JPH05208088A - Washing machine - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To reflect the user's desire to the judgment of a cloth quality judging means and prevent the incorrect judgment of the cloth quality judging means even after the use for a long period. CONSTITUTION:A washing machine is equipped with a control circuit 26 which detects the variation of the load on a motor 5 for driving an agitating member in a washing tank and judges the quality of a washed article in the washing tank by comparing the above-described detection value with a judgment standard value, and a standard value varying means 34 for varying the judgment standard value of the control circuit 26 is installed. The standard value varying means 34 is concretely constituted so that the judgment standard value of the control circuit 26 is varied and set when a course selecting key, dehydration time setting key, power source switch, tank cleaning setting key, and a starching setting key are specially operated.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a washing machine having a motor for driving an agitator provided in a washing tub.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As a washing machine of this type, for example, a combined washing machine, is provided with a cloth quality judging means for judging the cloth quality of the laundry stored in the washing tub, and the cloth judged by this cloth quality judging means. There is provided one configured to automatically control the washing operation by appropriately setting the operating conditions such as the strength of the washing water flow and the operating time according to the quality.

The cloth quality judging means of this structure detects, for example, a fluctuation in the rotation speed of the motor as a fluctuation in the load of the motor,
The quality of the laundry in the washing tub is judged by comparing the detected value with the judgment reference value. In this case, a fixed value preliminarily experimentally determined by the manufacturer is used as the judgment reference value of the cloth quality judgment means.

[0004]

In the above-mentioned conventional construction, when the cloth quality judging means judges the cloth quality of the laundry, the operating condition corresponding to the judged cloth quality is set and the washing operation is executed. It In this case, the set operating conditions are standard conditions determined by the manufacturer in advance to be optimum conditions for the cloth quality.

However, some users prefer driving slightly stronger than the standard conditions, and conversely prefer driving slightly weaker than the standard conditions. This means that the judgment criteria of the cloth quality judgment means will change slightly depending on the preference of the user. In the conventional configuration, such a user's preference cannot be reflected in the determination of the cloth quality determination means, and there is a drawback in that the washing operation according to the user's preference cannot be executed.

Further, when the above washing machine is used for a long period of time, the belt becomes loose and the mechanism part is worn. Due to these, the magnitude of the load on the motor is larger than that when it is not used for a long time. Change. In such a case, if the judgment reference value of the cloth quality judgment means is not changed corresponding to the above change,
There is also a problem that the judgment of the cloth quality judgment means becomes inaccurate.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to reflect the user's preference in the judgment of the cloth quality judging means so that the washing operation can be executed in accordance with the user's preference, and when it is used for a long time. Also in the above, there is a need to provide a washing machine which can prevent the judgment of the cloth quality judging means from being inaccurate.

[0008]

A washing machine of the present invention includes a motor for driving an agitator in a washing tub, detects a change in load of the motor, and compares the detected value with a judgment reference value. Accordingly, in the washing machine including the cloth quality judging means for judging the cloth quality of the laundry in the washing tub, the reference value changing means for changing the judgment reference value of the cloth quality judging means is provided. Have.

[0009]

According to the above means, the judgment reference value of the cloth quality judging means can be changed by the reference value changing means. Thus, by changing the judgment reference value of the cloth quality judging means according to the preference of the user, the preference of the user can be reflected in the judgment of the cloth quality judging means. Further, when the washing machine is used for a long period of time, the judgment of the cloth quality judging means becomes accurate by changing the judgment reference value of the cloth quality judging means in response to the looseness of the belt, the wear of the mechanical portion and the like. ..

[0010]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment in which the present invention is applied to a combined washing machine for dehydration will be described below with reference to the drawings. First, referring to FIG. 2 showing the entire structure of the dehydration and washing machine, an outer box 1
A water receiving tank 2 is provided inside, and a rotating tank 3 for dehydration and washing, which is a washing tank, is arranged inside the water receiving tank 2. An agitator 4 having a large diameter is rotatably provided on the inner bottom of the rotary tank 3.

