JPH10235079A - Fully automatic washing machine - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To effectively prevent the washing from flying out by arranging, on the opening part of a water tank, an optical sensor consisting of a light projecting part and a light receiving part arranged opposite to each other with the opening part, and stopping the rotation of a spin basket when the flying out of the washing from the spin basket in dehydrating process is detected. SOLUTION: When a spin basket 8 and a pulsator 9 are rotated at high speed by motor 5 after the rinsing of the washing housed in the spin basket 8 is finished, the washing is dehydrated. When the washing flies out from the opening part 8a of the spin basket 8, the light is temporarily shielded by the washing, and the light from a light projector 14b is not incident on a light receiver 15b, or the incident quantity is significantly reduced. A control device 13 judges from this that the washing partially flies out from the spin basket 8. On the basis of this judgment, the feed to the motor 5 is stopped, and the brake mechanism of a rotation control mechanism 6 is operated to perfectly stop the rotation of the spin basket 8.

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, and more particularly to a fully automatic washing machine in which a dewatering tub is concentrically arranged in a water tub. Regarding improvement.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A conventional fully automatic washing machine of this type is constructed as shown in FIGS. In the figure,
Reference numeral 1 denotes a washing machine main body, which is formed in a substantially box shape having an opening 1a at an upper portion, and a lid 2 is attached to the opening 1a so as to be openable and closable. This washing machine body 1
Inside, a bottomed cylindrical water tank 3 is supported in a suspended manner by a support member 4 such as four hanging rods.
A motor 5 is disposed at an end of the outer surface of the bottom of the water tank 3, and a rotation control mechanism 6 is disposed at a central portion thereof. Each pulley is connected by a belt 7. or,
A dehydration tub 8 having a plurality of dehydration holes is disposed substantially all over the inside of the water tub 3, and a pulsator 9 is rotatably disposed at the bottom of the dehydration tub 8.
Together with the rotation control mechanism 6.

The above-mentioned rotation control mechanism 6 includes, for example, a clutch for appropriately switching between a mode for transmitting rotational driving force only to the pulsator 9 and a mode for transmitting rotational driving force to the dehydrating tub 8 and the pulsator 9, And a brake mechanism for applying a brake to rotation. Dewatering tank 8
An annular balancer 10 containing, for example, salt water is fixed to the opening 8a, and a dewatering cover CV is detachably mounted. In particular, the dewatering tub 8 is provided with a cover switch CVS (not shown) that is closed by attaching the dewatering cover CV to the opening 8a. The cover switch CVS is opened when the dewatering cover CV is detached from the opening 8a.

Further, a donut-shaped water tank cover 11 is fixed to the opening of the water tank 3 so that the opening 8a of the dewatering tank 8 is not substantially reduced. And the dewatering tank 8 is prevented from entering the space. A drain valve 1 is provided at the bottom of the water tank 3.
2 are arranged, and the water tank 3
Of washing water is drained. A control device 13 is disposed at an upper portion of the main body of the washing machine, and the motor 5, the rotation control mechanism 6, the drain valve 12, and the like are controlled based on the control device. In particular, when the cover switch CVS is closed, the control device 13 controls the motor 5 to rotate, and when the cover switch CVS is opened, the rotation of the motor 5 is stopped and at the same time, the rotation control mechanism 6 is stopped. Is controlled so that the brake mechanism is operated to apply a brake to the dewatering tub 8.

[0005] This fully automatic washing machine
Dehydration is performed as follows. First, the lid 2 is opened, a predetermined amount of water and a detergent are charged into the water tank 3, and mixed well. Subsequently, the laundry is stored in the dewatering tub 8, the dewatering cover CV is attached to the opening 8 a of the dewatering tub 8, and the lid 2 is closed. When the switch is turned on, the motor 5 rotates under the control of the control device 13. The rotation of the motor 5 is transmitted to a rotation control mechanism 6 via a belt 7. The mode of the rotation control mechanism 6 is set so that only the pulsator 9 is rotated by the clutch operation. Accordingly, the rotation of the pulsator 9 is controlled based on the rotation of the motor 5, whereby the laundry is washed. Next, when the washing is completed, the drain valve 12 is opened by the control device 13, the washing water is discharged, and the rinsing is performed. When the rinsing is completed, the rotation control mechanism 6 is switched to a mode in which the dewatering tub 8 and the pulsator 9 rotate by a clutch operation based on a command from the control device 13. When the switching is completed, the rotation of the motor 5 is transmitted to the dewatering tank 8 and the pulsator 9, and both rotate at high speed. Thereby, the laundry is dehydrated. After a certain period of time, when the rotation of the motor 5 is stopped, the control device 13 simultaneously activates the brake mechanism to apply a brake to the rotation of the dewatering tub 8, and the rotation is stopped in a short time.
After that, the lid 2 and the dehydrating cover CV are opened, and the laundry and dehydration are completed by taking out the laundry.

