JPH08229293A - Liquid detergent feeder for washing machine - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To simplify the constitution of a liquid detergent feeder for washing machines by applying an approximately specified pressure on the liquid detergent in a vessel by the weight of a cap, connecting the other end of a pipe to the washing machine and enabling the supply of the liquid detergent from the vessel through the pipe to the washing machine by opening and closing of a stop valve. CONSTITUTION: The one end of the pipe 2 of this liquid detergent feeder for washing machines is connected to a liquid detergent supply port disposed at the fully automatic washing machine 1 and the other end is connected to a vessel 3 in which the liquid detergent is housed. The cap 4 is inserted into the vessel 3 from above and the pipe 2 is provided with the stop valve 5 operated by the command of the fully automatic washing machine 1 in midway thereof. The cap 4 is formed slightly small to a shape resembling the internal shape in the plane view of the vessel 3. A groove is formed over the entire circumference of the side face thereof and a sealing member, such as O-ring, is fitted therein. The cap 4 descends together with the liquid level by its own weight and presses the liquid surface of the liquid detergent under the specified pressure when the liquid level in the vessel 3 falls with the use of the liquid detergent according to this constitution.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a liquid detergent introduction device for a washing machine for supplying a liquid detergent (referred to as "liquid detergent") to a washing machine. In particular, the present invention relates to a liquid detergent injection device for a washing machine suitable for use in a fully automatic washing machine.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As a conventional liquid detergent charging device for a washing machine, there is an air-type liquid detergent suction / pouring device as disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 56-44682.
This liquid detergent dispenser for a washing machine is a pipe for sucking liquid detergent from a container, and is provided with a suction hose provided with a check valve, a suction port and a discharge port connected to the suction hose in the middle thereof. A cylinder, a piston for changing the volume in the cylinder, and a discharge hose, which is a pipe connected to the discharge port and provided with a check valve in the middle thereof, are provided.

In this conventional liquid detergent dispenser for a washing machine, the piston is first pushed to reduce the volume in the cylinder, and the negative pressure in the cylinder generated when the piston returns causes the liquid detergent to move from the container to the cylinder. Inhaled. Then, by pushing the piston again, the liquid detergent is discharged from the inside of the cylinder.

[0004]

However, since the liquid detergent suction / pouring operation is performed manually, the suction amount of the liquid detergent into the cylinder and the discharge amount from the cylinder differ depending on the pressing amount of the piston. As a result, the amount of liquid detergent charged to the washing machine was not always accurate and constant. Further, since this conventional liquid detergent introduction device for a washing machine is manual, it is not suitable for use in a fully automatic washing machine.

Further, in order to make the amount of the liquid detergent charged into the washing machine accurate, it can be considered that the liquid detergent is automatically used by using a pump or a liquid amount sensor. However, such a liquid detergent introduction device for a washing machine may have a problem that the structure is complicated. Therefore, an object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned problems, and to provide a liquid detergent introducing device for a washing machine having a simple structure capable of accurately and automatically supplying the amount of liquid detergent to be introduced.

[0006]

In order to achieve the above object, a liquid detergent feeding device for a washing machine according to a first aspect of the present invention is provided with a container for containing a liquid detergent and a container that can move in the container and is always in liquid form. A lid with a predetermined weight that keeps the detergent under pressure at a constant pressure, a pipe that has one end connected to the container and the other end that can be connected to a washing machine, and through which the liquid detergent in the container can flow out, An on-off valve provided is provided.

[0007] According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided the liquid detergent introduction device for a washing machine according to the first aspect, wherein the container has an open upper portion. Further, the liquid detergent introduction device for a washing machine according to a third aspect is the liquid detergent introduction device for a laundry machine according to the second aspect, further comprising a seal member that seals the lid so as to be movable with respect to the inner wall of the container. It is characterized by that.

[0008] According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a liquid detergent introduction device for a washing machine according to any one of the first to third aspects, wherein the opening / closing valve is an electromagnetic valve whose opening and closing can be controlled by the washing machine. It is characterized by including a valve.

