JPS62221395A - Drive apparatus of dehydration 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 Industrial Application) The present invention relates to a dehydrating washing machine such as a fully automatic washing machine, and particularly to a driving device thereof.

(Prior Art) Conventionally, in this type of washing machine, the operating lever that operates the drain valve, dehydration brake, and wash a-dehydration switching clutch is
It uses a solenoid and its plunger to perform the suction operation.

Because of this, when the solenoid is energized, the plunger is suddenly attracted and collides with the solenoid, producing an extremely loud sound.The sound is transmitted to the outer frame of the washing machine, etc., and is accompanied by echoes and resonance. This caused great discomfort to the user.

Therefore, the present applicant has proposed various methods for eliminating such noise, such as in Japanese Patent Application No. 60-225185. This proposal uses a small motor to rotate the output shaft via a clutch-mediated reduction gear group.
An operating body that responds to this output shaft moves the operating lever from the first position to the second position, and as the operating lever moves toward the second position, the drain valve is changed from closed to open. The actuating lever is activated by switching the brake from braking to braking release state, changing the washing/dehydration switching clutch from transmission release to power transmission state, and stopping the small motor upon detecting that the actuating lever has reached the second position. The operating lever is moved from the second position to the first position by holding it in the second position and disengaging the clutch interposed in the reduction gear group.
It is designed to return to its position. Therefore, by using a combination of a small motor and a clutch-mediated reduction gear group, this proposed method can significantly reduce noise compared to the conventional method using solenoids, achieving quieter operation. It is possible.

By the way, in general, in the drive device of a dehydrating washing machine, normal operation cannot be expected if the drain valve is in a frozen state, and countermeasures against freezing of the drain valve are required.

However, in the conventional solenoid, the first
A drain valve as shown in Figure 3 was used to prevent the solenoid from burning out due to freezing of the drain valve. The drain valve shown in Figure 13 includes a drain valve outer shell 101, a valve body 102, a coil spring 10B that normally biases the valve body 102 in the closing direction, and a traction fitting 10 that is pulled in the direction of the arrow by a solenoid (not shown).
4. Consists of a guide tube 105 and another spring +06 that connects the metal fitting +04 and the valve body 102 and has a spring constant larger than the coil spring 103. In a normal state, when the towing metal fitting 104 is pulled in the direction of the arrow, , the coil spring lO3 is compressed and the valve body 102 is opened. If residual water freezes, the coil spring +06 expands as the traction fitting 104 moves in the direction of the arrow, thereby preventing the solenoid from burning out.

Therefore, it is conceivable to use the drain valve shown in FIG. 13 even in a device that uses a combination of a small motor and a clutch-mediated reduction gear group.

(Problem to be solved by the invention) However, in the conventional drain valve structure, two springs 103
, 106, and the structure is extremely complicated, and even though the dehydration brake and the washing/dehydration switching clutch are switched normally due to the expansion of the spring 106, the drain valve is closed. This is extremely inconvenient as the washing program cannot proceed as it remains in this state. Conventionally, there is no device that detects freezing of a drain valve, and therefore there is no way to proactively notify freezing or perform an operation to unfreeze the drain valve.

(Means for Solving the Problem) The present invention operates a drain valve, a dehydration brake, and a clutch for switching between washing and dehydration using a small motor and a group of reduction gears interposed with a clutch. The above-mentioned problem is solved by making it possible to detect the above problems, and the details thereof will be explained below using FIGS. 1 to 12 corresponding to the embodiment.

The actuating lever 33 is in a first position (the position shown in the first figure) and a second position.
(position shown in the second figure), the drain valve 13, dehydration brake 11, and washing/dehydration switching clutch 12 are operated.

The small motor 37 rotates an output shaft 41 via a reduction gear group 39 with a clutch 45 interposed.
An operating body (for example, a cam body 51) that operates in accordance with the rotation of is provided, and the operating body moves the operating lever 33 from the first position to the second position. A position detector 53 is provided to detect when the operating lever 33 has reached the second position, and furthermore, the elapsed time after the start of energization to the small motor 37 is counted, and the output signal of the position detector 53 is used to detect a predetermined time after the start of energization. An abnormality determining section 57 is provided that determines whether the actuating lever 33 reaches the second position within the time t1.

