JP7316039B2 - washing machine - Google Patents

Description

Embodiments of the present invention relate to washing machines.

For example, the washing machine disclosed in Patent Document 1 includes, after a washing process for washing the clothes in the tank, a draining process for discharging the water in the tank, an intermediate dehydration process for dehydrating the clothes in the tank, and a washing process for rinsing the clothes in the tank. A rinsing process and a final dehydration process for dehydrating the clothes in the tub are sequentially executed.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2002-18185

By the way, a large amount of water has soaked into the clothes after the draining process, and the weight of each clothes has increased. Therefore, if the spin-drying process is executed in this state, the clothes tend to bounce as the tub rotates at high speed, which increases the load on the clothes, damages the clothes, and shakes the tub. Problems such as increased size and increased noise are more likely to occur.

In view of this, the present embodiment provides a washing machine that prevents the clothes from jumping in a process performed between the drain process and the subsequent dehydration process.

A washing machine according to the present embodiment includes a water tank, a rotating tank rotatably provided in the water tank, water supply means for supplying water into the water tank, rotation of the rotary tank and water supply operation by the water supply means. and a control means for controlling. The control means comprises a washing process for washing the clothes in the water tank, a draining process for discharging the water in the water tank used in the washing process, and a predetermined state in which the water supply operation by the water supply means is stopped. and a dehydration step of rotating at a rotation speed for dehydration of . In the step of preventing the clothes from jumping, a first rinsing operation is performed in which water is supplied to the edges of the rotating tub by the water supplying means while rotating the rotating tub, and then the water supplying operation by the water supplying means is stopped. In this state, a low-speed dehydration operation is performed in which the rotating tub is rotated at a low rotational speed that is lower than the dehydrating rotating speed, and then, while rotating the rotating tub, the water supply means is applied to the edge of the rotating tub. Further, before the dehydration step, the water supply means supplies a predetermined amount of water into the water tank to wash the clothes in the rotating tank. and a loosening operation for loosening the clothes in the rotating tub in the preliminary rinsing process, and when the clothes splash prevention process is executed, the loosening operation The contents are made different from those in the case where the clothes jump prevention process is not executed .

FIG. 2 is a longitudinal side view schematically showing a configuration example of the washing machine according to the present embodiment; 1 is a block diagram schematically showing a configuration example of a control system of a washing machine according to the present embodiment; FIG. The figure which shows roughly the content of the washing operation which concerns on this embodiment.

An embodiment of a washing machine will be described below with reference to the drawings. A washing machine 10 illustrated in FIG. 1 is a so-called vertical shaft type washing machine in which the rotating shaft of the rotating tub extends in the vertical direction. The washing machine 10 includes a water tub 12 and a rotating tub 13 inside a substantially rectangular box-shaped housing 11 that constitutes its outer shell. The water tank 12 has a bottomed cylindrical shape with an open top, and can store water inside. The rotating tub 13 has a bottomed cylindrical shape with an open top, and is rotatable inside the tub 12 . A large number of small holes are provided in the peripheral wall portion of the rotary tub 13 . A pulsator 13a is rotatably provided at the bottom of the rotary tub 13. As shown in FIG. The rotating tank 13 and the pulsator 13a are rotated by a driving device 14 provided at the bottom of the water tank 12. As shown in FIG. The driving device 14 includes, for example, a motor, a clutch mechanism, and the like.

The upper part of the housing 11 is provided with a clothes loading/unloading opening 11a for the user to load/unload clothes. The clothes loading/unloading opening 11a is opened facing the top of the water tub 12 and the rotating tub 13 . A lid 11b for opening and closing the clothes loading/unloading opening 11a is provided on the upper portion of the housing 11. As shown in FIG. The washing machine 10 according to the present embodiment does not have a lid provided on the top of the tub 12, that is, a so-called inner lid. is always open.

In addition, the washing machine 10 is provided with a water supply mechanism section 15 and a drainage mechanism section 16 . The water supply mechanism unit 15 is an example of water supply means, and includes a water supply valve 15a, a water injection case 15b, and the like in the middle of the water supply route. The water supply mechanism 15 can supply water supplied from an external water source into the water tank 12 by opening the water supply valve 15a. Further, the water supply mechanism section 15 includes a water supply port 15c capable of supplying water toward the inside of the water tank 12, in this case, toward the edge of the inside of the rotary tank 13. As shown in FIG. The drainage mechanism section 16 is an example of drainage means, and includes a drainage valve 16a and the like in the middle of the drainage path. The drain mechanism 16 can drain the water in the water tank 12 to the outside by opening the drain valve 16a.

