JPH1147485A - Washing machine - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent washing from being damaged and water from being splashed by controlling the rise speed of a motor to be gradually increased when a predetermined condition is satisfied in the case of reversing the turning direction of a motor for driving a pulsator in rotation by a motor control means. SOLUTION: A motor M for rotating a pulsator is connected to a single phase a.c. power supply 40 through TRIAC (triode AC switch) TR1, TR2 for right-handed rotation and left-handed rotation. A microcomputer 42 controls the rotation of the motor M at the time of reversion according to each output of a safety switch 34, a water level sensor 14 and a course setting key 44, and a count value of a zero cross counter Cz. That is, in the case of selecting a delicate course, a slow start processing is executed when the water level in a washing tub is above a predetermined water splash critical water level. For example, in the case of right-handed rotating the motor M, the on-time of the TRIAC for right-handed rotation is gradually increased, taking one period of a power supply voltage of the a.c. power supply as a reference.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a washing machine for performing a series of washing steps including a washing step, a rinsing step, and a dehydrating step.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A washing machine performs washing and rinsing by rotating a pulsator alternately left and right to agitate laundry contained in a washing tub. The rotation of the pulsator is performed, for example, by repeating a process of rotating rightward for several seconds, stopping for 1-2 seconds, and rotating leftward for several seconds.

[0003]

However, the above-mentioned washing machine has a problem that when the pulsator is inverted, the laundry is easily damaged depending on the type of the laundry. Further, when the pulsator is inverted, there is a problem that water splashes occur depending on the water level in the washing tub.

An object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned technical problems and to provide a washing machine capable of preventing water splash without damaging laundry.

[0005]

Means for Solving the Problems and Effects of the Invention According to the first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a washing tub for accommodating laundry, a washing tub provided in the washing tub, A pulsator for stirring the laundry, a motor for rotating and driving the pulsator, and a motor control means for switching the rotation direction of the motor for inverting the pulsator, the motor control means comprising:
A washing machine characterized in that when the predetermined condition is satisfied when the motor is reversed, the motor is controlled so that the rising speed of the motor gradually increases.

According to the present invention, when the motor is reversed, the rising speed of the motor is gradually increased, so that the rising speed of the pulsator can be gradually increased. Therefore, the pulsator and the laundry can be prevented from being strongly rubbed, so that the laundry is not damaged. Moreover, since the rotation of the pulsator rises slowly, water splashing can be prevented.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, the motor is a single-phase induction motor, and the motor control means has a gate circuit for controlling energization of the motor, and the on-time of the gate circuit is gradually reduced. 2. The washing machine according to claim 1, wherein the rising speed of the motor is gradually increased by increasing the motor speed. According to this invention, to slowly start the rotation of the pulsator,
Since the ON time of the gate circuit only needs to be gradually increased, the control is simplified.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, the motor control means gradually increases the on-time of the gate circuit based on one cycle of the power supply frequency. Washing machine. According to the present invention, since the ON time of the gate circuit only needs to be increased based on one cycle of the power supply frequency to slowly start the pulsator, the control is further simplified. That is, one cycle of the power supply frequency can be recognized only by detecting, for example, the zero cross point of the power supply voltage.

The invention according to claim 4 is characterized in that the predetermined condition is that a signal instructing execution of a delicate course for washing delicate laundry is input. A washing machine according to any one of the above. According to the present invention, when the delicate course is selected, the speed rise at the time of reversing the pulsator is made slow, so that delicate laundry such as underwear can be prevented from being damaged.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, the predetermined condition is such that a signal indicating that the water level in the washing tub is equal to or higher than a predetermined water splash risk level or a signal indicating that the lid has been opened. The washing machine according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the washing machine has been inputted. According to the present invention, when there is a possibility that water splashes may occur, and when there is a possibility that the splashed water may jump out of the machine, the speed rise at the time of reversal of the pulsator is made slow, so that the water splashes The occurrence of water itself can be prevented, and even if a water splash occurs, the water can be prevented from jumping out of the machine.

[0011]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 is a sectional view showing the internal configuration of a fully automatic washing machine according to one embodiment of the present invention. This fully automatic washing machine automatically executes a series of washing steps including a washing step, a rinsing step, and a dehydrating step. The fully automatic washing machine includes a housing 1 having an opening on an upper surface. A lid 2 for opening and closing the opening is attached to an upper surface of the housing 1. Lid 2
Can be opened and closed with the rear end 2a side as a base point. Near the rear end 2a of the lid 2, a safety switch 34 for detecting opening and closing of the lid 2 is provided.

