JPS62243588A - Cloth amount detection method of 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 the Invention The present invention relates to a method for detecting the amount of clothes in a washing machine used in general households.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Conventionally, this type of washing machine has been constructed as shown in FIG. The outer tub 2 accommodated in the washing machine main body 1 is elastically supported by connecting a support 5 formed at the lower part of the outer tub 2 to the upper part of the washing machine main body 1 via a suspension 4 and a support rod 3. ing. Clothes are put into a spin-drying tub/washing tub 6 inside the outer tub 2, and during washing, a clutch mechanism 11 and a stirring blade (not shown) in the spin-drying tub/washing tub 6 are driven by a motor 7 via a belt 12. During dewatering, the agitating blades and the dehydrating tub/washing tub 6 itself are rotated at high speed via the clutch mechanism 11 and (1) belt 12.

Generally, rinsing performance, dewatering performance, etc. change depending on the amount of cloth, and the optimum rinsing time, water flow, dehydration time, and rotation speed are set for each amount of cloth. Conventionally, as a method of detecting the amount of cloth, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, a V
Measure the effective voltage of cc and capacitor voltage■. . (There is a correlation between the rotation speed of the motor and the rotation speed of the motor)
By determining the amount of cloth and comparing it with the judgment constant, the amount of cloth is detected, and if it is below a certain judgment constant, the standard rinse and spin process is performed, and on the other hand, when it is above it, the optimal operation is performed as a careful rinse and spin process. Was. This means that when the amount of cloth is large, the moment of inertia including the spin-drying tub/washing tub 6 is large, so the time required to start up is long, and when the amount of cloth is small, the moment of inertia is small, so the time required for startup is Ts. is short.

Problems to be Solved by the Invention According to the conventional method for detecting the amount of cloth as described above, the spin-starting time Ts depends not only on the moment of inertia of the cloth including the spin-washing tub/washing tub 6 but also on each mechanical part. Since it is also affected by friction loss, if the friction loss changes, the amount of cloth may be incorrectly detected. For example, in summer and winter, because the ambient temperature is different, the hardness of the belt 12 and the oil seal (not shown) used in the clutch mechanism 11 changes, causing a difference in the degree of friction loss. .

Moreover, the tension of the V-belt 12 also decreases with the passage of time, and this also causes a change in friction loss, causing errors in the detection of the amount of cloth.

In view of the above problems, it is an object of the present invention to accurately detect the amount of cloth without being affected by the friction loss of each mechanical part.

Means for Solving the Problems In order to achieve the above object, the method for detecting the amount of cloth in a washing machine of the present invention measures the angular acceleration at the time of starting the spin cycle and the angular acceleration at the time of stopping the spin cycle, and measures both of these. The criteria for determining the amount of cloth is determined based on the value.

Effect: According to this detection method, it is possible to determine whether the change in angular acceleration at the start of dewatering is due to a change in the moment of inertia (change in the amount of fabric).
Alternatively, it is possible to detect whether it is due to a change in friction loss. In other words, the angular acceleration at the start of dehydration is
The larger the moment of inertia and the smaller the friction loss, the smaller the angular acceleration becomes. The larger the moment of inertia and the smaller the friction loss, the smaller the angular acceleration when dewatering stops. As mentioned above, since the influence of the moment of inertia and the influence of friction loss on the angular acceleration at the start and stop of dehydration are contradictory, the angular acceleration at the start and stop of dehydration is Based on both measured values, it is possible to reliably detect only the influence of the moment of inertia, that is, changes in the amount of fabric.

Embodiments Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the figure, all dewatering operations are started and stopped, except for the final dehydration of the capacitor installed between the main winding and the auxiliary winding of the motor (single-phase conductive motor) that rotates the dehydration tub and washing tub. Measure the terminal voltage vcc. 80 of the voltage VA at the dehydration steady rotation speed of the washing tank without a dehydration tank
When the voltage VB of ~90% is used as the reference voltage, calculate the time Ts from when dehydration starts at startup until ■cc reaches the reference voltage VB, and conversely when stopping, dehydration starts from the reference voltage VB. The time TE until the water tank/washing tub 6 reaches the voltage VE when it stops is determined.

