JPH09239189A - Full automatic washing device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To enhance the washing effect of a strong washing course. SOLUTION: A user, when wanting to wash the laundry under a standard washing force, specifies the 'standard course' and he/she specifies the 'strong course' when wanting to wash the heavily soiled laundry. Then, an agitator is rotated over the preset short time before feeding water for a washing process, and the volume of the laundry is judged at three steps of 'large', 'medium' and 'small' on the basis of the rotation of the agitator. When the volume of the laundry is identified as large, the level of wash water is set high, while the level is set at a medium, when the volume of the laundry is identified as medium. Also, the level is set low, when the volume of the laundry is identified as small. Furthermore, when the volume is identified as small (small quantity) and the 'strong course' is specified, the water level is set extremely low below the low water level.

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 in which the water level is automatically set according to the amount of laundry stored in a washing tub.

[0002]

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] For example, washing, rinsing,
In a fully automatic washing machine that automatically executes a series of steps such as dehydration, in recent years, the amount of laundry stored in the washing tub (the amount of laundry) is determined, and based on the determination result, the optimum There is provided one that controls the washing operation by automatically setting the water level, the washing time, the strength of the water flow (the time when the motor is repeatedly turned on and off during the washing operation), and the like.

In this case, the amount of cloth is determined, for example, by rotating the agitator for a predetermined short period of time before supplying water in the washing process and detecting the rotational load thereof.
Judgment is made in three steps, medium and small. When the amount of cloth is large, the washing water level is set to a high water level, when the amount of cloth is medium, the washing water level is set to a medium water level, and when the amount of cloth is small, the washing water level is set to a low water level and the washing operation is executed. In addition, the washing time and the strength of the water flow are slightly changed depending on the amount of cloth used.

By the way, in this type of washing machine, the "standard course" in which the washing operation is executed with the standard washing power
In addition, a "strong course" is provided to wash particularly dirty clothes such as work clothes and jeans with higher detergency so that the user can select the desired course by operating the operation panel. There is.

At this time, conventionally, when the "strong course" is selected, the washing time is made longer than the washing time set in the "standard course" (for example, 11 minutes is set to 12 minutes). , Or turning on the motor when washing,
The off time limit is changed from the "standard course" time period to strengthen the water flow (for example, 1.2 seconds on-0.9 seconds off,
By turning on for 1.4 seconds-off for 0.9 seconds), a strong cleaning power is obtained.

[0006] In such a conventional "strong course",
It has a certain effect in obtaining higher cleaning power than the "standard course". However, according to the research conducted by the present inventor, the above-mentioned "strong course" operation specifications may not always be the optimum operation specifications in order to obtain a strong cleaning power, and there is room for improvement. It turned out that

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a fully automatic washing machine capable of further improving the washing effect when the washing operation is performed with a washing power higher than the standard washing power.

[0008]

[Means for Solving the Problems] The washing water level in the washing tub during the washing operation is such that the laundry is efficiently stirred by the flow of the washing water and the amount of the laundry is large so that the amount of water used is appropriately suppressed. Is set according to the amount of cloth, such as when the water level is high and when the water level is low the water level is low. Conventionally, when the amount of cloth is the same, the washing operation is performed with a constant washing water level regardless of whether a standard washing power or a higher washing power is desired.

However, according to the research conducted by the present inventor, for example, when the washing time and the on / off time of the stirring motor are constant, the relative washing water level with respect to the amount of cloth is set to high, medium, or low. Between the cloth amount and the cleaning power of
It was found that there is a relationship as shown in (a). That is, when the amount of cloth is relatively large, the higher the water level is, the higher the detergency can be obtained. On the contrary, when the amount of cloth is small, the lower the water level is, the higher the detergency can be obtained. Of. This is because when the amount of cloth is large, the water level must be relatively high when the water level is low, and the fabric level around the laundry must be relatively low. It is considered that this is because a large stirring force of the laundry is obtained by being directly transmitted to the laundry.

