JPS644799B2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

(a) Industrial Application Field The present invention relates to a centrifugal dewatering machine that automatically detects a load amount and controls a process based on the detected load amount. (b) Prior Art There is a washing machine disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication No. 36556/1983 as a conventional washing machine which also serves as a dehydrator of this type. This is because before an automatic washing machine starts washing, it performs water supply/drainage and dehydration processes for a certain period of time in addition to the washing operation, and is used to dehydrate laundry that has been properly moistened. The amount of laundry is detected by detecting the drive current of the motor and comparing it with a preset reference value. However, if the power to the motor is cut off before the motor drive current is detected by, for example, opening the top cover, the detection of the motor drive current when the motor is driven again will start from the motor's inertial rotation state. Ru. Therefore, the current at the time of starting the motor is omitted, and the number of laundry items is detected to be less than the actual number, which causes problems in subsequent process control. (c) Problems to be Solved by the Invention The present invention provides a centrifugal dehydrator that performs appropriate process control based on automatically detected load amount. (d) Means for Solving the Problems The present invention provides a motor current detection device for detecting the current flowing through the drive motor in a centrifugal dehydrator with dehydrated material put in the dehydration tank, and A load amount detection device that detects the amount of dehydrated material by comparing data based on a signal from the detection device with a predetermined reference value, and a control device that controls the process according to the detected load amount; The apparatus controls the process based on a load amount greater than the load amount detected after the energization is resumed, when the energization to the drive motor is temporarily interrupted before the load amount is detected. (E) Effect: In other words, when the motor is driven from an inert rotation state and the load amount is detected, the amount of load detected at that time will be lower than the actual amount due to the fact that the time of motor startup is not taken into consideration. The process is controlled based on a load amount greater than the amount of load. (f) Embodiments Examples of the present invention will be described based on the drawings. In FIG. 3, 1 is a two-tub washing machine in which a washing tub 3 and a dewatering tank 4 are arranged side by side in a machine frame 2, and a control box 5 is arranged at the upper rear part. A large-diameter chevron-shaped rotary blade (not shown) is disposed at the inner bottom of the washing tub 3, and rotates at a low speed during washing. A dehydration tank 6 with an upper opening edge 6a curled inward is disposed within the dehydration receiving tank 4. This dehydration tank 6 has dehydration holes 7 bored on its circumferential side, and is connected to a motor rotating shaft 8 to perform "dehydration" and dehydration by continuous clockwise rotation.
It performs "dehydration rinsing" by repeating the cycle of control and stop (water supply during braking and stop). (Furthermore, stopped means the state where the braking is finished and the power to the motor is cut off, and the motor may be rotating due to inertia.) Also, the motor 9 is connected to the machine frame 2.
The motor rotating shaft 8 is elastically attached to the inner bottom of the motor by vibration isolating springs 10, and the motor rotating shaft 8 is elastically supported by vibration isolating rubber 11. Reference numeral 12 denotes a top plate fixed to the upper opening of the dehydration receiving tank 4, and has a clothing input port 13 which has approximately the same diameter as the upper opening of the dehydration tank 6 and faces from above. 14 is a plate-shaped safety cover that is pivotally supported within the control box 5 and opens and closes the clothing input port 13;
A large number of small holes 15 are bored in the bottom surface, and the clothes input port 13 is deeply recessed to approach the upper opening of the dehydration tank 6. Although not shown, the upper part of the safety cover 14 is covered with a dehydration upper cover. Inside the control box 5, there is a dual switching electromagnetic water supply valve 17 for the water supply hose installation port 16.
A washing water supply channel 18 and a rinsing water supply channel 19 are provided, which communicate with each other via a water supply channel 18. The water supply channel 18 supplies water into the washing tub 3, and the water supply channel 19 faces the side wall of the safety cover 14 and is inserted into the cover. Supply water. The washing machine 1 washes in the washing tub 3, rinses if necessary, and performs rinsing and dewatering in the dewatering tank 4. In particular, when we explain the operation inside the dehydration tank 4, we first start with normal “dehydration”.
