JPH06269592A - Washing machine - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To enable a finishing agent to be made effective sufficiently by sufficiently removing a washing agent from a laundry through a longer rinsing at the time just before the last rinsing than the normal rinsing time carried out when a finishing agent course is selected, and thereby reducing the reaction of the washing agent on the finishing agent. CONSTITUTION:A finishing agent container 11 is set at an upper part of an inner tab 4. The finishing agent in the container 11 is transfered in order through several chambers of the container in accordance with the sequence of washing, spin-drying, rinsing, etc., and at the time of last rinsing it is flowed into water in the tab 4. When a finishing agent course is selected by means of a finishing course selecting means, the rinsing just before the last rinsing is carried out for a longer time that the normal rinsing time. With such a constitution, the washing agent can be removed from the laundry sufficiently, and at the time of last rinsing the washing agent removal from the laundry is reduced so that the reaction of the washing agent on the finishin agent to be applied upon the last rinsing is reduced, thereby attaining a sufficient effect of the finishing agent.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a washing machine suitable for use with finishing agents.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, washing machines suitable for use as finishing agents have been provided. This is disclosed in, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 63-281698, and a finishing agent such as a soft finishing agent is put in a finishing agent container mounted on the upper part of a tank, and it is washed-dehydrated- As the process such as rinsing progresses, centrifugal force and natural flow are used to sequentially transfer the finishing agent containers from one chamber to another, and at the time of the final rinsing, they are made to flow into the water in the tank to function. .

[0003] Also, as a different matter from this, by stopping the operation before the final rinse and notifying by a buzzer or the like, it becomes possible for the user to inject the finishing agent,
There is also one that is designed to restart the operation after that.

Further, as another difference, the finishing agent is stored in a finishing agent storage portion provided at the upper part of the tank, and when the operation reaches the final rinse, the solenoid valve is operated to open, and There is also provided one in which the finishing agent is allowed to flow into the tank from the storage section.

However, in any of these methods, the final rinse and the rinse before that were set and executed at the standard rinse time (for example, about 2 minutes).

[0006]

However, when the rinsing prior to the final rinsing is carried out at the standard rinsing time as described above, it is not possible to sufficiently remove the detergent component from the laundry, and the remaining amount is left. Detergent content is removed by subsequent rinsing. Therefore, a large amount of detergent is dropped from the laundry even during the final rinsing, which reacts with the finishing agent injected during the final rinsing, and reduces the effect of the finishing agent.

That is, the detergent contains a large amount of anionic surface active agent, and if a large amount of this remains, it will chemically react with a cationic type softening agent, for example, and the softening agent will become an insoluble matter. The effect is lost, and in some cases, the insoluble matter may stain the laundry.

Further, since the finishing agent first dissolves in water and then adheres to clothes, it takes time to sufficiently adhere to clothes. For this reason, when the final rinsing is carried out with the standard rinsing time, there is a problem that the rinsing ends without the finish agent sufficiently adhering to the clothes due to insufficient time.

[0009] Furthermore, the more the amount of laundry, the more
Since the amount of detergent is large and it takes time for the finishing agent to adhere, it tends to become noticeable.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned circumstances, and therefore an object thereof is to obtain a sufficient finishing effect when using a finishing agent, and at the same time, to obtain the amount of laundry. There is to provide a washing machine that can be obtained according to.

[0011]

In order to achieve the above object, in the washing machine of the present invention, rinsing is performed a plurality of times after washing, and the finishing agent is submerged in water in the tank at the final rinsing. In order to allow inflow, a finishing agent course selecting means is provided, and when the finishing agent course is selected by this, rinsing before the last rinsing is performed for a time longer than the standard rinsing time. It is characterized by having done.

Further, the washing machine of the present invention is characterized in that when the finishing agent course is selected, the final rinsing is performed for a time longer than the standard rinsing time.

In these cases, the water level can be set according to the amount of laundry, and it is advisable to make the rinsing time for a long time different for each set water level as the water level becomes higher.

[0014]

According to the above means, firstly, when the finishing agent course is selected, the rinsing before the final rinsing is performed for a time longer than the standard rinsing time. It is possible to sufficiently remove the detergent component from the laundry over a long period of time by rinsing before reaching
In the final rinse, the detergent content from the laundry can be reduced, and the reaction of the detergent composition with the finishing agent injected during the final rinse can be reduced, so that the effect of the finishing agent can be sufficiently exerted. Like

Secondly, when the finishing agent course is selected, the final rinsing is performed for a time longer than the standard rinsing time, so that the finishing agent can be sufficiently adhered to the clothes over time. Therefore, even in this case, the effect of the finishing agent can be sufficiently exerted.

