JPS6230797B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Field of Industrial Application This invention relates to a drainage device for a washing machine of the type used in general households.

Conventional structure and its problems FIG. 1 is an overall diagram of the basic structure of a conventional washing machine. In the figure, 1 is an outer frame of the washing machine, and 2 is an upper body, which covers the upper opening of the outer frame 1. 3 is a panel on which electrical components are attached to control the mechanical movement of the washing machine. The lid 4 is arranged in the center of the upper body 2 so as to be openable and closable. Reference numeral 5 denotes a water receptacle serving as an outer tub of the washing tub, and has a substantially cylindrical shape for receiving washing water. Reference numeral 6 denotes a dehydration tub/washing tub, and 7 designates a dehydration hole provided on the cylindrical outer peripheral surface of the dehydration tub/washing tub 6. 8 is a stirring blade, which stirs the laundry. The stirring blade 8 is provided at the center bottom of the dehydration tub/washing tub 6. Reference numeral 9 denotes a motor, which transmits its rotation via a motor pulley 10 and a V-belt 11 to a mechanical case 12 with a built-in clutch mechanism, and rotates the stirring blade 8 during washing and the spin-drying tub/washing tub 6 during spin-drying. The motor 9 and mechanical case 12 are provided with a reinforcing plate 13
is attached to. In addition, these mechanical parts as a whole are
It is suspended by a vibration isolator 14. Reinforcement plate 1
Spherical receivers 15 are provided at the four corners of the outer frame 1, and a vibration isolator 14 is slidably attached to the spherical receivers 15 via rods 16 at the upper part of the outer frame 1. Reference numeral 17 denotes adjustment legs provided at the four corners of the bottom of the outer frame 1, which are used to adjust so that there is no wobbling when the frame is installed on the floor. The adjustment legs 17 are usually provided at one or two locations. 18 is a fixed leg. 19
is a drain frame, which is provided with a drain valve inside, and is opened to drain the washing water in the water tray 5 to the outside of the machine. At this time, the drainage hose 20 connects the drainage frame 19 and the outside of the machine.
It uses Reference numeral 21 denotes a paransar ring, which has a liquid sealed therein, and when the laundry in the spin-drying tub/washing tub 6 is unevenly dehydrated, the liquid moves to balance the laundry according to the unevenness. Reference numeral 22 denotes a dewatering tray cover that reinforces the upper opening of the water tray 5. Reference numeral 23 denotes an air trap chamber, which is connected to a pressure switch 25 by an air hose 24, and the joint portion of the air hose 24 is treated to prevent air leakage. Therefore,
When washing water is supplied into the water receiver 5, the air in the air trap chamber 23 is compressed, and when the water level reaches a certain level, the pressure switch 25 is operated to stop the water supply. The pressure switch 25 is usually attached to the panel 3 and has a built-in diaphragm made of rubber to sense pressure changes.

In such a conventional washing machine, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the optical sensor 26 is connected to the drain pipe 2.
A sensor-type washing machine that could be attached to a washing machine to detect dirt in washing water was considered. FIG. 2 shows the mounting portion of the optical sensor 26. A tubular drain port 27 protrudes from the bottom of the water receiver 5, and a drain pot frame 19 having a guide pipe 28 connected to the tubular drain port 27 is arranged. An optical sensor 26 is attached to this guide pipe 28 as shown in FIG. 3, and a light emitting element (LED) 29 and a light receiving element (phototransistor) 30 are incorporated into the optical sensor 26. The washing water flows from the water receiver 5 to the tubular drain port 27, the guide pipe 28, and the drain valve 31 built into the drain tank frame 19. The amount of light is detected by receiving the light and converting it into voltage. The drain frame 19 is fixed to the bottom of the water receiver 5, and a drain valve 31 made of an elastic material such as synthetic rubber is installed inside the drain frame 19.
is arranged, and the valve seat surface 32 is always pressed by a spring 33 to prevent washing water from leaking. When draining the washing water, the electromagnetic solenoid 34 is energized to attract the suction part 35, and the first and second joints 36 and 37 connected to the suction part are moved in the direction A by the first spring 38. move it. At this time, the drain valve 31 is connected to A via the spring guide 39 attached to the drain valve 31.
The washing water is drained by opening in the direction. Rubber material is generally used for the drain valve 31, and the bellows portion 40 is integrally molded to satisfy flexibility.
The drain valve 31 is attached to the drain pot frame 19 with a pot lid 41 providing sealing properties.

