KR100992640B1 - Device for sensing the amount of a detergent in an washing machine - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a detergent amount sensing device of a washing machine, the sealing member coupled to be in close contact with the washing machine tub; And a sensor housing coupled to the sealing member to be detachable and supporting the end of the first and second electrodes to be exposed to the inside of the washing tank while being coupled to the sealing member.

According to one aspect of the present invention as described above, by configuring the sealing member and the sensor housing to be detachable, not only to facilitate the mounting but also to easily work without damaging the airtightness between the sealing member and the washing machine during inspection and replacement. I can do it.

Washing machine, detergent level detection, electrode sensor, sealing

Description

DEVICE FOR SENSING THE AMOUNT OF A DETERGENT IN AN WASHING MACHINE}

The present invention relates to a detergent amount sensing device of a washing machine, and more particularly, to a sensing device for sensing the amount of detergent dissolved in the wash water used during washing.

In the automatic washing machine, in order to obtain the best washing power, it is necessary to detect the type, weight and degree of contamination of the laundry, and adjust various factors that affect the washing power such as the amount of washing water, the temperature of washing water and the amount of detergent accordingly. do.

Here, the amount of laundry can be measured by the quantity sensor for detecting the amount of laundry contained in the drum of the washing machine, the amount of washing water can be measured by the water level sensor, the temperature of the washing water is also used in various types of temperature sensor Can be measured relatively accurately.

However, in the case of the detergent amount sensing device, it is not easy to directly and accurately measure the amount of detergent present in the wash water. Of course, if expensive equipment is used, accurate measurements will be possible, but this is undesirable because it causes an increase in the cost of the washing machine.

Therefore, conventionally, various types of detergent amount sensing devices that can be manufactured at a low cost while accurately detecting the amount of detergent have been proposed. As an example of the detergent amount sensing device, there is a detergent amount sensing device using an optical sensor. Detergent amount detection device using the optical sensor uses a light emitting unit for emitting light and a light receiving sensor for detecting the amount of light irradiated from the light emitting unit, by measuring the opacity of the wash water according to the amount of light received from the light receiving sensor It is an apparatus which indirectly measures the amount of detergent from this. However, since the detergent amount sensing device using the optical sensor has to coat the surface with a resin material to protect the sensor, it is difficult to make accurate measurement because it is not in direct contact with the wash water, and the opacity of the wash water is different from the amount of the detergent. For example, the opacity may vary depending on the degree of contamination of the laundry, which makes it difficult to accurately measure.

As a form of improving these disadvantages, a detergent amount sensing device using an electrode sensor has been disclosed. The electrode sensor includes a pair of electrodes for measuring the electrical conductivity in the wash water, and measures the amount of detergent by grasping the hardness of the wash water through the electrical conductivity of the wash water depending on the amount of the detergent dissolved. In addition, since the electrode sensor is in direct contact with the wash water, the measurement accuracy is high and the structure is simple, so that the electrode sensor can be produced inexpensively, and thus, the electrode sensor is widely used in comparison with a sensor using an optical sensor.

1 illustrates the structure of a conventional general electrode sensor.

Referring to FIG. 1, the electrode sensors may include a sensor housing 12 installed below the tub 10 of the washing machine and first and second electrodes 14 and 16 installed side by side in the sensor housing 12. And a cable 18 for transmitting the conductivity measured from the first and second electrodes 14 and 16 to the microcomputer (not shown) side of the controller installed inside the washing machine. In addition, the outer side of the sensor housing 12 is formed with a fixing groove 20 formed in a circumferential shape is inserted and fixed to penetrate the tub 10. Here, the sensor housing 12 is fixed to be in close contact with the tub 10 to prevent leakage of the wash water.

In the electrode sensor having the structure as described above, the conductivity value measured between the first and second electrodes 14 and 16 is converted into a hardness value in the micom, so that the amount of detergent, washing time and washing course required for washing operation are washed. It is to be appropriately selected according to the conditions.

However, the electrode sensor should be in close contact with the tub to prevent leakage. To this end, it is usually mounted in an interference fit method, which not only makes the mounting difficult, but also may damage the sensor during the mounting process. In addition, the sensor is likely to be broken even in the process of removing or inspecting or replacing the electrode sensor during production or in actual use, and in some cases, may cause deformation of the tub on which the sensor is mounted.

The present invention has been made to overcome the disadvantages of the prior art as described above, it is a technical problem to provide a detergent amount sensing device that is easy to install without reducing the sealing performance compared to the conventional electrode sensor.

In addition, it is another technical problem to provide a detergent amount sensing device that can be easily removable to check or replace the sensor after a long period of use.

According to an aspect of the present invention for achieving the above technical problem, the sealing member is coupled to be in close contact with the washing machine tub; And a sensor housing coupled to the sealing member to be detachable and supporting the end of the first and second electrodes to be exposed to the inside of the washing tank while being coupled to the sealing member.

