JPH0322799B2 - - 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 actuating lever for operating the dehydration brake and the clutch for switching between washing and dehydration is operated by suction by a plunger using a solenoid. For that reason,
When the solenoid is energized, the plunger is suddenly attracted and collides with the core of the solenoid, producing an extremely loud sound.The sound is transmitted to the outer frame of the washing machine, and is often accompanied by echoes and resonances. It was supposed to cause great discomfort to the user.

Therefore, in order to eliminate such noise, the movement of the operating lever is controlled using a small motor and a group of reduction gears interposed with a clutch, as seen in, for example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 129097/1983. A device has been proposed in which the dehydration brake and the clutch for switching between washing and dehydration are controlled by movement. However, this proposed method lacks reliability in operation and requires high precision in assembly, etc.
This was bound to pose problems in practical terms. That is,
In this proposal, an output shaft is rotated by a small motor via a group of reduction gears, a string-like member is wound around a pulley attached to the output shaft, and the operating lever is moved from the first position to the first position by the string-like member. When the motor is moved in the direction of position 2 and the output shaft has rotated a predetermined angle, the switch is turned OFF and the small motor is stopped, so there may be errors in the pulley mounting position or the length of the string member. If the string-like member stretches due to aging, there is a concern that it may cause inconveniences such as the operating lever not reaching the second position even though the output shaft has rotated a certain angle and the switch has been turned OFF. There is a lack of reliability in operation,
Extremely high precision was required for assembly work, etc.

(Object of the Invention) In view of the above points, the present invention enables switching between washing and dewatering to be performed quietly and reliably, and also allows a small motor with low torque to drive the dehydration brake, clutch, and drain valve. The purpose is to make it possible.

(Structure of the Invention) In order to achieve the above object, the present invention includes a dehydration brake that brakes the rotation of the dehydration tank, a clutch that switches the transmission of the rotation of the washing and dehydration motor between washing and dehydration, and a clutch that opens and closes the drain hole. The dewatering brake, the clutch, and the drain valve are controlled by a small motor with a built-in reduction gear mechanism, which rotates around a rotating shaft to set the first position during washing. An operating lever is provided which assumes the second position during sampling and dewatering, and a biasing means is provided that always urges the operating lever in the direction of the first position, and this operating lever is braked during washing and released during dehydration. The dewatering brake is connected to the clutch, which releases transmission during pre-rinsing and transmits during dehydration, and the drain valve, which is closed during washing and opened during dehydration, and the small motor is arranged near the end of the operating lever. A cam is provided on the output shaft of the small motor to contact the operating lever and drive the operating lever to the first position or the second position, and the cam has the operating lever in the first position. A holding part is formed to hold a contact part with the actuation lever, and a position detection means is provided to detect that the actuation lever is in the second position, and the reduction gear mechanism of the small motor is connected to the rotor of the small motor. A clutch mechanism is provided to release the transmission with the output shaft.

With the above configuration, by driving the small motor to rotate the cam, the actuating lever can be moved to the first position.
or the second position, and the dewatering brake, clutch, and drain valve that are interlocked with this operating lever are driven to perform washing or dewatering.

In this case, during washing, the clutch mechanism of the small motor releases the transmission between the rotor and the output shaft. In this state, the output shaft of the small motor is free to rotate, and the cam is also free to rotate. Therefore, since the operating lever that this cam comes into contact with is always biased toward the first position, the cam rotates in the direction corresponding to the first position of the operating lever. and the actuation lever is the first
When the position is reached, the contact portion of the actuating lever is held by the holding portion of the cam, and the actuating lever is held in the first position.

Further, during dewatering, the clutch mechanism connects the rotor of the small motor to the output shaft, and the cam is rotationally driven by driving the small motor. When the operating lever reaches the second position, that position is detected and the drive of the small motor is stopped. In this state, the clutch mechanism maintains the transmission state, so the operating lever maintains the second position.

When switching from spin-drying to washing, the clutch mechanism releases the transmission state, so the cam becomes rotatable and the operating lever is held in the first position as described above.

When the actuation lever is in the first position,
The dehydration brake brakes the dehydration tank, the clutch releases rotational transmission of the washing and dehydration motor to the dehydration tank, the drain valve is closed, and washing is performed.

On the other hand, when the operating lever is in the second position, the dehydration brake releases the dehydration tank, the clutch transmits the rotation of the washing and dehydration motor to the dehydration tank, the drain valve is opened, and dehydration is performed. .

