JPS5955293A - 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 the Invention The present invention relates to a washing machine that washes laundry using foam.

Conventional Structures and Problems Regarding the washing methods, the whirlpool type, agitation type, and drum type are the mainstream in various regions of the world. The basic configuration of these methods will be briefly explained.

First, the spiral type and the agitation type (d).A rotary blade (pulsator) or agitation blade (agitator) is rotatably arranged at the inner bottom of the washing tub to pump water into the washing tub.

Add detergent and toiletries and rotate the pulsator.

Alternatively, stirring blades are oscillated to apply mechanical force to the laundry to remove dirt.

Next, the drum type has what is called a drum which usually has three protrusions (baffles) on the inside, and this drum has a central axis of rotation in the horizontal direction. Approximately 10% of water is then poured into the drum, along with an appropriate amount of detergent, and laundry is then placed and the drum is rotated.

At this time, the laundry is lifted up by the baffle in the drum, and when it comes to the top, it falls naturally, and the dirt is removed by the impact with the water surface, which is a type of so-called "beat washing".

In any of the above-mentioned methods, basically, mechanical force is applied to the laundry using an aqueous system, and in combination with the chemical action of the detergent, dirt is removed.

In addition, all of the above-mentioned methods apply a considerable amount of mechanical force to the laundry, resulting in wrinkles. However, depending on the washing method, there is a difference in the ease of cloth knitting, and in general, it can be said that the spiral method, stirring method, and drum method are the largest in the order of knitting.

Instead, the cleaning efficiency is better in the order of spiral type, stirring type, and drum type, which have a larger gap between the cloths, and it can be said that the higher the mechanical force, the better the cleaning.

Additionally, in order to compensate for the poor cleaning efficiency of the drum type, hot water is used for washing. Although hot water is often used in the stirring method, recently water has been used more and more due to improvements in the performance of detergents, that is, the ability to clean with low-temperature water.

However, hot water is used in the above-mentioned drum type not only to improve washing efficiency. In Europe, where this drum type is often used, the poor quality of the water, that is, its high hardness, is partly to blame, but in general, it is largely due to the user's hygienic concept of washing, and washing sterilizes bacteria and germs. Because of this emphasis, high-temperature cleaning is being used.

In Japan, on the other hand, the quality of the water is good, and the custom of washing with regular water helps, and most clothes are washed at low temperatures (at the same water temperature), as opposed to the high-temperature washing in Europe. Also, the concept of washing is more focused on whiteness after washing rather than sterilization. This is a fundamental difference in the way of thinking about laundry between Yake Shoroppa and Japan.

As mentioned above, each type of washing machine has its advantages and disadvantages, but in any case, existing washing machines tend to damage fabrics. Therefore, at present, knitted items and the like are mostly hand-washed or dry-cleaned.

Next, since it is washed with water, a detergent solution of a certain concentration is required.
However, each of the above methods requires a certain bath ratio (amount of water per unit amount of washing), and the amount of detergent tends to be too large relative to the amount of dirt.

Furthermore, sterilization is not considered to be an issue that can be ignored. Detergents do not have a bactericidal effect, and in Japan, they are only removed by washing them out when rinsing.
With recent efforts to conserve water, rinsing water has been reduced, and it can be said that the effectiveness of removing bacteria is becoming less effective. As described above, conventional washing machines have a number of problems.

In addition, divine methods have been proposed to eliminate cloth damage, one of which is the jet method. This method uses a pump to circulate the detergent liquid in the washing tub again, creating a water flow in the washing liquid in the washing tub, and the force of this water flow and the force of the washing liquid itself jetted from the pump is used to wash the laundry. It gives mechanical power and removes dirt. This method requires less fabric knitting than any of the above-mentioned methods, but it has not been used at all recently because it has poor cleaning efficiency and a large bath ratio, making it uneconomical.

Therefore, in order to eliminate the problems of the above-mentioned conventional washing methods, the inventor proposed that laundry be washed by bringing detergent foam into contact with or passing through it.

This method reduces the amount of detergent and water used, exhibits excellent cleaning effects with sterilizing effects, and has the excellent feature of having fewer right-hand corners. However, in order to make washing using detergent foam more effective, one technical issue is how to dispose of the detergent foam after washing.

OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION The object of the present invention is to quickly defoam the detergent foam after washing in a washing method using detergent foam, thereby further improving the characteristics of the detergent foam method and increasing the washing efficiency.

Structure of the Invention The washing machine of the present invention includes a washing tub for storing laundry, a detergent foam generating means for supplying detergent foam to the washing tub, and a foam discharge pipe for guiding the detergent foam after washing to the outside of the washing tub. This foam discharge pipe is equipped with a defoaming device installed in a part of the foam discharge pipe, so that the detergent foam introduced into the foam discharge pipe after washing is quickly defoamed by the defoaming device, and the detergent flows through the foam discharge pipe. By weakening the resistance of the foam, it promotes the supply of new detergent foam to the laundry, increasing washing efficiency.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS First, a general explanation of washing will be explained based on FIGS. 1 to 3. Generally, when a detergent molecule A is represented as a model, it consists of a hydrophilic group a and a lipophilic group as shown in FIG.

Therefore, when detergent is dissolved in water, the detergent molecules A are aligned at the interface (water surface) as shown in Figure 2, and the detergent molecules that cannot be aligned exist individually or as hamicelles (groups) in the water. Immediately after the detergent molecules at the interface are removed, the detergent molecules in the water move to the interface and act to replenish it.

