JP7442126B2 - drum type washing machine - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a drum type washing machine. Such a drum-type washing machine may be one that performs washing to drying continuously, or may be one that performs washing but does not perform drying.

Conventionally, in a drum-type washing machine, a horizontal shaft type drum is disposed in an outer tub, and the rotation of the drum performs a washing operation including a washing process, a rinsing process, and a dewatering process. In the dewatering process, the drum rotates at high speed in one direction and the laundry is dehydrated. In order to suppress vibrations during dewatering, the outer tank is elastically supported by suspensions on both left and right sides (see Patent Document 1).

Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2016-152862

When the drum rotates in the dewatering process, of the suspensions on both the left and right sides, the suspension on the rotation direction side, for example, when the drum rotates to the right, the load on the right suspension becomes greater than the suspension on the opposite side.

In conventional drum-type washing machines, the direction of rotation of the drum during the spin-drying process is always constant. For this reason, during dehydration, the suspension that bears a heavy load is always the same, and the life of that suspension tends to be shortened. When the suspension reaches the end of its lifespan, washing operations will no longer be possible, and the suspension will need to be replaced. Therefore, the problem with conventional drum-type washing machines is that the period until the suspension needs to be replaced tends to be shortened.

In particular, in large drum-type washing machines installed in laundromats and the like, the outer tub becomes heavy and the load placed on the suspension increases, so the above-mentioned problems are likely to occur.

The present invention has been made in view of such problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a drum-type washing machine that can prolong the period until the suspension needs to be replaced.

A first aspect of the present invention relates to a drum-type washing machine that performs a washing operation including a washing process, a rinsing process, and a dehydrating process. The drum-type washing machine according to this aspect includes: an outer tub disposed within a housing; a drum disposed within the outer tub and rotatable around a horizontal axis or a rotating shaft tilted with respect to the horizontal direction; The tank includes a suspension that supports both left and right sides of the outer tank when the tank is viewed from the front, and a control section. When the washing operation is completed, the control unit increments the number of washing operations, and when the number of washing operations reaches a reference number, the number of rotations of the drum in the dehydration process is set to a predetermined number of dehydration rotations. The direction of rotation of the drum after it is started up until the end of the dehydration step is switched to be opposite to the direction of rotation in the dehydration step up to that point.

According to the above configuration, it is possible to replace the suspensions at the timing when both the left and right suspensions reach the end of their service life. This makes it possible to lengthen the period until the suspension needs to be replaced.
Furthermore, the control process for switching the rotational direction of the drum becomes simple and easy.

A second aspect of the present invention relates to a drum-type washing machine that performs a washing operation including a washing process, a rinsing process, and a dehydrating process. The drum-type washing machine according to this aspect includes: an outer tub disposed within a housing; a drum disposed within the outer tub and rotatable around a horizontal axis or a rotating shaft tilted with respect to the horizontal direction; The tank includes a suspension that supports both left and right sides of the outer tank when the tank is viewed from the front, and a control section. The control unit increments the number of times of the dehydration step when the dehydration step is completed, and when the number of times of the dehydration step reaches a predetermined number of times, the number of rotations of the drum in the dehydration step is set to a predetermined number of rotations of the dehydration step. The direction of rotation of the drum after it is started up until the end of the dehydration step is switched to be opposite to the direction of rotation in the dehydration step up to that point.

According to the above configuration, it is possible to replace the suspensions at the timing when both the left and right suspensions reach the end of their service life. This makes it possible to lengthen the period until the suspension needs to be replaced.
Furthermore, the control process for switching the rotational direction of the drum becomes simple and easy.

A third aspect of the present invention relates to a drum-type washing machine that performs a washing operation including a washing process, a rinsing process, and a dehydrating process. The drum-type washing machine according to this aspect includes: an outer tub disposed within a housing; a drum disposed within the outer tub and rotatable around a horizontal axis or a rotating shaft tilted with respect to the horizontal direction; The tank includes a suspension that supports both left and right sides of the outer tank when the tank is viewed from the front, and a control section. After the washing operation is completed, the control unit diagnoses the degree of deterioration of the suspension, and adjusts the rotational speed of the drum to a predetermined dehydration rotational speed based on a determination that the degree of deterioration exceeds a predetermined standard. The direction of rotation of the drum after it is started up until the end of the dehydration step is switched to be opposite to the direction of rotation in the dehydration step up to that point.

