JPS61172590A - 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] [Field of Application of the Invention] The present invention relates to a washing machine that performs washing by automatically dispensing liquid detergent according to the level of dirt selected arbitrarily or according to the amount of cloth, and particularly relates to The purpose is to automatically dispense the amount at the appropriate timing.

[Background of the invention]

JP-A No. 53-35272 also describes the automatic addition of detergent, but today, as washing machines are equipped with microcomputers and electronic control is progressing, it is possible to add more finely and appropriately. If the washing machine does not load automatically at the right time, it will not be easy to use. This is done by varying the amount of detergent needed depending on the stain, the amount needed for different washing processes, the amount needed depending on the amount of laundry, and even the temperature of the water used. , the washing machine must be able to maintain stable functions at all times with little variation in cleaning rate.

[Purpose of the invention]

The purpose of the present invention is to improve the automatic detergent injection amount and timing according to the degree of dirt, the key selected when entering the washing process depending on the laundry item, and the input, and dispense the necessary amount of detergent that precisely matches the conditions. We provide washing machines that do the following:

[Summary of the invention]

Conventionally, this was not done by the washing machine itself, but by hand. [Pre-washing] and ``Soak washing'' can be programmed in the washing machine, and at this time, the appropriate amount and timing of automatically adding detergent can be combined, depending on the amount of laundry, and depending on the degree of dirt. The amount of detergent added is finely adjusted and controlled.

[Embodiments of the invention]

An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. Reference numeral 1 is an outer frame, 2 is an outer tank for storing water for washing, and has an outwardly protruding support part 2a, to which a suspension is attached via a spring 9. 7 engages. The suspension rod 7 has a lower suspension rod holder 7a and an upper suspension rod 8 at both ends. It will be done.

Reference numeral 11 denotes a washing tub, which also serves as a dehydration tub and has small holes around its outer periphery.

12 is a stirring wing that stirs the laundry for washing;
Reference numeral 16 is connected to the drive unit 15 by a shaft. The drive section 15 has a speed reduction mechanism and a clutch section, and separates the rotation of the stirring blade 12 and the rotation of the washing tub 11. 15a, 1
A pulley 4a transmits rotational force from a motor 14 as a drive source through a belt 17. A center base 13 supports a motor 14 and drive parts 15, and is supported at the lower part of the outer tank 2. 2b is a guide part that protrudes from the lower part of the outer tank and guides a water level sensor 6 that connects the tube 5 and checks the amount of water supplied by replacing it with the water level; 2c is a drain hole, and a drain hose is connected to the tube 5 through the drain valve 3; 4 extends outside the outer frame 1. 1a is a leg provided at the bottom of the outer frame 1, and 10 is a cloth amount sensor that detects the rotation of the motor 14.

The water supply pipe 18 extended from the water outlet is the water supply valve 1
Water is supplied into the washing tub 11 through the water pipe 9 .

23 is a storage tank for liquid detergent and has a lid 23a. 2
5 is a motor pump that forcibly transfers liquid detergent to tank 2.
3 and a discharge tube 22, the distal end of the discharge tube 22 has a check valve 32, and is connected to a water supply hose that supplies water to the washing tub at a connection part 24.

The electrical control circuit in these configurations has a processing circuit made up of a microcomputer in the center.

It has a power supply circuit for driving between the power supplies, a comparison circuit, a detection circuit, and then a cloth amount sensor and a water level sensor.

The selection circuit is used to select the washing process, and the display circuit displays these, as well as the amount of detergent and various abnormal conditions.The motor, water supply valve, drain valve, and detergent dispenser use the signals from the sensors mentioned above to microprocess them. It is processed by a processing circuit made up of a computer and optionally driven via a drive circuit.

The details of the detergent dispenser are explained in Figs. 3Wi to 6.
The detergent liquid 3 contained in the tank 23 and the check valve 3 serving as a discharge port
The two related positions have a head difference of H. (This H can also be negative, so-called detergent liquid is lower than the discharge port. This is because when the tank 23 is on the top surface of the top cover 27, the dimension H is positive, but inside the outer frame 1 (for example, when placed in a blank space). Therefore, if the head is positive, without the check valve 32, the liquid will naturally flow out, and if the head is negative, the liquid will return between the tubes 22 and 26.
The amount of detergent dispensed is determined by the drive time of the motor pump, but this results in variations. Therefore, the check valve 32 is formed with a discharge port 32a and a push-in side 32b, and has a rubber plate 38, a spacer 39, and a spring 4 with a weak spring force in the center.
Assume that traffic is one-way at 0. The motor pump 25 is a small motor, and inside the casing 27 there are vanes 37 . engaged with a motor shaft 36 . It has a seal 41 and forcibly transfers the detergent liquid.

The operation and operation of these configurations will be explained with reference to FIGS. 7 to 9. The operation panel 51 has one display section 52, and the main operation keys are 55, 56, and 57, and are large and easy to operate. The user can choose between "heavily soiled,""standard," and "lightly soiled," and use these keys to perform washing according to a predetermined washing process program.