[0009]

According to the structure of the invention according to claim 1, the weight of the lid always acts on the liquid detergent in the container via the liquid level regardless of the position of the liquid level. The liquid detergent in the pipe is pressurized to a substantially constant pressure. The liquid detergent in the pressurized pipe can flow out of the container and flow through the pipe simply by opening and closing the opening / closing valve.Therefore, by connecting the other end of the pipe to the washing machine, The liquid detergent feeding device can supply the liquid detergent to the washing machine with a simple configuration. Further, since the pressure of the liquid detergent in the pipe is substantially constant, the flow rate of the liquid detergent passing through the pipe within a fixed time becomes more constant than in the case where the pressure changes greatly.

According to the configuration of the invention according to claim 2,
In addition to the operation of the invention according to claim 1, since the upper part of the container is opened, the position of the lid that changes depending on the amount of liquid detergent in the container can be easily visually confirmed. Therefore, it is easy to confirm the amount of liquid detergent in the container. According to the configuration of the invention according to claim 3 described above, in addition to the effect of the invention according to claim 2, since the space between the container and the lid is sealed by the seal member, the pressure applied to the liquid detergent in the container is increased. Can hold Thus, for example, a heavy lid can be used to exert a high pressure on the liquid detergent in the tube.

According to the configuration of the invention according to claim 4,
In addition to the operation of the invention according to any one of claims 1 to 3, since the opening / closing valve is opened / closed by the washing machine via the electromagnetic valve, the liquid detergent is automatically supplied at the timing when the washing machine requires the liquid detergent. Can be supplied to the customer. Further, since the amount of liquid detergent flowing through the pipe can be controlled by the opening time of the opening / closing valve, if the opening time is set to a fixed time, a constant amount of liquid detergent can be supplied. .

[0012]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a schematic configuration of a liquid detergent introduction device for a washing machine and a drum type fully automatic washing machine to which the same is connected according to an embodiment of the present invention. Reference numeral 1 is a drum type fully automatic washing machine, which is supplied with liquid detergent by the liquid detergent feeding device for a washing machine. This liquid detergent introduction device for a washing machine has a pipe 2 having one end connected to a liquid detergent supply port (not shown) provided in the fully-automatic washing machine 1 for allowing the liquid detergent to flow, and the pipe 2 described above. The container 3 having the other end connected to which the liquid detergent can be stored, the lid 4 fitted from the upper surface of the container 3, the pipe 2 provided in the middle thereof, and operated according to a command from the fully automatic washing machine 1, for example, from a solenoid valve And an on-off valve 5.

With reference to FIG. 2, the essential parts of the above-mentioned liquid detergent introduction device for a washing machine will be described in detail. FIG. 2 is a sectional view of the container 3 with the lid 4 shown in FIG. The container 3 is, for example, in the shape of a cylinder having a quadrangular cross-section, in which the internal cross-sectional shape in plan view is the same in its schematic shape, the upper surface is open, and the other end of the tube 2 is connected to the bottom. The hole 3a is provided. The vicinity of the open portion 3b of the upper surface of the container 3 is
The upper side is formed by a sloping surface that widens inside, and the guide of the lid 4 when inserting it into the container 3 is easy. The container 3 may have a cylindrical shape, for example.

The lid 4 is formed in a shape similar to the internal shape of the container 3 in plan view, for example, in a quadrangular shape, and slightly smaller. A groove 4a is formed on the side surface over the entire circumference, and a seal member 6 such as an O-ring that seals between the container 3 and the lid 4 is fitted into the groove 4a. The dimensions, materials, etc. of the groove 4a and the seal member 6 are such that the seal member 6 is in close contact with the groove 4a and the container 3 over the entire circumference, and the pressure of the liquid detergent due to the self-weight of the lid 4 described later. It is set so that it can be sealed. Further, the seal member 6 is set to be able to slide lightly inside the container 3 with the lid 4 fitted in the container 3. Therefore, the lid 4 can be lowered by its own weight.

The lid 4 is heavy and is made of, for example, a predetermined weight of steel, and the predetermined weight is set so as to satisfy the following requirements. That is, the lid 4 is the container 3
Thus, the lid 4 can be dropped by its own weight against the resistance of the seal member 6. The pressure of the liquid detergent in the container 3 pushed by the lid 4 allows the liquid detergent to flow through the pipe 2. The pressure of the liquid detergent in the container 3 pushed by the lid 4 is sufficiently higher than the pressure of the liquid detergent generated in the pipe 2 when the lid 4 is not fitted in the container 3.

