JPH01178296A - Washing machine - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To improve cleaning ability rate by providing a means of charging detergent at least twice and also a control means to instruct the detergent- charging means at the times of taking preliminary or regular washing processes according to a selection switch setting input. CONSTITUTION:When preliminary-washing is needed before regular-washing, a certain amount of detergent is charged into the first storing section 16 and the second section 17, respectively. By setting a selection switch 9 (change-over lever 12) to 'preliminary washing' and starting the program, a solenoid 24 is excited by a microcomputer 27 and an outlet 22b of the other water channel 22 is turned to the second storing section 17 and water feeding is started. Water is fed through each water channel 21, 22 and detergent in the second storing section 17 is washed away through the channel 22 into a washing tub from the outlet 22b. After preliminary-washing ends and the tub is drained, the excitement of the solenoid 24 is cut out and the outlet 22b of the water channel 22 is reset to the first storing section 16 by energizing force of a spring 26. With water feeding again, regular-washing is started.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (A) Industrial Application The present invention relates to a washing machine that can perform a pre-washing process before a main washing process.

(b) Conventional technology In the past, in order to improve cleaning efficiency, a pre-washing process was provided as a pre-washing process.
It is shown in Publication No. 4 (D06F 33102).

That is, a certain amount of dirt is separated during the pre-washing process, so that the dirt can be easily removed during the main washing process.

(c) Problems to be Solved by the Invention In the conventional example described above, since the pre-washing step was performed with fresh water, there was a very high probability that the separated dirt would re-adhere to the laundry.

In view of these problems, the present invention aims to improve the cleaning efficiency of washing machines.

(d) Means for Solving the Problems The present invention is a washing machine that performs a pre-washing process before the main washing process, and in which the detergent is added at least twice into the washing tub during the program. A charging means is provided, and a control means is provided for instructing the detergent charging means to input detergent when executing the hand washing step and the main washing step, respectively, based on the setting input of the selection switch.

(B) Effect: By performing the pre-washing step with a detergent liquid, dirt separated from the laundry during pre-washing is surrounded by the detergent component, making it difficult for it to re-adhere to the laundry.

Furthermore, during the rest period between the prewashing process and the main washing process, the laundry that was tangled during the prewashing process is naturally loosened.

(f) Example Embodiments of the present invention will be described based on the drawings.

In FIG. 1, (1) is a washing machine frame, within which an outer tub (2) is elastically suspended and supported. A dewatering/washing tub (3) is rotatably disposed within the outer tub (2). A rotary blade (not shown) is disposed at the bottom of the washing tub (3), and the washing tub (3) and the rotary blade are connected to a power transmission mechanism or a drive motor (not shown), so that the rotary blade is reversed during washing. During dehydration, the washing filter (3) is rotated in one direction at high speed.

(4) is a top plate placed and fixed on the upper end of the machine frame (1), and as shown in Fig. 2, it has a frame shape with a clothing slot (5) in the center, and ) (7) is formed into a box shape, and the front part (6) can accommodate various input switches mounted on the control board, and the rear part (7) can accommodate the xi switch and water supply solenoid valve (8), which will be described later. A prewash selection switch <9) is housed. (10)... is a group of operation buttons for operating the various manual switch groups, (11) is a hose connection from a water supply source, and (12) is a switching lever for the prewash selection switch (9). .

(13) is an upper lid which is pivotally supported on the rear edge of the clothes input port (5) and which opens and closes the input port (5).

The upper lid (13) is integrally formed with a wide groove (14) that opens horizontally on the rear end side (<14a) and opens vertically on the front end side (14b). is partitioned in the left and right direction by a partition wall (15), and this is divided into a first
Assuming a storage part (16) and a second storage part (17), the area of the first storage part (16) is approximately 2 of the area of the second storage part (17).
It is set to double. The first storage part (16) and the second storage part (16)
Each bottom surface of the storage section (17) is provided with a gentle slope in the shape of a forest, and drain holes (18) and (19) facing the washing tub (3) are provided at the bottom of the bottom surface. . (20
) is a lid that can be opened and closed on the upper surface of the groove (14).