An outer tank 3 is provided inside the housing 1. The outer tub 3 is suspended in the housing 1 by a plurality of suspension bars with springs (not shown). Inside the outer tub 3 is an inner tub 4 for storing laundry.
Are rotatably provided. A number of small holes 5 are formed on the peripheral surface of the inner tank 4. Wash water used for washing,
It is stored by an outer tank 3 covering the periphery.

A water supply pipe 7 provided with a water supply valve 6 composed of, for example, an electromagnetic valve is provided above the outer tub 3, and a water supply port 8 is provided at the tip of the water supply pipe 7. At the rear end of the water supply pipe 7, for example, a water supply hose 9 connected to a faucet is provided.
Can be connected. Thus, when the water supply valve 6 is opened, tap water is supplied from the water supply port 8 to the inner tank 4 via the water supply hose 9 and the water supply pipe 7.

A drain port 10 for draining the washing water in the outer tub 3 to the outside of the machine is formed in a bottom portion of the outer tub 3. The drain port 10 has a drain pipe 1 that can extend outside the housing 1.
1 is connected. Drain valve 1 in the middle of drain pipe 11
2 is provided, so that the washing water in the outer tub 3 can be drained out of the machine as needed. Outer tub 3
An air trap 13 is provided at one corner of the bottom.
The air trap 13 is connected to a water level sensor 14 provided above the housing 1 via an air hose 15. As the water level in the outer tub 3 rises, water enters the air hose 15 and the air in the air hose 15 is compressed.
The water level sensor 14 detects the water level in the outer tub 3 by measuring the air pressure in the air hose 15.

The inner tub 4 also serves as a dehydration tub,
As described above, a number of small holes 5 are formed on the peripheral surface. A pulsator 16 for stirring the washing water to generate a water flow is rotatably provided at the bottom of the inner tub 4. The inner tank 4 and the pulsator 16 are rotatably supported on an output shaft 18 of a bearing 17 mounted on the bottom of the outer tank 3.

A motor M, a motor M
Transmission mechanism 19 for transmitting the rotational force of
And a drive mechanism including the above-described bearing 17. The transmission mechanism 19 includes a pulley 21 fixed to the output shaft 20 of the motor M, a pulley 23 fixed to the lower end of the input shaft 22 of the bearing 17, and a belt 24 wound between the pulleys 21 and 23. . The rotational force of the motor M is transmitted to the bearing 17 via the pulley 21, the belt 24, and the pulley 23.

The bearing 17 has a built-in clutch mechanism (not shown) for switching the transmission destination of the rotational force of the motor M. In this connection, the output shaft 18 supporting the inner tank 4 and the pulsator 16 has, for example, a double shaft structure. During washing and rinsing, the motor M
Is transmitted to the pulsator 16 via the bearing 17. As a result, the pulsator 16 rotates alternately left and right,
Water flow is generated in the inner tank 4. At the time of spin-drying, the rotational force of the motor M is transmitted to both the inner tank 4 and the pulsator 16. As a result, both the inner tub 4 and the pulsator 16 rotate in one direction at high speed, and the laundry in the inner tub 4 is dehydrated by centrifugal force.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an electric configuration of the fully automatic washing machine, mainly showing a drive circuit of the motor M. The motor M has a main winding L1 and a parallel circuit in which a series circuit of an auxiliary winding L2 and a capacitor C is connected to the main winding L1 in parallel, and controls energization of the parallel circuit. To the single-phase AC power supply 40 via a right-turning triac TR1 and a left-turning triac TR2. Each of the triacs TR1 and TR2 is turned on / off by a gate signal provided from the microcomputer 42.

In this configuration, when the right-turning triac TR1 is turned on, an AC current having an advanced phase flows through the auxiliary winding L2, and the motor M rotates clockwise. When the left rotation triac TR2 is turned on, the main winding L1
A phase-advanced alternating current flows through. Therefore, the rotation direction of the motor M is reversed, and the motor M rotates left. The AC power supply 40 is also connected in parallel with the motor M to a power supply zero-cross detection circuit 41 for detecting a zero-cross point of an output voltage of the AC power supply 40 (hereinafter referred to as “power supply voltage”). The zero cross signal output from the power supply zero cross detection circuit 41 is input to the microcomputer 42.

Further, the AC power supply 40 includes
Of the microcomputer 4 is reduced to 5 V, and the resulting voltage of 5 V is used as a drive voltage for the microcomputer 4.
5 is connected in parallel with the motor M. Each output of the safety switch 34 and the water level sensor 14 is given to the microcomputer 42. The microcomputer 4
2, the output of the course setting key 44 provided on the operation panel is given. The course setting key 44 can select various courses including a delicate course for washing delicate clothes such as underwear.

