JPH0397497A - Washing machine - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To produce an effective bleaching original to a bleaching agent without exercising an adverse influence on clothes and a detergent by a method wherein a bleaching agent charging means effects charging operation at a point of time when a given amount of water is fed at a rinsing process and when an agitating blade is operated, and thereafter a given soaking time is set. CONSTITUTION:When a washing process is completed, a rinsing process is entered, drainage of washing liquid at a washing process is effected, and thereafter dehydration is performed. After completion of dehydration, the feed of water for rinsing is effected. At a point of time when it is detected by a water level detecting means 9 that a given amount of rinsing water is fed, a signal is outputted from a process control means 10 to a motor control means 11 to run a motor 5. Running of the motor causes rotation of an agitating blade 3 through a reduction mechanism 4 to effect agitation of rinsing water and clothes in a washing drum 1. After the start ing of agitation, a signal is outputted from the process control means 10 to a bleaching agent charge control means 14 to drive a bleaching agent charge means 8. This constitution prevents reaction of the bleaching agent itself to a detergent component for cloths and produces an effect originally possessed by the bleaching agent.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a washing machine whose purpose is to effectively bleach clothes placed in the washing machine.

BACKGROUND ART Conventionally, when bleaching clothes using a washing machine, the user first dilutes a commercially available high-concentration bleach with water and then mixes this bleach into a bleach solution with a predetermined concentration. The bleaching process was performed by adding a solution to the washing machine before operation or during the washing process.

Problems to be Solved by the Invention However, when bleaching is performed in a washing machine using a commercially available high-concentration liquid chlorine bleach, the conventional configuration requires There is a complication in that the user has to dilute high concentration bleach to a predetermined concentration and then use it in advance. However, if a user accidentally creates a highly concentrated bleach solution and puts it into the washing machine when diluting this bleach, there are problems such as having an adverse effect on the clothes put in the washing machine. Ta. For example, if the clothing is colored and patterned, problems such as color fading and pattern fading may occur.

However, another problem is the relationship with laundry detergent.

Most modern laundry detergents generally contain various enzymes such as proteases that break down protein stains on clothing. However, it is known that these enzymes are destroyed by the oxidizing power of chlorine contained in chlorine bleach, and when used together with chlorine bleach, the enzymes contained in laundry detergent may be destroyed. There were times when I stopped working. In addition, since laundry detergents contain many organic substances such as surfactants, the oxidizing power of chlorine bleach for bleaching acts on the surfactants and other detergents to some extent. There have been problems in that the combined use of laundry detergent and bleach reduces the effectiveness of each other, such as the bleach itself not being able to produce its original bleaching effect.

In view of the above-mentioned problems, the present invention frees the user from the troublesome adjustment of bleach concentration, and also provides the effective bleaching effect of bleach without having any adverse effects on clothes or detergents. is the primary objective.

The second purpose is to eliminate the negative effects that bleach has on parts.

Means for Solving the Problems In order to achieve the above-mentioned first object, the washing machine of the present invention includes a washing tank for washing clothes, a water supply means for supplying water into the washing tank, and a water supply means for supplying water into the washing tank. a stirring blade for stirring the clothes; and a bleach injection means for introducing bleach into the washing tank,
The bleach injection means is configured to perform an injection operation when the stirring blade is operating at the time when a predetermined amount of water has been supplied in the rinsing process, and to provide a predetermined soaking time thereafter. It is.

In order to achieve the second object, a cleaning means is provided for cleaning the bleaching agent inputting means after the bleaching agent is inputted.

Effects With the above configuration, the washing machine of the present invention automatically dispenses a predetermined amount of bleach by the bleach dispenser in the rinsing process, which requires less detergent, so that the bleaching effect is reduced due to a proportion of the laundry detergent. This prevents bleaching from occurring and allows bleach to effectively act on clothing. 1. In addition, in the washing machine of the present invention, the bleach is added to the washing tank with a predetermined amount of washing water being supplied and the washing water is stirred, so the bleach is highly concentrated. It can be diluted uniformly in a short period of time to create a bleach solution with a predetermined concentration required for bleaching. Thereafter, by providing a predetermined immersion time necessary for bleaching, the bleaching agent can be effectively applied.

In addition, since the cleaning means cleans the bleach injection means after the bleach is added, it is possible to prevent the bleach injection means from deteriorating due to the bleach.

Embodiment Hereinafter, one embodiment of the present invention will be described based on the accompanying drawings. First, in the embodiments of the present invention, a single-tank fully automatic washing machine will be taken as an example and explained.