On the outer bottom portion of the water receiving tank 2, a motor 5 composed of, for example, a three-phase DC brushless motor is arranged, and a mechanism portion 6 is arranged. This mechanism 6
Is a drive mechanism unit 7 including a speed reducer, a brake device, and the like.
And a belt transmission mechanism 8. The mechanical unit 6 is configured to reduce the rotation of the motor 5 to transmit it to the stirring body 4 during the washing operation, and to transmit the rotation of the motor 5 to the rotary tank 3 and the stirring body 4 during dehydration.

A drain valve 9 is provided in the drain path from the water receiving tank 2. An air trap 10 is formed at the bottom of the water receiving tank 2, and a water level sensor 12 (see FIG. 1) is connected to the air trap 10 via an air tube 11. An upper cover 13 is provided on the upper part of the outer box 1.

As shown in FIG.
The operation panel 14 as shown in FIG. The operation panel 14 is provided with a washing course display section 15, a timer display section 16 and a water level display section 17. The laundry course display portion 15 is provided with characters indicating various courses and light emitting diodes. The timer display unit 16 is provided with a segment type light emitting diode, and is configured to display the current time, the reservation time, the remaining time, the washing time, the number of rinses, the dehydration time, and the like. Water level display 1
7 is provided with a character indicating each water level and a light emitting diode.

On the operation panel 14, a course switching key 18, a paste setting key 19, a tank cleaning setting key 20,
A washing time setting key 21, a rinse number setting key 22, a dehydration time setting key 23, a water level setting key 24, and a start key (also serving as a temporary stop key) 25 are provided.

Now, in FIG. 1 showing the electrical configuration,
The control circuit 26, which is a control means, is configured to include, for example, a microcomputer, and is washed in an internal memory.
A program for controlling each operation of rinsing and dehydration is stored. This control circuit 26 constitutes a cloth quality judging means.

The control circuit 26 detects various input signals from an input circuit 27 provided with various switches of the operation panel 14, a water level detection signal from the water level sensor 12, and a position detection made of, for example, a hall element built in the motor 5. Element 5a
It receives the position detection signal from. Also,
The control circuit 26 drives the display circuit 28 including various light emitting diodes of the operation panel 14, and the drain valve 7 and the water supply valve 29.
Also, the motor 5 is driven via the drive circuits 30 to 32.

Here, when driving the motor 5, the drive coil of the motor 5 is energized at an appropriate energization timing based on the position detection signal from the position detection element 5a, and the position detection element 5a is operated. The number of rotations per unit time, that is, the rotation speed of the motor 5 is detected based on the position detection signal, and the applied voltage is adjusted so that the required rotation speed is obtained. In this case, the position detecting element 5
The rotational speed detecting means 33 is composed of a and the control circuit 26.

Next, the operation of the above structure will be described with reference to FIGS. As shown in the flow chart of FIG.
When the standard course (sensor operation course) is selected and washing is started, first, the volume of the laundry stored in the rotary tub 3 is detected (step S1), and the water level and the washing time corresponding to the detected volume, The number of rinses, dehydration time, etc. are set. The configuration for detecting the capacity of the laundry is a well-known configuration (for example, the configuration in which the current flowing through the motor is detected when the laundry is stirred at a certain set water level and the capacity is detected based on the detected value). Is used.

If the set water level is now "high", the process proceeds to "YES" in step S2,
After supplying water to the "high" water level (steps S3 and S4), the washing operation is started. At the beginning of this washing operation, the quality of the laundry is detected. Specifically, the preset rotation speed of the motor 5 and the reversal time limit of the motor 5 (the on-time of the motor 5 during forward rotation and reverse rotation, and the motor 5 between forward rotation and reverse rotation)
In the time period defined by the off-time), the forward rotation and the reverse rotation of the rotary tank 3 are performed 16 times, 32 times in total (steps S5 and S6). In this case, for example, the rotation speed is 115r.
pm, the reversal time limit is turned on for 1.3 seconds and turned off for 0.5 seconds.

At this time, when the laundry is, for example, a jeans, the actual rotation speed of the motor 5 fluctuates as shown in FIG. That is, the first normal rotation speed is 90 rpm, the first reverse rotation speed is 85 rpm, the second normal rotation speed is 80 rpm, and the second reverse rotation speed is 80 r.
pm, the third rotation speed of forward rotation is 90 rpm, reverse rotation of 3
The 16th rotation speed of the normal rotation is 80 rpm, and the 16th rotation speed of the reverse rotation is 90 rpm. These rotation speeds are detected by the rotation speed detection means 33.