The dehydration tank 6 is activated by setting the timer.
Rotate clockwise at approximately 1400 rpm to perform centrifugal dehydration. In addition, during "dehydration rinsing", the rinse water supplied from the water supply channel 19 to the recessed safety cover 1.
4, and from there it falls accurately into the dehydration tank 6 through small holes 15, etc. Dehydration tank 6
The rinsing water inside the tub is directly absorbed by the laundry at the top of the tub, and then sequentially enters the middle section where it is absorbed. When centrifugal force is applied, the water absorbed into the laundry is discharged through the dehydration holes 7, and by repeating water absorption and dewatering several times in this way, the detergent liquid contained in the laundry is removed. It is diluted and so-called rinsed. Next, FIG. 4 is a front view of the control box 5, in which 20 is a finishing agent inlet, 21 is an overflow water level adjustment lever, and 22 is a drain valve operation button. 23 is a water flow changeover switch for changing the water flow intensity; 24 is a switch for switching the rinsing, which is normally performed on the side of the washing tub 3, to water injection rinsing, in which rinsing is performed while water is being poured; 25 is a switch for temporarily stopping the rotary blade and water supply; 26 is a washing/rinsing time setting and start switch on the washing tub 3 side, 27 is a start switch for an automatic course of dehydration rinsing → dehydration on the dehydration tank 6 side, and 28 is a dehydration time setting and start switch. In addition, each switch is equipped with display light emitting diodes 24a and 29 to 31 (hereinafter referred to as LED).
is attached. Therefore, in order to wash and rinse in the washing tub 3, the process time is first set using the wash and rinse switch 26. That is, each time this switch 26 is pressed once, the display section 32a displays 10 → 7 → 5 → 2 → 0 → 15.
→10→... (however, if the water flow intensity is "soft", the process time starts from 5), and at the same time, the water supply solenoid valve 17a leading to the washing tub 3 is opened and water is supplied. During this water supply, the set time is not subtracted, and when the water level switch is turned OFF and the water supply stops, the subtraction starts and the rotor blades are driven at the same time. If the water level switch does not turn off even after 15 minutes have passed after pressing the washing/rinsing switch 26,
It is determined that there is a drainage abnormality, the water supply is stopped, and the time display on the display section 32a is made to blink. If the water injection rinsing switch 24 is set, water is supplied into the washing tub 3 as the rotary blades are driven, and so-called water injection rinsing is performed. However, if the washing/rinsing process does not start even after a predetermined period of time has passed after setting the switch 24, that is, the washing/rinsing process does not start.
If the rinse switch 26 is not operated, the setting of the water injection rinse switch 24 is automatically canceled. This prevents the possibility that if you forget to release the water injection rinse switch 24 and perform the next washing process, the detergent may be flushed out even though the detergent has been poured in. This is to do so. When you want to stop the water supply to these washing tubs 3,
The washing and rinsing time can be reduced to zero. Next, by setting the dehydration time with the dehydration time setting switch 28, dehydration is performed in the dehydration tank 6. That is, each time this switch 28 is pressed, the corresponding LED 31 lights up from 3 → 1 → 0.5 → none → 5
→3→…. Note that the washing, rinsing, and spin-drying times can be changed during the process, and the set times can be memorized by continuing to press each switch 26, 28 for 2 seconds or more.
