JPH01218494A - Drum laundry dryer - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To properly decide the quantity of laundry and to more exactly set a proper water level at the time of washing and a proper drying time at the time of drying by detecting two kinds of water levels and calculating a difference between both water levels. CONSTITUTION:First, the fact that a wash water level attains to a reference water level is detected by a water level detector 12, and a CPU 17 stops a water supply. When the water supply is completed, the CPU 17 drives a rotary drum 3 for a prescribed time based on the signal of a timer 22 so that the laundry in the drum can be made into a condition in which a wash water is sufficiently absorbed. After the drive is stopped, a change water level which is the water level in a condition in which the water surface of the wash water is not fluctuated is detected by the water level detector 12, a water level difference between the reference water level and change water level is operated based on a change water level signal from the water level detector 12, and the quantity of the laundry in the rotary drum is decided based on the water level difference. When a cloth quantity is large, the CPU 17 outputs a signal for further increasing the quantity of the wash water, the drying time is set to be short when the cloth quantity is small, and the long drying time is set when the cloth quantity is large.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to a washer/dryer, and particularly to a drum type washer/dryer equipped with means for determining the amount of laundry.

[Prior Art] A drum-type washer/dryer is known that fully automatically performs a series of washing and drying processes such as water supply, washing, and drying within a rotating drum.

In such drum-type washer/dryers, the optimal amount of washing water during washing varies depending on the amount of laundry, and the required drying time also varies depending on the amount of laundry. different. Therefore, in order to perform washing and drying well, it is important to determine the amount of cloth to be washed. In particular, in a drum-type washing machine that uses a smaller amount of washing water than the agitation-type washing machines commonly used at present, it is necessary to supply washing water suitable for the amount of laundry.

Conventionally, various devices have been proposed as means for determining the amount of laundry. Washing machines, etc. that can be set up are disclosed.

FIG. 4 shows a cross section of a washing machine disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 61-42535, which has a function of measuring the weight of laundry. As shown in FIG. 4(a), an outer tank (2) is provided inside the casing (1). A rotary drum (3) is rotatably supported by a support (4) in this outer tank (2).

Then, as shown in FIG. 4(b), the support (
One of the legs (4a) and (4b) of 4) is provided with strain gauges (5a), (5b), and (5c).

The strain gauges (5a), (5b), and (5C) are used to measure changes in bending stress based on the weight of the laundry.
The bending stress detected is sent to a signal processing device (6) and converted into an electrical signal. Based on this electrical signal, it is possible to perform control such as setting the water level of the washing water in the outer tub (2) at a high level when the weight of the laundry is heavy, and setting it at a low water level when the weight of the laundry is low.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] According to the conventional washing machine described above, the amount of laundry is detected by detecting the weight of the entire drum tub, so the change in weight of the laundry is very large compared to the total weight. Therefore, accurate detection is difficult. Further, since the heavy duty detection output fluctuates while the drum is rotating, accurate detection is difficult. Furthermore, since a force is always applied to the sensor section, that is, the weight of the drum tank is always applied to the sensor section, there are various problems such as sagging.

Furthermore, when trying to determine the opening of laundry by detecting its weight, there is no consideration given to the fact that the rate at which water is absorbed differs depending on the type of fabric, so It is difficult to determine the appropriate water level;
In addition, when setting the drying time, even if the amount of cloth is the same, the water absorbency differs depending on the type of cloth, so simply setting the drying time based on the amount of cloth tends to cause problems such as taking too much drying time or not enough drying time. there were.

Purpose of the Invention The drum-type washer/dryer according to the present invention was made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and it determines the amount of laundry before starting the washing process and determines the appropriate washing water level. An object of the present invention is to obtain a drum-type washer/dryer that allows setting of drying time and appropriate drying time.

[Means for Solving the Problems] In order to achieve the above object, the drum-type washer/dryer according to the present invention detects that washing water has been supplied up to a reference water level at the start of washing, and detects that washing water has been supplied up to a reference water level at the start of washing, and A water level detection means for detecting a change in water level after the drum is rotated for a predetermined period of time until the laundry has sufficiently absorbed the washing water after washing water is supplied, and a detection signal of a change in water level from the water level detection means. water level difference calculating means for calculating the difference between the reference water level and the changed water level, and a cloth amount determining means for determining the amount of laundry in the drum based on the water level difference calculated by the water level difference calculating means. It is characterized by containing.

[Function] According to the above configuration, the amount of laundry in the drum can be determined based on the difference between the reference water level and the changed water level of the washing water. This determination of the size of the laundry is carried out by a cloth amount determining means, and this determination method is based on the relationship between the water level of the washing water and the amount of laundry as shown in the graph of Figure 3. It is. That is, when the amount of cloth increases beyond a predetermined amount, the washing water is absorbed by the cloth, and since a considerable portion of the cloth is located above the water surface, the water level of the washing water will drop. This decrease in water level tends to increase as the amount of cloth increases. Conversely, when the amount of cloth is less than a predetermined amount, a phenomenon occurs in which the water level of the washing water rises by the volume of the cloth.

The graph in Figure 3 shows the amount of change in the water level of washing water on the vertical axis, where the 0 point indicates the reference water level, upwards indicates a decrease in the water level, and downwards indicates an increase in the water level. . The horizontal axis shows the amount of laundry, that is, the amount of cloth.

Therefore, based on this graph, the amount of laundry can be determined by detecting the difference between the reference water level and the changing water level, which is the water level when the laundry has sufficiently absorbed washing water. According to this method of determining the amount of cloth, it is possible to determine the amount of cloth by taking into account the difference in the water absorption of various types of cloth, compared to methods that simply set the amount of water to be supplied and the drying time based only on the weight of the cloth. This makes it possible to more appropriately set the washing water level and drying time.

[Example] An embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 2 is a schematic side sectional view showing the mechanical configuration of the drum-type washer/dryer according to the present invention, in which (1) is a casing, and an outer tank (2) is fixed inside the casing (1). has been done. (3) is a rotating drum, which is rotatably supported within the outer tank (2).

(7) is a front door, and the front door (7) is opened to take in and take out laundry. (8) is the water supply vibrator, and the outer tank (2)
Supply water inside. Water supply pipe (8) has water supply valve (9)
A water supply system is installed and water supply is regulated.

(10) is a drain pipe, which allows water to be drained and stored in the outer tank (2) by adjusting the opening and closing of the drain valve (work 1).

A water level detector (12) is provided behind the outer tank (2) inside the casing (1), and this water level detector (12)
is connected to the outer tank (2) by a communication vibrator (13).

In this embodiment, it is preferable that the water level detector (12) for measuring the water level in the outer tank detects the water level in an analog manner as much as possible.

As such a water level detector (12), for example, outside t!
(2) is used to guide the water level sensor to the water level sensor by means of a connecting vibrator (13). This water level sensor has a diaphragm inside, and by interlocking the capacity of an oscillation circuit with the diaphragm, the diaphragm's connecting vibration (
13) A method is adopted in which the oscillation frequency changes with changes in the pressure applied to the side.

Therefore, by electrically detecting the oscillation frequency of this water level detector (12), it is possible to electrically detect the pressure on the side of the connected vibrator (13) of the sensor, that is, the water level in the outer tank.
(14) is a motor, and the main shaft (14a) is connected to the shaft of the rotating drum (3) by a belt shown as a straight line in the figure, and provides rotational driving force to the rotating drum (3). (15)
is a power switch, which is provided at the upper front of the casing (1). FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the overall configuration of the control mechanism that controls a series of washing processes in the washer/dryer of this embodiment. It is provided. The control unit (16)
CPU (central processing unit) (17), input interface (1g), output interface (19),
Memory (20), clock control section (21) and timer (
22). Input interface (
18) is a power switch (15), a water level detector (12),
Signals from various information detection devices such as a temperature sensor (23) are transmitted to the CPU (17). The CPU (17) is
Based on the information stored in the memory (20), drive signals are sent to various drive devices such as the motor (14), water valve (9), and heater (24) via the output interface (19).

Further, the clock control section (21) drives a timer (22) based on a control signal from the CPU (17), and the timer (22) supplies a time elapsed signal to the CPU (17). The CPU (17) drives and controls various drive devices based on this time elapsed signal.

Characteristic features of the present invention include that the water level detector (12) has a function of detecting the reference water level at the start of washing and the changing water level when the laundry has sufficiently contained washing water; The present invention includes a water level difference calculating means for calculating the difference between the reference water level and the changed water level, and furthermore, a cloth amount determining means for determining the amount of laundry in the rotating drum based on this water level difference. That is, in this embodiment, the reference water level and the changed water level are detected by the water level detector (12), and the functions of the water level difference calculation means and the presence determination means are performed by the CPU (17).
accomplished by.

Next, a specific control operation by this control section (16) will be explained.

When the power switch (15) is turned on and the washing process starts, the CPU (17) first outputs a signal to start water supply, the water supply valve (9) is opened, and the water is supplied to the outer tank (2). Storage of washing water begins. Then, the water level detector (12) detects that the washing water level has reached a predetermined reference water level, and the CPU (17) stops the water supply based on the reference water level detection signal from the water level detector (12). output a signal for This closes the water supply valve (9) and stops the water supply. Note that the reference water level is always a constant water level regardless of the amount of laundry.