Next, a configuration example of the control system of the washing machine 10 will be described. The control device 20 illustrated in FIG. 2 is an example of control means, and is mainly composed of a microcomputer, for example. By executing the control program, the control device 20 performs general operations of the washing machine 10, such as rotation of the rotary tub 13 and the pulsator 13a by the driving device 14, water supply by the water supply mechanism 15, and drainage by the drainage mechanism 16. to control. Specifically, the control device 20 controls driving of the driving device 14, the water supply valve 15a, the drain valve 16a, etc., so that the washing process for washing the clothes in the rotary tub 13, the rinsing process for rinsing the clothes in the rotary tub 13, etc. A series of washing operations including a dehydration process for dehydrating the clothes in the rotary tub 13 can be executed.

The washing machine 10 according to the present embodiment is designed to prevent the clothes in the rotating tub 13 from jumping between the draining process and the subsequent dehydrating process in the washing operation. ing. This point will be described in detail below.

As exemplified in FIG. 3, the control device 20 of the washing machine 10 performs a washing process for washing the clothes in the rotating tub 13, a draining process for discharging the water in the water tank 12, a clothes splash prevention process, and a first dehydration process. , a preliminary rinsing process, and a second dewatering process are sequentially executed.

Here, the washing process is performed by supplying a predetermined amount of water for washing into the water tub 12 from the water supply mechanism 15 and rotating the pulsator 13a at a predetermined rotational speed for washing while appropriately switching between the forward rotation direction and the reverse rotation direction. , are well-known processes for washing the clothes in the rotating tub 13 . It should be noted that the predetermined amount of water for washing can be appropriately changed and set according to, for example, the weight of the clothes accommodated in the rotating tub 13 and the set amount of water set by the user. Further, the predetermined rotation speed for washing can be appropriately changed and set according to, for example, the type of operation course set by the user.

The weight of the clothes contained in the rotating tub 13 is detected based on the fluctuation of the current value of the motor of the driving device 14 when the pulsator 13a is rotated at a predetermined rotation speed for weight detection, for example. Well-known methods such as a method of determining the weight and a method of using a weight measuring device for measuring fluctuations in the weight of the water tank 12 including the rotating tank 13 can be employed as appropriate.

The draining process is a process of discharging the water in the water tank 12 to the outside of the apparatus by opening the drain valve 16a while the water supply mechanism 15 stops supplying water to the water tank 12. FIG.

In the first dehydration process, the operation of supplying water into the water tank 12 by the water supply mechanism 15 is stopped, and the water in the water tank 12 is discharged to the outside of the apparatus, and the rotary tank 13 is rotated at a predetermined rotational speed for dehydration. This is a well-known process for dehydrating the clothes in the rotating tub 13 by rotating them in one direction. In this case, the predetermined rotation speed for dehydration in the first dehydration process is set at, for example, 700 rpm, which is higher than the predetermined rotation speed for washing.

In the second dehydration process, the operation of supplying water into the water tank 12 by the water supply mechanism 15 is stopped, and the water in the water tank 12 is discharged to the outside of the machine, and the rotary tank 13 is rotated at a predetermined rotational speed for dehydration. This is a well-known process for dehydrating the clothes in the rotating tub 13 by rotating them in one direction. In this case, the predetermined dehydration rotation speed in the second dehydration process is set at, for example, 700 rpm, which is the same as the predetermined dehydration rotation speed in the first dehydration process. The predetermined spin speed for dewatering in the second dewatering process may be a different spin speed from the predetermined spin speed for dewatering in the first dewatering process.

In the rinsing step, a predetermined amount of water for rinsing is supplied into the water tank 12 by the water supply mechanism 15, and the pulsator 13a is rotated at a predetermined rotational speed for rinsing while appropriately switching between the forward rotation direction and the reverse rotation direction. This is a well-known process for rinsing the clothes in the rotating tub 13 by washing. In this embodiment, the preliminary rinsing process is performed after the first dehydration process and before the second dehydration process, that is, between the first dehydration process and the second dehydration process. ing. The amount of water for preliminary rinsing can be changed and set as appropriate. For example, it may be the same amount of water as the predetermined amount of water for washing in the washing process, or it may be a different amount of water. Further, the predetermined rotation speed for rinsing can be changed and set as appropriate. For example, it may be set to the same rotation speed as the predetermined rotation speed for washing in the washing process, or may be set to a different rotation speed.

Further, the control device 20 is configured to be able to perform a loosening operation for loosening the clothes in the rotary tub 13 in the preliminary rinsing process. The loosening operation is performed, for example, by rotating the pulsator 13a at a predetermined rotational speed for loosening operation while appropriately switching between forward and reverse rotation directions while a predetermined amount of water for loosening operation is stored in the water tank 12. This is a well-known operation for loosening the clothes in tub 13 . The amount of water for the predetermined loosening operation can be appropriately changed and set, and the rotation speed for the predetermined loosening operation can be appropriately changed and set. In addition, the control device 20 is configured to be able to appropriately switch whether or not to perform this loosening operation.

