JP6663061B2 - washing machine - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a washing machine for washing an object to be washed such as tableware.

  For example, in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H11-163, the object to be cleaned is sprayed from a cleaning shower arm rotatably provided above and below a rack accommodating tableware (the object to be cleaned) toward the object to be cleaned. Disclosed is a dishwasher for washing and further washing the washing liquid attached to an object to be washed by spraying rinsing water toward the object to be washed from the rinse shower arm provided coaxially and rotatably with the washing shower arm. ing.

  On the other hand, Patent Literature 2 below discloses a washing machine for cleaning an object to be cleaned such as tableware, similarly to Patent Literature 1 described above. This washing machine accommodates a rectangular rack accommodating an object to be cleaned inside, and sprays rinsing water toward the object to be cleaned from a shower arm rotatably provided above and below the rectangular rack. As a result, the cleaning liquid attached to the object to be cleaned is washed away. Although not sufficiently described in Patent Literature 1, the washing machine of Patent Literature 2 also rotates a shower arm (washing shower arm) to apply a cleaning liquid to an object to be cleaned, similarly to the dishwasher of Patent Literature 1. Inject.

JP 2003-204914 A JP 2005-245754 A

  By the way, when the object to be cleaned accommodated in the rectangular rack of Patent Document 2 is cleaned by the cleaning shower arm of Patent Document 1, the cleaning shower arm rotates to spray a cleaning liquid onto a circular area (cleaning area). Therefore, if the cleaning liquid is sprayed over the entire area of the square rack, the cleaning liquid that does not contribute to cleaning the object to be cleaned is wasted. An essential cause of such waste of the cleaning liquid is that the shape (rectangular) of the square rack is different from the shape (circular) of the cleaning area.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and has as its object to provide a cleaning machine capable of eliminating or reducing waste of a cleaning liquid.

  In order to achieve the above object, according to the present invention, as a first solution, an upper cleaning shower arm positioned above an object to be cleaned and injecting a cleaning liquid downward, and an upper cleaning arm positioned below the object to be cleaned and A lower cleaning shower arm for injecting a cleaning liquid toward the upper cleaning shower arm and a cleaning liquid supply mechanism for supplying a cleaning liquid to the lower cleaning shower arm, and the upper cleaning shower arm and the lower cleaning shower arm in a horizontal direction. A washing drive mechanism for reciprocating, and a rectangular rack having a rectangular shape in a front view containing an object to be washed is housed in the washing room with the front side facing upward, and the reciprocating movement is performed in the horizontal direction. A washing machine for washing by spraying a washing liquid from the upper washing shower arm and the lower washing shower arm toward the square rack, wherein the upper washing shower arm is The lower cleaning shower is provided above the square rack in parallel with one side of the rectangular shape of the square rack in a front view and provided so as to extend over two sides of the square rack in a direction orthogonal to the one side. The arm is provided below the rectangular rack in parallel with the one side and is provided so as to extend across two sides of the rectangular rack in a direction orthogonal to the one side, and the upper cleaning shower arm and the lower cleaning shower are provided. The arm is reciprocated in the horizontal direction orthogonal to the one side by the cleaning drive mechanism.Before the reciprocation starts, the arm is at a cleaning home position located outside the square rack in a top view. Means to be arranged.

  As a second solution, in the first means, the upper cleaning shower arm and the lower cleaning shower arm are finally stopped at the cleaning home position when the cleaning processing of the object to be cleaned is completed. Is adopted.

