JPH105484A - Washing machine - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To improve rinsing performance of a spinning rinsing. SOLUTION: Injection of water is temporarily stopped during injection of water in a spinning rinsing process (S14), and rotation of a washing and spinning tub is increased to such a degree that the washing is lightly spinned. After this, injection of water is performed while the washing and spinning tub is slowly rotated again (S18), the washing is sufficiently immersed in water, and spinning is then executed by high speed rotation. By thus lightly performing spinning during injection of water, detergent included in the washing is speedily removed, thereby rinsing performance can be improved without increasing the number of time of spinning rinsing.

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 washing and dewatering tub which is rotated at a high speed and then dehydrated by injecting water so as to soak the laundry contained in the washing and dehydrating tub. And a washing machine for performing a dehydration rinsing operation.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, a fully automatic washing machine generally employs a so-called dehydration rinse (also called a shower rinse) as a part of a rinsing process. In this dehydration rinsing, first, water is injected to the extent that water permeates the entire laundry, and after stopping the water injection, the washing and dewatering tub is rotated at high speed to perform centrifugal dehydration, so that the detergent water permeating the laundry is removed. Fly away with water. When water is injected into the washing and dewatering tub, the washing and dewatering tub is rotated at a low speed so that the water uniformly falls on the entire laundry so that rinsing unevenness does not occur. For this reason, a small amount of water is required for one rinsing, so that a large amount of water can be saved as compared with a pool rinsing or a water rinsing.

[0003]

However, dehydration rinsing does not completely immerse the laundry in water, so that the rinsing performance cannot be said to be sufficient as compared with pool rinsing or water rinsing. For this reason, in the conventional washing machine, dehydration and rinsing are repeatedly performed a plurality of times, or 1 to 2 times.
A method has been adopted in which rinsing performance is ensured by executing a pool rinsing or a water rinsing after each dehydration rinsing. However, the former method has a problem that the rinsing time is long, and the latter method has a problem that the water saving effect is not sufficiently exhibited as a whole.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a washing machine capable of improving the rinsing performance in a dehydration rinsing without prolonging a rinsing time. Is to do.

[0005]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention provides a water injection step for injecting water so that water permeates into a laundry housed in a washing and spin-drying tub; A washing machine for performing a spin-drying rinsing operation, comprising a centrifugal spin-drying process in which the spin-drying tub is later rotated at a high speed to splash water soaked into the laundry, a) a motor for rotating and driving the spin-tub. At the time of the water injection step, the washing and spin-drying tub is rotated by switching between a first rotation speed of a very low speed and a second rotation speed higher than the rotation speed and lower than the rotation speed in the centrifugal spin-drying process. And a rotation control means for controlling the motor so as to perform the control.

In the above-mentioned washing machine, the rotation control means rotates the washing and dewatering tub at a second rotation speed substantially at an intermediate point in the water injection process, and before and after the rotation at the first rotation speed. It is more preferable that the motor is controlled so as to rotate the spin-drying tub.

[0007] Further, it is preferable that the second rotation speed during the water injection step is a speed at which centrifugal dehydration is performed so that water contained in the laundry is appropriately spattered, for the reasons described below.

In the washing machine described above, it is also possible to provide a water injection control means for temporarily stopping water injection when the washing and dewatering tub rotates at the second rotation speed during the water injection step. it can.

[0009]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS In the washing machine according to the present invention, when the rotation control means controls the motor so that the washing and spinning tub rotates at the first rotation speed, the washing and spinning tub slowly rotates, The water falling from the upper water inlet hits the laundry located anywhere in the washing and dewatering tub, and the laundry sufficiently contains the water. Next, when the rotation speed is switched to the second rotation speed, the washing and dewatering tub rotates faster than the previous rotation speed, and the water permeating the laundry is squeezed out together with the detergent by the centrifugal force. Therefore, even before proceeding to the centrifugal dehydration step, a part of the detergent contained in the laundry is removed by preliminary light dehydration, so that the rinsing performance in one dehydration rinse cycle is improved.

