JPH0257437B2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] (Industrial Application Field) The present invention relates to a dehydrating washing machine such as a fully automatic washing machine,
In particular, it relates to its drive device.

(Prior Art and Its Problems) Conventionally, in this type of washing machine, the operating levers for operating the dehydration brake and the clutch for switching between washing and dehydration are operated by suction by a plunger using a solenoid. Therefore, when the solenoid is energized, the plunger is suddenly attracted and collides with the core of the solenoid, generating an extremely loud sound.The sound is transmitted to the outer frame of the washing machine, etc., and is accompanied by echoes and resonances. This often caused great discomfort to the user.

Therefore, in order to eliminate such noise, various proposals have been made in which small motors are used to control the dehydration brake and the clutch for switching between washing and dehydration, but none of them poses practical problems. It has the following.

For example, in the device disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 49-64269, the actuation lever is operated by a combination of a small motor and a group of reduction gears without using a solenoid. Since the motor is always on, there is a stopper mechanism that prevents any further operation after the dehydration brake and switching clutch have operated as specified, and a friction clutch that releases the rotation of the small motor after the stopper mechanism operates. Therefore, problems such as a complicated mechanism, a short life span, and unstable operation occur, which poses practical difficulties.

Furthermore, in the device disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 55-129097, the above operating lever is operated by combining a small motor, a group of reduction gears, and a small solenoid. After the clutch has performed a predetermined operation, the small motor can be stopped and the predetermined operating state can be maintained by its static torque, and the stopper mechanism and friction clutch like the former can be omitted. However, on the other hand, a small solenoid is required to release the dehydration brake and the switching clutch from a predetermined operating state, and this also generates a collision noise between the plunger and the core, and the plunger does not operate properly. A clutch is required to release the mechanical connection between the small motor and the reduction gear group, which poses a practical problem.

(Objective of the Invention) The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and it does not use any solenoids and avoids the continuous ON state of the small motor. The present invention provides a practically suitable drive device that is configured to be able to be controlled by.

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

FIG. 1 is a schematic vertical sectional view showing a dehydrating washing machine in an embodiment of the present invention. In Fig. 1, 1 is an outer frame, 2 is a water tank that is elastically suspended within the outer frame 1 by a vibration-proof support mechanism, 3 is a washing/dehydration tank, and 4 is a hollow space that fixes the tank 3 at the upper end. A dewatering shaft, 5 is a rotating blade disposed at the inner bottom of the dehydrating tank 3, 6 is a rotating shaft rotatably inserted and supported in the dehydrating shaft 4, and has a rotary blade 5 fixed to its upper end and a pulley 7 fixed to its lower end, 8 11 is a washing and dewatering motor in which a belt 10 is stretched between a pulley 7 and a motor pulley 9 to transmit rotation to a rotating shaft 6;
1 is a dehydration brake provided on the dehydration shaft 4; 12 is a clutch for switching between washing and dehydration provided between the dehydration shaft 4 and the rotary shaft 6 or pulley 7; 13 is a drain valve; 14
15 indicates a board, and 15 indicates a mechanism case.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the dehydration brake 11 has a brake drum 1 fixed to the dehydration shaft 4.
6, and a brake band 17 that has a brake lining 18 attached to its inner surface and is located on the outer periphery of the brake drum 16, and as will be described later, by pressing the brake lining 18 against the brake drum 16 under the urging force of a spring. This applies braking force to the dehydration shaft 4. The washing/drying switching clutch 12 is composed of a clutch spring, a clutch gear, a clutch pawl, etc., as is well known in the art, and transmits and releases power by engaging and disengaging the clutch pawl from the clutch gear.

Next, FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a braking state by the dehydration brake, and FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the same braking release state. In FIGS. 2 and 3, 19 is the substrate 14
Alternatively, it is an actuation lever rotatably supported on the mechanism case 15 with a shaft 20, one end of which has both ends of the brake band 17 rotatably supported, and the other end connected to the rod 21 of the drain valve 13. do. Although not shown in the drawings, this actuating lever 19 has a clutch lever provided with a clutch pawl that is integrally interlocked with the actuating lever 19.
The operating lever 19 rotates between a first position shown in the second figure and a second position shown in the third figure, and is always kept in the first position by a spring 22 fitted to the shaft 20. In the first position, the brake band 17 is tightened, the drain valve 13 is closed, and the washing/spin-drying switching clutch 12 is in the transmission release state, and in the second position , loosen the brake band 17 and release the drain valve 13.
is opened, and the washing/spin-drying switching clutch 12 is placed in each transmission state.