Further, the present inventor changed the on / off time limit of the stirring motor shown in FIG. 1 (a) to a time period in which the on time was increased, and investigated the effect of improving the stirring force.
As shown by the broken line in FIG. 1B (the middle of the water level is omitted), it was found that the effect of improving the cleaning power is extremely large when the amount of cloth is small and the water level is low compared to other cases. .
This is because when the water level is low when the water level is low as described above, the agitation force of the agitator is directly transmitted to the laundry to enhance the agitation effect, but when the water level is high or the fiber level is high, It is considered that this is because the stirring force due to the water flow mainly acts on the laundry and the efficiency with which the stirring force of the stirring body is directly transmitted is poor.

In the fully automatic washing machine according to claim 1 of the present invention, it is determined that the amount of laundry stored in the washing tub is small,
In addition, when a specific course for performing a washing operation with a washing power higher than the standard washing power is specified, the washing water level is changed to
It is characterized in that it is set to an extremely low water level lower than the standard wash water level according to the amount of cloth. This allows
When a specific course is designated and the amount of cloth is small, the washing operation can be performed with an extremely high cleaning power by making the water level relatively low.

Even in the course for obtaining standard detergency, lowering the water level can increase detergency and eventually shorten the washing time. However, lowering the water level is as described above. In addition, the stirring force of the stirrer is directly transmitted to the laundry, and the laundry may be damaged. Therefore, in the course for obtaining standard cleaning power, from the viewpoint of preventing damage to the cloth, wash operation is performed at the standard wash water level, and for example, work clothes, jeans, exercise clothes, etc. are relatively strong and dirty. Only if you wash a small amount of clothes that become large, you should use the extremely low water level.

Further, the fully automatic washing machine according to claim 2 of the present invention makes it possible to specify a specific course for performing a washing operation with a washing power higher than the standard washing power for a small amount of laundry,
When the specific course is designated, the feature is that the wash water level is set to an extremely low water level lower than the standard wash water level for a small amount of laundry. According to this, the user can perform the washing operation with a high cleaning power by relatively lowering the water level by designating the specific course.

In this case, when the washing operation is performed with the washing water level extremely low, if the amount of cloth in the washing tub exceeds the small amount range, not only the effect of improving the detergency cannot be obtained.
There is a risk of damage to the cloth. Therefore, if the cloth amount judged by the cloth amount judging means exceeds the small amount range when the specific course is designated, the wash water level is set to the standard wash water level corresponding to the cloth amount. At the same time, by notifying that effect by the notifying means (the fully automatic washing machine according to claim 3), it is possible to prevent the inconvenience as described above and inform the user accordingly.

By the way, when the washing operation is carried out with a washing power higher than the standard washing power, there is a situation in which foaming by the detergent is relatively large, and the foaming in the next rinsing step becomes poor and a large amount of water is lost. Or it may take time. In the fully automatic washing machine according to the fourth aspect of the present invention, at the time of draining after the washing operation, the foam removing operation for rotating the washing tub at a low speed is performed while performing both water supply and drainage. Thus, by rotating the washing tub at a low speed while performing both water supply and drainage, the remaining bubbles can be effectively drained.

[0016]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Several embodiments in which the present invention is applied to a so-called one-tab type fully automatic washing machine will be described below with reference to the drawings. (1) First Embodiment First, a first embodiment of the present invention (corresponding to claims 1 and 4) will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 6.

FIG. 4 schematically shows the entire structure of the fully automatic washing machine according to this embodiment, in which an outer tub 2 is elastically suspended in an outer box 1 having a substantially rectangular box shape. It is provided via the mechanism 3. A washing tub 4 serving as a washing tub and a dewatering tub is rotatably provided in the outer tub 2, and an agitator (pulsator) 5 for water flow generation is provided at an inner bottom portion of the washing tub 4. .

A motor 6 such as an induction motor is provided on the outer bottom portion of the outer tub 2, and the rotational force of the motor 6 is transmitted via a belt 7 to wash the tub 4 and the agitator 5. A mechanism portion 8 for rotating and driving the is provided. Although a detailed description is omitted, the agitator 5 is rotated forward and backward in a predetermined mode (time period) in the washing and rinsing strokes by the motor 6 and the mechanical unit 8 to perform dehydration and intermediate dehydration. In the process such as the above, the washing tub 4 is rotated together with the stirring body 5.