The purpose of the dehydration performed during the water injection process is to lightly squeeze out the water contained in the laundry immediately before the water supply process. Finally, the laundry is strongly squeezed by the high-speed dehydration rotation in the centrifugal dehydration process. . For this reason, during the water injection process,
After the washing and dewatering tub is rotated at a rotation speed of, the laundry is sufficiently filled with water, and then the laundry and dehydration tub are rotated at a second rotation speed to squeeze the laundry lightly once. Then, the washing and dewatering tub is rotated again at the first rotation speed so that the laundry is sufficiently filled with water. Then, if the process proceeds to the centrifugal dehydration step, the effect of lightly dehydrating during the water injection step is more exhibited.

In this case, the higher the second rotation speed, the higher the rinsing performance, but if the second rotation speed is high, the first
It takes time to reduce the rotation speed of the motor, and the overall rinsing time becomes longer. In addition, when rotating the washing and dewatering tub at the second rotation speed while performing the water injection, when the rotation speed is high, the injected water is repelled by the laundry, and is discharged from the upper end of the washing and dewatering tub to the outside. Will pop out. For this reason,
The second rotation speed is set to be substantially lower than the rotation speed of the washing and dewatering tub in the centrifugal spin-drying step, and set to a rotation speed at which the water contained in the laundry is lightly squeezed out.

Further, if the water injection control means temporarily stops the water injection when the washing and dewatering tub rotates at the second rotation speed during the water injection process, the injected water can be discharged to the outside. No more jumping.

[0013]

According to the washing machine of the present invention, the laundry is lightly squeezed even during the water injection process, so that the detergent is quickly removed and the rinsing performance is improved. It takes some time to lower the speed after increasing the rotation speed in the middle of the water injection process, so the time required for one dehydration rinsing cycle is longer than before, but the improvement in rinsing performance is an extension of that time It is big enough compared to minutes. For example, when the dehydration rinse in the washing machine of the present invention is repeated three times,
While rinsing performance close to that obtained by repeating the conventional dehydration rinsing four times is obtained, the rinsing time is equal to that of the conventional dehydration rinsing by 3 times.
It only needs to be slightly longer than iteratively.

[0014]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS One embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. First, the overall configuration of a washing machine according to the present invention will be described with reference to a side vertical sectional view of FIG. An operation panel 11 is provided in front of the upper surface of a machine frame 10 forming an outer box of the washing machine. An outer tub 12 is supported by four hanging rods (not shown) inside the machine casing 10, and a washing and dewatering tub 13 having a large number of dehydration holes in a peripheral wall is provided inside the outer tub 12. It is rotatably supported about a rotation shaft 14 provided on a wall. At the bottom of the washing and dewatering tub 13, a rotating blade 15 for stirring the laundry is arranged, and the rotation of the motor 16 is
The washing and dewatering tub 13 and the rotary wing 15 via the motor pulley 17, the belt 18, the main pulley 19 and the power switching mechanism 20.
Is transmitted to The power switching mechanism 20 mechanically switches the rotating blade 15 only during washing and rinsing (pooling and water rinsing), and rotates the washing / dewatering tub 13 and the rotating blade 15 integrally during dehydration rinsing and dehydration. Perform

A drain port 21 is provided at the rear of the bottom of the outer tank 12, and the drain hose 2 is opened and closed by a drain solenoid valve 22.
Drainage is made to the outside through 3. An air trap 24 is provided at one corner of the bottom of the outer tank 12, and the air trap 24 is connected to a water level sensor 26 via a pressure hose 25. A water supply pipe 27 provided with a water supply solenoid valve 28 in the middle of the upper part of the machine frame 10 is provided, and tap water passing through the water supply pipe 27 is supplied from a water inlet 29 provided with a detergent container to the washing and dewatering tub 13. Water is injected inside. Also, an overflow port 30 is provided at the upper rear of the outer tank 12, and the overflow port 30 is provided in the outer tank 1.
2 Drain hose 23 through drain pipe 31 formed on the back
It is connected to. Further, a circulating water passage 32 extending from the bottom wall to the top is provided at an appropriate location on the inner peripheral wall of the washing and dewatering tub 13.