Further, in the present embodiment, the clothes splash prevention process is executed after the above-described draining process and before the first spin-drying process, that is, between the draining process and the first spin-drying process. It's becoming Next, this clothing jump prevention process will be described. The clothes jumping prevention process is a process including a first rinsing operation, a low-speed dehydration operation, and a second rinsing operation.

The first rinsing operation is an operation in which water is supplied to the inside of the rotary tub 13 , especially to the edge of the rotary tub 13 by the water supply mechanism 15 while rotating the rotary tub 13 in the normal direction or the reverse direction. By supplying water to the edge of the rotating tub 13, the clothes in the rotating tub 13, especially the clothing existing at the edge of the rotating tub 13, can be pressed from above by the supplied water. Also, the clothes in the rotating tub 13 can be soaked with water to increase the weight. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the clothes from jumping as the rotary tub 13 rotates.

The low-speed dehydration operation is an operation performed after the first rinsing operation, and is an operation of rotating the rotary tub 13 in one direction at a low rotational speed while the water supply operation by the water supply mechanism 15 is stopped. The low-speed rotation speed can be appropriately changed and set to a rotation speed lower than the dehydration rotation speed in the first dehydration process and the dehydration rotation speed in the second dehydration process. In this embodiment, for example, 400 rpm is set as the low rotational speed. According to the low-speed dehydration operation in which the rotary tub 13 rotates at a low speed in this manner, the external force acting on the clothes can be reduced more than in the first dehydration process and the second dehydration process described above. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the clothes from jumping as the rotary tub 13 rotates.

The second rinsing operation is an operation performed after the low-speed dehydration process, in which the inside of the rotary tub 13, particularly the edge of the rotary tub 13, is rinsed by the water supply mechanism 15 while the rotary tub 13 is rotated in the forward or reverse direction. This is the action of supplying water to the By supplying water to the edge of the rotating tub 13, the clothes in the rotating tub 13, especially the clothes that are unevenly distributed at the edge of the rotating tub 13 due to the above-described low-speed dehydration operation, are removed from the rotating tub 13. You can push it back toward the center. Therefore, the state in which the clothes are biased toward the edge of the rotary tub 13 is eliminated, and it is possible to prevent the clothes from jumping as the rotary tub 13 rotates.

According to the washing machine 10 according to this embodiment, the control device 20 is configured to execute the clothes splash prevention process between the draining process and the first spin-drying process. Then, in the clothes jumping prevention process, the control device 20 performs the first rinsing operation, then the low-speed dehydration operation, and then the second rinsing operation.

In the first rinsing operation, as described above, the clothes in the rotary tub 13 can be pressed from above by the supplied water, so that the clothes are prevented from jumping as the rotary tub 13 rotates. be able to. In addition, in the low-speed dehydration operation, as described above, the external force acting on the clothes in the rotary tub 13 can be reduced, so that it is possible to prevent the clothes from jumping as the rotary tub 13 rotates. can be done. In addition, in the second rinsing operation, as described above, the water supplied into the rotary tub 13 can eliminate the state in which the clothes are biased toward the edges of the rotary tub 13. Therefore, as the rotary tub 13 rotates, It is possible to suppress the clothing from exhibiting a jumping behavior.

As described above, according to the clothes jumping prevention process, it is possible to dehydrate the clothes after the draining process while preventing the clothes from jumping as the rotary tub 13 rotates. That is, according to the washing machine 10 of the present embodiment, it is possible to prevent the clothes from jumping in the process performed between the draining process and the subsequent first spin-drying process.

Washing machine 10 may be configured to perform the step of preventing clothes from jumping when the weight of clothes in rotating tub 13 is equal to or greater than a predetermined reference weight. That is, as the amount of clothes stored in the rotary tub 13 increases, the clothes tend to jump as the rotary tub 13 rotates. is also of concern. Therefore, when the weight of the clothes in the rotary tub 13 is equal to or greater than a predetermined reference amount, that is, when the amount of clothes in the rotary tub 13 is large, the step of preventing the clothes from jumping is executed to prevent the clothes from jumping. It is possible to effectively utilize the effect of the prevention process, that is, the effect of suppressing the jumping behavior of the clothes. The predetermined reference amount may be changed as appropriate, for example, by setting a capacity close to the maximum capacity, which is the upper limit of the weight of clothes that can be accommodated in the rotating tub 13, for example, setting a capacity of about 60 to 80% of the maximum capacity. can be set as

