JPS59194795A - Washer - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] This bulletin contains application data before electronic filing, so abstract data is not recorded.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION FIELD OF INDUSTRIAL APPLICATION The present invention relates to a washing machine capable of detecting the light transmittance of the discharge liquid and thereby controlling the completion of the washing process, rinsing process and draining process. .

Conventional Structure and Problems Traditionally, when washing and rinsing a washing machine, a time switch is set based on the user's experience and intuition based on the amount of clothes and how dirty they are, and the machine runs for the set time. Met. For this reason, there were disadvantages in that it took more time than necessary to wash the cloth, and that the cloth was damaged by washing too much. Further, the drainage time was also set by a time switch, and the time was set regardless of the amount of cloth or water. Therefore, even if the water is drained quickly and there is no water left in the washing tub or washbasin and spin-drying tank, the drain valve may remain open, and the next process, the spin-drying process, cannot proceed quickly. It was a waste of time.

Therefore, as a means for detecting the washing, rinsing, and draining states of a washing machine, a photosensor consisting of a light emitting element and a light receiving element is used to measure the light transmittance of the drained liquid. Furthermore, as a means for detecting the end of the drainage process, there is a method that detects the drainage status by a change in the transmittance of light, and detects the end of the draining process by a sudden change in the transmittance. but,
The transmittance of light in the waste water varies depending on the degree of dirtiness of the laundry, the type of detergent, its concentration, and the degree of foaming. When measuring, sudden changes in light transmittance cannot be detected or the amount of change becomes small, so it is difficult to determine how much change in light transmittance is considered a sudden change and when the drainage is completed. It had the disadvantage of being

OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION The present invention eliminates the drawbacks of the conventional examples described above, and provides a wastewater liquid detection system that can detect a rapid change in light transmittance with almost the same amount of change even when the light transmittance of the wastewater differs depending on the difference in light transmittance of the liquid. The object of the present invention is to provide a washing machine having the following features.

Structure of the Invention The present invention provides a light transmittance detector for detecting the light transmittance of a drained liquid, which is provided near a drain valve of a dehydration tank with a light emitting element and a light receiving element facing each other, and a light transmittance detector that detects the light transmittance of a drained liquid, and a light transmittance detector that detects the light transmittance of a drained liquid, which is provided near a drain valve of a dewatering tank with a light emitting element and a light receiving element facing each other. It has a light emission output switching part that switches the light emission output of the transmittance detector in multiple stages, and a control system for the drain valve is configured to detect a sudden change in the transparency of the drained liquid during the draining process and stop the draining process. , the luminescence output of the light transmittance detector during the drainage process immediately after the washing process is the luminescence amount set in the washing process, and the luminescence output of the light transmittance detector during the drainage process immediately after the rinsing process is the luminescence amount set in the Suzuki process. This washing machine is characterized in that it detects the end of the draining process by determining the amount of water.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. In FIG. 1, 1 is the main body of the washing machine, and 2 is an outer tank suspended and supported by a suspension 3, which also serves as a dewatering tank. 4
is an inner tank for washing clothes and has a large number of holes 6 on the wall surface. 6 is a pulsator that agitates the clothes in the inner tub 4; 7 is a mechanism case with a built-in brake and clutch mechanism; 8 is a device that rotates forward and reverse during washing and rinsing, and controls the pulsator 6 through the clutch mechanism; It is a motor that rotates.

9 is a drain valve, which is closed during each process of washing, rinsing, and supplying water. A drain path 10 is formed between the drain knob 9 and the bottom surface of the outer tank 2 and is made of a material that is pipe-shaped and has translucent properties. 11 is a drain hose connected to the drain valve 9, and 12 is a light transmittance detector provided in the drain path 10. The light transmittance detector 12 is constructed by arranging a light emitting element made of a light emitting diode and a light receiving element made of a phototransistor to face each other across the drainage path 1o.

FIG. 2 shows the light transmittance detector 12 and the light emission output switching section 130.
A control circuit is shown in which 14 is a light emitting element and 16 is a light receiving element, which converts changes in the amount of received light into voltage changes. ”
11 R21R3 is a limiting resistor for the current flowing through the light emitting element 14, and the light emitting output can be changed by flowing different currents by turning on and turning on the transistors Q1 to Q3.

For example, if the magnitude of the resistance value is R1>R2>R3, then Q
l is on, Q2. P is the light emission output when Q3 is off.
The light emission output when Ql and Q2 are on and Ql and Q3 are off is P2. If the light emission output when Q3 is on and Ql and Q2 are off is P, then Pl<P2<P3.

Figure 3 shows the discharge liquid transparency and the output voltage of the light transmittance detector 12 according to the luminous output. FIG.

When the transparency of the discharged liquid deteriorates, the output voltage ■o decreases,
The change in output voltage with respect to the change in transparency becomes smaller. This characteristic can generally be expressed as v=A-P-e-"". Here ■ o is the output voltage of the detector 12, A
, B is a constant, P is the light emission output of the light emitting element 14, and μ is the light transmittance (the light absorption coefficient of ri), and when this μ is large, the light transmittance is poor (the absorption coefficient is thick). Become).

