JPH07185184A - Washing machine - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To reduce twining of cloths and damaging of cloths by a method wherein the water level is lower than the predetermined rated level, the washing is washed by immersion in water with a detergent whose amount corresponds to the low water level, and the immersion for making the components of the detergent work usefully and the stirring for changing the positions of the objects to be washed are repeated. CONSTITUTION:When the washing is put in a washing and dewatering tub and the operation is started, first, a motor 5 is turned in the forward and reverse directions and then the amount of cloth of the washing is detected by an amount-of-cloth detecting means 16 on the basis of the output of a pulse counter 15 counting the number of the pulses outputted by an encoder 14. The amount of detergent is determined according to the detected amount of cloth and the detergent is put in the washing and dewatering tub. Water is supplied to a level lower than a fixed level, the process of washing by immersion starts, and the immersion and the stirring with stirring blades are repeated, wherein the length of time for the stirring blades to operates is set shorter than the length of time for the stirring blades not to operate. Then, water is supplied to the fixed level and the process of after-washing is performed. The length of time of the process of after-washing is set shorter than the length of time of the process of washing by immersion.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a washing machine for carrying out a washing process by combining a process of lowering the washing water level and dipping and washing, and a post-washing process of washing by a conventional washing method.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, environmental problems have been regarded as important, and laundry drainage influences water pollution in rivers. Therefore, the detergent used may be changed to a component that does not contribute to water pollution, or the amount of detergent used may be small. It is desired to reduce the amount of water used for washing. The function of the washing machine can fulfill these demands in the portion related to the amount of detergent used for washing and the amount of water used for washing. Therefore, even if the amount of detergent used for washing and the amount of water used for washing are reduced, a washing machine that maintains the conventional washing performance or has a washing performance higher than that is being studied.

A conventional washing machine comprises a cloth amount sensor for detecting the amount of laundry, a water level sensor for detecting the water level in the washing tub, and a controller for preliminarily storing the water level and the detergent amount corresponding to the cloth amount. There is. Explaining the operation of the washing machine in this configuration,
First, when dirty clothes are put into the washing tub, the stirring blades at the bottom of the washing tub move, and the load on the stirring blades detects the amount of laundry. Next, the control device is activated to start water supply at the water level corresponding to the detected amount of cloth, and at the same time, the amount of the cleaning agent corresponding to the amount of cloth is displayed. In this case, the water level and the detergent amount corresponding to the cloth amount stored in advance in the control device are set so that the detergent concentration is approximately 0.08% (wt). When the set water level is reached and a cleaning agent is put in by the user, the washing process is started, and the original function of the washing machine to clean the clothes is activated.

[0004]

However, in the above-mentioned conventional configuration, when the amount of detergent and the amount of water are reduced, it is due to the intention of the user that he is interested in environmental issues and attaches importance to them, and the use time, detergent Since it is for the convenience of the user such as saving the water supply amount, the washing function of the washing machine used is not considered and the washing performance is often deteriorated as compared with the case where the washing machine is used as prescribed.

The amount of water and the amount of detergent used in a conventional washing machine are based on the operation (washing stroke time, mechanical force by the stirring blades of the washing machine, dehydration time, etc.) set in this washing machine, and the amount of dirt is the highest. A numerical value that drops is set. Clothes are roughly classified into dirt that is physically removed by the mechanical force of the washing machine (mud dirt, etc.) and dirt that is chemically removed by the action of the surfactant (detergent) (oil dirt, etc.). There is. The mechanical force for removing dirt and the like, that is, the force depending on the stirring by the stirring blade, increases in proportion to the on-time of the stirring blade if the stirring form does not change. The action of the surfactant for removing oil stains depends on the adsorption rate of the surfactant to the stain and the adsorption time. The higher the adsorption rate, and the longer the adsorption time, the better the stain removal. Most of the recent detergents contain an enzyme as a component, so that the adsorption rate and the adsorption time have a large influence on the stain removal. For example, when the amount of laundry is 2.0 kg and the amount of water is 47 L, the detergency of the specified detergent amount is 60%, but when the amount of detergent is 70% of the specified amount, it is reduced to 50%. this is,
Although the mechanical force did not change, the main cause was that the detergent concentration decreased due to the reduced amount of detergent, and the detergent adsorption rate and adsorption time changed (both decreased). In addition, if the washing machine is used according to the regulations, the washing effect is satisfied, but there is a problem that it cannot fully cope with environmental problems.