Here, the control circuit 26 controls the difference in rotational speed between the first forward rotation and the second forward rotation, the difference in rotational speed between the second forward rotation and the third forward rotation, ... , The difference in rotational speed between the 15th forward rotation and the 16th forward rotation, the difference in rotation speed between the first reverse rotation and the second reverse rotation, ........., between the 15th reverse rotation and the 16th reverse rotation The difference between the rotation speeds is calculated, and the sum of the differences between the rotation speeds is calculated, and the value is set as K.
In this case, K = 135. On the other hand, when the laundry is lingerie, similarly, when each rotational speed is detected and K is calculated, K = 40.

This is because a laundry which is stiff and heavy in weight like a jeans is a rotating tub 3 as compared to a laundry which is lithe and light in weight like a lingerie like a lingerie.
This is because it easily sinks into the bottom of the stirrer, and a larger load is applied to the stirring body 4. For this reason,
The rotation speed of the stirring body 4, that is, the rotation speed of the motor 5 easily fluctuates. In addition, in laundry such as jeans, a part (sleeves, hem, etc.) of the laundry may come into contact with the blades of the agitator 4 during the washing operation, and from this point as well, the rotation speed of the motor 5 tends to vary. .. On the other hand, laundry such as lingerie is
Since it tends to float above the rotary tank 3, the rotation speed of the motor 5 hardly changes.

Therefore, in the case of "high" water level, K
If it is> 120, it is judged that the quality of the laundry is "stiff" (step S7), and if 120 ≧ K> 85, it is judged that the quality of the laundry is "a high proportion of cotton" (step S7). S9), if 85 ≧ K> 65, it is determined that the cloth quality is “a high proportion of synthetic fibers” (step S11), 65
If ≧ K, it is judged that the cloth quality is “flexible” like lingerie, and after that, the water flow strength, washing time, rinsing time and dehydration time suitable for the detected cloth quality are set. (Steps S8, S10, S12, S13), a washing operation, a rinsing operation, and a dehydration operation are executed (step S14). Here, the above-mentioned K comparison values 120, 85,
... is the criterion value for judging the cloth quality.

In Table 1 below, the water level is "high",
For each of the cases of "medium", "low", and "small amount", the concrete value of K for judging the cloth quality, that is, the concrete value of the judgment reference value is shown.

[0025]

[Table 1] In addition, in Table 2 below, the water level is “high”, “medium”,
In each case of "low" and "small amount", the concrete values of the rotation speed and the reversal time limit of the motor 5 when detecting the cloth quality are shown, and the water flow suitable for the detected cloth quality is shown for each water level described above. The specific values of the rotation speed of the motor 5 and the reversal time limit, and the washing time, rinsing time, and dehydration time are shown as the strength.

[0026]

[Table 2] Next, the judgment reference value of the control circuit 26, which is the cloth quality judgment means, is set according to the preference of the user or in response to the looseness of the belt and the wear of the mechanism portion when the washing machine is used for a long time. In case of changing, the following Table 1 and
A detailed description will be given according to Table 3 below.

[0027]

[Table 3] In this case, first, with the course switching key 18 and the dehydration time setting key 23 pressed simultaneously, a power switch (not shown) is turned on. By such a specific key operation, the operation mode in which the judgment reference value of the control circuit 26 can be changed is entered. In this operation mode, for example, the tank cleaning setting key 20 is operated to increase the judgment reference value, and the paste setting key 1 is used to decrease the judgment reference value.
Operate 9.

Specifically, each time the tank cleaning setting key 20 is pressed, the judgment reference value is increased by "10". At this time, the incremented value is displayed on the timer display unit 16
Displayed in. On the timer display unit 16, the increased value is displayed as "10", "20", "30", .... Table 3 shows the judgment reference value when the judgment reference value shown in Table 1 is increased by "10".