For example, the drum further includes a vibration detection unit that detects the magnitude of vibration of the outer tank when the drum rotates, and the control unit controls the deterioration based on the magnitude of the vibration detected by the vibration detection unit. Determine the condition.

According to the above configuration, it is possible to replace the suspensions at the timing when both the left and right suspensions reach the end of their service life. This makes it possible to lengthen the period until the suspension needs to be replaced.
Furthermore, the rotation direction of the drum can be switched in accordance with the progress of actual suspension deterioration.

In the case of the above configuration, the control unit may further be configured to perform a predetermined notification process when switching the rotation direction of the drum in the dewatering step.

With such a configuration, the user or administrator can understand that the rotational direction of the drum has been switched due to deterioration of the suspension.

In the case of the above configuration, the control unit may further be configured to output at least one piece of information among information regarding the deterioration status of the suspension and the recommended replacement timing as the notification process.

For example, the information output from the control unit is displayed on a display unit or transmitted to a terminal device such as a personal computer via a communication line such as the Internet line.

With such a configuration, users and administrators can grasp the deterioration status and recommended replacement timing.

According to the present invention, it is possible to lengthen the period until suspension replacement work becomes necessary.

The effects and significance of the present invention will become clearer from the description of the embodiments shown below. However, the following embodiments are merely one example of implementing the present invention, and the present invention is not limited to what is described in the following embodiments.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the appearance of a drum-type washing machine according to an embodiment. FIG. 2 is a side sectional view showing a schematic internal configuration of the drum-type washing machine according to the embodiment. FIG. 3 is a front sectional view showing a schematic internal configuration of the drum-type washing machine according to the embodiment. FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a drum-type washing machine according to an embodiment. FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing rotation direction switching processing using the number of washing operations as a switching condition according to the embodiment. FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing control processing by the control unit in the dehydration process according to the embodiment. FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating rotation direction switching processing using the degree of deterioration of the suspension as a switching condition, according to the embodiment.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A drum-type washing machine without a drying function, which is an embodiment of the drum-type washing machine of the present invention, will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the external appearance of a drum-type washing machine 1. As shown in FIG.

The drum-type washing machine 1 of this embodiment is a large drum-type washing machine capable of washing 10 kg or more of laundry, and is installed in facilities such as laundromats, dormitories, and nursing homes.

The drum-type washing machine 1 includes a rectangular casing 10 forming an outer shell. A circular door 11 is arranged at the center of the front surface of the housing 10. The door 11 is provided with a lever 11a for locking the door 11 in a closed state. On the front surface of the housing 10, a coin insertion section 12, a display section 13, and an operation section 14 are provided at the top. The coin insertion section 12 has a coin insertion slot 12a into which a coin is inserted, and a return lever 12b for a coin return operation. The display unit 13 is composed of, for example, a liquid crystal panel or a plurality of 7-segment LEDs, and displays predetermined information such as the usage amount. The operation unit 14 is provided with operation buttons 14a for starting a plurality of washing courses depending on the washing capacity.

FIG. 2 is a side sectional view showing a schematic internal configuration of the drum type washing machine 1. As shown in FIG. FIG. 3 is a front sectional view showing a schematic internal configuration of the drum type washing machine 1. As shown in FIG.

A metal outer tank 20 is arranged inside the housing 10. The outer tank 20 includes four first suspensions 21 provided at the front and rear on both the left and right sides when looking at the outer tank 20 from the front, and two second suspensions 21 provided between the front and rear first suspensions 21 on both the left and right sides. It is elastically supported by the suspension 22. The first suspension 21 and the second suspension 22 correspond to the suspension of the present invention.

The first suspension 21 includes an oil damper 21a and a spring 21b arranged in parallel around the damper 21a. The first suspension 21 has an upper end fixed to a fixed part 23a provided at the bottom of the outer tank 20, and a lower end fixed to a fixed part 15a provided at the bottom of the housing 10 so as to be swingable in the left-right direction. be done.

