JPH0256117B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to a method for controlling the operating time of a dewatering operation of a two-tank washing machine.

[Conventional technology]

In a two-tank washing machine, the washing operation and the dehydration operation are performed in separate washing and dehydration tanks, and the operating time of each is arbitrarily set separately at the discretion of the user.

[Problem that the invention seeks to solve]

When setting the operating time using this method, the optimum washing operating time is determined depending on the amount of items to be washed and the degree of dirt, so the washing operating time is set at the discretion of the user based on these factors. On the other hand, since the dewatering operation is performed on items to be washed that have already been cleaned, the operating time is determined solely by the amount of items to be washed.

However, in the past, the operating time of dehydration operation was set arbitrarily at the user's discretion, so the operating time was often set to be inappropriate for the amount of laundry to be washed, and if the operating time was too short, it was not enough. If dehydration cannot be carried out properly, moisture will remain on the items to be washed, and conversely, if the operating time is too long, not only will electricity be wasted, but the items to be washed will become wrinkled and damaged.

The purpose of the present invention is to eliminate the disadvantages of the conventional example,
To provide a method for controlling the operation of a washing machine, which can perform dehydration operation at the optimum operating time according to the amount of items to be washed with a simple operation, can improve washing work efficiency, can save electricity, and does not damage the items to be washed. It is in.

By the way, the applicant has previously proposed an operation control method for a two-tank washing machine (Japanese Patent Application No. 60-89595) in which the number of inertial revolutions during the washing process is detected by a sensor, and the output of this sensor is used to control the operation of the dewatering, rinsing, and dewatering processes. I proposed something that would automatically set the time. However, this is applied to a type of washing machine that has a dehydration rinsing process and a dehydration process in addition to the washing process. This is applicable to the dehydration process even in the case of a product having a dehydration process and a dehydration process.

[Means for solving problems]

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the present invention uses a sensor to detect the inertial rotation speed after the power supply to the motor is stopped during the washing process, detects the amount of items to be washed using the output of this sensor, and automatically adjusts the operating time of the dewatering process. The purpose is to set and display the

[Effect]

According to the present invention, the load sensor attached to the washing motor detects the inertial rotation speed after the washing motor is stopped during washing operation, and the operating time of the dewatering process that continues after washing is determined based on this inertial rotation speed. Furthermore, this message is displayed at the same time, and the dehydration operation is automatically performed for an operating time commensurate with the amount of items to be washed.

〔Example〕

Embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings.

Fig. 1 is a longitudinal sectional front view of the load sensor used in the method of the present invention, Fig. 2 is an overall perspective view of the two-tub washing machine as above, and Fig. 3 is a longitudinal sectional front view of the same as above. To explain, in the figure, 1 is a washing tank with an agitator 2 arranged in the center, 3 is a dehydration tank consisting of a dehydration basket 4, and a water receiving tank 5 surrounding the dehydration basket 4, both of which have an outer box. 16.

A washing motor 6 is disposed below the washing tank 1, and the motor shaft 7 and the rotating shaft 8 of the agitator 2 are connected to V via pulleys 9 and 10, respectively.
They are connected by a belt 11, and a dehydration motor 12 is disposed below the water receiving tank 5, and a dehydration motor shaft 13 is connected to a dehydration shaft 15 protruding from the dehydration basket 4 via a coupling 14.

Further, a control panel 17 is attached to the upper front part of the outer box 16. As shown in FIG. 4, this control panel 17 includes switches 18 and 19 for turning the power on and off, and a switch 20 for selecting the "washing" process and setting its operating time.
A display lamp 21 for displaying the operating time, a select switch 22 for the "dehydration" process, and an indicator lamp 23 for displaying the operating time are provided, and on the back side of this control panel 17, a conventionally known microcomputer or the like is used. A control device 24 is installed.

This control device 24 stores the operating time and operating mode of each process, and controls each of the switches 18 to 20,
An operation signal from 22 is introduced, and an output signal for driving is also introduced to the washing motor 6 and the dewatering motor 12.

In the two-tank washing machine having such a configuration, a load sensor 25 was attached to the lower part of the washing motor 6 as shown in FIG. For example, this load sensor 25 uses a speed generator in which a permanent magnet 26 is attached around a motor shaft 7 protruding from a washing motor 6, and a coil 27 is wound around the permanent magnet 26 at a slight distance from the permanent magnet 26. A lead wire 28 was connected to the coil 27, and the other end of the lead wire 28 was connected to the control device 24.

Note that the load sensor 25 using such a speed generator may be attached to the rotary shaft 8 of the agitator 2, etc., in addition to the case of the washing motor 6 as described above.

Next, a method of automatically controlling the operating time of the dehydration process using such a two-tank washing machine will be described.

Before starting the dewatering process, a washing operation is performed,
In this step, the washing motor 6 is intermittently energized, and the agitator 2 is alternately rotated left and right by repeating normal rotation, stop, reverse, and stop. The reason why the washing motor 6 is temporarily stopped between normal rotation and reverse rotation is to avoid applying a load to the washing motor 6 at the start of the next reversal or normal rotation. For example, the first energization of 3
The pulses (one pulse is 61 rotations of the washing motor) are set in advance in the memory section of the control device 24.