FIG. 4 shows fluctuations in the output voltage Vo of the light transmittance detector 12 during the washing process 1, the draining process after the washing process a, and the dehydrating process C.

The operation of the washing machine having the above configuration will be explained next.

When the washing or rinsing step a is completed 9 and the next draining step is started, the drain valve 9 is opened by energizing a renoid (not shown). When the valve 9 is opened, the washing water or the rinsing water is discharged to the outside through the drainage path 10 and the drainage hose 11. When the water valve 19 is opened, the bubbles generated in the inner tank 4 and the outer tank 2 flow together with water into the drainage path 10, and the light from the light emitting element is diffusely reflected by the bubbles and is reflected by the light transmittance detector 12. The amount of light received by the light-receiving element decreases and the output voltage vO suddenly decreases, and as drainage continues, the output voltage gradually increases. When the washing water is still drained in the outer tank 2 and the water runs out, a break is created in the water that was flowing and filled the water control channel 10 in the trench, and air and bubbles enter the drainage channel 1o, causing the light transmittance detector to be detected. 12 light emitting elements 14
The light from the detector 12 is diffusely reflected, the amount of light reaching the light receiving element is extremely reduced, and the output voltage Vo of the detector 12 is rapidly reduced. Therefore, by detecting this point, it is possible to detect the end of drainage.

However, the transparency of washing water and rinsing water is different, and the transparency of washing water containing detergent is very low. Even with washing water, the transparency of the liquid varies depending on the degree of dirt on the clothes, the type of detergent, the detergent concentration of the washing water, etc. Therefore, when performing the drainage detection with the same light output from the detector, the output voltage will vary. The amount of sudden change varies depending on the transparency of the liquid. For example, in FIG. 3, when the transparency of the drained liquid is high, the rapid change in transparency at the end of drainage is the amount of change ΔT from Ta to Tb = Ta −
If there is only Tb, the change in output voltage is ΔT 1-Va
It becomes Vb. If the transparency is very poor, if the same change in transparency as above ΔT = Tc - Td, the change in output voltage will be Δ
It becomes T2-VC-vd. In other words, Δ■1>ΔT2, and when the discharged liquid is detected with the same light emitting output, it is difficult to determine how much the output voltage change at the end of drainage should be regarded as a sudden voltage change. Therefore, in the case of the present invention, a light emission output switching section that can switch the light emission output in multiple stages is provided,
Output voltage v of the light transmittance detector 12 of the drained liquid in the drainage process
By switching and setting the light emitting output so that o has approximately the same voltage change, the sudden change in transparency at the end of drainage can be made to be approximately the same voltage change without being affected by the difference in the transparency of the drained liquid. can. For example, in Fig. 3, when the transparency of the discharged liquid is poor, by changing the light emission output characteristic from Pl to P3, the change in output voltage due to ΔT=Ta−Tb becomes Δv3−■e−■f, which reduces the transparency. The output voltage changes Δ■ and Δ■3 when the output voltage is high are almost the same voltage change, so that the degree of influence on transparency can be reduced. The transparency of the drained liquid is the same as that of the liquid in the process before the draining process, so the transparency of the liquid is detected in the process before the draining process, and a certain voltage, for example, from Vr to Vr2 (
By switching and setting the light emitting output so that the output voltage becomes as shown in the two-dot chain line shown in Figure 3, it is possible to eliminate the difference in the amount of change in the output voltage at the end of drainage due to the difference in the transparency of the drained liquid, which is a drawback of the conventional method. be able to.

Effects of the Invention As described above, according to the present invention, the effect of the transparency of the drained liquid on the amount of change in the output voltage of the light transmittance detector due to the change in the light transmittance at the end of drainage is reduced, and the voltage is maintained at approximately the same level. It can be detected by the amount of change, and it is easy to set a threshold value for the output voltage change that determines how much the voltage change at the end of drainage is considered to be a sudden change. This has the effect of increasing the reliability of the information.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a washing machine in an embodiment of the present invention;
Fig. 2 is a circuit diagram of the light transmittance detector and light emission output switching unit used in the washing machine, Fig. 3 is a characteristic diagram showing the relationship between the transparency of the discharged liquid and the output voltage in the same detector, and Fig. 4 The figure shows the relationship between the change in transparency of the drained liquid and the change in the output voltage of the detector during the drainage process. 9...Drain valve, 1o...Drain route, 12
...... Light transmittance detector, 13... Light emission output switching unit, 14... Light emitting element, 15... Light receiving element. Name of agent: Patent attorney Toshio Nakao (1st person)
Figure 2

Claims (1)

[Claims] A light transmittance detector is installed near the wastewater pulp of the dewatering tank with a light emitting element and a light receiving element facing each other to detect the transparency of the discharged liquid. A control system for the drain valve is configured to detect the transparency of the drained liquid over time during the draining process, and to stop the draining process by detecting a sudden change in the transparency of the draining liquid. The luminescence output of the light transmittance detector in the drainage process immediately after the washing process is the luminescence output set in the washing process, and the luminescence output of the light transmittance detector in the drainage process immediately after the Susuki process is the luminescence output set in the Susuki process. A washing machine configured to detect the end of a drainage process.