At this time, the startup time Ts is determined by the following formula: TS=CB
1M+CB2F M: Moment of inertia of the cloth including the spin-drying tub/washing tub 6 F: Friction loss of each part of the mechanism C81, C82: Constant determined by the washing machine Also, the stop time TE is determined by the following formula 'rE= CElM - C
E2F CE1 , CH2' is a constant determined by the washing machine. Therefore,
From the starting time Ts and the stopping time TE, the arithmetic processing section in the control means calculates a value X that reduces the influence of the friction loss F as shown in the following equation, and uses it as a criterion for detecting the amount of cloth.

x = Ts + TE = (C51M+ CB2F
)+ (CEIM-CH2F)” (C81+
CEl)M+ (C32-CH2) Fe12-CE
If we add a constant C to TE or Ts so that it becomes 0 out of 1, then x = T 3 + CT B; = CIM Therefore, the value It is a value that affects

That is, as shown in FIG. 2, the starting time T3 and stopping time TE are measured, and the value x Cx =
The amount of cloth is detected by comparing the size of Ts + CTE with a judgment constant, and if it is below a certain judgment constant, the standard rinse and spin process will be performed, and on the other hand, if it is above it, the careful rinse and spin process will be performed. Make it.

In this embodiment, the rotation speed of the dehydration tub/washing tub 6 is detected by the voltage between the terminals of the capacitor 13.
Any method may be used to detect the rotational speed, and for example, the rotational speed may be detected by measuring the vibration frequency of the outer tank 2. Further, in this embodiment, the time required to reach a certain rotation speed is detected, but the point is that it is sufficient to find the angular acceleration when the spin-drying tub/washing tub 6 is started and when it is stopped. Alternatively, the angular acceleration of the dehydration tub/washing tub 6 may be directly detected by some method.

In this case, the value X that serves as the reference for detecting the amount of cloth is X=αs+Cα
E αS: Angular acceleration of the spin-drying tub/washing tub 6 at startup ctE: Angular acceleration of the spin-drying tub/washing tub 6 at stop C: Constant.

Effects of the Invention As described above, according to the present invention, changes in the rotational friction loss of the dehydration tub/washing tub due to external factors such as ambient temperature and belt tension can be sufficiently ignored, making it possible to detect the amount of cloth. This ensures optimal operation in the subsequent rinsing and dehydration steps.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a graph showing changes over time in the rotational speed and capacitor voltage vcC during dehydration in an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a flowchart of the same control means, and FIG. 3 is an overall vertical cross-sectional view of a conventional washing machine. FIG. 4 is a circuit diagram of the driving section, and FIG. 6 is a flowchart of the control means. 1...Main body, 2...Outer tank, 6...
...Dehydration tank and washing tank, 7...Motor, 11...
...Clutch mechanism, 12V belt, 13...
·condenser. Name of agent: Patent attorney Toshio Nakao and 1 other person No. 1
Figure 2 Figure 3 Figure 4 Figure 5

Claims (2)

[Claims] (1) A dehydration tank that dehydrates cloth using centrifugal force, a detection means that detects a value α_S corresponding to the angular acceleration of the dehydration tank when dehydration is started, and a value α_E that corresponds to the angular acceleration of the dehydration tank when stopped. A method for detecting the amount of cloth in a washing machine, the method comprising: detecting means for detecting the amount of cloth in a washing machine, and determining a criterion for determining the amount of cloth based on the measured values from the two detecting means. (2) Value α corresponding to the angular acceleration of the dehydration tank at startup
_S, value α corresponding to the angular acceleration of the dehydration tank when stopped
_E, and a constant determined by the machine body is C, the cloth amount determination criterion x is an arithmetic expression x=c_S+Cα_E or x=Cα_S+α_E.