JPS6236718B2 - - 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
installed on. Further, these entire mechanical sections are suspended by a vibration isolator 14. Spherical receivers 15 are provided at the four corners of the reinforcing plate 13, and the vibration isolator 14 is connected to the spherical receivers 15 via rods 16.
It is slidably attached to the upper part of the outer frame 1. 17
are adjustment legs provided at the four corners of the bottom of the outer frame 1,
This is to adjust so that there is no wobbling when installing it with the bottom surface. The adjustment legs 17 are usually provided at one or two locations. 18 is a fixed leg.
Reference numeral 19 denotes a drain pot 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, a drain hose 20 is used to connect the drain pot frame 19 to the outside of the machine. Reference numeral 21 denotes a balance ring, which has a liquid sealed inside, 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 activated 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 27, the guide pipe 28, and the drain valve 31 built into the drain tank frame 19. Light passes through it, and the amount of light is detected by converting it into voltage. The drainage frame 19 is fixed to the bottom of the water receptacle 5.
Drain valve 3 using elastic material such as synthetic rubber inside
1 is arranged, and the valve seat surface 32 is always pressed by a spring 32 to prevent washing water from leaking. When draining the washing water, the electromagnetic solenoid 34 is energized to attract the suction section 35, and the second and first cross sections 36 and 37 connected to the suction section are moved in the direction A by the second lock spring 38. let At this time, the drain valve 31 is opened in the A direction via a spring guide 39 attached to the drain valve 31 to drain the washing water. Drain valve 3
Rubber material is generally used for 1, and the bellows part 4
0 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 at the tubular drain 27 and on the outer periphery of the guide pipe 28. Dirt on the inner wall becomes a problem, and detergent residue and scale due to water quality adhere, resulting in the 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. It was impossible to detect any dirt on the surface.

Purpose of the Invention The present invention provides a drainage device for a washing machine with a simple structure that can automatically and reliably clean the inside of a guide pipe for draining water and always accurately detect drainage dirt using an optical sensor. be.

Structure of the Invention The present invention provides a sliding part via an extendable part in the center of the front surface of a drain valve that closes the outlet of a guide pipe, and each time the drain valve closes, the sliding part is moved by the inertia force caused by the closing impact. The part is designed to clean the inside of the outlet part of the guide pipe. 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 normally detected. In addition, a weight is provided on the sliding part, which increases the inertia force due to impact.
Reliable sliding can be obtained.

DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention is shown in FIGS. 4 to 9. 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 39 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 spring 38 is set so as to always apply a tensile force, and the valve spring 45 is also set in the spring guide 39' so as to apply a tensile force. Here, the valve spring 45
is assumed to have a smaller spring constant. In addition, the first locking rod 37' is pressed by a locking spring 33, and the drain valve 3 is pressed against the valve seat surface 32.
1' is pressed 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 to the guide pipe 28. Reference numeral 46 denotes an impact weight made of a material having a high specific gravity, such as metal, which is inserted into the cylindrical shape of the first rod 37'. The impact weight 46 is also cylindrical, with a hollow part provided inside, and the valve spring 4
5 is placed. The impact weight 46 is the sliding part 43
It is separate from the inner peripheral part of the first cross section 37' so that the X
It is simply inserted so that it can freely slide in the axial direction. FIG. 5 is a view with the impact weight 46 removed, and FIG. 6 is an inserted view of the impact weight 46. The impact weight 46 is in a slidable state together with the sliding portion 43, and is freely inserted into the inner peripheral portion of the first locking rod 37'.

Fig. 4 shows the drain valve 31' in a closed state, while Fig. 5 shows the drain valve 31' in an open state using the electromagnetic solenoid 34 (Fig. 2). 31 is A by dimension C from the valve seat surface 32
Indicates the state of movement in the direction. This action drains all the washing water. FIG. 8 shows the movement of the sliding portion 43 after the drain stroke and dewatering stroke are completed. When the electromagnetic solenoid 34 (Fig. 2) is turned off, the drain valve 31' rapidly moves toward the valve seat surface 32 (direction B) by the force of the Kotoku spring 33, and the valve seat surface 32 and the drain valve The tip of 31' collides. At this time, since the sliding portion 43 has the bending portion 42, it moves by a distance E in the B direction from the valve seat surface 32 due to the inertia 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). This sliding part 4
3 moves by the dimension E, the valve spring 45 is pulled in the direction B, and when the inertia force disappears again, the sliding part 43 is pulled back to its original position. The inertia force on the mass generated by these collision forces is also generated in the impact weight 46 in FIG. 4, and moves in the direction B together with the sliding portion 43. When the inertial force disappears, the valve spring 45 returns it to its original position, resulting in the initial installation state as shown in FIG. In this way, the inertia force is increased by the impact weight 46, so that the sliding portion 43 slides even more smoothly and reliably.