By configuring the sensor housing to be detachable from the sealing member, the sealing member is stably fixed to the tub or the outer tub of the washing machine so as to be in close contact with the sealing member, and then the sensor housing is fixed in the form of a later insertion. Only the sensor housing can be removed for inspection or replacement without damage.

Here, the sensor housing is a base; And an electrode support tip on which the first and second electrodes are supported from the inside, and the electrode support tip may be inserted to penetrate into an insertion hole formed in the sealing member. In addition, the electrode support tip and the insertion hole inside the sealing member may be screwed.

The electrode support tip may have a shape of any polygon, for example, the electrode support team may have a circular cross section.

In addition, in order to improve sealing performance between the electrode support tip and the sealing member, a ring-shaped rib may be formed on any one side of the outer surface of the electrode support tip or the inner surface of the insertion hole of the sealing member. A plurality of ribs may be formed.

On the other hand, in order to increase the airtightness between the sealing member and the electrode support tip is coupled by interference fit may not be easy to separate the electrode support tip. In order to assist this, by rotating the electrode support tip may be adopted to the structure that the electrode support tip protrudes from the sealing member. As an example, a protrusion is additionally formed between the base and the electrode support tip, and two seating portions are formed at an end of the sealing member, and the sealing member and the sensor housing are coupled to each other. The protrusion may be inserted. As a result, when the electrode support tip is rotated, the seating portion moves upward through the side surface of the protrusion, and the electrode support tip retreats from the sealing member in the process.

The sealing member may be fixed in various ways with the tub or outer tub of the washing machine. For example, the sealing member may include a fixing groove formed along an outer circumferential surface of the sealing member, and the fixing groove may be attached to the tub of the washing machine. It can be engaged with the outer peripheral portion of the fixing hole to be formed.

Here, the fixing groove includes two side surfaces in contact with the front and rear surfaces of the fixing hole of the tub, respectively, the distance between the two sides is reduced toward the outside from the center of the sealing member, the two sides at the outermost The distance between the two is set to be smaller than the thickness of the fixing hole, it is possible to further increase the adhesion between the tub and the sealing member.

On the other hand, in order to facilitate the coupling between the sealing member and the washing machine tub, a tapered portion may be formed outside the front end of the sealing member.

As described above, by configuring the sealing member and the sensor housing to be detachable, not only the mounting is easy but also the work can be easily performed without damaging the airtightness between the sealing member and the washing machine at the time of inspection and replacement.

Hereinafter, with reference to the accompanying drawings will be described in detail an embodiment of the detergent amount sensing device of the washing machine according to the present invention.

2 to 4, an embodiment of the detergent amount sensing device according to the present invention is illustrated, and the embodiment may be classified into a sensor housing 100 and a sealing unit 200. The sensor housing 100 is made of a synthetic resin material, and has a role of stably supporting the pair of electrodes 120 and 122. The sensor housing 100 has a base 110 on the right side in FIG. 2, and the base 110 has an open end as a part having the largest diameter among the sensor housings 100. A cable (not shown) connected to the pair of electrodes 120 and 122 supported by 100 may extend outside the sensor housing.

A protrusion 112 is formed at the center of the upper surface of the base 110. The protrusion 112 is formed to cross the center of the upper surface of the base 110 in a straight line, and the base 110 and the protrusion 112 form a step shape. In addition, the electrode fixing tip 116 having a circular cross section is formed in the center of the protrusion 112 to extend in the longitudinal direction. The electrode fixing tip 116 is accommodated in a pair of electrodes (120, 122), and is coupled to the insertion hole formed in the sealing portion 200 to be described later. However, the electrode fixing tip 116 does not necessarily have a circular cross section, but may have a cross-sectional shape of an arbitrary polygonal cross section, for example, a square. In addition, by forming a female thread and a male thread on the outer surface of the electrode fixing tip 116 and the surface of the insertion hole, respectively, both may be screwed.

Here, the pair of electrodes (120, 122) is fixed so that the end is exposed, so as to protrude into the tub of the washing machine, most are accommodated in the sensor housing 100.

On the other hand, the sealing portion 200 is made of a synthetic resin material having elasticity, such as rubber, the sensor housing is made of a material having a relatively high hardness than the sealing portion. A pair of seating portions 202 is positioned at one end of the sealing portion 200. The pair of seating portions 202 are spaced apart from each other, and the separation distance coincides with the width of the protrusion 112 described above. Therefore, when the sealing part 200 is coupled with the sensor housing 100, the protrusion 112 is inserted between the seating parts 202.

Adjacent to the seating portion 202 are a first flange 204 and a second flange 206, respectively. A fixing groove 208 is formed between the first and second flanges 204 and 206, and the fixing groove 208 is coupled to a wall around the fixing hole formed in the tub to be described later. Here, the surfaces of the first and second flanges 204 and 206 facing each other are formed such that the distance between the first and second flanges 204 and 206 is gradually narrowed toward the outside from the center of the sealing portion 200. have. In other words, the spacing between the first and second flanges 204 and 206 is maximum at the portion close to the center of the sealing portion, and has a minimum value at the outermost portion of the sealing portion.