From next time onwards, this memorized time can be displayed first. The display section 32 is composed of four digits and usually displays the time, washing and rinsing are displayed in the upper two digit display section 32a, and dehydration rinsing and dehydration time are displayed in the lower two digit display section 32b in minutes. . Time adjustment is performed by each switch 25, 26, 27. Figure 5 shows a block circuit diagram of the control section of this washing machine, where 33 is a microcomputer that is the center of the control section, and 34 is a display consisting of a group of LEDs that display washing/rinsing and spin-drying times, water flow intensity, etc. Circuit, 35 is water level detection switch on the washing tub side, 36
37 is a safety switch that is linked to the opening and closing of the dehydration top cover.
is an operation section composed of switches 23 to 28,
38 is a buzzer circuit, 39 and 40 are motor left and right rotation drive circuits, and 41 is a water supply valve 17 leading to the washing tub 3.
42 is the water supply valve 17b leading to the dehydration tank.
43 is a finishing agent inputting part, 44 is a dehydration tank 6
45 is a dehydration motor drive circuit,
46 is a motor current detection circuit which will be described later. The microcomputer 33 corresponds to a control device, and compares the signal from the motor current detection circuit 46 with stored reference values (t _A , t _B , t _C to be described later), and compares the signal with the reference value. It has a built-in load amount detection device that detects the amount of laundry or dehydrated material (hereinafter referred to as load) based on the results, and a calculation device that calculates the process time based on a predetermined time for the detected load amount. , the drive of a load such as a motor is controlled based on input signals from the various switches and the calculated process time. Now, dehydration and rinsing is performed by operating the rinse/spin switch 27. When the switch 27 is pressed once, the standard course (the cycle of dehydration-braking (water supply)-stop (water supply) is completed 4 times → finishing) (adding agent → 3 minutes of dehydration), press twice to execute the careful course (the cycle is repeated 5 times → add finishing agent → 3 minutes of dehydration), and press a third time to cancel. The finishing agent injection starts 5 seconds before stopping from braking in the final cycle of dewatering and rinsing in each course, and is carried out during the stopping time. Immediately after each course is set and the motor 9 starts rotating, the microcomputer 33 receives a signal from the motor current detection circuit 46, detects the load amount, calculates the time corresponding to the load amount, and calculates the time corresponding to this time and the dewatering time. 3 minutes are added and displayed on the lower two digit display section 32b. Note that the dehydration time can be changed using the switch 28. Further, this load amount detection is also performed during the normal dehydration process. The motor current detection means will be explained below. In FIG. 6, 47 and 48 are dewatering motors 9
It is a bidirectional thyristor connected to
do. The one bidirectional thyristor 47 constitutes a braking circuit that applies DC voltage to the dehydration motor 9 via a diode 49 to apply DC braking. Now, 50 is a current transformer, and a voltage proportional to the current flowing through the dehydration motor 9 appears on the secondary side, and this is converted into a DC voltage V _CT through a rectifier circuit 51 and a smoothing circuit 52. Generally, when the dehydration motor 9 is driven, a large current flows during startup, and as the motor 9 reaches steady rotation, the motor current gradually decreases to a steady current. That is, the V _CT has a characteristic as shown in FIG. 7. Here, the reference voltage V _REF is determined in advance, and this
A comparator 53 compares V _REF and the V _CT to obtain an output V _OUT . Figure 8 is a time chart of this V _OUT , and to explain it based on the solid line in Figure 7, V _OUT shows a High level (V _H ) after motor 9 starts, and when V _CT exceeds V _REF . It becomes Low level (V _L ). Then V _CT decreases and V _REF again
When V OUT becomes smaller than , V _OUT again shows the High level. Thus, the microcomputer 33 controls the motor 9.
The time T from the time of startup until the aforementioned V _OUT becomes High level again is counted. The time T naturally varies depending on the amount of load, and the larger the amount of load, the longer the time T becomes.
In Figure 7, t _A , t _B , and t _C are ideal amounts, respectively.
This is a standard value determined using medium and small loads (t _A
> _tB > _tC ), the microcomputer 33 compares the time T with these reference values _tA , _tB , _tC , and thereby
The amount of load is judged in four stages: heavy load (t _A ≦T), medium load (t _B ≦T < t _A ), light load (t _C ≦ T < t _B ), and small load (T < t _C ). do. Here, 1 of the dehydration rinse at each load amount mentioned above.
The required cycle times are shown in Table 1.

[Table] However, the stop time in the final cycle of dehydration rinsing in each of the standard and careful courses, that is, the stop time when adding the finishing agent, was 55 seconds for each load. This 55
Seconds is a sufficient time for finishing agents (fabric softener, antistatic agent, laundry starch, etc.) to penetrate into the clothing at each load, but it does not need to be 55 seconds for the load. All you have to do is set the time accordingly. By setting this time, it is possible to obtain a uniform finishing effect even if the load amount changes. Now, when the microcomputer 33 determines the rank of the load amount, it quadruples the cycle time corresponding to this load amount (in the case of a careful course, it increases the cycle time by 5 times).
double), add the extended stop time for adding the finishing agent, convert it into minutes, add the dehydration time (minutes), and display it on the display 32b (for example, if the load is judged to be a large amount) In this case, the dehydration rinse time 540 + 10 = 550 seconds ≒ 10 minutes + dehydration time 3 minutes = 13 minutes will be displayed, and if it is determined that the load is a small amount, the dehydration rinse time will be 264 + 45 = 309 seconds ≒ 6 minutes + dehydration time 3 minutes = 9 minutes. indicate). Also, if you change to a careful course in the middle of the standard course, the time will be corrected by the additional one cycle and the display will be changed. Note that if a decimal term occurs during the calculation, it is rounded up and displayed in minutes, but when the number of seconds corresponding to this decimal term has elapsed, one is subtracted from the display. Based on this, the process of detecting the load amount in the dewatering and rinsing process will be explained based on FIG. 2. The dehydration and rinsing process is started by putting a load into the dehydration tank 6 and turning on the rinsing/dehydration switch 27. When the dewatering motor 9 is turned on, it will output for a while.
V _OUT shows high level and measurement is OK at this point
Measure time without setting the flag. Then, when the output V _OUT switches to the Low level, the measurement OK flag is set (time measurement is still being performed), and when the output V _OUT switches to the High level again, the time T up to that point is calculated. Reference values _tA , _tB ,
Compare with t _C to determine the rank of load amount. Thereafter, the dehydration rinsing process time is calculated from the cycle time corresponding to the determined load amount, and the dehydration time is displayed including the dehydration time. As described above, the microcomputer 33 determines the rank of the load amount and counts the number of repetitions of the cycle determined according to the load amount. At this time, for example, during the first dewatering process, if the load is unevenly placed in the tank, a greater than normal load will be applied when the tank rotates, and the load will be judged to be a large amount, even though it is actually a medium load. Sometimes. In this case, time and water are wasted due to heavy load cycles. Therefore, at the stage of counting the number of repetitions of the cycle, the microcomputer 33 determines the load amount not only during the first cycle but also during the second cycle. That is, even if the load is uneven, the load is loosened during water supply during the first cycle and is evenly located in the tank, so that a normal load amount can be determined in the second cycle. If the microcomputer 33 determines that the result is different from the previous one in the second judgment, it immediately changes the execution cycle, corrects the remaining time, and displays the result. In addition, as mentioned above, load amount detection is also performed during the normal dehydration process.To explain based on Figure 2, for example, during the dehydration process, rinsing and
When the dehydration switch 27 is operated and the process is switched to the dehydration rinsing process, if the load amount detection has been completed,
This is regarded as the first time, and after water is continuously supplied, a second load amount detection is performed during the next dehydration. Further, if the load amount detection has not yet been completed, dehydration is extended until the detection is completed, and then water is supplied, and this is considered as the first load amount detection. In this way, if the load amount is detected during the dehydration process, it is possible to immediately switch to the dehydration and rinsing process, which eliminates the need to perform the dehydration and rinsing process from the beginning, reducing time. . Conversely, even when switching from a dehydration rinsing process to a dehydration process, an appropriate dehydration process can be performed. In this embodiment, the load amount detection is performed up to the second cycle, but it may be performed at each cycle. Now, when the dehydration rinsing step is started and the dehydration top cover is opened and the power to the drive motor 9 is cut off before the first load amount detection is completed, the dehydration tank 6 enters an inertial rotation state. Therefore, when the top cover is closed again in this state and the load amount is detected, the measurement starts from the time when the drive motor 9 is already rotating, so the time T is shorter than when measuring normally.