The present invention solves the above-mentioned conventional problems. A first object of the present invention is to save the cleaning effect while maintaining the cleaning effect while conserving the environmental problems by saving the detergent and saving water. It is to provide a washing machine that can reduce the

Further, a second object of the present invention is to provide a means for informing the user of the amount of the applied washing in order to more reliably achieve the first object.

A third object of the present invention is to provide a washing machine capable of maintaining the rinsing performance while reducing water consumption and reducing the tangling of the cloth, the damage to the cloth and the like.

[0009]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides, as a first means, a water supply means for supplying water into a washing tub, and a cloth amount judgment for judging the laundry in the washing tub. Means, and a detergent amount determination means for determining a detergent amount by the laundry amount determined by the laundry amount determination means, at a water level lower than the water level determined by the laundry amount determined by the laundry amount determination means, and After soaking and soaking in this low water level and the corresponding amount of detergent, after re-supplying water to the original water level,
The conventional washing is performed.

As a second means of the present invention, in the dipping and placing washing process, the on time of the stirring blade provided at the bottom of the washing tub is shorter than the off time.

The third means of the present invention is to set the pickling and leaving washing step time longer than the post-washing step time.

The fourth means of the present invention comprises display means for displaying the amount of detergent and the like, so that the amount of detergent at a water level lower than the water level determined by the amount of cloth judged by the amount of cloth judging means is displayed. It was done.

The fifth means of the present invention is to perform the rinsing stroke at a water level lower than the water level determined by the cloth amount judged by the cloth amount judging means.

[0014]

According to the above-mentioned first means, the soaking step is carried out at a water level lower than the rated standard water level and with a detergent amount corresponding to this low water level, and at this time, the detergent components work effectively. The cleaning performance is maintained by repeating the soaking and the agitation for changing the position of the object to be cleaned, and the mechanical power is reduced by this repetition, so that the cloth entanglement and the cloth damage are reduced. Furthermore, by re-supplying the standard amount of water in the post-washing process and washing the dirt floating from the laundry in the soaking and washing process in a sufficient amount of water, the washing effect can be maintained and uneven washing can be reduced. Of.

By the second means, it is possible to maintain the contact time of the detergent with the laundry in the soaking and washing process for a long time, and to permeate the washing liquid into the laundry, thereby enhancing the soaking and soaking washing effect. .

[0016] By the third means, the effect of the pickling and leaving washing can be fully exerted, the conventional washing time can be maintained and the washing efficiency can be improved without prolonging the washing time.

According to the fourth means, the water level for saving water is determined by the cloth amount judged by the cloth amount judging means, and the display means displays the detergent amount, so that the user can surely input the saved detergent amount. You can

In the fifth means, while maintaining the conventional rinsing performance, the water level in the rinsing stroke is performed at a water level lower than the regulation, so that the amount of water in the rinsing stroke can be saved.

[0019]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

1 and 2 show a first embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, a washing and dehydrating tub 3 having a pulsator 2 at the center bottom is rotatably provided inside the washing tub 1, and a mounting plate 4 is fixed to the bottom of the washing tub 1. A motor 5, a drain valve 6, a washing / dehydrating switching mechanism 7, etc. are fixed to the mounting plate 4, and the outer edge portion of the substrate 4 is suspended from the upper corners of the outer frame 10 via a vibration isolator 8 and a suspension rod 9. ing. As shown in FIG. 2, a start switch (not shown), a water supply means 11, a power switch 12, a control device 13, and the like are arranged on the upper portion of the outer frame 10. The encoder 14 detects the rotation angle of the motor 5, outputs 6 pulses for each rotation of the motor 5, and outputs the output to the pulse counter 15. The pulse counter 15 counts the number of output pulses of the encoder 14, and this output indicates the load of the pulsator,
This output is input to the cloth amount judging means 16 to judge the cloth amount. The control unit 17 is composed of various electronic circuits including a microcomputer, and has a cloth amount determination unit 16, a water level detection unit 18, a dirt detection unit 19, and a detergent amount determination unit 20.
The power switching means 21, the display means 22 and the like are energized by taking in signals from the above. The detergent amount determining means 20 takes in the signal from the cloth amount determining means 16 to determine the detergent amount, and the display means 22 is composed of a liquid crystal display element or the like, and displays the water level of the washing tub 1 and the detergent amount. Further, the power switching means 21 controls the motor 5, the drain valve 6, the water supply means 11 and the like according to the signal from the control means 17.