Further, in the washing machine 10, the contents of the first rinsing operation and the contents of the second rinsing operation may be different in the clothes jumping prevention process. Specifically, the rotation speed, rotation direction, amount of water supplied by the water supply mechanism 15, execution time, etc. of the rotary tub 13 in the first rinsing operation and the second rinsing operation may be made different from each other. Here, in the second rinsing operation, in preparation for the subsequent first dehydration process, it is required to sufficiently eliminate unevenness of the clothes in the rotating tub 13 . Therefore, the rotation speed of the rotary tub 13 in the second rinsing operation is set lower than that in the first rinsing operation, the amount of water supply in the second rinsing operation is set higher than that in the first rinsing operation, and the execution time of the second rinsing operation is It is effective to make the execution time of the first rinsing operation longer than that of the first rinsing operation, or to change the direction of rotation of the rotary tub 13 between the first rinsing operation and the second rinsing operation.

Further, when the washing machine 10 executes the clothes jumping prevention process, the contents of the loosening operation in the rinsing process may be different from those when the clothes jumping prevention process is not executed. Specifically, the rotation speed and rotation direction of the pulsator 13a, the amount of water supplied by the water supply mechanism 15, the execution time, etc. of the loosening operation are made different between when the clothes jumping prevention process is executed and when it is not executed. It is better to Here, when the clothes jumping prevention process is executed, since the rinsing operation has been performed a plurality of times, the tangling of the clothes in the rotary tub 13 is relatively reduced. Further, in the subsequent second dehydration process, if the clothes are unraveled, the clothes may jump out, so it is preferable that the clothes are properly entangled. Therefore, when the clothes jumping prevention process is executed, the rotation speed of the pulsator 13a in the loosening operation is set to be lower than that in the case where the clothes jumping prevention process is not executed, or the execution time of the loosening operation is set to the clothes jumping prevention process. It is effective to make the pulsator 13a shorter than when it is not used or to rotate the pulsator 13a in a single direction during the loosening operation. Further, the washing machine 10 may not perform the loosening operation in the rinsing process when the clothes jumping prevention process is performed.

The present embodiment is not limited to the one embodiment described above, and various modifications and extensions can be made without departing from the scope of the present embodiment. For example, the washing machine 10 may perform the clothes splash prevention process multiple times between the draining process and the first spin-drying process. Moreover, the water supply into the rotating tub 13 in the first rinsing operation and the second rinsing operation may be performed in a shower-like manner. Further, the water supply into the rotating tub 13 in the first rinsing operation and the second rinsing operation may be performed toward other than the edge portion of the rotating tub 13 . Moreover, the washing machine 10 may be configured to include an inner lid.

The embodiments are presented as examples and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention. These novel embodiments can be implemented in various other forms, and various omissions, replacements, and modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the invention. This embodiment and its modifications are included in the scope and gist of the invention, and are included in the scope of the invention described in the claims and its equivalents.

In the drawing, 10 is a washing machine, 12 is a water tub, 13 is a rotating tub, 13a is a pulsator, 15 is a water supply mechanism (water supply means), and 20 is a controller (control means).

Claims (3)

a water tank;
a rotating tank rotatably provided in the water tank;
a water supply means for supplying water into the water tank;
a control means for controlling the rotation of the rotating tub and the water supply operation by the water supply means;
The control means is
a washing process for washing the clothes in the water tank; a draining process for discharging the water in the water tank used in the washing process; and a dehydration process of rotating the clothes in the second step, and between the drain process and the dehydration process, the clothes jumping preventing process is executed following the draining process, and the clothes jumping During the preventive process,
performing a first rinsing operation of supplying water to an edge portion in the rotating tub by the water supply means while rotating the rotating tub;
Thereafter, performing a low-speed dehydration operation in which the rotating tub is rotated at a low-speed rotation speed lower than the dehydration rotation speed in a state in which the water supply operation by the water supply means is stopped,
After that, it is configured to perform a second rinsing operation of supplying water to the edge portion in the rotating tub by the water supply means while rotating the rotating tub,
Further, before the dehydration step, a predetermined amount of water is supplied into the water tank by the water supply means to perform a rinsing step for rinsing the clothes in the rotating tub, The washing machine is configured to be able to perform a loosening operation for loosening the clothes, and when the clothes jumping preventing process is executed, the contents of the loosening operation are different from those when the clothes jumping preventing process is not executed. . 2. The washing machine according to claim 1, wherein said control means executes said step of preventing clothes from jumping when the weight of clothes in said rotating tub is equal to or greater than a predetermined amount. The washing machine according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the control means makes the operation contents of the first rinsing operation and the contents of the second rinsing operation different.

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