold water supply amount and the horizontal axis is the measurement cloth amount, the water supply table 92 is stepped as shown in FIG.

  By the way, in this embodiment, the upper limit of the initial cold water supply amount is set to the amount of water (about 30% of the total amount) that can maintain the water temperature in the water tank 2 when the entire amount necessary for the washing process is supplied. The lower limit of the amount of water supply is set to the minimum amount of water necessary to wet the cloth to such an extent that damage is not caused by subsequent supply of hot water. Therefore, since the upper limit water supply amount and the lower limit water supply amount are represented by the dotted line and the two-dot chain line in the graph of FIG. 4, in the present embodiment, the graph of the water supply amount table 92 is represented by the upper limit water supply amount and the lower limit water supply amount. It is set to be within the range between straight lines representing the amount of water supply. As can be seen from this graph, the division of the water supply amount table 92 is not at regular intervals.

  The initial cold water supply amount calculation means 93 refers to the water supply amount table 92 and acquires an initial cold water supply amount corresponding to the measurement cloth amount, that is, an initial cold water supply time.

The water supply control means 94 opens the water supply valve 51a for the initial cold water supply time to perform initial cold water supply (hereinafter also referred to as pre-water supply) and alternately opens and closes the hot water supply valve 52a and the water supply valve 51a after pre-water supply. When driven, the temperature in the water tank 2, that is, the measured temperature T _m from the temperature sensor is within a certain temperature range suitable for washing (T _L ≦ T _m ≦ T _H ), and the measured water level from the water level sensor is predetermined. Main water is supplied to the water tank 2 until the water level is reached.

  Next, the water supply operation before the washing process in the washing machine configured as described above will be described in detail below with reference to FIGS. 5 and 6.

  First, the cloth amount measuring means 91 measures the cloth amount before water supply (step S1). As described above, the amount of cloth is measured from the rotational acceleration of the motor.

  Next, the initial cold water supply amount calculation means 93 acquires the measurement cloth amount, and determines the initial cold water supply time corresponding to the measurement cloth amount with reference to the water supply table 92 (step S2).

  Then, the water supply control means 94 opens the water supply valve 51a for the initial cold water supply time to perform pre-water supply (steps S3 to S5). Here, the drum 3 is further rotated for a predetermined time to perform initial cleaning (pre-cleaning) (steps S6 and S7). The above is the pre-water supply step.

  Next, the water supply control means 94 opens the hot water supply valve 52a (step S8). Then, it is determined whether or not the water level measured by the water level sensor, that is, the water level in the water tank 2 has reached the specified water level (step S9). If it has reached, the hot water supply valve 52a is driven to close (step S10), and the washing process is started (step S).

On the other hand, when the water tank 2 in the water level has not reached the predetermined water level, leave the hot water supply valve 52a left open, until the temperature in the water tank 2 rises to the upper limit temperature T _H, leads to hot water in the water tank 2 (Step S11, Step S8).

When the temperature in the water tank 2 reaches the upper limit temperature _{T H,} the water supply control means 94 is configured to drive close to the hot water supply valve 52a (step S12), and drive open the water supply valve 51a (step S13). Then, it is determined whether or not the water level in the water tank 2 has reached the specified water level (step S14). If it has reached, the water supply valve 51a is driven to close (step S15), and the washing process is started (step S18). .

On the other hand, when the water level in the water tank 2 has not reached the specified water level, the water supply valve 51a is left open and cold water is supplied into the water tank 2 until the temperature in the water tank 2 drops to the lower limit temperature _TL. Guide (steps S16, S13).

When the temperature in the water tank 2 reaches the lower limit temperature _{T L,} the water supply control means 94, the water supply valve 51a and closing drive (step S17), the flow returns to step S8 again.

  If this is the case, pre-water supply (initial cold water supply) of the amount of cold water corresponding to the amount of cloth is performed, so that when the amount of cloth is small, the pre-water supply ratio can be prevented from increasing. That is, since the pre-water supply amount can be suppressed to the minimum necessary level, it becomes easy to control the temperature by raising the washing water temperature during the subsequent main water supply.

  In particular, when the pre-water supply amount is 33% or more of the total water supply amount, the temperature of the washing water mixed at the standard water temperature (cold water 15 ° C, hot water 60 ° C) takes into account the heat capacity of the body and is ideal for detergents. In this embodiment, the water supply amount of the pre-feed water is set to a predetermined ratio or less (for example, about 30% or less) of the total water supply amount. The temperature can be adjusted to the optimum temperature for the detergent.

  On the other hand, since the shortage of pre-water supply can be prevented when the amount of cloth is large, clothing damage, protein coagulation, and the like due to insufficient pre-water supply can be suitably avoided.

  In addition, since the amount of cloth can be measured by information from a rotational speed sensor or the like that is already attached, this embodiment can be realized only by improving the software, resulting in an increase in cost and an increase in failure factors due to the addition of hardware such as a sensor. There is no.

  The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment. For example, instead of performing stepwise determination using the water supply amount table, an arithmetic expression may be stored, and the initial cold water supply amount may be calculated by substituting the measurement cloth amount into the arithmetic expression. An example of the expression in that case is represented by a graph as shown in FIG.

  Further, although the water supply amount is controlled by the water supply time, it is also possible to control the water supply amount by measuring with a flow meter or with a water level meter.

  In addition, the present invention can be variously modified without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

The typical internal structure figure of the washing machine which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. The functional block diagram of the control apparatus which concerns on the same embodiment. The table content figure which shows an example of the water supply amount table which concerns on the same embodiment. The graph which shows the water supply amount table which concerns on the same embodiment. The flowchart for demonstrating the water supply operation | movement which concerns on the same embodiment. The flowchart for demonstrating the water supply operation | movement which concerns on the same embodiment. The graph which shows the amount of water supply determined from the amount of cloths in other embodiments of the present invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 100 ... Washing machine 2 ... Water tank 51 ... Cold water supply means 52 ... Hot water supply means 91 ... Cloth amount measurement means 92 ... Water supply table 93 ... Initial cold water supply amount calculation means

Claims (4)

In a washing machine comprising hot water supply means and cold water supply means, and after supplying cold water for the first time, the hot water and cold water are supplied to the required amount of washing so that the water temperature in the aquarium becomes a set value.
Measure the amount of cloth before water supply by the cloth amount measuring means for measuring the amount of cloth in the water tank, and based on the measured cloth amount, to determine the initial cold water supply amount that is the initial cold water supply amount,
The washing machine according to claim 1, wherein the lower limit of the initial cold water supply amount is a necessary minimum amount of water that prevents direct contact of hot water supplied thereafter to the cloth .   It has a water supply amount table that pairs the range of each segment when the measurement cloth amount can be divided into a plurality of ranges and the initial cold water supply amount corresponding to each segment, and refers to the water supply table. The washing machine according to claim 1, wherein an initial cold water supply amount corresponding to the measurement cloth amount is determined. The washing machine according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the upper limit of the initial cold water supply amount is a water amount capable of maintaining the water temperature in the water tank when the required washing amount is supplied at a set value or more. A hot water supply means and a cold water supply means are provided for use in a washing machine that supplies hot water and cold water up to a required amount so that the water temperature in the aquarium becomes a set value after first supplying cold water,
Based on the measured cloth amount in the water tank measured by the cloth amount measuring means before water supply, the initial cold water supply amount that is the initial cold water supply amount is determined, and the lower limit of the initial cold water supply amount is set to the hot water supplied thereafter. A water supply program for a washing machine, which causes a computer to perform a function as an initial cold water supply amount calculation means for making a minimum required water supply amount to prevent direct contact with a cloth .