The second suspension 22 is an oil-type damper, and its upper end is fixed to a fixing part 23b provided at the bottom of the outer tank 20, and its lower end is fixed to a fixing part 15b provided at the bottom of the housing 10 on both sides. It is fixed so that it can swing in the direction.

Metal blocks 24 serving as weights are attached to the left and right sides of the upper part of the outer tank 20. The two blocks 24 are provided to suppress vibrations of the outer tank 20 during dewatering.

Inside the outer tank 20, a metal drum 25 is rotatably arranged. The drum 25 rotates around a horizontal axis. The drum 25 has a circular opening 25a on the front surface, and the outer tank 20 has a circular input port 20a in front of the opening 25a of the drum 25. The input port 20a is closed by the door 11. The door 11 is attached to the outer tank 20 so as to be openable and closable.

A large number of dehydration holes 25b are formed in the inner peripheral surface of the drum 25. Furthermore, three baffles 26 are provided on the inner peripheral surface of the drum 25 at equal intervals in the circumferential direction. Each baffle 26 has a substantially triangular prism shape and extends in the axial direction of the drum 25.

A drum shaft 27 is provided at the center of the rear surface of the drum 25. The drum shaft 27 projects to the rear of the outer tank 20 and is rotatably supported by a bearing (not shown) provided in the outer tank 20. A drum pulley 28 is attached to the rear end of the drum shaft 27.

A drive motor 30 that generates torque for driving the drum 25 is attached to the rear bottom of the outer tank 20 . A motor pulley 31 is attached to a motor shaft 30a of the drive motor 30. Motor pulley 31 is connected to drum pulley 28 by a belt 32.

During the washing process and the rinsing process, the drive motor 30 rotates the drum 25 at a low speed, that is, at a rotation speed at which the centrifugal force applied to the laundry in the drum 25 is smaller than the gravity. On the other hand, during the dewatering process, the drive motor 30 rotates the drum 25 at a high speed, that is, at a rotation speed at which the centrifugal force applied to the laundry in the drum 25 is much greater than the gravity.

A drain port 20b is formed at the bottom of the outer tank 20. A drain valve 40 is provided at the drain port portion 20b. Drain valve 40 is connected to drain hose 41. When the drain valve 40 is opened, the water stored in the outer tank 20 is discharged to the outside of the machine through the drain hose 41.

A water supply valve 50 is arranged at the rear upper part of the housing 10 . The water supply valve 50 is connected to a water inlet 20c provided at the front upper part of the outer tank 20 by a water supply hose 51. When the water supply valve 50 is opened, tap water is supplied from the water faucet into the outer tank 20 through the water supply hose 51 and the water inlet 20c.

An acceleration sensor 60 is provided at the top of the outer tank 20 at a position between the two blocks 24 . The acceleration sensor 60 is a three-axis acceleration sensor that can detect dynamic acceleration and static acceleration in three axes: the X-axis direction, the Y-axis direction, and the Z-axis direction. As the acceleration sensor 60, for example, a three-axis piezoresistive acceleration sensor can be used. The acceleration sensor 60 is attached to the outer tank 20 so that, for example, the X-axis direction is the left-right direction, the Y-axis direction is the up-down direction, and the Z-axis direction is the front-back direction.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the drum type washing machine 1. As shown in FIG.

In addition to the above-described configuration, the drum-type washing machine 1 includes a control section 101, a storage section 102, a coin detection section 103, an operation detection section 104, a water level sensor 105, a display drive section 106, a motor drive section 107, a water supply drive section 108, It includes a drainage drive section 109 and a communication section 110.

The coin detection unit 103 detects a coin inserted from the coin insertion slot 12a of the coin insertion unit 12, and outputs an amount signal corresponding to the amount of the coin to the control unit 101. The operation detection unit 104 outputs an operation signal corresponding to the operation button 14a of the operation unit 14 to the control unit 101.