Thirdly, in each of the above cases, the water level can be set according to the amount of laundry, and for each set water level, the rinsing time to be performed for a long time is made different as the water level increases. By doing so, it is possible to perform rinsing for a length of time according to the amount of laundry, and it is possible to more sufficiently remove the detergent component or attach the finishing agent,
It also makes it possible to avoid rinsing for longer than necessary.

[0017]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A first embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. First, FIG. 2 shows an outer box 1 of the entire washing machine. Inside, an outer tub 2 for collecting water is elastically supported and arranged by a plurality of sets (only one set is shown) of a hanging rod mechanism 3, and Inside the tub 2, a porous inner tub 4 which is a washing tub and a dewatering tub is further provided, and the bottom of the inner tub 4 is a stirring member 5 for washing.
Are arranged respectively. A drain valve 6 and a drain hose 7 for draining from the inside of the outer tub 2 (inside of the inner tub 4) are provided at a lower outer portion of the outer tub 2, and a drive mechanism 9 mainly including a motor 8 is provided. The drive mechanism 9 stops the inner tank 4 at the time of washing and rinsing to rotate the stirring body 5,
At the time of dehydration, the inner tank 4 is rotated together with the stirring body 5. Further, the motor 7 of the drive mechanism 8 is provided with a rotation speed sensor 10 for detecting the rotation speed of the motor 7.

Further, in the case of this embodiment, a finishing agent container 11 is attached to the upper part of the inner tank 4. This finishing agent container 11
Is disclosed in the above-mentioned Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 63-281698, in which a finishing agent such as a soft finishing agent is put in a finishing agent container mounted on the upper portion of a tank, which is washed, dehydrated and rinsed. With the progress of the process such as ..., centrifugal force and natural flow are used to sequentially transfer the finishing agent containers from one chamber to another, and at the time of the final rinse, the finishing agent containers are made to flow into the water in the tank to function.

On the other hand, a top cover 12 is provided on the outer box 1, and an operation panel 13 shown in FIG. 3 is provided on the front upper surface of the top cover 12. This operation panel 13
"Start / pause" switch 14a, "water level" selection switch 14b, stroke selection switch 14c,
Various operation switches 14 including "softer" course switch 14d and "course change" switch 14e
There are various display devices 15 such as a time / number display device 15a, a softer course display device 15b, and a course display device 15c. Among them, the "softer" course switch 14d is pressed. Each time the finishing agent (in this case, a softening finishing agent) is selected and deselected alternately, it functions as a finishing agent course selecting means. The selection is displayed by light emission. The "softer" course may be set such that when the switch 14d is operated once, it is stored and automatically set each time the power is turned on.
You may make it set by operating d.

Further, a microcomputer 16 is arranged inside the front portion of the top cover 12. The microcomputer 16 functions as a water level setting means and a control means, and as shown in FIG. 4, various switch signals are input from various operation switches 14 of the operation panel 13 and the inside of the outer tub 2 is operated. A water level detection signal is input from a water level sensor 17 that detects the water level, and a rotation speed detection signal is input from the rotation speed sensor 10.

Then, based on those inputs and the control program stored in advance, the microcomputer 16 controls the various display devices 15 of the operation panel 13 and
A drive control signal is supplied to a water supply valve 18 for supplying water into the inner tank 4 (outer tank 2), a motor 8 of the drive mechanism 9, and a drive circuit 19 for driving the drain valve 6.

Therefore, the operation based on the function of the microcomputer 16 will be described below. As shown in FIG. 1, the microcomputer 16 determines whether or not the "start" switch 14a is operated at the beginning when the necessary power is supplied to start (start) the operation (step A1).

If it is determined in step A1 that the "start" switch 14a has been operated, then the water supply valve 18
Is opened to supply water to the predetermined water level suitable for detecting the amount of laundry in the inner tub 3 (step A2), and then the amount of laundry is detected (step A3). The amount of laundry is detected, for example, by detecting the number of revolutions of the motor 8 when the agitator 5 is rotated by energizing the motor 8 of the drive mechanism for a predetermined time by the revolution sensor 10. Since the load amount of the motor 8 increases and the number of rotations decreases as the amount of load increases, the amount of laundry can be detected by detecting this number of rotations.

Next, the washing / rinsing water level is set according to the detected laundry amount (step A4), and then the water supply valve 1 is set.
8 is opened again to supply water up to the set water level (step A5). Then, washing is performed by stopping the inner tank 4 and rotating the stirring body 5 (step A6), and further performing the first dehydration by rotating the inner tank 4 together with the stirring body 5 (step A7). The water supply valve 18 is further opened to supply water up to the set water level (step A8).