This results in determining the amount of load to be lower than the actual amount. Therefore, when the load amount is detected from the inertial rotation state of the motor in this manner, process control is performed based on the load amount one rank higher than the detected load amount. The following will explain based on FIG. First, the dehydration top cover is opened and the safety switch 36 is turned on.
When the motor is opened, a "motor inertia rotation" signal is input to the microcomputer 33. In this state, when the upper cover is closed again and the motor 9 is driven again, the first load amount detection is performed. Here, the microcomputer 33 remembers that it was in an inertial rotation state at the start of the load amount detection, so it determines the load amount for this first cycle based on the load amount one rank higher than the detected load amount. The required time is controlled (for example, when a light load is determined, a cycle corresponding to a medium load is executed). Then, during the next second load amount detection, the cycle is corrected to an appropriate cycle. The above description applies to the case where the top cover is opened and closed before the first load detection is completed, but the same cycle control also applies when the top cover is opened and closed before the load detection is completed during the second dehydration process. Do the following. However, since the next load amount detection is not performed, subsequent process control is performed in the cycle determined at the time of this second load amount detection. Note that the opening/closing operation of the top cover other than the above, for example, when water is being supplied, is merely a temporary stop operation. The above-mentioned opening/closing operation of the dehydration top cover refers to the case where it takes less than 6.7 seconds from opening to closing.
Even if 6.7 seconds have passed or within 6.7 seconds after opening the top lid, you can open the top lid and turn the rinse/spin switch 2.
When setting a new course after canceling the course in step 7, the dehydration rinse cycle that was being performed up to that point is canceled, and when the top lid is closed next and the motor 9 is driven again, the set course is performed from the beginning. . At this time of re-driving, the clothes in the tank are almost always slightly dehydrated, so the load amount detected at this time of re-driving is also determined to be less than normal. Therefore, in this case as well, the process control of one rank higher is performed as described above. (G) Effects of the Invention The centrifugal dewatering machine of the present invention automatically detects the amount of load and determines the process time commensurate with it.
It is possible to perform dehydration rinsing and dehydration appropriate to the amount of load, and it is possible to prevent fabric damage and save water. Furthermore, even if an error occurs in the detected value due to load detection starting from the motor's inertial rotation state, process control is performed based on a load greater than this detection result, so insufficient rinsing or dehydration can be compensated for. , it is possible to perform appropriate process control according to the load amount.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Fig. 1 is a flowchart showing the load amount detection process started from the inertial rotation state of the motor in the present invention, Fig. 2 is a flowchart showing the normal load amount detection process, and Fig. 3 is a two-tank type A cross-sectional front view of the main parts of the washing machine, Fig. 4 is a front view of the control box, Fig. 5 is a block circuit diagram of the control section, Fig. 6 is a motor current detection circuit diagram, and Fig. 7 is the output V _CT.
Figure 8 is a time chart of the output V _OUT . 6... Dehydration tank, 9... Dehydration motor, 33... Microcomputer (load amount detection device, control device).

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1 A motor current detection device detects the current flowing through the drive motor with dehydrated material placed in the dehydration tank, and data based on the signal from the motor current detection device is compared with a predetermined reference value to determine the amount of dehydrated material. and a control device that controls a process according to the detected load amount, and the control device is configured to: A centrifugal dehydrator characterized in that the process is controlled based on a load amount greater than the load amount detected after energization is resumed.