The water level sensor 105 detects the water level in the outer tank 20 and outputs a water level signal to the control unit 101 according to the detected water level. Acceleration sensor 60 outputs acceleration signals to control unit 101 according to accelerations in the X-axis direction, Y-axis direction, and Z-axis direction. The acceleration detected by the acceleration sensor 60 changes depending on the vibration of the outer tank 20. Therefore, the acceleration sensor 60 detects vibrations of the outer tank 20. The acceleration sensor 60 corresponds to the vibration detection section of the present invention.

The display driving section 106 drives the display section 13 according to the information signal output from the control section 101, and causes the display section 13 to display information corresponding to the information signal. Motor drive section 107 drives drive motor 30 according to a control signal from control section 101 . The water supply drive unit 108 drives the water supply valve 50 according to a control signal from the control unit 101. Drain drive section 109 drives drain valve 40 according to a control signal from control section 101 .

The communication unit 110 communicates with a terminal device such as a personal computer, a tablet terminal, or a smartphone held by an administrator located at a location away from the installation location of the drum-type washing machine 1 via an Internet line.

The storage unit 102 includes EEPROM, RAM, and the like. The storage unit 102 stores programs for executing washing operations of various washing courses. Furthermore, the storage unit 102 stores various parameters and various control flags used for executing these programs.

The control unit 101 operates the display drive unit 106 and the motor drive unit 107 according to the program stored in the storage unit 102 based on signals from the coin detection unit 103, operation detection unit 104, water level sensor 105, acceleration sensor 60, etc. , controls the water supply drive section 108, the drainage drive section 109, and the communication section 110.

In the drum type washing machine 1, a washing operation is performed according to a washing course.

When the washing operation is started, first, a washing process is performed. Water containing detergent is stored in the outer tub 20 up to a washing capacity determined by the washing course, that is, a predetermined water level according to the load amount of laundry, and the laundry soaked in the water is stored in the drum 25. Tumbling is caused by repeated forward and reverse rotations. Water containing detergent penetrates into the inside of the laundry, and dirt adhering to the surface and inside of the laundry is removed by the power of the detergent and the mechanical force of tumbling.

The washing step is followed by an intermediate dehydration step, a rinsing step and a final dehydration step.

In the rinsing process, the drum 25 rotates forward and backward with water up to a predetermined level stored in the outer tub 20, and the laundry is tumbled. This rinses the laundry.

In the dewatering process, the drum 25 rotates at high speed. The laundry is dehydrated by the centrifugal force generated in the drum 25. In addition, in the dewatering process, if the laundry is largely shifted in the drum 25, the outer tub 20 may vibrate greatly when the drum 25 is raised to a predetermined dewatering rotation speed. The control unit 101 determines the magnitude of the vibration of the outer tank 20 based on the dynamic acceleration acting on the acceleration sensor 60, and stops the rotation of the drum 25 if vibration exceeding an allowable magnitude occurs. Then, the drum 25 is reversely rotated at a low speed to perform a loosening operation of loosening the laundry.

Now, when the drum 25 rotates in the dewatering process, of the suspensions 21, 22 on both the left and right sides, the suspension 21, 22 on the rotation direction side, for example, when the drum 25 rotates in the right direction, the burden is on the suspension 21, 22 on the right side. is larger than the suspensions 21 and 22 on the opposite side. Therefore, if the rotation direction of the drum 25 is always constant during the dewatering process, the suspensions 21 and 22, which bear a heavy load during dewatering, will always be the same, and the life of the suspensions 21 and 22 will be shortened. Cheap. Then, when the suspensions 21 and 22 reach the end of their service life, the suspensions 21 and 22 will need to be replaced, which may shorten the period until replacement is required.

Therefore, in the drum-type washing machine 1 of this embodiment, the control unit 101 executes the rotation direction switching process described below, and based on the satisfaction of the predetermined switching conditions, the rotation of the drum 25 during the spin-drying process. The direction is switched to be opposite to the rotation direction in the previous dehydration process.

For example, the switching condition is that the number of washing operations reaches a predetermined number. Further, the switching condition is that the degree of deterioration of the suspensions 21 and 22 exceeds a predetermined standard.

