JPH0523476A - Washing machine - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To effectively reduce an abnormal sound generated due to propagation vibration from a rotary tank in the course of rotation of the rotary tank by a device for detaining the rotary tank in a prescribed rotating position. CONSTITUTION:Between a motor 81 for generating detaining force and a power transmission mechanism 82, an engaging/disconnecting means for executing an engaging operation by attaching an armature 86 by electric conduction of an excitation coil 85 is provided. Electric conduction of a driving current of the motor 81 is executed only at the time of detaining a rotary tank, and on the other hand, electric conduction of the excitation coil 85 is cut off only at the time of releasing the detention, and continued in the course of rotation of the rotary tank. In such a way, vibration of the armature 86 which becomes a movable part is suppressed, and generation of an abnormal sound is prevented.

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 function of washing, dehydrating and drying clothes put in a rotary tub by rotating the rotary tub. Is generated around a horizontal axis, and a laundry insertion port is provided on the peripheral surface of the rotary tub.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art For example, as disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 63-8386, there is provided a horizontal rotary tub which rotates about a horizontal axis, and clothing inserted through an inlet formed on the peripheral surface of the rotary tub. In a washing machine capable of performing washing, dehydration, and drying processes, the position of the inlet is always in a predetermined direction (usually upward) when loading or unloading clothes.
It is necessary to stop the rotating tank so that
A lock device is provided to restrain unnecessary rotation caused by a change in internal load when the clothes are put in or taken out after the rotation tank is stopped.

This locking device uses a torque motor that amplifies the rotational force of a motor that generates a restraining force by an appropriate speed reduction mechanism and extracts the torque. The output of the torque motor is restrained in addition to a part of the drive mechanism of the rotary tank. However, in this case, due to the presence of the speed reduction mechanism, the restraint operation is released, that is, the restraint state shifts to the non-restraint state even after the power supply to the motor is stopped. There is a problem that is not done. Therefore, conventionally, the decelerating means for electrically engaging and disengaging, specifically, the engaging and disengaging means for attaching and detaching the engaging and disengaging member by the passage of the exciting current of the coil to obtain the engaged and disengaged state is described above. In the middle of the mechanism, when restrained, power is supplied to the coil of the engaging / disengaging means together with the motor, and when releasing the restraint, power supply to the motor is stopped and then power supply to the engaging / disengaging means is also stopped. A configuration is adopted in which the constraint of the rotary tank is released, that is, the shift to the unconstrained state is surely performed by disconnecting the connection between the rotary end and the output end.

[0004]

However, in the conventional washing machine having such a structure, when the rotary tub rotates in each process of washing, spin-drying or drying, the vibration generated by the rotation causes the torque motor. And the engaging member vibrates in the engaging means, and an offensive noise called a tapping sound is generated.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and in a device for restraining the rotation of the rotary tub when loading or unloading clothes, it is possible to effectively suppress the abnormal noise generated during the rotation of the rotary tub. The purpose is to provide a machine.

[0006]

The washing machine according to the present invention comprises:
The motor includes a motor for generating a restraining force, and an engaging / disengaging means for attaching / detaching an engaging / disengaging member by disconnecting an exciting current of a coil to engage / disengage transmission from the motor. In the washing machine in which the generated force of the motor amplified through the above is applied to the rotary tub into which clothes are put, and the rotation of the rotary tub is restricted at a predetermined rotation position, a predetermined energization is applied only when the restriction is made. A power supply circuit for the motor, and a power supply circuit for the engagement / disengagement means, which interrupts energization of the coil only when the restraint is released and continues during rotation of the rotary tank. ..

[0007]

According to the present invention, the energization of the coil of the engaging / disengaging means is continuously performed not only when the restraint is released but also while the rotating tank is rotating, and the engaging member is attracted to the coil. Further, it is possible to prevent the engagement member from vibrating due to the propagating vibration from the rotary tank, and to suppress the generation of abnormal noise due to this vibration.

[0008]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings showing the embodiments. FIG. 1 is a side sectional view showing an entire configuration of a washing machine according to the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a transverse sectional view taken along line II-II of FIG.

In the figure, reference numeral 1 denotes a rotary tub which rotates together with the clothes put therein to wash, dehydrate and dry the clothes. Further, 2 is an outer tank having a large-diameter cylindrical shape, and inside a metal outer box 3 having a rectangular box shape, lower support members 4, 4 ... Standing at respective corners of the bottom surface thereof, Similarly, with the upper supports 5, 5 ... Hanging from each corner of the upper surface,
The shaft center is substantially horizontal and is elastically supported. The rotary tank 1 is rotatably supported inside the outer tank 2 about a horizontal axis.

On a part of the peripheral surface of the rotating tub 1, an inner insertion port 10 for inserting clothes into the rotating tub 1 is formed by an inner lid 11 so as to be openable and closable, and on the upper surface of the outer box 3. Is formed with an outer lid 31 so as to be openable and closable, and these have a bellows shape mounted between a rectangular opening in the upper part of the outer tub 2 and the back surface of the top plate of the outer box 3. The packing cylinder 21 is connected in a watertight manner.

The rotary shaft 12 of the rotary tub 1 is projected on one side of the outer tub 2 for a predetermined length, and a large diameter driven pulley is attached to the projecting end.
13 is fitted. Main motor 6 as a driving source for the rotary tank 1
Is fixed to the outside of the lower part of the outer tub 2, and a drive pulley 14 is fitted on the shaft end of the output shaft of the main motor 6, and a transmission is provided between the drive pulley 14 and the driven pulley 13. The belt 15 is stretched.

With the above-described structure, the rotary tank 1 has a drive pulley.
14, it is rotationally driven by the rotational force of the main motor 6 transmitted to the rotary shaft 12 through the transmission belt 15 and the driven pulley 13, and rotates around the horizontal axis inside the outer tub 2. The main motor 6 is an inverter-driven three-phase induction motor capable of normal rotation and reverse rotation at an appropriate speed, and energization control to the main motor 6 is performed by, for example, an operation panel (not shown) on the upper surface of the outer box 3. It is carried out according to the operating conditions set in. As a result, the rotary tub 1 performs a low speed reversal operation in a predetermined cycle during the washing and drying operations, and performs a high speed unidirectional rotation during the dehydration operation.

During the washing operation, the washing water having a predetermined depth and staying in the outer tub 2 passes through a large number of water holes 16, 16 ... The clothes inside the rotary tub 1 are washed while being rotated in the wash water. Also, during the dehydration operation, the water contained in the clothes in the rotary tub 1 is separated by the action of the centrifugal force accompanying the high speed rotation of the rotary tub 1 and leaks into the outer tub 2 through the water holes 16, 16. Then, the water is discharged through a drainage pipe 22 that is continuously provided in the approximate center of the bottom surface of the outer tub 2. Further, during the drying operation, the dry air generated by the heat exchange with the heater 23 arranged on one side of the outer tank 2 is circulated in the rotary tank 1 by being blown by a blower fan (not shown). It acts to remove moisture from the clothes and dry them.

To put clothes in and take them out of the rotary tub 1, the rotary tub 1 is stopped at a rotation position where the inner inlet 10 faces upward, and the outer lid 31 on the upper surface of the outer box 3 and the inside of the rotary tub 1 are removed. The lid 11 is opened, and the packing is carried out from the outer charging port 30 through the packing cylinder 21 and the charging cylinder 20. As shown in FIG. 2, a magnet 16 is fixedly attached to one surface of the driven pulley 13 on an appropriate circumference, and a reed switch 17 is fixed to the outer surface of the outer tub 2 on the same circumference. The rotation tank 1 is stopped at the position by stopping the power supply to the main motor 6 in response to the ON operation of the reed switch accompanying the approach of the magnet 16.

On one side of the main motor 6, there is provided a lock device 7 which has a function of restraining the rotation of the rotary tub 1 to the rotation position when the clothes are put in and taken out. This locking device 7 has a gear 70 integrally fitted on the output shaft of the main motor 6 with the drive pulley 14, and locking pawls 71, 71 facing the tooth surface of the gear 70 at one end thereof. And a pair of locking levers 72, 72 each of which has a longitudinal midway portion pivotally supported to rotate about an axis parallel to the output shaft of the main motor 6, and these locking levers 72, 72. The other end is provided with a torque motor 8 which applies a pulling force via a pulling wire 73.

The locking levers 72, 72 are engaged with the locking claws 71 from the tooth surface of the gear 70 by biasing springs 74, 74 connected to the parts closer to the locking claws 71, 71 than the respective pivots. , 71 are urged in a direction to separate them, and when the pulling wire 73 is pulled by the operation of the torque motor 8 described later, the locking lever
72 and 72 rotate around their respective axes, and the locking claws 71 and 71 are gears.
It is adapted to engage the tooth flanks of 70. By this engagement, the gear 70 and the drive pulley integrated therewith
Since the rotation of 14 is restricted, the rotation of the rotary tank 1 connected to the drive pulley 14 via the transmission belt 15 and the driven pulley 13 is restricted.

FIG. 3 is a horizontal sectional view of the torque motor 8, and FIG. 4 is a vertical sectional view of the torque motor 8. As shown in FIG. 4, the torque motor 8 is a reduction mechanism in which the rotation of the motor 81 arranged in the housing 80 is configured by combining a plurality of spur gears.
To the output shaft 83 via 82, the housing 80 of the output shaft 83
The swinging arm 84, the base end of which is fixed to the protruding end to the outside, is swung, and the pulling wire 73 is locked to the tip of the swinging arm 84 as shown in FIG.

In the middle of the reduction mechanism 82, a movable gear 87,
A gear clutch including a fixed gear 88 and a coil spring 89 that biases the fixed gear 88 in a direction separating from each other is configured, and the power transmission of the motor 81 is performed by the movable gear 87 against the bias of the coil spring 89. It is designed to be performed only when the engaging gears that are formed close to the fixed gear 88 and are formed on the side surfaces of the fixed gear 88 are meshed with each other.

An exciting coil 85 is fixed inside the housing 80 so as to face the other side of the motor 81.
An armature 86 is arranged with one end thereof facing the magnetic pole of 85, and the other end of the armature 86 is loosely fitted to the rotary shaft of the movable gear 87. That is, the armature 86 holds the movable gear 87 against the urging force of the coil spring 89 by the lever action with the midpoint thereof being a fulcrum when the one end is attracted by the excitation accompanying the energization of the exciting coil 85. Press towards 88,
It acts as an engaging / disengaging member for engaging the gear clutch.

The rotational force of the motor 81 is transmitted to the swing arm 84 only when the gear clutch is engaged by the excitation of the exciting coil 85, and the pull wire 74 is pulled by the swing of the swing arm 84. The locking levers 72, 72, which rotate in response to this, mesh with the tooth surfaces of the gear 70 to restrain the rotation of the rotary tank 1. Further, even if the power supply to the motor 81 is stopped after obtaining this restrained state, the swinging arm 84 is moved by the biasing springs 74, 74 via the locking levers 72, 72 and the pulling wire 74.
Since the rotational force applied to the rotary tank 1 is not large enough to rotate the rotating weight of the motor 81 through the speed reducing mechanism, the restraint state of the rotary tank 1 is maintained and the restraint of the rotary tank 1 is released. After the power supply to the motor 81 is stopped, the excitation coil 85
It is performed only when the power supply to is cut off.

FIG. 4 shows the meshing state of the spur gears of the reduction gear mechanism in a straight line in the meshing direction, and shows the outer shape of the torque motor 8 and its internal structure. The actual arrangement of the output shaft 83, the exciting coil 85 and the armature 86 is as shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 3, the output shaft 83 is fitted with a cam member 90 having a notch in a part of its peripheral surface, and the cam member 90 is housed in the housing 80.
A switch 91 is configured to open when aligned with the notch. The opening of the switch 91 occurs when the swing arm 84 is in the swing position where the locking levers 72, 72 are pulled by adjusting the notch position of the cam member 90.

FIG. 5 is a circuit diagram for energizing the motor 81 and the exciting coil 85. The switch 91 is interposed in this circuit as shown in the figure. As is apparent from this figure, the drive current is supplied to the motor 81 only when the voltage is applied between the terminals a and b and the switch 91 is closed, and the excitation current of the excitation coil 85 is Energization always occurs when a voltage is applied between terminals a and c. The application of the voltage between the terminals a and b is started together with the stop of the main motor 6 for loading and unloading the clothes,
The energization of the motor 81 is continued until the switch 91 opens.

On the other hand, the application of the voltage between the terminals a and c is started when the rotary tank 1 starts to rotate by the power supply to the main motor 6, and even after the main motor 6 is stopped as described above.
This is continued until the main switch of the washing machine is turned off or the next power supply to the main motor 6 is started, during which the exciting coil 85 is in the excited state.

When the rotary tank 1 stops rotating at the above-mentioned rotational position, the switch 91 inside the torque motor 8 is closed, and the motor 81 is driven by energizing the drive current. Is excited and the armature 86
Since the gear clutch is in the engaged state by the above operation, the swing arm 84 swings at the output end of the torque motor 8 and the rotation of the rotary tank 1 is restricted. Further, at the rotational position where this constraint occurs, the switch 91 opens due to alignment with the notch of the cam member 90 fitted to the output shaft 83,
The energization of 81 is cut off, but the energization of the exciting coil 85 is continued. Therefore, the restricted state of the rotary tank 1 is maintained as described above, and the outer lid 31 and the inner lid 11 are opened. Easy loading and unloading of clothes.

After that, when a predetermined operation is performed to perform the next washing, dehydration or drying operation, or when the main switch is turned off after finishing all the processes,
Although the restriction of the rotary tank 1 is released by cutting off the power supply to the exciting coil 85, in the former case, the exciting coil 85 returns to the excited state when the rotation of the rotating tank 1 starts, and keeps the armature 86 adsorbed. Therefore, due to the vibration propagating to the outer tub 2 as the rotary tub 1 rotates, the movable portion inside the torque motor 8 fixed to the outer tub 2, that is, the armature 86, and the movable gear 87 of the gear clutch, There is no danger of the fixed gear 88 vibrating,
It is possible to effectively prevent the generation of abnormal noise. At this time, since the motor 81 is not driven, the swing arm 84, which is the output end of the torque motor 8, does not swing, and there is no possibility that the rotation of the rotary tank 1 is hindered.

The structure of the torque motor 8 is not limited to that shown in this embodiment, and any other structure can be used as long as it has a motor 81 for generating a restraining force and a means for disconnecting the transmission from this. You may have.

[0027]

As described above in detail, in the washing machine according to the present invention, when the operating current is applied to the engaging / disengaging means for engaging / disengaging the transmission from the motor for generating the restraining force of the rotary tub,
The vibration is generated in the movable part of the engaging / disengaging means due to the propagation of the vibration from the rotary tub, because the engaging means keeps the engaged state while the rotary tub is rotating during the washing, dehydrating or drying operation. The present invention has excellent effects such as suppression of noise and effective suppression of generation of abnormal noise resulting from this.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side sectional view showing an overall configuration of a washing machine according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line II-II of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the torque motor.

FIG. 4 is a vertical sectional view of a torque motor.

FIG. 5 is a circuit diagram showing an internal circuit of the torque motor.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Rotating Tank 2 Outer Tank 3 Outer Box 6 Main Motor 7 Locking Device 8 Torque Motor 10 Inner Feeding Port 13 Driven Pulley 14 Drive Pulley 15 Transmission Belt 30 Outer Feeding Port 70 Gear 72 Lock Lever 73 Pull Wire 81 Motor 82 Reduction Mechanism 83 Output shaft 84 Oscillating arm 85 Excitation coil 86 Armature 87 Movable gear 88 Fixed gear

Claims (1)

Claim: What is claimed is: 1. A motor for generating a restraining force, and an engaging / disconnecting means for connecting / disconnecting an engaging / disengaging member by disconnecting an exciting current of a coil to disengage transmission from the motor. Washing in which the generated force of the motor amplified through the speed reduction mechanism at the time of engagement of the engaging / disengaging means is applied to the rotary tub into which clothes are put, and the rotation of the rotary tub is restrained at a predetermined rotation position. In the machine, the power supply circuit of the motor, which is energized in a predetermined manner only when the restraint is applied, and the energizing means that shuts off the power supply to the coil only when the restraint is released and continues even during rotation of the rotary tank. A washing machine comprising a power supply circuit.