In this way, the dehydration brake, clutch, and drain valve are activated depending on the position of the operating lever, and the
Dehydration can be switched.

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

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

The dehydration brake 11 is as shown in FIG.
A brake drum 16 fixed to the dewatering shaft 4, and an annular brake band with a brake lining attached to the inner surface, elastically fitted to the outer periphery of the brake drum 16, and one end bent outward to form a bent piece 18. 17, a rotating drum 20 that is fitted onto the outer periphery of the upper boss portion 16a of the brake drum 16 via a bearing 19 and is rotatable relative to the dewatering shaft 4, that is, the boss portion 16a; By fitting and engaging the protruding slit 22 at the tip with the bent piece 18 of the brake band 17 as shown in FIG. 5, the rotating drum 20 and the brake band 17 are
an arm 21 that is in an integral relationship with respect to the rotation direction;
The substrate 1 is wrapped around the outer periphery of the rotating drum 20, and one end is fastened to the substrate 1 by a fastener 23 such as a bolt or nut.
4 as a fixed end and the other end as a free end, and the tightening direction of the coil spring 24 is made to coincide with the direction of rotation of the dewatering shaft 4 during dewatering.

Further, as shown in FIG. 4, the washing/dehydrating switching clutch 12 is wound around a clutch boss 25 that is integrally provided on the rotating shaft 6 or the pulley 7, and is wrapped over both the clutch boss 25 and the dehydrating shaft 4. It is composed of a clutch spring 26 whose tightening direction coincides with the rotating direction during dehydration, and a rotatable clutch gear 27 located on the outer periphery of the clutch spring 26 and engaged with the lower end of the spring 26.

In FIG. 4, 28 is a brake lever for switching operation of the dehydration brake 11, and 29 is a clutch lever having a clutch pawl 30 for operating the washing/dehydration switching clutch 12. Both levers 28, 29 This will be explained in detail later.

31 is a lower boss portion 16b of the brake drum 16
It is a coil spring that is wound around the outer circumference of the coil spring 24 and has one end fixed to the mechanism case 15 with a fastener 32 such as a bolt or nut to serve as a fixed end and the other end as a free end. It is set in the opposite direction.

Next, the structure for operating the dehydration brake 11 and the washing/dehydration switching clutch 12 will be explained with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2. Reference numeral 33 denotes an operating lever rotatably provided on a shaft 34 erected on the base plate 14 or the mechanism case 15, and is rotatably moved between a first position shown in the first figure and a second position shown in the second figure. The free end side thereof is connected to the drain valve 13 by a rod 35. The drain valve 13 is closed when the operating lever 33 is in the first position, and open when the operating lever 33 is in the second position.

Moreover, the brake lever 2 is attached to the operating lever 33.
8 and clutch lever 29 are both provided in an integral interlocking relationship. The operating lever 33 is in the first position to brake the dewatering brake 11 and release the washing/dehydrating switching clutch 12, and in the second position, the dehydrating brake 11 is released and the clutch 12 is in the power state. Let each state of transmission be. The dewatering brake 11 is operated by operating the free end of the coil spring 24 by the brake lever 28,
When spring 4 relaxes, the braking is released and coil spring 2
4 is in a braking state when it is tightened by releasing the operation. On the other hand, when the clutch pawl 30 of the clutch lever 29 engages with the clutch gear 27 and relaxes the clutch spring 26, the clutch 12 for switching between washing and dewatering is released from transmitting power, and when the clutch pawl 30 is disengaged from the clutch gear 27, the power is transmitted. .

A spring 36 is fitted to the shaft 34, and together with a spring (not shown) built into the drain valve 13, constitutes a biasing means for always biasing the operating lever 33 toward the first position. Reference numeral 37 is a small motor having a built-in reduction gear group and a clutch inserted into the gear group, and its structure will be explained with reference to FIGS. 6 to 8.