However, in the conventional configuration, the light emitting and light receiving elements 29 and 30 of the optical sensor 26 were simply arranged on the outer periphery of the tubular drain 27 and the guide pipe 28, so that the inside of the tubular drain 27 and the guide pipe 28 due to dirt from washing water. Dirt on the inner wall becomes a problem, and detergent scum and scale due to water quality adhere, resulting in this dirt blocking the light from the light emitting element 29, preventing light from being transmitted to the light receiving element 30, and preventing normal washing water from being transmitted. It was impossible to detect any dirt on the surface.

OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a drainage device for a washing machine that can automatically clean the inside of a guide pipe for draining water and can always accurately detect drainage stains using an optical sensor.

Composition of the Invention The present invention includes a drain valve that closes the outlet of a guide pipe, which is provided with a sliding part that is inserted into the guide pipe, and a lip part is provided on the outer periphery of the sliding part.
The outlet section of the guide pipe is cleaned every time the drain valve is opened and closed. Therefore, the detection of drainage dirt by the optical sensor provided at the outlet of the guide pipe is not hindered by the deposits on the inner wall of the guide pipe, and the drainage dirt can always be accurately detected. Also, the lip part allows for smooth cleaning.

DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention is shown in FIGS. 4 to 8. In FIG. 4, a drain valve 3 is housed in a drain pot frame 19 made of a transparent resin material.
1' is partially fitted and held by a collar portion 44 protruding from the cylindrical portion of the first locking rod 37'. A sliding part 43 having a flexible part 42 is integrally provided in the substantially cylindrical center of the drain valve 31', and is normally housed in the tip of the drain valve 31'. . A spring guide 39' is also formed in the sliding part 43 by molding at the same time, and the valve spring 4 is attached to this spring guide 39'.
I always set it by hooking 5. A step is provided inside the first lock 37', and a second lock spring 38 is set in this step. A spring guide 39a is hooked onto one end of the second lock spring 38, and the other end is connected to a second lock spring 38. It is connected to a two-piece block 36. The second spring 38 is set so as to always apply a tensile force to the valve spring 45.
The spring guide 39b also applies a tensile force.
is set to . Here, it is assumed that the valve spring 45 has a smaller spring constant. Further, the first locking block 37' is pressed by a locking spring 33, and the drain valve 31' is pressed against the valve seat surface 32 to prevent washing water from leaking. The drain spring 33 is set in the drain lid 41, and the other end of the drain valve 31' is also pressed here between the drain drain frame 19 and the drain lid 41 to provide a seal. The optical sensor 26 is arranged in the direction in which the sliding part 43 moves, and the light-emitting and light-receiving elements 2 are arranged around the X-X axis in the drawing.
9 and 30 are provided in contact with the guide pipe 28. A thin lip part 44 is provided integrally with the sliding part 43 so as to protrude along the outer periphery of the tip end of the sliding part 43, and the lip part 4 projects from the sliding part 43.
The wall thickness of 4 is usually 1 mm or less. Lip part 4
4 is made of an elastic material and is therefore extremely stiff. FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the lip portion 44, showing the shape protruding from the outer periphery of the tip of the sliding portion 43. As shown in FIG. The lip portion 44 is not limited to the outer periphery of the tip, but may be placed anywhere on the outer periphery of the sliding portion 43.