After putting the items to be washed and detergent into the washing tank 1 and supplying water, press the power on switch 18 and then press the "Wash" select switch 20.
The indicator lamp 21 lights up, and the washing motor 6 is energized by the action of the control device 24, rotates three times, and then is once de-energized.

At this time, the washing motor 6 continues to rotate due to inertia even if the power is cut off, and this inertial rotation generates a voltage in the coil 27, and this AC voltage signal enters the control device 24 via the lead wire 28. When the level of this AC voltage reaches a predetermined value or higher, the control device 24 determines that the washing motor 6 rotates once.
Read as a pulse.

In this way, the number of inertial pulses is measured by the control device 24, but this number of inertial pulses varies depending on the amount of items to be washed, and the value is inversely proportional to the amount of items to be washed. , is a determining factor for determining the number of energizing pulses for the next rotation.

In the present invention, the number of inertial pulses is set to 0 to 0, for example.
4 pulses is "full load" (meaning rated load), 5
The control device 24 divides the load into three stages: ~7 pulses as “medium load” and 8 or more pulses as “light load.”
and temporarily store it in the memory section.

When the first "washing" operation is performed, the load of the object to be washed is stored, and when the second "washing" operation is performed, the load amount is stored.

According to the number of energizing pulses determined by the number of inertial pulses in this manner, the washing motor 6 is repeatedly rotated forward and reverse to perform the washing operation, and when this operation is completed, the next "dehydration" step is started. Note that the operation of the "rinsing" step is similar to the "washing" step, so a description thereof will be omitted here.

In this embodiment, this "dehydration" step is performed according to the classification of "full load", "medium load", and "light load" of the above-mentioned inertia pulse number, and further as shown in FIG. It is divided into 3 minutes and 1 minute.

Then, if you take out the items to be washed from the washing tank 1, transfer them to the dehydration basket 4 of the dehydration tank 3, and press the dehydration select switch 22 once, you can return to the previous stage of "washing".
The dewatering time corresponding to the number of inertia pulses stored during operation is automatically selected, and at the same time the display lamp 23
lights up. For example, if you have a lot of things to wash,
If the number of inertia pulses is stored as "3", "5 minutes" is selected as the dehydration time, and the dehydration motor 1
2 is energized and operated for a predetermined time to complete dehydration.

In addition, it is also possible to set the "dehydration" operation so that a time other than the automatically selected time can be selected arbitrarily, and to give an example of such a changing operation, the lamp 23 for "5" If the select switch 22 is pressed once while the light is on, the dehydration time will be changed to "3" minutes, and if it is pressed twice, it will be changed to "1" minutes.

Also, if you press the power off switch 19 before entering "Dehydration", the memory of the number of inertial pulses will be cleared, so if you press the "Dehydration" select switch 22 in this state, the dehydration time will be set to "5 minutes". Start,
Furthermore, if you wish to stop the operation midway through, you can set the select switch 24 to be pressed three times.

In this way, the optimal operating time for energizing and stopping the dewatering motor 12 is set according to the load according to the number of inertia pulses stored during the "washing" operation. In addition to changing the dehydration time, it is also conceivable to change the rotation speed of the dehydration motor 12.

Load sensors are not limited to the speed generator mentioned above,
Various changes can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention, as long as the rotation of the motor can be detected, such as a magnetic Hall element or an optical fiber.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As described above, the method for controlling the operation of a two-tank washing machine according to the present invention can automatically set the operation time of "dehydration" to the optimum time corresponding to the amount of items to be washed.
Ideal for washing items that do not cause moisture to remain on the items to be washed due to insufficient dehydration, do not waste electricity due to excessive operation, and do not cause wrinkles or damage to the items to be washed. Dehydration is performed and washing efficiency can be improved.

Furthermore, the operating time can be set by simply pressing the operating switch, making it easy to use. Moreover, the dehydration time is not calculated based on changes in the rotational movement of the agitator while the washing motor is energized, but is determined based on the inertial rotational speed after the washing motor is no longer energized. There is no risk of incorrect settings due to accidents such as washing items getting stuck in the agitator being set.

Furthermore, since the determined dehydration time is displayed at the start of the dehydration operation, the user can see how many minutes the dehydration time has been set, making it easy to use.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Fig. 1 is a longitudinal sectional front view of a load sensor used in the operation control method of the present invention, Fig. 2 is an overall perspective view of the two-tank washing machine as above, Fig. 3 is a longitudinal sectional front view of the same, and Fig. 4 is a main part of the same as above. FIG. 5 is a front view of the control panel showing the operation mode. 1...Washing tank, 2...Agitator, 3...Dehydration tank, 4...Dehydration basket, 5...Water receiving tank, 6
...Washing motor, 7...Motor shaft, 8...
Rotating shaft, 9, 10... Pulley, 11... V-belt, 12... Dehydration motor, 13... Dehydration motor shaft, 14... Coupling, 15... Dehydration shaft,
16... Outer box, 17... Control panel, 1
8... Switch for power on, 19... Switch for power off, 20, 22... Switch, 21,
23...Display lamp, 24...Control device, 25...
...Load sensor, 26...Permanent magnet, 27...Coil, 28...Lead wire.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1 The sensor detects the inertial rotation speed after the motor stops energizing during the washing process, the output of this sensor detects the amount of items to be washed, and the operating time for the dehydration process is automatically set and displayed. A method for controlling the operation of a two-tank washing machine.