Next, the operation of the first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. First, in step 31, put laundry in the washing / dehydrating tub 3, press the power switch 12, and press the start switch in step 32. Then, proceed to step 33, drive the motor 5 to the right for 0.3 seconds, and . After resting for 5 seconds, drive left for 0.3 seconds and rest for 1.5 seconds,
Proceeding to step 34, the pulse counter 15 outputs the number of output pulses of the encoder 14 from the beginning of the rest period to 0.4 seconds.
Is counted, and in step 35, the cloth amount judging means 16 judges the cloth amount of the laundry. After determining the amount of cloth, step 36
The amount of detergent defined by the amount of cloth is determined in step 3, and the amount is put into the washing / dehydrating tank 3. Proceeding to step 38, water is supplied to a water level lower than the regulation by the water supply means 11, and a soaking and washing process is performed in step 39, and then the procedure proceeds to step 40, where water is supplied to the prescribed water level by the water supply means 11, To start the post-wash process.

For example, when the laundry amount is 2.0 kg, the conventional water level and the detergent amount are low water level 23 (47).
L) and the amount of detergent of 39.2 g are set to a small water level of 24 (38 L) and the amount of detergent of 31.7 g in the soaking and placing washing process of the washing machine of the present invention. At the time of this soaking and washing, the motor 5 for stirring the laundry in water is first turned on and off for about 3 minutes, and the stirring stop time is about 80 seconds and the stirring is about 1 minute.
Repeat 0 seconds for about 20 minutes. In this way, by making the stop time longer than the stirring time, the mechanical force is reduced, and by making the contact time between the detergent and the laundry longer, the detergent component such as the enzyme becomes more effective. After the soaking and washing process, water is supplied to the low water level 23, and the after-washing process is performed for about 5 minutes.

FIG. 4 shows a conventional washing machine A and a washing machine B of the embodiment.
The cleaning rate and the cleaning unevenness are compared based on the experimental results. That is, in B, the washing performance is maintained so that the detergent component works effectively, so that the conventional performance is maintained, and the uneven washing is already swollen in the soaking washing process. During the post-washing process, the water level is raised to the specified level, and a sufficient amount of water is used to remove the dirt using the conventional washing method with large mechanical power, so there is less uneven washing than with the conventional washing method that does not leave the pickling process. .

Further, when the conventional washing machine and the washing machine of the embodiment are compared with each other on the basis of an experiment for the damage to the cloth and the cloth entanglement, when the cloth damage and the cloth entanglement of the conventional washing machine are set to 1, the washing of the embodiment is carried out. Machine damage is 0.8, and cloth entanglement is 0.7.
(Compared to our company's measurement) That is, in the present invention, compared to the conventional method, the mechanical force during the soaking and washing process is reduced, so that the total mechanical force of the washing process is drastically reduced, which results in damage to the cloth.
The cloth entanglement is reduced.

Thus, according to the washing machine of the above embodiment,
With a lower water level than before, the same cleaning performance as before can be maintained with a detergent amount corresponding to this low water amount, and further, it is possible to reduce uneven cleaning, cloth damage, and cloth entanglement.

The effect of the present invention as described above becomes more remarkable by setting the soaking and placing washing process time longer than the post-washing process time.

The operation flow chart in FIG. 3 in which step 37 is added shows the second embodiment of the present invention. That is, in step 36, the detergent amount determining means 20 determines the amount of detergent with a water amount lower than the regulation, and then proceeds to step 37 to display the detergent amount and water level on the display means 22 to the user.

As described above, according to the second embodiment, after the detergent amount is determined, the saving detergent amount and the saving water level are displayed by the display means. Therefore, the user inputs the detergent amount in accordance with the indication, which is equivalent to the conventional method. The amount of detergent and the amount of water can be saved while maintaining the cleaning performance.

FIG. 5 is an operation flowchart showing the third embodiment of the present invention. That is, after finishing the cleaning process (pre-washing process and post-washing process),
In step 51, the signal of the control means 17 is fetched, and in step 52, the water supply means 11 supplies water to a water level lower than the regulation level, and then proceeds to step 53 to start stirring. For example,
When the amount of laundry is 2.0 kg, the conventional washing machine performs the rinsing step at the low water level 23, whereas the washing machine of the present invention performs the rinsing step at the small water level 24 lower than the specified water level 23. Is done.

Based on the third embodiment of the present invention, the rinsing performances of the conventional washing machine and the washing machine of the present invention were compared by the method of determining the degree of dilution of salt by the electric conductivity. 8 minutes, the washing machine of the present invention was 7/1000. That is, it is understood that the rinsing performance of the washing machine of the present invention shows the same performance as the rinsing performance of the conventional washing machine. That is, in the washing machine of the present invention, the detergent concentration in the soaking and washing process is equal to the detergent concentration in the conventional washing and rinsing process, and water is supplied to the conventional water level in the post-washing process to play an auxiliary role in the rinsing process. Therefore, even if the rinsing process is performed at a water level lower than the prescribed water level, sufficient rinsing performance is exhibited.