Then, the time t1, which is the criterion for determination in the abnormality determination section 57, is set to be longer than the time required for the actuation lever 33 to reach the second position from the first position, and the actuation lever 33 is activated within a predetermined time L1. When the lever 33 does not reach the second position, it is determined that the drain valve 13 is in a frozen state.

The present invention can detect whether or not the drain valve is frozen.
It becomes possible to easily employ various countermeasures against freezing such as freezing alarm, unfreezing, etc., and the above-mentioned problem can be solved.

(Function) In a normal state, when the small motor 37 is energized, the output shaft 41 starts rotating via the reduction gear group 39 with the clutch 45 interposed, and the operating lever 33 is moved to the first position by an operating body (for example, the cam body 51). While moving the small motor 37 toward the second position, the abnormality determining section 57 counts the elapsed time after the small motor 37 starts being energized. Thus, the actuation lever 33 reaches the second position within the predetermined time t1, and the second position is reached within the predetermined time t1.
When the position detector 53 detects that the position has been reached, the power supply to the small motor 37 is stopped.

Now, if the drain valve 13 is frozen, the operating lever 33 cannot move toward the second position. Therefore, even when the small motor 37 starts to be energized, the operating lever 33 does not move and returns to the first position. be. Therefore, the abnormality determination unit 57 determines that the operating lever 3
3 is not in the second position, and as a result, the drain valve 13
detects that it is in a frozen state.

(Embodiments) The embodiments of the present invention shown in FIGS. 1 to 12 will be described in detail below.

FIG. 3 is a schematic vertical cross-sectional view showing a dehydration washing machine in an embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 3, l is an outer frame, 2 is a water tank elastically supported by a vibration-proof support mechanism within the outer frame 1;
3 is a washing/dehydration tank; 4 is a hollow dehydration shaft that fixes the nuclide 3 at the upper end; 5 is a rotating blade disposed at the inner bottom of the dehydration tank 3; and 6 is a rotary blade inserted and supported in the dehydration shaft 4 at the upper end. rotor blade 5,
8 is a washing/drying motor that transmits rotation to the rotating shaft 6 by installing a bell 1-10 between the pulley 7 and the motor pulley 9; 11 is a dehydrating shaft 4;
12 is a washing/dehydration switching clutch provided between the dehydration shaft 4 and the rotary shaft 6 or pulley 7, 13 is a drain valve, 14 is a base plate, and 15 is a mechanism case.

As shown in FIG.
a brake drum 16 fixed to the brake drum 16; an annular brake band 17 having a brake lining attached to the inner surface, elastically fitted to the outer periphery of the brake drum 16, and having one end bent outward to form a bent piece I8; brake drum 1
A rotary drum 20 is fitted onto the outer periphery of the upper boss portion 16a of the rotary drum 20 through a bearing 19 and is rotatable relative to the dewatering shaft 4, that is, the boss portion 16a; An arm 21 that connects the rotary drum 20 and the brake band 17 in an integral relationship in the direction of rotation by fitting and engaging the slit 22 with the bent piece 18 of the brake band 17 as shown in FIG. A coil spring 24 is wound around the outer periphery, and one end is fixed to the substrate 14 with a fastener 23 such as a bolt or nut to form a fixed end, and the other end is a free end. is made to coincide with the rotational direction of the dehydration shaft 4 during dehydration.

Further, as shown in FIG. 4, the washing/dehydrating switching clutch 12 has a clutch boss 25 that is integrally provided on the rotating shaft 6 or the pulley 7, and a clutch boss 25 that is wrapped around both the clutch boss 25 and the dehydrating shaft 4. It is composed of a clutch spring 26 whose tightening direction coincides with the rotational direction during dewatering, and a rotatable latch gear 27 located on the outer periphery of the clutch spring 26 and engaged with the lower end of the spring 26.