[0006]

According to this fully automatic washing machine, although the washing and dehydration of the laundry can be automatically performed, the following disadvantages are involved in the dehydration process. May occur.

That is, when the laundry stored in the dewatering tub 8 is shifted to the dehydration process in a state where the laundry is unevenly distributed, the laundry to be washed out of the dehydration tub 8 by centrifugal force. In a normal case, although the jumping out of the dewatering tub 8 is prevented by the presence of the dewatering cover CV, when the centrifugal force acting on the laundry increases, the dewatering cover CV is lifted and the cover switch CVS is opened. Sisters,
Dehydration of the laundry cannot be performed reliably,
There is a problem that the dewatering cover CV is damaged by the jumping out of the laundry.

[0008] In addition, since the dehydration cover CV must be attached to the dehydration tub 8 at the time of washing, there is a problem that not only the preparation work at the time of washing becomes complicated but also the cost increases.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a fully automatic washing machine capable of effectively preventing a laundry from jumping out of a spin tub in a spin dehydrating process with a relatively simple structure.

[0010]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, in order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the present invention provides a box-shaped washing machine main body having an opening at an upper part, and a plurality of supporting members suspended in the washing machine main body. A water tank supported in the water tank, a dehydration tank arranged rotatably in the water tank, a pulsator arranged in the dehydration tank, a rotation control unit for selectively controlling rotation of the dehydration tank and the pulsator, and an opening part of the water tank. An optical sensor is provided, wherein the optical sensor comprises a light projecting unit and a light receiving unit, and each is arranged so as to face the opening of the water tank with the opening of the dehydration tank interposed therebetween. I do.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, the optical sensor comprises a light projecting portion comprising a plurality of light projecting devices and a light receiving portion comprising a plurality of light receiving devices, each of which is provided in a water tank at an outer portion of the dewatering tank. The third invention is characterized in that the water tank cover is arranged at the opening of the water tank so that the opening of the dewatering tank is not substantially reduced, An optical sensor is disposed in a space between the water tank cover and the dewatering tank.
According to the invention, a partition plate is arranged between the light emitter and the light receiver adjacent to the light emitter and the light receiver, respectively.

[0012]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Next, an embodiment of a fully automatic washing machine according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.
The same parts as those of the conventional example shown in FIGS. 5 and 6 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and detailed description thereof will be omitted. The feature of this embodiment is that an optical sensor is arranged at the opening of the water tank 3,
This optical sensor is composed of a light projecting unit 14 and a light receiving unit 15, each of which is disposed so as to face the opening of the water tank 3 with the opening 8 a of the dehydration tank 8 interposed therebetween. It is composed of a light projecting portion 14 composed of a plurality of light projecting devices 14b and a light receiving portion 15 composed of a plurality of light receiving devices 15b, each of which is arranged in a substantially circumferential direction at an opening of the water tank 3 in an outer portion of the dehydration tank 8. And partition plates 14aa, 15a between the adjacent projector 14b and receiver 15b.
aa is arranged.

This optical sensor basically comprises a light projecting section 14 and a light receiving section 15. The light projecting unit 14 is, for example, a mounting body 14 in which a plurality of partition plates 14aa are arranged in parallel.
a and a light projector 14b such as a light emitting diode which emits infrared light and is disposed between the partition plates 14aa of the mounting body 14a.
It is composed of On the other hand, the light receiving unit 15 is, for example, a mounting body 15a in which a plurality of partition plates 15aa are arranged in parallel.
And a photodetector 15b such as a photodiode disposed between the partition plates 15aa of the mounting body 15a. And these mounting bodies 14a, 15a
Are fixed so that the light emitter 14b and the light receiver 15b face each other. In particular, each projector 14
b and the light receiver 15b are arranged so as to be dispersed substantially in the circumferential direction of the dewatering tank 8. The light emitted from each of the light projectors 14b is incident on each of the opposing light receivers 15b, and an output signal thereof is input to the control device 13.

Next, the operation of the fully automatic washing machine will be described. After the rinsing of the laundry stored in the dehydration tub 8 is completed, the dehydration tub 8 and the pulsator 9 rotate at high speed under the control of the control device 13, and the laundry is dehydrated. At this time, when the laundry comes out of the opening 8a of the dewatering tub 8, the light is temporarily blocked by the laundry. Then, the light from the light emitter 14b does not enter the light receiver 15b, or the amount of the incident light is significantly reduced. For this purpose, the control device 13 detects that a part of the laundry has jumped out of the dewatering tub 8, and based on this, stops the power supply to the motor 5 and stops the rotation, and at the same time, the rotation control mechanism. The rotation of the spin-drying tub 8 is completely stopped in a very short time until the laundry to be completely ejected from the spin-drying tub 8 by operating the brake mechanism 6.

