JPH10328474A - Washing machine - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To instantaneously recognize the start of rain fall even indoors and to prevent the wash from being wet by means of rain by providing a rain drop detecting device for detecting rain drops outdoors and actuating a reporting device when the rain drop detecting device detects rain fall. SOLUTION: The rain drop detecting device including a rain fall sensor with a solar battery for generating a voltage in accordedance with the rain drops at the time of rain fall as a power source is arranged outdoors in a place which is exposed to the rain drops. Then, a rain fall signal receiving device 30 for receiving a rain drop signal by radio wave is provided in the control circuit of the washing machine. The rain fall signal receiving device 30 is normally kept in a signal reception stand-by state. But, the stand-by state can be released at night so as to be changed-over into a sleep mode by a clock function which is incorporated in the washing machine control circuit 20 so that power is saved. When a rain fall signal is received, a signal is given to a fixed time rain fall reporting equipment 31 through the control circuit 20 and rain fall is reported.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a washing machine, and more particularly, to a raindrop detecting device installed outdoors and a notification that a rainfall signal from the raindrop detecting device is received by the washing machine to notify that the rainfall is occurring. The present invention relates to a washing machine provided with a device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, many proposals relating to a washing machine and weather have been made.
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 3-3269 proposes a washing machine provided with a function of predicting weather and controlling the operation of the washing machine based on the result of weather prediction by the function.
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 3-68878 discloses a method of controlling a timer reservation operation of a washing machine based on the result of a weather prediction function provided in the washing machine.
There has been proposed an apparatus that controls a timer reservation operation of a washing machine based on a signal from a raindrop detector.

[0003]

As described above, there has been proposed a method of controlling the operation of the washing machine by detecting the result of weather forecast or the state of rainfall, but has a function of simply notifying rainfall. No suggestion has been made regarding the washing machine. In addition, it is very interesting for housewives to know that rain has started after drying the laundry, but it is actually difficult to understand the outside situation when you are in a room. It is. The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and has as its object to provide a washing machine having a device for notifying that rain has started in a relatively simple manner.

[0004]

In order to achieve the above object, a washing machine according to the present invention is characterized in that a raindrop detecting device for detecting outdoor raindrops and a rainfall from the raindrop detecting device are provided. And a notification device for receiving the signal of the start of the rain and notifying that the start of the rain has started. It was done.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, a signal from the raindrop detecting device according to the first aspect of the present invention is wirelessly transmitted to a washing machine, so that no wiring is required and the raindrop detecting device can be freely installed. The degree is also increased. According to a third aspect of the present invention, the raindrop detecting device according to the first aspect of the present invention includes a solar cell and a storage device for storing power generated by the solar cell, so that a required power source is always secured without any maintenance. Is made possible.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided the raindrop detecting device according to the first aspect of the present invention, wherein a rainfall state is determined based on the size of the raindrops and the number of raindrops per unit time, and a shower or a small rainfall is determined. Even if the rain condition is different, it is possible to accurately detect rainfall, and perform radio transmission to the washing machine for a certain period of time only when it is determined that it is in the rain state, it is possible to reduce the power consumption of the raindrop detection device, This is to reduce the size of the storage device.

[0007] Further, the invention according to claim 5 is based on claim 3.
In the raindrop detection device of the described invention, by the output of the solar cell that changes according to the brightness of the outside world, to determine the night or day,
At night, the raindrop detection system is released, and the mode is switched to the mode that minimizes the power consumption of the battery, the power consumption of the raindrop detector can be reduced, and the solar battery and the battery can be downsized. .

Further, according to the invention of claim 6, the notification device of the invention of claim 1 can select whether or not rainfall information is to be provided and can adjust the volume of the notification, so that the user can meet the need. It can be used properly.