Further, in the rotary shaft portion of the motor 6,
A rotation sensor 9 (shown only in FIG. 3) for detecting the rotation speed of the motor 6 is provided. Although not shown in detail, the rotation sensor 9 is composed of, for example, eight permanent magnets mounted around the rotation axis of the motor 6 and a Hall IC for detecting changes in the magnetic flux. It outputs four pulses per rotation. The detection signal of the rotation sensor 9 is also used for determining the amount of laundry to be described later.

A drainage channel 10 for draining water from the washing tub 4 is provided at the bottom of the outer tub 2, and a drainage hose 12 is connected to the drainage channel 10 via a drainage valve 11. ing. A drain port 13 for draining water from the outer tub 2 is provided at the bottom of the outer tub 2, and the drain port 13 is connected to the drain hose 12. further,
An air trap 14 is connected to the drainage channel 10, and a water level sensor 16 (FIG. 3), which is a pressure sensor, is connected to the air trap 14 via an air hose 15 (only part of which is shown).
(Shown only in) is connected. The water level sensor 16 detects the water level in the washing tub 4.

On the other hand, a balance ring 17 is attached to the upper end portion of the washing tub 4 so that the washing liquid (water) in the washing tub 4 is discharged through the balance ring 17 at the time of dehydration. The dehydration hole 18 is provided.
At the upper end of the outer tub 2, a trough cover 19 having a substantially ring shape is provided, and an inner lid 20 for opening and closing the opening of the trough cover 19 is provided. This inner lid 2
At 0, a concave portion 21 having a large number of water passage holes is formed on the rear side.

A top cover 22 is provided at the upper end of the outer box 1. The top cover 22 is provided with a laundry entrance / exit, and a foldable lid 23 for opening / closing the entrance / exit. In addition, the water supply valve 2 is provided on the rear side portion of the top cover 22.
4, a water injection case 25 having a detergent reservoir, and the like are provided. Thus, by opening the water supply valve 24, the water from the water supply source passes through the water injection case 25 and the inner lid 20.
The water is supplied to the concave portion 21 of the above, and the water becomes a shower shape and is supplied into the washing tub 4.
By previously storing the detergent in the detergent storage section, the detergent can be automatically added together with the water supply when the washing operation is started.

At the front side portion of the top cover 22, an operation panel 26 is provided on the upper surface, and a control circuit 27 including a microcomputer is provided on the rear surface side. There is. On the operation panel 26,
As shown in FIG. 5, various switches such as a power switch 28, a start switch 29, a course setting switch 30, and various manual setting switches 31 are provided, and in order to display the set course and various messages. The display unit 32 is provided.

In this case, as a course of the automatic washing operation, a "standard course" which can obtain a standard detergency, particularly a "strong course" which is a specific course used when washing heavily soiled laundry, and a dry mark are used. There are "dry mark course" for washing clothes, "blanket course", "hand wash course", and "bath water course" for using bath water. By operating the course setting switch 30, the user can select a desired one. The course can be selected and specified. Therefore, the course setting switch 30 functions as a course setting means.

The control circuit 27, as shown in FIG.
Signals from various switches 28 to 31, the water level sensor 16, and the rotation sensor 9 of the operation panel 26 are received. Then, based on these various input signals, RO
According to the control program stored in M, the motor 6, the drain valve 11, the water supply valve 24, via the drive circuit 33,
The display unit 32 of the operation panel 26 functions as a control unit that controls the buzzer 34 or the like that sounds at the end of washing or when an error occurs, so that the washing operation is executed.