On the other hand, each time the paste setting key 19 is pressed, the judgment reference value is decreased by "10". At this time, the value of the reduced amount is displayed on the timer display unit 16. The timer display unit 16 displays the value of the reduced amount as "-10", "-20", "-30", .... In this case, the course value changing key 18, the dehydration time setting key 23, the power switch, the control circuit 26, the bath cleaning setting key 20 and the paste setting key 19 constitute the reference value changing means 34. Further, the judgment reference value of the cloth quality judging means changed and set by the reference value changing means 34 is stored in the memory in the control circuit 26.

According to the present embodiment having such a configuration, the reference value changing means 34 can change the judgment criterion of the control circuit 26, that is, the cloth quality judging means according to the preference of the user. Thereby, the preference of the user can be reflected in the determination of the cloth quality determining unit, and the washing operation according to the preference of the user can be executed.

When the above washing machine is used for a long period of time, the belt is loosened and the mechanism is worn, and the load on the motor changes due to these factors. Even in such a case, the judgment reference value of the cloth quality judging means can be changed corresponding to the above change, and therefore the judgment of the cloth quality judging means becomes accurate.

In the above embodiment, since the operation is automatically controlled according to the detected cloth quality of the laundry,
The user's manual operation is not necessary and the usability is improved.
Then, since the water flow according to the cloth quality is automatically set as appropriate, the optimum washing operation suitable for the cloth quality can be performed, and damage to the cloth and insufficient cleaning can be prevented.

In the above embodiment, the control circuit 26
The keys to be operated when changing the judgment reference value are not limited to the keys of the above embodiment, and other keys may be used. Further, in the above-described embodiment, the operation mode in which the judgment reference value of the control circuit 26 is changed by a specific key operation, that is, by specially operating a plurality of keys on the operation panel 14, is adopted. Alternatively, a dedicated operation key may be provided.

In the above embodiment, the reference value changing means 34
The judgment reference value of the cloth quality judging means changed and set is stored in the memory in the control circuit 26. However, when the plug of the washing machine is unplugged from the power outlet, the changed judgment reference value is erased. The judgment reference value returns to the value at the time of product shipment, that is, the value determined by the manufacturer. On the other hand, a non-volatile memory such as an EEPROM may be provided and the non-volatile memory may store the judgment reference value of the cloth quality judgment means changed and set. In the case of this configuration, the changed judgment reference value does not disappear even when the plug is unplugged from the power outlet.

In particular, in the case of this construction, the adjustment work of the judgment reference value of the cloth quality judging means in the manufacturing line becomes simple and the manufacturing cost becomes low. This is because it is necessary to adjust the judgment reference value of the cloth quality judgment means for each product in response to the product variations of the motor and the control circuit. In the conventional configuration, various values are stored as the judgment reference value. It was equipped with various kinds of electronic parts, and the optimum electronic parts were mounted for each product. On the other hand, according to the above configuration, in the production line, since it is only necessary to adjust the judgment reference value of the cloth quality judgment means by the reference value changing means for each product, the work is simplified and , The manufacturing cost is also reduced.

[0036]

As is apparent from the above description, the present invention is configured to change the judgment reference value of the cloth quality judging means by the reference value changing means, so that the preference of the user is judged by the cloth quality judging means. In addition, when the washing machine is used for a long time, the judgment reference value of the cloth quality judgment means can be changed according to the looseness of the belt, the wear of the mechanism part, etc. It has an excellent effect that the judgment of the means becomes accurate.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an electrical configuration diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a vertical sectional view of a washing machine

FIG. 3 is a plan view of an operation panel

[Fig. 4] Flow chart

FIG. 5 is a graph showing fluctuations in motor rotation speed.

[Explanation of symbols]

3 is a rotating tank (washing tank), 4 is a stirrer, 5 is a motor, 14
Is an operation panel, 26 is a control circuit (cloth quality judging means), 33
Is a rotational speed detecting means, and 34 is a reference value changing means.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A motor for driving an agitator in a washing tub, a load variation of the motor is detected, and the detected value is compared with a judgment reference value to determine the quality of the laundry in the washing tub. A washing machine provided with a cloth quality judging means for judging, wherein the washing machine is provided with a reference value changing means for changing a judgment reference value of the cloth quality judging means.