JPH0910470A - Control of fully automatic laundry machine - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To prevent a motor from generating a stench or smoke due to a trouble with the foaming of a detergent, and also, to reduce the vibration and noise caused by the shifting of clothes to one side. CONSTITUTION: A motor is turned OFF 64 in the continuous dehydration 62 mode at the time of a dehydration step, then the number of rotations of the motor is measured 65 by the detection of a voltage between capacitor terminals, and an abnormality in the dehydration step is determined 66 based on the measurement value. If the abnormality is confirmed, the water feed 71 operation and the rinsing and stirring 72 operation are performed by stopping the continuous dehydration process.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method for judging the state of a dehydration process of a fully automatic washing machine and controlling the subsequent washing process.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a phenomenon in which bubbles are generated between a washing / dehydrating tub and an outer tub (detergent foaming obstruction) due to a detergent component contained in the water content of clothes during the dewatering process, and during washing and rinsing processes Even if an abnormal phenomenon occurs, such as an increase in vibration during the dehydration process due to uneven displacement of clothes, the dehydration process is forced to be performed.

[0003]

In the above prior art, when an abnormal phenomenon such as a foaming disorder of detergent or an increase in vibration during the dehydration process due to an uneven displacement of clothes occurs, the load on the motor increases. However, since the dehydration process is forced,
Due to the increase in the current flowing through the motor, the motor produces offensive odors, smoke, and the like. In particular, when a foaming problem of detergent occurs when the rotary water rinse method is adopted, the foam in the washing / dehydrating tub and the outer tub is not diluted and the dewatering process is performed again, so the protector in the motor operates and the washing process is stopped. Problems such as occur. Also, due to the increase in vibration during the dehydration process due to uneven displacement of the clothes during the washing and rinsing processes and the increase in detergent foaming damage and vibration, the dehydration rated speed cannot be reached and the moisture in the clothes cannot be completely dehydrated. There is also a problem of reduction in rinsing and dehydration performance.

An object of the present invention is to prevent the above-mentioned problems from occurring by changing the subsequent washing process when an abnormal phenomenon occurs during the dehydration process.

[0005]

In order to achieve the above object, the motor is turned off during continuous dehydration during the dehydration process, the counter electromotive force of the voltage across the capacitor terminals at that time is detected, and converted into a DC short-wave pulse. After that, the time width between the pulses is measured and the rotation speed is detected. When the value of the time width satisfies the condition of the set value, the dehydration process is continued as it is, and when it is not satisfied, it is determined that the dehydration process is abnormal and the dehydration process is stopped.
After that, water is supplied up to the specified water level, and the water is rinsed and stirred, or washed and stirred for a shorter time than the rinse and stirring (balanced stirring).
Control to do.

[0006]

With the above-mentioned means, it is possible to prevent abnormal odor of the motor due to the foaming problem of the detergent, generation of smoke, stop of the washing process due to operation of the protector in the motor, and vibration due to deviation of the clothes.
Since noise can be reduced, customer complaints can be reduced.

[0007]

An embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
As shown in FIG. 1, a fully automatic washing machine adopting one embodiment of the present invention is made of synthetic resin in a steel plate-shaped outer frame 1 by a suspension rod 2 and a vibration isolator 3 made of a coil spring or elastic rubber. Four suspension rods 2 and four vibration damping devices 3 configured to suspend the outer tub 4 are provided.

In the outer tub 4 for storing water for washing,
A washing and dewatering tub 5 made of synthetic resin is rotatably provided. A large number of dewatering holes 5a are provided in the washing and dewatering tub 5, and a stirring blade 6 made of a pulsator or an agitator is rotatably provided at the center bottom. During the washing process and the rinsing process, the washing / dehydrating tank 5 is stopped and the stirring blades 6 are rotated clockwise and counterclockwise. In addition, at the time of spin-drying, washing and spin-drying tub 5
Is rotated in one direction. The rotation of the stirring blade 6 and the washing and dewatering tub 5 is performed by a driving device 7.

The driving device 7 includes a motor 8 and a transmission means 9 including pulleys 9 a and 9 b and a belt 9 c for transmitting the rotation of the motor 8 to the stirring blade 6 or the washing and dewatering tub 5.
A clutch device 10 for rotating only the stirring blade 6 at the time of washing and rinsing, or a washing and spinning tub 5 for spin-drying, a solenoid 11 for switching between them, and a drainage device 15 for draining.