In this case, when each course relating to the above-mentioned automatic operation is set, the control circuit 27 automatically executes a series of steps such as washing, rinsing and dehydrating according to the control program for each course. It has become. At this time, as will be described in detail later in the description of the operation, in the washing process, the motor 6 (stirring body 5) is normally and reversely rotated at predetermined ON / OFF times to wash at a predetermined water flow intensity. When the "strong course" is set, the washing operation is executed at the on / off time periods in which the on time is longer than that in the "standard course". Further, as will be described later, when the "strong course" is set, after the washing operation, the foam removal operation and the intermediate dehydration are performed, and then the rinsing is performed.

In addition, the control circuit 27 has a software configuration so that the washing tub 4 can be used for executing the automatic operation.
It is designed to determine the amount of laundry contained in the laundry. This cloth amount determination is performed, for example, when the agitator 5 is rotated by energizing the motor 6 for a short time in a dry state of the laundry,
The rotation load of the agitator 5 changes according to the amount of laundry, and the rotation speed of the motor 6 changes accordingly, so that the motor 6 is energized for a predetermined short time before starting the water supply in the washing process. Then, the number of rotations at that time is detected by the rotation sensor 9, and the detected value is compared with a threshold value. In this case, the amount of cloth is judged in three stages of large, medium and small. There is. Therefore, the control circuit 27, the rotation sensor 9 and the like constitute a cloth amount judging means.

Then, the control circuit 27 sets the washing water level, the washing time, and the ON / OFF time limit of the washing operation according to the determined amount of cloth. At this time, as shown in FIG. 4, when the amount of cloth is determined to be large, the wash water level is set to a high water level, when it is determined to be medium, it is set to a medium water level, and when it is determined to be small, it is set to a low water level. However, here, when it is determined that the cloth amount is small (small amount) and the "strong course" is specified, the wash water level is set to an extremely low water level lower than the low water level. It has become.

Next, the operation of the above configuration will be described with reference to FIGS. 1, 2 and 6. In washing automatically, the user stores the laundry and the required detergent in the washing tub 4 and operates the course setting switch 30 on the operation panel 26 to specify a desired course. At this time, specify "Standard course" if you want to wash with standard washing power, and specify "Strong course" if you want to wash dirty clothes such as work clothes and jeans. . In addition, when specifying the "standard course",
It is not necessary to operate the course setting switch 30. Further, other courses are not directly related to the gist of the present invention, and thus the description thereof will be omitted.

Subsequently, when the user turns on the start switch 29 to start the washing operation, the cloth amount determination as described above is performed before the water supply in the washing process. Then, after this, the water is supplied up to the predetermined water level and the washing operation is started. However, depending on the result of the cloth amount determination, the water level in the washing process, the washing time, and the on / off time limit of the motor 6 are as shown in FIG. It is designed to be set as shown in.

That is, when the amount of cloth is large, the wash water level is set to a high water level for both the "standard course" and the "strong course" and the wash time is set to 12 minutes. When the amount of cloth is medium, the wash water level is set to medium water level and the wash time is set to 11 minutes in both the "standard course" and the "strong course".

When the amount of cloth is small, the wash water level is set to a low water level and the wash time is set to 10 minutes in the "standard course", but the wash water level is set in the "strong course". It is set to a very low water level and the wash time is set to 7 minutes. Further, the on / off time of the motor 6 is set such that the "strong course" has a longer on time and the water flow intensity becomes larger than that of the "standard course".

With this, the water supply and the washing operation are carried out based on this setting. However, when the "standard course" is designated, the cloth amount corresponding to any of the three levels is obtained. The washing operation is carried out with the appropriate water level, washing time and water flow strength, and thus a standard washing power is obtained. Also, in this "standard course", the damage to the laundry is relatively small.

On the other hand, when the "strong course" is designated, when the amount of cloth is large and medium, the water level, washing time and strength of water flow corresponding to the corresponding amount of cloth are the same as in the case of the "standard course". Now the washing operation is executed. At this time, since the strength of the water flow becomes larger than that of the "standard course", the washing time is the same as that of the "standard course", but the washing power higher than the standard washing power can be obtained. However,
When the amount of cloth is small (small amount), the washing operation is executed at an extremely low water level lower than the water level (low water level) corresponding to the amount of cloth.