  As a third solution, in the above first or second means, an upper rinsing shower arm positioned above the object to be cleaned and injecting rinsing water downward, and an upper rinsing shower arm positioned below the object to be cleaned and upward. A lower rinsing shower arm for injecting rinsing water toward the rinsing water, a rinsing water supply mechanism for supplying rinsing water to the upper rinsing shower arm and the lower rinsing shower arm, and a horizontal rinsing shower arm and a lower rinsing shower arm. A rinsing drive mechanism for reciprocating in a direction, wherein the upper rinsing shower arm is provided above the square rack in parallel with one side of the rectangular shape of the square rack in a front view and in a direction orthogonal to the one side. And the lower rinse shower arm is provided so as to extend over two sides of the square rack. The upper rinse shower arm and the lower rinse shower arm are provided so as to be provided in parallel with the one side and extend across two sides of the square rack in a direction perpendicular to the one side, and the rinse drive mechanism is provided with the rinse drive mechanism, The reciprocating movement is performed in a horizontal direction perpendicular to one side, and before the reciprocating movement is started, a means is disposed at a rinsing home position located outside the square rack when viewed from above.

  As a fourth solution, in the above-mentioned third means, the upper rinsing shower arm and the lower rinsing shower arm are finally stopped at the rinsing home position when the rinsing process of the object to be cleaned is completed. Is adopted.

  As a fifth solution, in the above third or fourth means, the upper cleaning shower arm and the lower cleaning shower arm, and the upper rinsing shower arm and the lower rinsing shower arm are arranged to face each other in the horizontal direction. Has been adopted.

  As a sixth solution, in any one of the above third to fifth means, the upper cleaning shower arm and the lower cleaning shower arm, and the upper rinsing shower arm and the lower rinsing shower arm are angled in a top view. Means of moving over the entire area of the mold rack is adopted.

  According to the cleaning machine of the present invention, it is possible to eliminate or reduce the waste of the cleaning liquid.

It is a mimetic diagram showing the whole washing machine composition concerning one embodiment of the present invention. In the washing machine according to one embodiment of the present invention, a schematic diagram (a) showing the positional relationship between the washing shower arm and the square rack viewed from the front side and the positional relationship between the washing shower arm and the square rack seen from above are shown. (B).

Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
The washing machine according to the present embodiment is a dishwasher in which the dishes S are to be washed (objects to be washed). As shown in FIG. 1, this washing machine has a vertically long and box-shaped outer shape, and an upper inside space is divided into a washing room As and a lower inside space is divided into a machine room Ak.

  Each of the washing room As and the machine room Ak has a substantially box-shaped (cubic) shape. Although not shown, a flip-up type opening / closing door is provided in front of the cleaning room As. By moving the opening / closing door upward, the inside of the washing room As is opened to the outside, and in this opened state, the rectangular rack R accommodating the tableware S can be put in and out of the washing room As.

  The square rack R is a rectangular resin-made or metal-made container as viewed from the front, and is housed in the washing room As with the front side facing upward. As shown in FIG. 2, the square rack R is a box-shaped (cubic) shape having a relatively low height, and accommodates a plurality of tableware S from the front side as shown in FIG. It is. That is, as shown in FIG. 2B, when viewed from the front (when viewed from above), the rectangular rack R is parallel to the rear end side r1 and the front end side r2 and the rear end side r1 and the front end. It has a left end r3 and a right end r4 orthogonal to the side r2. Although not shown, such a square rack R is held in a state shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 by a support provided in the cleaning chamber As.

  A cleaning shower arm 1, a rinsing shower arm 2, and a pair of drive mechanisms 3 and 3 are provided in the cleaning room As in which such a square rack R is stored. As shown in FIG. 2A, the washing shower arm 1 has a mouth-shaped tube large enough to contain the square rack R and the tableware S when viewing the inside of the washing room As from the front side (opening / closing door side). Road.

  In other words, the washing shower arm 1 has a pair of vertical pipe sections 1a, 1a that face each other in parallel at a slightly wider interval than the width of the rectangular rack R and extend linearly with a predetermined length in the vertical direction. An upper pipe section 1b is provided so as to extend over the pair of vertical pipe sections 1a, 1a and extends in the horizontal direction, and is provided so as to cross over the lower ends of the pair of vertical pipe sections 1a, 1a. And a lower pipeline portion 1c extending in the horizontal direction.