In FIG. 4, reference numeral 28 indicates a brake lever for switching the dehydration brake 11, and reference numeral 29 indicates a clutch lever having a clutch pawl 30 for operating the washing/dehydration switching clutch 12. 29 will be explained in detail later.

31 is wound around the outer periphery of the lower boss portion +6b of the brake drum 16, and one end is connected to a fastener 32 such as a bolt or nut.
This coil spring is fixed to the mechanism case 15 to have a fixed end and the other end is a free end, and its tightening direction is set opposite to that of the other coil spring 24.

Next, the structure for operating the dehydration brake 11 and the washing/dehydration switching clutch 12 will be explained with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2. Reference numeral 33 denotes an operating lever rotatably provided on a shaft 34 erected on the base plate 14 or the mechanism case 15, and is rotatably moved between a first position shown in the first figure and a second position shown in the second figure. The free end side thereof is connected to the drain valve 13 by a rod 35. The drain valve 13 is closed when the operating lever 33 is in the first position, and open when the operating lever 33 is in the second position.

Further, the operating lever 33 is provided with a brake lever 28 and a clutch lever 29, both of which are integrally interlocked. In the first position, the operating lever 33 brakes the dehydration brake 11 and operates the washing/dehydration switching clutch 1.
In the second position, the dehydration brake 11 is released and the clutch 12 is in the power transmission state. The dehydration brake 11 is released when the free end of the coil spring 24 is relaxed by operating the brake lever 28, and is put into a braking state when the coil spring 24 is tightened by releasing the operation. On the other hand, in the washing/drying switching clutch 12, the clutch pawl 30 of the clutch lever 29 engages with the clutch gear 27, and the clutch spring 2
6 is relaxed, the transmission is released, and when the clutch pawl 30 is disengaged from the clutch gear 27, the power transmission state is established.

A spring 36 is fitted to the shaft 34, and together with a spring (not shown) built into the drain valve 13, constitutes a biasing means for always biasing the operating lever 33 toward the first position. Reference numeral 37 denotes a small motor having a built-in reduction gear group and a clutch inserted into the gear group, and its structure will be explained with reference to FIGS. 6 to 8.

In FIGS. 6 to 8, the small motor 37 is composed of a motor section consisting of an AC synchronous motor and a reduction gear group 39. A large number of gears are interposed between the gear 40 and the output gear 42 provided on the output shaft 41 to perform stepwise deceleration, thereby ultimately achieving a predetermined deceleration.

That is, the rotation of the rotor 38 is transmitted to the output shaft 41 via the reduction gear group 39, and the output shaft 41 rotates at a predetermined low speed. Two of the many gears constituting the reduction gear group 39, for example, the gear 43 that meshes with the gear 40, and the gear 4
A clutch 45 is constituted between the gear 3 and a gear 44 provided coaxially. The gear 44 is rotatable with respect to the shaft 46 and is provided so as to be movable in the axial direction, and engages and disengages the clutch 45 by sliding in the axial direction.
A spring 47 compressed between the clutch 45 and the clutch 45 is constantly biased upward to keep the clutch 45 in a released state. The gear 44 is integrally formed with an operating shaft portion 44a, and the shaft portion 44a protrudes outward from the small motor 37.

Next, in FIGS. 1, 2, and 9, 48 is a clutch operating device for operating the clutch 45, and the electromagnet 4
9' and a metal piece 50 that operates as a seesaw,
When the electromagnet 49 is energized, the electromagnet 49 attracts one end of the metal piece 50, and the other end pushes down the operating shaft portion 44a, thereby causing the gear 44 to slide against the spring 47.
Clutch 45 is switched to the engaged state.

Reference numeral 51 denotes a cam body (operating body) attached to the output shaft 41, which has a substantially spiral shape, and has an operating lever 33 on its cam surface 51b.
The roller 52 at the free end of is in contact with the cam body 51
moves the operating lever 33 from the first position toward the second position by rotating clockwise. 51a and 51d are points at which the operating lever 33 contacts the roller 52 when it is in the first position and the second position, and the point 51a is located at the shortest diameter portion of the cam body 51. 51c is a strapper provided near the point 51a.

