JPH04285592A - Control method for full automated washing machine - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To prevent overflow of water at washing and ensure the washing effect by introducing a control so as to perform washing with a proper washing water level at the starting time of washing. CONSTITUTION:Such washing control is introduced that the washing water level is sensed at the starting time of washing by a water level sensor followed by re-setting to the level which is necessary for washing. This prevents overflow of the water at washing and enhances the washing performance.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

0001

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a self-contained washing machine, and relates to a method for automatically controlling everything from water supply, washing to dehydration, and particularly at the start of washing operation.

0002

[Prior Art] To start washing in a conventional fully automatic washing machine, when operating with the automatic function, the power switch is turned on, the washing course is set, the start switch is activated, water is automatically supplied into the washing tub, and the water level is detected. While sensing the state of the water supply, water was supplied to the level that matched the amount of clothes being washed. In this way, when water was supplied using the automatic function, there were no problems caused by water overflowing during washing, but water supply to the washing tub using an external water suction pump, bucket, etc. If water is supplied into the washing tub at a level higher than the maximum water level required for washing according to the automatic washing machine, and if washing is done under this washing water level condition, washing water will flow from the outer tub onto the floor due to the movement of the fabric during washing. It matched the drawback of overflowing. In addition, since the washing machine uses a water supply amount that is higher than the maximum water level required by the washing machine, the detergent concentration becomes diluted, resulting in a lack of cleaning power.

0003

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] The present invention eliminates the drawbacks of the prior art and provides a washing machine with optimal washing performance. This is to prevent water from overflowing from the outer tub and splashing onto the floor after washing has started, and to prevent deterioration in cleaning performance.

0004

[Means for Solving the Problems] The present invention eliminates the drawbacks of the prior art and provides control that enables an optimal washing process. Detect whether the water level is at a certain level. If the washing water is higher than the specified water level, the water level is detected by the water level sensor before washing starts, and the drain valve is opened to allow the water to drain to the specified level before starting washing. It is something.

[0005]

[Operation] When you turn on the power, select the washing course that suits your clothes, and press the start key, in addition to fully automatic operation that supplies water up to the specified amount and washes the clothes, a water suction pump is used from the outside to manually pump the water into the washing tub. When supplying washing water using a bucket, etc., or when supplying washing water into the washing tub using a bucket, etc., if more water is supplied than the specified water level of a fully automatic washing machine, before starting washing,
The washing water level is detected by a water level sensor, and the washing is started after the water reaches a specified level.

[0006]

[Example] The present invention will be explained with reference to the drawings. Figure 1 shows
1 is a vertical cross-sectional view of a fully automatic washing machine that employs the present invention, and to explain the operation sequentially, the fully automatic washing machine has a
The outer tank 2 is supported by four hanging rods 5 from corner plates 21 at the four upper corners of the outer frame 1. A spring 4 is interposed on the hanging rod 5 to absorb vibrations during washing and dehydration. When washing, open the lid 18 and place the clothes in the washing tub 3.
After water is supplied, the motor 2 is
Rotate 0 forward and backward. The rotation of the motor 20 is controlled by the V-belt 1.
6, the rotation is transmitted from the motor pulley 17 to the clutch pulley 15 in the clutch 14. The transmitted rotation is transferred to the center of the washing tub 3 during washing by the clutch 14. Washing is carried out by rotating the stirring blade 7 that moves the clothes. When draining water, the motor 1 is activated by the command from the control unit 19.
7 is stopped, the drain valve 12 is opened, and the washing liquid in the washing tub 3 is discharged to the outside of the machine through the drain hose 13. After draining, the process proceeds to the spin-drying process, but the outer tub 2 shakes a lot during spin-drying depending on the condition of the clothes.To prevent shaking, a balancer 6 is installed on the top of the washing tub 3 to prevent the outer tub from shaking during spin-drying. This prevents vibration. For dewatering, the rotation of the motor 17 is transmitted to the clutch 14 via the V-belt 16 in the same way as during washing.The clutch 14 rotates the washing tub 3 at high speed, and the centrifugal force removes the moisture in the clothes. The dehydrated washing water is drained to the outer tank 2 through the drain valve 1.
By operation 2, water is drained from the drain hose 13 to the outside of the machine. FIG. 2 is a detailed explanatory diagram of the control section 19 described in FIG. 1. The electronic control circuit consisting of the timer, CPU (Central Processing Unit), memory, and I/O port is designed to sequentially move from washing to dehydration, similar to the timer consisting of a timer motor and cam switch. Since this is well known, the following embodiments will be explained using block diagrams. The electronic control circuit 34 shown in FIG. 2 is for automatically transitioning the process from the detergent washing process to the final dehydration process, and basically includes a timer 33, a central processing unit (CPU )
32, memory 31, input port 29, and output port 30. Control commands during washing are executed by the central processing unit (CPU).
) has an arithmetic unit and a control unit, and is the core of the system. Basically, it involves retrieving, decoding, and executing instructions, but specifically includes arithmetic and logical operations, control of reading and writing of contents at specified addresses in memory, control of input/output to specified addresses of input/output devices, It controls the flow of the program.