The driving device 7 is fixed to the bottom surface of the outer tub 4 by using a support plate 12 made of a steel plate. The outer tub 4 is provided with an inlet 4a to which a PS tube 14 for transmitting the pressure of water in the outer tub 4 to the water level sensor 13 is connected.

In the upper part of the outer frame 1, there is an input port 17a for inputting laundry and an operation box 1 for storing electric components such as a controller.
7b is provided with a top cover 17 made of synthetic resin. A lid 18 made of synthetic resin is provided at the inlet 17a.

An operation panel 21 is attached to the upper surface of the operation box 17b, and a water supply solenoid valve 24 is provided in the operation box 17b.

The water level sensor 13 disposed in the operation box 17b
By detecting the pressure of water in the outer tub 4, it is determined whether or not water has accumulated up to a specified water level. The water level sensor 13 is composed of a core, a coil, a spring and the like.

A controller for controlling washing, rinsing, dehydration, etc. is arranged in the storage box 31. The operation panel 21 includes a power switch button 29 and an external operation switch 3.
0 is arranged.

FIG. 2 schematically shows the entire circuit of the washing machine. The central processing circuit 32 and the drive circuit 33 are collectively arranged as a controller section and are arranged in the storage section 31 of the main body of the washing machine. Motor 8, water supply valve as water supply solenoid valve 24, drainage valve as drainage device 15, start / stop switch 34, select switch 35 for washing, rinsing, dehydration, etc., water level sensor 13, cloth quantity sensor for judging cloth quantity 36, Safety switch 50 for preventing abnormal vibration during dehydration
Have.

FIG. 3 shows a circuit of the cloth amount sensor 36 for judging the cloth amount. The motor 8 is operated by putting appropriate clothes in the washing / dehydrating tub 5, pressing the power switch button 29, and pressing the start / stop switch 34.
In order to operate the motor 8, the motor 8 performs forward and reverse rotations by alternately sending signals to the gates of the triacs 37a and 37b in response to a command from the central processing circuit 32, if necessary. From the forward / reverse rotation of the motor 8, the stirring blade 6 is rotated by the rotation transmission method shown in FIG.
Move the clothes in the normal and reverse directions. At this time, the terminal voltage of the driving capacitor 8a of the counter electromotive force generated when the motor 8 is turned off is converted into a DC short-wave pulse by the photo-triac coupler 38, and the DC short-wave is inverted by the inverter 39. The signal is sent to the central processing circuit 32. By these controls, the resistance applied to the stirring blade 6 changes depending on the size of the clothes, and the cloth amount is determined by detecting the degree of this change.

FIG. 4 shows a series of washing steps of the fully automatic washing machine when the rotary water supply rinsing is adopted. When the power switch button 29 is pressed and the start / stop switch 34 is pressed, the electromagnetic solenoid valve 24 is energized to start water supply. Water is supplied as washing water to the washing / dehydrating tank 5 until the water level reaches a predetermined water level, and when the water level sensor 13 informs the central processing circuit 32 that the water level has reached the predetermined water level, the water supply is stopped and the washing process is started. . After performing the washing process for a certain period of time, the drainage device 15 is energized to perform the draining process. When the state of the washing water is detected by the water level sensor 13 and the washing water is completely drained, the solenoid 11 and the motor 8 are energized to start the intermediate dehydration process. At this time, the washing water containing the detergent component is dehydrated from the clothes in the washing / dehydrating tank 5 by centrifugal force. Next, the rotary water supply rinsing step will be described with reference to FIG. First, energize the solenoid 11 (step 51),
The water supply solenoid valve 24 is energized (step 52) to start water supply. At this time, the safety switch 50 due to one side of the clothes
The drainage device 15 is not energized in consideration of the increase in the operation of the drainage device 15 and the reduction of the rinsing performance when the water attached by the energization of the water supply solenoid valve 24 does not reach the clothes attached to the side surface of the washing / dehydrating tub 5 due to the change in the water supply amount ( This is done in step 53). Next, in the dehydration process, electricity is supplied to the motor 8 in order to improve the rinsing performance by improving the penetration of water into the clothes attached to the side surface of the washing / dehydrating tank 5 and combining the detergent component contained in the clothes with water. The method intermittently repeats ON / OFF according to a signal from the central processing circuit 32 (step 54) to slowly rotate the washing / dehydrating tub 5. After a certain period of time (step 55), the energization of the motor 8 is stopped (step 56), and at the same time, the drainage device 15 is energized (step 57). Finally, since the water is supplied without energizing the drainage device 15, if the water supply amount is large, the water is excessively accumulated in the outer tub 4, and a detergent foaming trouble is likely to occur during the next intermediate dehydration process, so that the water level sensor. The signal from 13 is transmitted to the central processing circuit 32, the drainage process is performed until the prescribed water level is reached, and when the prescribed water level is reached (step 58), the intermediate dewatering process is performed.