Therefore, for example, as shown in FIG. 3, when air B is fed into the detergent liquid, air bubbles C rise in the liquid and reach the interface. Upon reaching the interface, foam is generated in which the detergent molecules A aligned at the interface are retained in the foam film. That is, the foam has detergent molecules A arranged as closely as possible, and the detergent concentration is high. In order to replenish the detergent molecules A carried away as foam at this time, the detergent molecules in the liquid move, and if air B is sent one after another, the above-mentioned foam will be created one after another. The bubbles naturally direct lipophilic groups into and out of the membrane.

By passing the foam thus produced on or through the soiled clothing, the oil and dirt particles adhering to the oil are bound to the lipophilic base and carried away. Furthermore, if the foam breaks while passing through the clothes, the highly harsh detergent liquid will soak into the clothes, which can also make it easier to remove stains. In this way, clothes can be washed.

The present invention allows washing to be carried out based on the above-described principle, and will be explained below with reference to FIGS. 4 to 9.

Reference numeral 1 denotes a washing tub for storing laundry 2, and 3 is a storage section connected to this washing tub 1 for storing detergent liquid.A drain port 6 is provided at the bottom via a valve 4, and a drain port 6 is provided for supplying pressurized air. It is provided with a pressure feed pipe 7 connected to a blower 6. And storage section 3. The air blower 6 and the pressure feed pipe 7 constitute a detergent foam generating means 8 that generates detergent foam from the detergent liquid. On the other hand, a foam discharge pipe 9 for guiding detergent foam to the outside of the washing tub 1 is provided in the soil part of the washing tub 1, and this foam discharge pipe W9/d is connected to a discharge hose 1o that is connected to the outside of the washing machine.

Also, in the washing +fJ1, porous bodies 1 are placed in the upper and lower parts respectively.
1.12 are arranged, and both porous bodies 11.12
The laundry 2 is stored in between. Note that the upper part of the washing M tank 1 and the porous body 11, 12 can be opened or removed as appropriate. 13 is a washing machine frame, and 14 is a leg.

Reference numeral 16 denotes a defoaming device provided in a part of the foam discharge pipe 9, the details of which will be described later.

In the washing machine configured as described above, detergent liquid 16 is put into the reservoir 3 of the washing tub, and air is forced from the bottom of the washing tub through the entire pressure feeding pipe 7 to generate detergent foam 17. It is designed so that it can be washed by touching or passing through the object 2. The detergent foam 17 that has come into contact with or passed through the laundry 2 passes through the porous body 11 at the top of the washing tub and is discharged to the outside from the foam discharge pipe 9. The porous body 11 in the upper part is for preventing the laundry 2 from being washed away by the detergent foam 17.

Cleaning is carried out as described above, but the detergent foam 17 has a high viscosity and flows smoothly through the foam discharge pipe 9.
Therefore, the rising speed of the detergent foam 17, that is, the force with which it contacts or passes through the laundry 2, may be weakened. This causes a problem that the cleaning efficiency decreases.

However, a defoaming device 15 is provided in the middle of the foam discharge pipe 9. Therefore, the discharged detergent foam 17 is defoamed by the defoaming device 16 and discharged as detergent liquid. Therefore, the volume of the detergent foam is reduced all at once by liquefaction, and the detergent foam 17 is discharged very smoothly.

Here, a first embodiment of the defoaming device 15 is shown in FIG.

In this configuration, a water supply port 18 as one means of a defoaming device 16 is provided at the upper part of the foam discharge pipe 9, and a large number of small holes 19 are provided here.

In this manner, when the detergent foam 17 begins to be discharged, water is supplied continuously or intermittently (preferably in a shari-like form) as shown by the arrow, and the foam is broken by the force of the water. ′! This is a useful method because it not only carefully breaks the foam, but also works to flush out the detergent foam 17.

A second embodiment is shown in FIGS. 6 and 7. As shown in the figure, the hot plate 20 is installed parallel to the direction in which the detergent foam flows. When the detergent foam 17 comes into contact with the hot plate 2o, the detergent liquid forming the detergent foam 17 in that area evaporates, leading to foam breakage. This is how the foam is defoamed.

Furthermore, if the surface of the hot plate 20 is subjected to an aqueous surface treatment such as Teflon coating, the effect will be further improved.

A third embodiment is shown in FIGS. 8 and 9. This is provided with a centrifugal fan 21 as shown in the figure. By rotating this centrifugal fan 21, the detergent foam 17 sent from the upper part is sucked into the center part 22 of the centrifugal fan 21, and the blades 23
It is a washing method in which the detergent foam is dispersed in the circumferential direction along the wafer, and the foam is broken by the force at this time.It provides a smoother flow of detergent foam and improves washing efficiency. The value is extremely great.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Figure 1 is an enlarged view showing detergent molecules, Figure 2 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing detergent dissolved in water, and Figures 3 and 3 are schematic cross-sections showing the state shown in Figure 2 with air pumped in. FIG. 4 is a sectional view of a washing machine according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. M5 is a partial sectional view showing a first embodiment of a defoaming device used in the washing machine of the present invention, and FIG. FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional perspective view showing the second embodiment and a cross-sectional view showing the defoaming state, and FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view showing the third embodiment.
9 is a perspective view of the centrifugal fan shown in FIG. 8. 1...Washing tub, 2...Laundry, 3...
...Reservoir, 6...Blower, 7...
- Pressure feed pipe, 8... Detergent foam generating means, 9...
... Foam discharge pipe, 15... Defoaming device, 17...
...detergent foam. Name of agent: Patent attorney Toshi Nakao, male l'L, or one person No. 1, Figure 2, Figure 4-4

Claims (1)

[Claims] A washing tub that holds laundry and detergent in this washing tub? A washing machine comprising: a means for generating detergent foam to supply detergent foam; a foam discharge pipe that guides detergent foam after washing to the outside of the washing tub; and a defoaming device provided in a part of the foam discharge pipe.