JPS62194895A - Cloth quality detector of washing maichine - 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] (Industrial application field) The present invention relates to a cloth quality detection device for a washing machine.

(Prior art) In general, in a washing machine, it is desirable to adjust the strength of the water flow depending on the amount of laundry and the fabric quality. If the laundry is washed with water, there is a risk of damaging the fabric, while if the amount of laundry is large or the fabric is made of cotton, washing with weak water will reduce the washing efficiency.

Therefore, it is necessary to know the amount of laundry and the quality of the fabric.
Conventionally, devices capable of automatically detecting the amount of laundry are disclosed in, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open Nos. 58-195589 and 1983.
Although various proposals have been made, as seen in Publication No. 125598, no device has yet been proposed that automatically detects the fabric quality of laundry. Therefore, in conventional washing machines, the At present, the water flow can be selected using a plurality of switches, and the user judges the fabric quality through experience and determines the water flow by operating the switches.

(Problems to be Solved by the Invention) As mentioned above, in the past, it was not possible to automatically detect the fabric quality of the laundry, so it was necessary to automatically adjust the water flow according to the fabric quality. fC, which is a major obstacle to automatic control of washing machines.

However, the present invention solves the above-mentioned problems by providing a device that can automatically detect the fabric quality and automatically adjusting the water flow etc. according to the fabric quality.

(Means for Solving the Problems) The content of the present invention will be explained below using FIG. 1 corresponding to an embodiment thereof.

A current detection section 7 is provided to detect the value of the current flowing through the motor 6 that drives the stirring body 3. The value of the current flowing through the motor 6 changes depending on the amount of load applied to the stirring body 3, and a current determining section 8 is provided to determine the maximum and minimum values of the current within a predetermined driving time of the motor 6. Then, the cloth quality determination section 9 calculates the difference between the maximum value and the minimum value determined by the current determination section 8, and determines the cloth quality of the laundry by comparing the value of the difference with a preset value. establish.

(Function) When the motor 6 is driven, that is, during the washing operation due to the rotation of the agitator 3, the current determining section 8 repeatedly determines the current value detected by the current detecting section 7, and determines the maximum current value within a predetermined driving time of the motor 6. Find the value and minimum value. Then, after a predetermined driving time has elapsed, the cloth quality determining section 9 calculates the difference between the maximum value and the minimum value, and compares the value of the difference with a preset value based on experimental data, etc. The fabric quality of the laundry is determined by comparison. In this way, the fabric quality of the laundry is automatically detected.

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

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a control system of a fully automatic washing machine according to an embodiment of the present invention. In Fig. 1, l is the main body of the washing machine, 2 is a washing tub that also serves as a dehydration tank, 3 is an agitator placed at the inner bottom of the washing tub 2, and 4 is a pump action on the back of the agitator 3 that causes the inside of the washing tub 2 to flow. A circulation channel 5 draws and circulates water upward from the bottom, and 5 is a thread waste filter provided at the upper end outlet of the circulation channel 4.

6 is a motor for driving the stirring body 3; 7 is a current detection unit that detects the current of the motor 6; 8 is a unit that obtains a signal from the current detection unit 7 and determines the maximum value of the current within a predetermined drive time of the motor 6; A current determining section 9 calculates the minimum value, and a cloth 9 calculates the difference between the maximum value and the minimum value determined by the current determining section 8, and determines the fabric quality of the laundry by comparing the value of the difference with a preset value. A quality determining section 10 is a sequence control section into which the determination result by the fabric quality determining section 9 is input as a washing control signal, and 11 is a motor control section that controls ON/OFF of the motor 6.

FIG. 3 is a model diagram showing the current waveform of the motor, where T1 indicates the drive time of the motor 6, and T2 indicates the stop time of the motor 6. The current value of the motor 6 is very large at the beginning of driving due to the starting current flowing, but after that it decreases and the current value of the stirring body 3 is very large.
O varies up and down depending on the degree of contact with the laundry.
That is, when the load applied to the stirring body 3 is large, the current value of the motor 6 becomes large, and when the load applied to the stirring body 3 is small, the current value of the motor 6 is also small. and the value of the difference ΔI
As can be seen from the experimental data shown in FIG. 4, this varies depending on the fabric quality of the laundry.

