JPS6150000B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a water storage device for a washing machine in which a water storage tank is installed in parallel with the washing machine, and the washing water used once in the washing tank is stored in the water storage tank and used for the next washing.

Recently, in order to save washing water used for washing, it has been considered to store the used washing water in a water tank, and then transfer the washing water from the water tank to the washing tank for reuse during the next wash. .

An object of the present invention is to make it possible to conserve washing water as described above, and to skillfully utilize the washing water stored in the water tank to perform various washing operations depending on the degree of dirtiness of the laundry. An object of the present invention is to provide a water storage device for a washing machine.

One embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3.
This will be explained with reference to the figures. Reference numeral 1 denotes an outer box of a washing machine that also serves as a dehydrator. Inside this, a water receiving tank 3 is suspended via an elastic suspension mechanism 2, and a rotary tank 4 serving as a washing and dehydrating tank can be rotated inside the water receiving tank 3. It is arranged. 5
1 is a mechanical part disposed at the outer bottom of the water receiving tank 3, which receives rotational force from a motor (not shown) with a pulley 6 to drive the rotating tank 4 and the stirring blades 7 arranged at the inner bottom of the rotating tank 4. It is selectively transmitted. 8 is a drain valve attached to the drain port 3a of the water receiving tank 3, and a drain hose 9 is connected to this drain valve. 10 is outer box 1
A cover made of plastic, for example, is attached to the upper surface, and an operation box 11 is formed in a bulging manner at the rear, and a lid 13 is provided on the laundry opening 12 facing the rotating tub 4.
is pivotably supported. 14 is the operation box 11
A water supply case disposed inside the water supply case, through which a water supply hose (none of which is shown) connected to a water faucet via a water supply solenoid valve is communicated, and an operation box 11.
A water supply pipe 15 led out from the rear of the pipe is connected to the outside. Now, 16 is a water tank installed in parallel on the left side plate of the outer box 1 by tightening bolts, etc., and this water tank 16
A cover 18 made of plastic, for example, is attached to the upper surface of the outer box 17 forming the outer box 17.
An operation box 19 is formed in a bulging manner at the rear part of 8,
The front and rear surfaces of the outer box 17 and the top surface of the cover 18 are the outer box 1.
The front and rear surfaces of the cover 10 and the top surface of the cover 10 are arranged so as to be substantially flush with each other. Therefore, water tank 16
The inside of the outer box 17 is partitioned by a bottom wall 20 and a rear wall 21 to form a water storage container inside, and the left and right walls and front wall of the outer box 17 constitute the tank wall of this water storage container. It's summery. 22 is a pump disposed at the rear lower part of the outer box 17, which has two inlets 22.
a, 22b and two outflow ports 22c, 22d are provided inside.
A valve body 23 that rotates to select one of the two outflow ports 22c and 22d, and an impeller 24 that is rotationally driven by a pump motor (not shown) are provided. The inflow port 22a is communicated with a drain port 3b provided at the bottom of the water receiving tank 3 via a hose 25, and the inflow port 22b is communicated with the bottom wall 2 via a hose 26.
The outlet 22 is connected to the outlet 20a provided at
c is communicated via a hose 27 to a discharge port 28 provided at the upper end of the rear wall 21, and the outlet 22d is communicated via a hose 29 to the water supply pipe 15. 3
0 is a knob for switching the valve body 23 provided on the operation box 19, and the lever 3 rotated by this knob 30.
0a and an operating lever 23a provided on the valve body 23 are connected to each other by a rod 31, and a knob 30
When the valve body 23 is rotated to the left and set to "water storage", the valve body 23 is also rotated accordingly, the inlet 22a and the outlet 22c are respectively opened, and the inlet 22b and the outlet 22d are respectively closed. Further, when the knob 30 is turned to the right and set to "water supply", the valve body 23 is also turned accordingly, and the inlet 22b and the outlet 2
2d are opened respectively, and the inlet 22a and the outlet 22 are opened.
c are respectively occluded (see Figure 2). Reference numeral 32 denotes a rectangular opening formed on the upper surface of the cover 18 so as to communicate with the inside of the water tank 16, and a total of four engagement holes 33 are bored in the vicinity of both front and rear end edges of the rectangular opening 32.
34 is attached to the opening 32 from above and connects the four engagement pieces 34a provided at both front and rear ends to the engagement hole 33.
A lint filter 36 is constructed by forming a large number of small holes 35 in the bottom surface of the filter case as a container fitted into the filter case. The rear wall 34b of this filter case 34 is in a vertical state,
A rectangular opening 37 corresponding to the tip of the outlet body 28 is bored in the upper part, and a filter case 34 is provided at a position to receive washing water from the outlet body 28 . Further, the front wall of the filter case 34 has an inclined shape that rises obliquely upward toward the front, and a plurality of uneven stripes are arranged in parallel in the left-right direction to form a washboard section 38. .
Note that the left and right side walls 34c of the filter case 34 are set to approximately 1/3 of the height of the rear wall. 39 is a push button switch for controlling the operation/stop of the pump 22, which is provided in the operation box 19; 40 is a timer for the washing machine, which is provided in the operation box 11.