Now, the water outlet side of the water supply solenoid valve (8) is bifurcated, one waterway (21) facing directly above the washing tub (3), and the other waterway (22) facing the middle part (2). 22a) is formed in a bellows shape, and its water outlet end (22b) is connected to the groove (1).
4) is closely opposed to the rear end side (14a). The outlet end (22b) of the other waterway (22) is as shown in FIG.
It is latched to a frame-shaped water injection guide body (23) and connected to a connecting rod (25) of a solenoid (24), and normally, by the biasing force of a spring (26), the rear part of the first storage part (16) is Although it faces the end surface side, by energizing the solenoid (24), the plunger (24a) is attracted and the connecting rod is displaced against the bias of the spring (26), and the water outlet end (22b) can be directed toward the second storage section (17). In addition, the other water channel (22), water injection guide body 23), solenoid (24), and spring (2
6) constitutes a water supply switching means, and this water supply switching means and the first and second storage portions (16) and (17) constitute a detergent injection means.

Fig. 6 shows the control mechanism of the washing machine centered around a microcomputer (27) (hereinafter referred to as microcomputer).
9), ROM (30), timer (31), system bus (32), and input/output ports (33) to (39). The CPU (28) is composed of a control section (40) and a calculation section (41), the control section (40) fetches and executes instructions, and the calculation section (41) executes instructions. In response to a control signal from the control unit (40), arithmetic processing such as binary addition, logical operation, increase/decrease, and comparison is performed on data provided from input devices and memory. The RAM (29) is for storing data related to the washing machine, and the ROM (30) is for storing the means for operating the washing machine, setting conditions for judgment, and processing various information in advance. It is used to load the rules etc.

The input boats (33) to (36) include an input key circuit (42) composed of the various input switch groups (10), and a pressure switch (42) for detecting the water level in the tank.
43>, a top lid safety switch (44) that operates in conjunction with the opening and closing of the top lid (13), and the prewash selection switch (9).
), etc., and based on this information, from the output boats (37) to (39), an LED drive circuit (45) consisting of a group of LEDs, a buzzer circuit for process end notification or abnormality notification (46), a control signal is sent to a load drive circuit (47), etc., which is composed of a bidirectional cyrisk and the like. The load drive circuit (47) is connected to the microcomputer (2).
According to the control signals from 7), the drive circuits (48) (49) of the drive motor, the supply and drainage solenoid valve drive circuits (50)
(51), controlling the operation of the solenoid drive circuit (52); (53) is a power supply circuit that supplies voltage to the microcomputer (27), and (54) is a reset signal generation circuit.

Thus, the washing machine sequentially executes a program consisting of washing, rinsing, and spin-drying steps under the control of the microcomputer (27). Furthermore, a short dehydration step is performed when transitioning from washing to rinsing and when repeating rinsing.

Hereinafter, the operation of the present invention will be explained according to the flowchart shown in FIG.

The detergent injection operation in this embodiment is roughly divided into the case of only main washing and the case of hand washing (washing for a short time before main washing).

If the user wishes to perform only main washing, the user puts a predetermined amount of detergent into the first reservoir (16) and starts the program. Then, the waterway (21) (2
Water is supplied from 2) (S-1>, the other waterway (22)
The detergent in the first storage part (16) is washed away by the water from the front end (22b) and is thrown into the washing tub (3) from the front end side (22b).

Now, if the user wants to wash his hands before the main washing, he should put a predetermined amount of detergent into each of the first and second reservoirs (16) and (17). Reservoir (
16) There is a scale displayed on each wall of (17), so put in according to this scale. As a guideline for the amount of detergent, in the case of main washing, it is about 0.14% of the amount of water supplied, and if the amount of water supplied is 30P, add about 30g, and for pre-washing, add less than this, about 10g.

Then, the prewash selection switch (9) (switch lever (
12)) is set to "prewash" and the program is started, the microcomputer (27) controls the solenoid (
24) is excited so that the water outlet end of the other waterway (22) <2
2b) toward the second storage section (17) (S-
2) Start water supply (S-3). Water is supplied through each of the waterways (21) and (22>), and the water is supplied through the other waterway (21) (22>).
The detergent in the second storage section (17) is washed away by the water from the washing tank 22) and is thrown into the washing tub from the front end side (22b).

