JPH04341296A - Washing machine - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To improve the washing force in a washing process by throwing in a detergent of an optimal quantity corresponding to a state of washing water and a state of the washing, and also, suppressing pollution of washing water. CONSTITUTION:A microcomputer 100 is constituted so that, based on a result of detection of a water level sensor 91, a water temperature sensor 92 and a cloth quantity sensor 94, respectively, and optimal detergent throw-in quantity corresponding to the water quantity and a water temperature in an outer tank and the quantity of the washing is determined by a fuzzy interface, and in the case a dirty state of water detected in the washing process by a photosensor 93 is dirtier than a prescribed dirty state, the washing process is discontinued, water in a washing tank is discharged and a rinsing operation is executed temporarily, and thereafter, the washing process is reexecuted and dirt of water in the washing process is controlled.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

0001

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a washing machine that sequentially performs a washing process and a rinsing process.

0002

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, washing machines have been put into practical use that wash clothes and the like by automatically sequentially performing a washing process, a rinsing process, and a dehydrating process. Such a washing machine has a function of automatically adding a predetermined amount of detergent into the washing tub in the washing process, a sensor that detects the amount of laundry in the washing tub, and a sensor that detects the amount of laundry in the washing tub. The state inside the washing tub is detected by various sensors such as a sensor that detects the level of dirt and a sensor that detects the level of washing water in the washing tub, and based on these detection results, the washing process and rinsing process are performed by applying fuzzy theory. Products that have a function of automatically determining the execution time of each step of the dehydration process have already been commercialized.

0003

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] However, in the conventional washing machine as described above, when detergent is automatically added, the amount of detergent is not determined in advance, regardless of the conditions such as the amount of washing water, the water temperature, and the amount of laundry. Since a large amount of detergent is added, there is a risk that effective cleaning with the detergent cannot be performed, and if the contamination of the washing water increases during the washing process, there is a problem that the detergency is extremely reduced.

[0004] The present invention was made in view of the above circumstances, and it is an object of the present invention to introduce an optimum amount of detergent according to the condition of the washing water and the condition of the laundry, and to suppress contamination of the washing water. An object of the present invention is to provide a washing machine that can improve cleaning power in a washing process.

[0005]

[Means for solving the problems] A washing machine according to the present invention includes:
A washing machine configured to sequentially perform a washing process in which a detergent is introduced into a washing tub by a detergent injection means and a washing operation is performed on the laundry, and a rinsing process in which a rinsing operation is performed on the laundry. , a means for detecting the degree of contamination of the water in the washing tub, a means for detecting the amount of water in the washing tub, a means for detecting the temperature of water in the washing tub, and a means for detecting the amount of laundry in the washing tub. means for determining the amount of detergent dispensed by the detergent dispensing means by fuzzy reasoning based on the detected water amount, water temperature, and amount of laundry; means for introducing detergent into the washing tub from a detergent injection means in the step; means for comparing the degree of contamination of water detected during the washing step with a predetermined degree of contamination; and means for making the degree of contamination of water detected during the washing step. means for interrupting the washing process and draining water in the washing tub when the condition is dirtier than a predetermined level of dirt; means for performing a predetermined rinsing operation after the water is drained by the means; and the rinsing operation. The washing process is characterized by comprising means for re-executing the washing process after the completion of the washing process.

[0006]

[Operation] In the present invention, the amount of detergent injected into the washing tub from the detergent injecting means in the washing process is determined by the amount of water in the washing tub,
Since it is determined by fuzzy reasoning based on the detection results of the water temperature and the amount of laundry, it is possible to set the amount of detergent to be added in accordance with the amount of water in the washing tub, the water temperature, and the amount of laundry. During the washing process, if the level of dirt in the water in the washing tub is more than a predetermined level of dirt, the washing process is interrupted, the water is drained, and a predetermined rinsing operation is temporarily performed. When the rinsing operation is performed in this way, some of the dirt on the laundry is removed. After performing this rinsing operation, the washing process is re-executed, but at the time of re-execution, the dirt on the laundry has been weakened by the rinsing operation, so the degree of dirt in the water in the washing tub during the washing process will be reduced. The level of dirt is weakened compared to the level of soiling in the previous washing process, thereby improving the cleaning power in the washing operation.