In this embodiment, either one of the rotational direction switching processing using the number of washing operations as a switching condition and the rotational direction switching processing using the degree of deterioration of the suspensions 21 and 22 as a switching condition is executed. .

First, a case will be described in which a rotation direction switching process is executed using the number of washing operations as a switching condition.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing rotation direction switching processing using the number of washing operations as a switching condition.

When the drum-type washing machine 1 is installed and power is supplied for the first time, the control unit 101 starts a rotation direction switching process. Note that the control unit 101 includes a counter that counts the number of washing operations, that is, the number of operations.

Referring to FIG. 5, control unit 101 monitors the end of the washing operation (S101). When the washing operation ends (S101: YES), the control unit 101 increments the number of times of operation (S102), and determines whether the number of times of operation has reached the reference number of times (S103). If the number of times of operation has not reached the reference number of times (S103: NO), the control unit 101 returns to the process of S101 and continues monitoring the end of the washing operation.

When the number of operations reaches the reference number (S103: YES), the control unit 101 determines the rotation direction of the drum 25 in the currently set dehydration process (S104). If the rotation direction of the drum 25 is set to the right (S104: right), the rotation direction is set to the left (S105), and if the rotation direction of the drum 25 is set to the left (S104: right). S104: Left direction), and the rotation direction is set to the right direction (S106). As a result, the rotation direction of the drum 25 in the next dehydration process is switched to be opposite to the rotation direction in the previous dehydration process.

After that, the control unit 101 resets the number of operations (S107), returns to the process of S101, and continues monitoring the end of the washing operation.

Note that the set rotation direction and number of times of operation are stored in the EEPROM of the storage unit 102, and are retained even if the supply of electrodes to the drum-type washing machine 1 is temporarily stopped due to a power outage or the like. Further, the standard number of times can be determined to be an appropriate number of times, as long as the deterioration of the suspensions 21 and 22 does not exceed the deterioration standard that requires replacement. The number of times the rotational direction must be switched before the suspensions 21 and 22 need to be replaced is one or more times, and the more the reference number of times is, the less the number of times is, and the less the reference number of times is, the more it is.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing control processing by the control unit 101 in the dehydration process.

Referring to FIG. 6, when the dewatering process is started, the control unit 101 first confirms the set rotation direction of the drum 25 (S201).

If the rotation direction is set to the right (S201: right), the control unit 101 rotates the drive motor 30 forward and rotates the drum 25 to the right (S202). As a result, the drum 25 rotates to the right at a predetermined dewatering rotation speed. On the other hand, if the rotation direction is set to the left (S201: left), the control unit 101 reversely rotates the drive motor 30 and rotates the drum 25 to the left (S203). As a result, the drum 25 rotates to the left at a predetermined dewatering rotation speed. Note that the right direction is the direction of normal rotation of the drum 25, and the left direction is the direction of reverse rotation of the drum 25.

Thereafter, when a predetermined dewatering time has elapsed since the start of the dewatering process (S204: YES), the control unit 101 stops the drive motor 30 and stops the drum 25 (S205). This completes the dehydration process.

Next, a case will be described in which rotational direction switching processing is performed using the degree of deterioration of the suspensions 21 and 22 as a switching condition.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing rotation direction switching processing using the degree of deterioration of the suspensions 21 and 22 as a switching condition.

Referring to FIG. 7, control unit 101 monitors the end of the washing operation (S301). When the washing operation ends (S301: YES), the control unit 101 increments the number of times of operation (S302), and determines whether the number of times of operation has reached a predetermined number of times of diagnosis (S303).

When the number of driving times reaches the number of times of diagnosis (S303: YES), the control unit 101 diagnoses the degree of deterioration of the suspensions 21 and 22 through the following steps S304 to S307. First, the control unit 101 operates the drive motor 30 to rotate the drum 25 in the currently set rotation direction at the dehydration rotation speed for diagnosis (S304). Then, while the drum 25 is rotating, the control unit 101 detects acceleration, here dynamic acceleration, using the acceleration sensor 60 (S305). When the detection of acceleration is completed, the drum 25 stops.

Next, the control unit 101 determines the degree of deterioration of the suspensions 21 and 22 based on the detected acceleration (S306).

When the drum 25 rotates at high speed, the outer tub 20 vibrates even when the drum 25 is empty, although not as much as when there is laundry. The vibration of the outer tank 20 at this time becomes larger as the suspensions 21 and 22 deteriorate further. Further, the outer tank 20 is likely to vibrate in the horizontal and vertical directions, which are directions perpendicular to the axial direction of the rotating shaft of the drum 25.

As the vibration of the outer tank 20 increases, the acceleration detected by the acceleration sensor 60 increases. Therefore, the control unit 101 controls the suspension 21 when, for example, either the acceleration in the X-axis direction corresponding to the left-right direction or the acceleration in the Y-axis direction corresponding to the vertical direction exceeds a threshold value determined for each. , 22 is determined to have exceeded a predetermined standard. In this embodiment, a plurality of acceleration thresholds, that is, standards for the degree of deterioration are prepared, and are changed to a larger value each time the suspensions 21 and 22 deteriorate and the rotational direction of the drum 25 is switched. The more thresholds for acceleration, that is, the criteria for the degree of deterioration, the more times the rotational direction is switched.

In addition, if both the acceleration in the X-axis direction and the acceleration in the Y-axis direction exceed the threshold, or if the combined value of the acceleration in the X-axis and Y-axis directions exceeds the threshold, or if the acceleration in all three axes When the composite value exceeds a threshold value, it may be determined that the degree of deterioration of the suspensions 21 and 22 exceeds a predetermined standard.

If the control unit 101 determines that the degree of deterioration of the suspensions 21 and 22 does not exceed the predetermined standard (S307: NO), it resets the number of operations (S308), returns to S301, and continues monitoring the end of the washing operation. do.

On the other hand, if the control unit 101 determines that the degree of deterioration of the suspensions 21 and 22 exceeds the predetermined standard (S307: YES), the control unit 101 outputs information on the deterioration status of the suspensions 21 and 22 in order to notify this information. (S309). The output information is displayed on the display unit 13 and is also transmitted from the communication unit 110 to the administrator's terminal device. Information on the deterioration status may be, for example, an error code. In this case, different error codes are prepared depending on the degree of progress of deterioration. For example, the error code is "E01" if replacement is recommended, "E02" if replacement is necessary, and "E03" if replacement is urgently required. Information on the state of deterioration may be provided as different error messages depending on the degree of progress of deterioration.

Next, the control unit 101 determines whether a future washing operation is possible (S310). If the predetermined criteria used in S307 are not final, the washing operation is still possible. Therefore, in this case, the control unit 101 determines that the washing operation is possible (S310: YES), and if the rotation direction of the drum 25 is set to the right (S311: right), the control unit 101 changes the rotation direction to the left. If the rotation direction of the drum 25 is set to the left (S311: left), the rotation direction is set to the right (S313). After that, the control unit 101 resets the number of operations (S314), returns to the process of S301, and continues monitoring the end of the washing operation.

On the other hand, the predetermined standard used in S308 is the final one, and if this standard is exceeded, the suspensions 21 and 22 have deteriorated to the extent that they require urgent replacement, and washing operation is no longer possible. Can not. Therefore, in this case, the control unit 101 determines in S310 that the washing operation is not possible (S310: NO), and ends the rotation direction switching process without switching the rotation direction of the drum 25. In this case, in S309, the control unit 101 outputs information on the deterioration status that requests urgent replacement of the suspensions 21 and 22, for example, an error code of "E03".

Note that the acceleration threshold, that is, the criterion for the degree of deterioration may be set to only one most preferable value, and in this case, the rotation direction of the drum 25 is switched only once. Furthermore, the deterioration status is only notified by one error code or error message.

Even when the rotational direction switching process is executed using the degree of deterioration of the suspensions 21 and 22 as a switching condition, the control process shown in FIG. 6 is executed by the control unit 101 in the dehydration process.

<Effects of the embodiment>
According to the present embodiment, the direction of rotation of the drum 25 in the dewatering process is switched to be opposite to the direction of rotation in the previous dewatering process based on the satisfaction of the predetermined switching condition. It becomes possible to replace the suspensions 21, 22 at the timing when the left and right suspensions 21, 22 reach the end of their service life. This makes it possible to lengthen the period until the suspensions 21 and 22 need to be replaced. Furthermore, it is possible to increase the number of washing operations that can be performed before the suspensions 21 and 22 need to be replaced.

Furthermore, when the number of washing operations is set as the switching condition, control processing such as rotating the drum 25 and detecting vibrations of the outer tub 20 in order to determine the degree of deterioration of the suspensions 21 and 22 is not performed. , the control process for switching the rotation direction of the drum 25 becomes simple and easy.

On the other hand, when the degree of deterioration of the suspensions 21 and 22 is used as the switching condition, the rotation direction of the drum 25 can be switched without waste in accordance with the progress of the actual deterioration of the suspensions 21 and 22.

Furthermore, since information regarding the deterioration status of the suspensions 21 and 22 is reported when the rotational direction of the drum 25 is switched, the user and administrator can grasp the deterioration status of the suspensions 21 and 22.

Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, etc., and the embodiments of the present invention can also be modified in various ways other than the above. be.

For example, in the above embodiment, each of the left and right sides of the outer tank 20 includes two first suspensions 21 arranged in the front and rear, and one second suspension 22 arranged between these first suspensions 21. Supported. However, the arrangement of the suspension is not limited to the above. For example, a configuration may be adopted in which a unit consisting of a first suspension 21 and a second suspension 22 arranged close to each other is provided on the left and right sides of the outer tank 20 in the front and rear. Alternatively, a configuration may be adopted in which the second suspension 22 is not provided and the outer tank 20 is supported only by the four first suspensions 21.

Further, in the embodiment described above, the number of washing operations is used as the switching condition for switching the rotation direction of the drum 25. However, the number of dehydration steps may be used as the switching condition. In this case, the same rotational direction switching process as in FIG. 5 is executed, and the rotational direction of the drum 25 is switched based on the fact that the number of dehydration steps reaches a predetermined number. However, in S101, the end of the dehydration process is monitored, in S102, the number of dehydration processes is incremented, and in S103, the number of dehydration processes is compared with a predetermined number of times. Furthermore, the rotation direction switching process may be performed using other switching conditions for switching the rotation direction of the drum 25 in accordance with the progress of deterioration of the suspensions 21 and 22.

Furthermore, in the embodiment described above, in the rotation direction switching process in which the degree of deterioration of the suspensions 21 and 22 in FIG. , 22 to diagnose the degree of deterioration. However, instead of or in addition to the number of driving times reaching the number of diagnostics, the process may proceed to the diagnostic processing of S304 to S307 when a predetermined operation is performed by the user.

Furthermore, in S309 of the rotation direction switching process in FIG. 7, the control unit 101 may output information on the recommended replacement time instead of the deterioration status. In this case, the acceleration data detected by the acceleration sensor 60 from the unused state to the time when the drum type washing machine 1 is used until the suspensions 21 and 22 need to be replaced is It is graphed and the graph data is stored in the storage unit 102. Then, when the degree of deterioration exceeds a predetermined standard, that is, when the acceleration detected by the acceleration sensor 60 exceeds a threshold value, the control unit 101 uses the approximate expression of the graph data from the acceleration at that time to control the remaining washing operation. Estimate the cycle and guess when it should be replaced. Then, the control unit 101 displays, for example, a code corresponding to the recommended replacement time. For example, if the recommended replacement time is within one year from now, the code will be "A01", if it is within about one month from now, the code will be "A02", and if it is now, it will be "A03". Note that the control unit 101 may output information on both the deterioration status and the recommended replacement time in S309. Furthermore, a configuration may be adopted in which the outputted information on the deterioration status and recommended replacement time is displayed on the display unit 13 and not transmitted to the administrator's terminal device, or such information is not displayed on the display unit 13. , a configuration may be adopted in which the information is transmitted to the administrator's terminal device. Furthermore, information other than the state of deterioration and the recommended replacement time, for example, information simply indicating that the rotation direction of the drum 25 has been switched may be output from the control unit 101.

Furthermore, in the embodiment described above, the magnitude of the vibration of the outer tank 20 is detected by the acceleration sensor 60, but it may be detected by another sensor capable of detecting vibration.

Further, in the above embodiment, the drum type washing machine 1 is configured such that the drum 25 rotates around a horizontal axis. However, the drum-type washing machine 1 may be configured such that the drum 25 rotates around a rotation axis that is inclined with respect to the horizontal direction.

Further, the drum-type washing machine 1 of the above embodiment is a large-sized drum-type washing machine installed in a laundromat or the like. However, the present invention can also be applied to household drum-type washing machines with a relatively small washing capacity. Furthermore, the present invention can also be applied to a drum-type washing machine with a drying function, that is, a drum-type washer-dryer.

In addition, the embodiments of the present invention can be appropriately modified in various ways within the scope of the technical idea shown in the claims.

10 Housing
20 Outer tank
21 1st suspension (suspension)
22 Second suspension (suspension)
25 Drum
60 Acceleration sensor (vibration detection section)
101 Control unit

Claims (6)

In a drum-type washing machine that performs a washing operation including a washing process, a rinsing process, and a dehydration process,
An outer tank placed inside the housing;
a drum disposed in the outer tank and rotatable around a horizontal axis or a rotation axis tilted with respect to the horizontal direction;
a suspension that supports both left and right sides of the outer tank when the outer tank is viewed from the front;
comprising a control unit;
The control unit includes:
When the washing operation is completed, the number of washing operations is incremented;
When the number of washing operations reaches a reference number, the rotation direction of the drum in the dewatering process is determined from the time when the rotational speed of the drum is increased to a predetermined dehydrating rotational speed until the dewatering process ends. Switching the rotation direction to be opposite to the rotation direction in the dehydration step up to that point .
A drum-type washing machine characterized by : In a drum-type washing machine that performs a washing operation that includes a washing process, a rinsing process, and a dehydration process,
An outer tank placed inside the housing;
a drum disposed in the outer tank and rotatable around a horizontal axis or a rotation axis tilted with respect to the horizontal direction;
a suspension that supports both left and right sides of the outer tank when the outer tank is viewed from the front;
comprising a control unit;
The control unit includes:
When the dehydration step is completed, the number of dehydration steps is incremented,
When the number of times of the dehydration step reaches a predetermined number of times, the rotation direction of the drum in the dehydration step after the rotation speed of the drum is raised to the predetermined dehydration rotation speed until the end of the dehydration step, Switching the direction of rotation to be opposite to the direction of rotation in the dehydration step up to that point;
A drum-type washing machine characterized by: In a drum-type washing machine that performs a washing operation that includes a washing process, a rinsing process, and a dehydration process,
An outer tank placed inside the housing;
a drum disposed in the outer tank and rotatable around a horizontal axis or a rotation axis tilted with respect to the horizontal direction;
a suspension that supports both left and right sides of the outer tank when the outer tank is viewed from the front;
comprising a control unit;
After the washing operation is completed, the control unit diagnoses the degree of deterioration of the suspension, and adjusts the rotational speed of the drum to a predetermined dehydration rotational speed based on a determination that the degree of deterioration exceeds a predetermined standard. Switching the rotation direction of the drum until the dehydration step is completed after the drum is started up to be opposite to the rotation direction in the dehydration step up to that point.
A drum-type washing machine characterized by: The drum type washing machine according to claim 3,
further comprising a vibration detection unit that detects the magnitude of vibration of the outer tank when the drum rotates,
The control unit determines the degree of deterioration based on the magnitude of vibration detected by the vibration detection unit.
A drum-type washing machine characterized by: The drum type washing machine according to claim 3 or 4,
The control unit performs a predetermined notification process when switching the rotation direction of the drum in the dehydration step.
A drum-type washing machine characterized by: The drum type washing machine according to claim 5,
As the notification process, the control unit outputs at least one piece of information among information regarding the deterioration status of the suspension and the recommended replacement time.
A drum-type washing machine characterized by:

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