  The pair of vertical pipelines 1a, 1a are located on the left and right of the square rack R and the tableware S when viewing the inside of the washing room As from the front side, and the upper pipeline 1b is located on the square rack R and the tableware. S, and the lower pipeline 1c is located below the square rack R and the tableware S. The upper pipeline portion 1b and the lower pipeline portion 1c are provided in parallel with the rear end side r1 and the front end side r2 of the rectangular rack R as shown in FIG.

  In addition, nozzle holes are provided at predetermined intervals in the upper pipeline portion 1b and the lower pipeline portion 1c. That is, a plurality of nozzle holes for spraying the cleaning liquid downwardly where the square rack R and the tableware S are located are formed in the upper pipeline 1b located above the square rack R and the tableware S. On the other hand, a plurality of nozzle holes for ejecting the cleaning liquid upward above the rectangular rack R and the tableware S are formed in the lower pipeline 1c located below the rectangular rack R and the tableware S. Such an upper pipe section 1b is an upper cleaning shower arm in the present embodiment, and the lower pipe section 1c is a lower cleaning shower arm in the present embodiment.

  The rinsing shower arm 2 is formed in the same shape as the washing shower arm 1, and includes a square rack R and tableware S when viewing the inside of the washing room As from the front side, as shown in FIG. It is a mouth-shaped pipe of a size that can be used.

  That is, the rinsing shower arm 2 has a pair of vertical pipe sections 2a, 2a that face each other in parallel at a slightly wider interval than the width of the square rack R and extend linearly with a predetermined length in the vertical direction. The upper pipeline section 2b is provided to extend over the upper ends of the vertical pipeline sections 2a, 2a and extends horizontally, and is provided so as to extend to the lower ends of the pair of vertical pipeline sections 2a, 2a. And a lower pipeline portion 2c extending in the horizontal direction.

  The pair of vertical pipelines 2a, 2a are located on the left and right of the square rack R and the tableware S when viewing the inside of the washing room As from the front side, and the upper pipeline 2b is located on the square rack R and the tableware. S, and the lower pipeline 2c is located below the square rack R and the tableware S. The upper pipeline section 2b and the lower pipeline section 2c are provided in parallel to the rear end side r1 and the front end side r2 of the rectangular rack R as shown in FIG.

  In addition, nozzle holes are provided at predetermined intervals in the upper pipe section 2b and the lower pipe section 2c. That is, a plurality of nozzle holes for injecting rinsing water downward are formed in the upper pipeline 2b located above the square rack R and the tableware S, where the square rack R and the tableware S are located. . On the other hand, a plurality of nozzle holes for spraying rinsing water upward above the square rack R and the tableware S are formed in the lower pipeline 2c located below the square rack R and the tableware S. . Such an upper pipe section 2b is an upper rinse shower arm in the present embodiment. The lower conduit 2c is the lower rinse shower arm in the present embodiment.

  The pair of drive mechanisms 3 and 3 support the cleaning shower arm 1 and the rinsing shower arm 2 in the above-described position and posture state, and reciprocate while maintaining the states. That is, as shown in FIG. 2A, the pair of drive mechanisms 3 and 3 are provided on the right and right sides of the washing shower arm 1 and the rinsing shower arm 2, and support the right and right sides. As shown in FIG. 2B, the cleaning shower arm 1 and the rinsing shower arm 2 are reciprocated in the front-rear direction.

  Such a pair of drive mechanisms 3, 3 is, for example, a ball screw mechanism. Further, such a pair of drive mechanisms 3 and 3 is a cleaning drive mechanism and a rinse drive mechanism in the present embodiment.