[0009]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Embodiments of the washing machine according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram showing an outline of a washing machine according to the present invention. 1 is a washing machine main body, 2 is a control circuit portion for controlling the washing machine, and one embodiment thereof is shown in FIG. Numeral 3 is a raindrop detecting device installed outdoors where raindrops strike, as shown in FIG. 2, which mainly comprises a rainfall sensor 4, a solar cell 5, and a control circuit portion shown in FIG. 4. In the present embodiment, the rainfall sensor 4 shows an example of a piezoelectric element that generates a voltage by pressure. When rainfall occurs, as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, a voltage corresponding to the raindrop pressure is generated. .

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of a control circuit of the washing machine. The control circuit 20 includes a microcomputer, a water level detection unit 21 input to the control circuit 20, and a top cover switch 2.
2. Key input unit 23 for inputting time, etc., control circuit 20
Power supply circuit 24 for supplying power to the motor, LED display unit 25 controlled by control circuit 20, motor 26, water supply valve 27, drain valve 28, etc. In addition, a rainfall signal receiving device 30 that receives a raindrop signal wirelessly, and a rainfall alarm device 3 that has a volume adjustment device 32 that adjusts the volume of a rainfall alarm device 31 that notifies rainfall.
1 is provided.

The rainfall signal receiving device 30 for receiving the raindrop signal by radio always maintains the signal reception standby state. However, the rainfall signal receiving device 30 has a clock function built in the washing machine control circuit.
At night, power can be saved by canceling the standby mode and switching to the sleep mode.

When the rain signal is received, a signal is sent to the rain alarm 31 through the control circuit 20 for a predetermined time, for example, 10 to 15 seconds, to notify that there is rain. For the control of the notification, for example, it is possible to always keep the volume constant, or to gradually increase the volume over time. The volume of the annunciator can be adjusted to the volume desired by the user by the volume adjusting device 32, and when the volume is minimum, "no notification" is selected.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of a control example of the raindrop detecting device 3. Power is supplied to the rainfall sensor 4 and the transmission control circuit 9, centering on the transmission control circuit 9 for controlling the operation of the entire raindrop detecting device 3. It comprises a solar cell 5, a capacitor 7, a diode 6 for controlling charging from the solar cell 5, a comparator 8, an oscillation circuit 10, a modulation circuit 11, an amplification circuit 12, a rain signal transmission circuit 13, and the like.

The main operation of the transmission control circuit 9 is shown in the flowchart of FIG. In FIG. 5, the voltage of the solar cell is constantly checked, and when the voltage of the solar cell falls below a certain value at night, the apparatus enters a sleep mode while leaving only the function of checking the voltage of the solar cell to reduce the power consumption of the battery. Controlled to minimize. At night, there are few people who hang laundry outside in the rain, and there is no need to report rainfall.
Capacity can be reduced, which can contribute to miniaturization and cost reduction of the device.

The voltage of the solar cell 5 is, as shown in FIG.
The comparator 8 compares the reference voltage with the voltage of the solar cell. When the voltage of the solar cell 5 is lower than the reference voltage, the sleep mode is controlled. When the voltage is higher than the reference voltage, the sleep mode is released. During the daytime when is larger than the specified value, the mode enters a signal reception mode from the rain sensor 4.

In the present embodiment, the flow is such that a rainfall signal is always received.
For example, if you enter the reception mode once every 5 minutes,
This is advantageous in power saving. When the rain signal is received, the counting of the rain detection time starts, and for example, the rain state is detected for 15 seconds. The rain signal has a waveform as shown in, for example, FIGS. 6 and 7, and the rain state is determined based on the signal level from the rain sensor and the number of signals.

FIG. 6 shows a situation (a first rainfall state) in which a relatively large grain of rain starts to fall down, as in the early stage of the shower, and FIG. 7 shows a rainfall that is not so large but has a relatively high density. (Second rainfall state). For the raindrop signal, the number of times of signal generation per unit time (for example, one second) is measured for a certain time (for example, 15 seconds).

When the rainfall is continuous, the raindrop signal is as shown in FIG. 6A and FIG. 7B, and the number of signals is continuously counted. The combination of signal number and signal level is
It is also possible to make more detailed settings. If the modulation of transmission is changed according to various rain conditions, for example, the notification sound can be changed according to the rain conditions.

When the combination of the signal level and the number of signals is equal to or more than a specified value, the counting of the number of transmissions is started, and at the same time, the oscillation of the radio frequency is started. Transmission is a specified time (for example, 10 seconds)
Only done. When the rainfall continues, the transmission is not continued due to the limitation of the number of transmissions. When the rain once rises and then falls again, the signal count timer and the transmission counter are reset, and the same control is performed from the initial detection state.

[0020]

Since the washing machine of the present invention has the above-described configuration, the invention according to claim 1 has a raindrop detecting device for detecting outdoor raindrops and receives a signal of raindrops from the raindrop detecting device. And a notifying device that notifies the user of rainfall.There is a function of notifying that the rain has started to fall by the notifying device, so that the user can immediately know that the rain has started even when indoors. It is possible to take in the laundry and the like with good timing, which is extremely convenient in practice.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in addition to the effect of the first aspect, the signal from the raindrop detecting device is:
Because it is configured to transmit to the washing machine wirelessly,
Wiring is not required, and the degree of freedom of installation of the raindrop detecting device is increased, which is extremely convenient for practical use.

The invention described in claim 3 is the first invention.
In addition to the effects of the invention described above, the raindrop detection device includes a solar cell and a power storage device that stores the electric power generated by the solar cell. Therefore, a necessary power source can be always maintained without any maintenance.

The invention according to claim 4 is configured to determine the rainfall state based on the size of raindrops and the number of raindrops per unit time, in addition to the effect of the invention according to claim 1. Even if rain conditions such as showers and light rain are different, it is possible to accurately detect rainfall, and it is configured to perform wireless transmission to the washing machine for a certain period of time only when it is determined that it is raining, so the power of the raindrop detection device Consumption can be reduced,
The size of the solar cell and the storage battery can be reduced.

Further, the invention according to claim 5 provides the invention according to claim 3.
In addition to the effects of the described invention, a mode in which the output of a solar cell that changes according to the brightness of the outside world determines whether night is daytime, cancels the raindrop detection system at night, and minimizes the power consumption of the battery , The power consumption of the raindrop detecting device can be reduced, and the size of the solar cell and the battery can be reduced.

Further, in addition to the effects of the first aspect of the present invention, the invention according to the sixth aspect is configured such that the presence or absence of rainfall notification can be selected and the volume of the notification can be adjusted. Can be used appropriately according to the needs of the elderly.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing an outline of a washing machine of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing an outline of a raindrop detecting device for a washing machine according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of a control circuit of the washing machine of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a control block diagram of the raindrop detecting device of the washing machine of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a control state of the raindrop detecting device of the washing machine of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram of a signal example in a first rainfall state of the washing machine of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram of a signal example in a second rainfall state of the washing machine of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Washing machine 2 Washing machine control circuit part 3 Raindrop detecting device 4 Rainfall sensor 5 Solar cell 7 Energy storage 31 Rainfall alarm (device)

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A raindrop detecting device for detecting outdoor raindrops,
A washing machine comprising: a notifying device that receives a signal of raindrops from the raindrop detecting device and notifies rainfall. 2. The washing machine according to claim 1, wherein the signal from the raindrop detecting device is transmitted wirelessly to a notifying device. 3. The washing machine according to claim 1, wherein the raindrop detecting device comprises a solar cell and a storage device for storing electric power generated by the solar cell. 4. The raindrop detecting device determines a rainfall state based on the size of the raindrops and the number of raindrops per unit time, and performs wireless transmission to the washing machine for a predetermined time only when it is determined that the rainfall state is detected. The washing machine according to claim 1, characterized in that: 5. The raindrop detecting device determines whether it is nighttime or daytime based on the output of a solar cell that changes according to the brightness of the outside world, cancels the raindrop detection system at night, and minimizes the power consumption of the battery. 4. The washing machine according to claim 3, wherein the mode is switched to a second mode. 6. The washing machine according to claim 1, wherein the notification device is capable of selecting whether or not to report rainfall and adjusting the volume of the notification.