JPH0255075B2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Technical Field of the Invention] The present invention comprises a washing tank having a peripheral wall composed of a fixed peripheral wall part and a movable peripheral wall part, and the cleaning action is mainly achieved by frictional contact between these peripheral walls and the laundry. About the washing machine you get.

[Technical background of the invention and its problems]

Among conventional washing machines, those with rotary vanes that generate a water flow using rotary vanes to achieve the cleaning action essentially use a water flow to move the laundry, so they require a large washing tank volume relative to the amount of laundry. need,
This means that the amount that can be washed at one time is small. Furthermore, when the amount of cloth is small, the water flow becomes extremely strong, resulting in excessive cleaning, while when the amount of cloth increases, the water flow rate decreases and the cleaning effect tends to decrease rapidly. Furthermore, since the laundry and the rotating blades come into contact only incidentally and only partially, it is not possible to expect a scrubbing effect over the entire laundry, which tends to cause so-called uneven washing and damage the laundry.

On the other hand, a new method has recently been developed in which the rotating blades have been removed, in which the entire washing tank is intermittently rotated while containing water and laundry, and the cleaning effect is obtained by the speed difference between the water and the laundry. Although this method has the advantage of not damaging the laundry, it has the disadvantage that the speed difference between the laundry and water is small and the movement is simple, resulting in low cleaning effectiveness. .

[Purpose of the invention]

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned circumstances, and its purpose is to provide a stronger and more even cleaning effect than conventional ones and to prevent fabric damage without using the conventional rotary blades or the rotation of the entire washing tank. To provide a washing machine that is reliable, can wash a large amount of clothes at one time, and has a wide range of clothes that can maintain an appropriate washing effect.

[Summary of the invention]

The present invention forms a peripheral wall of a washing tank with a fixed peripheral wall section located above and a movable peripheral wall section located below,
When laundry is stored together with water in such a washing tub, and the amount of laundry is small, the laundry is made to flow mainly by the water flow generated by the movable peripheral wall, and as the amount of laundry increases, the contact friction with the movable peripheral wall increases. The movable peripheral wall is made to flow with force and is washed by a synergistic effect with the frictional force received from the fixed peripheral wall in the upper part, and at least the inner surface of the movable peripheral wall moves from the lower part to the upper part. It is formed so that the diameter becomes gradually larger as it goes to the outer wall, and thereby the washing effect due to the friction between the fixed peripheral wall part and the movable peripheral wall part of the laundry and the friction between the laundry items, and the washing effect due to the friction between the fixed peripheral wall part and the movable peripheral wall part of the laundry. It is possible to expect the so-called massaging effect, which is caused by receiving forces in different directions from the parts, evenly throughout the entire laundry.

[Embodiments of the invention]

An embodiment in which the present invention is applied to a dehydrating and washing machine will be described below with reference to the drawings.

Reference numeral 1 denotes an outer box, inside of which a water receiving tank 2 is disposed, which is elastically supported via a hanging rod mechanism 3 so as to be swingable. Reference numeral 4 designates a washing tank, which essentially consists of a fixed surrounding wall and a movable surrounding wall located below the fixed surrounding wall. This is achieved by a combination of a fixed tank that rotates and is stopped during washing, and an agitator 6 shaped like a shallow bottom container. This will be explained in detail below.The fixed tank 5 is placed in the water receiving tank 2, and its outer bottom is connected to the hollow dehydration shaft 7, and the container-shaped stirring body 6 is placed along the inner peripheral wall surface of the fixed tank 5. The washing shaft 8 is disposed below the washing shaft 8, and its outer bottom is connected to the washing shaft 8. At this time, in particular, the container-shaped stirring body 6 has its peripheral wall height approximately half the height or depth of the fixed tank 5, and both the inside and outside surfaces are formed in a tapered shape whose diameter gradually increases from the bottom to the top. , its inner surface is formed into an uneven shape with a large number of grooves 9 extending in the vertical direction. On the other hand, in this embodiment, the washing tank 4 also serves as a dehydration tank, and for this purpose, a dehydration hole 10 is formed in the peripheral wall of the fixed tank 5. 11
is a power control mechanism that transmits the rotational power of the washing machine motor 12 to the washing shaft 8 at a reduced speed and alternately reverses during washing, and transmits it to the spin-driving shaft 7 and washing shaft 8 during spin-drying to rotate the fixed tank 5. A deceleration mechanism, a clutch mechanism, a brake mechanism, etc. are built in to rotate the container-shaped stirring body 6 integrally. Reference numeral 13 denotes a drain valve that allows water in the washing tank 4 to be discharged from the bottom of the water receiving tank 2 to the outside of the machine via a drain hose 14. 15 is a timer, which automatically controls each process from washing to final dehydration.

In the above configuration, in the washing operation, the fixed tank 5 is restrained by the brake mechanism so as not to rotate, and the container-shaped agitator 6 is rotated forward and backward, so that the peripheral wall of the fixed tank 5 is exposed upward from the peripheral wall of the container-shaped agitator 6. This part is made to function as a fixed peripheral wall part of the peripheral wall of the washing tank 4, and the peripheral wall of the container-shaped stirring body 6 is made to function as a movable peripheral wall part.

Next, the operation of the above configuration will be explained. During washing, water is supplied into the water receiving tank 2 and thus into the washing tank 4 until the fixed tank 5 is almost filled with water, and the laundry is thrown in. The washing operation is carried out by rotating only the container-shaped agitator 6 in forward and reverse directions while the fixed tank 5 is restrained by a brake mechanism so as not to rotate. In this embodiment, the rotational speed of the container-shaped stirring body 6 is within the range of 120 to 180 rotations per minute, and the direction of rotation is reversed approximately every 2 to 3 rotations.

Now, in such a washing operation, since the laundry comes into contact with the peripheral wall of the container-shaped agitator 6 and the peripheral wall of the fixed tank 5, in the lower part, due to frictional contact with the agitator 6, the laundry is moved as shown by the arrow in the figure. A rotational force is applied as shown by x, and the upper part receives a restraining force due to frictional contact with the fixed tank 5, and by simultaneously receiving these frictional forces in different directions, it gives a twisting or compressing effect to the laundry, and this also causes the container-like agitation. This is repeated by reversing the direction of rotation of the stirring body 6, and the laundry is pushed toward the circumferential wall of the washing tub 4 by the centrifugal force accompanying the rotation of the container-shaped stirring body 6, and the reaction force is transferred inward from the circumferential wall of the upper fixed tub 5. By receiving it in the opposite direction, it also produces an effect of being reversed up and down as shown by the arrow Y direction in the figure, giving a complex movement. In particular, in the case of this embodiment, since the container-shaped stirring body 6 is formed in a tapered shape whose diameter gradually increases from the bottom to the top, the movement of the laundry due to the centrifugal force is smooth, and The water also moves smoothly, making it easier to rise, and the upside-down reversal (swapping) of the laundry is facilitated. Therefore, while the laundry is subjected to a scrubbing action due to the large friction between the cloths due to the above-mentioned complicated movements and the large friction with the surrounding walls of the stationary tank 5 and the container-shaped agitator 6, the laundry is subjected to a kind of scrubbing action due to repeated twisting and compression. The massaging action is evenly applied to all of the laundry, and its cleaning effect is excellent, as shown in Figure 2 as an example of the results of a comparative experiment.
That is, in FIG. 2, curve A is according to the present invention, curve B is according to the conventional rotary vane system, and curve C is
shows the cleaning ratio characteristics in the case of the washing tank rotation system devised prior to the present invention, and it can be seen that the cleaning effect of the present invention is high.