When the water supply at the start of washing ends, the CPU (1
7) outputs a signal for rotationally driving the rotating drum (3). This rotation is continued until the laundry in the drum has sufficiently absorbed washing water, and is driven for a predetermined time based on a signal from a timer (22).

After the drive is stopped, a water level detector (12) detects a changing water level, which is a water level at which the washing water level does not change. The CPU (17) calculates the water level difference between the reference water level and the changing water level based on the changing water level signal from the water level detector (12).

Then, the amount of laundry in the rotating drum is determined based on this water level difference. The amount of laundry is determined based on the relationship between the amount of change in water level and each cloth shown in the graph of FIG. In other words, the relationship between the amount of change in water level and each fabric is stored in the memory (20), and based on this, C
The PU (17) determines the amount of cloth based on the calculated water level difference.

In this embodiment, the amount of cloth is determined in three stages: large, medium, and small. In other words, if the changing water level rises above the reference water level, the vertical axis of the graph in Figure 3 will be 0.
If it is on the positive side below the point (X region), it is determined that the amount of laundry, that is, the amount of cloth is small. If the changing water level is lower than the reference water level, that is, if the changing water level minus the reference water level is on the negative side above the 0 point, the cloth amount will be increased up to the predetermined changing mA point (Y area). It is determined that the amount of cloth is medium, and when the changing water level is greater than the point A, that is, the change water level is significantly decreased compared to the reference water level (Z area), it is determined that the amount of cloth is large.

Note that the steps for determining the amount of cloth are not limited to the three steps of large, medium, and small, but can be further divided into more subdivided steps.

According to the determination of the amount of cloth according to this embodiment, if the laundry is
Compared to the case where the amount of laundry is determined by Q and the amount of washing water supplied and the drying time are set based on this determined amount,
It becomes possible to set more accurate water supply amount and drying time. That is, the amount of washing water and drying time can be more appropriately set based on the volume and water absorbency of the laundry rather than the weight of the laundry.

Therefore, by determining the amount of laundry based on changes in the level of washing water as in this embodiment, it is possible to determine the amount of laundry in consideration of the volume and water absorption of the laundry.

As mentioned above, by accurately determining the amount of cloth,
When the amount of laundry is large, the CPU (17) outputs a signal to further increase the amount of washing water, and the water supply valve (9) is opened and water is supplied until the water level reaches an appropriate level.

Also, based on the determination result of the amount of cloth, if the amount of cloth is small, the drying time is set short, and if the amount of cloth is large, the drying time is set long, so that an appropriate drying time can be set. This can prevent insufficient drying and wasteful power consumption.

[Effects of the Invention] As explained above, according to the drum-type washer/dryer according to the present invention, the amount of laundry can be appropriately determined by detecting two types of water levels and calculating the difference between the two water levels. Based on this determination of the amount of cloth, it is possible to more accurately set the appropriate water level during washing and the appropriate drying time during drying.

[BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS] FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the overall configuration of a control mechanism according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a schematic side sectional view showing the mechanical configuration of this embodiment, and FIG. 4(a) and 4(b), which are graphs showing the relationship between the amount of change in the water level of washing water and the amount of laundry, are explanatory diagrams of a drum-type washer/dryer having a conventional means for determining the amount of laundry. In the figure, (2) is an outer tank, (3) is a rotating drum, and (8) is a rotating drum.
) is a water supply pipe, (12) is a water level detector, (16) is a control unit, and (17) is a CPU. In addition, in the figures, the same reference numerals indicate the same or equivalent parts. Agent Patent attorney Masuo Oiwa (and 2 others) Fig. 2 1: Gunshiku 2:/) 3: Mouth mudram 8: 0 Figure 3 (quantity) Figure 4 (b)

Claims (1)

[Claims] It has an outer tank disposed inside a casing, and a rotary drum that is rotatably supported in the outer tank and shakes or rotates the laundry inside, and has a washing water supply system. In a drum-type washer/dryer that automatically performs the washing, rinsing, draining, and drying steps, the washing water supplied at the start of washing reaches a predetermined water level (
The water level (change water level) when the drum is rotated for a predetermined period of time after washing water has been supplied to the reference water level (standard water level) and the laundry is sufficiently soaked with washing water.
water level detection means for detecting the water level, water level difference calculation means for calculating the difference between the reference water level and the changed water level based on the detection signal from the water level detection means, and the water level difference calculated by the water level difference calculation means. A drum-type washer/dryer characterized by comprising: a laundry amount determining means for determining the amount of laundry in the drum based on the amount of laundry in the drum.