JPH04158896A - Fully automatic washing machine - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To obtain good washing and sterilizing effects by providing a steam generating cycle before a washing cycle, in which a small quantity of supplying water is heated, causing clothes in a washing tub to be heated to loosen texture of fiber and to be sterilized. CONSTITUTION:When a start key is operated or an operation to generate steam is also performed, a control means 19 puts a steam generating cycle into operation at first prior to a washing cycle. That is, for a short time when a time counter 22 is working, a water supply solenoid valve 15 is opened to store about 10l of water in an inner bottom part of outer tub 2 in such a way as not to wet clothes, and to heat it with a heater 13 simultaneously with the count finish. A temperature sensor 14 measures water temperature before and after heating and inputs to the control means 19. Thus, while water is heated to 80 deg.C and 10 minutes passes, steam of high temperature penetrates into a washing tub 3 through exhaust holes 4 and stays in the clothes to sterilize and loosen texture of fiber.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (A) Industrial Application Field The present invention provides a washing machine in which a heater is arranged at the inner bottom of an outer tank, and a porous washing tub is arranged in the outer tank above the heater. The present invention relates to a fully automatic washing machine that performs a washing process using warm water that is heated in a tank.

(b) Prior Art Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 1-308593 discloses a fully automatic washing machine in which a heater is installed in the outer tub or washing tub to heat washing water and rinsing water for washing and rinsing. There is. This item not only washes with hot water from a heater, but also performs a drying process using heated air from the heater.

(c) Problems to be solved by the invention However, in the conventional example, before pouring water and heating it with a heater,
Clothes are soaked in room-temperature water, and it takes time during the washing process to replace the soaked water with hot water, which opens the fibers of the clothes and increases the cleaning effect. Furthermore, hot water of about 40°C has no sterilizing effect.

The present invention enables efficient washing and also ensures a sterilizing effect.

(d) Means for Solving the Problems The solution according to the present invention is to arrange a heater at the inner bottom of the outer tub, and to arrange a porous washing tub in the outer tub above the heater. This is a fully automatic washing machine that executes a washing process using hot water obtained by heating supplied water, and is configured to include a steam generation process by heating a small amount of supplied water before the washing process.

(E) Function The small amount of water supplied is heated well to about 80°C by a heater to generate high-temperature steam, which heats the clothes in the washing tub to open the fibers and sterilize them. After this steam generation process is executed for a predetermined time, water is poured while being heated to a set water level for the washing process, and the washing process is executed using the heated washing water.

When pouring water, it is preferable to pour water directly into the bottom of the outer tub or to point the water inlet between the outer tub and the washing tub to prevent room-temperature water from falling on clothes. Furthermore, when pouring water up to the set water level, it is desirable to measure the water temperature and heat the water while maintaining the temperature at which the fibers do not close.

(f) Example Embodiments of the present invention will be described based on the drawings.

In FIG. 3, reference numeral 1 denotes a machine frame, and an outer tank 2 made of heat-resistant resin is supported in a vibration-proof manner inside the frame. When the elastic fishing ring structure of the outer tub 2 moves the outer tub 2 up and down, the weight sensor 25 detects the presence or absence of clothes in the washing tub 3 according to this up and down movement. The weight sensor 25 is a strain gauge or one that utilizes changes in magnetic flux due to core movement.

3 is a dehydration/washing tub made of heat-resistant resin rotatably supported within the outer tub 2, and has numerous dehydration holes 4 around it.
..., and a rotor blade 5 is disposed at the bottom thereof. 6
is a drive motor, which is connected to the rotary blade 4 and the washing tub 3 via a power transmission mechanism 7, a pulley 8.9 and a belt 10, and rotates the rotary blade 5 during the washing process and the rinsing process;
In the dewatering process, both the rotary blade 5 and the washing tub 3 are rotated in one direction at high speed.

Reference numeral 11 denotes a city water inlet provided above the washing machine 1'li3, which faces the cutout hole of the annular hatch that closes the upper opening between the outer tub 2 and the washing tub 3 from above. It faces between the washing tubs 3 and pours water into the washing tub 3 from below to prevent water from directly falling on the clothes in the washing tub 3. This water inlet 11 may be provided at the lower part of the outer tank 2.

12 is a drain port provided at the bottom of the outer tank 2; 13 is a sheathed heater provided at the inner bottom of the outer tank 2 at a distance from the outer tank 2 and the washing tub 3; 14 is a drain port 12; A temperature sensor nearby measures the temperature of water in the washing tub 3, 15 is a water supply solenoid valve, 16 is a drain solenoid valve, and 17 is a drain channel.

Further, this fully automatic washing machine has a built-in water level sensor 18 that is a combination of an air trap, a diaphragm switch, and a semiconductor pressure sensor.

This fully automatic washing machine has CPU, ROM, RAM, Ilo
The operation is controlled by a control means 19 composed of a microcomputer (for example, μPD-75006 model manufactured by NEC Corporation), whose block diagram is shown in FIG.

