JPH0780182A - Fully automatic washing machine - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide a fully automatic washing machine capable of performing a presoaking process with a high-concentration detergent liquid and fully exerting a presoaking effect. CONSTITUTION:A detergent liquid is sprinkled from a detergent generation section 15 while a washing/spin-drying tub 4 is rotated by a motor 7 in a presoaking process. The high-concentration detergent liquid is sprinkled from the detergent generation section 15, and the detergent liquid is splashed on the laundry. The detergent liquid splashed on the laundry is infiltrated into the depth of the laundry by the centrifugal force due to the rotation of the washing/spin-drying tub 4. The laundry can be soaked in the high-concentration detergent liquid generated with a less quantity of water than before, and the cleaning performance can be improved by the effective soaking with the high- concentration detergent liquid and the mechanical force of the rotation of the washing/spin-drying tub 4.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a fully automatic washing machine which executes a presoaking step before washing.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Pre-soaking is a method of pre-soaking in a detergent solution before washing. Dissolving a detergent containing enzymes and bleach in water to pre-soak it helps to remove dirt well. Become. In general, it is said that 1 to 2 hours are appropriate to bring out a sufficient pre-soaking effect, and it is said that pre-soaking in hot water at about 40 ° C is more effective than water.

A fully automatic washing machine for pre-soaking has been proposed in the past, and a fully automatic washing machine with a pre-soaking step will be described. FIG. 4 shows a conventional fully automatic washing machine with a pre-soaking process. In the figure, reference numeral 1 is a casing of a fully automatic washing machine, and 2 is a pulsator for stirring an article to be washed. The pulsator is arranged at the inner bottom portion of a washing / dehydrating tub 4 having a fluid balancer 3 on the upper portion. Reference numeral 5 denotes a laundry receiving tub in which the washing / dehydrating tub 4 is rotatably installed. Reference numeral 6 denotes a transmission mechanism unit having a reduction gear, a washing / dehydration switching clutch, and a brake built therein. The rotation of the motor 7 is transmitted through the motor-side pulley 8, the belt 9, and the transmission mechanism unit-side pulley. Reference numeral 11 is a suspension mechanism that suspends and suspends the laundry receiving tank 5 from the housing 1, 12 is a dehydration hole provided in the washing / dehydrating tank 4, and 13 is an opening / closing valve connected to a drain hose 14. Is.

The pre-soaking process of the fully automatic washing machine constructed as described above will be briefly described. The amount of clothes (not shown) put into the washing / dehydrating tub 4 is detected, and the water level is determined by the detected amount of cloth. Using the determined water level as a guide, the user supplies the washing tank 5 with water until the determined water level is reached. Next, the pulsator 2 was rotated for a short period of time to allow the laundry to be washed and the detergent liquid to adapt to each other, and the pre-soaking process of leaving it in this state for about 1 hour was performed. After this pre-soaking step, a washing step is performed in which the pulsator 2 is turned upside down,
Then, a rinsing process and a dehydration process were performed.

As described above, in the conventional pre-soaking process, the pulsator 2 is rotated to make the washing liquid and the detergent liquid conform to each other, so that the water amount (water level) in the pre-soaking process and the water amount (water level) in the washing process are Were the same. That is, in the washing process, the water level is determined according to the amount of the laundry so that the laundry can be stirred by the pulsator 2. However, even in the pre-soaking process, the laundry is sufficiently stirred to sufficiently mix the cleaning liquid and the laundry. The water level in the pre-soaking process and the water level in the cleaning process were set to be the same, because it was necessary to make them fit.

[0006]

However, in the conventional pre-soaking process, since the pre-soaking is performed with the same large amount of water as in the washing process, the pre-soaking cannot be performed with a detergent solution having a high detergent concentration. It was not possible to carry out a presoaking process that was effective in removing dirt. That is, pre-soaking with a detergent solution having a high detergent concentration is effective for removing stains in the washing process, but in the conventional pre-soaking step, the detergent liquid is adapted to the laundry by rotating the pulsator 2. A sufficient amount of water is required to stir the article to be washed, the pre-soaking process cannot be performed with a cleaning liquid having a high detergent concentration, and the effect of the pre-soaking process cannot be sufficiently exhibited. In addition, when pre-soaking, the detergent was sprinkled directly on the article to be washed and then water was supplied to create the detergent solution.However, when the detergent solution remains undissolved or discoloration occurs in the area in contact with the detergent. There were challenges.