  The machine room Ak is provided with a cleaning tank 4, a cleaning liquid pump 5, a rinsing water tank 6, a rinsing water pump 7, and the like. The cleaning tank 4 is located below the cleaning chamber As and stores the cleaning liquid collected from the cleaning chamber As. At the inlet of the cleaning liquid in the cleaning tank 4, a filter for filtering food residues attached to the tableware S is provided. That is, the cleaning liquid stored in the cleaning tank 4 is one in which food residues have been substantially removed by the filter.

  The cleaning liquid pump 5 is a pump that pumps the cleaning liquid stored in the cleaning tank 4 from the cleaning tank 4 and supplies the cleaning liquid to the cleaning shower arm 1. That is, the amount of the cleaning liquid injected from the cleaning shower arm 1 toward the tableware S is defined by the rotation speed of the cleaning liquid pump 5. The cleaning tank 4 and the cleaning liquid pump 5 are a cleaning liquid supply mechanism in the present embodiment.

  The rinsing bath 6 heats tap water (normal temperature water) supplied from the outside to form rinsing bath and stores a predetermined amount of the rinsing bath. The rinsing water pump 7 is a pump that draws rinsing water from the rinsing bath 6 and supplies the rinsing water to the rinsing shower arm 2. That is, the amount of rinse water injected from rinse shower arm 2 toward tableware S is defined by the rotation speed of rinse water pump 7.

  Although not shown, the washing machine according to the present embodiment includes an operation unit that receives a user's operation instruction, and a pair of driving mechanisms 3 and 3 and a cleaning liquid pump 5 based on the operation instruction input to the operation unit. And a control unit for controlling the rinse water pump 7 and the like. The washing machine according to the present embodiment performs the washing process on the tableware S and performs the rinsing process on the washed tableware S by operating the control unit based on the operation instruction of the user. The control unit is a software control unit that operates according to a predetermined control program.

  The above is the schematic configuration of the cleaning machine according to the present embodiment. Hereinafter, the operation of the cleaning machine, that is, the cleaning operation and the rinsing operation will be described.

  When cleaning the tableware S with the cleaning machine, the user opens the opening / closing door to store the rectangular rack R containing the tableware S in the cleaning room As in the state shown in FIG. 1. Then, when the user shifts the opening / closing door to the closed state, the user inputs a washing start instruction to the washing machine by operating the operation unit.

  As a result, the washing machine operates the pair of driving mechanisms 3 and 3 and the washing liquid pump 5 to wash the tableware S in the square rack R. That is, when a cleaning start instruction is input from the operation unit, the control unit of the cleaning machine first activates the cleaning liquid pump 5 to supply the cleaning shower arm 1 with the cleaning liquid. Then, the control unit activates the pair of drive mechanisms 3 at the time when a predetermined time has elapsed from the start of the operation of the cleaning liquid pump 5.

  Such a time lag (delay) between the start of the operation of the cleaning liquid pump 5 and the start of the operation of the pair of drive mechanisms 3 is caused by the fact that the cleaning liquid is actually injected from the cleaning shower arm 1 after the operation of the cleaning liquid pump 5 starts. This is because there is a time delay before the operation is completed. That is, in the cleaning machine, the reciprocating motion of the cleaning shower arm 1 is started after the cleaning liquid has been jetted from the cleaning shower arm 1.

  Here, the position (cleaning home position) of the cleaning shower arm 1 before the start of the reciprocation is the rearmost position in the cleaning chamber As as shown by the solid line in FIG. 1 and the two-dot chain line in FIG. . When the pair of drive mechanisms 3 and 3 starts operating, the cleaning shower arm 1 starts moving forward from the cleaning home position at a predetermined speed, and is rinsed as shown by a two-dot chain line in FIG. The movement is stopped slightly before the shower arm 2 and turned back toward the cleaning home position.

  That is, as shown in FIG. 2B, the cleaning shower arm 1 moves over the entire area from the rear end side r1 to the front end side r2 of the rectangular rack R. As a result, the cleaning liquid is thoroughly sprayed onto the tableware S in the square rack R. In addition, since the washing shower arm 1 moves in parallel to the rear end r1 and the front end r2 of the rectangular rack R having a rectangular shape in a front view, the washing liquid can be sprayed onto the tableware S in the rectangular rack R without waste. it can. Therefore, according to the cleaning machine of the present embodiment, it is possible to eliminate or reduce the waste of the cleaning liquid.