In addition to the above items, it is more preferable to satisfy the following items. Due to the pressure of the liquid detergent in the container 3 pushed by the lid 4, the liquid detergent has a sufficient height through the pipe 2, for example, the height direction between the hole 3a and the liquid detergent supply port of the fully automatic washing machine 1. Can lift the distance. By doing so, even if the container 3 is placed at a lower position with respect to the liquid detergent supply port, it is possible to supply the liquid detergent through the pipe 2, and when the container 3 is placed at a lower position, the liquid detergent Replenishment becomes easy. The lid 4 is not limited to being made of steel, and any method may be used as long as it can realize the above-mentioned predetermined weight. For example, the lid 4 may be composed of a light lid that comes into contact with the liquid surface of the liquid detergent, and a weight that is placed on the lid and that loads a predetermined weight. In this case, since the predetermined weight of the weight can be easily adjusted, the above setting can be easily performed.

A handle 4b is provided on the upper surface of the lid 4, and an air vent hole 4c is formed to connect the upper surface and the lower surface of the lid 4 to each other. A stopper 7 is detachably attached to the air vent hole 4c, and a liquid detergent is sealed and attached. The on-off valve 5 is closed to prevent passage of the liquid detergent through the pipe 2 when there is no command from the fully automatic washing machine 1. On the other hand, while the command from the fully automatic washing machine 1 arrives, the open / close valve 5 is opened to allow the liquid detergent pipe 2 to pass through.

Next, the operation of the liquid detergent charging device for a washing machine will be described. First, before using the liquid detergent dispenser for a washing machine, the lid 4 is removed from the container 3, and the liquid detergent is dispensed from the upper part of the container 3. After charging, a lid 7 is attached to the lid 4, and the lid 4 is fitted into the container 3 and held horizontally while descending in the container 3. When the lid 4 reaches the liquid surface of the liquid detergent, it is supported on the liquid surface of the liquid detergent. If air remains compressed between the lid 4 and the liquid detergent,
The lid 4 is supported via compressed air.

This liquid detergent dosing device for a washing machine is used while keeping the lid 4 supported directly on the liquid surface of the liquid detergent or via compressed air. At this time, from the bottom surface of the lid 4 to the entire liquid surface of the liquid detergent facing the bottom surface of the lid 4,
Since the lid 4 is loaded with its own weight, the lid 4
The liquid detergent is kept under pressure due to the pressure acting on its own weight and the area of the bottom surface. Further, when the liquid level in the container 3 decreases due to the use of the liquid detergent, the lid 4 descends together with the liquid level due to its own weight, and constantly presses the liquid level of the liquid detergent with a constant pressure regardless of the liquid level height. .

Further, the liquid detergent in the pipe 2 is covered with the lid 4 described above.
In addition to the pressure due to its own weight, the pressure due to the weight of the liquid detergent in the container 3 acts. However, since the weight of the lid 4 is sufficiently heavy to satisfy the above, the pressure due to the own weight of the lid 4 becomes considerably larger than the pressure due to the weight of the liquid detergent, and as a result, the amount of liquid detergent in the container 3 changes. Even if it does, the pressure applied to the liquid detergent in the pipe 2 does not change so much and can be regarded as substantially constant.

Next, when the fully automatic washing machine 1 is operated, the fully automatic washing machine 1 is operated at a predetermined timing, for example, when water is supplied.
A command signal for opening the on-off valve 5 is generated for a fixed time. When this command signal reaches the on-off valve 5, the on-off valve 5 opens. Since the liquid detergent in the container 3 is pressurized, it is delivered from the container 3 to the fully automatic washing machine 1 through the pipe 2 by the pressure. The supply amount of the liquid detergent at this time is determined by the pressure applied to the liquid detergent in the pipe 2 and the time when the opening / closing valve 5 is open (the above-mentioned fixed time). Since a substantially constant pressure acts on the liquid detergent as described above, the supply amount of the liquid detergent becomes substantially constant when the open / close valve 5 is open for a fixed period of time. After that, the fully automatic washing machine 1 stops the generation of the command signal for opening the open / close valve 5, and the open / close valve 5 is closed accordingly.
Further, by setting the above-mentioned fixed time so that the amount of liquid detergent determined thereby becomes the required amount of liquid detergent of the fully automatic washing machine 1, an accurate amount of liquid detergent suitable for washing can be supplied.