Figure 4 shows synthetic fibers, test cloth (cotton), and jeans (large and thick).
The current waveforms are shown when washing the same weight and amount of water, and FIG. 4(a) shows the case of synthetic fiber, FIG. 4(b) shows the test cloth, and FIG. 4(c) shows the case of jeans. As is clear from this figure, the maximum value, minimum value, and difference ΔI for synthetic fibers are the smallest compared to other fabrics, and the maximum value, minimum value, and difference ΔI3 for jeans are the smallest when compared to other fabrics. Therefore, the fabric quality of the laundry can be detected by determining the maximum value, minimum value, and difference ΔI of the current, but the current value of the motor 6 (maximum, The minimum value) is affected by fluctuations in power supply voltage, variations in motor characteristics, and changes over time, and is not constant. Therefore, in the present invention, the difference between the maximum value and minimum value is determined, and the fabric quality is accurately determined based on the value of the difference ΔI. Therefore, the current determining section 7 in FIG. 1 includes a first storage means for storing the maximum value of current, a second storage means for storing the minimum value of current, It is determined whether the current value detected by the section 6 is larger than the value stored in the first storage means, and if it is larger, the stored value in the first storage means is rewritten to a new value. a second determining means for determining whether the current value detected by the current detection unit 6 is smaller than the value stored in the second storage means, and rewriting the stored value in the second storage means to a new value if the current value is smaller than the value stored in the second storage means; and means for determining the starting current and ignoring the current value.

In addition, the fabric quality determination unit 8
The difference ΔI between the maximum value and minimum value stored in the storage means of
a calculation means for calculating the value ΔI, a comparison means for comparing the value ΔI obtained by the means with a preset value and calculating the difference, and determining the fabric quality based on the comparison result by the comparison means and outputting it as water flow control information. A first determining means for determining ΔI a predetermined number of times.
The apparatus is equipped with a second determination means, etc., which stores the values, calculates the average value thereof, determines the fabric quality based on the average value, and outputs the result as washing time control information.

Further, in this embodiment, the detection accuracy is improved by adopting the structure shown in FIG. 2 for the stirring body 3. In FIGS. 1 and 2, reference numeral 12 denotes a lip on the back surface of the stirring body 3 that exerts a pumping action, and T3 denotes a water hole provided in the stirring body 3. This generates a water flow in the direction, and makes it easier for laundry with a light specific gravity, such as synthetic fibers, to come into contact with the agitator 3. 14 is stirring body 3
This is a protrusion provided on the outer periphery of the upper surface, and this protrusion 14 makes it easier for the laundry to hit.It is designed to increase the value of ΔI for large or thick items, so that it can be used to judge the fabric quality. It makes it easier to do.

Next, FIG. 5 is a diagram showing the value of ΔI and the variation in data when experiments were conducted with the water level set to low, medium, and high and the amount of cloth changed for synthetic fibers, test cloth, and jeans. As is clear from this figure, if the value to be compared with ΔI is set to L in the cloth quality determining section 8, it will be possible to distinguish between synthetic fibers and large/thick materials such as jeans, regardless of the water level or amount of cloth. can be determined. Although a detailed explanation will be omitted in this specification, if the cloth quality is detected by combining the ΔI value with water amount data or cloth amount data, the cloth quality can be judged more precisely and the cloth quality can be detected. It is also clear that accuracy can be improved.

The operation of the above configuration will be explained according to the flowcharts shown in FIGS. 3 and 6.

When washing starts now, the sequence control unit 10 instructs the motor control unit 11 to rotate the motor 6, for example, in the right direction, and starts stirring the laundry and water by rotating the agitator 30. The drive of the motor 6 continues for a preset time, that is, 19 hours.Thus, cloth quality determination data is collected within this time T1, and the current determination unit 8 determines the current value of the motor 6. Repeat this to determine the maximum value Imax- and minimum value l of the current within the above T1 time.
Find and store m1n.