Here, the reason why the wash water level is made extremely low instead of being low when the amount of cloth is small is as follows.
That is, according to the research conducted by the present inventor, for example, when the washing time and the on / off time of the motor 6 are constant, the washing amount relative to the washing amount is high, medium, or low. It has been found that there is a relationship between the cleaning power and the cleaning power as shown in FIG.

That is, when the amount of cloth is relatively large, the higher the water level is, the higher the cleaning power can be obtained. On the contrary, when the amount of cloth is small, the lower the water level is, the higher the cleaning power can be obtained. It was possible. This is because when the amount of cloth is large, when the water level is low, the cloth wrapping around the laundry deteriorates, so the water level must be relatively high. On the other hand, when the amount of cloth is low, the water level is low and the stirring body 5 is stirred. It is considered that this is because the force is directly transmitted to the laundry and a large stirring force of the laundry is obtained.

Further, the present inventor investigated the effect of improving the stirring force by changing the on / off time limit of the motor 6 in FIG. 1 (a) to a time limit in which the on time was increased.
As shown by the broken line in (b) (the middle of the water level is omitted), it was found that the effect of improving the detergency is extremely large when the amount of cloth is small and the water level is low compared to other cases. This is because when the water level is low when the amount of cloth is small as described above, the stirring force of the agitator 5 is directly transmitted to the laundry and the stirring effect becomes higher, but the water level is high and the amount of cloth is large. It is considered that the washing force is sometimes affected mainly by the stirring force of the water flow, which is inferior in the efficiency with which the stirring force of the stirring member is directly transmitted.

Therefore, when the amount of cloth is small and the "strong course" is specified, the extremely low water level is adopted as described above, and therefore the washing operation should be performed with an extremely high washing power. Can be done. As a result, the washing time could be shortened compared to the case of the "standard course".

Even in the "standard course", it is considered that if the washing water level is set to an extremely low water level, the cleaning power can be increased and the washing time can be shortened. The agitation force of the body 5 is directly transmitted to the laundry, which may increase the damage to the laundry. Therefore, in the "standard course", it is better to carry out the washing operation at the standard wash water level. Further, from the results of FIG. 1, it is considered that the higher the washing water level is, the higher the cleaning effect is when the amount of cloth is large or medium. However, raising the water level too much increases the amount of water used and water supply. Since the drainage time increases, it is desirable to have an appropriate wash water level that is well balanced with them.

By the way, when the above washing process is completed,
After drainage, rinsing and dehydration processes are performed in sequence. At this time, in the “standard course”, the intermediate dehydration process is executed before the rinsing process. This intermediate dewatering is performed by rotating the washing tub 4 at a high speed with the drain valve 11 left open while a small amount of washing liquid remains in the washing tub 4 during drainage. The amount of detergent contained is discharged as much as possible to reduce the amount of water used and the time for rinsing for the next time.

However, in the washing process in the above-mentioned "strong course", there is a reason that foaming by the detergent is relatively large, and the defoaming in the next rinsing process becomes worse, and a lot of water and time may be required. There is. Therefore, in this embodiment, in the "strong course", the process shown in Fig. 6 is executed after the washing process is completed. In addition, the time of each stroke shown in FIG. 6 shows an example in the case of high water level (large amount of cloth), and in the case of medium water level or extremely low water level, water supply time, drainage time, etc. are short. Become.

That is, when the washing process is completed, the drain valve 11
Is discharged for draining, and when, for example, 1 minute elapses from the start of draining, the bubble removing operation is executed for 15 seconds, for example. This bubble removal operation is performed by the drain valve 11
With the water left open, the water supply valve 24 is opened to supply water, while the motor 6 rotates the washing tub 4 at a low speed (for example, 30 r).
pm). By this bubble removal operation, the remaining bubbles can be effectively drained.

