JPS6359716B2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

[Object of the Invention] (Industrial Application Field) The present invention relates to a method of operating a washing machine in which a rinsing process is carried out rationally in a so-called automatic washing machine. (Conventional technology) Traditionally, automatic washing machines, especially fully automatic washing machines,
All washing and dewatering operations are performed automatically, and most of the operations are primarily time-controlled by a timer device consisting of a timer motor, cam, and cam switch. (Problems to be Solved by the Invention) In such conventional automatic washing machines, the rinsing process, which is performed after washing and draining water, is no exception, and in particular, this rinsing process can be completed only once or twice. This is often repeated three or four times, but depending on the quality and quantity of the laundry, or how dirty it is, it may only take two times. Alternatively, the fourth rinsing step is carried out extra, resulting in a wasteful consumption of electricity, water, etc., and has the drawback of rapidly shortening the life of motors and other equipment. The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned circumstances, and its purpose is to perform rinsing according to the transparency of water, thereby avoiding wasteful consumption of electricity, water, etc., and extending the service life of various equipment. To provide a method for operating a washing machine which can automatically always obtain a substantially constant rinsing effect without excessively shrinking the washing machine, and which can also obtain a sufficient rinsing effect. [Structure of the Invention] (Means for Solving the Problems) The present invention automatically performs at least processes such as washing, draining, and rinsing using an electronic control circuit mainly including an electronic timer, an arithmetic processing unit, and a memory. The washing machine which is operated is provided with a detection device for detecting the transparency of water, a detection process including a rinsing process in which the transparency of the water is detected by the detection device, and the arithmetic processing unit is In the detection process, when the detection device indicates that the transparency of the water has reached the set value, the process is shifted to a draining process and thereafter, the operation is ended, and the detection device indicates that the transparency of the water has reached the set value. If it is shown that the transparency has not reached the set value, repeat rinsing each time, and if it is shown that the transparency has not reached the set value even if the number of repetitions reaches a certain number, perform the overflow rinsing process and then proceed to the draining process or later. This feature is characterized by a configuration in which the operation is terminated after the transition. (Function) When the transparency of the water detected by the detection device reaches the set value in the detection step, the operation is terminated with the assumption that rinsing has been completed, so that rinsing is not performed more than necessary. Further, in the above detection process, when the water transparency measured by the detection device does not finally reach the set value, it is determined that the rinsing operation is being hindered for some reason, and the operation is terminated. Therefore, the continuation of operation in the state where a rinsing problem occurs is stopped. In this case, since overflow rinsing is performed before ending the operation, the minimum necessary rinsing effect can be compensated. (Example) An example of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. First, in Fig. 1, 1 is the outer box of the washing machine, 2 is a water tank disposed inside the outer box 1 and supported by an elastic suspension mechanism 3, and 4 is a rotating water tank disposed inside the water tank 2. A tank 5 is a stirring blade disposed inside the rotating tank 4.
Reference numeral 6 denotes a motor disposed below the water receiving tank 2, which rotates the stirring blade 5 during washing and rinsing through a belt transmission mechanism 7, and rotates the stirring blade 5 together with the stirring blade 5 during dehydration.
It is designed to rotate. 8 is a top plate disposed on the outer box 1, which has a laundry entrance/exit 9 in the center and a lid 10 for opening/closing the entrance/exit 9;
It has an operation box 11 at the rear. Reference numeral 14 denotes an abnormality detection lever protruding downward from the operation box 1, which detects, for example, an abnormally large vibration of the water receiving tank 2 due to the rotation of the rotating tank 4 as an abnormality during dewatering. On the other hand, reference numeral 13 denotes a concave portion formed by bulging outward in the lower part of the circumferential wall near the bottom of the water receiving tank 2, and as shown in FIG. An element such as a light emitting diode 14 is attracted to one side, and a light receiving element such as a phototransistor 15 is attached to the other side, thereby forming a detection device A. Now, the electronic control circuit B shown in FIG.
9, input buffer control circuit 20,
It consists of an output buffer control circuit 21, and since it is already publicly known, a detailed explanation of its configuration will be omitted, but basically it controls the stroke in the same way as a conventional timer device consisting of a timer motor, a cam, and a cam switch. Washing, draining/dehydrating, rinsing, draining/dehydrating, etc. are performed in sequence. In the external input section 22 connected to the input buffer control circuit 20, 23 is a power switch for turning on the power, 24 is a lid switch that is linked to opening and closing of the lid 10, and 25 is a lid switch for detecting the abnormality. 26 is a water level switch that responds to the water level in the water tank 2; 27 is a programming switch for setting stroke combinations; A is the previous detection device; Each state other than device A is converted into a logical value by state converters 28 to 32 such as flip-flop circuits.

[0], [1] and the input buffer control circuit 2
It is designed to emit a signal towards 0. On the other hand, in the detection device A, the phototransistor 15 receives the light emitted from the light emitting diode 14 through the recess 13 to generate an output.
The output is transmitted inside the recess 13, between the phototransistor 15 and the light emitting diode 14, and then into the receiver tank 2.
It depends on how transparent the water is inside.
The output of the detection device A is supplied to an analog-to-digital converter (hereinafter referred to as an A-D converter) 33, and the A-D converter 33 converts the output after a certain period of time from the start of the rinsing process. The arithmetic processing device 18
At this time, it is determined whether the transparency of the water in the receiving tank 2, which indicates the degree of rinsing, has reached a set value based on the output supplied from the detection device A, and the logic value [1] is determined. ] Rinse completion signal [OK] or logical value

Either of the rinsing incomplete signals [OUT] by [0] is sent to the input buffer control circuit 20. On the other hand, in the external output section 34 connected to the output buffer control circuit 21, 35 is a magnet for a drain valve and a brake device, and 36 is a magnet for a drain valve and a brake device.
1 is a magnet for the water supply valve, the motor 6 is as described above, 37 is a light emitting diode for displaying the stroke, and 38 is a buzzer for notifying the end of the trip, each of which is energized by switching elements 39 to 43 such as a thyristor. It's becoming controlled. Therefore, the arithmetic processing unit 18 transmits each state of the external input section 22 appearing in the state converters 28 to 32 and the A/D converter 33 to the input buffer control circuit 20.
The results read from the read memory 19 are given to the output buffer control circuit 21 to control each of the external output sections 34 via the switching elements 39 to 43, and are controlled via the clock control circuit 17. electronic timer 1
In conjunction with the operation 6, for example, when the most standard combination of strokes is set, the strokes are shifted as shown in FIG. Next, the operation of this embodiment having the above configuration will be described. now,
Assuming that the most standard combination of strokes (standard course) is set and operation is started, the magnet 36 is first energized and the water supply valve (not shown) is turned on in the first washing stroke shown in step _S1 in Fig. 4. Since the water receiving tank 2 is opened, water is supplied into the water receiving tank 2 and, by extension, into the rotating tank 4. When the supplied water reaches the set water level,
At that point, the water level switch 26 is activated, and the magnet 36 is cut off and the water supply valve is closed. Instead, the motor 6 is energized and rotates the stirring blades 5, so that the water in the rotating tank 4 is So-called main washing is started by agitating the water with laundry and detergent (not shown) to generate a spiral washing water flow, and after the above-mentioned "main washing" time has elapsed by the electronic timer 16, the motor 6 is cut off and the stirring blades are turned off. 5 is stopped, and the magnet 35 is energized instead to open a drain valve (not shown), thereby draining the water in the rotating tank 4 and the water receiving tank 2 to the outside of the machine. The motor 6 is energized while maintaining the energized state, and the rotating tank 4
The first drain/spin step (step S ₂ ) is carried out in which water containing a large amount of detergent is shaken off and discharged from the laundry using centrifugal force. After the first "draining/dewatering" period is over, the process proceeds to the next first rinsing process (step _S3 ).
In this first rinsing process, the operation is exactly the same as the above-mentioned washing process except that no detergent is used.In other words, "soot washing" is performed by generating a stream of only the supplied water (clean water). After that, the first drainage and
A second rinsing step (step S ₅ ) after a second draining/dehydrating step (step S ₄ ) similar to the dehydration step is also performed in the same manner as the first rinsing step. Now, this second rinsing process, the third rinsing process (step S 7 ), and the fourth rinsing process (step S ₇ ) will be described later.
S ₁₀ ) are respectively step S ₆ , step S ₈ , and step
This is a rinsing process in which water is detected by the detection device A in _S11 . These second times,
In addition to the third and fourth rinsing steps, drainage and
The detection process (step S ₁₂ ) includes the dehydration process (step S ₉ ). In this second rinsing process, after a certain period of time from the start, for example, during the finishing interval, A-
The detection signal S is given to the D converter 33, and the A-D converter 33 that receives the detection signal S converts it into a detection device A.
Either a rinsing completion signal [OK] or a rinsing incomplete signal [OUT] is emitted depending on the clarity of the rinsing water in the water receiving tank 2 determined by the output of the rinsing completion signal (step S ₆ ). If [OK] is issued, the process will start with a certain amount of water, unlike the first and second rinsing processes mentioned above, in which a certain amount of water was stored. Even after the water has been stored, the water flow generation operation by the rotation of the stirring blades 5 and water supply continue, and the surplus water is discharged by overflowing from the top surface of the rotating tank 4 along with the dirt floating on the water surface. "Short overflow rinse" in which water is rinsed for a predetermined short period of time
(Step S ₁₃ ), then a third drainage/dehydration process (Step S ₁₄ ) similar to the first and second drainage/dehydration processes described above is performed, and finally the buzzer 38 is activated. The operation ends while making the sound. In contrast, if the rinsing incomplete signal [OUT] is issued, the process is shifted to the normal ``overflow rinsing'' (step <sub>S7</sub> ) in which the above-mentioned overflow rinsing is performed for a normal time instead of a short time. Since the "overflow rinsing" process is also a rinsing process in which the transparency of water is detected by the detection device A, for example, just before the end of the rinsing process, the transparency of the water in the water receiving tank 2 is detected (step S <sub>8</sub> ). is carried out in the same manner as above. Therefore, if the rinsing completion signal [OK] is issued here, the process shifts from ``short overflow rinsing'' (step _S13 ) to ``draining/spilling'' (step <sub>S14</sub> ) as described above, and the buzzer 38 is also activated. The operation ends with the sound ringing, but if the rinse incomplete signal [OUT] is issued, "draining/dewatering" (step S9) is performed, and then "draining/dewatering" (step <sub>S9</sub> ) is performed, followed by the "rinsing process" similar to the first and second rinsing process described above. ``rinsing'' (step S ₁₀ ), and this rinsing process is also a rinsing process in which the transparency of the water is detected by the detection device A, so in this rinsing process, the water in the water receiving tank 2 is also detected just before the end of the rinsing process. Finally, the transparency of the water is detected (step _S11 ). Rinse completed message H
If [OK] is issued, the process moves from "short overflow rinsing" (step _S13 ) to "draining/dewatering" (step _S14 ) and onwards, and the operation ends while the buzzer 38 sounds. However, if the rinse incomplete signal [OUT] is still issued, indicating that the water clarity has not finally reached the set value even after a certain number of rinses, the normal time The normal "overflow rinsing" (step S ₁₅ ) is carried out by applying water to the tank 2, and the "draining/dehydration" (step S ₁₄ ) is performed without detecting the transparency of the water in the water tank 2.
After that, the operation is completed while the buzzer 38 is sounding. In this way, the rinsing incomplete signal [OUT]
The reason why the repeated rinsing by "test rinsing" or normal "overflow rinsing" is stopped after a certain number of times (three times in this example) when a warning is issued is that repeating it more than that is probably due to malfunction of the equipment, etc. This is based on the assumption that there has been a problem with rinsing due to the occurrence of a situation in which rinsing is impossible or transparency cannot be detected, and if operation continues, the situation will worsen. This is to avoid unnecessarily prolonging the driving time. In this case, the reason for performing the "overflow rinsing" process before terminating the operation is as follows.
If the operation is continued after the drain/spin cycle and ends, there is a risk that dirt floating on the water surface may re-adhere to the laundry, or the laundry may still contain a large amount of detergent. This is to compensate for the rinsing effect as much as possible. The reason why the transparency of the water in the water tank 2 is not detected from the first rinsing process but from the second rinsing process is because in most cases, one rinsing is sufficient. This is to eliminate the inconvenience of not being able to obtain the desired effect, and of ending the rinsing after one rinse with insufficient rinsing effect due to equipment malfunction, and to perform at least two rinses. This is because of consideration. However, this is not always necessary; for example, if the combination of steps in the saving course shown in Figure 5 is set, the water in the water tank 2 will be reduced from the first rinse step (step _S3 ). Detect transparency. In this case, the process from step _S3 to step _S6 becomes a detection process (step _S7 ). In addition, in this economical course, in order to shorten operation time, "overflow rinsing" is performed from the first rinsing process mentioned above, and repeating the rinsing every time the rinsing incomplete signal [OUT] is issued is also called ``overflow rinsing''. And I only do this twice. It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above and shown in the drawings; for example, ordinary overflow rinsing or steps _S7 and _S15 in FIG. 4 or step _S3 in FIG. Step S ₅ and Step S ₁₀ have the same name for convenience, but it goes without saying that the contents do not need to be exactly the same, and the presence or absence of dehydration function does not deviate from the gist. It is possible to change species within the range. [Effects of the Invention] As is clear from the above description, the present invention automatically operates at least processes such as washing, draining, and rinsing using an electronic control circuit mainly including an electronic timer, an arithmetic processing unit, and a memory. We installed a detection device to detect the transparency of water in washing machines with various types.
A detection process including a rinsing process in which the transparency of the water is detected by the detection device is provided, and the arithmetic processing unit receives an indication from the detection device that the transparency of the water has reached a set value in the detection process. When this occurs, the process shifts to the draining process and thereafter, and the operation is terminated.When the detection device indicates that the water transparency has not reached the set value, the rinsing is repeated each time, and the number of repetitions reaches a certain number of times. When it is shown that the transparency has not reached the set value even after reaching the set value, the overflow rinsing process is executed, and then the process moves to the draining process and thereafter, and ends. The rinsing can be carried out according to the clarity of the water, and the rinsing can be carried out according to the degree of rinsing.
This means that the machine does not operate more than necessary, so it can save a lot of electricity, water, etc., and it also avoids wasting a lot of time.Furthermore, it avoids unnecessary consumption of various equipment such as motors. It can prolong their lifespan, automatically provide a constant and sufficient rinsing effect, and prevent rinsing from occurring due to equipment malfunction or failure to detect transparency. If there is a problem with rinsing, it is possible to stop the operation, which prevents further deterioration of the situation, and prevents the operation time from becoming longer.Moreover, in this case, It is also possible to provide a truly excellent method of operating a washing machine that can also compensate for the minimum necessary rinsing effect.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

The drawings show one embodiment of the present invention; Fig. 1 is a longitudinal side view of the entire washing machine, Fig. 2 is an enlarged perspective view of the detection device, and Fig. 3 is an electronic control circuit and external input. FIG. 4 is a process diagram of the standard course, and FIG. 5 is a process diagram of the saving course. In the figure, A is a detection device, B is an electronic control circuit, 2 is a water tank, 4 is a rotating tank, 5 is a stirring blade, 6 is a motor,
13 is a recess, 14 is a light emitting diode, 15 is a phototransistor, 16 is an electronic timer, 17 is a clock control circuit, 18 is an arithmetic processing unit,
19 is a memory, 20 is an input buffer control circuit, 21 is an output buffer control circuit, 22 is an external input section, 33 is an A-D
The converter 34 is an external output section.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1 At least by an electronic control circuit mainly consisting of an electronic timer, arithmetic processing unit, and memory,
A washing machine that automatically operates processes such as draining and rinsing is provided with a detection device for detecting the transparency of water, and includes a rinsing process in which the transparency of the water is detected by the detection device. A detection step is provided, and when the detection device indicates that the transparency of the water has reached a set value in the detection step, the arithmetic processing device shifts the step to a draining step and thereafter, and ends the operation. Rinsing is repeated each time the detection device indicates that the water clarity has not reached the set value, and overflow occurs when the water clarity has not reached the set value even after a certain number of repetitions. A method for operating a washing machine, characterized in that the washing machine is configured to perform a rinse process, then proceed to a drain process and thereafter to end the operation.