When the liquid detergent is used up in the container 3 due to the use of the liquid detergent, the lid 4 moves to the vicinity of the bottom surface of the container 3. Since the container 3 is opened upward, the container 3
By looking at the position of the lid 4 inside, the situation can be easily visually confirmed without removing the lid 4 and directly observing the liquid detergent. When replenishing the liquid detergent to the container 3, if the stopper 7 is removed from the lid 4, the upper and lower pressures of the lid 4 are equalized through the air vent hole 4c, so the lid 4 can be taken out from the container 4b. Easy to use. When the lid 4 is taken out from the container 3, the upper surface of the container 3 has a large opening, and the liquid detergent can be easily put therein.

As described above, in the liquid detergent introduction device for a washing machine, a fixed amount of the liquid detergent in the container 3 is supplied to the fully automatic washing machine 1 only by opening / closing the opening / closing valve 5, so that the pump and the sensor are used. A simple configuration can be realized without using the above. In addition, the container 3 has a large capacity, a plurality of pipes 2 are connected to the container 3 in parallel, and each pipe 2 can be connected to a plurality of washing machines, one for a plurality of washing machines. The liquid detergent may be supplied in the container 3 of FIG.

The liquid detergent throwing device for a washing machine according to this embodiment can be applied to all fully automatic washing machines, whether for home use or for business use. It is convenient to use by connecting to the machine. In addition, various design changes can be made without changing the gist of the present invention.

[0025]

According to the invention of claim 1, the following effects can be obtained. That is, the weight of the lid applies a substantially constant pressure to the liquid detergent in the container, so if the other end of the pipe is connected to the washing machine, opening and closing the on-off valve will open and close the pipe to the washing machine. Liquid detergent can be supplied, and the configuration of the liquid detergent feeding device for a washing machine can be simplified. Further, the flow rate of the liquid detergent passing through the pipe can be made more constant.

According to the invention of claim 2, in addition to the effect of the invention of claim 1, the position of the lid that changes depending on the amount of liquid detergent in the container can be easily confirmed visually. It is easy to check the amount of liquid detergent inside. According to the invention of claim 3, in addition to the effect of the invention of claim 2, since the pressure applied to the liquid detergent in the container can be kept high by the seal member, for example, a heavy lid or the like can be used. High pressure can be applied to.

According to the invention of claim 4, in addition to the effect of the invention of any one of claims 1 to 3, the liquid detergent is automatically operated by an opening / closing valve opened / closed by a washing machine via an electromagnetic valve. Can be supplied to the washing machine. Further, if the opening time of the on-off valve is set to a fixed time, a fixed amount of liquid detergent can be supplied.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic view of a liquid detergent charging device for a washing machine and a perspective view of a fully automatic washing machine according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional side view of a main part of the above-described liquid detergent introduction device for a washing machine.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Fully automatic washing machine (washing machine) 2 Pipe 3 Container 4 Lid 5 Open / close valve 6 Sealing member

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A container for containing a liquid detergent, a lid having a predetermined weight, which is movable in the container and keeps the liquid detergent under a constant pressure at all times, one end of which is connected to the container and the other end of which is A liquid detergent throwing device for a washing machine, comprising a pipe connectable to a washing machine and through which liquid detergent in a container can flow out, and an opening / closing valve provided in the pipe. 2. The liquid detergent introduction device for a washing machine according to claim 1, wherein an upper portion of the container is opened. 3. The liquid detergent dispenser for a washing machine according to claim 2, further comprising a seal member that seals the lid so as to be movable between the lid and the inner wall of the container. Input device. 4. The liquid detergent introduction device for a washing machine according to claim 1, wherein the opening / closing valve includes an electromagnetic valve whose opening / closing can be controlled by the washing machine. Detergent loading device.