When this bubble removal operation is performed for 15 seconds, the water supply valve 24 is closed and the intermediate dehydration process is performed. This intermediate dehydration is performed by rotating the washing tub 4 at a high speed (for example, 950 rpm) while keeping the drain valve 11 open as described above, and as a result, the detergent component contained in the laundry is discharged as much as possible. can do. When this intermediate dewatering is performed for, for example, 2 minutes, the foam removal operation similar to the above is again performed for 40 seconds, and the intermediate dewatering is further performed for 2 minutes.

Then, after the drain valve 11 is closed,
Water is supplied up to the high water level, and the rinsing process is executed. Therefore, the rinsing is performed by intermittently rotating the stirring body 5 forward and backward. For this reason, rinsing is performed for a total of, for example, 1 minute and 30 seconds, drainage is performed for 40 seconds, and then a dehydration process is performed for, for example, 4 minutes and 30 seconds. In this case, the bubbles and the remaining detergent component are effectively drained by the foam removing operation and the intermediate dehydration, so that the process of storing and rinsing can be completed with a small amount of water used and in a short time.

As described above, according to this embodiment, when the amount of cloth is judged to be small (small amount) and the "strong course" is designated, the washing water level is set to an extremely low water level and the washing operation is performed. As a result, the cleaning effect can be further improved, and efficient cleaning operation can be executed. Further, in the present embodiment, since the foam removal operation is executed after the washing operation in the "strong course", even if there is a large amount of foaming in the washing process, it is possible to effectively perform the rinsing. is there.

(2) Second to Fourth Embodiments Next, a second embodiment of the present invention (corresponding to claims 3 and 4)
Will be described with reference to FIGS. 7 to 9. In addition, in the present embodiment, regarding the configuration of each mechanism of the fully automatic washing machine,
Since most parts are common to the first embodiment, common parts are designated by the same reference numerals, and detailed description and new illustration will be omitted.

7 and 8 show the main structure of the operation panel 41 in this embodiment. This operation panel 41
Is provided with a start switch 29, a course setting switch 42 and a separate washing switch 43 for setting the course of the automatic washing operation, various manual setting switches 31 and the like for displaying the selected course. The course display unit 44, a message display unit 45 that functions as a notification unit for displaying a message prompting an inspection, and the like are provided.

In this case, by operating the course setting switch 42, one of the courses of the automatic washing operation is selected.
"Standard course" for standard washing power, "Blanket course" for washing blankets, "Hand wash course" for washing woolen clothes, "Drymark course" for washing Drymark clothing, laundry Any of the "tank cleaning courses" for cleaning the tank 4 can be selected. The "standard course" is automatically selected when the course setting switch 42 (and the separate washing switch 43) is not operated.

By operating the separate washing switch 43, there are a "dronko course" for separately washing dirty and ordinary clothes, and a "lingerie course" for separately washing underwear and other clothes. Either of them can be selected and specified. In the present embodiment, the "dronko course" corresponds to a specific course in which a particularly small amount of heavily washed laundry is washed with high cleaning power, and the separate washing switch 43 functions as a course setting means.

In the above "Doronko course", the wash water level of the washing operation for the first heavily soiled laundry is set to an extremely low water level. Then, in the present embodiment, when the "doronko course" is specified, the amount of laundry to be washed is determined before the water supply in the washing process is started, and the result exceeds the small amount range. On the other hand, the execution of the "Doronko course" is stopped and switched to the execution of the "standard course", and that effect is displayed on the message display section 45.

In the above-mentioned structure, when the user wants to separately wash a small amount of partially soiled laundry such as athletic clothes among the laundry that can be washed at one time, the laundry that is heavily soiled can be washed. It is accommodated in the washing tub 4 together with the detergent, and the "dronko course" is designated by operating the separate washing switch 43 of the operation panel 41. At this time, as shown in FIG. 7, “dronko” lights up on the course display portion 44 of the operation panel 41. The user turns on the start switch 29 in this state.

Then, as shown in the flowchart of FIG. 9, the amount of laundry to be washed is determined (step S1). The amount of laundry is small in the first washing step of this "Doroko course". Therefore, it is determined whether or not the cloth amount is within the small amount range in the next step S2. Then, only when the determined amount of cloth is within the small amount range (Yes in step S2), the "dronko course" is executed (step S).
3).

