JPH02302294A - Operating method for washing machine - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To reduce damages to cloth or tangled cloth and to enhance the performance of washing and rinsing by repeating on operation cycle such that a pulsator starts driving after water supply till a set water level, the drive is in pause for a time when a water level sensing means senses fluctuation of a water level in the forward/reverse drive directions. CONSTITUTION:A pulsator 4 is arranged so as to be driven freely to an inner bottom of a washing tank 1 and a pulsator drive means 5 is provided at the outside of the bottom of the washing tank 1. A water supply tube 7 is provided to the upper part of the washing tank 1, a water supply valve 8 is connected electrically to a water supply valve drive means 9, the drive means 9 is controlled by a microcomputer 6 to control the water supply to the washing tank 1. After water supply up to the setting water level, the drive of the pulsator 4 is started and when the water, level is fluctuated to a certain level, the pulsator 4 is paused for a time and the operation above is repeated for the forward and reverse directions as one operation cycle. Thus, water flow making the rotation of washed clothes constant is obtained at all times independently of the quantity of cloth and kind of cloth, damages to the cloth and tangled cloth are reduced, the performance of washing and ringing is enhanced and uneven washing is avoided.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method of operating a washing machine for washing clothes and the like.

2. Description of the Related Art The method of operating this type of washing machine is that when the water level in the washing tub reaches a set water level, the varsenator is rotated clockwise for a period T set by a microcomputer, that is, as shown in FIG. was stopped, then rotated counterclockwise for a time T, and then stopped for a time, which was repeated to drive forward and reverse. Recently, as shown in FIG. 6, after the pulsator starts rotating, at time A''!, the left and right are rotated alternately for a time T1 with rest time eclipse 1 in between, and after that, the rest time t
There is also a device which rotates the pulsator alternately left and right for a time T2, and further includes cloth amount detection means, and sets the forward/reverse drive cycle time of the pulsator according to the detected cloth amount.

Problems to be Solved by the Invention However, in the former method of operating an electric washing machine, it is difficult to distinguish between the types of cloth, for example, hard and tight laundry items such as jeans and work clothes, and soft laundry items such as towels and cutters. When washing clothes with no tension, if the washcloth is driven in the same cycle in the forward and reverse directions, the former will have a worse cloth rotation than the latter, resulting in poor washing and rinsing performance, and uneven washing. ,
On the other hand, the latter method has problems such as fabric damage and fabric tangle worsening because the fabric is not rolled properly.

In addition, in the case where the pulsator's forward/reverse drive cycle time is set according to the amount of cloth, if the amount of cloth is small, the pulsator's forward/reverse drive cycle time is set short and the cloth is damaged. Although tangles have been slightly improved, as mentioned above, the cloth twisting changes depending on the type of cloth, so cleaning performance and rinsing performance deteriorate, and there are cases where uneven washing occurs, cloth damage, The problem was that cloth tangles may worsen or occur.

Furthermore, the amount of cloth detected by the cloth amount detection means is usually
It is classified into four levels: high, medium, low, and low FM, so for example, if the detected amount of fabric is medium, between large and medium, or between medium and small. exists, and if the forward and reverse drive cycles of the pulsator are the same, there will be a difference in the fabric surroundings between the former and the latter, resulting in poor cleaning and rinsing performance, uneven washing, and worsening of fabric damage and tangles. There were issues such as:

The present invention solves the above-mentioned problems by using a water flow that always keeps the circumference of the laundry constant regardless of the amount of cloth or the type of cloth.
The purpose is to improve cloth damage and tangle, improve cleaning performance and rinsing performance, and eliminate uneven washing.

Means for Solving the Problems In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a pulsator arranged at the inner bottom of a washing tub, a pulsator drive means for driving the pulsator in forward and reverse directions, and a water level in the washing tub. After water is supplied to a set water level, the pulsator drive means starts rotating the pulsator, and when the water level detection means detects that the water level has fluctuated to a certain level, the pulsator is stopped for a certain period of time, and then the water level is stopped. The configuration is such that forward and reverse operations are repeated as one cycle.

According to the above structure, in the washing and rinsing processes, the pulsator starts rotating, and when the water level reaches a certain level, the pulsator is stopped for a certain period of time, and the operation of forward and reverse rotation is repeated as one cycle. . therefore,
Regardless of the amount of cloth or the type of cloth, a constant water flow can always be obtained around the laundry, improving cloth damage and tangles, improving washing performance and rinsing performance, and eliminating uneven washing.

Example Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail based on the drawings.

FIG. 1 shows the configuration of a washing machine according to this embodiment. In the figure, reference numeral 1 denotes a washing tub, and this washing tub 1 is provided with water level detection means 3 via a communicating pipe 2.

On the other hand, a pulsator 4 is rotatably disposed at the inner bottom of the washing tub 1, and a pulsator driving means 6 is provided outside the bottom of the washing tub 1. This driving means 6 is electrically connected to a microcomputer 6, and the microcomputer 6 drives and controls the pulsator driving means 6, thereby causing the pulsator 4 to rotate and stop.

Furthermore, a water supply pipe 7 is provided above the washing tub 1, and a water supply valve 8 interposed in the water supply pipe 7 is electrically connected to a water supply valve driving means 9 to drive the driving means 9. The water supply to the washing tub 1 is controlled by the microcomputer 6.