The intermediate dehydration step is performed in the same manner as in the intermediate dehydration, and the rotary feed water rinse step is performed in the same manner as the rotary feed water rinse. Hereinafter, intermediate dehydration, water supply, rinsing, drainage, and final dehydration are performed in the same manner as described above, and the clothes are washed, rinsed, and dehydrated.

In the dewatering process in the washing process employing the rotary water rinsing, when the deviation of the clothes is very large, the safety switch 50 is activated at the start of the dewatering process, and after the dewatering process is stopped, the water supply and the rinse agitation are controlled. However, in other cases, the dehydration process is forcibly performed as it is. Therefore, if the safety switch 50 does not operate even if there is a detergent foaming fault or uneven displacement of the clothes, the spin-off speed does not increase and the current that flows to the motor increases, so that a strange odor or smoke is generated in the motor.
In particular, when a detergent foaming trouble occurs after the washing process, the foam between the washing / dehydrating tub 5 and the outer tub 4 is not diluted and the dewatering process is performed again, so that the protector in the motor operates and the washing process is stopped. The problem arises. In addition, the dehydration speed does not reach the rated speed, and the water in the clothes cannot be completely dehydrated.
There is also the problem of reduced rinsing and dehydration performance.

FIG. 6 shows the DC short-wave pulse conversion and the terminal voltage of the driving capacitor 8a of the back electromotive force generated when the motor 8 is turned off during the dehydration process.
When the power supply to the motor 8 is stopped during the dehydration process, the voltage across the driving capacitor 8a is attenuated as shown in FIG. This is converted into a DC short-wave pulse and the time between pulses is measured. The time between pulses can be measured from when the motor 8 is off 1
The fall time width t ₁ of the second pulse (a) and the second pulse (b) is measured. FIG. 7 shows the relationship between the time width t ₁ and the motor rotation speed at this time. From this figure, since the rotation speed of the motor 8 and the time width t ₁ are in a substantially proportional relationship, the rotation speed of the motor can be detected from the time width. The detection method of the present invention will be described based on this. When the rotation speed of the motor 8 is high (the dehydration process is normally performed), the time width t ₁ is short, and when the rotation speed of the motor 8 is low ( In the dehydration process abnormal state), the time width t ₁ becomes long. From the above, the state during the dehydration step can be determined from the time width t ₁ between the DC short-wave pulses.

Therefore, the control method of the present invention which employs the detection method will be described with reference to FIG. 8. After the washing step (step 59), the drainage device 15 is energized to perform the draining step (step 60). Next, the solenoid 11 and the motor 8 are energized, and an intermittent dehydration step (step 61) is repeated in which the on / off is intermittently repeated by a signal from the central processing circuit 32. After the intermittent dehydration is completed, continuous dehydration (step 62) is performed, and after continuous dehydration for a certain period of time, motor lock detection (step 63) is performed. In the motor lock detection, first, the motor 8 is turned off for a short period of time (step 64), and the counter electromotive force generated when the washing / dehydrating tub 5 rotates by inertia when the motor 8 is turned off is set to the time width t ₁ by the detection method. Measure (step 65). The measured time width t ₁ is compared with the set value stored in the microcomputer in advance (step 66),
If the condition of the set value is satisfied, the dehydration process is considered to be normal and continuous dehydration is continued (step 67), and thereafter, a rotary shower rinse (step 68) is performed. If the conditions are not satisfied, the dehydration process is considered abnormal, and the dehydration process abnormality process (step 69) is performed. In the dehydration process abnormality process, first, the dehydration is stopped (step 70), and the water supply solenoid valve 24 is energized by the signal from the central processing circuit 32 to start the water supply (step 71). When the amount of water reaches the specified water level and is transmitted from the water level sensor 13 to the central processing circuit 32, the water supply is stopped and rinse stirring is performed (step 72). After that, balanced stirring (step 73) is performed to control to proceed to intermediate dehydration, and thereafter, water supply, rinsing, drainage, and final dehydration steps are performed. After the completion of the rotary shower rinsing (step 68), the intermittent dewatering process (step 74) and the continuous dewatering (step 75) are performed. At this time, the motor lock detection (step 76) is performed by the same control, and the time width t ₁ Compare the setting value stored in the microcomputer in advance (step 77),
If the conditions of the set value are satisfied, the dehydration process is regarded as normal and continuous dehydration is continued (step 78), and thereafter, a rotary shower rinse is performed, and intermediate dehydration, water supply, pool rinse, drainage, and final dehydration process are performed. . If the conditions are not satisfied, the dehydration process is considered abnormal, and the dehydration process abnormality process (step 79) is performed. The dehydration process abnormality process is controlled in the same manner as described above, and is controlled to proceed to the final dehydration process after the completion of the dehydration process abnormality process.