Referring to FIG. 1, numeral 1 is a washing tank for washing and dehydrating clothes, and numeral 2 is an outer tank that houses the washing tank 1 inside. Cleaning tank 1
A stirring blade 3 is rotatably disposed at the inner bottom of the container. This stirring blade 3 is driven by a motor 6 via a speed reduction mechanism 4. Furthermore, a drain valve 6 is connected to the bottom of the outer tank 2, and a water supply valve 7, a button, and a bleach input stage 8 are arranged above the outer tank 2. Incidentally, the bleaching agent charging stage 8 is referred to as a bleaching agent charging means, including a substantially tubular charging section disposed between the cleaning tank 1 and the outer tank 2 as shown in FIG. 1 and 9 are outer tank 2
This is a water level detection means for detecting the water level inside the tank. Said motor 6
, a drain valve 6, a water supply valve 7, a bleach injection stage 8 are controlled by a process control means 10, a motor control means 11, a drainage valve control stage 12, a water supply valve control means 13, a button, and a bleach injection control unit. Each is driven via means 14. Process control means 10
is the process memory 1,000 steps based on the setting from the setting means 15.
Necessary data is read out from 6, and washing, rinsing, and dehydrating processes according to the settings are executed under the control of various control means 11 to 14.

Before explaining the operation of bleaching using the washing machine with the above configuration, we will explain the process of bleaching using the washing machine of the present invention and the process of bleaching using the conventional washing machine using Fig. 2. The difference from the bleaching process will be explained.

First, when bleaching is performed using a conventional washing machine, bleach is generally added at the beginning of the washing process, as shown in FIG. 2(a). This is because conventional washing machines did not have a dosing device that could automatically add bleach midway through the process.

When bleach and laundry detergent coexist as described above, there is a problem in that the bleach and detergent react to some extent, or the effectiveness of each other decreases. To avoid this, it is possible to add bleach in the middle of the washing process, but since this is a tedious task for the user, it may be necessary to sacrifice the performance of the bleach or laundry detergent before starting the washing process. Sometimes bleach was added.

In contrast, in the washing machine of the present invention, bleach can be freely and automatically added to any process using the bleach injection means 8. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 2 (2), effective bleaching can be achieved by automatically adding bleaching agent to the rinsing process, which contains less detergent.

Hereinafter, the operation of bleaching using the washing machine of the present invention will be explained using the process diagram shown in FIG.

Broadly speaking, two methods can be considered for the bleach injection step 8. One method is to set only the required amount for each use. One method is to set bleach for multiple uses and press the button to add the required amount when using. In this embodiment, a case of the former method in which only the necessary amount is set for each use will be explained.

Before starting the operation of the washing machine, a predetermined amount of bleach is set in the bleach charging means 8. After the setting means 16 sets the bleaching agent to be added in the rinsing process, the operation is started. When the washing process is completed, the washing process enters a rinsing process, in which the washing liquid in the washing process is drained, and then dehydration is performed. After the dehydration is completed, water is supplied for rinsing. When the water level detection means 9 detects that a predetermined amount of rinsing water has been supplied, the process control means 10 sends a signal to the motor control means 11 to drive the remoter 5. As a result, the stirring blades 3 are rotated via the deceleration mechanism 4, and the rinsing water, buttons, and clothes in the washing tank 1 are stirred. After the stirring is started, the process control means 10 sends a signal to the bleach injection control means 14 to drive the bleach injection means 8. This allows the preset bleach to be added. In the washing machine of the present invention, bleach is introduced between the washing tub 1 and the outer tub 2 from a bleach injection stage 8, as shown in FIG.

This is to prevent the highly concentrated bleach solution from coming into direct contact with clothing. The reason why the rinse water in the washing tank 1 is stirred when the bleach is added is to dilute the high-concentration bleach at the same time as it is added so that the high-concentration bleach does not come into contact with the clothes. Even after the bleaching agent has been added, stirring is continued for a predetermined period of time to make the bleaching solution in the cleaning tank 1 uniform. After the bleach solution is made uniform, a immersion period is provided in which the clothes are immersed in the bleach solution for a predetermined period of time, and the bleach solution is allowed to act on the clothes. Further, during the immersion time, the stirring blade 3 is intermittently rotated. As a result, the bleach solution on the clothing surface is replaced, so that the bleach solution can be effectively applied to the clothing. Draining the bleach solution after the specified soaking time for bleaching purposes. Dehydrate it and proceed to the subsequent steps.

