JPS63153093A - 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] [Objective of the Invention] (Industrial Application Field) The present invention comprises a control circuit comprising a microcomputer and controlling a process of order such as washing, and a multi-digit numerical display element. and a time indicator configured and driven by a control circuit.

(Prior Art) Conventionally, for example, fully automatic washing machines have been equipped with a control circuit consisting of a microcomputer to automatically control the number of steps such as washing, rinsing, and spin-drying, as well as a number display element. A time display configured with a plurality of digits arranged is provided, and this time display is driven and controlled by a control circuit to display, for example, the remaining time until the end of the operation when the washing machine is operating, and There are devices that display the time when you are not driving.

(Problems to be Solved by the Invention) In this type of washing machine, as the control contents for each six strokes (for example, the stroke execution time value arbitrarily set for each stroke, etc.) have diversified, On the user side, there may be a lack of awareness of the control details, and it may take time to grasp the control details when actually using the system. Therefore, in order to be able to recognize the control details for each process,
It has been considered to provide an individual control content display that displays the control content of each process, but if this is done,
If the number of parts increases considerably and multiple control content display devices are newly installed on the operation panel of the washing machine, the size of the operation panel is limited, so the existing 1) Due to the relationship with the time display and other electrical components, it was difficult to arrange them, and there was also the problem of poor manufacturing efficiency and high costs.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and its purpose is to display the control details for each process among a plurality of processes without increasing the number of parts, and furthermore, to reduce the amount of time spent on the operation panel. To provide a washing machine which can improve manufacturability without having to worry about the arrangement of a display and other electrical components.

[Structure of the Invention] (Means for Solving the Problems) The present invention provides a control circuit comprising a microcomputer;
FM A time display configured with a several-digit numerical display element, the control circuit controlling a plurality of processes such as washing, and driving and controlling the time display, wherein the time display In addition to displaying the time on the device, the content of control of the process is displayed at a predetermined digit of the numerical display element at a predetermined time.

(Function) In addition to displaying the time, the time display also displays, at a predetermined time, the details of the control of the stroke on a predetermined digit of the numerical display element of the time display. In this case, depending on the order of that digit, it is possible to determine which process the control content is for.
The control details of the corresponding process can be recognized from the display contents of the numeric display element of that digit. Therefore, it is not necessary to provide a control content display for each stroke.

(Embodiment) A first embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3.

First, in FIG. 2, 1 is the main body of the washing machine, 2 is an outer box thereof, 3 is an upper cover, and 4 is an operation panel. In FIG. 1, reference numeral 5 denotes a control circuit consisting of a microcomputer installed on the back side of the operation panel 4. This control circuit has a timekeeping function and can perform washing, rinsing, and spin-drying processes continuously or independently. In addition to performing stroke control such as controlling the speed, the controller changes and sets the control contents for each stroke, such as the execution time value of each stroke, and further displays the time as a clock, the stroke execution time value, etc. on a display element, which will be described later. It is.

6 is a time display provided on the operation panel 4, and as shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, this includes a number display element 7.
8, 9, and 10 are arranged in order from left to right in order of 1 (several digits), and numerical display indexes 11 and 12 of smaller size are arranged on the upper right side of the numerical display index 10. A "colon"-shaped display element 13 is provided between the number display element 8 and the number display element 9. Each of these display elements 7 to 13 is composed of a light emitting diode. Character display elements 14 and 15 each consisting of a fluorescent display element are provided around the time display 6. Namely, on the left side of the numeric display element 7, character display elements 14 and 15 representing rAMJ and rPMJ are provided -L. Above the character display element 14, a character display element 16 indicating "remaining" is disposed, and below the character display element 15, "remaining" is disposed.
A character display element 17 representing "Reservation" is provided. Further, on the right side of the character display element 16, "wash" and "
Character display element 18 representing "Rinse" and "Dehydration" respectively.
19 and 20 are arranged, the character display element 18 "wash" is located above the numerical display element 7.8 of the first and second upper digits, and the character display element 1 "rinse"
9 is located on the -L side of the numeral display element 9 for the third digit in the t-position, and the character display element 10 for "dehydration" is located at the numeric display element 10 for the lowest three digits and a smaller one. It is located above the numeric display elements 11.12. In addition, number display code 7,
A character display element 21 representing "minute J" is arranged below the number display element 9, a character display element 22 representing "times" is arranged below the number display element 9, and a character display element 22 representing "times" is arranged below the number display element 10. A character display element 23 representing "minutes" is provided, and a character display element 24 representing "seconds" is provided below the number display elements 11.12. Reference numeral 25 is a group of switches for adjusting the time when the time display 6 is used as a clock (when used to display time) or for setting a reservation for the start time of the washing machine. It is.

26 is a washing switch, 27 is a rinsing switch, 28 is a dehydration switch, and 29 is a start switch that also serves as a pause switch, and each of these switches 26 to 29 gives a control command signal to the control circuit 5 when operated. Based on the control command signal, the control circuit 5 sets and executes the control contents of each stroke. The washing switch 26 sets the control content for the washing process, for example, the process execution time value, to "15 minutes" depending on the number of times the washing process is operated.

Set to "14 minutes", ... "0 minutes". The rinsing switch 27 controls the rinsing process, for example, the number of times the rinsing process is executed, depending on the number of operations.

Set to "1 time" or "0 times". The dehydration switch 28 controls the control content of the dehydration process, for example, the process execution time value, depending on the number of times the dehydration process is operated, ``5 minutes'' and ``4 minutes,'' respectively.

"3 minutes", "2 minutes", "1 minute J, r20 seconds".

Set “0 seconds” to 1. Note that 30 is a select switch.

The control circuit 5 drives and controls the time indicator 6 and other display elements 14 to 24 based on the operations of the switches 26 to 29 as follows.

First, when the washing machine is not in use, the time display 6 is made to display time such as clock time. That is, the control circuit 5 uses its timekeeping function to cause either the rAMJ indicator 14 or the rPMJ 15 to emit light and display the "hour" value of the clock time on the numeric display element 7.8. , causes the numeric display elements 9 and 10 to display the "minute" value by emitting light, causes the numeric display elements 11 and 12 to display the "second" value by emitting light, and also indicates the separation between the "hour" value and the "minute" value. The cord 13 is also displayed by emitting light. to display time such as clock time.

Here, a case will be described in which the user individually sets the execution time value, etc., which is the control content, for each process of washing, rinsing, and spin-drying before operating the washing machine.

For example, when setting the process execution time value which is the control content for the washing process, when the washing switch 26 is turned on, all of the display elements 7 to 24 stop emitting light due to the first on operation. , the character display element 16 for ``wash'' and the character display element 21 for ``minute'' are displayed by emitting light, and the numeral display element 7 is for the 1st digit and the number 7 is for the 2nd digit. The display string 8 is displayed by emitting light. The displayed number at this time is "15". Therefore, by turning on the washing switch 26 for the first time, the execution time value to be set is displayed as "15 minutes", and the numerical display among the numerical display elements 7 to 12 on the time display 6 is displayed. The numeric display element is the top 1st and 2nd
Since the numeral display element ': F7.8 is the digit, it can be determined from this digit order that it is a display of the execution time value for the washing process among the washing, rinsing, and spin-drying processes. ” The displayed numbers on the numeral display elements 7 and 8 are r
l 4J , rl 3J , ... are changed to "0". If other switches are turned on an appropriate number of times, the execution time value to be set is determined to be the numerical value displayed at that time.

Next, when setting the number of executions, which is the control content for the rinse process, it is sufficient to turn on the rinse switch 27. In this case, the first operation is to display the character display index 19 that says "rinse" and the character "times". The display element 22 emits light and the number display element 9 displays the number "2". In this case as well, the number displayed on the number display element 9 changes according to the number of times the rinse switch 27 is operated.
2'' to rlJ and rOJ. When setting the number of executions for such a rinsing process, the number display element 9 that displays the number is the number display element 9 that is in the third highest digit order.
Therefore, it is determined that the corresponding process for setting the control content is a rinse process based on the digit order, and the control content (number of process executions) is recognized by the number displayed on the numerical display index 9. I can do 1.

Furthermore, when setting a process execution time value, which is the control content for the dehydration process, the dehydration switch 28 is turned on.

With this first ON operation, the character display element 20 indicating "dehydration"
The character display bar 23 "minutes" is displayed by emitting light, and the number display bar 10 emits light to display the number r5J.

Therefore, by the first operation of this dehydration switch 28,
The display content on the time display 6 is changed to the process execution time value for the dehydration process, and
A stroke execution time value of "5 minutes" is displayed. In this case too,
Numerical display element lO according to the number of operations of the dehydration switch 28
The displayed numbers are r5J to r4J, r3J, r
2J.

It is changed to "1". In the operation after the number "1" is displayed, the number display element 10 and the character display element 23 "minutes" are turned off, and in turn the number display elements 11, 12 and "seconds" are turned off. The character display element 24 is displayed by emitting light. In this case, the numerical display elements 11 and 12 have "
The number ``20'' and the number ``0'' are sequentially displayed according to the number of operations. When setting the process execution time value of such a dehydration process, the number display element 10 that displays the number among the number display elements 7 to 12 is the lower three digits.
Or, since it is 11.12, with that digit order,
It is determined whether the displayed control content corresponds to the dehydration process, and
The control details of the process are recognized by the numbers displayed on the number display elements 10, 11, and 12.

