JPH03158192A - Washing machine - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To decide an optimum level from detecting values from a cloth amount sensor and a level sensor by a method wherein a fuzzy inference device and a level sensor to detect a level are provided, and by comparing a detecting value from the level sensor with a feed water estimating level being the inference result of the fuzzy inference device, a feed water valve is controlled. CONSTITUTION:The decrease of a level rise ratio along with the rise of a level is caused by distribution of cloth density produced by longitudinally piling up laundry in a washing drum 1. Namely, the level rise ratio is decreased because the bottom of the washing drum 1 is highmost in cloth density, and the cloth density is gradually decreased toward above. The level rise ratio is finally converged to a given value because after laundry is completely immersed in water, the level rise ratio is decided according to the size of an outer drum 2. Completion of the feed of water is decided by comparing the level rise ration with a feed water estimating level. It is decided that the feed of water is completed when the level rise ratio is decreased to a value lower than the feed water estimating level, and a feed water valve 9 is closed. Above comparing operation and control of the feed water valve are effected by means of a feed water valve control means 12 realized by a microcomputer 13.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a washing machine that automatically determines the water level during washing and rinsing.

2. Prior Art The determination of the water level during washing and rinsing in conventional washing machines is based on the load applied to the pulsator when the pulsator rotates.
The water level was set for each stage according to the amount of cloth determined in stages.

Problems to be Solved by the Invention However, the optimal water level is determined by the quantity, quality, bulk, etc. of laundry, and determining the water level using conventional methods has been insufficient.

The present invention is intended to solve the above-mentioned problems, and an object of the present invention is to determine the optimum water level based on the detection values of a cloth amount sensor and a water level sensor.

Means for Solving the Problems In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a cloth amount sensor that detects the amount of laundry, a fuzzy inference device that infers the planned water supply level from the detected value of the cloth amount sensor, and a water level sensor. A washing machine comprising: a water level sensor that detects water level sensor; and water supply valve control means that controls a water supply valve by comparing a detected value of the water level sensor with a scheduled water supply level that is an inference result of the fuzzy inference device. It is.

Effects The effects of the above means are as follows. First, immediately before water is supplied for the washing and rinsing processes, a scheduled water level for water supply is determined using a fuzzy reasoning device based on the detected value of the cloth amount sensor. Next, water supply is started and the water level rise rate is detected from the detected value of the water level sensor. The water supply valve control means controls the water supply valve by comparing the planned water supply water level and the water level rise rate. This process determines the optimum water level.

EXAMPLE An example of the present invention will be described below. Figure 1/2
In the figure, 1 is a washing tub containing laundry and washing water;
2 is an outer tank that stores washing water.

A pulsator 3 stirs the laundry and washing water, and is rotated by a motor 4 via a belt 5 and a mechanical mechanism 20. Further, during dewatering, the washing tub 1 is driven by the motor 4. Reference numeral 6 denotes a cloth amount sensor that detects the rotational speed of the washing tub 1 using an encoder when the washing tub 1 rotates, and 7 a water level sensor that detects the amount of water in the washing tub by detecting the air pressure in the air trap 8. The water in and out of the washing tub is operated by a water supply valve 9 and a drain valve 1 driven by a solenoid valve.
Controlled by 0. Here, the cloth amount sensor 6 detects the weight of the cloth. This is because the rotation speed of the washing tub 1 is determined by the weight of the cloth, regardless of the bulk of the cloth.

Next, the determination of the washing water level during washing will be explained based on FIG. 1. Determining the washing water level consists of two steps: determining the initial scheduled water supply level and determining the end of water supply during water supply. The determination of the first scheduled water supply level is performed by the fuzzy reasoning device 11 realized by the microcomputer 13. The reasoning at this time is
For example, ``If there is a lot of cloth, raise the water level'' or ``If there is a small amount of cloth, lower the water level.'' This is based on the judgments normally made by the person operating the washing machine.The rules of reasoning are It consists of four rules shown in Figure 3.The amount of cloth is "large"
Qualitative concepts such as "few" or "few" are expressed quantitatively by membership functions as shown in FIG. Furthermore, qualitative concepts such as "high" or "low" water level are similarly expressed quantitatively by membership functions as shown in FIG.