After this, the "softer" course switch 14
It is judged whether or not the "softer" course is selected by d (step A9), and if it is judged not, then it is judged whether or not the set water level is "low" (step A10). . If it is determined in step A10 that the set water level is "low", the first rinse is performed for a standard length of 1 minute and 30 seconds (step A11).
If it is judged that the set water level is not "low", it is judged whether the set water level is "medium" (step A1).
2) If it is determined to be "medium", the first rinse is performed with the standard length of 2 minutes in this case (step A).
13). Furthermore, if it is determined in step A12 that the set water level is not "medium," the set water level is "high."
The first rinse is performed with the standard length of 2 minutes in this case (step A14).

On the other hand, if it is determined in step A9 that the "softer" course has been selected, in this case as well, it is first determined whether or not the set water level is "low" (step A15). ), If it is determined to be "low", the first rinse is performed for 3 minutes and 30 seconds, which is 2 minutes longer than the standard rinse time (step A16). If it is judged that the set water level is not "low", it is judged whether or not the set water level is "medium" (step A17). If it is judged that it is "medium", it is the first time. The rinsing is performed for 5 minutes, which is 3 minutes longer than the standard rinsing time in this case (step A18). Furthermore, in step A17, the set water level is "medium".
If not, the set water level is "high", so the first rinse is performed for a length of 6 minutes, which is 4 minutes longer than the standard rinse time in this case (step A19). FIG. 5 shows the rinsing time in each of these cases.

In any case, the second dehydration is performed thereafter (step A20),
Further, water is supplied up to the set water level (step S2
1), the second (final) rinse step A10
As in A14, the standard time is used (step A22). At the time of the second rinse, by injecting the finishing agent into the finishing agent container 11 before starting the operation, the finishing agent flows into the water in the inner tank 3 and functions. After this rinse,
After the third (final) dehydration (step A2
3), the operation ends.

As described above, in the case of this configuration, when the "softer" course which is the finishing agent course is selected, the first rinse which is the rinse before the second rinse which is the final rinse. Both are designed to be carried out for a longer time than the standard rinsing time, so that the rinsing at the stage before the final rinsing can take a long time to sufficiently remove the detergent content from the laundry, In the final rinse, you can reduce the amount of detergent from the laundry,
It is possible to reduce the reaction of the detergent component with the finishing agent injected during the final rinsing, and to sufficiently obtain the effect of the finishing agent.

Further, in the case of this construction, the water level can be set according to the amount of laundry, and for each set water level, the time of the first rinsing for a long time is made different as the water level becomes higher. And by doing so,
Rinsing can be performed for a length of time depending on the amount of laundry, and the detergent content can be removed more sufficiently, and the effect of the finishing agent can be more reliably obtained. It is also possible to avoid rinsing longer than necessary, especially when the amount of laundry is small.

FIG. 6 shows the relationship between the rinsing time and the detergent discharge rate from the laundry. As is clear from FIG. 6, the longer the rinsing time, the more the detergent discharged from the laundry. The emission rate will increase.

In contrast to the above, FIGS. 7 to 9 show the second embodiment of the present invention, in which the rinsing time is extended not only for the first rinsing but for the second (final) rinsing. It shows what you have done.

That is, in the case of this, step A1
After passing through steps A1 to B8 similar to A8, the first rinsing is performed in the same standard time as steps A10 to A14 (step B9), and then the second dehydration is performed (step B10). After supplying water up to the set water level (step B11), it is determined whether or not the "softer" course switch 14d selects the "softer" course (step B12).

However, from step B12 to step B22, the above step A9 to step A19 is performed.
Same as above, but without the selection of the "Softer" course,
When the set water level is "low", the second rinse is set to standard 1
Do 30 minutes long (step B14), if "medium" the second rinse is done with a standard 2 minute length (step B16), and if "high" second rinse. The rinsing is performed for a standard length of 2 minutes (step B17), and on the other hand, if the "softer" course is selected and the set water level is "low", the second rinsing time is the standard rinsing time. The time is 3 minutes and 30 seconds, which is longer by 2 minutes (step B19). In the case of "medium", the second rinse is performed by 5 minutes, which is 3 minutes longer than the standard rinse time (step B21). In the case of "high", the second rinse is performed with a length of 6 minutes, which is 4 minutes longer than the standard rinse time (step B22). FIG. 8 shows the rinsing time in each of these cases.

