JPH0898983A - Electric washing machine - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To reduce the volume of rinsing water and to enhance the performance of a washing machine by setting a rotating drive time and a stopping time of a storage tank during dry spinning and rinsing in accordance with a detected volume of washing so as to operate the storage tank in accordance with the set time during water supply for dry spinning and rinsing. CONSTITUTION: When operation is started after washing are set in a washing tank 3, a microcomputer drives a motor 6 for a short time so as to rotate agitating blades 5. At this time, a drive current running through the motor 6 is measured. Thus measured current is compared with a preset reference value, and accordingly, which one of a large, a middle or a small rank the volume of the washing in the washing tank 3 belongs to, is determined. Further, the time of turn-on and -off of the motor 6 of the washing tank 6, and the number of repetitions, and the time of dry spinning are determined in accordance with the volume of washing. Further, the dry spinning and rinsing are performed in accordance with the determination.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an electric washing machine having a so-called dehydration rinsing function, and more particularly to improvement of control of dehydration rinse.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art So-called dehydration rinsing has been known as a method for effectively rinsing with a small amount of water. The dehydration rinsing will be briefly described. First, water is supplied to the entire laundry in the storage tank after the washing process so that the water is soaked. After that, the water supply is stopped, the storage tank is rotated at high speed, and the dehydration operation is performed. At this time, the laundry is subjected to a centrifugal force, and the detergent remaining on the laundry is scattered along with the soaked water and rinsed.

Of the washing machines having the function of dehydration rinsing, the washing machine which is interested in the present invention is Japanese Patent Publication No. 2-4200.
No. 0 publication. The disclosed washing machine has a built-in load amount detection device, which detects the amount of laundry and changes the number of repetitions of the water supply / dehydration cycle at the time of dewatering and rinsing according to the amount. Further, in the washing machine described in the official gazette, water is supplied by repeatedly turning the motor on and off, slowly rotating the dehydration tub, and stopping it. However, there is a problem that it is difficult to add water to the laundry because the dewatering tub is stopped for a short time and the dewatering tub is rotated for a long time during water supply.

As another interesting prior art, by turning on and off the motor to rotate and stop the dehydration tank, water is supplied during a relatively long stop time so that the laundry contains sufficient water. There is a way to do it.

[0005]

However, in the latter method, the ON / OFF time of the motor is a preset time and is always constant. Therefore, depending on the amount of laundry, the dehydration tub stops, for example, every time it rotates 360 °, and the stop position of the dehydration tub with respect to the drop point of the water supply becomes
There is a drawback that water is supplied to the same portion of the laundry in the dehydration tub every time, and the laundry cannot be uniformly filled with water.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned technical problems and to adjust the ON / OFF time of the motor at the time of supplying water for dehydration and rinse according to the amount of laundry,
It is an object of the present invention to provide a washing machine in which water is uniformly contained in laundry and the rinsing performance is improved with a small amount of water.

[0007]

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, an electric washing machine according to claim 1 supplies water to a storage tub so that the laundry stored in the storage tub contains water. After that, in the electric washing machine that performs so-called dehydration rinsing, in which the storage tub is rotated at high speed to dehydrate the water contained in the laundry by centrifugal force, a driving unit for rotating the storage tub, and the storage The laundry amount detecting means for detecting the amount of laundry stored in the tub, the means for setting the drive time and the stop time of the driving means based on the detection signal of the laundry amount detecting means, and the water supply for dehydration rinsing are provided. And a control means for operating the drive means in accordance with the set drive time and stop time when the operation is performed.

The electric washing machine according to claim 2 is the electric washing machine according to claim 1, wherein the setting means is
A driving time and a stopping time of the driving means are set so that the storage tank is intermittently driven and stopped every n / m rotation (n and m are integers, n ≠ m). Is.

Further, the electric washing machine according to claim 3 is the electric washing machine according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the setting means has a driving time of the driving means such that the storage tubs do not stop at the same position. The feature is that the stop time is set. Further, the electric washing machine according to claim 4 is the electric washing machine according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the setting means determines the amount of laundry based on a detection signal detected by the laundry amount detecting means. When the number is large, the drive time and the stop time of the drive means are set relatively long.