By performing these controls, it becomes possible to eliminate the abnormality in the dehydrated state and to perform a good dehydration process.

[0023]

According to the present invention, the motor is turned off during continuous dewatering during the dewatering process of the washing process which employs the rotary water rinsing, and the rotation speed of the motor is measured by the voltage across the capacitor terminals at that time. The washing process is controlled by the change of the temperature. Therefore, it is possible to prevent abnormal odor and smoke from the motor due to the foaming problem of the detergent, or to prevent the washing process from stopping due to the operation of the protector.
It is possible to reduce noise, prevent customer complaints, and obtain good dehydration performance.

[Brief description of the drawings]

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

FIG. 2 is a circuit diagram of the entire washing machine.

FIG. 3 is a circuit diagram of an embodiment of cloth amount detection.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of a process of a fully automatic course when the rotary water rinsing is adopted.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing rotary water supply rinsing control.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing a sensor output and a measurement position of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a characteristic diagram showing the relationship between motor rotation speed and sensor output measurement time.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing an embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

5 ... Washing / dehydrating tub, 6 ... Rotating body, 8 ... Motor, 11 ... Solenoid, 13 ... Water level sensor, 21 ... Operation panel, 24
… Water supply solenoid valve, 30… External operation switch, 50… Safety switch.

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (72) Kyoichi Sugano Kyoichi Sugano 1-1-1 Higashitaga-cho, Hitachi City, Ibaraki, Ltd. Inside the Taga Headquarters, Electrical Equipment Division, Hitachi, Ltd. 1-1-1 Higashitagacho, Higashi-shi, Ltd. Electric Appliances Division, Hitachi Ltd., Hitachi, Ltd. (72) Inventor Yasushi Nobuko 1-1-1, Higashitagacho, Hitachi-shi, Ibaraki Ltd. Electric Appliances Division, Hitachi Ltd. Inside Taga Headquarters

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A motor for driving a washing / dehydrating tank or a stirring blade, a controller for automatically performing washing, rinsing, and dehydrating steps, a water supply device for automatically supplying water to a set water level by the controller, and the controller. With a drainage device that automatically drains water, a clutch device that switches between the washing and dewatering tub and the stirring blades, and a function that detects the counter electromotive force of the voltage across the capacitor terminals when the motor is off, the water supply device is energized. At the same time, in a washing process that employs a rotary water supply rinsing process that rotates the washing / dehydrating tub in one direction, the rotation speed of the motor is determined by the counter electromotive force of the voltage across the capacitor terminals detected when the motor is off during the dehydration process. A method for controlling a fully automatic washing machine, which is characterized by detecting 2. The fully automatic washing according to claim 1, wherein in the rotary water rinsing step, the washing / dehydrating tub is rotated in one direction while supplying water to the washing / dehydrating tub without energizing the drainage device. Control method. 3. The rotating speed of the motor according to claim 1, wherein the counter electromotive force of the voltage between the capacitor terminals detected when the motor is off during the dehydration step is converted into a DC short-wave pulse, and A method of controlling a fully automatic washing machine that detects the number of rotations by measuring the value of the time width. 4. In claim 3, when the value of the time width between the pulses does not satisfy the condition of the set value, the dehydration step is stopped and water is supplied to the washing / dehydrating tank by the water supply device up to the set water level, After that, the method for controlling a fully automatic washing machine is to perform rinsing and agitation with the agitating blade, and after the drainage process, shift to the next dehydration process. 5. The method for controlling a fully automatic washing machine according to claim 3, wherein when the value of the time width between pulses does not satisfy the set value condition, a normal dehydration process is performed.