JPS6219357Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a water level detecting device for a washing machine for dewatering and washing, which detects the internal water level of a centrifugal dewatering tank using an air trap that is in fluid communication with the inside of the tank.

The water level detection device of a washing machine has traditionally been constructed by connecting and fixing an air trap to a part of the drain pipe that runs from the drain outlet of the tank to the outside of the machine, especially at the part closer to the tank than the drain valve. The water level switch is operated via a thin air tube by changing the water level according to the water level. This structure is the same for the water level detection device of a washing machine that also spins and spins.However, in a washing machine that spins and spins, the tub rotates and vibrates violently during so-called centrifugal spin, and this vibration is transmitted to the outer box. Although it is designed to prevent water from being transmitted, it is transmitted to the drain pipe, and the vibration causes the air trap connected and fixed to the drain pipe to shake violently, stirring up the washing water inside, and as a result, the air trap Bubbles are generated inside the air trap, which fills the air trap and then enters the air tube, and the bubbles that have entered the air tube are unable to escape and become an obstacle when detecting the water level in the next step. This was a major factor in disrupting the operation of the water level switch.

The present invention was developed in view of the above-mentioned circumstances, and its purpose is to prevent the air trap from shaking even if the tank shakes, to prevent the generation of bubbles within the air trap, and to prevent the water level switch due to the bubbles. To provide a water level detection device for a washing machine with a dehydrating function, which can reliably prevent malfunctions of the machine and provide accurate and stable operation at all times.

An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. 1 to 4. First, in Fig. 1, reference numeral 1 denotes an outer box consisting of an upper box 1a made of synthetic resin and a lower box 1b also made of synthetic resin. A tank 2 for dehydrating water only is provided, and in the lower box 1b there is an operating mechanism 5 mainly including a motor 4 that rotates the tank 2 for dehydration and also rotates the stirring blade 3 in the tank 2 for washing. is arranged together with a vibration isolating mechanism A that elastically supports everything from the tank 2 to the driving mechanism 5. In addition, 6 is a top plate mounted on the top box 1b, 7 is a lid for opening and closing the laundry entrance/exit 8 in the center of the top plate 6, and 9 is a top plate 6.
10 is a water level switch installed in the operation box 9, 11 is a waterproof cover attached under the top plate 6, and 12 is a water permeable cover around the upper part of the tank 2. This is a balance ring that is attached so as not to interfere with the movement. On the other hand, 13 is a bottom wall of the upper box 1a which is a partition wall between the upper box 1a and the lower box 1b, and a bellows 16 for supporting the housing 15 of the driving mechanism 5 in a liquid-tight manner is installed in the central opening 14 of the bottom wall of the upper box 1a. A T-shaped connecting pipe 18 is connected to the drain port 17 at the corner, and a drain hose 19, which is mostly located outside the machine, is connected to this connecting pipe 18. Now, as shown in FIG. 2, the housing 15 has a dehydration shaft 21 inserted therein, through which a washing shaft 20 passes.The dehydration shaft 21 is supported by a bearing 22, and the area above the bearing 22 is covered with a seal 23. Further, the upper end opening above the seal 23 is liquid-tightly sealed by a seal 24. Also, those seals 23, 2
The upper part of the dewatering shaft 21 between the four spaces is formed in a large diameter shape with a water passage gap 25 between it and the washing shaft 20, and holes 26 and 27 are formed here, and these holes 2
6 and 27 communicate with the inlet of the drain valve 30 through the connecting port body 28 and the connecting pipe 29 from the area between the seals 23 and 24 on the upper part of the housing 15, and the drain valve The outlet section 30 communicates with the T-shaped connecting pipe 18 via a connecting hose 31. In addition, 32 in FIG. 2 is a seal provided at the lowest part of the gap 25 in series with the lower edges of the holes 26 and 27 described above, and 33 is a recess formed by bulging downward at approximately the center of the bottom of the tank 2. This recess 33 is placed on a receiving plate 35 attached to the upper end of the dewatering shaft 21 with a nut 34, and a plurality of bolts 36 are inserted.
The stirring blade 3 accommodated in the recess 33 is fixed to the upper end of the washing shaft 20 which protrudes into the recess 33 by means of screws 37. Here, 38 is a partition formed integrally with the upper box 1a at the rear corner of the upper box 1a so as to be connected to the bottom wall 13 and the peripheral side wall and extend to the upper opening surface as shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 4, at one bottom of the rear corner of the upper box 1a which is water-tight, that is, at one rear corner of the bottom wall 13, there is a hole 39 and a hole 39 standing up from its periphery as shown in FIG. A cylindrical portion 40 and holes 41 are formed at several places around the cylindrical portion 40, and an air trap 42 is passed through from below from the hole 39 to the cylindrical portion 40 from below, and at the same time, a plurality of claws are formed extending from the air trap 42. 43 is elastically engaged with the hole 41. Thus the bottom wall 1
3, the air trap 42 fixed to the upper box 1a and further to the outer box 1 is connected with the other end of a flexible connecting hose 44 whose one end is connected to the middle part of the connecting pipe 29, and connected to the lower end. The air trap 42 is made to communicate with the inside of the tank 2 through so-called shaft passages such as around the dewatering shaft 21 and around the washing shaft 20. On the other hand, 45 is an air tube whose one end communicates with the water level switch 10 and which passes through the space 46 at the rear corner of the upper box 1a.The other end of this tube connects the air trap 42 to the outer box 1 as described above. It is connected to the small diameter opening 42a at the upper end of the air trap 42 before it is fixed, thereby bringing the air trap 42 into ventilation communication with the water level switch 10.