In this example, we have described the case where bleach is added in the rinsing (1) step, but from the graph of the bleaching effect in Figure 3, it is clear that bleaching in the rinsing (2) step is better than bleaching in the rinsing (1) step. It can be seen that the bleaching effect is even higher if the bleaching process is carried out during the process. This is because some laundry detergent is
This is because the rinse (2) step is more diluted than the rinse (1) step.

With the configuration of the washing machine of the present invention, the washing machine can also be freely used in the rinsing (2) step, which has a higher bleaching effect. FIG. 4 shows the results of confirming the bactericidal effect using a bleach solution. The oxidizing power of bleach for bleaching also has the effect of sterilizing bacteria that adhere to clothes, and from this comparison of sterilizing effects, it can be seen that bleach works more effectively when the amount of detergent used for clothes and food is less. .

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a configuration in which the input portion of the bleach input means 8 is attached to the outer bottom of the outer tank 2. In the structure of the input section shown in FIG. 1, since the cleaning tank 1 rotates during dehydration, it was necessary to fix the input section to the outer tank 2 side so that the input section does not hit the cleaning tank 1. Furthermore, even if it is fixed, there is a possibility that the cleaning tank 1 may swing during dewatering rotation and come into contact with the input section, which may have an adverse effect on the input section. In the configuration shown in FIG. 2, since the charging section is attached to the outer bottom of the outer tank 2, the above-mentioned problems can be solved.

FIG. e is a diagram showing the configuration of a cleaning means for cleaning the bleach injection means 8.

The cleaning means will be explained below. Reference numeral 17 denotes an opening/closing means that opens when the bleach set in the bleach injection means 8 is introduced into the outer tank 2. Reference numeral 18 denotes a cleaning means for supplying water for cleaning the inside of the bleaching agent charging means 8 after the bleaching agent is charged. After adding the bleach, the bleach remaining in the bleach injection means 8 can be washed away by operating the cleaning means 18. This can prevent the odor of bleach from remaining for a long time and causing discomfort to the user. However, since the undiluted bleach solution is highly reactive, it has the possibility of deteriorating the parts and materials that constitute the bleach injection means 8. By configuring the cleaning means 18 to clean the path through which the bleach passes, the problem of deterioration of parts, materials, etc. can be solved.

Effects of the Invention With the above configuration, in the washing machine of the present invention, a predetermined amount of bleach is automatically added by the bleach injection means in the rinsing process when the amount of laundry detergent is small, so that the bleach is used for washing clothes. It reacts with the enzymes and surfactant components in the laundry detergent added as a detergent, without reducing the cleaning effect of the detergent.
In addition, by preventing the bleach itself from reacting with a certain amount of laundry detergent, the bleaching agent can exert its original effects. Furthermore, in the washing machine of the present invention, the bleach is
Since the cleaning tank is filled with cleaning water and the cleaning water is poured into the tank while being stirred, the highly concentrated bleach is diluted into a uniform bleach solution of a predetermined concentration in a short time. Therefore, it is possible to prevent a highly concentrated bleach solution from coming into direct contact with clothing and adversely affecting the clothing. To effectively, efficiently, and easily perform bleaching processing in a washing machine because the washing machine controls the predetermined soaking time required for bleaching after making a dilute bleach solution with a predetermined concentration. I can do it. Also,
After the bleach is added, the bleach injection means is cleaned by the cleaning means, so there is no possibility that the bleach will have an adverse effect on the parts of the washing injection means (
deterioration of parts, etc.) can be prevented.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a washing machine according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2(a) is a diagram showing a conventional bleaching process, and (in FIG. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the bleaching effect when bleaching is performed in each step, FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the sterilization effect in each step, and FIG. 5 is another example of the present invention. FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing the structure of a washing machine according to the present invention. FIG. 1...Cleaning tank, 2...Outer tank, 3...
... Stirring blade, 6... Motor, 7...
Water supply valve, 8-゜-・Bleach injection means, 9... Water level detection means, 10... Process control means, 17...
...Opening/closing means, 18...Cleaning means.

Claims (2)

[Claims] (1) A washing tank for washing clothes, a water supply means for supplying water into the washing tank, a stirring blade for stirring the clothes in the washing tank, and a bleach dispenser for putting bleach into the washing tank. and the bleach injection means performs the injection operation when the stirring blade is operating at the time when a predetermined amount of water is supplied in the rinsing process, and then provides a predetermined soaking time. A washing machine with a configuration. (2) The washing machine according to claim 1, further comprising cleaning means for cleaning the bleach input means after inputting the bleach.