  When the cleaning process of the tableware S is completed, the cleaning shower arm 1 finally moves to the cleaning home position and stops. The washing shower arm 1 repeats a reciprocating movement a plurality of times from the start of the movement of the washing shower arm 1 to the end of the movement. The number of the reciprocating movement can be appropriately set by the operation unit. That is, the number of the reciprocating movements is appropriately set according to the degree of the user's request for the cleaning quality.

  When the washing process of the tableware S is completed in this way, the washing machine operates the pair of drive mechanisms 3 and 3 and the rinsing water pump 7 to perform the rinsing process on the tableware S in the square rack R. That is, the control unit of the washing machine causes the rinse water to be supplied to the rinse shower arm 2 by first operating the rinse water pump 7. Then, the control unit activates the pair of drive mechanisms 3 and 3 when a predetermined time has elapsed from the start of the operation of the rinse water pump 7.

  Such a time lag (delay) between the start of the operation of the rinse water pump 7 and the start of the operation of the pair of drive mechanisms 3 and 3 is caused by the fact that the rinse water is actually supplied from the rinse arm 2 after the operation of the rinse water pump 7 starts. This is because there is a time delay before the fuel is injected. That is, in the washing machine, the reciprocating motion of the rinse shower arm 2 is started after the rinse water is jetted from the rinse shower arm 2.

  Here, the position (rinse home position) of the rinse shower arm 2 before the start of the reciprocating motion is the forefront in the cleaning room As as shown by a solid line in FIGS. 1 and 2B. When the pair of drive mechanisms 3 and 3 starts operating, the rinse shower arm 2 starts moving backward from the rinse home position at a predetermined speed, stops moving slightly before the cleaning shower arm 1, and stops the rinse home. Turn back to the position.

  That is, the rinsing shower arm 2 moves over the entire region from the rear end to the front end of the square rack R. As a result, the rinse water is sprayed onto the square rack R and the tableware S without any excess. In addition, since the rinse shower arm 2 moves parallel to the rear end r1 and the front end r2 of the rectangular rack R having a rectangular shape in a front view, the rinse water can be sprayed onto the tableware S in the rectangular rack R without waste. Can be. Therefore, according to the washing machine according to the present embodiment, it is possible to eliminate or reduce waste of the rinse water.

Note that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and for example, the following modified examples can be considered.
(1) In the above embodiment, the cleaning shower arm 1 and the rinsing shower arm 2 are configured as mouth-shaped conduits, but the present invention is not limited to this. The upper pipeline section 1b and the lower pipeline section 1c, and the upper pipeline section 2b and the lower pipeline section 2c may be individual pipelines. In addition to this, various forms can be considered for the forms of the washing shower arm 1 and the rinsing shower arm 2.

(2) In the above embodiment, the pair of drive mechanisms 3, 3 are provided on the left and right sides of the cleaning shower arm 1 and the rinsing shower arm 2, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, two pairs of drive mechanisms 3 and 3 may be provided above and below the washing shower arm 1 and the rinsing shower arm 2 or both above.

(3) In the above embodiment, the ball screw mechanism is used as the pair of drive mechanisms 3 and 3. However, as described above, the food residue adheres to the tableware S, and the food residue is cleaned by spraying the cleaning liquid. There is a possibility of scattering in the room As. As a result, it is conceivable that a food residue enters the inside of the ball screw mechanism during the cleaning process, and the ball screw mechanism does not operate normally. In order to avoid such a situation, it is preferable to provide a predetermined sealing mechanism in the ball screw mechanism to prevent food residue from entering. This seal mechanism is also useful for preventing the lubricating oil in the ball screw mechanism from leaking into the cleaning chamber As.