The cam surface 51b of the cam body 51 exceeds the rated torque of the synchronous motor and reduction gear group 39 when the operating lever 33 is moved toward the second position against the spring 36 and the spring built into the drain valve 13. At the same time, when the clutch 45 is released, the output shaft 41
The design is such that sufficient torque to rotate the spring is applied by the biasing forces of both springs.

Also, the cam body 51 moves the cam surface 51b from the point 51d to θ (first
(see figure 0). This is to make the stroke of the cam body 51 longer than the desired stroke S to provide a margin for the stroke and to absorb errors in the start position (point 51a) and installation errors, thereby ensuring that the actuating lever 33 is It can be moved to a second position.

In FIG. 1, 53 is a position detector, which in one embodiment is a microswitch, detects when the operating lever 33 has reached the second position. Reference numeral 54 indicates an operating device control section for controlling the clutch operating device 48, 55 indicates a motor control section for controlling the small motor 37, 56 indicates a sequence control section, and 57
is an abnormality determination section.

In this embodiment, the drain valve 13 has a conventionally known structure shown in FIG. 12, and +3a is the outer shell of the drain valve;
3b is a valve body, 13c is a spring, and 13d is a traction fitting. A rod 35 is connected to the traction fitting 13d.

The operation of the above configuration will be explained.

First, the normal operation of the drain valve 13 when it is not frozen will be described.

During washing and rinsing, the small motor 37 and the electromagnet 49 are in a non-energized state, and the clutch 45 is in a released state as shown in FIG. The shaft 41 is placed in a free rotation state. On the other hand, the operating lever 33 rotates the cam body 51 under the urging force of the spring 13c built into the drain valve 13 and the spring 36, and the roller 52 rotates at the point 51.
a, and is in the first position as shown in the first diagram. However, the dehydration brake 11 is in the braking state, and the washing/dehydration switching clutch 12 is in the disengaged state.In this state, the rotation shaft 6 and the rotor blade 5 are periodically rotated by the left-right reversal drive of the motor 8. Washing or rinsing is performed by the reversed water flow, but at this time, the washbasin/dewatering tank 3 does not rotate in any direction. That is, when the washbasin/dehydration tank 3 attempts to rotate in the same direction as during dehydration, the coil spring 24 is tightened and the rotating drum 2 is rotated.
0 and the brake band 17 are in a stopped state and are prevented by the frictional force between the band 17 and the brake drum 16,
If an attempt is made to rotate in the opposite direction, the winding of the coil spring 31 will be tightened to prevent the rotation.

Next, the drainage and dewatering operations will be explained with reference to the flowchart shown in Figure 11.

At the start of drainage/dewatering operation, the sequence control unit 56 instructs the operating device control unit 54 and the motor control unit 55 to turn on the electromagnet 49.
And the small motor 37 is energized.

Then, one end of the metal piece 50 is attracted to the electromagnet 49,
At the other end, the operating shaft portion 44a is pushed down as shown in the ninth figure, the gear 44 is moved in the axial direction against the spring 47, and the clutch 45 is brought into the engaged state as shown in the seventh figure. Thereby, the rotor 38 side and the output shaft 41 are mechanically coupled, and the rotation of the rotor 38 is transmitted to the output shaft 41 via the reduction gear group 39. This rotation of the output shaft 41 causes the cam body 51 to rotate clockwise in FIG. 1, and the cam surface 51b moves the operating lever 33 toward the second position against the spring 36 and the like. . Eventually, when the operating lever 33 reaches the second position as shown in the second diagram and turns on the microswitch 53, the sequence control section 56 outputs a stop signal to the motor control section 55 in response to the ON signal from the switch 53. to stop the small motor 37. When the operating lever 33 reaches the second position as described above, the free end of the coil spring 24 of the dehydration brake 11 is operated by the brake lever 28, and the spring 24 is relaxed, and the brake is released. In the dewatering switching clutch 12, the clutch claw 30 of the clutch lever 29 is disengaged from the clutch gear 27, and the power is transmitted, and the drain valve 13 is opened. At this time, a counterclockwise rotational torque is applied to the cam body 51 by the spring 36 and the spring 13c built into the drain valve 13, but the cam body 51 and the output shaft 41 do not rotate, and are in the state shown in the second figure. will be retained.