Next, the operation of this embodiment configured as above will be explained. First, when the water storage tank 16 is empty, the laundry to be washed and the detergent are put into the rotary tank 4, and the timer 40 is set. Then, washing water flows into the rotary tank 4 via a water supply solenoid valve (not shown) and the water supply case 14. When the water reaches a specified level in the rotary tank 4, the stirring blades 7 are rotated and the laundry items are washed with detergent. After this detergent washing has been carried out for a predetermined period of time, the process moves to a drainage process consisting of dehydration before rinsing, but if you want to store the washing water used for this detergent washing in the water storage tank 16, turn the knob 30 to the left in advance. When moving to the "water storage" side, turn on the push button switch 39 to energize the pump motor (not shown), and at the same time turn off the power to the drain valve 8 to close it off. . When the washing water in the rotating tub 4 is discharged into the water receiving tank 3 due to the high speed rotation of the rotating tub 4, this washing water flows from the drain port 3b to the inlet 22a via the hose 25, and the impeller 24
Due to the pump action caused by the rotation of the pump, the water is sent from the outlet 22c to the outlet body 28 via the hose 27 (see arrow A in FIG. 2). The washing water flowing out from the discharge port body 28 is then discharged through the opening 3 of the filter case 34.
7 and pours down onto the lint filter 36,
When the washing water passes through the small holes 35, lint and other lint in the washing water is removed and enters the water storage tank 16 where it is stored. By the way, as mentioned above, before energizing the pump 22 for "water storage", the filter case 34 is
When the laundry 41 to be washed with detergent next time is stored in the laundry 41, the washing water flowing out from the discharge port body 28 splashes on the laundry 41, making the laundry 41 wet. Therefore, since the laundry 41 contains washing water containing detergent, if left as is, the dirt will be easily separated by the action of the detergent. Further, the heavily soiled portions of the laundry 41 can be scrubbed using the washboard section 38. After all the washing water from the rotary tank 4 has been transferred to the water storage tank 16, the push button switch 39 is turned off to turn off the pump motor (not shown).
At the same time, the drain valve 8 is energized to open it. In this way, in the draining process after detergent washing, when all the washing water containing detergent is transferred from the rotating tank 4 to the water storage tank 16, the timer 40 automatically shifts to the next rinsing process. Since the operation of each step from then on until the final dehydration is well known, the explanation will be omitted.

After completing the first wash in this way, when doing the second and subsequent washes, the filter case 3
After putting the laundry 41 stored in the rotary tub 4 into the rotary tub 4, turn the knob 30 to the right in the opposite direction to the above to set it to the "water supply" side, and at the same time turn the knob 30 to the water supply solenoid valve (not shown). The energizing circuit is turned off, and then the timer 40 is set and the push button switch 39 is turned on at the same time. Then, the pump motor is energized and the impeller 24 is rotated, and the washing water in the water storage tank 16 flowing from the outlet 20a through the hose 26 to the inlet 22b of the pump 22 is pumped by the rotation of the impeller 24. The water is supplied from the outlet 22d into the rotating tank 4 via the hose and the water supply case 14 (see arrow B in FIG. 2). When the water is supplied to the specified water level in the rotating tank 4, detergent washing is automatically started, and thereafter a series of washing steps up to the final dehydration is automatically carried out by the timer 40, but the inside of the rotating tank 4 is When the specified water level is reached, the push button switch 39 is turned off to stop the operation of the pump 13. In this way, when the washing water used for the second washing with detergent is to be used for the third washing, the above-mentioned operation can be repeated. In addition, the above explanation is for the case where the washing water used for detergent washing is stored in the water storage tank 16 and used as is for the next detergent washing, but the washing water used for the final rinsing is It is also possible to store the water in the water storage tank 16 by operation, transfer it to the rotating tank 4 at the time of the next washing with detergent, and use it by adding detergent.