At this time, the minimum value of the gap between the first and second flanges 204 and 206 is formed smaller than the thickness of the tub. Due to this structure, the surface of each flange and the tub can be in close contact, thereby increasing the sealing performance.

In addition, as shown in FIG. 4, two ring-shaped ribs 124 are formed on the outer circumferential portion of the electrode fixing tip 116, and the ribs 124 are insertion holes 210 of the sealing part 200. Closer to the inner wall of the seal will further increase the sealing performance. Here, the ribs are not necessarily formed in the electrode fixing tip 116, for example, the ribs may be formed to protrude on the inner wall of the insertion hole 210 of the sealing portion 200. In addition, the number of the ribs is not necessarily limited to two, but may be formed in any number.

On the other hand, the inside of the protrusion 112 is filled with silicon 118 in order to fix the electrode at the same time to prevent water leak through the interior of the sensor housing. Of course, the silicon 118 may be filled in the entire sensor housing.

Now, the operation of the above embodiment will be described.

As shown in FIG. 5, in the embodiment, the sealing part 200 is inserted into a fixing hole formed in the tub 10 so that the tub 10 is disposed between the first and second flanges 204 and 206. Install to fit. At this time, the front portion of the first flange 204 is tapered to facilitate insertion. In addition, the embodiment may be fixed to the tub in the state in which the sensor housing and the sealing unit are coupled, or may be coupled to the sealing unit after first bonding the sealing unit.

When the sealing unit is preferentially coupled, since the deformation of the sealing unit is made easier, the sealing unit may be more easily inserted into the tub 10.

Even when the above embodiment is separated, the sealing unit and the sensor housing may be separated from the tub 10 in a coupled state, or the sensor housing may be separated first and then the sealing unit may be separated. Even when the sensor housing is preferentially coupled, the sealing portion is more easily deformed, so that the sealing portion can be more easily separated from the tub 10.

In addition, when the sensor housing is separated from the sealing part, the sensor housing may be removed by pulling along the longitudinal direction of the sealing part, but the sensor housing may be removed while rotating the sensor housing around the electrode fixing tip 116. . In this case, as the sensor housing rotates, the seating portion 202 moves to the upper surface of the protrusion 112, and thus may be naturally separated. In order to allow the seating portion 202 to be moved to the upper portion of the protrusion 112 more easily, the surface 114 connecting the protrusion 112 and the base 110 is formed as an inclined surface rather than a right angle. Embodiments can also be considered. In this embodiment, the seating portion 202 can be more easily raised to the top of the protrusion 112 along the inclined surface can be more easily separated.

1 is a cross-sectional view showing an example of a washing machine provided with a conventional electrode sensor.

2 is a perspective view showing an example of a detergent amount sensing device according to the present invention.

3 is an exploded perspective view showing the example shown in FIG.

4 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line AA ′ of FIG. 2.

5 is a side view illustrating a state in which the example shown in FIG. 2 is installed in a tub of a washing machine.

<Explanation of symbols for main parts of the drawings>

100: sensor housing, 110: base,

112: protrusion, 116: electrode fixing tip,

118: silicon, 120, 122: electrode,

124: rib, 200: sealing portion,

202: seating portion, 204: first flange,

206: second flange, 208: fixing groove,

210: insertion hole.

Claims (8)

A sealing member coupled to be in close contact with the washing machine tub; And And a sensor housing coupled to the sealing member so as to be detachable, and supporting the end portions of the first and second electrodes to be exposed to the inside of the washing tank while being coupled with the sealing member. The method of claim 1, The sensor housing, Base; And The first and second electrodes include an electrode support tip that is supported from the inside, Detergent amount sensing device of the washing machine, characterized in that the electrode support tip is inserted so as to penetrate inside the insertion hole formed in the sealing member. The method of claim 2, Detergent amount sensing device of the washing machine, characterized in that the electrode support tip has a circular or polygonal cross section. The method of claim 3, Detergent amount sensing device of the washing machine, characterized in that the ring-shaped rib is formed on any one side of the outer surface of the electrode support tip or the inner surface of the insertion hole of the sealing member. The method of claim 3, A protrusion is additionally formed between the base and the electrode support tip. Two seating parts are formed at the end of the sealing member, Detergent amount sensing device of a washing machine, characterized in that the protrusion is inserted between the seating portion in a state in which the sealing member and the sensor housing are coupled. The method of claim 1, The sealing member includes a fixing groove formed along the outer peripheral surface of the sealing member, Detergent amount sensing device of the washing machine characterized in that the fixing groove is engaged with the outer peripheral portion of the fixing hole formed in the tub of the washing machine. The method of claim 6, The fixing groove includes two side surfaces in contact with the front and rear surfaces of the fixing hole of the tub, respectively, and the distance between the two sides decreases toward the outside from the center of the sealing member, Detergent amount sensing device of the washing machine, characterized in that the distance between the two sides at the outermost side is smaller than the thickness of the fixing hole. The method of claim 1, Detergent amount sensing device of the washing machine, characterized in that the tapered portion is formed on the outer side of the front end of the sealing member.

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