The microcomputer 6 has an input section 11 to which a power switch 1° and a water level detection means 3 are connected, and this input section 1.
The output unit 13 receives a signal from the control unit 1 and outputs a control signal from the control unit 12 to the pulsator drive unit 6 and the water supply valve drive unit 9.

In the washing machine configured as described above, when water supply to the washing tub 1 is started, the water level detection means 3 detects the water level of the washing tub 1 and outputs the detection signal to the input section 11.

Upon receiving this detection signal, the microcomputer e determines the water level using a program built into the control means 12, sends a control signal to the pulsator drive means 5 and the water supply valve drive means 9 through the output section 13, and in accordance with this signal, the pulsator 4
The water supply valve 8 is rotated and stopped, and the water supply valve 8 is opened and closed.

The operation of the control means 12 during the washing and rinsing steps will be explained with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3.

First, the water supply valve 8 is opened via the water supply valve driving means 9 at SL to start water supply to the washing tub 1, and the completion of water supply up to the set water level is detected at S2 by the detection signal output from the water level detection means 3. Then, the water supply valve 8 is closed via the water supply valve driving means 9 in S3.

Next, at S4, T=0 (initial setting) and a 1-hour count are started, and at the same time, at 85, the pulsator 4 is started to rotate clockwise via the pulsator drive means 6, and when it is detected that the water level has fluctuated to a certain level at S6, S7 The pulsator 4 is stopped for a certain time, and the pulsator 4 starts rotating counterclockwise in S8. When it is detected that the water level has changed to a certain level in S9, the pulsator 4 is stopped for a certain time 810, and the above-mentioned rotation is continued until the set time is reached in S11. Repeat the cycle. Therefore, the positive/reverse cycles of the pulsator 4 are as shown in FIG.
Stopping, turning at time T33, and stopping at time t3 are repeated. Here, the stop time t1. t2゜t3・・・・・・
...The setting of tn is free.

In FIG. 4, the relationship between cloth mawashi and water level fluctuation will be explained.

Fig. 4 a and b compare the water level fluctuation ranges 11 and 4 for the case where the amount of cloth is large and the case where it is small at the same water level, the same water flow, and the same time after the pulsator rotation starts. , Under the above conditions, when the amount of cloth is large, case a is better.
If the fabric is not well rolled and the amount of fabric is small, the water level fluctuation width t1 will be 11<12 compared to the case where the amount of fabric is small. Therefore, in order to obtain the same cloth rolling when the amount of cloth is large as in the case where the amount of cloth is small, that is, in order to set t1=t2, the pulsator driving means 6 must be set longer than when the amount of cloth is small. It needs to be driven by time. Similarly, when it comes to cloth doors, such as jeans, work clothes, etc., which are hard and have a lot of tension, and towels, cutters, etc., which are soft and have no tension, it is better to use a pulsator for the former than for the latter. It is necessary to drive the drive means 6 for a long time. In other words, by always keeping the water level fluctuation range 11.12 constant, it is possible to always obtain constant cloth rotation regardless of the amount of cloth or the type of cloth.

As described above, in the washing and rinsing processes, the pulsator 4 starts rotating, and when the water level reaches a certain level, the pulsator 4 is stopped for a certain period of time, and this operation of forward and reverse operations is repeated as one cycle. Regardless of the amount of cloth or the type of cloth, you can always get a constant flow of water around the laundry, and it will prevent damage to the cloth.

Improves cloth entanglement, improves cleaning performance and rinsing performance,
You can eliminate uneven washing.

Effects of the Invention As is clear from the above embodiments, according to the present invention, in the washing and rinsing processes, the rotation of the pulsator is started, and when the water level reaches a certain level, the pulsator is stopped for a certain period of time, and then the rotation of the pulsator is stopped. Since the forward and reverse operations are repeated as one cycle, a constant water flow is always provided around the laundry regardless of the amount of cloth or the type of cloth, improving cloth damage and tangles, improving cleaning performance, and rinsing. improve performance,
It is possible to reduce uneven washing.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a washing machine showing an embodiment of the present invention;
Fig. 2 is a flowchart showing the operation of the control means in the same washing and susuki° process, Fig. 3 is a diagram of the energization pattern to the pulsator drive means of the control means, and Fig. 4 is an explanatory diagram of the relationship between the cloth circumference and water level fluctuation. , FIG. 6, and FIG. 6 are diagrams of energization patterns for conventional pulsator driving means. 1...Washing tub, 3...Water level detection means,
4... Pulsator, 6... River/pulsator m movement means, 12... Control means. Name of agent: Patent attorney Shigetaka Awano and 1 other person 1st
Figure 2 To 1JL Figure 3 Miya 5 Figure 6

Claims (1)

[Claims] The washing tub includes a pulsator disposed at the inner bottom, a pulsator driving means for driving the pulsator in forward and reverse directions, and a water level detection means for detecting the water level in the washing tub, and after water is supplied to a set water level, the pulsator is driven. A method for operating a washing machine, in which rotation of a pulsator is started by a means, and when the water level detecting means detects that the water level has fluctuated to a certain level, the rotation is stopped for a certain time, and this operation is repeated in forward and reverse directions as one cycle.