An electric washing machine according to claim 5 is the electric washing machine according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the setting means is based on a detection signal detected by the laundry amount detecting means. It is characterized in that the set number of drive time and stop time of the drive means is changed.

[0011]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the laundry amount is detected by the laundry amount detecting means. Based on the detection signal, the drive time and the stop time for rotating the storage tank during dehydration rinsing are set. Then, when water supply for dehydration rinsing is performed, the storage tank is operated according to the set drive time and stop time. By the operation of this storage tank, water is uniformly contained in the laundry, and the rinsing performance can be improved with a small amount of water.

According to the second aspect of the invention, at the time of dehydration rinsing, the storage tank rotates n / m by one drive (n, m).
Is an integer, n ≠ m), and the time is set so as to stop.
Therefore, the point where the water supply falls when the storage tank is stopped changes every time, and the laundry can be made to contain water uniformly. According to the third aspect of the present invention, the drive time and the stop time for rotating the storage tank during the dehydration rinsing are set so that the storage tank does not stop at the same position. Therefore, water is not supplied to the same place of the laundry.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, when the amount of laundry is large, the drive time and the stop time are set relatively long, and when the amount of laundry is small, the drive time and the stop time are set relatively short. To do. With this, the laundry can be made to uniformly contain water according to the amount of laundry. According to the invention of claim 5, the set number of drive time and stop time for rotating the storage tub at the time of dewatering and rinsing are changed according to the amount of laundry. For this reason,
The dehydration rinsing time can be set according to the amount of laundry, and waste of time and water can be saved.

[0014]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 2 is a sectional view showing a schematic configuration of a fully automatic washing machine according to an embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 2, the main body 1 is provided with an outer tub 2 for storing washing water, and the outer tub 2 is provided with a washing tub 3 for containing laundry. A large number of dehydration holes 4 are formed on the peripheral surface of the washing tub 3. A stirring blade 5 is attached to the center of the bottom of the washing tub 3 so as to be rotatable in both forward and reverse directions. Stirring blade 5
Has a conical shape and has radial irregularities formed on its surface.

A motor 6 is fixed to the lower part of the main body 1, and a pulley 11 is attached to a motor shaft 8 thereof. A power transmission mechanism portion 7 that transmits the rotation of the motor 6 to the washing tub 3 and the stirring blades 5 is fixed to the central portion on the lower side of the bottom surface of the outer tub 2. A belt 10 is stretched around a pulley 11 and a pulley 12 provided in the power transmission mechanism 7, and transmits the rotation of the motor 6 to a shaft 9. The motor 6 rotates only the stirring blade 5 at the time of washing and rinsing, and rotates both the washing tub 3 and the stirring blade 5 at a high speed in one direction at the time of dehydration.

A drain port 13 is provided on the bottom surface of the outer tank 2, and a pipe 15 is fixed to the drain port 13. A drain valve 14 that operates by electromagnetic force is provided in the middle of the pipe 15, and by opening the drain valve 14, the wash water in the outer tub 2 is discharged through the drain port 13, the drain valve 14 and the pipe 15 into the main body. 1 is discharged to the outside. An upper lid 22 that can be freely opened and closed is provided at the center of the upper surface of the main body 1. Further, a water supply port 21 is provided in the upper portion of the main body 1, the water supply port 21 is connected to a pipe 20, and a water supply valve 19 operated by electromagnetic force is provided in the middle of the pipe 20. One end of the tube 20
It is connected to a water supply facility (not shown) such as a water supply outside the main body 1. When the water supply valve 19 is opened, the washing water is supplied from the water supply equipment into the washing tub 3 through the pipe 20.