In FIGS. 6 to 8, the small motor 37 is composed of a motor section consisting of an AC synchronous motor and a reduction gear group 39. By interposing a large number of gears between the gear 40 and the output gear 42 provided on the output shaft 41 and decelerating in stages, a predetermined deceleration is finally obtained. That is, the rotation of the rotor 38 is controlled by the reduction gear group 39.
The output end 41 rotates at a predetermined low speed. A clutch 45 is constructed between two of the many gears constituting the reduction gear group 39, for example, a gear 43 meshing with the gear 40 and a gear 44 provided coaxially with the gear 43.
The gear 44 is provided to be rotatable with respect to the shaft 46 and slidable in the axial direction, and engages and disengages the clutch 45 by sliding in the axial direction. The compressed spring 47 constantly urges the clutch 45 upwardly to keep it in the released state. The gear 44 is integrally formed with an operating shaft portion 44a, and the shaft portion 44a protrudes outward from the small motor 37.

Next, in FIGS. 1, 2, and 9, 4
8 is a clutch operating device for operating the clutch 45, which includes an electromagnet 49 and a metal piece 50 that seesaws.
When the electromagnet 49 is energized, the electromagnet 49 attracts one end of the metal piece 50 and pushes down the operating shaft portion 44a with the other end, so that the gear 4
4 against the spring 47 to switch the clutch 45 into the engaged state.

51 is a cam body attached to the output shaft 41, which has a substantially spiral shape, and a roller 52 at the free end of the operating lever 33 is in contact with the cam surface 51b;
The cam body 51 moves the operating lever 33 from the first position to the second position by rotating clockwise. 51a and 51d are points at which the operating lever 33 contacts the roller 52 when it is in the first position and the second position, and the point 51a is located at the shortest diameter portion of the cam body 51. 51c is a stopper provided near the point 51a.

The cam surface 51b of the cam body 51 is connected to the operating lever 3.
Clutch 45 is designed to operate without exceeding the rated torque of the synchronous motor and reduction gear group 39 when the clutch 45 is moved toward the second position against the spring 36 and the built-in spring of the drain valve 13. The design is such that sufficient torque to rotate the output shaft 41 when released is applied by the biasing forces of both springs.

Further, the cam body 51 extends the cam surface 51b by θ (see FIG. 10) from the point 51d. This is to make the stroke of the cam body 51 longer than the desired stroke S to provide a margin for the stroke and to absorb errors in the start position (point 51a), installation errors, etc., thereby ensuring that the actuating lever 33 is can be moved to a second position.

In FIG. 1, 53 indicates that the operating lever 33 is in the second position.
The position detector, which detects when the position has been reached, is a micro switch in this embodiment. 54 is an operating device control unit for controlling the clutch operating device 48;
5 is a motor control section for controlling the small motor 37, and 56 is a sequence control section.

The operation of the above configuration will be explained.

During washing and rinsing, the small motor 37 and electromagnet 49 are de-energized, and the clutch 45
Since the gear 44 is lifted up by the spring 47 and separated from the gear 43, it is in the released state as shown in FIG. 6, and the output shaft 41 is in a free rotation state. On the other hand, the operating lever 33 rotates the cam body 51 under the urging force of the spring built into the drain valve 13 and the spring 36, and the roller 52 is located at the point 51a, which is the first position as shown in the first figure. However, the dehydration brake 11 is in a braking state, and the washing/dehydration switching clutch 12 is in a disengaged state.

In this state, the rotation shaft 6 and the rotor blades 5 are periodically reversed by the left-right reversal drive of the motor 8, and washing or rinsing is performed by the reversed water flow. It does not rotate in the direction of . That is, when the washing and dewatering tank 3 attempts to rotate in the same direction as during dewatering, the rotating drum 20 and the brake band 17 are in a stopped state due to the tightening of the coil spring 24, and the rotation between the band 17 and the brake drum 16 is caused. This is prevented by the frictional force, and if an attempt is made to rotate in the opposite direction, it will be prevented by the tightening of the coil spring 31.

Next, the drainage and dewatering operations will be explained with reference to the flowchart shown in Figure 11.