According to this embodiment, since the optical sensor quickly detects the protrusion of the laundry and stops the rotation of the dehydrating tub 8, the conventionally required dehydrating cover can be omitted, and the cost can be reduced. Not only can be achieved, but also damage to peripheral components can be reliably prevented.

In particular, the light projecting section 14 and the light receiving section 15 constituting the optical sensor are respectively provided with a plurality of light projecting sections 14b and light receiving sections 1b.
5b, and is disposed in a substantially circumferential direction of the dewatering tub 8, so that any portion of the opening 8a of the dewatering tub 8 where the laundry is to be ejected can be reliably detected. can do.

Further, each of the light emitter 14b and the light receiver 15
Since the partition plates 14aa and 15aa are interposed between b, light interference does not occur, detection accuracy can be improved, and the laundry can be prevented from jumping out with higher reliability.

FIG. 4 shows another embodiment of the fully automatic washing machine according to the present invention, which is basically the same as the embodiment shown in FIGS. The difference is that the cover plates 16 and 16 are arranged in the axial direction at the portion facing the opening 8a of the dewatering tub 8, and the mesh members 17 and 17 are provided at the portion surrounded by the cover plates 16 and the inner surface of the dewatering tub. That is.

According to this embodiment, during the washing process,
When the washing water passes through the mesh members 17, 17, the lint is captured by the mesh members 17, 17, thereby preventing the lint from adhering to the laundry.

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment. For example, the light emitter and the light receiver constituting the light emitter and the light receiver of the optical sensor are not limited to the light emitting diode and the photodiode, but may be a laser diode or a light bulb. , Fluorescent lamp, CCD
Elements and the like can also be used. Also, the number of light emitters and light receivers can be appropriately increased or decreased. Further, a water tank cover attached to the opening of the water tank can be omitted as necessary.

[0021]

As described above, according to the present invention, since the optical sensor is arranged at the opening of the water tub, even if the object to be washed is going to jump out of the dehydrating tub during washing / dehydrating, the optical sensor is not used. To quickly stop the rotation of the dehydration tub. Therefore, the conventionally required dehydration cover can be omitted,
Not only can the cost be reduced, but also the peripheral components can be reliably prevented from being damaged by the protrusion of the laundry.

In particular, the light projecting portion and the light receiving portion constituting the optical sensor are respectively constituted by a plurality of light projecting devices and light receiving devices,
In addition, if the laundry is dispersed and arranged substantially in the circumferential direction of the dewatering tub, it is possible to reliably detect the laundry to be ejected at any part of the opening of the dehydration tub.

In addition, if a partition plate is interposed between each of the light emitter and the light receiver, light interference does not occur, the detection accuracy can be improved, and the laundry can be prevented from jumping out with higher reliability. .

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side sectional view showing one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of a main part of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a circuit block diagram of a control system of the fully automatic washing machine according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a cross sectional view showing another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a side sectional view of a conventional example.

FIG. 6 is a circuit block diagram of a conventional example.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Washing machine main body 1a, 8a Opening 2 Lid 3 Water tank 4 Support member 5 Rotation control part (motor) 6 Rotation control part (rotation control mechanism) 7 Rotation control part (belt) 8 Dehydration tank 9 Pulsator 10 Balancer 11 Water tank cover 13 Control device 14 Optical sensor (light emitting part) 14a Optical sensor (mounting part) 14b Optical sensor (light emitting part) 14aa Optical sensor (partition plate) 15 Optical sensor (light receiving part) 15a Optical sensor (mounting part) 15b Optical sensor (light receiving) 15aa Optical sensor (partition plate) 16 Cover plate 17 Mesh member

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A box-shaped washing machine main body having an opening at an upper part, a water tub supported in a suspended manner by a plurality of support members in the washing machine main body, and a dewatering tub arranged rotatably in the water tub. A pulsator disposed in a dehydration tub, a rotation control unit for selectively controlling the rotation of the dehydration tub and the pulsator, and an optical sensor disposed in an opening of the water tub. A fully automatic washing machine, comprising: a water tank and an opening portion of the dehydration tub, the opening portions of the dehydration tub being interposed therebetween. 2. The optical sensor according to claim 1, wherein said light sensor comprises a light projecting portion comprising a plurality of light projecting devices and a light receiving portion comprising a plurality of light receiving devices, each of which is substantially circumferentially distributed in an opening portion of the water tank outside of the dehydrating tank. 2. An arrangement according to claim 1, wherein
Fully automatic washing machine as described. 3. An aquarium cover is arranged at an opening of the aquarium so that the opening of the dehydration tub is not substantially reduced, and an optical sensor is arranged at a space between the aquarium cover and the dehydration tub. The fully automatic washing machine according to claim 1 or 2, wherein: 4. The fully automatic washing machine according to claim 2, wherein a partition plate is arranged between the light emitter and the light receiver adjacent to each of the light emitter and the light receiver.