According to this embodiment configured in this way, the laundry 41 is placed in the filter case 34 and the washing water from the rotary tub 4 is pumped into the water storage tank 16 by the pump 22.
When the washing water from the discharge port 28 is operated to "storage" the laundry 41, the laundry 41 is wetted.
Since the laundry 41 contains washing water containing detergent, the laundry 41 is in a state similar to that of being immersed in washing water until the next detergent washing starts, and the detergent content in the washing water is removed. This action causes dirt to be separated from the surface, thus reducing the time required for cleaning with detergent and greatly increasing overall cleaning efficiency.

In the above embodiment, the filter case 34 is attached to the opening 32;
As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, a laundry basket 42 serving as a container may be detachably attached to the laundry basket 2. That is, this laundry basket 42 is made of plastic,
The upper opening has a rectangular shape that is slightly smaller than the opening 32 and has a predetermined depth. The flange portion 4 extends from the front and rear of the upper edge.
2a, 42a are provided with four engaging pieces 42b that protrude downward to fit into the engaging holes 33, and a U-shaped handle 43 is rotatably attached to the center of the upper part. . Then, when the laundry basket 42 having this configuration is attached to the opening 32 and the laundry 41 is stored therein as shown in FIG. body 2
The washing water coming out of the laundry basket 8 wets the laundry 41, and when the water level in the water tank 16 becomes full, the laundry basket 4
The laundry 41 in the laundry tank 16 is immersed in the washing water stored in the water storage tank 16, and is therefore more effectively affected by the detergent-containing washing water than in the above embodiment. Dirt is separated from the surface of the laundry 41, and the time required for subsequent washing with detergent can be further shortened.

As is clear from the embodiments described above, the present invention not only allows the washing water to be used for multiple washings and saves washing water, but also allows the washing water to be stored in the water storage layer to be effectively used. It is possible to provide a water storage device for a washing machine that has excellent effects such as being able to perform various washing operations depending on the degree of dirtiness of the laundry and shortening the washing time in the washing machine.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

1 to 3 show an embodiment of the present invention, in which FIG. 1 is a perspective view, FIG. 2 is a cutaway diagram showing the operation of the washing machine and water tank separated, and FIG. The figure is an exploded perspective view showing the filter case separated from the water tank and the water tank partially cut away, and FIGS. 4 and 5 show other embodiments of the present invention.
FIG. 4 is a longitudinal sectional view of the water tank, and FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the laundry basket alone. In the drawing, 4 is a rotating tank, 16 is a water tank, 22 is a pump, 23 is a valve body, 28 is a discharge port body, 32 is an opening, 34 is a filter case (container), 36 is a lint filter, and 38 is a washboard. Department, 41 is laundry, 4
2 is a laundry basket (container).

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. In a washing machine in which water tanks are arranged side by side, washing water from the washing tank of the washing machine is discharged into the water tank from a discharge port provided at the upper part of the water tank. and a popper that sends the washing water stored in the water tank to the washing tank from an outlet provided at a lower part of the water tank as necessary, A water storage device for a washing machine, comprising a container that is provided to receive discharged washing water and can store laundry. 2. The water storage device for a washing machine according to claim 1, wherein the container has a lint filter that removes lint contained in the washing water sent to the water storage tank by the pump. 3. The water storage device for a washing machine according to claim 1, wherein the container has a washboard portion. 4 Claim 1, characterized in that the container consists of a laundry basket that is removably attached to a water storage tank.
A water storage device for a washing machine as described in .