Drainage is then performed by opening the drain valve 13, and the sequence control unit 56 determines the end of drainage using the water level switch, and then confirms that the lid is closed using the lid switch.
The motor 8 is driven to shift to a dewatering operation. Then, the rotation of the motor 8 is caused by the belt 10, pulley 7 and clutch spring 2.
6 to the dewatering shaft 4, and the rotation of the washing/dehydrating tank 3 performs the dewatering operation of the washed items. At this time, since the coil spring 24 of the rotating drum 20 is in a relaxed state,
It rotates together with the brake band 17 along with the dewatering shaft 4.

When a predetermined dehydration time has elapsed, the sequence control unit 56 determines that dehydration has ended, and stops energizing the motor 8. Then, after the sequence control unit 56 stops energizing the motor 8,
When a predetermined inertial dehydration time has elapsed, the operating device control unit 54 stops energizing the electromagnet 49. As a result, the gear 44 of the clutch 45 is lifted up by the spring 47, so that the clutch 45 is in a released state as shown in FIG. 6, and the output shaft 41 is in a free rotation state. Then, the spring 36 and the drain valve 13
The cam body 5 receives the biasing force of the built-in spring 13c via the operating lever 33 as a counterclockwise rotational torque.
1 rotates counterclockwise from the second illustrated position, while the operating lever 33 also moves toward the first position,
The rotation of the cam body 51 and the movement of the operating lever 33 are controlled by the row 25.
2 stops when it reaches the stopper 51c, and finally, as shown in the first diagram, the roller 52 reaches the point 5 where it has the shortest diameter.
It stands still at position 1a.

By moving the operating lever 33 to the first position, the dehydration brake 11 is activated and the washing/dehydration switching clutch 1 is activated.
2 switches to each state of transmission release, and at this time, if the washing/drying tub 3, that is, the dehydrating shaft 4 is still rotating due to inertia, it immediately stops due to the frictional force between the brake drum 16 and the brake band 17.

In addition, in Fig. 11, in the event of an abnormality or emergency stop, the motor 8
At the same time as the energization to the electromagnet 49 is stopped, the energization to the electromagnet 49 is also stopped. Therefore, the dehydration brake 11 immediately applies braking, and the rotation of the washing/dehydration tub 3 is immediately stopped.

Next, the operation when the drain valve 13 freezes will be explained. Now, when the drain valve 13 is in a frozen state due to residual water, the valve body 18b is in an inoperable state, and this and the towing fitting 1
3d and the actuating lever 3 connected via the rod 35.
3 cannot move, and of course the cam body 51 is also in a non-rotatable state. Therefore, even when the small motor 37 is energized, the operating lever 33 is in the first position and does not move toward the second position, and the microswitch 53 is not turned on. On the other hand, the abnormality determination unit 57 counts the elapsed time after the start of energization to the small motor 37, and since the microswitch 53 is not turned on even after the predetermined time t1 has elapsed, it determines that the drain valve 13 is frozen. .

Since the motor section of the small motor 37 is a synchronous motor and always rotates at a constant speed, under normal conditions, the operating lever 33 moves from the first position to the second position over a certain period of time, and the microswitch 53 is turned on. Therefore, if the time t1 is set to be slightly longer than the normal operating time, freezing of the drain valve 13 can be accurately detected as described above.

Therefore, when the abnormality determining section 57 detects freezing of the drain valve 13, various antifreeze measures can be easily taken based on the signal from the abnormality determining section 57. For example, if the power supply to the small motor 37 is stopped based on the signal from the abnormality determination unit 57 and a freeze alarm is issued by operating a lamp, a buzzer, etc., the user can easily recognize freezing and respond accordingly. This eliminates the inconvenience of leaving things as they are without noticing. In addition, a defreezing heater is provided in the drain valve 13,
Upon detection of freezing, the small motor 37 is de-energized and the heater is energized for a certain period of time to remove the freeze;
If the small motor 37 is then energized again, the washing program can be executed automatically.
The progress of the washing program is no longer interrupted. In addition, anti-freezing measures can be easily taken, and the drain valve 13 can be a conventionally well-known drain valve with a very simple structure. Note that the small motor 37 will not be burnt out or damaged even in the locked state.