The present invention solves the above problems and provides a fully automatic washing machine capable of preventing undissolved residue of detergent and discoloration of a laundry, and capable of performing a pre-soaking process with an improved dirt removal effect. The first purpose.

A second object is to carry out the presoaking process with a detergent solution having a higher concentration to further enhance the stain removing effect.

A third object is to facilitate the permeation of the detergent liquid into the article to be washed and to shorten the presoaking process time.

[0010]

In order to achieve the above-mentioned first object, the first object of the present invention is to provide a washing / dehydrating tub in which an article to be washed is placed, and the washing / dehydrating tub being rotatable. A laundry receiving tub to be stored, a detergent liquid supply device for sprinkling a high-concentration detergent liquid into the washing / dehydrating tank, a rotation drive unit for rotating the washing / dehydration tub, and the detergent liquid supply device and the rotation drive unit. A controller is provided for controlling the operation and performing the pre-soaking step.The controller operates the detergent solution supply device and the rotation drive unit for a predetermined time before the washing process to wash the detergent solution with a high concentration while spraying it. It is also configured to execute a pre-soaking process in which the dewatering tank is rotated.

In order to achieve the above-mentioned second object, in the second means for solving the problems of the present invention, a washing / dehydrating tub for containing an article to be washed, and a washing tub for rotatably accommodating the washing / dehydrating tub, A detergent liquid supply device for sprinkling a high-concentration detergent liquid into the washing / dehydrating tank, a rotation drive unit for rotating the washing / dehydrating tub, and a detergent liquid in the washing receiving tub being sprinkled in the washing / dehydrating tub A circulating pump that circulates the detergent liquid, and a controller that controls the operations of the detergent liquid supply device, the rotation drive unit, and the circulating pump to perform a presoaking process, and the controller controls the detergent before the washing process. The liquid supply device is operated to supply a high-concentration detergent to the washing tub, and the rotary drive unit and the circulation pump are operated for a predetermined time to spray a high-concentration detergent liquid.
A pre-soaking process is performed in which the washing / dehydrating tub is rotated while being circulated.

In order to achieve the above-mentioned third object, in the third means for solving the problems of the present invention, before the pre-soaking process in the above-mentioned first and second means for solving the problems, the water supply device is operated to wash and dehydrate. After supplying a predetermined amount of water into the tub, the rotary drive unit is operated to perform dewatering by the centrifugal force of the washing / dehydrating tub.

[0013]

According to the first means for solving the problems, the sprinkled detergent liquid permeates the article to be washed, and the permeated detergent solution further permeates deep into the article to be washed by the centrifugal force of the washing / dehydrating tank. Also, since the washing and dehydrating tub containing the laundry to be washed is rotated, the sprayed detergent liquid is evenly applied to the laundry to be washed. As described above, in the method of spraying the detergent liquid while rotating the laundry, a small amount of water necessary for the detergent liquid to permeate the entire laundry is used without using a large amount of water as in the conventional case. Therefore, it is possible to carry out the presoaking process with a highly concentrated detergent solution. Further, since the washing / dehydrating tub is rotated during the pre-soaking process, the mechanical force due to the rotation acts on the article to be washed, and the washing performance is improved.

According to the second means for solving problems, the detergent liquid is circulated by the circulation pump to spray water on the object to be washed. Therefore, even if the amount of water is smaller than that of the structure of the means for solving the first problem. The detergent liquid can be permeated throughout, and the presoaking process can be performed with a higher concentration of detergent liquid.

According to the third means for solving the problems, before the pre-soaking process, water is supplied to the laundry to be absorbed and then dehydrated, so that the detergent liquid to be sprayed easily penetrates into the laundry.
The pre-soak process time can be shortened.

[0016]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A first embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIG. In FIG. 1, 1 is a housing, 2 is a pulsator, 3 is a fluid balancer, 4 is a washing / dehydrating tub, 5 is a washing receiving tub, 6 is a transmission mechanism part, 7 is a motor, 8 is a motor side pulley, 9 is a belt, 10 is a pulley on the transmission mechanism side, 11 is a suspension mechanism, 12 is a dehydration hole, 13 is an opening / closing valve, 14
Is a drain hose, and since these constituent parts are the same as the constituent parts of the conventional example, the same numerals are given to the constituent parts of the conventional example, and the description thereof will be omitted.