Fig. 4 shows the drain valve 31' in a closed state, while Fig. 6 shows the drain valve 31' in an open state using the electromagnetic solenoid 34 (Fig. 2). A state in which the valve 31 has been moved in the A direction by a dimension C from the valve seat surface 32 is shown. This action drains all the washing water. FIG. 7 shows the movement of the sliding portion 43 after the drain stroke and dewatering stroke are completed. Electromagnetic solenoid 34 (Figure 2)
When the drain valve 31' is turned off, the drain valve 31' rapidly moves toward the valve seat surface 32 (direction B) by the force of the spring 33, and the valve seat surface 32 collides with the tip of the drain valve 31. At this time, since the sliding part 43 has the bending part 42, it moves by a distance E in the B direction from the valve seat surface 32 due to the inertial force in the B direction generated by this collision. This amount of movement affects the shape of the flexible portion 42 and the mass of the sliding portion 43, but tends to be proportional to the dimension C. Therefore, the sliding portion 43 moves by the dimension E, and the light emitting and light receiving elements 29 and 30 of the optical sensor 26 are installed closer to the valve seat surface 32 than this dimension E (dimension D). When this sliding part 43 moves by the dimension E, the valve spring 45
is pulled in the direction B, and when the inertial force disappears again, the sliding portion 43 is pulled and returned to its original position.

In this way, when draining washing water, after turning on the electromagnetic solenoid 34 and opening the drain valve 31', the drain valve 31' is opened when the draining is finished.
1', when the sliding part jumps forward due to inertia using the law of motion, the guide pipe 2 to which the optical sensor 26 is attached
Remove dirt from the inner wall portion corresponding to the light emitting and light receiving elements 29 and 30 of 8 by cleaning the lip portion 44 of the sliding portion 43.
Since the amount of light from the light emitting element 29 is rubbed off by the light receiving element 30, the amount of light from the light emitting element 29 is
can be conveyed to. FIG. 7 is a graph in which the amount of light transmitted when dirty is replaced with the output voltage.
If there is no dirt, the output voltage shows a constant value _V0 , but if dirt adheres to the inner wall of the guide pipe 28, the output voltage also shows a state of decreasing. In terms of performance, the deterioration of light detection is prevented by removing dirt as described above, but all of this is done naturally when the drain valve 31' is opened and closed. Therefore, in the past, stains had to be cleaned by disassembling the product or using special cleaning agents, but this invention eliminates these inconveniences and allows the optical sensor to be used at all times. We can provide 26 highly reliable products. In particular, since the sliding part 43 has a lip part, the sliding part 43 moves in the direction B in FIG.
can be rubbed on the inner walls of With only the sliding part 43 and no lip part 44, the guide pipe 2
It is difficult to align the sliding part 43 with the sliding part 8, and if the center of the sliding part 43 is further misaligned, uneven contact of the sliding part 43 will occur, making it impossible to slide smoothly and dirt cannot be removed properly. However, in the present invention, as in this embodiment, the lip portion 44 is provided on the outer periphery of the sliding portion 43 so as to have an outer diameter equal to or larger than the inner diameter of the guide pipe 28. Even if misalignment occurs, uneven contact can be prevented. Even if uneven contact occurs, the force is only the deflection force of the lip portion 44, and smooth sliding movement can be achieved.

Effects of the Invention This invention has the advantage that the interior of the guide pipe that drains water is automatically cleaned, this cleaning is made smooth by the action of the lip part, and drainage dirt can always be accurately detected by the optical sensor. .

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Figure 1 is a cross-sectional diagram showing a conventional washing machine;
The figure is a partially enlarged cross-sectional view, FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along the - line, FIG.
7 and 7 are explanatory diagrams of the operation, and FIG. 8 is a graph showing the relationship between dirt and the amount of transmission, which also shows the characteristics of the optical sensor. 5... Water receiver (washing tub), 26... Light sensor,
27... Tubular drain port, 28... Guide pipe, 3
1'...Drain valve, 32...Valve seat surface, 33...Kotoku spring, 34...Electromagnetic solenoid, 43...Sliding part, 44...Lip part.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. A washing tub having an agitation means, a guide pipe connected to a drain port of the washing tub and having a translucent portion near the outlet, and a guide pipe having the translucent portion of the guide pipe sandwiched between the washing tub. an optical sensor having a light-emitting element and a light-receiving element arranged facing each other and detecting water contamination in the guide pipe; a drain valve that closes the pipe; a drive device for opening and closing the drain valve; and a lip that is integrally protruded from the center of the front surface of the drain valve and has a lip portion on the outer periphery, and when the drain valve is closed, the inner diameter of the guide pipe is adjusted. and a sliding part along which the lip part slides to clean the translucent part. 2. A drainage device for a washing machine according to claim 1, wherein the outer diameter of the lip portion is the same as or larger than the inner diameter of the guide pipe.