In this "Doronko course", first, water is supplied to an extremely low water level, and then a washing operation is executed.
At this time, as described in the first embodiment, the washing operation can be performed with an extremely high cleaning power, and even a heavily soiled laundry can be sufficiently soiled in a short time. When this washing operation is completed, drainage is performed and then dehydration is performed. When the steps up to this point are completed, the washing machine is put into a temporary stop state, and the buzzer 34 sounds in a predetermined pattern.

The user can know the end of the first washing process by hearing the sound of the buzzer 34, put the remaining laundry and detergent in the washing tub 4, and then start the switch 29 again. Turn on. Then, a series of steps of washing, rinsing and dehydrating the entire laundry is sequentially executed.

On the other hand, the user tries to start the first washing process of the "Doronko course" by inserting a laundry amount exceeding the small amount range without knowing or by mistake (turning on the start switch 29). Operation).
In this case, that is, when the amount of cloth is medium or large,
If the washing operation is performed at an extremely low water level,
As is clear from (a), it becomes impossible to obtain a good washing effect, and the effect of separate washing cannot be obtained.

Therefore, in this embodiment, when it is determined that the cloth amount exceeds the small amount range (N in step S2).
o), the course is changed to the "standard course" and the laundry operation is executed, and the fact is displayed on the course display section 44 and the message display section 45 (step S4). The display at this time is as shown in FIG.
The display of the course display portion 44 is switched to "standard", and the message display portion 45 displays that the execution of the "dronko course" is impossible due to the overweight.

According to the present embodiment as described above, when the "Dronko course" which is the specific course is designated, the washing operation is executed at an extremely low water level, so that the washing operation is performed with a high detergency. It is possible. Then, only when the amount of cloth is within the range of a small amount, the washing water level is set to an extremely low water level and the washing operation is performed, and when the amount of cloth exceeds the range, the standard amount corresponding to the amount of cloth is applied. Since the washing operation is performed at the washing water level, it is possible to prevent the problem that the effect of improving the washing power cannot be obtained. Further, when the course is changed, the fact is displayed, so that the user can easily understand the change of the course and the reason thereof.

FIG. 10 shows a third embodiment of the present invention. The difference between this embodiment and the second embodiment is that when the "dronko course" is executed, when the cloth amount determined in step S1 exceeds the small amount range (No in step S2). , An error is displayed (step S5), and the operation of the washing machine is stopped (step S).
6) It is in the place where it did. With such a configuration, it is possible to obtain substantially the same effect as that of the second embodiment.

Finally, FIG. 11 shows a fourth embodiment of the present invention. In this example, the "standard course",
"Strong course" and specific course "Dronko course"
FIG. 11 shows setting conditions (washing water level and ON / OFF time limit of the motor 6) at the time of washing operation (first washing step in the “Dronko course”) in each of these courses. Also, together with this, the cleaning ratio in each course is shown.

In this embodiment, when the amount of cloth is small, the wash water level is set to a low water level in the "strong course", and the wash time is the same as that of the standard case (for example, 10 minutes). Then, only in the case of "Dronko course" (a small amount of cloth), an extremely low water level is adopted to obtain an extremely high cleaning ratio. According to this, in the case of "strong course", it will not cause much cloth damage,
Only during the Doronko Course, you can effectively wash heavily soiled laundry. Even in the "strong course", when the amount of cloth is small, an extremely low water level may be adopted.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments. For example, in the first embodiment, the bubble removing operation is repeated twice, but it may be performed only once or three times or more. This defoaming operation may be performed only when the wash water level is extremely low, and may be changed appropriately within the range deviating from the gist. is there.

[0062]

As apparent from the above description, according to the present invention, the following excellent effects can be obtained.
That is, according to the fully automatic washing machine of claim 1, when the amount of cloth is relatively large, the higher the water level is, the higher the cleaning power can be obtained.
Based on the finding that the lower the water level is, the higher the detergency can be obtained, it is determined that the amount of laundry stored in the washing tub is small, and the detergency higher than the standard detergency is used. When a specific course for executing the washing operation is designated, the wash water level is set to an extremely low water level, which is lower than the standard wash water level according to the amount of cloth, so the washing effect is further improved. It is possible to perform efficient washing operation.