[0007]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention will be specifically explained below based on drawings showing embodiments thereof. FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view of a washing machine according to the present invention.

In the figure, 1 is a box-shaped frame. At the rear edge of the upper surface of the frame 1, there is an operation section 2 that accommodates equipment such as electronic components and has various operation keys related to the operation of the washing machine, and an operation section 2 that automatically dispenses detergent into an outer tub 4, which will be described later. An automatic detergent dispensing device 3 as disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 181793/1983 is formed in a protruding manner. This automatic detergent dispensing device 3 uses a motor as a drive source, and the drive of the motor is controlled by a microcomputer 1, which will be described later.
00, it is possible to adjust the amount of detergent added. Furthermore, an upper lid 10 is provided on the upper surface of the frame 1 and is opened and closed to take in and take out laundry.

FIG. 2 is a schematic vertical cross-sectional view of a washing machine according to the present invention, and FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line II--II in FIG. Inside the frame 1, there is an outer tank 4 which is a cylindrical water tank with a bottom.
is arranged with its opening facing upward. Inside the outer tank 4, an inner tank 5 having a bottomed cylindrical shape and having a plurality of dewatering holes 51, 51, . In this inner tub 5, laundry to be washed is stored. A rotary blade 6 is provided at the bottom of the inner tank 5 to generate water flow within the outer tank 4 and the inner tank 5.

A motor 7 for rotating the inner tank 5 and the rotary blades 6 is provided below the outer tank 4, and the driving force of the motor is transmitted through a power transmission system comprising a power transmission device such as a speed reducer. It is transmitted to the inner tank 5 and the rotor blade 6 via the mechanism 8. Further, a drain port 41 is provided at the bottom of the outer tank 4 for draining water in the outer tank 4 to the outside of the machine. One end of a drain hose 43 provided with a drain solenoid valve 42 is connected to the drain port 41, and the water in the outer tank 4 can be drained from the drain hose 43 by opening the drain solenoid valve 42. Water is drained outside the machine.

An air trap 44 for detecting the water level in the outer tank 4 is provided at the rear of the bottom of the outer tank 4.
The air trap 44 is connected to a water level sensor 91 provided in the operating section 2 via a pressure hose 45. A water temperature sensor 92 is provided in the air trap 44 to detect the temperature of the washing water in the outer tub 4. Also,
A portion of the front side of the bottom of the outer tank 4 has a convex portion 4 projecting outward.
6 is formed, and an optical sensor 93 for detecting dirt in the washing water in the outer tub 4 is provided inside the convex portion 46 . This optical sensor 93 is connected to a light projecting section 931 that projects light.
and a light receiving section 932 that receives the projected light, and the degree of dirt on the washing machine is detected based on the amount of light received by the light receiving section 932. That is, as the laundry water becomes more contaminated, the light receiving section 932
Since the amount of light received decreases, the degree of contamination of the washing water is detected from this amount of received light.

Next, the configuration of the control system of the washing machine according to the present invention will be explained. FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a control system of a washing machine according to the present invention. In the figure, 100 is a microcomputer 100 that performs various controls in the washing machine.
It is. The microcomputer 100 includes a CPU 1
01, RAM 102, ROM 103, timer 104, system bus 105, input port 106
110, an output port 111, etc., and is operated by power supplied from a power supply circuit 112.

The CPU 101 is composed of a control section 101a and a calculation section 101b.
Then, various instructions are fetched and executed, and the arithmetic unit 10
1b, input devices such as various sensors and RA
Binary addition, logical operation, increase/decrease, comparison,
It is designed to perform arithmetic processing such as fuzzy inference. The RAM 102 stores various data related to the operation of the washing machine, and the ROM 10
3 stores in advance programs related to the operation of the washing machine, conditions related to the operation of the washing machine, membership functions used in fuzzy inference to be described later, rules for processing various types of information, and the like. CPU 101 and RA
M 102 and ROM 103 are system bus 1
05 so that data can be transmitted.

The input port 106 receives signals related to the operation of the washing machine from the input key circuit 113 composed of the various operation keys of the operation section 2.
07 is supplied with the detection signal of the water level sensor 91, input port 108 is supplied with the detection signal of the water temperature sensor 92, input port 109 is supplied with the detection signal of the optical sensor 93, and input port 110 is supplied with the detection signal of the motor. By detecting the torque of 6, a detection signal from a cloth amount sensor 94 that detects the amount of laundry, which is the amount of laundry in the outer tub 4, is provided. These input signals are connected to system bus 105.
The CPU 101 executes various arithmetic processing based on the input signal, and the control signal that is the processing result is sent from the output port 111 via the system bus 105. It is designed to be applied to the load drive circuit 114.

The load drive circuit 114 is a drive circuit composed of a bidirectional thyristor, etc., and is similar to the load drive circuit 1.
14 includes a water supply valve drive circuit 115 that drives a water supply solenoid valve (not shown) that supplies water into the outer tank 4, a drain valve drive circuit 420 that drives a drain solenoid valve 42, and a left motor that rotates the motor 6 to the left. A rotation circuit 61, a motor clockwise rotation circuit 62 for rotating the motor 6 clockwise, and a detergent dispenser drive circuit 30 for driving the automatic detergent dispenser 3 are connected. The load drive circuit 114 is configured to provide a drive signal to each of the drive circuits described above based on a control signal provided from the CPU 101.

In the washing machine configured as described above, the washing process, rinsing process, and dewatering process are sequentially executed under the control of the microcomputer 100 based on the operating program. In addition, in each of these steps,
The operating time of each process is automatically determined by fuzzy reasoning as described below.

Next, a method for automatically determining the operating time of each process using fuzzy inference will be explained. Figure 5 (
a) to (e) are RO to be used for fuzzy inference.
These are graphs representing membership functions stored in M 103 , where FIG. 5(a) is a membership function related to the amount of cloth, FIG. 5(b) is a membership function related to water temperature, and FIG. 5(c) is a membership function related to water amount. function,
FIG. 5(d) shows membership functions related to washing time, rinsing time, and dehydration time, and FIG. 5(e) shows membership functions related to the amount of detergent dispensed from automatic detergent dispensing device 3 to outer tank 4. The vertical axis of the membership function in Figures 5(a) to (e) is the membership function value;
The horizontal axis of a) is the output value of the cloth amount sensor 94, Fig. 5(b)
The horizontal axis of FIG. 5(c) is the output value of the water temperature sensor 92, the horizontal axis of FIG. 5(c) is the output value of the water level sensor 91, the horizontal axis of FIG. 5(d) is time, and the horizontal axis of FIG. 5(e) is the amount of detergent. be.

The characteristics of these membership functions are approximately the same, and the fuzzy set a, which represents the small values of cloth amount, water temperature, water amount, washing time, rinsing time, dehydration time, and detergent amount, has the following values: The membership function value is "1" until it reaches a predetermined value, and when each value exceeds the predetermined value, the membership function value becomes "0" with a constant slope.
It is starting to decrease to. Further, the fuzzy set c, which indicates that each of the above values is large, increases from the value where the membership function value of the fuzzy set a is "0" to "1" at a constant slope, and the above each value increases to a predetermined value. When it exceeds , the membership function value saturates to "1". Further, in the fuzzy set b, which indicates that the respective values are medium, the membership function values of the fuzzy set a and the fuzzy set c are "0" from the value at which the membership function value of the fuzzy set a starts decreasing. up to the value
The membership function value is “0” with a constant slope “
From the value where the membership function value becomes "1" to the value where the membership function value of fuzzy set c becomes "1", the membership function value increases with a constant slope " It is designed to decrease to 0''.

When automatically determining the operating time of each process by fuzzy inference, the calculation unit 10 of the CPU 101
1b reads a plurality of rules stored in the ROM 103 for automatically determining the operating time of each process, and automatically determines the operating time based on these rules. This rule is, for example, "If the amount of water is large, the amount of cloth is large, and the water temperature is low, the washing time, rinsing time, and dehydration time will be increased."

For example, when performing the fuzzy inference according to the above-mentioned rules, first, the water level sensor 91 and the cloth amount sensor 9 are
Membership function values of the water amount, cloth amount, and water temperature, which are the antecedents of the rule, are determined from the detected values of the water temperature sensor 92 and the water temperature sensor 92, respectively, based on the membership functions corresponding to the respective items. Then, find the minimum value among these membership function values, and use the found minimum value to determine the top of the fuzzy set c of membership functions related to washing time, rinsing time, and spin-drying time, which are the consequents of the above rule. conduct. Such processing is performed for all rules for automatically determining the operating time of each process, thereby obtaining a plurality of fuzzy sets that have been rounded off. and,
The washing time, rinsing time, and dehydration time are determined by finding the center of gravity of the superposition of the multiple fuzzy sets obtained.

[0021] Next, operation control in the washing process executed in the washing machine configured as described above will be explained. FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing an operation control method in the washing process. When executing the washing process, the microcomputer 10
0, first, the detected values of the water level, water temperature, and fabric amount in the outer tank 4 by the water level sensor 91, water temperature sensor 92, and fabric amount sensor 94 are read (step S1), and from these detected values, the following fuzzy inference is performed. The amount of detergent to be added is determined (step S2).

[0022] When determining the amount of detergent to be added by fuzzy reasoning, the calculation unit 101b of the CPU 101 uses the RO
A plurality of rules for automatically determining the amount of detergent to be added, which are stored in M 103 , are read, and the amount of detergent to be added is automatically determined based on these rules. This rule is, for example, ``If the amount of water is large and the amount of cloth is large,
If the water temperature is low, increase the amount of detergent added. ” is.

For example, when performing fuzzy inference for determining the amount of detergent to be added using the above-mentioned rules, membership functions corresponding to each item are first calculated from the detected values of the water level sensor 91, cloth amount sensor 94, and water temperature sensor 92. Based on this, the membership function values of the antecedent parts of the rule, such as the amount of water, the amount of cloth, and the water temperature, are determined, respectively. Then, the minimum value among these membership function values is determined, and the fuzzy set c of membership functions related to the detergent input amount, which is the consequent of the rule, is truncated using the determined minimum value. Such processing is performed for all rules for automatically determining the amount of detergent to be added, thereby obtaining a plurality of fuzzy sets that have been rounded off. Then, the amount of detergent to be added is determined by finding the center of gravity of the superposition of the plurality of fuzzy sets obtained.

When the amount of detergent to be added is determined by fuzzy reasoning, the determined amount of detergent is poured into the outer tank 4 from the automatic detergent dosing device 3 (step S3), and the rotary blade 6 is rotated to wash the detergent. Start the operation (step S4)
.

When the washing operation is started, it is determined whether the degree of dirtiness of the washing water obtained from the detection result of the optical sensor 93 is dirtier than a first reference value of water pollution predetermined for dirtiness of the washing water. (Step S5).

If it is determined that the degree of dirtiness of the washing water is more than the first reference value, the drain solenoid valve 42 is opened to drain the washing water in the outer tub 4 (step S6).
, the rinsing operation is started (step S7). In this rinsing operation, a predetermined amount of water is supplied into the outer tank 4, and approximately the same amount of water is drained as the supplied water to replace the rinsing water in the outer tank 4, and the rotary blade 6 is rotated to perform rinsing. let

When the rinsing operation is started, the optical sensor 93
It is determined whether the degree of contamination of the rinse water in the outer tank 4 detected in step S8 is more contaminated than a second reference value of water pollution predetermined for the contamination of the rinse water.
. If it is determined that the degree of contamination of the rinse water in the outer tank 4 is more contaminated than the second reference value, the rinse operation is continued.

On the other hand, if it is determined that the degree of contamination of the rinse water in the outer tank 4 is less than the second reference value, the rinsing operation is terminated (step S9) and the degree of contamination determined in step S2 is terminated. The amount of detergent that has been added is put into the outer tank 4 from the automatic detergent dispenser 3 (step S10).
), the rotary blade 6 is rotated to start the washing operation again (step S11), and the process returns to step S5 to repeat the above-described process.

Further, if it is determined in step S5 that the washing water is less dirty than the first reference value, it is determined whether the operating time of the washing process, which is automatically determined as described above, has been completed. It is determined whether or not (step S12). If it is determined that the operating time of the washing process has been completed, the process returns to step S5 and the above-described process is repeated. on the other hand,
If it is determined that the operating time for the washing process has been completed, the washing process is ended and the process proceeds to the next process, the rinsing process.

[0030]

Effects of the Invention As detailed above, in the washing machine according to the present invention, the amount of detergent introduced into the washing tub from the detergent injection means in the washing process is determined by the detection of the amount of water in the washing tub, the water temperature, and the amount of laundry. Since it is determined by fuzzy reasoning based on the results, it is possible to set the optimum amount of detergent to be added according to the amount of water in the washing tub, the temperature of the water, and the amount of laundry. During the washing process, if the water in the washing tub is dirtier than a predetermined level of dirt, the washing process is interrupted, the water is drained, and a temporary rinsing operation is performed to clean the laundry. In the washing process after performing this rinsing operation, some of the dirt will be removed.
Since the stains on the laundry have been weakened by the rinsing operation, the stains in the water in the washing tub during the washing process are weakened more than during the previous washing process. In this way, in the present invention,
Since the optimum amount of detergent is automatically added in the washing process and contamination of the washing water in the washing process is suppressed, excellent effects such as improved cleaning power in the washing process can be achieved.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view of a washing machine according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic vertical sectional view of a washing machine according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along line II-II in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a control system of the washing machine according to the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a graph representing membership functions used in fuzzy inference.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing an operation control method in a washing process.

[Explanation of symbols]

3 Automatic detergent dosing device 4 Outer tank 30 Detergent dosing device drive circuit 42 Drain solenoid valve 91 Water level sensor 92 Water temperature sensor 93 Optical sensor 94 Clothes amount sensor 100 Microcomputer 101 CPU 101a Control unit 101b Arithmetic unit

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A washing step of adding detergent into a washing tub using a detergent injection means and performing a washing operation on the laundry;
In a washing machine configured to sequentially perform a rinsing step of rinsing the laundry, the washing machine includes: means for detecting the degree of contamination of the water in the washing tub; and means for detecting the amount of water in the washing tub. a means for detecting the water temperature in the washing tub; a means for detecting the amount of laundry in the washing tub; and a means for adding detergent by fuzzy reasoning based on the detected water amount, water temperature, and amount of laundry. means for determining the amount of detergent to be input into the washing tub from the detergent input means in the washing process by the amount of detergent determined by the means; means for comparing the condition with a predetermined degree of contamination, and means for interrupting the washing step and draining the water in the washing tub when the degree of contamination of the water detected during the washing step is dirtier than the predetermined degree of contamination. A washing machine comprising means for draining water, means for performing a predetermined rinsing operation after the water is drained by the means, and means for re-executing the washing step after the completion of the rinsing operation.