An air trap 16 is provided at one corner of the bottom of the outer tank 2, and a pressure hose 18 is connected to it. The pressure hose 18 is connected to the water level sensor 17 provided on the upper portion of the main body 1. When the water level of the washing water in the outer tub 2 rises, the air in the air trap 16 is compressed, the water level in the pressure hose 18 also rises, and the pressure of the air accumulated in the upper part of the pressure hose 18 rises. By detecting this pressure with the water level sensor 17, the water level in the outer tub 2 is detected.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the control circuit of the fully automatic washing machine described above. The control circuit is provided with a microcomputer 31 that controls the control. The microcomputer 31 includes an input key circuit 23 including setting operation keys for performing various operation settings, an upper lid safety switch 24 that operates in conjunction with opening and closing of the upper lid 22, and a water level sensor that detects the water level in the outer tub 2. 17 is connected to a load detection circuit 25 that detects a current flowing through the motor 6 to detect the amount of laundry in the washing tub 3, and the microcomputer 3
Signals are input to 1 from these circuits.

Further, the microcomputer 31 turns on a buzzer circuit 26 which sounds a buzzer for notifying a user of the end of a process such as washing and rinsing and an abnormality of the washing machine, and an LED indicating an operating state of the washing machine. LED drive circuit 27 and motor drive circuit 2 that drives and controls the motor 6.
8, a water supply valve drive circuit 29 that outputs a signal for opening and closing the water supply valve 19 to the water supply valve 19 and a drain valve drive circuit 30 that outputs a signal for opening and closing the drain valve 14 to the drain valve 14. The microcomputer 31 outputs a control signal to each of these circuits.

The microcomputer 31 stores an R stored with preset control procedures and conditions (programs).
Equipped with OM32. Also, a RAM 33 for storing variables used in the program and signals from each sensor.
Is provided. FIG. 1 shows a microcomputer 31.
It is a flowchart which shows operation | movement of this fully automatic washing machine performed according to the program memorize | stored in ROM32 in. The operation of the fully automatic washing machine according to this embodiment will be described below with reference to the flow of FIG.

First, when laundry is put in the washing tub 3 and an operation start is instructed by the operation key 19, the microcomputer 31 gives a signal to the motor drive circuit 28 to drive the motor 6 for a short time, The stirring blade 5 is rotated. At this time, the larger the amount of laundry placed on the stirring blade 5, the larger the torque required to rotate the shaft 9, and the smaller the amount, the smaller the torque required to rotate the shaft 9. Since the torque required to rotate the shaft 9 is proportional to the drive current flowing in the motor 6, the drive current is measured and the washing tub 3
Detect the amount of laundry inside. The detected drive current is compared with a predetermined reference value to determine to which of the three categories of large, medium and small the amount of laundry in the washing tub 3 belongs (steps S1 and S2). ). Here, the relationship between the drive current of the motor 6 and the reference value for discriminating the amount of laundry is obtained in advance by experiments or the like.

The following steps S3 to S8 are processes for setting the content of the dehydration rinse according to the detected amount of laundry. The contents to be set are the ON / OFF time of the motor 6 of the washing tub 3 during the dehydration rinsing, the number of repetitions thereof and the dehydration time. When it is determined that the amount of laundry is large, the motor 6 O
N time is 0.7 seconds, OFF time is 5.5 seconds, and O
If the N and OFF times are 1 cycle, in this case, the number of repetitions of 5 cycles is set. The subsequent dehydration process is set to 5 minutes (steps S3 and S4).

When it is determined that the laundry amount is medium,
The ON time of the motor 6 is set to 0.6 seconds and the OFF time is set to 5.0 seconds, and in this case, the number of repetitions of 4 cycles is set. In addition, the dehydration process is set to 4 minutes (step S
5, S6). When it is determined that the amount of laundry is small, the O of the motor 6
The N time is 0.5 seconds and the OFF time is 4.5 seconds. In this case, the number of repetitions of 3 cycles is set. Also,
The dehydration process is set to 3 minutes (steps S7 and S8).