23 is the shaft 2 attached to the board 14 or the mechanism case 15.
4, one end of which is rotatably supported, and the other end has an engagement step 25. 26 is axis 2
A spring 27 is wound around 4 and urges the holding lever 23 in the direction of arrow B, and 27 is a stopper provided at the middle of the operating lever 19. The above holding lever 23
is located vertically (axially) shifted from the operating lever 19, and together with the spring 26, stopper 27, etc., constitutes a holding means. This holding means operates as the operating lever 19 moves to the second position, engages the engagement step 25 of the holding lever 23 with the stopper 27, and moves the operating lever 19 against the spring 22. It is held in position 2.

Reference numeral 28 denotes a small motor incorporating a group of reduction gears, the shaft 29 of which rotates at a reduced speed as the small motor 28 rotates, and the motor section is composed of a synchronous motor. 30 is a cam (rotating body) attached to the shaft 29;
As shown in the fourth figure, the first
A projection 31 and a second projection 32 axially opposed to the projection 31 and the holding lever 23 are provided to protrude in opposite directions. Thus, the cam 30 is connected to the first protrusion 31
The actuation lever 19 is moved from the first position to the second position, and the holding lever 23 is moved by the second protrusion 32, so that the engagement step 25 and the stopper 27 are moved.
This is to release the engagement with the 33 is a normally open type micro switch, which is turned ON by the operating lever 19 when the lever 19 moves to the second position.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram of the control circuit section of the same as above.
In FIG. 5, 34 is an operation control unit that sequentially executes a series of operations from washing to the final dehydration process according to a predetermined program; 35 is a dehydration brake 11;
Washing/dehydration switching clutch 12 and drain valve 13
In this embodiment, the state detection section detects the state of the micro switch 33, and detects the state according to whether the switch 33 is turned on or off. 36
3 is a timer, and 37 is a small motor drive unit. The operation control section 34 inputs a timing signal to a small motor drive section 37, and the small motor drive section 37 controls the small motor 28 as described later.

The operation of the above configuration will now be described.

Now, when a signal to start the operation of the dehydrating washing machine is input, the operation control section 34 outputs a timing signal to cause the small motor drive section 37 to start the small motor 28.
is controlled as shown in the flowchart shown in FIG. 6, and the cam 30 is set at a predetermined reference position.

In FIG. 6, when a signal is input, the operation control section 34 first clears the timer, turns on the small motor 28, rotates the cam 30 in the direction of arrow C, and first checks whether the micro switch 33 is off or not. Determine whether And micro switch 33
When it is determined that the micro switch 3 is OFF,
Determine whether or not 3 is ON. During this time, the cam 30 continues to rotate, and eventually the tip of the first protrusion 31 comes into contact with the operating lever 19 and moves the lever 19 in the direction of arrow D against the spring 22.
When the first protrusion 31 reaches the X position shown in the third figure, the operating lever 19 reaches the second position and turns on the micro switch 33 as shown in the third figure, while the stopper 27 has a holding lever. 23 engagement steps 25 are engaged and held in the second position.
When determining whether the micro switch 33 is ON,
The timer 36 is started, and when a predetermined time t has elapsed since the micro switch 33 was turned on, the small motor drive section 37 starts the small motor 28.
Turn off. That is, the first protrusion 31 of the cam 30 is at the X position (the position where the micro switch 33 is turned on).
The time it takes to reach the reference position S from
By turning off, the cam 30 is set at the reference position S as shown in the third figure.

Through the above-described control, no matter what position the cam 30 is in, it is moved to the reference position S at the start of operation, and subsequent operations are executed accurately. In addition, in the state shown in the third figure, the operating lever 19 is in the second position, and the dehydration brake 1 is in the second position.
1 is a clutch 12 for releasing the brake and switching between washing and dehydration.
is in the power transmission state, and the drain valve 13 is in the open state.

Next, when entering the washing process, the operation control unit 34 starts the timer 36, and the small motor drive unit 37 turns on the small motor 28 for a predetermined time t ₁ . When the small motor 28 turns N, the cam 30 rotates in the direction of the arrow C, and the second protrusion 32 eventually comes into contact with the holding lever 23 and moves the lever 23 in the direction of the arrow E against the spring 26, so that the cam 30 is engaged. The engagement between the step portion 25 and the stopper 27 is released. Then, the operating lever 19 moves in the direction of arrow A due to the return force of the spring 22, and enters the state shown in the second figure. In this state, the operating lever 19 is in the first position, and the dehydration brake 11
The brake is applied, the clutch 12 for switching between washing and dewatering is released, and the drain valve 13 is closed. And time
As time _t1 elapses, the small motor 28 is turned off, and at this point the first protrusion 31 of the cam 30 is moved to Y shown in the second figure.
reach the position.