Next, when you turn on the start switch 29, "Remaining"
character display element 16 and character display element 23 "minute"
is displayed by emitting light, and the character display element 1 becomes
8 is displayed blinking, and the number display element 9.10 shows
The remaining time until the end of the drive is displayed with light, and the display time decreases as the drive progresses.

As described above, according to this embodiment, the remaining time required for driving and the current time! Time 101 for displaying time such as Mi time
At a predetermined time (washing switch 26.
Rinse switch 27. When the dehydration switch 28 is operated), wash,
Since the control details for processes such as rinsing and dehydration are also displayed, the type of process can be determined by the digit order of the numerical display element, and the control details for the corresponding process can be displayed. The contents can be recognized by the displayed numbers of each digit, so the existing time display 6 can also be used as a control content display for individually displaying the control content for each process, which increases the number of parts. The control contents for each process can be displayed without any need, and furthermore, there is no need to worry about the arrangement of the time display and other electrical components on the operation panel, and overall productivity can be improved.

Particularly, according to this embodiment, a character display element 18 "WASH" is provided near the numerical display element 7.8 that displays the control content regarding the washing process, and a numerical display element 18 that displays the control content regarding the rinsing process is provided. A character display element 19 "Rinse" is provided near 9, and a character display element 20 "Dehydration" is provided near the number display elements 10, 11, 12 that display control details regarding the dehydration process. Since the process to be performed can also be determined by text display, the process can be identified even more clearly.

In the above embodiment, the execution time value set for each process and the number of executions were exemplified as the control content to be displayed, but the content to be displayed is The remaining required time value may also be used.

Further, in the above embodiment, the character display elements 14 to 24 were constructed from fluorescent display elements, but these character display elements 14 to 24 may be replaced with light emitting diodes.
Numerical display elements 11, 12 for displaying values are not necessarily required. The fourth example is the second embodiment of the present invention.
As shown in the figure. In FIG. 4, the characters rAMJ and rPMJ attached to the operation panel 4.

``Remaining'', ``Reservation J'', ``Wash'', ``Rinse''.

Light emitting diodes 31 to 37 corresponding to "dehydration"
and the numeric display element 1 in the first embodiment.
1.12 is gone.

Here, FIG. 5 to FIG. 9 show a third embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, the operation course for the washing operation is set to t (several types are available, and the display control method will be mainly explained. 5 to 9, the same parts as in the first embodiment are given the same reference numerals. First, in FIG. 7, 40 is a control circuit consisting of a microcomputer; 42 is a power switch on/off detection circuit that detects whether the power switch 63 (see FIG. 6) is on or off and provides a detection signal to the control circuit 40; 42 is a motor 43; a drain valve 44; A drive circuit 4 that drives and controls a water supply valve 45 and a finishing agent injection valve 46;
Reference numeral 7 denotes a display device including a time display 48, which will be described later. As shown in FIG. 5, the display device 47 includes a time display 'a48 as well as a course type display section 49. The water flow type display section 50 and the like are configured as follows. Time display section 48
In this example, each display element 7, 8, 9, 10, 13, 51° 52 is composed of a fluorescent display element, and the time display 6 of the first embodiment (Fig. 3) is a numerical display. The segment configuration of elements 51, 52 is different. That is, the number display elements 11 and 12 in the time display 6 of the first embodiment were of the so-called 7-segment type, but the number display elements 51 and 52 in this time display 48 have fixed numbers r2J and rOJ, respectively. The segment structure is as shown in . This is a segment for setting the mild dehydration process, and the reason why the display is fixed at 20 seconds is to save the number of terminals on the fluorescent display element, and also because it is complicated to display more details than necessary, so this is the minimum necessary setting. This is because only the content is displayed. In Fig. 6, 53 is an "auto" course setting switch, which automatically detects the amount of laundry, degree of dirt, etc. as an operation course, and controls each process of washing, rinsing, and spin-drying according to the detection results. This is for setting the "Auto" course. Reference numeral 54 denotes a course changeover switch for changing the driving course to a course other than the "auto" course, and the main driving courses set by this course changeover switch 54 are suitable for washing a small amount of laundry. "Speed" course with short driving time,
The "gentle wash" cycle is suitable for washing lightly soiled laundry, and the "hand wash" cycle is suitable for washing easily damaged laundry.
There are courses, etc., and each of these courses is washed.

Each step of rinsing and dehydration is performed for a predetermined time or number of times depending on the course.