The above-mentioned or setting contents are stored in the RAM 33 of the microcomputer 31. Then, after that, the washing operation is executed. In the washing operation, the water supply valve 19 is opened, the amount of water according to the amount of laundry is supplied to the outer tub 2, the stirring blades 5 are rotated, and the washing process is executed (step S9). Next, the drain valve 14 is opened, and the wash water in the outer tub 2 is once discharged (step S10). Then, the laundry in the washing tub 3 is dehydrated by the high speed rotation of the washing tub 3 (step S11).

Next, a rinsing process is performed (step S).
12). In the rinsing process, first, dehydration rinsing is performed twice (step S13), and later, rinsing rinsing is performed (step S14). First, in the dehydration rinse, after the high speed rotation of the washing tub 3 due to the dehydration of the previous step (step S11) is completely stopped, the drain valve 14 is closed and the water supply valve 19 is opened to supply water into the washing tub 3. At this time, the motor 6 is turned on and off according to the set contents of any one of to described in step S3 to step S8.

For example, when it is determined that the amount of laundry is large, the water supply valve 19 is opened to start water supply, and at the same time,
The motor 6 is turned on for 0.5 seconds, and the washing tub 3 rotates accordingly. After that, the motor 6 is turned off for 5.5 seconds. The washing tub 3 does not stop at the same time when the motor 6 is turned off, but rotates a little by inertia and completely stops after a few seconds. At this time, the water supply has been continued. If the time from the turning on of the motor 6 to the turning off is one cycle, five cycles are repeated. During the 5 cycles, the laundry in the washing tub 3 contains water sufficiently and almost uniformly.
When the five cycles are completed, the water supply valve 19 is closed to stop the water supply, the washing tub 3 is rotated at a high speed by the motor 6, and dehydration is performed for 5 minutes. The above dehydration rinsing including water supply and dehydration is repeated twice, and the dehydration rinsing step is completed.

Here, the ON time of the motor 6 determined in steps S3, S5 and S7 is determined to be approximately 2/3 rotations with respect to the position where the washing tub 3 is located for each amount of laundry. Is required and set by.
FIG. 4 shows the state of water supply at that time. FIG. 4a is a view of the washing tub 3 after dehydration as seen from above, and the laundry is the washing tub 3
It is offset near the inner surface of the inside. FIG. 4b is a diagram when the water supply is started and the motor 6 starts to be turned on, and the water is supplied to the laundry at the position a in the washing tub 3. The shaded portion in the figure is the portion where water is supplied from the water supply port 21 and the laundry contains water. FIG. 4c is a diagram when the motor 6 finishes the first ON operation, and the washing tub 3 has been rotated about 2/3, so that the laundry at the position of a in the washing tub 3 is supplied with water. . FIG. 4d is a diagram when the motor 6 finishes the second ON operation. Since the washing tub 3 has further rotated about ⅔ rotation from FIG. 4c, the laundry at the position of c in the washing tub 3 is supplied with water. By repeating this ON / OFF operation of the motor 6 for several cycles, water can be evenly included during washing regardless of the amount of laundry.

The OFF time of the motor 6 is set to such a length that the washing tub 3 is completely stopped. If the motor 6 is turned on during the inertial rotation of the washing tub 3 without the washing tub 3 completely stopping by the next ON time, the motor 6
This is because the number of revolutions of the washing tub 3 is gradually increased by repeating ON and OFF, and it becomes difficult for the laundry to contain water even when water is supplied.

Upon completion of the dehydration rinsing step, a subsequent rinsing is performed (step S14). The drain valve 14 is closed and the water supply valve 19 is opened to supply water in the outer tub 2 according to the amount of laundry. Then, the motor 6 is driven under the preset conditions, the stirring blades 5 are rotated, and the rinsing process is performed. Next, the drain valve 14 is opened, the rinse water in the outer tub 2 is drained, the washing tub 3 is rotated at a high speed for a predetermined time,
Dehydration is performed (step S15), and the whole process ends.