At the start of the drainage/dewatering operation, the sequence control section 56 instructs the operating device control section 54 and the motor control section 55 to energize the electromagnet 49 and the small motor 37.
Then, one end of the metal piece 50 is attracted to the electromagnet 49, and the other end pushes down the operating shaft portion 44a as shown in FIG. 9, moves the gear 44 in the axial direction against the spring 47, and moves the clutch 45 as shown in FIG. The connected state is as follows. Thereby, the rotor 38 side and the output shaft 41 are mechanically coupled, and the rotation of the rotor 38 is transmitted to the output shaft 41 via the reduction gear group 39. This rotation of the output shaft 41 causes the cam body 51 to rotate clockwise in FIG.
b causes the operating lever 33 to move toward the second position against the spring 36 and the like.
Eventually, when the operating lever 33 reaches the second position as shown in the second diagram and turns on the micro switch 53, the sequence control section 56 outputs a stop signal to the motor control section 55 in response to the ON signal from the switch 53. Then, the small motor 37 is stopped. As described above, when the actuation lever 33 reaches the second position, the dehydration brake 11 operates by operating the free end of the coil spring 24 by the brake lever 28 and relaxing the spring 24 to release the brake. The clutch pawl 30 of the clutch lever 29 disengages from the clutch gear 27, and the switching clutch 12 enters the power transmission state, and the drain valve 13 becomes open.
At this time, counterclockwise rotational torque is applied to the cam body 51 by the spring 36 and the spring built into the drain valve 13, but the cam body 51 and the output shaft 41 do not rotate, and the state shown in the second figure is maintained. will be retained.

Drainage is performed by opening the drain valve 13, and the sequence control unit 56 determines the end of draining using the water level switch, then confirms that the lid is closed using the lid switch, and then drives the motor 8 to start dewatering. Move to action. Then, the rotation of the motor 8 is transmitted to the dewatering shaft 4 via the belt 10, the pulley 7, and the clutch spring 26, and the washing and dehydrating tub 3 is rotated to dewater the laundry. At this time, since the coil spring 24 is in a relaxed state, the rotary drum 20 rotates together with the brake band 17 along with the dewatering shaft 4.

When a predetermined dehydration time has elapsed, the sequence control unit 56 determines that dehydration has ended, and stops energizing the motor 8. Then, after a predetermined inertial dehydration time has elapsed after stopping power supply to the motor 8, the sequence control unit 56 causes the operating device control unit 54 to stop power supply to the electromagnet 49. As a result, the clutch 45 is in a released state as shown in FIG. 6 because the gear 44 is lifted by the spring 47, and the output shaft 41 is in a free rotation state. Then, the biasing force of the spring 36 and the spring built into the drain valve 13 is transferred to the operating lever 33.
The cam body 51, which is receiving a counterclockwise rotational torque through the rotation torque, rotates counterclockwise from the second illustrated position, while the actuating lever 33 also moves toward the first position. The rotation of the roller 52 and the movement of the operating lever 33 are performed by the stopper 5.
1c, the roller 52 stops, and finally reaches a point 51a where the roller 52 has its shortest diameter, as shown in the first diagram.
position and stand still.

By moving the operating lever 33 to the first position, the dehydration brake 11 is switched to the braking state and the washing/dehydration switching clutch 12 is switched to the disengaged state. If it is still rotating due to inertia, it will stop immediately due to the frictional force between the brake drum 16 and the brake band 17.

In addition, in FIG. 11, in the event of an abnormality or an emergency stop, the power supply to the electromagnet 49 is also stopped at the same time as the power supply to the motor 8 is stopped. Therefore, the dehydration brake 11
The brake is immediately applied, and the rotation of the washing and dehydrating tub 3 is immediately stopped.

As described above, the small motor 37 and the electromagnet 49
Dehydration brake 11 and washing/
It is possible to control the dewatering switching clutch 12, etc., and it is possible to achieve quieter operation compared to the conventional system in which the dehydrating brake 11, etc. are operated directly by suction of a plunger using an electromagnetic solenoid. The shape of the cam body 51 (extension of the cam surface 51b) can absorb mounting errors, starting position errors, etc. by detecting the position of the upper operating lever 33 and moving the small motor 37.
By controlling this, the actuating lever 33 can be reliably moved to the second position and stopped, resulting in reliable and stable operation.

FIG. 12 shows another structural example of the clutch 45, in which a hollow shaft 43a integrally protrudes from the gear 43, a split groove 43b provided at the upper end of the hollow shaft 43a, and a split slot inserted into the hollow shaft 43a. An operation shaft 57 equipped with a pin 58 that fits into the groove 43b, and a hollow shaft 43a.
The gear 44 is rotatable and has a groove 44b on the outer periphery of which the tip of the pin 58 engages, and the operating shaft 57 is connected to the pin 5.
8, and a spring 47 that urges upward through the pin 58.
When the pin 58 is engaged with the groove 46b, the clutch 45 becomes engaged as shown in FIG. The state is released.

