JPH0245917B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (Technical Field) The present invention relates to a washing machine that controls a rinsing operation by optically detecting changes in the transparency of a washing liquid.

(Prior art) Recently, various automatic washing machines have been developed that control the rinsing operation by optically detecting changes in the transparency of the cleaning liquid. Detection was an issue. That is, when controlling the rinsing operation based on the relative difference in transparency between fresh water and cleaning liquid, it is necessary to purely detect the transparency of fresh water, which increases control accuracy. However, although clean water is supplied during the water supply before the rinsing operation, the clean water passes through the water tank and reaches the measuring section, so detergent and dirt that adhere to the water tank during the washing operation and remain even after the water is drained are removed. The detergent components and dirt were mixed into the clean water, making it impossible to detect the clarity of the clean water.

(Purpose) The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and is intended to enable pure detection of the transparency of fresh water and improve the control accuracy of the rinsing operation.

(Example) Examples of the present invention shown in the drawings will be described in detail below.

First, in FIG. 1, 1 is a water tank, 2 is a washing/dehydration tank, 3 is a pulsator, 4 is a valve case 5 having an opening/closing part 6, a valve cover 7 for closing the opening of the valve case 5, and an opening/closing part. 6, a spring 9 that always biases the valve body 8 in the closing direction, a solenoid 10 that opens the valve body 8, and the like. The valve case 5 is made of, for example, a molded product of synthetic resin, and a conduit section 11 is integrally molded so as to be continuous with the opening/closing opening section 6 . This conduit section 11 has connection ports 12 and 13 near the tip and opening/closing port 6, and a measurement section 14 is provided between both the connection ports 12 and 13.
Furthermore, another connection port 15 is provided between the measurement part 14 and the connection port 12, and the connection port 12 is connected to the water tank 1.
It communicates with the inside of the aquarium 1 by directly connecting it to a drain port 16 at the bottom of the aquarium 1, and by connecting the connection port 13 to a circulation port 17 at the lower side wall of the aquarium 1 via a pipe 18.

As shown in an enlarged view in FIG. 2, the measuring section 14 has a pair of mounting ports 19 and 20 facing each other,
The mounting openings 19 and 20 are sealed with transparent covers 21 and 22, and the transparent covers 21 and 22
The portions facing each other are defined as detection windows 21a and 22a. 23 is a light source (infrared light emitting diode) press-fitted and held in the transparent cover 21, and 24 is a photosensitive element (phototransistor) press-fitted and held in the other transparent cover 22.

Numerals 25 and 26 are water supply solenoid valves connected to a water tap or the like, and one water supply solenoid valve 24 constitutes a water supply means for supplying water to the water tank 1. 27 is a water receiving tank that receives the water supply from the other water supply solenoid valve 26, 28 is a hose that connects the water receiving tank 27 and the connection port 15, and the water supply solenoid valve 26, water receiving tank 27, and hose 28 are the measurement unit This constitutes a water supply means for supplying fresh water into the tank 14. 29 is the program control unit 3
This is a valve control unit that controls the water supply electromagnetic valves 25 and 26 according to instructions from 0.

The fully automatic washing machine according to the embodiment of the present invention has the above-mentioned configuration, and, like conventional fully automatic washing machines, each operation such as water supply, washing, rinsing, and spin-drying is performed sequentially according to a predetermined program. An example of this is shown in Figure 3. The washing and rinsing operations are then controlled by detecting changes in the transparency of the cleaning liquid, as described below. In addition, the intermediate dehydration and final dehydration operations are divided into the first and second stages; in the first stage, a motor (not shown) rotates the washing and dehydrating tank 2 to perform dehydration, and in the latter stage, the power to the motor is stopped and washing is performed. Dehydration is performed by inertial rotation of the dehydration tank 2.

In the above configuration, during washing or rinsing operations, the rotation of the pulsator 3 causes the cleaning liquid in the water tank 1 to circulate inside and outside the washing/dehydration tank 2 through the holes in the washing/dehydrating tank 2, and some of the liquid flows through the circulation port 17, Piping 1
8. Pipe section 11 including measuring section 14 and drain port 16
It circulates through . Thus, changes in the transparency of the cleaning liquid flowing through the measuring section 14 are measured using the light source 23 and the photosensitive element 2.
4 to control operations such as washing or washing.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing changes in the transparency of the cleaning liquid during washing, where the solid line A shows fresh water and the solid line B shows the transparency of the liquid. During washing, the transparency of the liquid in the water tank 1 gradually decreases due to dirt etc. from the laundry.
When there is no change in transparency, it is determined that washing is complete, the washing operation is completed, and the next step is the drainage operation.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing changes in the transparency of the cleaning liquid during rinsing, where the solid line A shows fresh water and the solid line C shows the transparency of the liquid. During rinsing, the liquid in the water tank 1 becomes more transparent as the dirt is gradually diluted, and the end of rinsing is determined when the transparency stops changing and the relative difference x with fresh water reaches a predetermined value. here,
To explain the water supply before the rinsing operation, which is a feature of the present invention, first, the water supply solenoid valve 26 opens before the water supply solenoid valve 25, and passes through the water supply solenoid valve 26, the water receiving tank 27, and the hose 28 to the measuring section 14. Fresh water is supplied to the water tank 1, and fresh water that does not pass through the water tank 1 accumulates in the measurement unit 14. After a certain period of time, the water supply solenoid valve 26 is closed and the water supply solenoid valve 25 is opened, and the water is directly poured into the water tank 1. Supply water. Therefore, it is possible to purely detect the transparency of fresh water at the start of the rinsing operation and store this as a reference value, thereby increasing control accuracy.

(Effects) As described above, according to the present invention, the transparency of fresh water can be detected purely, and the control accuracy of the rinsing operation can be improved.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Fig. 1 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the main parts showing an embodiment of the washing machine of the present invention, Fig. 2 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the measuring section of the same, and Fig. 3
This figure is a chart of the same washing process, FIG. 4 is a diagram showing changes in the transparency of the cleaning liquid during the washing operation, and FIG. 5 is a diagram showing changes in the transparency of the cleaning liquid during the rinsing operation. 1: Water tank, 2: Washing and dehydration tank, 14: Measuring section,
23: light source, 24: photosensitive element, 25, 26: water supply solenoid valve, 27: water receiving tank, 28: hose.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A measuring section is provided in which the cleaning liquid flows through the inside of the water tank in communication with the water tank, and the measurement part detects changes in the transparency of the washing liquid using a combination of a light source and a photosensitive element to control the rinsing operation, a first water supply means for supplying water into the measuring section; and a second water supply means for supplying water directly into the measuring section without passing through the water tank; A washing machine characterized in that it operates in advance of the washing machine.