In this way, when draining washing water, the electromagnetic solenoid 34 is turned on and the drain valve 31' is opened, and then the drain valve 31' is opened when the draining is finished.
1', when the sliding part 43 jumps forward due to inertia using the law of motion, the guide pipe 28 to which the optical sensor 26 is attached emits light, and the light receiving elements 29, 30 Since the dirt on the inner wall, which corresponds to the above, is rubbed off by the sliding part 43, a proper amount of light from the light receiving element 29 can be transmitted to the light receiving element 30. 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 the light detection is prevented by removing the 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 product to be kept under constant light. A highly reliable sensor 26 product can be provided.

Further, by providing the impact weight 46 together with the sliding portion 43, a larger inertial force on the sliding portion 43 can be generated. In particular, valve spring 4
If the spring force 5 is weak, the sliding portion 43 may not return completely, so the spring force needs to be above a certain level. Therefore, the spring force becomes larger than the inertial force, and the sliding part 43 becomes unable to move in the B direction. In order to eliminate this phenomenon, it is possible to increase the inertia force with the impact weight 46, which has a heavy mass, to produce an action sufficient to overcome this spring force. Furthermore, when the elasticity of the flexible part 42 that helps the sliding part 43 loses its elasticity due to aging (aging of the rubber material), the deformation of the flexible part 42 becomes extremely hard, and the movement of the sliding part 43 becomes difficult. It won't be smooth. The impact weight 46 serves to compensate for this phenomenon.

Incidentally, as shown in FIG. 10, the impact weight 46' may be integrally molded into the sliding portion 43 and housed within the sliding portion 43. Further, a spring guide 39 is also housed within the sliding portion 43 at the same time. The impact weight 46' is made of a material with high specific gravity such as lead.

In this way, by storing the impact weight 46' inside the sliding part 43, the mass of the sliding part 43 can be increased and a large inertial force can be generated, and the impact weight 46' does not come into contact with the outside air. To,
There is no need to perform anti-rust treatment such as plating.
Furthermore, since the impact weight 46' is not provided externally, there is no fear of contact noise or sliding noise occurring during sliding. Also during assembly, the valve spring 45
It is possible to reduce the number of man-hours without any relationship.

Effects of the Invention According to the present invention, the inside of the guide pipe for draining water is automatically cleaned, and drainage stains can always be accurately detected by an optical sensor. Further, since the sliding part provided on the drain valve performs the cleaning operation by the inertia caused by the impact when the valve is closed, no special driving means is required and the structure is simple. In addition, the weight increases the inertia force, making it possible to perform a reliable cleaning operation.

[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. 4 is a partial cross-sectional view of an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. Fig. 6 is a cross-sectional view of the drain valve and the weight arrangement of the drain valve, Figs. 7 and 8 are explanatory diagrams of its operation, and Fig. 9
The figure is a graph showing the relationship between dirt and the amount of transmission, which also shows the characteristics of the optical sensor, and FIG. 10 is a partial sectional view of another embodiment. 5... Water receiver (washing tub), 26... Optical sensor, 27...
Tubular drain port, 28... Guide pipe, 31'... Drain valve, 32... Valve seat surface, 33... Kotoku spring, 34... Electromagnetic solenoid, 43... Sliding part, 45... Valve spring, 46, 46'... Weight.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. A washing tub having a stirring means, a guide pipe connected to a drain of the washing tub and having a translucent part near the outlet, and a guide pipe with the translucent part of the guide pipe sandwiched therebetween. an optical sensor having a light-emitting element and a light-receiving element arranged opposite to each other and detecting water contamination in the guide pipe; A drain valve for opening the pipe, an opening/closing drive device for the drain valve, and a retractable part provided integrally at the center of the front surface of the drain valve, so that when the drain valve is closed, the drain valve is brought into contact with the valve seat surface. a sliding part that is pushed into the transparent part of the guide pipe by inertia due to the impact when it hits and cleans the transparent part; and a sliding part that is provided on the drain valve to remove the sliding part from the guide pipe. A drainage device for a washing machine, comprising a spring to be pulled out, and a weight that is movable integrally with the sliding portion and increases inertia force due to the impact. 2. The drainage device for a washing machine according to claim 1, wherein the weight is integrated into the sliding portion by insert molding.