The memory 31 stores programs and data, and there are two types of memory: RAM, which has both read and write functions, and ROM, which has only read function. RAM
is used as a work area for storing data and creating programs, while ROM is used to store fixed programs and fixed data and perform the same processing at any time. The input port 29 and the output port 30 are circuits that mediate data exchange between the CPU, input device, and output device, and are generally called I/O ports. Electrical commands from the fully automatic washing machine are input to the input side of the I/O port, and are mainly used to control the power switch 23.
, a water level sensor 22, a lid switch 24, a program selection switch 25, and a start/stop switch 26 are connected. In addition, a washing motor 20, a water supply valve 10, a drain valve 12, a clutch solenoid 27, an alarm 28, etc. are connected to the output side, and are controlled by instructions from the CPU through the I/O port, and a series of It performs a washing operation. Therefore, the washing machine is controlled in the same way as a washing machine with a timer, which is controlled by a timer consisting of a timer motor and a cam switch. It is controlled by the electronic circuit as described above.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of a washing process in a fully automatic washing machine. To explain this block diagram 3 in conjunction with FIG. 2, when starting washing, press the power switch 23 shown in FIG. , the water supply valve 10 of the output port 30 is opened, and washing water is supplied from the water supply hose 11 into the washing tub 3. In FIG. 3, after a specified amount of washing water is supplied before washing, washing is carried out for a set time, and after washing is completed, the drain valve 12 is opened to drain the water outside the machine. After draining water, the process automatically proceeds to a rinsing process, but before proceeding to the rinsing process, a water supply valve 10 is opened to supply a specified amount of rinsing water to the washing tub 3 for rinsing. Similar to washing, rinsing is performed for a specified period of time, and then, in order to drain the rinsing water, the drain valve 12 is opened and the water is drained out of the machine. After the rinse water in the washing tub 3 has completely disappeared, the washing tub 3 is rotated at high speed under the control of the clutch 14 using the motor 20, which is the power source, in order to remove the water from the clothes, and the centrifugal force is used to remove the water from the clothes. It dehydrates. A series of washing processes in a fully automatic washing machine proceed as described above to wash clothes. FIG. 4 shows a case in which the remaining water 35 from the bath is supplied from the outside into the washing tub 3 using the pump 36 before the start/stop key 26 in FIG. 2 is pressed and the washing process automatically proceeds. FIG. Before turning on the power switch 23 of the washing machine, if the water supply pump 36 or the like supplies washing water to the washing tub 3 using a function not installed in the washing machine, the fully automatic function of the washing machine, that is, the water level sensor 22 The function to detect the washing water level does not work, and the water supply pump 36
Then, water continues to be continuously supplied into the washing tub 3 until the remaining water 35 in the bath is completely exhausted. The remaining water 35 from the bath, which is continuously supplied, passes from the abnormal overflow port 37 provided at the top of the outer washing tank 2, through the abnormal overflow hose 38, and is discharged from the drain hose 13 regardless of the control of the drain valve 12. Water is discharged outside the machine. However, when washing water is supplied into the washing tub 3 up to this abnormal water overflow port 37 and washing is done, the washing water level becomes higher than the water level required for the washing machine, and the mechanical force of the stirring blade 7 is reduced during washing. In addition to the disadvantage that the dirt on the clothes does not get sufficiently removed, there is also a disadvantage that when washing, there is a lack of distance between the top end of the outer washing tub 2 and the water surface that has reached the abnormal water overflow port 37. When the water surface is rippled, the washing water overflows from the top end of the outer washing tub 2, resulting in the problem of wetting the floor surface. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing the relationship between water level and frequency in which the washing water level is controlled by the water level sensor 22. When washing water is supplied into the washing tub 3, the air in the air trap 8 at the bottom of the outer tub 2 is compressed by water pressure, and the PS Chicove 9
The compressed air is transmitted to the water level sensor 22. The water level sensor 22 has an LC oscillation function, and uses air pressure to cause the water level sensor 22 to oscillate a frequency, send a signal to the microcomputer, and determine the washing water level. That is, since the frequencies oscillated from the water level sensor 22 are different at the time of low water level, medium water level, and high water level in FIG. The control is such that water is supplied by the water supply valve 10 until the value matches the oscillated frequency. In FIG. 4, water is supplied by an external water suction pump 36, and this cannot be controlled by a microcomputer, so the water is supplied to the abnormal water overflow port 37. FIG. 6 is an example of a control diagram that eliminates the drawbacks of the prior art. Supply remaining water from the bath to the abnormal water overflow port 37 shown in FIG. 4 using an external water suction pump 36 or a bucket, press the power switch 23 shown in FIG. When you select a course and press the start/stop switch 26, first, before starting washing, the frequency oscillated by the water level sensor 22 is imported into the microcomputer, and as shown in FIG.
If the high water level deviates from the set frequency, that is, if a frequency lower than the set frequency is received by the microcomputer, the microcomputer controls to open the drain valve 12 and drains the washing water to the drain valve 12. The water is then discharged outside the machine via a drainage hose 13. At this time, the water level sensor 22 constantly counts the frequency to determine whether the washing water level is the set water level, sends it to the microcomputer, and opens the drain valve 12 until it matches the frequency of the water level set in the microcomputer. This drains the washing water. When the washing water reaches a specified water level, the drain valve 12 is closed, the washing process shown in FIG. 3 is started, and washing is started.