At the time of the second rinse, as described above, by injecting the finishing agent into the finishing agent container 11 before the operation is started, the finishing agent flows into the water in the inner tank 3 and functions. . After this rinsing, the third (final) dehydration is performed (step B23), and the operation is terminated.

In the case of this product, in short, when the finishing agent course is selected, the final rinsing is performed for a time longer than the standard rinsing time, whereby the finishing agent is applied to the clothing over time. In this case as well, the effect of the finishing agent can be sufficiently obtained.

Also in this case, the water level can be set according to the amount of laundry, and the time of the second rinse for a long time can be made different for each set water level as the water level becomes higher. So that
Rinsing can be performed for a length of time according to the amount of laundry, and the amount of the finishing agent can be more sufficiently adhered to that effect, and the effect of the finishing agent can be obtained more reliably. It is also possible to avoid rinsing longer than necessary, especially when the amount of laundry is small.

FIG. 9 shows the relationship between the rinsing time and the adhesion rate of the soft finish to the laundry. As is clear from FIG. 9, the longer the rinsing time, the softer the finish to the laundry. The adhesion rate of is increased.

It should be noted that the rinsing may be performed three times or more instead of two times. In that case, the rinsing performed for a time longer than the standard rinsing time before the final rinsing is performed one or more times. It may be once or all times. Further, as described above, the injection of the finishing agent may be stopped by the user before the final rinse, regardless of the finishing agent container 11, so that the user can inject the finishing agent. It may be stored in the provided finish agent storage part and may be made to flow into the tank by opening the solenoid valve when the operation reaches the final rinse. Further, the microcomputer 1 sets the water level according to the amount of laundry.
Not only automatic by 6 but also "water level" selection switch 14b
Including those manually operated by.

In addition, the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above and shown in the drawings, and may be appropriately modified and implemented without departing from the scope of the invention.

[0040]

The washing machine of the present invention is as described above, and has the following effects. First, in a product in which rinsing is carried out a plurality of times after washing, and the finishing agent can be made to flow into the water in the tank at the final rinsing, the finishing agent course selecting means is provided, whereby the finishing agent is provided. When the course is selected, the rinsing before the final rinsing is performed for a time longer than the standard rinsing time, so that the rinsing at the stage before reaching the final rinsing takes a long time. Since the detergent content can be sufficiently dropped from the laundry, and the detergent content from the laundry can be reduced in the final rinse, the reaction of the detergent ingredient to the finishing agent injected during the final rinse can be reduced. Thus, the effect of the finishing agent can be sufficiently obtained.

Secondly, when the finishing agent course is selected, the final rinsing is performed for a time longer than the standard rinsing time, so that the finishing agent can be sufficiently adhered to the clothes over time. Therefore, the effect of the finishing agent can be sufficiently obtained in this case as well.

Thirdly, the water level can be set according to the amount of laundry, and the rinsing time to be performed for a long time is made longer as the water level becomes higher, depending on the set water level. It is possible to perform rinsing for a length of time corresponding to the amount, so that it is possible to more sufficiently remove the detergent component or to attach the finishing agent, and to avoid rinsing longer than necessary.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the first embodiment of the present invention.

[Fig. 2] Side view of the entire fracture

FIG. 3 is a plan view of an operation panel

FIG. 4 is a schematic electrical configuration diagram.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing the time of the first rinse for each course and for each set water level.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a relationship between a rinsing time and a detergent discharge rate from laundry.

FIG. 7 is a diagram corresponding to FIG. 1 showing a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing the second (final) rinse time for each course and set water level.

FIG. 9 is a graph showing the relationship between the rinsing time and the adhesion rate of the softening agent to laundry.

[Explanation of symbols]

4 is an inner tank (tank), 11 is a finishing agent container, 14b is "water level"
A selection switch, 14d is a "softer" course switch (finishing agent course selection means), and 16 is a microcomputer (water level setting means, control means).

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A rinsing apparatus comprising a plurality of rinsing steps after washing, wherein the finishing agent can be made to flow into the water in the tank at the final rinsing step. A washing machine comprising control means for controlling the rinsing prior to the final rinsing for a time longer than a standard rinsing time when the finishing agent course selecting means selects a finishing agent course. 2. A rinsing apparatus comprising a plurality of rinsing steps after washing, wherein the finishing agent can be made to flow into the water in the tank at the final rinsing step. A washing machine comprising control means for controlling the final rinsing for a time longer than a standard rinsing time when the finishing agent course selecting means selects a finishing agent course. 3. The water level can be set according to the amount of laundry, and for each set water level, the time for rinsing for a long time is made longer as the water level becomes higher. Or the washing machine described in 2.