As described above, by controlling the power supply to the small motor 37 and the electromagnet 49, the drain valve 13, the dehydration brake 11, the washing/dehydration switching clutch 12, etc. can be controlled, and the water can be directly dehydrated by suction of the plunger by the electromagnetic solenoid as in the past. It is possible to achieve quieter operation compared to a system that operates the brake 11 or the like. Also, the shape of the cam body 51 (cam surface 51
By detecting the position of the upper operating lever 33 and controlling the small motor 37, the operating lever 33 is reliably moved to the second position. It can be stopped, making the operation reliable and stable.

Note that the position detector is not limited to a microswitch, but may be an optical detection sensor, a combination of a reed switch and a magnet, and in short, any device that can detect when the operating lever 33 has reached the second position. Bye. Furthermore, the small motor is not limited to one with a built-in reduction gear group, but may be one with a separate reduction gear group.

In addition, the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above and shown in the drawings, and may be implemented with appropriate modifications, such as the structure of the dehydration brake and the structure of the clutch operating device, without departing from the scope of the invention. Of course.

(Effects of the Invention) As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to solve the noise problem by controlling the drain valve, the dehydration brake, and the clutch for switching between washing and dehydration by controlling the energization of the small motor and the clutch operating device. Moreover, since freezing of the drain valve can be electrically detected, countermeasures against freezing can be easily taken, various countermeasures can be easily taken, and problems caused by freezing can be easily solved, which is practically beneficial.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

1 and 2 are configuration explanatory diagrams showing different operating states of the main parts of a drive device for a fully automatic washing machine according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 3 is a schematic configuration diagram of the fully automatic washing machine,
FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the drive unit, FIG. 5 is a view taken along the arrow A in FIG. 4, and FIGS. 6 and 7 are cross-sectional views showing different states of the clutch-equipped reduction gear group of the small motor. Fig. 8 is a perspective view of the structure of the clutch, Fig. 9 is a view taken in the direction of arrow B in Fig. 2, Fig. 1O is a diagram showing the shape of the cam body, Fig. 11 is a flowchart for draining and dewatering, FIG. 12 is a cross-sectional view showing the structure of the drain valve as above, and FIG. 13 is a cross-sectional view showing the structure of a conventional drain valve for antifreeze protection. 11: Dehydration brake, 12: Washing/dehydration switching clutch, 13: Drain valve, 28 Brake lever, 29: Clutch lever, 33: Operating lever, 36: Spring, 3
7: Small motor, 39: 't; C speed gear group, 41: Output shaft, 45: Clutch, 47: Spring, 48: Clutch operating device, 51: Cam body, 53: Position detector, 57: Abnormality determination section . Fig. 3 Fig. 5rg Fig. 4

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. An operating lever that moves between a first position and a second position and operates the drain valve, dehydration brake, and washing/dehydration switching clutch by the movement;
a small motor that rotates the output shaft at low speed through a group of reduction gears; and a small motor that is located in the group of reduction gears and rotates the output shaft as the small motor operates when coupled. A clutch that holds the output shaft in a rotationally inhibited state when the motor is stopped and leaves the output shaft free to rotate when the motor is disengaged; a clutch operating device for releasing, an operating body for moving the operating lever toward a second position against the biasing means as the output shaft is rotated by the small motor, and the operating lever reaches the second position. and a position detector that detects whether the laundry has been carried out, and controls the movement of the operating lever by controlling energization to the small motor and clutch operating device based on the output signal of the position detector and the progress of the washing program. , an abnormality in which the elapsed time after the start of energization to the small motor is counted and it is determined based on the output signal of the position detector whether the operating lever reaches the second position within a predetermined time after the start of energization. 1. A driving device for a dehydrating washing machine, comprising a determination section, and the abnormality determination section detects whether or not a drain valve is frozen.