In this way, after closing the drain valve 13, water supply is started and the washing operation is performed. Then, when moving to the drainage process, the operation control unit 34 turns on the small motor 28 by the small motor drive unit 37 for a predetermined time t ₂ , and moves the cam 30 to the first protrusion 3
1 rotates from the Y position until it reaches the S position, which is the reference position. During this time, the first protrusion 31 moves the actuation lever 19 to the second position and is held by the holding lever 23, as described above. Therefore, the drain valve 13 opens and drains water.

Thereafter, the rinsing process and the draining process are controlled in the same manner as the previous washing process and the draining process, and the process moves to the dehydrating process.

At the start of the dewatering process, as in the draining process, the operating lever 19 is in the second position as shown in the third figure, the dehydrating brake 11 is released, the washing/dehydrating switching clutch 12 is in the power transmission position, and the drain valve is in the second position. 13 is in each open state. Therefore, the washing and dewatering motor 8
When turned on, the rotational force is transmitted to the dehydration shaft 4 via the clutch 12, and the washing and dehydration tub 3 is rotated to perform dehydration.

When the dehydration process is completed, the operation control section 3
4 turns off the washing and dewatering motor 8, while the small motor 28 is operated by the small motor drive unit 37 for ₁ hour.
It is turned on and the cam 30 is rotated until the first protrusion 31 reaches the Y position from the reference position S. During this rotation, the second protrusion 32
3 to release the holding of the actuating lever 19, the actuating lever 17 returns to the first position due to the biasing force of the spring 22, and the washing/dehydration switching clutch 12 is brought into the transmission release state, while the brake band 17 is released. is tightened to bring the brake lining 18 into pressure contact with the brake drum 16, and the washing and dewatering tank 3 is braked and stopped immediately.

As described above, in this embodiment, by setting the cam 30 at the reference position S at the beginning of operation, the small motor 28 is then controlled by simple time control such as t ₁ and t ₂ to ensure proper operation. It is possible to obtain a suitable operating state.

In the above embodiment, the micro switch 33 is used as the state detection section 35, but the position of the operating lever can be detected by a combination of a reed switch and a magnet, a combination of a phototransistor and a photodiode, etc. Alternatively, the state may be detected by detecting the position of the holding lever or cam.In short, it is sufficient to be able to detect the state of the dehydration brake and the clutch for switching between washing and dehydration, whether directly or indirectly. The means used are also not particularly limited.

Further, the holding means is not limited to the structure of the above-described embodiment, and may have any structure as long as it can operate as the operating lever moves to the second position and hold the lever at the second position. Furthermore, the small motor is not limited to one with a built-in reduction gear group, but may be one with a separate reduction gear group.

In addition, the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above and shown in the drawings, and may be implemented by appropriately modifying the structure of the dehydration brake, the shape of the rotating body (cam), etc. without departing from the scope of the invention. Of course you can get it.

(Effect of the invention) As described above, according to the present invention, the small motor
In addition to being able to eliminate noise problems by controlling the dehydration brake and the clutch for switching between wash and dehydration by turning ON and OFF, it is also possible to keep the small motor in the ON state continuously as in the past, or to install a separate solenoid. There is no need to provide a clutch in the reduction gear group, which simplifies the mechanism and makes it more practical in terms of structure.Also, by setting the rotating body at the reference position at the beginning of operation, control becomes easier. Accurate operation can be obtained.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Fig. 1 is a schematic vertical sectional view showing a dehydrating washing machine according to an embodiment of the present invention, Figs. 2 and 3 are main part configuration diagrams showing different operating states of the above, and Fig. 4 is a small motor equipped with the same cam as above. FIG. 5 is a block diagram of the control circuit section, and FIG. 6 is a flowchart for setting the reference position. 3: Washing and dehydration tank, 4: Dehydration shaft, 11: Dehydration brake, 12: Washing/dehydration switching clutch, 1
6: Brake drum, 17: Brake band, 1
9: Operating lever, 22: Spring, 23: Holding lever, 28: Small motor, 30: Cam (rotating body), 33: Micro switch, 34: Operation control section, 35: State detection section.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. An actuating lever that moves between a first position and a second position and operates the dehydration brake and the clutch by the movement of the dehydration brake and the clutch for switching between wash and dehydration using a small motor; a biasing means that always biases the actuation lever toward the first position; and a biasing means that operates as the actuation lever moves to the second position and moves the actuation lever to the second position against the biasing means. and a rotating body that alternately performs an action of decelerating rotation as the small motor rotates and thereby moving the operating lever to a second position and an action of releasing the holding of the operating lever by the holding means. and a condition detection unit that detects the status of the dehydration brake and the clutch for switching between washing and dehydration, and at the beginning of operation, the small motor is controlled based on the signal from the condition detection unit and the rotating body is set at the reference position. A driving device for a dehydrating washing machine characterized by: