JPH06254285A - Control method of drum type washing dryer - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To perform precise controls by a method wherein in the case a comple tion time is reserved, the heating time period of washing water and the drying time period are calculated based on the results of volume sensing and the opera tion start-up time is determined by adding the calculated result to the operation time period to be determined under the conditions set at the beginning. CONSTITUTION:At step S11, a volume sensing is performed in a state no water is in a water tank before water supply, and at step 12, it is confirmed whether completion time is reserved. When completion time is reserved, it is judged whether an operating course requiring a period of time, which is set based on the supply water temperature, the ambient temperature and operating conditions that have been obtained from the previous operation, is completed before the time reserved at step S13. When there is no problem with the reservation time, an allowance time period is added to the required time period obtained to determine the operation start-up time at step S17. When the operation start-up time comes. water is supplied at step S19, and the operation proceeds to washing and rinsing steps. At step 20, memories are updated according to the water temperature data detected at this time of water supply.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention covers everything from washing to drying.
The present invention relates to a method of controlling a drum type washer / dryer using two drums, and more particularly, to improvement of a control method such as calculation of an operation time and determination of an operation start time and correction when an end reservation is set.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A drum type washer / dryer has a structure in which the drum rotates about a horizontal axis in a water tank. Since the same drum can be used for washing and drying, the functions from washing / dewatering to drying can be performed. It has become a representative of a combined washer / dryer. The outline of the structure and operation will be described below with reference to the schematic sectional view of the conventional drum type washer / dryer shown in FIG.
This drum type washer / dryer has a double structure of a water tank 2 suspended by a spring 4 inside an outer box 1 and a drum 3 arranged inside the water tank 2 so as to rotate around a horizontal axis. Has become. The water tank 2 is suspended by a spring 4 in order to absorb vibration during operation, and has a function of storing and discharging washing liquid or dehydration liquid. The drum 3 is provided with a large number of small holes 5 on its entire peripheral wall for allowing water supply during washing, drainage during dehydration and hot air during drying to pass therethrough.

A drying heater 6 is attached to the upper portion of the water tank 2. Further, a blower 7 and a circulation duct 8 for circulating warm air during drying are provided. A door 9 for loading and unloading laundry is provided on the front surface of the main body, and a packing 10 is provided between the door 9 and the water tank 2 so as to be hermetically sealed. Reference numeral 11 is a drive motor for rotating the drum 3, and 12 is a water supply pump for discharging washing liquid and the like out of the machine. A heater 13 for heating hot water for heating the washing liquid is arranged in the lower part of the water tank 2.

The washing process is carried out by putting laundry into the drum 3, pouring a washing liquid in which detergent is dissolved into the laundry from above, and rotating the drum 3 at a low speed.
The laundry in the drum 3 is lifted to near the top of the drum 3 by the centrifugal force generated by the rotation of the drum 3 and a baffle (not shown), and then falls by its own weight (called tumbling). By repeating this tumbling, the laundry is washed by the impact force when dropped. Rinsing is performed in the same manner. The water level of the washing liquid is detected by the water level sensor 14. In the dehydration process, rotate the drum 3 at high speed,
The centrifugal force is used to press the laundry against the inner surface of the peripheral wall of the drum 3. At this time, the water is blown from the small holes 5 of the drum 3, travels along the inner surface of the water tank 2 and is guided to the lower portion, and is discharged to the outside by the drainage pump 12.

The drying process is performed by rotating the drum 3 at a low speed while blowing the high temperature air heated by the drying heater 6 into the drum 3. The air in the water tank 2 heated by the drying heater 6 and having a high temperature is
The drum 3 is rotated and agitated to raise the temperature of the entire inside of the water tub 2 including the laundry to evaporate the water contained in the laundry. This hot and humid air directly contacts the cooling water while passing through the distance from the outlet of the hot air circulation duct 8 connected to the water tank 2 on the water tank 2 side to the drying heater 6 to condense water, Dehumidification is performed by discharging the moisture out of the machine. The laundry is dried by repeating the cycle in which the dehumidified air is heated by the drying heater 6 again.

[0006]

Conventionally, a fully automatic washing machine having an end reservation timer has been commercialized, but in the case of hot water washing, the operation start time is determined by a standard required time. is there. Also, some clothes dryers display the drying time at the start, but there are large errors due to the degree of dehydration of laundry, ambient temperature, and the amount of laundry put in, so it is said that the display will be corrected / changed during operation. The accuracy was poor. On the other hand, in Japan, most drum type washing and drying machines are imported from overseas, mainly in Europe, and are generally mechanically controlled. Therefore, there is no end reservation function on the market at this time. In addition, since the drum type washer / dryer has the functions of hot water washing and drying, it has a great effect on the operating conditions such as the initially set operating conditions, water temperature, amount of laundry, ambient temperature, and heater input. There are many factors,
It is difficult to estimate and grasp the total operating time.

Therefore, the advantage of the drum type washer / dryer that the entire process from washing / dehydrating to drying is continuously performed is utilized, and a function of end reservation for washing / drying at night is added. I was not at the level.
Various estimations of driving time, end reservation, suggestions for improvement thereof, and the like are made as described below. However, it is not possible to expect a sufficient effect in each inadequate process or by itself. For example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 3-168
Japanese Patent No. 184 relates to end reservation of a fully-automatic washing machine. A laundry sensor detects the presence or absence of laundry, and only if control is performed to start operation at a scheduled start time only when there is laundry, the end reservation is made. It does not lead to improvement of driving itself.

Further, Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 63-150697 discloses a method for displaying a drying time of a clothes dryer, in which a load amount is estimated from a rising rotation speed of a motor to predict a required time. It is also insufficient for application to end reserved driving. On the other hand, Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 3-49078 discloses contents of calculating the amount of washing water and the washing time of a fully automatic washing machine. Although the above values are set by capacity sensing, water temperature, etc. Is not sufficient to deal with. Further, JP-A-4-105696 discloses that the water temperature sensor measures the water temperature and the air temperature (data detected within a certain time period before water supply is treated as the air temperature data) to control the operation. Is less effective in improving.

Further, Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 3-49799 relates to improving the accuracy of predicting the end time of a washing machine. The time required for water supply and drainage for the first time is stored and the time required for water supply and drainage for the entire operation is calculated. Therefore, the error factors that have a greater effect such as the heating time of the washing water and the drying time have not been solved. Therefore, the object of the present invention is to
When operating a drum-type washer-dryer that continuously performs the entire process from washing, dehydration to drying, take advantage of its advantages to reserve an end time and attempt to carry out continuous operation. It is an object of the present invention to provide a method for controlling a drum type washer / dryer that enables accurate control by determining the operation start time and further performing various corrections.

[0010]

The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and the first gist thereof is to provide a water tank arranged in an outer box and the inside of the water tank. A drum-type washer / dryer that can be rotatably supported and has a large number of small holes in its peripheral wall, a capacity sensing function, and a reservation function for the end time of operation, and that can perform washing / dewatering to drying When the end reserved time is set, the heating time of the washing water and the drying time are calculated based on the result of the capacity sensing, and the operation time determined by the result and the condition set in the initial stage Is added to determine the operation start time.

In this case, when the end reserved operation is performed for the process from washing to dehydration, the process is started earlier by a predetermined value than the calculated operation start time, and is temporarily stopped without draining at the end of the final rinsing process. Control to adjust the end time, or to measure the initial water supply temperature, correct the calculated value of the washing water warming time based on the result, and set the operation start time. Or, install a temperature detection device that detects the ambient temperature of the installed location, and based on the detection results, correct the calculated values of the washing water heating time and drying time and set the operation start time. And are both valid.

The other gist of the present invention is as follows.
It is equipped with a water tank placed inside the outer box, a drum that is rotatably supported in this water tank, and has a large number of small holes in the peripheral wall, a capacity sensing function, and a reservation function for the end time of operation.
A method for controlling a drum-type washer / dryer capable of performing dehydration to drying, wherein the warming time of washing water based on the result of capacity sensing when an end reserved time is set,
And the drying time is calculated, and the operation start time is determined by adding the result to the operation time determined under the conditions set at the beginning, and the operation from washing / dehydrating to drying is continuously operated. When making a reservation, start the operation by a predetermined value earlier than the calculated operation start time, and adjust the end time at the time of the wrinkle prevention process that energizes the drying heater and rotates the drum intermittently after the completion of drying. There is a control method for the drum type washer / dryer.