Next, to describe the function, first, when washing, the drain valve 30
The water supplied into the tank 2 under the closed state of
5. After filling the water channels between the holes 26 and 27, the seals 23 and 24, the connecting port body 28, and the connecting pipe 29 up to the above-mentioned drain valve 30, and at the same time branching off from the connecting hose 44 and filling the water channel up to the air trap 42, Next, the water level in the tank 2 is gradually raised to increase the air pressure in the air trap 42, and when the water level reaches the specified level, the air pressure in the air trap 42 that has risen sufficiently causes the water level switch 10 to be tripped via the air tube 45. urge If the water level switch 10 is tripped in this way,
The above-mentioned water supply is stopped, and the motor 4 is instead energized to rotate the stirring blades 3, and the rotated stirring blades 3 stir the water in the tub 2 together with laundry (not shown) and detergent to wash the clothes. . After this,
In addition to opening the drain valve 30 and draining the water in the waterway, for example, by rotating the tank 2 at high speed by the motor 4, most of the water in the tank 2 is drained into the tank 2 by centrifugal force. The water is shaken off from the upper opening edge of the drain port 17, passed through the connecting pipe 18, and all of the water is discharged from the drain hose 19 to the outside of the machine. Now,
Tank 2 rotated as described above during such drainage (dehydration)
However, as described above, in the conventional structure, the drainage pipes from the tank 2 to the drain hose 19 vibrate as the tank 2 moves. Both the upper box 1a and the lower box 1b are static members that do not cause much vibration because they are vibration-proofed due to the elastic support of the tank 2 by the vibration device A, and in this embodiment, such an outer box is used. Air trap 4 on 1
Since the air trap 2 is fixed, the air trap 4
2 does not vibrate like in the past, and therefore the washing water inside it is not stirred and remains almost calm, and no foam is generated and the foam enters into the air tube 45. The water level switch 1 due to the bubbles will not cause
0 malfunction can be reliably prevented, and therefore, the water level switch 10 can be expected to operate accurately and always stably even when water is supplied for washing, rinsing after draining, etc., and so-called reliability can be increased.

Incidentally, dehydration is also carried out after rinsing, and the same effects as described above can be obtained also in this case.

Furthermore, according to the structure of this embodiment, the air trap 4
2 can be placed farther away from the drain pipe line and higher than before, so the entire drain line including the drain hose 19 can be placed higher up, and the drain hose 19
It is possible to obtain a sufficient head that does not cause any problem in drainage performance even if the water exceeds a threshold or other protrusion, and the connecting pipe 18 and the like can also be shortened. Furthermore, in this embodiment, even if the air trap 42 is formed separately from the outer box 1 and attached later, the air trap 42 is water-shielded by the partition wall 38 integrally formed with the outer box 1. Since it is fixed at a fixed location, there is no need for a waterproof structure such as a seal at the fixed location, and so-called ease of assembly can be improved.

However, when the air trap 42 is fixed to the outer box 1, it may be fixed to the lower box 1b instead of the upper box 1a as described above. Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 5, in which the same parts as those in FIG. 4 are given the same reference numerals, the air trap 42 may be integrally formed and fixed to the outer box 1, for example, the bottom wall 13 of the upper box 1a described above. In such a case, the partition wall 38 may be removed.
may be omitted.

In addition, the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above and shown in the drawings, and can be modified as appropriate without departing from the gist, for example, it can be broadly applied to general dehydrating and washing machines other than the embodiments. It can be implemented by

As explained above, the present invention is a dehydrating/dehydrating washing machine that elastically supports a washing/dehydrating tub in which laundry is accommodated together with washing water, washed, and then dehydrated by rotation. An air trap that communicates with the water level switch in a ventilation manner is fixed to the outer box, and even if the tank shakes, the air trap can be prevented from swinging. It is possible to reliably prevent the generation of bubbles in the air trap and the malfunction of the water level switch due to the bubbles, and to obtain accurate and always stable operation of the water level switch.
In addition, it is possible to provide a water level detection device for a washing machine that can also be used as a dehydrator and has excellent effects such as improving drainage performance.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

1 to 4 show an embodiment of the present invention,
Figure 1 is a vertical side view of the entire washing machine with dehydrating function, Figure 2 is an enlarged vertical cross-sectional view of the area from the bottom of the tank to the drain valve, Figure 3 is a perspective view of the outer box, and Figure 4 is the main parts. FIG. 5 is a view corresponding to FIG. 4 showing a different embodiment of the present invention. In the figure, 1 is an outer box, 2 is a tank, 10 is a water level switch, 13 is a bottom wall of the upper box, 38 is a partition wall, 42 is an air trap, 44 is a connection hose, 45 is an air tube, and A is a vibration isolation mechanism.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claim for Utility Model Registration] 1. In a dehydrating and dehydrating washing machine which stores laundry together with washing water, washes it, and spins it to dehydrate it, the dehydrating and dehydrating washing machine is elastically supported within an outer box. 1. A water level detection device for a dehydrating and washing machine, characterized in that an air trap is fixed to the outer box, the air trap being in fluid communication with the water level switch and in ventilation communication with the water level switch. 2. The water level of the dehydrating/washing machine as set forth in claim 1 of the utility model registration claim, wherein the air trap is fixed at a water-blocked location by a partition wall integrally molded into a synthetic resin outer box. Detection device.