[0009]

[Effects of the Invention] According to the present invention, washing water in excess of the specified amount is supplied by supplementary water from the outside, and there is a reduction in the cleaning effect due to a reduction in the mechanical force of the stirring blade, and water overflow due to ripples of washing water during washing. This is a control that can prevent this, and has a great effect on improving washing performance.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a fully automatic washing machine.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of microcomputer control.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of a fully automatic laundry course.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a washing water supply from the outside.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing the relationship between washing water and frequency in a water level sensor.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing appropriate washing water settings.

[Explanation of symbols]

3... Washing tub, 7... Stirring blade, 10... Water supply valve, 12... Drain valve, 22... Water level sensor, 36... Water suction pump, 37... Abnormal water overflow port.

Claims (2)

[Claims] Claim 1: In a fully automatic washing machine that automatically supplies water and automatically advances the process from washing to spin-drying, the water level is detected and regulated by a water level sensor before the start of washing. If water is supplied to the washing tub at a level higher than the specified maximum water level, the drain valve is opened and the water is drained to the specified maximum water level while being detected by a water level sensor, and then the washing operation is started. How to control a fully automatic washing machine. Claim 2: In claim 1, the water level sensor detects the water level not only at the prescribed maximum water level but also at any set water level lower than the maximum water level, and if the water level is higher than the prescribed water level, the washing is carried out. A fully automatic washing machine control method characterized by controlling the washing machine so that washing can be carried out under optimal water level conditions.