Next, FIG. 13 shows another structural example of the clutch 45, in which a shaft 4 integrally protrudes from the gear 43.
3c, an engaging body 59 that is rotatably and axially movably fitted into the shaft 43c and engages and disengages from the groove 43d of the gear 43 by moving in the axial direction;
an operating shaft 59a integrally protruding from the engaging body 5;
The clutch 45 has a gear 44 that is movable in the axial direction and non-rotatable relative to the clutch 9, and a spring 47 that biases the engaging body 59 upwardly. 59 is engaged with the groove 43d, the engagement body 59 is connected as shown in FIG. 13b.
When it comes out of the groove 43d, each state is released.

In addition, position detectors are not limited to micro switches.
It may be a combination of an optical detection sensor, a reed switch, and a magnet, and the key is to use the actuation lever 3.
Any device may be used as long as it can detect that the object 3 has reached 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, but may be implemented by appropriately modifying the structure of the dehydration brake, the structure of the clutch operating device, etc. without departing from the scope of the invention. Of course.

(Effects of the Invention) According to the present invention, the operating lever is in the washing state when it is in the first position, and it is in the dehydrating state when it is in the second position. By driving the lever to the first position or the second position, it is possible to reliably switch between washing and dehydrating using a small motor.
Therefore, switching between washing and dewatering can be performed much more quietly than when using a solenoid.

When switching between washing and dewatering, the tip side of the operating lever is held by the cam holding part by simply releasing the transmission using the clutch mechanism of the small motor, and the operating lever is placed in the first position to enter the washing state. Therefore, there is no need to rotate the cam while controlling the position of the cam, and it is possible to easily and reliably switch to the washing state. Also, when switching from the washing state to the dehydration state, the operating lever is moved to the second position by a cam provided at the end of the operating lever.
This can be achieved by driving the motor to the above position, so the torque of the above-mentioned small motor is small, and a larger force can be generated with a smaller motor, further reducing noise and power consumption. can.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

1 and 2 are configuration explanatory diagrams showing different operating states of the main parts of a drive device of a fully automatic washing machine according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 3 is a schematic configuration diagram of the same fully automatic washing machine, and FIG. 4 is a sectional view of the drive unit, FIG. 5 is a view taken in the direction of the arrow A in FIG. Fig. 8 is a perspective view of the structure of the clutch, Fig. 9 is a view taken from arrow B in Fig. 2, and Fig. 10 is a perspective view of the clutch section.
The figure shows the shape of the cam body, FIG. 11 is a flowchart during drainage and dewatering, and FIGS. 12a and 13a are cross-sectional views of a reduction gear group showing other different structural examples of the clutch. FIGS. 12b and 13b are explanatory diagrams showing the respective clutch portions. 11: Dehydration brake, 12: Washing/dehydration switching clutch, 28: Brake lever, 29: Clutch lever, 33: Operating lever, 36: Spring, 37: Small motor, 39: Reduction gear group, 4
1: Output shaft, 45: Clutch, 47: Spring, 48: Clutch operating device, 51: Cam body, 5
3: Position detector.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. A dehydration brake that brakes the rotation of a dehydration tank, a clutch that switches the transmission of the rotation of a washing/dehydration motor to washing or dehydration, and a drain valve that opens and closes a drain hole. The dehydration brake, clutch, and drain valve are controlled by a small motor with a built-in reduction gear mechanism, which rotates around a rotating shaft and assumes the first position during washing and the second position during dehydration. An operating lever is provided, and a biasing means is provided that always urges the operating lever in the direction of the first position, and the operating lever is connected to the dewatering brake that applies the brake during washing and releases the brake during spin-drying, and the dehydration brake that applies the brake during pre-rinsing. The clutch, which is released and transmitted during spin-drying, is connected to the drain valve, which is closed during washing and opened during spin-drying, and the small motor is placed near the end of the operating lever, and the output shaft of this small motor is connected to the clutch. A cam that contacts the actuating lever to drive the actuating lever to a first position or a second position is provided, and the cam has a contact portion with the actuating lever when the actuating lever is in the first position. A holding portion is formed to hold the actuating lever, and a position detecting means is provided to detect that the actuating lever is in the second position, and the reduction gear mechanism of the small motor is provided with a position detecting means for controlling the transmission between the rotor and the output shaft of the small motor from dewatering to washing. A drive device for a dehydrating washing machine characterized by being provided with a clutch mechanism that releases when switching.