Reference numerals 53 and 54 are auxiliary keys, which can be used to perform "pre-washing" and "soak washing" by keying in before or after the keys 55 to 57. These are formed as one unified program, and after this completion, 55~
The washing process is automatically switched to the program by key-in No. 57.

50 is a simple lid with a handle 50a. Inside this lid is a manual key for arbitrarily changing the keyed-in program of 55.57, for example, changing the washing time or spin-drying time. do. Since there are many keys and they are cumbersome, only the keys that are mainly used are exposed and the keys that are used occasionally are covered with a simple lid.

As shown in FIG. 8, detergent injection by keying in main operation keys 55 to 57 corresponds to each key, and
Adjustments are made depending on the amount of laundry, and detailed measures are taken.1 For example, the main operation key of A is extremely dirty, and 55
When you start automatic operation with the key-in, the amount of detergent will increase by about 20% compared to the "standard", and the key of 57 will be "
About half of it is "light dirt".

As shown in the simple flowchart in Figure 9, these steps are as follows: Load the laundry, and depending on how dirty it is, press the main operation key to supply water (1). The water level sensor 6, which determines the amount of water supplied by replacing it with the water level, reaches a low water level, at which point it is stopped and the process moves to stirring (1). Stirring (1) is
The amount of laundry is measured by stirring, which is much weaker than normal washing. Based on this measurement value, the water level for the next step, water supply (2), is determined, as well as the amount of detergent.Since the amount of laundry and the amount of detergent are known, the amount of water for rinsing is determined. Since you can also decide on the time and dehydration time, you can decide here and complete the program for the next process onwards.

Therefore, the water supply (2) is adjusted to a water level suitable for the amount of laundry, and the washing is performed by stirring (2), followed by water supply (3) for draining, dehydration, and rinsing, followed by the washing process. complete. Detergent can be automatically added by mixing it into the water supply during water supply (2), or by adding it after water supply (2) is complete.
The detergent dispenser is operated in synchronization with the water supply valve 19, so that it can be performed together with the water supply.

Along with the key-in process of these main operation keys, the auxiliary key 5
3.54 key-in process is a separate program that automatically performs the hand washing that was previously done.
``The pre-washing process is the process of washing extremely dirty work clothes, diapers, etc. before regular washing.
After washing is finished, it is common to add another load of laundry and proceed to the first step, so after r pre-washing, the amount of detergent corresponding to the amount of laundry for 1 minute is automatically added, and then the step shown in ■ is stirred. (2
) → Drain → Dehydrate → Pause, and then issue an alarm and pause. This alarm and pause alert you to the completion of ``pre-washing'' and instruct you to put in another load of laundry, after the machine has paused for the required amount of time.

Leave it as it is, and add the laundry separately.
It is also possible to detect the signal of the opening and closing of the lid, determine that there is another load of laundry, and proceed to the next process.

The zero-order process is to proceed to the next process regardless of the predetermined time period, which is possible. Measure the amount.

Automatically add detergent again and stir while washing (2) →
Proceed to the rinsing process of drainage → dehydration → water supply (3).

Next, the process of soaking and washing was traditionally done by hand.
Soak it in water with detergent in a tub etc.
In a washing machine, you add the action of moving the laundry by kneading it from time to time, and then soak it, and after a certain amount of time, put it into the washing tub with water containing detergent and wash it according to the normal program. It was intended to be done by itself.

By keying in the auxiliary key 54■ either before or after keying in any of the main operation keys 55 to 57 A-C, the same program continues until the detergent is automatically added, and the stirring (3) shown in Figure 1. ) is the mud time (10 seconds to 3
The product is stirred for several minutes, then paused for a fairly long period of time, and this cycle is repeated several times to create a "soaking wash." 6 Usually it takes about an hour.

After this "soak washing" is completed, without draining or dehydrating, the laundry proceeds from the final pause step to the agitation (2) step, which is the normal washing step, and then the detergent is automatically added. is also performed only once at the beginning, and is not performed thereafter.

Although it is a complicated program, the agitation (2) time in normal washing is not a preset time, but this time can also be adjusted by keying in each operation key. First, the automatic detergent injection is for liquid detergent, so if you run out of liquid detergent and want to use the powder, open the simple lid 50 and cancel the automatic detergent injection. This circuit does not automatically add detergent when the key is pressed in. At this time, powdered detergent has more time to dissolve in water than liquid detergent, and if the agitation (2) is performed for the same amount of time as liquid detergent, stain removal will be worse. Liquid detergent dissolves instantly, while powder detergent can take several minutes, depending on the water temperature. Therefore, by keying in the cancel key, it is possible to lengthen the agitation (2) time during washing, thereby eliminating the difference in cleaning rate.

Secondly, the key-in for "soaking and washing" is also the same, and it is so effective that it can be done for half the normal time.

The same idea applies to the automatic addition of detergent, and in the case of the key-in of "pre-washing", it is sufficiently effective to reduce the amount of detergent than the original amount, and can save detergent.