Further, according to the fully automatic washing machine of claim 2 of the present invention, it is possible to specify a specific course for performing a washing operation with a washing power higher than the standard washing power for a small amount of laundry. , When the specific course is specified, the wash water level is set to an extremely low water level lower than the standard wash water level for a small amount of laundry, so the user can specify the specific course. The washing operation can be performed with extremely high washing power.

In this case, if the cloth amount judged by the cloth amount judging means exceeds the small amount range when the specific course is designated, the washing water level is changed to a standard washing according to the cloth amount. If the water level is set and the fact is notified by the notification means (the fully automatic washing machine according to claim 3),
It is possible to prevent a problem that the effect of improving the detergency cannot be obtained, and it becomes easy for the user to understand that the course has been changed.

Furthermore, when the specific course is designated, when the water is drained after the washing operation, a foam removing operation is performed in which the washing tub is rotated at a low speed while performing both the water supply and the water drainage. 4th invention), when the washing operation is executed with high washing power, even if there is a relatively large amount of foaming by the detergent, the remaining foam can be effectively drained, and thus an effective rinse can be performed. Is what you can do.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a first embodiment of the present invention, showing the relationship between the amount of cloth and the cleaning power.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing setting conditions for washing operation.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing an electrical configuration centering on a control circuit.

FIG. 4 is a vertical sectional side view showing the overall configuration of a fully automatic washing machine.

FIG. 5 is a plan view of an operation panel.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a process after washing is completed.

FIG. 7 shows a second embodiment of the present invention, and is a plan view of the main part of the operation panel.

FIG. 8 is a view corresponding to FIG. 7 showing a state where the courses are switched.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure when a Doronko course is designated.

FIG. 10 is a view corresponding to FIG. 9 showing a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 11 shows a fourth embodiment of the present invention and is a diagram showing setting conditions for washing operation.

[Explanation of symbols]

In the drawings, 1 is an outer box, 2 is an outer tub, 4 is a washing tub, 5 is an agitator, 6 is a motor, 9 is a rotation sensor, 11 is a drain valve, 16
Is a water level sensor, 24 is a water supply valve, 26 and 41 are operation panels, 27 is a control circuit, 29 is a start switch, 30,
42 is a course setting switch, 34 is a buzzer, 43 is a separate washing switch, 44 is a course display section, and 45 is a message display section.

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A cloth amount determination means for determining the amount of laundry stored in a washing tub, and a water supply means for supplying water at a wash water level set according to the determination by the cloth amount determination means during a washing operation. , Comprising a course setting means for designating a specific course for performing a washing operation having a higher detergency than the standard detergency, and the amount of cloth judged by the cloth amount judging means is a small amount,
Moreover, when a specific course is designated by the course setting means, the wash water level is set to an extremely low water level lower than the standard wash water level for a small amount according to the cloth amount. Fully automatic washing machine. 2. A cloth amount determination means for determining the amount of laundry stored in the washing tub, and a water supply means for supplying water at a wash water level set according to the determination by the cloth amount determination means during a washing operation. A course setting means for designating a specific course for performing a washing operation with a washing power higher than the standard washing power for a small amount of laundry, and the specific course is designated by the course setting means. In this case, the fully automatic washing machine is characterized in that the wash water level is set to an extremely low water level lower than the standard wash water level for a small amount of laundry. 3. When a specific course is designated, when the cloth amount judged by the cloth amount judging means exceeds the small amount range, the washing water level is a standard washing corresponding to the cloth amount. The fully automatic washing machine according to claim 2, wherein the water level is set and the notification means notifies that effect. 4. When a specific course is designated, a bubble removing operation for rotating the washing tub at a low speed while performing both water supply and drainage is executed at the time of draining after the washing operation. The fully automatic washing machine according to any one of 1 to 3.