Denoted at 15 is a detergent solution producing section for producing a highly concentrated detergent solution from the previously introduced detergent and the water supplied in the presoaking process. The detergent solution produced by this detergent solution producing section 15 is temporarily stored. The auxiliary tank 16 is stored. The auxiliary pump 17 is used to spray the detergent liquid in the auxiliary tank 16 onto the washing / dehydrating tank 4. Reference numeral 18 is a water supply valve a for supplying the tap water to the detergent solution preparation unit 15, and 19 is a water supply valve b for supplying the detergent solution in the detergent solution preparation unit 15 into the washing / dehydrating tank 4. A weight sensor 24 is attached to the upper end of the suspension 11 that supports the laundry receiving tub 5, and the amount of laundry detecting means 25 for detecting the weight of the laundry put into the washing / dehydrating tub 4 from the detection signal of the weight sensor 24.
Is equipped with. The laundry amount detecting means 25 subtracts the total weight of the washing / dehydrating tub 4, the laundry receiving tub 5, the suspension 11, the pulsator 2 and the like from the weight detected by the weight sensor 24,
Calculate the weight of the laundry. A detergent liquid amount determining unit 26 is connected to the output side of the laundry amount detecting unit 25. The detergent liquid amount determining means 26 determines the amount of the detergent liquid sprinkled in the washing / dehydrating tub 4, and determines the amount of the detergent liquid to be supplied according to the detected weight of the laundry amount detecting means 25. A control device 27 is connected to the output side of the detergent liquid amount determining means 26. The controller 27 controls the pre-soaking process, the cleaning process, the rinsing process,
The dehydration process is executed, and the motor 7, the on-off valve 13, the auxiliary pump 17, and the water supply valve a1 are executed in accordance with the progress of each process.
8. The operation control of the water supply valve b19 and the like is performed, and a series of steps from presoaking to dehydration are automatically executed.

Next, the operation of the above configuration will be described. First, after the laundry to be washed is put in the washing / dehydrating tub 4, the weight of the laundry to be washed is detected by the laundry detection means 25, and the control device 27 is washed by the weight of the laundry to be detected by the laundry quantity detection means 25. The water level is determined and the determined water level is displayed on the water level display section. The user determines the amount of detergent by using the water level of the water level display section as a guide, and puts the detergent into the detergent liquid preparation section 15. After that, the control device 27 opens the water supply valve a18 so that the amount of the detergent liquid determined by the detergent liquid amount determining means 26 is reached, and injects water into the detergent liquid creating unit 15. In this way, a high-concentration detergent liquid is prepared by the detergent liquid preparation unit 15, but the detergent liquid amount determination unit 26 detects the amount of water supplied to the detergent liquid preparation unit 15 by the laundry amount detection unit 25. And the amount of high-concentration detergent liquid created by the detergent liquid creating unit 15 is determined. When supplying water to the detergent liquid preparation unit 15, the controller 27 closes the water supply valve b19 and stores the detergent liquid prepared by the detergent liquid preparation unit 15 in the auxiliary tank 16.

Next, the control device 27 controls the rotation speed of the motor 7 serving as a rotation drive unit so that the laundry to be washed has a speed at which it adheres to the inner surface of the washing / dehydrating tub 4. When the rotation speed of the motor 7 becomes stable, the water supply valve b19 is opened and the auxiliary pump 17 is driven to drive the high-concentration detergent solution in the auxiliary tank 16 through the detergent solution preparation section 15 to wash and dehydrate the tub 4 as well.
Water is sprinkled inside, and water is sprinkled on the laundry being rotated inside the washing and dehydrating tub 4. The high-concentration detergent liquid applied to the article to be washed sufficiently penetrates into the article to be washed by centrifugal force. The above operation is continued for a predetermined period of time so that the detergent liquid having a high concentration is evenly permeated into the entire article to be washed. After that, or after leaving for a certain period of time, the controller 27 determines that the water supply valve a18
And the water supply valve b19 is opened to supply water into the washing and dehydrating tub 4. Water is continuously supplied into the washing / dehydrating tank 4 up to the water level displayed on the water level display section, and after the water supply is completed, the pulsator 2
Normal cleaning is performed by reversing.

According to the above-mentioned pre-soaking method, the detergent liquid can be evenly permeated into the inside of the article to be washed with a small amount of water without using a large amount of water as in the conventional case. The laundry can be efficiently pre-soaked in a short time. Moreover, since the amount of water used in the pre-soaking step is small, effective pre-soaking with a high-concentration detergent solution is possible. At the same time, improvement of the cleaning performance by the mechanical force of rotation of the washing / dehydrating tub 4 can be expected.