The microcomputer 42 has a zero-cross counter Cz. The zero-cross counter Cz is for counting the number of zero-cross signals output from the power supply zero-cross detection circuit 41, and is cleared during the washing step and the rinsing step before the rotation of the motor M is reversed. It has become.

The microcomputer 42 performs the washing and rinsing steps based on the outputs of the safety switch 34, the water level sensor 14 and the course setting key 44, and the count value of the zero-cross counter Cz.
The rotation of the motor M at the time of reversing is controlled. Specifically, when a predetermined slow start condition is satisfied, a slow start process for slowly starting up the motor M is executed. When the above-mentioned slow start condition is not satisfied, a gate signal is continuously supplied from the beginning to each of the triacs TR1 and TR2.
A normal full-speed start process for starting the motor M at full speed at the time of reversal is executed.

When the motor M is rotated clockwise, the slow start process is achieved by gradually increasing the on-time of the right rotation triac TR1 based on one cycle of the power supply voltage of the AC power supply 40. When the motor M is rotated to the left, the on-time of the left-rotation triac TR2 is achieved by gradually increasing the on-time of the triac TR2 for one cycle of the power supply voltage of the AC power supply 40 as a reference.

FIG. 3 is a timing chart for further detailing the slow start process. When the microcomputer 42 rotates the pulsator 16 clockwise, the microcomputer 42 synchronizes with the timing at which the zero-cross signal is input from the power-supply zero-cross detection circuit 41 and synchronizes with the right-rotation triac TR.
Output of the gate signal to 1 starts. At this time, the count value of the zero cross counter Cz becomes “1”.

The microcomputer 42 stops outputting the gate signal to the right rotation triac TR1 at the timing when one cycle of the power supply voltage has elapsed. In other words, in this case, since the zero-cross signal is input to the microcomputer 42 twice, the zero-cross counter C
At the timing when the count value of z becomes “3”,
The output of the gate signal to the right rotation triac TR1 is stopped. As a result, the right rotation triac TR1 is turned on for the time (t2−t1), so that the motor M
Is applied with the voltage of the waveform W1.

Thereafter, the microcomputer 42 sends the clock signal to the right rotation triac TR1 at the timing when the power supply voltage has passed for two cycles, that is, when the zero-cross signal is input four times and the count value of the zero-cross counter Cz becomes "7". Output of the gate signal is restarted.
Then, at the timing when two cycles of the power supply voltage have elapsed, that is, at the timing when the count value of the zero-cross counter Cz has reached “11”, the right-hand rotation triac TR1
Stop outputting the gate signal to As a result, the right rotation triac TR1 is turned on for the time (t4−t3), so that the voltage of the waveform W2 is applied to the motor M.

Further, the microcomputer 42 restarts the output of the gate signal to the right rotation triac TR1 at the timing when the power supply voltage has passed two cycles, that is, at the timing when the count value of the zero-cross counter Cz becomes "15". . Then, at the timing when three cycles of the power supply voltage have elapsed, that is, at the timing when the count value of the zero-cross counter Cz becomes “21”, the output of the gate signal to the right-turn triac TR1 is stopped. As a result, the right-turning triac TR1 takes the time (t
6-t5), the motor M has:
The voltage of the waveform W3 is applied.

Thereafter, the microcomputer 42 restarts the output of the gate signal to the right rotation triac TR1 at the timing when the power supply voltage has passed two cycles, that is, at the timing when the count value of the zero-cross counter Cz becomes "25". After that, the output of the gate signal is continued. As a result, the right rotation triac TR1 is continuously turned on, so that the voltage of the waveform W4 synchronized with the power supply voltage is applied to the motor M.

As a result of the above control, the energization time to the motor M gradually increases, so that the rotation of the motor M gradually increases. As a result, the pulsator 16 has the motor M
The pulsator 16 is gradually transmitted since the rotational force generated in the step (1) is gradually transmitted. Similarly, in the case where the pulsator 16 is rotated counterclockwise, the counterclockwise rotation triac TR2 is turned on every two cycles of the power supply voltage, and the on-time is gradually increased by setting the time corresponding to one cycle of the power supply voltage to an increasing width. To increase. As a result, the rotation of the motor M gradually increases, and the pulsator 16 rises slowly.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the control of the motor M during the washing process in the microcomputer 42. The microcomputer 42 first executes a process for determining control when the motor M is reversed. That is, the microcomputer 42 determines whether the following three slow start conditions are satisfied (steps S1, S2, S3). The delicate course is set by the course setting key 44. The lid 2 is opened and the safety switch 34 is on. The water level detected by the water level sensor 14 is equal to or higher than a predetermined water splash danger water level. The start condition is used because the occurrence rate of the problem is particularly high in the above cases (1) to (6) when the pulsator 16 is suddenly reversed. That is,
When the delicate course is set by the course setting key 44, since the laundry is delicate clothes, the clothes may be damaged by the rubbing between the pulsator 16 and the clothes. When the lid 2 is open,
Bounced water may fly out of the aircraft. Furthermore, when water is stored at or above the water splash dangerous water level, water splash is likely to occur, and a large amount of water droplets may adhere to the lower surface of the lid 2.