Next, a method of inference calculation will be described based on FIG.

First, the cloth amount compatibility calculation means 14 calculates the degree of compatibility of the antecedent with respect to the input, that is, the detected value of the cloth amount sensor 6, using human power and the membership function stored in the cloth amount membership function storage means 15. It is obtained by taking the MAX of .

Next, the consequent part minimum calculation means 17 calculates the MIN of the membership function stored in the water level membership function storage means 18 and the antecedent part fitness based on the rule stored in the water level inference rule storage means 16. is the conclusion of the rule. After obtaining each conclusion for all the rules, the consequent part maximum calculation means 19 calculates the MAX of all the conclusions, thereby obtaining the expected washing water level as the final conclusion. The planned washing water level is shown in Figure 7 (
It is expressed in the form of a membership function as shown in a), and indicates the probability that the water level will be determined at each water level. Next, the determination of the end of water supply during the second water supply will be explained with reference to FIG. First, integrate the membership function of the planned water supply water level shown in Figure 7(a) obtained in the first step,
Normalize so that the maximum value of the grade is 1. This takes the form shown in Figure (b), which shows how likely it is that the water supply will end depending on the water level. In addition, the water level rise rate based on the detected value of the water level sensor during water supply is shown in Figure 8 (as shown in Figure 8, it decreases as the water level rises and eventually converges to a predetermined value of 1. This decrease is due to the distribution of heavy density caused by stacking the laundry vertically in the washing tub 1.

In other words, the bottom of the washing tub l has the highest density, and the higher it goes upwards, the lower the density becomes.Also, the water level rise rate ultimately converges to a predetermined value when the laundry is completely This is because after being immersed in water, the water level rise rate is determined by the size of the outer tank 2.Water supply end judgment (This is done by comparing this water level rise rate with the water supply planned water level mentioned above.7) As shown in Figure (C), when the water level rise rate falls below the scheduled water supply level, water supply is terminated and the water supply valve 9 is closed.These comparison operations and water supply valve control are performed by the water supply valve control means 12 realized by a microcomputer 13. Figure 7(c)
As can be easily seen from the figure, even if the planned water level is constant, if the cloth cover is low, the water level will be low, and if the cloth cover is high, the water level will be high.

In this case, the planned water supply level is represented by a fuzzy set, and the final water level is determined by comparing it with the water level rise rate. It is also possible to directly determine the water level.

The process for determining the water level during washing has been described above, but the process for determining the water level during rinsing can be performed in the same way. By determining the water level using the process described above, it is possible to obtain an optimal water level that takes into account both the weight and bulk of the laundry.

As described in detail, according to the present invention, the water level during washing and rinsing can be determined based on multiple information such as the size and bulk of the laundry, so the water level can be adjusted according to the quantity and quality of the laundry. Can be used for detailed washing and rinsing. Furthermore, the estimated water supply level based on the detected value of the cloth amount sensor can be easily realized using fuzzy reasoning.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Fig. 1 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention, Fig. 2 is a block diagram of the embodiment, Fig. 3 is a diagram showing inference rules, and Fig. 4 shows membership functions indicating electric fields. 5 is a diagram showing the membership function indicating the water level, FIG. 6 is a diagram showing the configuration of the fuzzy inference device, and FIGS. 7 and 8 are explanatory diagrams showing the process of determining the water level. ■...Washing tub, 2...Outer tank, 3...Pulsator,
4... Motor, 6... Clothes amount sensor, 7... Water level sensor, 9... Water supply valve, 11... Fuzzy reasoning device, 1
2... Water supply valve control means.

Claims (1)

[Claims] A cloth amount sensor that detects the amount of laundry; a fuzzy inference device that infers the planned water supply level from the detected value of the laundry amount sensor; a water level sensor that detects the water level; a detected value of this water level sensor and the fuzzy inference device. A washing machine comprising a water supply valve control means for controlling a water supply valve based on a comparison with a planned water supply water level which is an inference result of the water supply water level.