In this embodiment, the high-concentration detergent liquid prepared in the detergent-liquid preparing section 15 is temporarily stored in the auxiliary tank 16. However, the high-concentration detergent liquid is washed and dehydrated by the tub 4 as well.
Even if the water supply valve a18 is opened at the timing of sprinkling water into the inside of the washing machine, water is poured into the detergent solution creating section 15 to create a high-concentration detergent solution, and the detergent solution is sprinkled into the washing / dehydrating tank 4 as it is. The effect is obtained, and in this case, the water supply valve b19 for switching and flowing the detergent liquid to the side of the auxiliary tank 16 or the washing / dehydrating tank 4 is not necessary, and the configuration can be simplified.

Further, the detergent liquid amount determining means 24 determines the detergent amount and the amount of water to be mixed with the detergent according to the weight of the laundry, and the detergent is automatically supplied to the detergent by a detergent supply device (not shown). A high-concentration detergent may be automatically prepared by supplying the detergent to the preparation unit 15. Further, a high-concentration detergent solution necessary for several washings is stored in a tank, and the detergent solution amount determination means 24 is used. The determined amount of detergent liquid may be supplied to the washing / dehydrating tank 4.

FIG. 2 is a characteristic diagram showing the relationship between the cleaning performance and the cleaning time (excluding the pre-soaking process) when cleaning is performed after the pre-soaking process for a certain period of time. In FIG. 2, the vertical axis represents the cleaning performance and the horizontal axis represents the cleaning time. The solid line 20 shows the case where the concentration of the detergent liquid in the pre-soaking process is the same as that at the time of washing, and the solid line 21 shows the case where the concentration of the detergent liquid is high in the pre-soaking process. As shown in the figure, by increasing the concentration of the detergent solution in the pre-soaking process, the washing performance is improved by about 15% in the same washing time. Further, it is possible to reduce the mechanical force (shorten the cleaning time) by improving the cleaning performance by the pre-soaking process using a high-concentration detergent liquid, and it is also possible to reduce the entanglement.

Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. This embodiment has the same main structure as that of the first embodiment, and therefore the difference from the first embodiment will be described below. In FIG. 3, reference numeral 22 denotes a circulation pump for sucking the detergent liquid in the lower part of the washing receiving tank 5 into the washing / dehydrating tank 4 again through the detergent liquid creating section 15 and is a circulation pump. Circulate the detergent solution in 4. 23
Is a water supply valve c for supplying tap water into the washing and dehydrating tub 4.
Is. In this embodiment, neither auxiliary tank nor auxiliary pump is provided.

The operation of the above configuration will be described. First, after the laundry is put in the washing / dehydrating tub 4, the weight of the laundry to be washed is detected by the laundry detecting means 25, and the water level at the time of washing is determined based on the detected laundry amount, and the user performs this washing. The detergent corresponding to the water level at that time is put into the detergent liquid creating unit 15. After that, the detergent liquid amount detecting means 26 opens the water supply valve b19 and supplies water to the detergent liquid preparing section 15 with the same amount of water as the weight of the object to be washed detected by the washing / dehydrating tub 4 to prepare a high-concentration detergent liquid. To do. On the other hand, the control device 27 opens the water supply valve c23 to supply water to the washing / dehydrating tub 4 to the extent that the article to be washed gets wet, and then rotates the washing / dehydrating tub 4 to perform dewatering. After a predetermined time, the control device 27 closes the open / close valve 13 and opens the water supply valve b19 to spray the highly concentrated detergent liquid on the rotating laundry to be washed in the washing / dehydrating tub 4. Next, circulation pump 2
2, the detergent liquid centrifugally dehydrated and stored in the laundry receiving tub 5 is circulated through the detergent liquid creating unit 15. By circulating the detergent solution for a certain period of time, the detergent solution uniformly reaches the inside of the laundry through the laundry due to the centrifugal force of the rotation of the washing / dehydrating tank 4. Efficiently, and as a result, in order to dissolve the detergent with a smaller amount of water than the amount of water used in the pre-soaking process of the first embodiment, the laundry to be washed is soaked with a detergent solution having an approximately double concentration. . That is, effective pre-soaking with an extremely high concentration detergent solution becomes possible. At the same time, improvement in cleaning performance due to the mechanical force of rotation of the washing / dehydrating tub 4 can be expected.