When the time T1 has elapsed, the sequence control unit 10 instructs the motor control unit 11 to stop the motor 6, while the fabric quality determination unit 9 determines the maximum value 1 m stored in the current determination unit 8.
a X % Read out the minimum value lm1n and find the difference,
The value ΔI is compared with a preset value. As a result of the comparison, if ΔI is higher than the value, it is determined that the material is large or thick like jeans, and conversely, if it is smaller, it is determined to be synthetic fiber.

Then, the sequence control unit 10 obtains the determination content of the cloth quality determination unit 9 as water flow control information, and thereby determines the next motor drive time T1, in this case, the counterclockwise rotation drive time T of the motor 6.
, and the subsequent stop time T2 of the motor 6 are set, respectively. If it is determined that the item is large or thick, such as jeans, the driving time T1 is set long and the stopping time T2 is set short. Conversely, if it is determined that it is a synthetic fiber, the driving time T is set short and the stopping time T2 is set short.
Set for a long time.

Therefore, when the preset time T2 (the ■th time is a fixed time) has elapsed, the sequence control unit l.

This instructs the motor control unit 11 to move the motor 6 to the left. Then, during this counterclockwise rotation drive time, fabric quality determination data is collected again in the same manner as described above, and based on this data, the next clockwise rotation drive time of the motor 6 and the subsequent stop time are set. be.

By repeating the above-mentioned operations, a water flow corresponding to the fabric quality of the laundry is created, and the washing operation is performed. Therefore, washing can be carried out without damaging the fabric or reducing washing efficiency.

Further, when the motor 6 is driven and stopped a predetermined number of times, for example, 5 times, the fabric quality determination unit 9 calculates the average value of ΔI of the past 5 times, and compares this average value with the value to determine the fabric quality. The quality is determined, and the determination result is input to the sequence control unit IO as washing time control information. Then, the sequence control unit IO adjusts the preset washing time based on the fabric quality.

When the corrected washing time has elapsed, the washing operation is completed and the next stage drainage operation is started.

As described above, in this embodiment, the fabric quality of laundry can be automatically detected, and the water flow and washing time can be automatically adjusted according to the fabric quality.

Incidentally, in the above-mentioned embodiment, the description has been made regarding the washing operation, but it goes without saying that water flow control can also be implemented during the rinsing operation, the detergent blending operation, and the like. Also, although data is collected each time the motor is reversed to control the next water flow, it is also possible to lengthen the data collection period or change the water flow control period. Furthermore, if the value of Δfactor does not change much, data collection may be stopped and washing may be continued using a water flow based on the previous data.

(Effects of the Invention) As described above, the present invention can fully automatically detect the fabric quality of laundry and automatically adjust the water flow depending on the fabric quality, making it possible to automatically control washing machines. It is valid.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

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 a diagram showing the structure of the above-mentioned stirring body, and Fig. 3 is a model showing the current waveform of the above-mentioned motor. Figures 4(a) to 4(c) are diagrams showing current waveforms when laundry made of the same fabric is washed with the same weight and the same amount of water, and Figure 5 is a diagram showing the current waveform when laundry made of the same fabric is washed with the same weight and the same amount of water. The water level is low, medium and
ΔI of each experiment when setting it to high and changing the amount of cloth
FIG. 6 is a control flowchart showing the values and data variations. 3: stirring body, 6: motor, 7: current detection section, 8: current determination section, 92 fabric quality determination section. Agent Patent Attorney Takeshi Sugiyama (1 other person) Figure 1 Figure 2 Figure 3 Figure 84 Figure 5

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A current detection unit that detects the current of the stirring body driving motor; a current determination unit that obtains a signal from the current detection unit and determines the maximum and minimum values of the current within a predetermined driving time of the motor; A washing machine comprising a fabric quality determination unit that calculates the difference between the maximum value and the minimum value determined by the current determination unit and determines the fabric quality of the laundry by comparing the value of the difference with a preset value. cloth quality detection device.