Next, still another gist of the present invention is that a water tank arranged in an outer box, a drum rotatably supported in the water tank, and a drum having a large number of small holes in its peripheral wall, and a capacity. With a sensing function and a reservation function for the end time of driving,
A method for controlling a drum type washer / dryer that can perform washing / dewatering to drying, and when the end reserved time is set, the warming time and the drying time of the wash water are determined based on the result of capacity sensing. When calculating the operation result and adding the operating time determined by the initially set condition to determine the operation start time, the heating time of the washing water is corrected using the water temperature data stored during the previous washing. Then, by performing a comprehensive calculation of the operating time and comparing the difference between the reserved end time and the current time, it is judged whether or not the reserved end time can be set at the time of capacity sensing before water supply. If appropriate, display at the time of capacitance sensing, and /
Alternatively, it is a method of controlling the drum type washer / dryer in which the alarm buzzer is used to notify.

Still another gist of the present invention is that a water tank arranged in an outer box, a drum rotatably supported in the water tank, and a peripheral wall having a large number of small holes are provided.
A method for controlling a drum type washer / dryer that has a capacity sensing function and a reservation function for the end time of operation, and that can perform washing / dewatering and drying, and the result of capacity sensing when the end reservation time is set. Calculate the heating time of the washing water and the drying time based on the above, and add the result and the operating time determined by the conditions set in the initial stage to determine the operation start time. In order to improve it, control is performed to calculate the required drying time from each data of dehydration speed, dehydration time, heater input and capacity sensing result, ambient temperature determined by the initially set operating conditions, and determine the operation start time. There is a method of controlling the drum type washer / dryer.

[0015]

In the following manner, the addition of the end reservation function, which has been difficult in the drum type washer / dryer that performs operations up to hot water washing and drying, and the accuracy of setting the operation start time at the end reservation are improved. It will be easy to adjust the process until the end time. In the set operation course, the required time estimation accuracy is improved because the heating time and the drying time of the wash water, which varies greatly depending on the conditions, are calculated and estimated based on the capacity sensing results. There is less error in the end time of. Even in the calculation of the required time, there is some error, so the margin time is preliminarily checked to ensure that the operation is completed at the end reservation time. For the final time adjustment, if you select a course from washing and rinsing to dehydration, make sure to stop the operation after the rinsing and adjust the time so that the laundry will not be adversely affected even if you temporarily stop the operation. ing. Therefore, there is no need to worry about detergent effects and wrinkle problems.

When the continuous operation until drying is selected, the margin time is checked in the same manner as above, and the time is adjusted most easily so that the “wrinkle prevention” process is performed without causing damage such as cloth damage. Further, since the heating time of the washing water is corrected by the detected initial water temperature, the accuracy of the required time prediction is improved. Since the heating time and the drying time of the wash water are corrected at the ambient temperature detected by the temperature detection device, the accuracy of predicting the time required to process the set entire process is further improved. In particular, since the drying time is greatly affected by the ambient temperature, the correction by the ambient temperature is effective for improving the accuracy.

When making an end time reservation, the required time may be long depending on the selected course, and driving may not be completed at the set end time. In this case, it becomes necessary to give some kind of notification at the time of capacity sensing at which it is possible to first determine whether or not that is possible. By using the water temperature data at the time of the previous washing as one piece of data for making a notification immediately after the capacity sensing, it becomes possible to make a decision in a short time. There are many influencing factors and the most difficult to predict the drying time calculation accuracy and the error of the operation end time is minimized.Therefore, the dehydration speed, dehydration time, drying heater input and capacity sensing effect, ambient temperature, water supply Estimate comprehensively from temperature data. That is, since the dehydration degree of the sensed capacity of the laundry can be grasped, the energy required for obtaining the predetermined dryness can be accurately calculated by adding the data of the water temperature and the ambient temperature.

[0018]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. The basic structure of the drum type washer / dryer in this embodiment is substantially similar to that of the conventional drum type washer / dryer. Hereinafter, the main part and the part relating to the invention will be mainly described. FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the outer appearance of a drum type washer / dryer to which the present invention is applied. 1 is an outer box, 9 is a door, 15 is an operation / display unit, and 16 is a control circuit. FIG. 2 is a schematic sectional view showing the inside of FIG. First, the structure will be described with reference to FIG. The water tank 2 is suspended from the outer box 1 by a spring 4 and has a structure capable of absorbing vibration generated during washing, rinsing, dehydration and drying. Inside the water tank 2, a drum 3 is arranged so as to rotate around a horizontal axis. The peripheral wall of the drum 3 is provided with a large number of small holes 5 for supplying or discharging washing water.

A drying heater 6 is attached to the upper portion of the water tank 2. A blower 7 and a circulation duct 8 are provided to circulate the warm air heated by the drying heater 6. Further, 13 is a heater for heating the washing water, and the washing water temperature is detected by the thermistor 17. On the other hand, 18 is a thermistor for measuring the temperature of the place where the drum type washer / dryer is installed. Also,
The capacity sensing for measuring the amount of laundry put in the drum 3 is performed in a state where there is no water in the water tank 2 between the time when the start key is pressed and the time when the water supply is started. The drum 3 is rotated with the laundry loaded in the drum 3, and the capacity is determined by the time until the rotation speed of the drive motor 11 reaches a predetermined rotation speed.

As can be seen from the change data of the rotation speed of the drive motor 11 at the start-up shown in FIG. 3, the larger the amount of laundry loaded, the longer the time required to reach the predetermined rotation speed. In order to perform capacity sensing in a short time, the slope of the rising curve of the rotation speed of the drive motor 11 may be calculated. That is, in FIG. 3, the horizontal axis represents time (sec), and the vertical axis represents the rotational speed (rpm) of the drive motor 11 at the time of rising.
It is a graph showing the relationship with the amount of laundry (kg) to be put in each case, and as described above, as the laundry increases, it takes an extra time to reach the same number of revolutions. It can be seen that this is the case.

Hereinafter, the control method of the present invention will be described based on an example of the control flow chart shown in FIG. 4 by taking the operations from the start to the washing step, the rinsing step, the dehydration step, and the end of the drying step as typical examples. First, when the power switch is turned on in step 1 (S1), the power turns on and step 2 (S1)
The display is initialized in 2). At the same time, the ambient temperature detected by the thermistor 18 is read in step 3 (S3). Next, the data of the initial water supply temperature at the time of the previous washing stored in the memory is called in step 4 (S4). When the washer / dryer is used for the first time or when it is reused after the power outlet is removed once, there is no previous data, so 20 ° C is automatically set as the initial value. After that, the user sets and inputs the operating conditions in step 5 (S5) and the end reserved time in step 6 (S6) from the display / operation unit. When the above is finished and the start key is turned on in step 7 (S7), the operation is started.

Next, capacity sensing is performed in step 11 (S11) when there is no water in the water tank 2 before water supply, but before that, the opening / closing confirmation of the door 9 is performed in step 8 (S8) and the opening ( If NO, the abnormality is notified in step 9 (S9), and if closed (YES), step 10 (S1)
0) After locking the door, proceed to step 11 above.
The process proceeds to (S11). Step 12 at this point
In (S12), it is confirmed whether or not there is an end reservation, and if there is a reservation (YES), the previous supply water temperature, ambient temperature, capacity, and operating conditions (heater for drying, strong or weak, etc.) The required time of the set driving course is calculated in step 13 (S13) and it is determined whether the driving is completed within the reserved end time.

The reservation time is short and the operation is not completed (N
If it is determined to be O), the process does not proceed to the next step and the display of step 15 (S15) blinks or step 16 (S1).
Use the notification buzzer in 6) to notify the abnormality. If there is no problem with the reserved time (YES), a predetermined margin time is added to the obtained required time to determine the operation start time in step 17 (S17) and wait until the time comes in step 18 (S18). To do. When the operation start time comes (YES), water supply is started in step 19 (S19) to proceed to each of the washing and Suzuki strokes. In step 20 (S20), the memory is updated with the water temperature data detected at the time of water supply to prepare for the next operation, and if there is a difference from the previously read water temperature data, it is used as additional correction data for the operation time. It is used in step 21 (S21).

When the above is completed, it is confirmed in step 22 (S22) whether the drying operation is set, and if the operation is finished in the dehydration process (NO), step 23 (S).
23), the drainage of step 24 (S24), the water supply of step 25 (S25), and the rinse of step 26 (S26) are finished. At step 27 (S27), the remaining time and the remaining stroke are processed. Make a comparison of the time needed,
If there is enough time (YES), the water is not drained, the operation is temporarily stopped as in step 28 (S28), and the operation waits until it is time to restart the operation. When the operation restart time comes, the operation is restarted, and the remaining strokes are sequentially processed according to the programs of drainage in step 29 (S29), dehydration in step 30 (S30), and door unlocking in step 31 (S31), step 32 (S32). ) To complete the operation.

On the other hand, when the drying is set, the processing is performed according to the program until the drying process, and the remaining time and the required time are compared at the end of the drying in step 34 (S34). NO), step 35 (S3
The process proceeds to the cool down process of 5), and then the door is unlocked in step 37 (S37) according to the program, and the process ends in step 38 (S38). On the other hand, if there is remaining time (YES), the cool down step (S35) is not entered at the time of completion of drying, and the step 36 (S3)
6) Enter the wrinkle prevention process. In the wrinkle prevention process, the drum 3, the heater 6 for drying, and the blower 8 are turned on intermittently to "wrinkle".
This operation is continued until the operation end time (S38) while preventing the occurrence of.

On the other hand, step 12 (S12) described above
In, if there is no end reservation (NO), the set strokes are sequentially processed, and washing or the like is completed under optimum conditions. That is, in the process in which the drying is not set, the water supply in step 39 (S39), the water supply temperature storage in step 40 (S40), the washing in step 41 (S41), the drainage in step 42 (S42), the step 43 (S43). ) Re-watering, rinsing in step 44 (S44), step 45
After performing the re-drainage of (S45) and the dehydration of step 46 (S46), it is determined in step 47 (S47) that the drying is not set (NO), and then step 48.
The door is unlocked in (S48), and step 4
In 8 (S49), the whole process is completed. On the other hand, when it is determined in step 47 (S47) that the drying is set (YES), the drying is performed in step 50 (S50), the cool down is performed in step 51 (S51), and then the step 52 is performed. The door lock is released in (S52), and the entire process is ended in step 53 (S53).

[0027]

Since the present invention is configured and controlled as described above, the accuracy of setting the operation start time in the case of the end time reservation is improved, and the time adjustment can be minimized. There is no difference between the actual end time and. Unlike fully automatic washing machines, which often have end reservation functions, drum type washing and drying machines have time-consuming processes such as hot water heating and drying functions, and the operating conditions that are set are often diverse. Therefore, it is difficult to predict how long it will take to drive,
Up until now, it has been difficult to commercialize a product with an end reservation function. According to the present invention, as described above, it is possible to control the end reservation function with high accuracy without making a large structural change.

Further, since the accuracy of predicting the required operation time is improved, the time adjustment is less required, and even if the adjustment is performed, the time for immersing the laundry in the water after the rinsing is slightly extended. There is no danger of damaging the laundry. Similarly, when the dry operation is performed, the "wrinkle prevention process" is adjusted so that the laundry will not be adversely affected. As described above, the control method of the drum type washer / dryer according to the present invention has various advantages, and the effects thereof are immeasurable.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an external perspective view of a drum type washer / dryer to which the present invention is applied.

FIG. 2 is a schematic sectional view showing the structure of the drum type washer / dryer shown in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a graph showing the relationship with the amount of laundry to be loaded, where the horizontal axis represents time and the vertical axis represents the number of rotations of the motor at startup.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a control process of a control method for a drum type washer / dryer of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a schematic sectional view showing the structure of a conventional drum type washer / dryer.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Outer Box 2 Water Tank 3 Drum 4 Spring 5 Small Hole 6 Drying Motor 7 Blower 8 Hot Air Duct 9 Door 10 Door Packing 11 Drive Motor 12 Drain Pump 13 Heater for Heating Hot Water 14 Water Level Sensor 15 Display / Operating Unit 16 Control Circuit 17 Washing water temperature measurement thermistor 18 Ambient temperature measurement thermistor

Claims (7)

[Claims] 1. A water tank arranged in an outer box, a drum rotatably supported in the water tank and having a large number of small holes in a peripheral wall, a capacity sensing function and a reservation function of an operation end time, A method for controlling a drum type washer / dryer that can perform washing / dehydration to drying, in which a warming time and a drying time of washing water are determined based on the result of capacity sensing when an end reservation time is set. A method for controlling a drum type washer / dryer, which comprises calculating and adding an operation time determined by an initially set condition to an operation start time. 2. The process from washing to spin-drying is started by a predetermined value earlier than the calculated operation start time in the case of the end reserved operation, and is stopped without draining at the end of the final rinse step and ended. The method for controlling a drum type washer / dryer according to claim 1, wherein the control is performed so as to adjust the time. 3. A water tank arranged in an outer box, a drum rotatably supported in the water tank and having a large number of small holes in a peripheral wall, a capacity sensing function, and a reservation function for an operation end time, A method for controlling a drum type washer / dryer that can perform washing / dehydration to drying, in which a warming time and a drying time of washing water are determined based on the result of capacity sensing when an end reservation time is set. When calculating the result and adding the operation time determined by the initially set conditions to determine the operation start time, and making the end reservation to continuously operate the process from washing / dehydrating to drying In addition, control is performed so that the start time is started earlier than the calculated operation start time and the end time is adjusted at the time of the wrinkle prevention process in which the drying heater is energized and the drum is rotated intermittently after the end of drying. Control method of a drum type washing and drying machine according to claim. 4. The drum according to claim 1, wherein the first supply water temperature is measured, the calculation value of the warming time of the wash water is corrected based on the result, and the operation start time is set. Control method for a washing and drying machine. 5. A temperature detection device for detecting the ambient temperature of the installed place is provided, and the calculated values of the heating time of the washing water and the drying time are corrected based on the detection result, and the operation start time is set. The method for controlling a drum type washer / dryer according to claim 1, wherein: 6. A water tank arranged in an outer box, a drum rotatably supported in the water tank, and having a large number of small holes in a peripheral wall, a capacity sensing function, and a reservation function for an operation end time, A method for controlling a drum type washer / dryer that can perform washing / dehydration to drying, in which a warming time and a drying time of washing water are determined based on the result of capacity sensing when an end reservation time is set. When calculating the operation result and adding the operation time determined by the initially set conditions to determine the operation start time, the wash water heating time is corrected using the water temperature data stored during the previous wash. However, by performing a comprehensive calculation of the operating time and comparing the difference between the reserved end time and the current time, it is judged whether or not the reserved end time can be set at the time of capacity sensing before water supply. Appropriate In this case, the method for controlling the drum type washer / dryer is characterized in that display is performed at the time of capacity sensing and / or an alarm buzzer is used to notify. 7. A water tank arranged in an outer box, a drum rotatably supported in the water tank, and a drum having a large number of small holes in a peripheral wall, a capacity sensing function and a reservation function for an operation end time, A method for controlling a drum type washer / dryer that can perform washing / dehydration to drying, in which a warming time and a drying time of washing water are determined based on the result of capacity sensing when an end reservation time is set. When calculating the operation result and adding the operating time determined by the initially set conditions to determine the operation start time, it is determined by the initially set operating conditions in order to improve the prediction accuracy of the drying time. The drum type washing and drying is characterized by controlling the dehydration rotation speed, the dehydration time, the heater input and the capacity sensing result, and the ambient temperature to calculate the required drying time and determining the operation start time. Control method of.