In the above embodiment, the weight sensor 24 detects the weight of the article to be washed. For example, after the article to be washed is put into the washing / dehydrating tub 4, the pulsator 2 is inserted.
May be rotated to detect the load amount applied to the pulsator, and the point is that the amount of the laundry to be washed may be physically detected. In addition, the high-concentration detergent solution is circulated by the circulation pump 22.
Water is supplied to the washing / dehydration tank 4 before the pre-soaking process which is circulated in the above step. The water supply before the pre-soaking process is performed so that the high-concentration detergent liquid can easily penetrate into the laundry. It goes without saying that the water supply before the presoaking process may be applied to the first embodiment because it is wet.

[0027]

As is apparent from the above description of the embodiments, according to the invention of claim 1, the detergent liquid is sprinkled while rotating the washing / dehydrating tub at a speed such that it sticks to the inner surface of the article to be washed. By doing so, compared to sprinkling the detergent liquid without rotating the washing and dewatering tank, the laundry can be dipped efficiently in a short time, and a small amount of water sufficiently penetrates into the laundry. The detergent liquid can be made to have a high concentration, and effective pre-soaking with the high-concentration detergent liquid becomes possible. At the same time, improvement of cleaning performance by the mechanical force of rotation of the washing / dehydrating tank can be expected.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, since the detergent liquid is circulated by the circulation pump to spray water on the article to be washed, the detergent is applied to the entire article to be washed with a smaller amount of water than that of the structure of the first aspect of the invention. The liquid can be permeated and the presoaking process can be carried out with a higher concentration of detergent liquid. Therefore, the high-concentration detergent liquid can be used as compared with the invention of claim 1, and the effect of the presoaking process can be further enhanced.

According to the invention of claim 3, before the pre-soaking step,
Since water is supplied to the laundry to be absorbed and dehydrated,
The sprayed detergent solution easily penetrates into the article to be washed, and the pre-soaking process time can be shortened.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front sectional view of a fully automatic washing machine showing a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a relationship between cleaning performance and cleaning time in cleaning with a presoaking process.

FIG. 3 is a front sectional view of a fully automatic washing machine showing a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a front sectional view of a conventional fully automatic washing machine.

[Explanation of symbols]

 4 Washing / dehydrating tub 5 Laundry receiving tub 7 Motor (rotary drive unit) 15 Detergent liquid preparation unit (detergent liquid supply device) 22 Circulation pump 27 Control device

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (72) Inventor Yoshimi Urata, 1006 Kadoma, Kadoma City, Osaka Prefecture Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A washing / dehydrating tub for containing an article to be washed, a laundry receiving tub for rotatably accommodating the washing / dehydrating tub, and a detergent liquid supply device for sprinkling a high-concentration detergent liquid into the washing / dehydrating tub. A rotation drive unit for rotating the washing / dehydrating tub, and a control device for controlling the operations of the detergent liquid supply device and the rotation drive unit to execute a pre-soaking step. A fully automatic washing machine that performs a pre-soaking process in which the detergent solution supply device and the rotation drive unit are operated for a predetermined time, and a washing and dehydrating tub is rotated while sprinkling a highly concentrated detergent solution. 2. A washing / dehydrating tub for containing an article to be washed, a laundry receiving tub for rotatably accommodating the washing / dehydrating tub, and a detergent liquid supply device for sprinkling a high-concentration detergent liquid into the washing / dehydrating tub. A rotation drive unit for rotating the washing / dehydrating tub, a circulation pump for sprinkling the detergent liquid in the laundry receiving tub into the washing / dehydrating tub to circulate the detergent liquid, and a rotation drive for the detergent liquid supply device. And a controller for controlling the operation of the circulation pump to execute a pre-soaking step, the controller operating the detergent liquid supply device before the washing process to supply a high-concentration detergent to the washing tub, A fully automatic washing machine which performs a pre-soaking process in which the rotation drive unit and the circulation pump are operated for a predetermined time, and a washing and dehydrating tub is rotated while sprinkling and circulating a high-concentration detergent liquid. 3. The control device operates the water supply device before the washing process to supply a predetermined amount of water to the washing / dehydrating tub, and then operates the rotation driving unit to perform dewatering by the centrifugal force of the washing / dehydrating tub, and thereafter. The fully automatic washing machine according to claim 1 or 2, which executes a pre-soaking step.