As described above, according to the third embodiment, even if the rinsing stroke is performed at a water level lower than the conventional prescribed water level, sufficient rinsing performance can be maintained and the amount of water in the rinsing stroke can be saved. You can do it.

[0032]

The present invention provides a water supply means for supplying water into the washing tub, and a cloth amount judging means for judging the laundry in the washing tub.
A detergent amount determining unit that determines the amount of detergent based on the amount of laundry determined by the amount of laundry determining unit is provided, and the water level is lower than the water level determined by the amount of laundry determined by the amount of laundry determining unit and corresponds to this lower water level. After washing by soaking with the amount of detergent to be used, re-supplying the water to the original amount of water, and then performing the conventional washing by the first means, the water level is lower than the rated water level and this low water level is used. The washing process is soaked with the amount of detergent corresponding to the above, and at this time, the washing performance is maintained by repeating the placement for the detergent components to work effectively and the agitation for changing the position of the object to be washed. Reduces the mechanical force, which reduces the damage to the cloth and the damage to the cloth. Furthermore, by re-supplying the standard amount of water in the post-washing process and washing the dirt floating from the laundry in the soaking and washing process in a sufficient amount of water, the washing effect can be maintained and uneven washing can be reduced. .

Next, as a second means of the present invention, in the soaking and washing process, the stirring blade provided at the bottom of the washing tub is turned on for a shorter time than the off time, so that the detergent can be washed in the soaking and washing process. It is possible to maintain the contact time for a long time and to permeate the washing liquid into the laundry, thereby enhancing the pickling and leaving-washing effect.

A third means of the present invention is to set the pickling and leaving washing step time longer than the post-washing step time,
With this, while fully exerting the effect of pickling and leaving
The conventional washing time can be maintained and the washing efficiency can be improved without increasing the washing time.

The fourth means of the present invention is provided with display means for displaying the amount of detergent and the like, so that the amount of detergent at a water level lower than the water level determined by the amount of cloth judged by the amount of cloth judging means is displayed. The water level for water saving is determined by the cloth amount determined by the cloth amount determination means, and the display means displays the detergent amount, so that the user can surely input the amount of detergent saved.

The fifth means of the present invention is to perform the rinsing stroke at a water level lower than the water level determined by the cloth volume determined by the cloth volume determination means, and maintain the conventional rinsing performance while maintaining the rinsing stroke. The water level in the rinsing stroke can be saved because the water level is lower than the specified level.

As is clear from the above, the washing machine of the present invention can be washed with a smaller amount of detergent than before and with a smaller amount of water than before, without deteriorating the cleaning performance and rinsing performance, water pollution, etc. It is a washing machine that has dealt with the environmental problems of, and its practical value is remarkable.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block circuit diagram of a washing machine control device according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

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

FIG. 3 is an operation flowchart of the washing machine control device according to the first and second embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a diagram comparing the washing rate and washing unevenness (variation) between the same washing machine and a conventional washing machine.

FIG. 5 is an operation flowchart of a washing machine control device according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Washing tub 11 Water supply means 16 Cloth quantity judging means 17 Control means 20 Detergent quantity judging means 23 Low water level position 24 Small water level position

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A washing tub for washing or washing and dewatering, a water supply means for supplying water into the washing tub, a cloth amount judging means for judging an amount of clothes put in the washing tank, and a cloth amount. The water level detection means for setting the water level in the washing tub and the detergent amount determination means for determining the detergent amount according to the laundry amount determined by the determination means, and the specified water level determined by the laundry amount determined by the laundry amount determination means After lowering the washing level and operating the washing process soaked in the amount of detergent corresponding to this low level without changing the concentration of detergent at the specified water level, the water level is re-supplied to the original amount of cloth, and the post-washing process is performed. Do the washing machine. 2. The washing machine according to claim 1, wherein the stirring blade provided at the bottom of the washing tub has an on-time shorter than an off-time in the soaking and placing washing step. 3. The washing machine according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the post-washing step time is set shorter than the pickling and placing washing step time. 4. A display means for displaying the amount of detergent and the like,
The detergent amount at a water level lower than the water level determined by the cloth amount determined by the cloth amount determination means is displayed.
The washing machine according to any one of 1 to 3. 5. The rinsing stroke is performed at a water level lower than the water level determined by the cloth amount judged by the cloth amount judging means.
The washing machine according to any one of 4 to 4.