In the embodiment of the present invention, the result of determination of the amount of laundry in step S1 is divided into three categories of large, medium and small, but it may be finely divided. In this case,
The amount of water required for rinsing can be adjusted more finely. According to the present invention, in the drive control of the motor 6 at the time of dehydration rinsing,
It suffices that the stop position of the washing tub 3 with respect to the drop point of the water supply does not stop at the same position after one cycle, and the ON / OFF time of the motor 6 may be freely set within the range satisfying the condition. . That is, dehydration-water supply 1
In the cycle, the washing tub 3 rotates n / m (n and m are integers, n
The ON time of the motor 6 may be determined so that ≠ m). For example, 1/4 rotation, 3/5 rotation, etc.

In the embodiment of the present invention, the rinsing treatment is performed by performing dehydration rinsing twice and then pool rinsing. However, the number of dehydration rinsing is not limited to two. The number of dehydration rinses may be changed depending on the amount of laundry detected in step S1. Also, water rinsing may be used instead of trial rinsing. In the embodiment of the present invention, the amount of laundry is detected at the start of the process, but it may be before or after any process of dehydration and rinsing.

In the embodiment of the present invention, the fully-automatic washing machine of the one-tub type has been described, but a two-tub type washing machine in which the washing tub and the dehydrating tub are separated may be used. At that time, for the dehydration tank,
The rotation control is performed by turning the motor 6 on and off. Besides, various design changes can be made without departing from the scope of the present invention.

[0033]

As described above, according to the electric washing machine of the first aspect, the drive time and the stop time for rotating the storage tub during spin-drying and rinsing are set and operated according to the amount of the laundry, so that the laundry is washed with water. Is uniformly contained, and the rinsing effect can be enhanced with a small amount of water. Further, according to the electric washing machine of claim 2 or claim 3, during the dehydration rinsing,
The storage tank is driven once to rotate n / m (n and m are integers, n ≠
Since the drive time is set so as to stop after m), the drop point of the water supply changes when the storage tank is stopped. Further, the drive time and the stop time of the storage tank at the time of dehydration rinsing are set so that the storage tank is not stopped at the same position. As a result, the entire laundry can be made to contain water more uniformly.

Further, according to the electric washing machine of claim 4, when the amount of laundry is large, the drive time and the stop time of the storage tub at the time of dewatering and rinsing are set to be long, so that the laundry can be washed according to the amount of laundry. Can be included uniformly. Further, according to the electric washing machine of claim 5, waste of time and water is saved by changing the number of times of one cycle of the driving time and the stopping time of the storage tub at the time of dehydration and rinsing according to the amount of laundry. You can

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a flowchart showing the operation of a fully automatic washing machine according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view showing a schematic configuration of a fully automatic washing machine according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a control configuration of a fully automatic washing machine according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing a state of water supply during dehydration rinsing.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 main body 3 washing tub 5 stirring blade 6 motor 14 drain valve 19 water supply valve 25 load detection circuit 28 motor drive circuit

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. Water supplied to the storage tub so that the laundry stored in the storage tub contains water, and then the storage tub is rotated at a high speed to allow the laundry to contain the laundry by centrifugal force. To dehydrate,
In an electric washing machine that performs so-called dehydration rinsing, a driving unit for rotating the storage tub, a laundry amount detection unit for detecting the amount of laundry stored in the storage tub, and a detection signal of the laundry amount detection unit Based on this, setting means for setting the drive time and stop time of the drive means, and control means for operating the drive means according to the set drive time and stop time when water supply for dehydration rinsing is performed, An electric washing machine characterized by being equipped. 2. The electric washing machine according to claim 1, wherein the setting means drives the storage tub intermittently and stops every n / m rotations (n and m are integers, n ≠ m). As described above, the electric washing machine characterized in that the driving time and the stop time of the driving means are set. 3. The electric washing machine according to claim 1, wherein the setting means sets a drive time and a stop time of the drive means so that the storage tub does not stop at the same position. Electric washing machine. 4. The electric washing machine according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the setting means, based on the detection signal detected by the laundry amount detecting means, drives the driving means when the laundry amount is large. An electric washing machine having a relatively long drive time and stop time. 5. The electric washing machine according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the setting means determines a drive time and a stop time of the drive means based on a detection signal detected by the laundry amount detection means. An electric washing machine characterized by changing the set number.