Furthermore, as mentioned above, the laundry is moved by frictional contact with the peripheral walls of the stationary tub 5 and the container-shaped agitator 6, so as the amount of laundry increases, the frictional force also increases, and the degree of movement of the laundry decreases as the amount of laundry increases. Therefore, the rate of decrease in cleaning effectiveness is small. Moreover, when the amount of laundry is small, the frequency of contact with the peripheral wall of the container-shaped agitator 6 is low, and the contact friction force is extremely small, so that the laundry is mainly washed by being washed by the water flow generated by the rotation of the agitator 6. However, in this case, unlike in the case of conventional rotary blades, the water flow does not become extremely strong, so washing can be done to an appropriate degree regardless of the amount of cloth, without causing excessive washing. These facts mean that the range of cloth amounts that can maintain an appropriate cleaning effect is wider than in the case of the prior art described above (see FIG. 2).

In particular, in this embodiment, since the inner surface of the container-shaped agitator 6 is formed into an uneven shape, firstly, the laundry is better caught in the circumferential direction, and a strong massaging action can be obtained. As the scrubbing action increases, the washing action becomes stronger, while the upper part allows the laundry to be easily removed, and the concave part (groove 9) becomes a passageway for water to flow due to centrifugal force without being blocked by the laundry. This gives a force to push up the laundry, making it easier for the laundry to move upwards, and by making it easier to change the laundry from top to bottom, the final result is a stronger and more even cleaning effect. is obtained.

The dewatering operation in this embodiment is carried out by opening the drain valve 13 to drain the water, and then operating a clutch mechanism (not shown) to rotate the fixed tank 5 and the container-shaped stirring body 6 together in one direction.

It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiments, and may be applied to a washing tank without a dehydration function. Therefore, the peripheral wall of the fixed tank may be made non-porous so as to store water within itself. It is also possible to have a configuration in which the pear water tank is removed. Further, the movable tank, that is, the movable peripheral wall portion, is not limited to the tapered shape as described above, but may have a bowl shape, for example, as long as the diameter gradually increases from the bottom to the top. The surface may be only the inner surface of the above-mentioned inner and outer surfaces.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As is clear from the foregoing, the washing machine of the present invention has a washing tub in which the surrounding wall of the washing tub is constituted by a fixed surrounding wall portion located above and a movable surrounding wall portion located below and driven to rotate in forward and reverse directions. When the amount of laundry is small, the laundry is stored together with water, and when the amount of laundry is small, the laundry is made to flow mainly by the water flow generated by the movable peripheral wall, and as the amount of laundry increases, it is caused to flow due to the frictional force of contact with the movable peripheral wall. The movable peripheral wall has at least an inner surface that gradually increases in diameter from the lower part to the upper part. It is characterized by being formed in such a way that it can be expected to have a more powerful and even cleaning effect than conventional methods without using the conventional rotating blades or the rotation of the entire tank, and it can be washed in one wash. It has various excellent effects, such as a large amount of cloth that can be washed and a wider range of cloth amounts that can maintain an appropriate cleaning effect.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a vertical sectional side view showing an embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 2 is a cleaning ratio characteristic diagram. In the figure, 2 is a water receiving tank, 4 is a washing tank, 5 is a fixed tank (fixed peripheral wall part), 6 is a container-shaped stirring body (movable peripheral wall part),
9 is a groove, 12 is a washing machine motor, and 11 is a power control mechanism.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. The peripheral wall of the washing tub is composed of a fixed surrounding wall section located above and a movable surrounding wall section located below and driven to rotate in forward and reverse directions, and laundry is stored together with water in the washing tub. When the amount of laundry is small, the laundry is made to flow mainly by the water flow generated by the movable peripheral wall, and as the amount of laundry increases, it is made to flow by the frictional force of contact with the movable peripheral wall. Washing is carried out by a synergistic effect with the frictional force received from the fixed circumferential wall section at the movable circumferential wall section, and the movable circumferential wall section is formed such that at least the inner surface thereof gradually increases in diameter from the bottom to the top. A washing machine featuring: 2. The washing machine according to claim 1, wherein the movable peripheral wall portion has an uneven inner surface.