Next, the cloth amount sensor 10 for determining the amount of laundry and the water level sensor 6 for determining the amount of water supplied will be explained.
In Figure 5, the shaft 10 protrudes from the motor 14.
An engaging element 64 is press-fitted with a magnet 63 which is magnetized to 1 at b. A case 6o having a magnetic pole 60a facing the magnet 63 has a mounting leg 60b fixed to the motor 10 with a screw 65, a coil 61 is wound around a bobbin 66, and a lead 62 is pulled out by the coil 61. Motor 10 stirs for 0.3 to 1.0 seconds (7) O
Shaft 1 repeats N and OFF for 0.3 to 2.0 seconds.
When the shaft 10b rotates, an electromotive force is generated by the magnet 63 and the magnetic pole 60a, but even if it is turned off, the shaft 10b rotates due to inertia, so that a voltage waveform as shown in FIG. 11 is obtained. Here, with point a as the motor OFF point, the shaft lob
By reading h, the time it takes for the machine to stop rotating at point b, you can determine the amount of laundry that has been thrown in. This is shown in FIG.

The water level sensor 6 has a pressure transmission hole 70a in the base 70, which transmits pressure to the diaphragm 71. A plunger 72 is located on the top surface of the diaphragm 71, and a movable guide support rod 72a prevents it from falling from side to side. 73 is made of a magnetic material and is integrally supported with the plunger. 74 is a coil with a drawer 75; 76 is a spring that outputs a load arbitrarily matched to the pressure transmitted to the diaphragm 71; 77 is a spring receiver. With this configuration, when the water level rises, the diaphragm moves upward, the magnetic body 73 approaches the coil 74, and as the pressure decreases, it descends again and returns to its original state.

Due to so-called pressure fluctuations, the relative position between the magnetic body 73 and the coil 74 changes.

This is because the reactance of the coil 74 changes, so a general LC oscillator is formed using this change in actance, and this oscillation frequency is determined by a microcomputer.
It can be seen as the water level. The basic circuit is shown in Figure 14, where 8o is a capacitor, 84.81 is an adjustment resistor, and 8o is a capacitor.
3 is an inverter. The oscillation frequency for the actual movement of the magnetic body 73 becomes lower as the reactance increases,
By drawing a curve as shown in Fig. 15, the water level can be determined and controlled using any point on this curve.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As described above, according to the present invention, not only does a cloth amount sensor automatically dispense the appropriate amount of detergent according to the amount of laundry, but it also mechanizes the conventional hand washing process, so that the necessary amount of detergent is added in various processes. To provide a washing machine that can dispense the same amount of detergent at an appropriate timing, is more efficient than hand washing, is easy to use, and can be precisely controlled.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Figure 1 is a schematic diagram for explaining the overall configuration of the washing machine, Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of the electric circuit, Figure 3 is a diagram explaining the operation of the detergent dispenser, and Figure 4 is a cross-sectional view along the center line of the check valve. . FIG. 5 is a diagram showing the blades of the detergent injection motor pump. Figure 6 is a sectional view of the casing of the motor pump, Figure 7 is a partial view of the operation 1 display panel, Figure 8 is a diagram showing the relationship between detergent input amount and selection keys, Figure 9 is a simple flowchart, Figure 10 is a cross-sectional view of the cloth amount sensor, Figure 11 is a diagram showing the relationship between the output of the cloth amount sensor and time, Figure 12 is a diagram showing the relationship between decay time and amount of laundry, and Figure 13 is a diagram showing the water level. FIG. 14 is a schematic diagram of the sensor, FIG. 14 is its electric circuit diagram, and FIG. 15 is a diagram showing a curve in which the oscillation frequency changes with the movement of the magnetic material. 6... Water level sensor, 10... Fabric amount sensor, 25
...Motor pump. ¥1 figure O Y2 cause ¥52 fJ + mouth ¥7 figure H8 figure ¥J (?mouth ¥ Karaguchi Usueda 1 kan 3 < 17 荀 2 Kanamachi 0 origin Akira Osugi Hiroshi Hitachi City Higashitaga-cho Kurimachi Kurimachi in the factory

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. In a washing machine having a device for automatically adding liquid detergent, after loading laundry, a small amount of water is supplied by key-in, stirring is performed in this state, and the amount of laundry is reduced by stirring. Depending on the judgment result of the amount of laundry, the amount of water to be supplied, the stirring time for washing, the amount of liquid detergent to be added, the amount of water to be supplied for rinsing,
This washing machine is characterized by setting the rinsing time for each and performing these in the next process. 2. The agitation for determining the amount of laundry is different from the time cycle of agitation for washing and rinsing, and is a special agitation in which the motor is turned off for a particularly long time.Claim 1 Washing machine as described in section. 3. The laundry according to claim 1, wherein the agitation for determining the amount of laundry is performed by several cycles or more, and the average value or the sum of the agitation cycles is used as the amount determination value for the amount of laundry. Machine. 4. Agitation to determine the amount of laundry is performed at the first small amount of water supply, and after water is supplied based on this determination and detergent is added, it is programmed again during the process of agitation for laundry. Then, judge the amount of laundry for the second time.
As a result, if water needs to be supplied again, the washing machine according to claim 1 is characterized in that only the water supply step is added and then stirring for washing is performed.