When water is supplied to the set water level, water supply is stopped (S-4
), pre-washing is performed for 3 minutes (S-5). In this pre-washing, the rotor blades (not shown) are slowly reversed at low speed.
During this time, dirt is easily removed from the laundry due to the low concentration detergent solution and agitation force. When the pre-washing is finished, the detergent solution will be 1
Drain for 0 seconds (S-6>) This drains the gravel etc. that fell during hand washing.

After draining water for 10 seconds, the excitation of the solenoid 24) is cut off (S-7), so that the water outlet end (22b) of the other water channel (22) is connected to the first water outlet by the biasing force of the spring (26). It returns toward the reservoir (16).

Then, water is supplied again (S-8>, and during this water supply, the other water channel (22) is connected to the first storage section (16).
water from the other waterway (22) is supplied into the first reservoir (16) so that the reservoir <16)
In this embodiment, the detergent inside is flushed away into the washing tub (3).
Since the water supply capacity is equal to the drainage capacity, the water supply time is set to double 20 seconds to return the water to the set water level. After the water supply is completed, main washing is performed.

During this draining and water supply between the sub-washes, the rotor blades are in a long-term rest period, and the laundry that was getting tangled during the pre-washing is naturally loosened, and the tangles during the next main washing can be reduced.

As described above, if a small amount of detergent is added during pre-washing, the dirt separated from the clothes during pre-washing will be surrounded by the detergent components, and will not re-adhere to the clothes. Sometimes, a desired cleaning effect can be obtained with a small amount of detergent in a short time, and damage to the fabric can be reduced accordingly. In the figure, the solid line represents the present example, the dashed line represents the case where no detergent was used during hand washing, and the dotted line represents the case where pre-washing was not performed.

In addition, in this example, a small amount of water is drained after pre-washing, so gravel, etc. can be drained out at this time, so there is no need to worry about damaging the sandals or clothes due to gravel during main washing, and the amount of water drained is small, so it is water-saving. Good too.

Furthermore, in this embodiment, a plurality of detergent reservoirs are provided,
Since the structure is such that water is supplied into the reservoir at the time of injection, by programming the energization timing to the solenoid (24) appropriately, for example, the finishing agent can be introduced into the second reservoir (17) and the final It is also possible to add a finishing agent during rinsing. Further, the storage portion may be provided with an appropriate membrane depending on the number of times the detergent and finishing agent are added. In this case, it is necessary to switch the water supply light according to the number of storage parts, and it is conceivable to switch the water supply light using a cam, for example.

(G) Effects of the Invention Since the washing machine of the present invention performs the pre-washing process using detergent liquid,
Dirt separated from the laundry during pre-washing is surrounded by detergent components and is less likely to re-adhere, reducing the time and amount of detergent used in the main washing process.

Furthermore, during the rest period between the prewashing process and the main washing process, the laundry that was tangled during the prewashing is naturally loosened, so that the movement of the laundry during the main washing process becomes more active.

Therefore, the cleaning rate is generally high.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Fig. 1 is a cross-sectional view of the main parts of the washing machine of the present invention, Fig. 2 is a plan view thereof, Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the top cover, Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the water injection guide, and Fig. 5 is FIG. 6 is a block diagram of the control mechanism, FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing the operation, and FIG. 8 is a cleaning characteristic diagram based on experiments. (3)...Dewatering/washing tank, (16)...First storage section, (17)...Second storage section, (22)...Other water channel, (23)...Water injection Guide body, (24)... Solenoid, (26)... Spring ((16) (17)
) (22) (23) (24) (26) : Detergent injection means), (27)...Microcomputer (control means)
.

Claims (1)

[Claims] (1) A pre-washing process is performed before the main washing process, and a detergent injection means is provided in the washing tub during the program to add detergent at least twice, based on the setting input of the selection switch. A washing machine further comprising a control means for instructing the detergent injection means to input detergent when executing the pre-washing process and the main washing process, respectively.