(4) In the above-described embodiment, it is conceivable that vibration is generated when the cleaning shower arm 1 and the rinsing shower arm 2 reciprocate. In order to suppress the generation of the vibration, the cleaning shower arm 1 and the rinsing shower arm 2 are required. It is preferable to reduce the moving speed as much as possible, or to make the moving speed before and after turning back lower than other moving speeds.

  As: washing room, Ak: machine room, S: tableware, R: square rack, 1: washing shower arm (washing liquid jetting means), 2: rinsing shower arm, 3: drive mechanism, 4: washing tank, 5: washing liquid Pump, 6 ... Rinse bath, 7 ... Rinse pump

Claims (6)

An upper cleaning shower arm which is located above the object to be cleaned and injects the cleaning liquid downward,
A lower cleaning shower arm which is located below the object to be cleaned and sprays the cleaning liquid upward,
A cleaning liquid supply mechanism for supplying a cleaning liquid to the upper cleaning shower arm and the lower cleaning shower arm,
A cleaning drive mechanism for horizontally reciprocating the upper cleaning shower arm and the lower cleaning shower arm,
A rectangular rack having a rectangular shape in a front view and containing an object to be washed is housed in a washing room with the front side facing upward, and the upper and lower washing shower arms which are reciprocated horizontally in the horizontal direction. A washing machine for washing by spraying a washing liquid toward the square rack,
The upper washing shower arm is provided above the square rack in parallel with one side of the rectangular shape of the square rack in a front view, and extends across two sides of the square rack in a direction orthogonal to the one side. Provided,
The lower cleaning shower arm is provided so as to be parallel to the one side below the square rack and is provided so as to extend across two sides of the square rack in a direction orthogonal to the one side,
The upper cleaning shower arm and the lower cleaning shower arm are reciprocated in the horizontal direction perpendicular to the one side by the cleaning drive mechanism, and before the start of the reciprocating motion, the square type in a top view. A washing machine which is arranged at a washing home position located outside a rack.   2. The cleaning machine according to claim 1, wherein the upper cleaning shower arm and the lower cleaning shower arm are finally stopped at the cleaning home position when the cleaning processing of the object to be cleaned is completed. An upper rinsing shower arm located above the object to be cleaned and injecting rinsing water downward;
A lower rinse shower arm that is located below the object to be cleaned and injects rinsing water upward,
A rinse water supply mechanism for supplying rinse water to the upper rinse shower arm and the lower rinse shower arm,
A rinse drive mechanism for reciprocating the upper rinse shower arm and the lower rinse shower arm in a horizontal direction, further comprising:
The upper rinsing shower arm is provided above the rectangular rack in parallel with one side of the rectangular shape of the rectangular rack in a front view and provided so as to extend across two sides of the rectangular rack in a direction orthogonal to the one side. And
The lower rinse shower arm is provided so as to be parallel to the one side below the square rack and is provided so as to extend over two sides of the square rack in a direction orthogonal to the one side,
The upper rinsing shower arm and the lower rinsing shower arm are reciprocated in the horizontal direction perpendicular to the one side by the rinsing drive mechanism. The washing machine according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the washing machine is arranged at a rinsing home position located outside the rack.   The washing machine according to claim 3, wherein the upper rinsing shower arm and the lower rinsing shower arm are finally stopped at the rinsing home position after the rinsing process of the object to be cleaned is completed.   The washing machine according to claim 3 or 4, wherein the upper washing shower arm and the lower washing shower arm, and the upper rinsing shower arm and the lower rinsing shower arm are arranged to face each other in the horizontal direction. . The upper cleaning shower arm and the lower cleaning shower arm, and the upper rinsing shower arm and the lower rinsing shower arm move over the entire area of the rectangular rack when viewed from above, according to Claims 3 to 5, wherein: The washing machine according to any one of the preceding claims.

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