55, 56, and 57 are the above-mentioned wash switch 26 and rinse switch 27, respectively. These are a washing time setting switch, a rinsing number setting switch, and a dehydration time setting switch, which are similar to the dehydration switch 28, respectively. 58 is a water level change-over switch for appropriately setting the water supply water level; 59 is a water flow change-over switch for appropriately setting the water flow; 60 is a switch for changing the rinsing form from the normal "storing" to "water pouring rinsing"; Reference numeral 61 is a soaking setting switch for soaking the laundry in water for a certain period of time after water is supplied in the washing process. The setting contents of each of these switches 55 to 61 are newly changed to “
The program is stored in the control circuit 40 by the memory switch 62 as a "memory" course.

20 The "Memory" course may be set to perform all or multiple steps of washing, rinsing, and spin-drying continuously, or may be set to perform a single step. The stored "Messori-" course is set as a driving course to be executed by turning on the memory switch 62 without operating the switches 55 to 61. The "auto" course is uniquely set when the power switch 63 is turned on. Therefore, the "auto" course setting switch 53 is set to the "auto" course when the driving course is set to a course other than the "auto" course. ” is there to get you back on course.

The control circuit 40 has a control program for the time display 48, the flowchart of which is shown in FIG.
As shown in the figure. This flowchart starts by connecting a power outlet (not shown) to a commercial power source. first,
In step S1, it is determined whether or not the power switch 63 is turned on (whether there is an input of an on detection signal from the power switch on/off detection circuit 41), and if the power switch 63 is off, step S1 is performed. According to "NO", the process moves to step S2, and in this case, the time display 48
to display the current time. An example of this time display format is shown in FIG. 9(a). On the other hand, if it is determined in step S1 that the power switch 63 is turned on,
According to rYEsJ, the process moves to step S3, and it is determined whether or not the operation is currently in a stopped state. At this point, if it is in the operating state, "YE" in step S3.
In accordance with SJ, the process moves to step S4, and it is determined whether or not the time is being set by the time setting switch group 25. If the time is being set here, step S
In this case, the time being set is displayed on the time display 4B.

Also, if the time is not being set, rNO of this step S4
According to J, the process moves to step S. This step SS
Now, display the execution time value, number of executions, etc. of the stroke in the currently set driving course. In other words, if the "auto" course is set, the execution time of the washing process, the number of times the dehydration process is performed, and the execution time of the dehydration process in that course are shown in the predetermined digits of the numerical display elements 7 to 10 of the time display 48. and wash time setting switch 55. When setting the control details for each process using the rinse number setting switch 56 and the spin-drying time setting switch 57, the set execution time and number of executions are displayed.

An example of this is shown in FIG. 9(b).

Now, in step S3, if it is determined that the vehicle is in the operating state, the process moves to step 118 according to rNOJ in step S. In this step S6, the remaining time required from the current point to the end of the currently executed driving course is displayed. An example of this is shown in FIG. 9(C). In the case of this third embodiment, the execution content (display content) in step S6 of the flowchart shown in FIG. 8 is such that the remaining time required until the end of the process is displayed on each side of the process being executed. If you change it to , wash it.

It is also possible to display the remaining time required for each process of rinsing and dehydrating the vehicle.

The invention to be espoused is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiments, but can be implemented with various changes without departing from the scope of the invention.

[Effects of the Invention] As is clear from the above description, the present invention includes a control circuit including a microcomputer, and a time display having an insect-digit number display element. In the device which controls a plurality of processes such as washing, etc., and also drives and controls the time display, in addition to displaying the time on the time display, a predetermined digit of the numerical display element is displayed at a predetermined time to display the process. This feature allows the control details of each process to be displayed separately on the existing time display, thereby eliminating the need for an increase in the number of parts. Moreover, there is no need to worry about arranging the time display and other electrical components on the operation panel, and overall, this has the excellent effect of improving productivity and greatly contributing to cost reduction. .

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

1 to 3 show a first embodiment of the present invention.
The figure is a plan view of the operation panel, FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the upper part of the washing machine, and FIG. 3 is an enlarged front view of the main parts. FIG. 4 is a diagram corresponding to FIG. 3 showing a second embodiment of the present invention. 5 to 9 show a third embodiment of the present invention, in which FIG. 5 is a front view of the display device, FIG. 6 is a front view of the operation panel, FIG. 7 is a program diagram, and FIG. The figure is a flowchart, and FIGS. 9(a) to 9(c) are front views of a display device for showing different display formats. In the figure, 4 is an operation panel, 5 is a control circuit, 6 is a time display, 7 to 12 are numerical display elements, 40 is a control circuit, and 48 is a time display.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. Equipped with a control circuit consisting of a microcomputer and a time display having a multi-digit numerical display element, the control circuit controls a plurality of processes such as washing, and the time display A washing machine whose drive is controlled, characterized in that, in addition to displaying the time on the time display, the control content of the process is displayed on a predetermined digit of the numerical display element at a predetermined time.