The control means 19 inputs signals from a key circuit 20 of instruction keys for various inputs including a start key, a weight sensor 25, a temperature sensor 14, and a water level sensor 18, and inputs signals from a drive motor 6, a heater 13, a water supply solenoid valve 15, and a drainage solenoid. A signal is output to a display/notification device 21 that displays the valve 16, the progress of the stroke, etc., and issues an alarm.

The control means 19 includes a time counter 22, a determination section 23, a calculation section 24, and an operation number counter 26 in order to control a series of operations.

Next, the operation will be explained based on the flowchart shown in FIG. When the start key is operated or, in addition, when the steam generation operation is performed, the control means 19 first executes the steam generation process prior to the washing process. That is, time counter 2
2, open the water supply solenoid valve 15 for a short period of time, and pour water into the inner bottom of the outer tank 2 to prevent water from falling on the clothes.
0 mm (approximately 102) of water is stored and heated by the heater 13 at the same time as the count ends. The temperature sensor 14 measures the water temperature before heating and subsequently measures the heated water temperature and inputs it to the control means 19. When the determination unit 23 determines that the measured water temperature has reached 80°C, the counter 22 starts counting the travel time of 10 minutes. The heater 13 is turned OFF when the determining unit 23 determines that the temperature is 80° C., and is turned ON when the temperature decreases from there and determines that the temperature is 78° C., and this is turned on.

In this way, the water is heated and reaches 80°C, and by the time 10 minutes have passed, the high temperature steam has flowed from the dehydration hole 4... to the washing machine 1'1.
3.They enter the body and become trapped in clothing, sterilizing them by heating,
Open the fibers. This 10-minute steam generation process in which the rotor blade 5 is not rotated even when water is supplied is displayed on the display/notification device @21.

When the time counter 22 finishes counting for 10 minutes, the calculation unit 24 calculates what the water temperature will be when the heater 13 is set to 0FFL and water is supplied to the set water level, and the determination unit 23 determines if the calculated temperature exceeds 40°C. Determine whether

If the city water temperature is around 15°C and the set water level is low, the determination result will normally be that it exceeds the water level, but in that case, the calculation unit 24
Calculate the amount of water discharged and the corresponding time to open the water discharge solenoid valve 16, open the water discharge solenoid valve 16 for that time, close the valve, open the water supply solenoid valve 15, and set the heater to maintain the water temperature at around 40°C. 13 as appropriate to supply water up to the set water level, but if the measured water temperature continues to be below 40℃, reduce the amount of water supplied per hour by intermittent water supply, etc. to prevent the opened fibers from returning. I will suppress it.

If the determination result is that the water does not exceed the limit, the control operation starts from opening the water supply solenoid valve 15, and the same control operation as above is performed.

In this way, when hot water around 40° C. is supplied to the set water level, the control means 19 starts the actual washing process.

When the washing process, rinsing process, and spin-drying process are completed in sequence, the display/notifying device 21 finally notifies the user of the completion. Then, the driving number counter 26 counts one time, and then adds up the number of times. The determining unit 23 compares each count with a predetermined number of times (one or more) that can be adjusted by the user, and based on the matching result, it then determines the no-clothing signal from the weight sensor 25,
Next, the time counter 22 determines whether a predetermined time has elapsed after the washing is completed. When there is a result of this final time lapse determination, the control means 19 resets the operation number counter 26 and automatically executes the tank cleaning process again. In this tank cleaning process, when the heater 13 is not used, water is supplied until the water level sensor 18 detects a high water level, the drain electromagnetic valve 16 is opened, the washing tub 3 is rotated at high speed, and this rotation is controlled by the water level sensor 18. Continue until the reset water level is detected. - On the other hand, when using the heater 13, water is supplied until the water level sensor 18 detects a high water level, and the heater 13 heats the water until the temperature sensor 14 detects about 70°C, and from this point on, the time counter 22 starts counting for about 2 minutes. After leaving it to count, the drain electromagnetic valve 16 is opened and the washing tub 3 is rotated at high speed until the water level sensor 18 detects the reset water level.

In this embodiment, the steam generation process is executed before the washing process by starting, but a selection key may be provided that allows the steam generation process to be omitted and the washing process to be started. Further, a dedicated key may be provided so that the user can suddenly and independently execute the tank cleaning process.

(G) Effects of the Invention According to the present invention, since the steam generation process can be performed before the washing process, it is possible to provide a fully automatic washing machine with good cleaning effects and sterilization.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

1(a), 2(b), and 3(c) are flowcharts for explaining the operation of the fully automatic washing machine according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a control block diagram, and FIG. 3 is a sectional view showing the internal mechanism. 2...Outer tank, 3...Washing tub, 11...Water inlet, 13...Heater, 14...Temperature sensor, 19
...control means.

Claims (1)

[Claims] (1) A heater is placed at the inner bottom of the outer tub, and a porous washing tub is placed in the outer tub above the heater, and the washing process is performed using hot water heated by heating the supplied water in this washing tub. 1. A fully automatic washing machine, characterized in that, before the washing process, a steam generation process is provided by heating a small amount of supplied water.