Next, the electrical configuration of the washing machine will be described with reference to the block diagram of FIG. A key input signal is input from an input unit 41 of the operation panel 11 to a control unit 40 mainly including a microcomputer. Control unit 40
Is provided with a memory in which an operation program is stored. By executing the operation program in response to a key input signal, each operation process of washing as described below is advanced, and in the process, a motor driving unit 43 that drives the motor 16 includes: Then, an appropriate control signal is output to an electromagnetic valve driving unit 44 that drives the water supply electromagnetic valve 28 and the drain electromagnetic valve 22. In addition, the display unit 42 outputs a display control signal for accepting a key input and for monitoring operation.

An example of the flow of the basic washing process of the washing machine having the above-described configuration is as shown in FIG. Control unit 40
Sequentially executes a washing step, a rinsing step and a dehydrating step according to an operation program. In the rinsing step, the same pattern of dehydration rinsing is usually repeated three times. Of course, by operating the input unit 41 by the user, it is also possible to perform a water injection rinse or a pool rinse instead of the dehydration rinse.

Hereinafter, the processing operation of the control unit 40 in the rinsing process will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. First, a variable N indicating the number of times of dehydration rinsing is set to 1 (step S10). Then, by opening the water supply solenoid valve 28, the washing and dewatering tub 13 is
To start water injection (step S11). Almost simultaneously with the start of water injection, the washing and dewatering tub 13 rotates at a low speed,
A control signal is output to the motor drive unit 43 according to a predetermined drive control pattern (step S12).

The controller 40 turns the motor 16 on for a first predetermined time and then turns off the motor 16 for a second predetermined time as one cycle. By repeating this cycle, the washing and dewatering tub 13 At a predetermined rotation speed (strictly, an average rotation speed). Therefore, the rotation speed of the washing and dewatering tub 13 is determined by appropriately setting the first and second predetermined times of the one-cycle drive control pattern. For example, as described above, the washing and dewatering tub 1 is operated at a low speed.
When rotating the motor 3, the on / off time of the motor 16 is set to 1 second / 4 seconds, and the rotation speed of the
It should be about [rpm].

When water is injected from above while the washing and dewatering tub 13 is rotating slowly, water is evenly applied to the laundry located anywhere in the washing and dewatering tub 13. , Any laundry is well-watered.

When 30 seconds have passed since the start of rotation of the motor 16 (step S13), the water supply solenoid valve 28 is closed (step S14), and the motor 16 is rotated so as to increase the rotation speed of the washing and dewatering tub 13. The drive control pattern is changed (step S15). The rotation speed of the washing and dewatering tub 13 at this time is lower than the rotation speed of high-speed dehydration in step S21 described later, and is set in advance to a rotation speed at which a dehydration effect by centrifugal force is obtained. For example, motor 1
The on / off time of 6 is set to 3 seconds / 12 seconds, and the rotation speed of the washing and dewatering tub 13 is set to about 200 [rpm].

When the washing and dewatering tub 13 is rotated at the above rotation speed, the water soaked into the laundry is blown away by the centrifugal force together with the detergent and discharged from the dewatering hole to the outer tub 12 side. However, the rotation speed is slower than the high-speed dehydration rotation (for example, 700 to 1000 [rpm]), and the time is short as described later, so that water is not completely splashed from the laundry and the laundry is lightly squeezed. It will be in a state like this.

After the intermediate dehydration by the medium speed rotation is continued for 30 seconds (step S16), the water supply electromagnetic valve 28 is opened to restart water injection (step S17). And at the same time,
The rotation speed of the washing and dewatering tub 13 is reduced, and step S12 is performed.
The drive control pattern is switched to the same drive control pattern as the low-speed rotation (step S18). As a result, the laundry that has been lightly dewatered and has a reduced water content is again flooded with water, and returns to a state that sufficiently contains water.

After 30 seconds of the low-speed rotation in step S18 (step S19), the water supply solenoid valve 28 is closed to stop water injection (step S20). Then, a control signal is given to the motor drive unit 43 so as to rotate the washing and dewatering tub 13 at a high speed (step S21). As a result, the washing and dewatering tub 13 rotates at a predetermined dewatering speed, and the water soaked into the laundry is blown away together with the detergent. In addition,
The dehydration speed at this time is set in accordance with the type of laundry instructed in advance by the user by operating the input unit 41 or the amount of laundry automatically detected. That is, when the laundry fiber is easily damaged by the cloth, the maximum rotation speed is suppressed (about 700 [rpm]); otherwise, the maximum rotation speed is increased (900 to 1000 [rpm]). Degree) Improve dewatering performance.

If 5 minutes have elapsed after the start of the spin-drying operation (step S22), the motor 16 is stopped (step S22).
23) Further, it is determined whether or not the variable N is 3 (step S24). If the variable N is less than 3,
N + 1 is newly set to N (step S25), step S1
Return to 1 and perform dehydration rinsing from the beginning. Step S
If the variable N is 3 at 24, the dehydration rinsing process has already been executed three times, so the rinsing process is terminated.

Normally, when the power switching mechanism 20 is switched so that the washing and dewatering tub 13 and the rotary blade 15 rotate integrally as in a dehydration rinsing, the drain solenoid valve 22 is synchronized with the switching. Is also a mechanism to open. Therefore, at the time of pouring water for the dehydration rinse, the injected water is discharged from the drain hose 23 to the outside without collecting in the washing / dewatering tub 13. However, the opening and closing of the drainage electromagnetic valve 22 is configured to be able to be controlled independently of the switching of the power switching mechanism 20, and the water injected at the time of the injection of the dehydration rinse is stored in the washing and dehydrating tub 13, and the intermediate dehydration is performed. Water supply solenoid valve 2
When the valve 8 is closed, the drain electromagnetic valve 22 may be opened.

In the above embodiment, the water supply solenoid valve 28 is closed to stop water injection during the intermediate dewatering. However, the rotation speed of the washing and dewatering tub 13 is increased while the water injection is continued, and the centrifugation is carried out lightly. Dehydration may be performed. In this case, if the rotation speed is excessively increased, the injected water may hit the laundry and rebound, and may jump out of the upper end of the washing and dewatering tub 13. It is desirable to suppress it.

Further, the embodiment described above is merely an example, and it is apparent that changes and modifications can be made as appropriate within the scope of the present invention.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side longitudinal sectional view showing a configuration of a washing machine according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an electric system of the washing machine.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing the entire washing process of the washing machine.

FIG. 4 is a control flowchart of a rinsing process in the washing machine.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 12 ... Outer tub 13 ... Washing and dewatering tub 16 ... Motor 28 ... Water supply solenoid valve 29 ... Water injection port 40 ... Control part 43 ... Motor drive part 44 ... Solenoid valve drive part

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A water injection step for injecting water so that water soaks into laundry stored in a washing and dewatering tub, and after the water injection step, the washing and dewatering tub is rotated at high speed to scatter water soaked into the laundry. A) a motor for rotating and driving the washing and dewatering tub; andb) a first rotation speed of a very low speed during the pouring step. Rotation control means for controlling the motor so as to rotate the washing and spin-drying tub by switching to a second rotation speed higher than the rotation speed and lower than the rotation speed in the centrifugal spin-drying process. And a washing machine. 2. The washing machine according to claim 1, wherein the rotation control means rotates the washing and dewatering tub at a second rotation speed substantially at the middle of a water injection stroke, and before and after the first rotation, A washing machine wherein the motor is controlled to rotate the washing and dewatering tub at a rotation speed. 3. The washing machine according to claim 2, wherein the second rotation speed during the water injection step is a speed at which centrifugal dehydration is performed such that water contained in the laundry is appropriately spattered. And a washing machine. 4. The washing machine according to claim 3, further comprising a water injection control means for temporarily stopping water injection when the washing and dewatering tub rotates at a second rotation speed during the water injection step. Features washing machine.