JPS61159994A - Washing machine - 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 (Technical Field) The present invention relates to a washing machine that controls washing or rinsing operations by optically detecting changes in turbidity of a washing liquid.

(Prior Art) Recently, a washing machine has been proposed which is equipped with a turbidity detection sensor that thermally detects changes in the turbidity of a washing liquid and controls all washing or rinsing operations based on the turbidity detected by this sensor. By the way, in such washing machines, removing the influence of foam on the sensor's turbidity detection leads to improved control accuracy, but conventionally proposed foam removal methods have a negative impact on cleaning efficiency. This resulted in problems such as a decrease in performance, and was not very good for practical use.

(Purpose) The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and it is possible to accurately determine the turbidity and temperature of a cleaning liquid by eliminating the influence of bubbles.
This is intended to improve the control accuracy and to prevent harmful effects such as a decrease in cleaning efficiency.

(Example) Examples of the present invention shown in the drawings will be described in detail below.

First, in Fig. 1, 1 is an outer tank that serves as the water tank of a fully automatic washing machine and stores cleaning liquid such as washing or rinsing water, 3 is an inner tank that serves as a washing and dewatering tank, and 4 is located at the inner bottom of the inner tank 3. A pulsator 5 is inserted into the circulation path 5, and 6 is inserted into the circulation path 5, and the pulsator 5 has one end opened at the bottom side of the outer tank L and the other end opened at the inner bottom surface. A turbidity detection sensor that optically detects changes in turbidity; 7 is a drainage channel connected to the circulation path 5 and discharges the cleaning liquid in the outer tank l; 8 is a motor for driving the pulsator 4; 9 10 is the signal from the turbidity detection sensor 6.
11 is a drain valve inserted in the drain channel 7, +
2 is a drain valve control unit that controls the drain valve 11, and 13 is a sequence control unit such as a microcomputer that controls each part according to a predetermined program. The pulsator 4 generates a horizontally reversed water flow by driving the 8 inverters left and right, and in the present invention, there is particularly a left-right reversed water flow with a strong water flow (hereinafter referred to as A water flow) and a left-right reversed water flow with a weak water flow (hereinafter referred to as B water flow). ) and t are alternately produced as shown in Figure 2. The strong operation cycle that creates the entire A water flow is to turn the motor 8 clockwise for t4 hours'r3N, turn left for t5 hours 0FFSt6 hours, and turn the motor 8 clockwise for t4 hours.
The weak operation cycle, which is controlled with a cycle of 7 hours OFF, and which produces B water flow, is controlled with a cycle of motor 8\t, clockwise rotation ON for 8 hours, t time OFF, t time counterclockwise rotation ON, t, time 0FF, respectively t8〈t4.1,
>15, tlo<t6, tll>t7,
Also, the A water flow time t1 and the B water flow time t2 are set arbitrarily, respectively, and the relationship between the two is Vt, >t2.
When the pulsator 4 rotates, the cleaning liquid in the inner tank 3 is forcibly stirred, while some of the cleaning liquid flows through the inner tank 3 → outer tank 1 → circulation path 5 (turbidity detection sensor 6) → outer tank 1 → inner tank. It circulates in the order of tank 3 as shown by the arrow in Figure 1. However, during water flow A, the water flow produced is strong due to the long 08 time of motor 8, and therefore the foaming caused by the detergent is very large. The generated bubbles are drawn into the circulation path 5 and reach the turbidity detection sensor 6 because 08 hours are long.

On the other hand, during water flow B, since the water flow is weak, there is little foaming due to the detergent, and when the generated foam is drawn into the circulation path 5, the 08 time of the motor 8 is short, so the foam is sent to the turbidity detection sensor. Before reaching 6, the motor 8 goes into the OFF section, and the bubbles in the circulation path 5 enter the circulation path 5 due to their own buoyancy! The bubbles will flow backwards and return to the outer tank 1, and the bubbles will not reach the turbidity detection sensor 6.

In view of the above circumstances, the present invention selects a period when there are no bubbles in the turbidity detection sensor 6, and determines the turbidity of the cleaning liquid based on the detection level of the turbidity detection sensor 6 at this time. This allows for accurate determination of turbidity without any problems. That is, after a certain period of time t3 from the initial stage of the start of the B water flow,
The sequence control unit 13 reads the detection level of the turbidity detection sensor 6 through the turbidity detection unit 10, determines the turbidity of the cleaning liquid, and controls the completion of the washing or rinsing operation based on the result. In addition, since the beginning of the B water flow operation is still affected by the previous stage A water flow operation, the most stable period was selected between the latter half of the B water flow operation and the early stage of the next stage A water flow operation. It is desirable to determine turbidity. FIGS. 4 and 5 show specific numerical examples selected for the experimental data Y base.

In this embodiment, the turbidity of the cleaning liquid can be accurately determined by alternately generating a strong water flow and a weak water flow, so that the ON time can be shortened over the entire operating period of the motor 8. There is no need to increase the OFF time or to lengthen the OFF time, so there is no problem such as a decrease in cleaning efficiency.

It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above and shown in the drawings, but can of course be implemented with appropriate modifications within the scope of the invention.

For example, the water flow is not limited to a horizontally reversed water flow, but may be an intermittent water flow in one direction.

(Effects) As described above, according to the present invention, the turbidity of the cleaning liquid can be accurately determined without being affected by bubbles, the control accuracy can be improved, and there is no possibility of harmful effects such as a decrease in cleaning efficiency Q. It is extremely practical.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Fig. 1 is a block diagram showing the control system of a fully automatic washing machine according to an embodiment of the present invention, Fig. 2 is an explanatory diagram of water flow, Fig. 3 is an explanatory diagram of the operation of the same motor, and Figs. 4 and 5 are 04: Pulsator, 5: Circulation path, 6: Turbidity detection sensor, 8: Motor. Agent Patent attorney Aihiko Fukushi (and 2 others) 1 piece Figure 1

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. Periodically turn on and off the pulsator drive motor.
A turbidity detection sensor is installed to optically detect changes in the turbidity of the cleaning solution, and the washing or rinsing operation is controlled based on the turbidity detected by this sensor. A means for controlling the motor to alternately perform strong water flow operation and weak water flow operation is provided, and the turbidity of the cleaning liquid is determined based on the sensor detection level after a certain period of time has elapsed from the beginning of the weak water flow operation. A washing machine featuring