The slow start conditions are as described above.
However, it is a matter of course that contents other than the above-mentioned may be included in the slow start condition.
When at least one of the above-mentioned slow start conditions is satisfied, the microcomputer 42 executes a slow start process (step S4). On the other hand, if neither is satisfied, a full speed start process is executed (step S5). Thereafter, the microcomputer 42
Determines whether a predetermined washing time has elapsed (step S6). If the washing time has not elapsed, the process returns to step S3 and repeats the above processing. on the other hand,
After the elapse of the washing time, the microcomputer 42
The washing step is completed, and the next rinsing step is performed.

In the next rinsing step, a process for reversing the rotation direction of the pulsator 16 is performed in the same manner as in the above-described washing process. Therefore, a process for determining control when the motor M is reversed is executed. In addition, the full speed start process and the slow start process are selectively executed according to the result. As described above, according to this embodiment, when the rotation direction of the pulsator 16 is switched,
Since the pulsator 16 is started up slowly, it is possible to prevent the clothes from being damaged and to prevent water splashing.

Further, since the pulsator 16 is slowly started up only when the clothes are easily damaged, at a delicate course, at a high water level where the effect of water splashing is large, and when the lid is opened, the pulsator 16 is always started at full speed. Longer washing times and rinsing times than when raising can be minimized. Furthermore, since the increase width of the energization time to each of the triacs TR1 and TR2 is set to a time corresponding to one cycle of the power supply voltage, the above-described processing can be realized only by counting the number of times the zero-cross signal is input.
Therefore, control is simplified.

Although one embodiment of the present invention has been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment. For example, in the above embodiment, the increase width of the on-time of the triac is set to the time corresponding to one cycle of the power supply voltage. However, the present invention is not limited to this. The time may be increased, or any other time may be used as the increase in the on-time of the triac.

In the above embodiment, the number of times the triac is intermittently turned on is set to three times. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and may be one, two, four or more times. Of course. Further, in the above embodiment,
The time for turning off the triac is set to a time corresponding to two cycles of the power supply voltage, but is not limited to this.
Needless to say, one cycle and three cycles or more of the power supply voltage may be used. Further, it is not necessary to limit to an integral multiple of the cycle of the power supply voltage, and an arbitrary time may be set.

Further, in the above embodiment, the case where the present invention is applied to a fully automatic washing machine is described as an example, but the present invention can be applied to, for example, a so-called two-tub washing machine. In addition, it is possible to make various design changes within the scope described in the claims.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view showing an internal configuration of a fully automatic washing machine according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an electrical configuration of the fully automatic washing machine, mainly showing a motor driving circuit.

FIG. 3 is a timing chart for explaining a slow start process.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing control of a motor during a washing process in the microcomputer.

[Explanation of symbols]

 4 Inner tank 16 Pulsator 40 AC power supply 42 Microcomputer M Motor TR1 Triac for right rotation TR2 Triac for left rotation

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A washing tub for storing laundry, a pulsator provided in the washing tub for stirring washing water and laundry, a motor for rotating and driving the pulsator, and the pulsator Motor control means for switching the direction of rotation of the motor to reverse the motor, wherein the motor control means gradually increases the rising speed of the motor when a predetermined condition is satisfied when reversing the motor. A washing machine characterized in that the washing machine is controlled so as to increase. 2. The motor according to claim 1, wherein the motor is a single-phase induction motor, and the motor control means has a gate circuit for controlling energization of the motor. 2. The washing machine according to claim 1, wherein a rising speed of the motor is gradually increased. 3. The washing machine according to claim 2, wherein said motor control means gradually increases the ON time of said gate circuit based on one cycle of a power supply frequency. 4. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the predetermined condition is that a signal instructing execution of a delicate course for washing delicate laundry is input. Washing machine. 5. The predetermined condition is that a signal indicating that the water level in the washing tub is equal to or higher than a predetermined water splash risk level or a signal indicating that the lid has been opened is input. The washing machine according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein: