KR102550766B1 - Laundry treating apparatus and method for controlling the laundry treating apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a tub for storing wash water, a drum rotatably provided in the tub and accommodating laundry, a heating means provided in the tub for indirectly heating wash water, and a cycle for circulating the wash water into the drum and performing the wetting process. A control unit for independently controlling the means, the rotation of the drum, the heating means, and the circulation means,
The control unit performs drum rotation control that repeats acceleration and deceleration when performing packing core or heating.
In addition, the present invention provides a water supply step of supplying wash water containing detergent into a drum, a soaking step of soaking laundry stored in the drum with wash water, and indirectly heating the wash water with a heating means provided in a tub accommodating the drum. It includes a heating step, and includes a drum rotation section in which the drum repeats acceleration and deceleration in the foaming step or the heating step.

Description

Laundry treating apparatus and method for controlling the laundry treating apparatus {Laundry treating apparatus and method for controlling the laundry treating apparatus}

The present invention relates to a laundry treatment machine equipped with an induction heater and a method for controlling the laundry treatment machine.

In general, a clothes treatment machine is a device that cleans clothes, bedding, etc. (hereinafter referred to as 'cloth') through processes such as washing, rinsing, and dehydration using water, detergent, and mechanical action. It is divided into agitator type, pulsator type, and drum type laundry treatment machine.

The agitation type rotates the washing rod at the center of the tub to the left and right to wash, and the vortex type rotates the disc-shaped rotary blades formed at the bottom of the tub to the left and right to wash using the water flow and the frictional force between the cloths. Wash by adding water, detergent and cloth and rotating the drum.

Here, in the drum-type laundry treatment machine, a tub accommodating wash water is mounted inside a cabinet forming an exterior, a drum accommodating fabric is disposed inside the tub, and the drum rotates while accommodating the fabric. At this time, wash water is stored in the tub and a washing cycle is performed using the wash water. A heater for heating the wash water is provided.

In general, washing water is heated through an electric heater installed in a tub in which wash water is accommodated. The electric heater is immersed in wash water, and the wash water contains foreign substances or detergents. Accordingly, foreign substances such as scale may accumulate on the electric heater itself, and these foreign substances deteriorate the performance of the electric heater.

In addition, air heating should be separately provided with a duct for guiding air movement as well as a fan for forcibly generating air movement. An electric heater or a gas heater may be used to heat the air, but the efficiency of such an air heating method is generally not high.

Recently, a dryer for heating air using a heat pump has been provided. A heat pump uses the cooling cycle of an air conditioner in reverse, so it requires the same components such as an evaporator, condenser, expansion valve and compressor. Unlike air conditioners that use condensers in indoor units to lower indoor air, in heat pump dryers, the evaporator heats air to dry laundry. However, these heat pump dryers have complex configurations and increase manufacturing costs.

In these various clothes handling machines, a clothes handling machine equipped with an induction heater as a new heating means that can further highlight the advantages of electric heaters, gas heaters, and heat pumps as heating means and compensate for the disadvantages has been published in various literatures. is being initiated The induction heater generates an induced current through a magnetic field generated by a coil formed in the heater and heats the heater through this.

Existing heaters must always be operated in a submerged state for safety reasons, so a constant protection water level must be continuously maintained in the heating stage. However, in case of using an induction heater, since a protection water level is not required unlike in the past, the heating process can be performed with only a small amount of washing water. Therefore, specific technical ideas need to be provided to solve various problems arising therefrom.

An object of the present invention is to provide a laundry treatment apparatus and a control method of the laundry treatment apparatus having improved efficiency and safety while using induction heating.

A twelfth problem to be solved by the present invention is to provide a laundry treatment machine capable of smoothly circulating the washing water even though a small amount of wash water is formed, and a method for controlling the laundry treatment machine.

A second problem to be solved by the present invention is to provide a laundry treatment machine and a control method for the laundry treatment machine, which enable effective high-concentration washing using an induction heater.

The tasks of the present invention are not limited to the tasks mentioned above, and other tasks will be clearly understood by those skilled in the art from the following description.

In order to realize the above object, a laundry treatment apparatus and a control method of the laundry treatment apparatus according to the present invention will be described below. A laundry treatment apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a tub for storing wash water, a drum rotatably provided in the tub to accommodate laundry, a heating means provided in the tub for indirectly heating wash water, and a drum for washing wash water. and a controller that independently controls circulation means for performing foaming while circulating inside, rotation of the drum, heating means, and circulation means, and the control unit controls drum rotation to repeat acceleration and deceleration during foaming or heating. carry out

In addition, the control method of the laundry treatment apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a water supply step of supplying wash water containing detergent into a drum, a soaking step of soaking laundry stored in the drum with wash water, and receiving the wash water into the drum. It includes a heating step of indirectly heating with a heating means provided in the tub, and a drum rotation section in which the drum repeats acceleration and deceleration in the wet core step or the heating step.

In the heating step, the washing water may be indirectly heated by a heating means through a heated drum, and the heating means may heat the drum with an electric induction heating means, and the heating means may be located above the highest water level of the washing water. can

In the drum rotation section, the drum may periodically repeat acceleration and deceleration, and the drum may be accelerated to a spin-drying speed, and the drum may decelerate after forming wash water through spin-drying at the maximum speed after acceleration.

A main washing step of removing contamination from the laundry by rotating the drum after the heating step may be further included, and the maximum rotation speed of the drum in the drum rotation section may be greater than the maximum rotation speed of the drum in the main washing step. When the drum is decelerated after acceleration in the drum rotation section, the deceleration speed may reach a speed capable of tumbling.

The heating step may be started after a certain period of time has passed in the sintering step, and the spooling step, the heating step, and the drum rotation section may be performed simultaneously in time.

The heating means is provided on the outside of the tub, the heating means is located above the highest level of wash water, and the control unit can control the rotation of the drum while periodically repeating acceleration and deceleration.

The control unit may control the rotation of the drum while alternating acceleration and deceleration, and the control unit may control the heating means after controlling the start of the foam core.

The heating means may heat the drum with an electric induction heating means, and the heating means may heat the drum by generating an induced current in the drum.

The controller may control the laundry to come into close contact with the inner circumferential surface of the drum and accelerate at a spin-drying speed, and the controller may control the laundry to come into close contact with the inner circumferential surface of the drum and rotate for a predetermined time and then decelerate.

The control unit may perform control of the heating means and circulation means in the same way as drum rotation control.

A laundry treatment machine and a control method of the laundry treatment machine according to the present invention, by periodically accelerating and decelerating the rotational speed of a drum in the wetting step, reinforces the wetting and washing functions through repeated spin-drying and spraying of the cloth. provide effect.

In addition, the laundry treatment machine and the control method of the laundry treatment machine according to the present invention can use a small amount of washing water without a protective water level by using an induction heater in the wetting step, and use a small amount of washing water to perform high-concentration washing. It provides an effect of performing a high-concentration washing process through circulation of washing water through water generation, drum rotation, and pumping.

1 is a perspective view showing the outside of a laundry treatment machine according to the present invention.
2 is a cross-sectional view showing the inside of the laundry treatment machine according to the present invention.
3 is a conceptual diagram in which a separate induction heater module is mounted on a tub.
4 is a flow chart showing washing steps according to the present invention.
5 is a block diagram showing a control relationship between major components of the laundry machine in a heating step.
6 is a view showing the inside of a tub according to an embodiment of the present invention in relation to the presence or absence of a protective water level.
7 is a diagram showing washing time and washing energy in a heating step.
8 is a diagram showing whether or not there is an interaction for the degree of cleaning.
9 is a graph showing an increase in the actual operation rate of a motor and application of a drum motion when an induction heater is used.
10 is a graph showing the optimization of laundry mechanical power according to the improvement of the threading rate and the possibility of water circulation in the heating step.

The embodiments described below are shown by way of example to aid understanding of the invention, and it should be understood that the present invention may be variously modified and implemented differently from the embodiments described herein. However, in the description of the present invention, if it is determined that a detailed description of a related known function or component may unnecessarily obscure the subject matter of the present invention, the detailed description and detailed illustration thereof will be omitted. In addition, the accompanying drawings are not drawn to an actual scale to aid understanding of the present invention, and the dimensions of some components may be exaggerated.

The first and second terms used in this application may be used to describe various components, but the components should not be limited by the terms. Terms are only used to distinguish one component from another.

In addition, terms used in this application are only used to describe specific embodiments, and are not intended to limit the scope of rights. Singular expressions include plural expressions unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. In this application, terms such as "comprise", "consist of" or "consist of" are intended to indicate that there is a feature, number, step, operation, component, part, or combination thereof described in the specification, but one or It should be understood that it does not preclude the possibility of the presence or addition of more other features, numbers, steps, operations, components, parts, or combinations thereof.

In addition, terms related to direction used in this application, for example, up, down, left, right, front, rear, clockwise, counterclockwise, etc., refer to the relative arrangement position or movement of the components shown in the drawings. It is to be understood that for purposes of illustration a direction does not exclude other directions.

1 is a perspective view showing the outside of a laundry treatment machine according to the present invention. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing the inside of the laundry treatment machine according to the present invention. 3 is a conceptual diagram in which a separate induction heater module is mounted on a tub.

Hereinafter, a laundry treatment machine according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3 .

A laundry treatment machine according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a cabinet 10 forming an exterior, a tub 20, a drum 30, a heating means 70 provided to heat the drum 30, and washing water. It includes a circulation means 80 for circulation. The heating means 70 may be formed of an electric induction heating means 70 for heating by generating an electromagnetic field, and the electric induction heating means will be referred to as an induction heater 70 below. In addition, the circulation means 80 may be formed as a pump, and the circulation means will be referred to as a pump 80 below.

The tub 20 is provided inside the cabinet 10 to accommodate the drum 30 . The drum 30 is rotatably provided inside the tub 20 and accommodates laundry. An opening is provided at the front of the drum 30, and laundry is put into the drum 30.

The induction heater 70 is provided to heat the drum 30 by generating an electromagnetic field. The induction heater 70 may be provided on an outer circumferential surface of the tub 20 . A tub 20 providing an accommodation space and having an opening at the front, a drum 30 rotatably provided in the accommodation space and made of a conductor to accommodate laundry, and a drum 30 provided on an outer circumferential surface of the tub 20 ) may include an induction heater 70 for heating with an electromagnetic field.

The tub 20 and the drum 30 may be formed in a cylindrical shape. Accordingly, the inner and outer circumferential surfaces of the tub 20 and the drum 30 may be substantially cylindrical. FIG. 2 shows a laundry treatment machine in which the drum 30 is rotated based on a rotation axis parallel to the ground.

The laundry handling machine further includes a driving unit 40 provided to rotate the drum 30 inside the tub 20 . The driving part 40 includes a motor 41, and the motor 41 includes a stator and a rotor. The rotor is connected to the rotating shaft 42 , and the rotating shaft 42 is connected to the drum 30 to rotate the drum 30 inside the tub 20 .

The driving unit 40 may include a spider 43. The spider 43 is configured to connect the drum 30 and the rotating shaft 42, and can be referred to as a structure for uniformly and stably transmitting the rotational force of the rotating shaft 42 to the drum 30.

The spider 43 is combined with the drum 30 in a form at least partially inserted into the rear wall of the drum 30 . To this end, the rear wall of the drum 30 is formed in a shape recessed into the drum 30 . In addition, the spider 43 may be coupled in a form inserted further into the drum 30 at the center of rotation of the drum 30 . Therefore, laundry is not accommodated at the rear end of the drum 30 due to the spider 43 .

A lifter 50 is provided inside the drum 30 . A plurality of lifters 50 may be provided along the circumferential direction of the drum 30 . The lifter 50 serves to agitate laundry. For example, as the drum 30 rotates, the lifter 50 lifts the laundry upward.

Laundry moved upward is separated from the lifter 50 by gravity and falls downward. Washing can be performed by the impact force caused by the laundry being dropped. Of course, agitation of laundry can improve drying efficiency. Laundry can be evenly distributed back and forth inside the drum 30 . Thus, the lifter 50 may be formed to extend from the rear end to the front end of the drum 30 .

The induction heater 70 is a device for heating the drum 30 .

As shown in FIG. 3, the induction heater 70 generates a magnetic field by receiving current and a coil 71 capable of generating eddy current in the drum 30 and a heater cover accommodating the coil 71 (72).

The heater cover 72 may include a ferromagnetic material. The ferromagnetic material may be a permanent magnet and may include a ferrite magnet. The heater cover 72 may be provided to cover an upper portion of the coil 71 . Therefore, the ferromagnetic material such as ferrite is located on the upper part of the coil 71 .

The coil 71 generates a magnetic field toward the drum 30 positioned below. Accordingly, the magnetic field generated at the top of the coil 71 is not used for heating the drum 30 . Therefore, it is preferable to concentrate the magnetic field on the lower part of the coil 71 rather than on the upper part of the coil 71 .

Therefore, it is possible to concentrate the magnetic field toward the lower part of the coil 71, that is, toward the drum 30, through the ferromagnetic material such as ferrite. Of course, when the coil 71 is located below the tub 20, the ferromagnetic material such as ferrite is located below the coil 71. Therefore, it can be said that the coil 71 is located between the ferromagnetic material and the drum 30 .

Specifically, the heater cover 72 may be provided in a box shape with one surface open. That is, the side facing the drum 30 is open and the opposite side may be provided in a box shape that is closed. Therefore, the coil 71 is positioned inside the heater cover 72 or the heater cover 72 covers the top of the coil 71 . The heater cover 72 serves to protect the coil 71 from the outside.

In addition, as will be described later, the heater cover 72 forms an air flow space between the heater cover 71 and the coil 71 to cool the coil 71 .

In the laundry handling machine, the coil 71 may heat the drum 30 to increase the internal temperature of the drum 30 as well as the drum 30 itself. Accordingly, by heating the drum 30, wash water contacting the drum 30 may be heated, and laundry contacting the inner circumferential surface of the drum 30 may be heated. Of course, by increasing the internal temperature of the drum 30, laundry that does not come into contact with the inner circumferential surface of the drum 30 can also be heated.

Therefore, it is possible to increase the temperature of the washing water, the laundry, and the inside of the drum 30 in order to improve the washing effect, as well as increase the temperature of the laundry, the drum 30, and the inside of the drum 30 to dry the laundry. can make it

Hereinafter, a principle of heating the drum 30 by the induction heater 70 including the coil 71 will be described.

The wire is wound to form a coil 71, so the coil 71 has a center. When a current is supplied to the wire, the current flows while rotating around the center due to the shape of the coil 71. Accordingly, a vertical magnetic field passing through the center of the coil 71 is generated.

At this time, when an alternating current having a different phase difference passes through the coil 71, an alternating magnetic field whose direction changes with time is formed. The alternating magnetic field generates an induced magnetic field in an opposite direction to the alternating magnetic field in an adjacent conductor, and a change in the induced magnetic field generates an induced current in the conductor.

The induced current and induced magnetic field can be understood as a form of inertia for changes in electric and magnetic fields. That is, when the drum 30 is provided as a conductor, an eddy current or eddy current, which is a kind of induced current, is generated in the drum 30 due to an induced magnetic field generated by the coil 71 .

At this time, the eddy current is dissipated and converted into heat due to the resistance of the conductor of the drum 30 . That is, as a result, the drum 30 is heated by the heat generated by the resistance, and the internal temperature of the drum 30 rises as the drum 30 is heated.

In other words, if the drum 30 is made of a conductor made of a magnetic material such as iron (Fe), it can be heated by the alternating current of the coil 71 provided in the tub 20 . Recently, a drum made of stainless steel has been widely used to improve strength and hygiene. Stainless steel material has relatively excellent electrical conductivity, so it can be easily heated by a change in electromagnetic field.

This means that it is not necessary to specially manufacture a drum of a new shape or material in order to heat the drum 30 through the induction heater 70. Therefore, a drum used in a conventional laundry treatment machine, that is, a drum in a heat pump-type laundry treatment machine or a laundry treatment machine using an electric heater, can be used as it is in a laundry treatment machine to which an induction heater 70 is applied. means you can

The induction heater 70 including the coil 71 and the heater cover 72 is provided on an outer circumferential surface of the tub 20 . Since the strength of the magnetic field decreases with distance, the induction heater 70 may be provided on the inner circumferential surface of the tub 20 to narrow the gap with the drum 30 .

However, since the tub 20 accommodates wash water and generates vibrations while the drum 30 rotates, it is preferable that the tub 20 is provided on the outer circumference of the tub 20 for safety. This is because the inside of the tub 20 is a very humid environment, which may not be desirable for the insulation and stability of the coil.

Therefore, the induction heater 70 is preferably provided on the outer circumferential surface of the tub 20 as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 . However, even in this case, it is preferable to reduce the distance between the induction heater 70 and the outer circumferential surface of the drum 30 as much as possible.

The coil 71 may be provided by winding the entire outer circumferential surface of the tub 20 at least once. However, if the coil 71 is wound along the entire circumference of the tub 20, not only too many coils 71 are needed, but also an accident such as a short circuit due to contact with washing water flowing out of the tub 20. may occur.

In addition, when the coil 71 is wound along the entire circumference of the tub 20, an induced magnetic field is generated in the opening 62 of the tub 20 and the driving unit 40, and the outer circumferential surface of the drum 30 There may be situations where it is not possible to directly heat the

Therefore, the coil 71 is provided on the outer circumferential surface of the tub 20, but is preferably provided only on one side of the outer circumferential surface of the tub 20. That is, the coil 71 may not be provided to wind the entire outer circumferential surface of the tub 20 , but may be provided by winding the tub 20 at least one time or more over a predetermined area from the front to the rear.

This can be said to be in consideration of the efficiency of the heating value of the drum 30 compared to the output of the induction heater 70 . In addition, it can be said that manufacturing efficiency of the entire clothes handling machine is taken into account by considering the space between the tub 20 and the cabinet 10 .

In addition, the coil 71 is preferably formed of a single layer. That is, it is preferable that the wire is wound in a single layer rather than in a plurality of layers. When a wire is wound in a plurality of layers, gaps inevitably occur between the wires.

Therefore, a distance equal to the gap must be generated between the wire of the bottom layer and the wire of the upper layer of the bottom layer. Accordingly, the distance between the coil of the upper layer of the bottom layer and the drum 30 cannot but be increased. Of course, even if such a gap can be physically eliminated, the distance between the coils of the bottom layer and the upper layer of the drum 30 increases as the number of coil layers increases, so the efficiency is inevitably lowered.

Therefore, it is highly desirable that the coil 71 is formed of a single layer. This also means that the coil area in contact with the drum 30 can be increased as much as possible while using the same wire length.

3 shows that the induction heater 70 is provided on the upper side of the tub 20, but the induction heater 70 is provided on at least one of the upper, lower, and both sides of the tub 20 does not exclude that However, the induction heater 70 may be installed at a position higher than the maximum water level of the washing water stored in the tub 20 .

The induction heater 70 is provided on one side of the outer circumferential surface of the tub 20, and the coil 71 extends at least 1 coil 71 along a surface of the induction heater 70 adjacent to the tub 20. It may be provided by winding more than one time.

Thus, the induction heater 70 can generate an eddy current in the drum 30 by directly radiating an induced magnetic field to the outer circumferential surface of the drum 30, and as a result, the outer circumferential surface of the drum 30 can be heated. there is.

A controller 90 for controlling the output of the induction heater 70 is provided. The on/off and output of the induction heater 70 may be controlled by the control of the controller 90 .

The induction heater 70 may be connected to an external power supply source through a wire to receive power, or connected to the control unit 90 that controls the operation of the laundry machine to receive power. That is, the induction heater 70 may receive power from any place as long as power can be supplied to the internal coil 71 .

When power is supplied to the induction heater 70 and AC current flows through the coil 71 provided inside the induction heater 70, the drum 30 is heated.

At this time, since only one surface of the drum 30 is heated when the drum 30 does not rotate, the one surface may be overheated and the other surface of the drum 30 may not be heated or the degree of heating may be small. Also, heat may not be smoothly supplied to laundry stored in the drum 30 .

Accordingly, when the induction heater 70 is operated, the motor 41 of the drive unit 40 may rotate to rotate the drum 30, which may be performed under control of the control unit 90. Therefore, according to an embodiment of the present invention, the control unit 90 may control the drum 30 to periodically repeat acceleration and deceleration, and control the drum 30 to perform the trapping while alternating the acceleration and deceleration. can

As long as all surfaces of the outer circumferential surface of the drum 30 face the induction heater 70, the speed at which the motor 41 of the drive unit 40 rotates the drum 30 may be any speed.

As the drum 30 rotates, all surfaces of the drum 30 can be heated, and laundry inside the drum 30 can be evenly exposed to heat.

Accordingly, in the laundry treatment machine according to an embodiment of the present invention, the outer circumference of the drum 30 evenly covers the outer circumference of the drum 30 even if the induction heater 70 is installed only in one place instead of being installed in various places such as the upper, lower, and both sides of the outer circumferential surface of the tub 20. can be heated

According to one embodiment of the present invention, the drum 30 can be heated to 120 degrees Celsius or more within a very short time by driving the induction heater 70 . If the induction heater 70 is driven while the drum 30 is stopped or rotates at a very low speed, a specific part of the drum 30 may be overheated very quickly. This is because heat is not sufficiently transferred from the heated drum 30 to the laundry.

Therefore, it can be said that the correlation between the rotational speed of the drum 30 and the driving of the induction heater 70 is very important. In addition, it can be said that it is more preferable to rotate the drum 30 and drive the induction heater 70 than to drive the induction heater 70 and rotate the drum 30 .

Through the description of the above-described embodiments, it can be seen that the laundry treatment machine according to the embodiment of the present invention can save washing water because the laundry does not need to be completely submerged in the washing water in order to soak the laundry. This is because the part of the drum 30 that is in contact with the wash water continuously changes as the drum 30 rotates. That is, this is because the heated portion contacts the wash water to heat the wash water, and then separates from the wash water and heats it repeatedly.

In addition, through the description of the above-described embodiments, it can be seen that the laundry treatment machine according to the embodiment of the present invention can increase the temperature of laundry and an internal space in which laundry is accommodated. That is, this is because the drum 30 in contact with the laundry is heated. Accordingly, the laundry can be effectively heated without being immersed in the washing water.

For example, washing water can be saved because laundry does not need to be immersed in washing water to be sterilized. This is because the laundry can receive heat through the drum 30 instead of receiving heat through the wash water. In addition, the inside of the drum 30 is changed to a high-temperature and high-humidity environment through steam or water vapor generated as the wet laundry is heated, so that the sterilization effect can be performed more effectively.

Therefore, the boiled laundry in which wash water is immersed in heated wash water can be replaced with a method that uses a much smaller amount of wash water. That is, since there is no need to heat wash water having a high specific heat, energy can be saved.

Also, through the description of the above-described embodiment, it can be seen that the amount of wash water supplied to increase the temperature of laundry can be reduced, and thus the supply time of wash water can be reduced. This is because it is possible to reduce the amount and time of additionally supplying wash water after soaking. Therefore, washing time can be further reduced.

Here, the level of washing water containing detergent may be lower than the lowest water level of the drum 30 . In this case, by supplying wash water inside the tub 20 to the inside of the drum 30 through the pump 80, less wash water can be used more effectively. The supply of wash water through the pump 80 may be performed through the control unit 90 .

Furthermore, through the description of the above-described embodiment, the configuration of the heater provided under the tub 20 to heat the wash water can be omitted, thereby simplifying the configuration and increasing the volume of the tub 20. it can be seen that there is

In particular, it can be seen that the heater inside the tub 20 has limitations in increasing the heating surface area. That is, the surface area of the heater in contact with air or laundry is relatively small. However, on the contrary, the surface area of the drum 30 itself or the surface area of the circumferential surface of the drum 30 itself is very large. Therefore, since the heating area is large, an immediate heating effect can be obtained.

In the heating mechanism through the tub 20 heater during washing, the tub 20 heater heats wash water and the heated wash water increases the temperature of the drum 30, the laundry, and the atmosphere inside the drum 30. Therefore, a lot of time is inevitably required to be heated to a high temperature as a whole.

However, as described above, the circumferential surface of the drum 30 has a relatively large area in contact with wash water, laundry, and air inside the drum 30 . Thus, the heated drum 30 directly heats wash water, laundry, and air inside the drum 30 . Therefore, as a heating source for washing, the induction heater 70 can be said to be very effective compared to the tub heater.

Also, when washing water is heated, driving of the drum 30 is generally stopped. This is to drive the tub heater submerged in the wash water in a stable water level. Accordingly, the washing time may be increased by the time required to heat the washing water.

However, when washing water is heated using the induction heater 70, there is no need to consider the protection level of the heater, so the entire circumferential surface of the drum is evenly heated while the drum 30 rotates, so that the washing water in contact with the drum is uniformly heated. The washing water can be heated more efficiently, the detergent can be dissolved more efficiently according to the flow of the washing water, and the time required to heat the washing water can be shortened due to the longer contact time of the circumferential surface of the heated drum with the washing water. there is.

If the drum is not rotated, only a portion of the drum is locally heated, and the washing water is not evenly heated, and damage or failure of the product may occur through local heating of the drum. Therefore, the drum rotation must be started at least within a certain period of time after the heating of the induction heater 70 starts to prevent partial overheating of the drum.

On the other hand, when washing water is heated using the induction heater 70, the drum must be rotated. This is because, when the drum is not rotated, only a portion of the drum is heated, and the washing water is not evenly heated, and only a portion of the drum is heated, which may cause damage or failure of the product. In addition, when washing water is heated while the drum rotates, detergent dissolution according to the flow of washing water can be made more efficient, and the time required to heat the washing water is increased because the circumferential surface of the heated drum is in contact with the washing water for a long time. can be shortened.

4 is a flow chart showing washing steps according to the present invention. 5 is a block diagram showing a control relationship between major components of the laundry machine in a heating step.

Hereinafter, washing steps according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 4 and 5 .

First, when the laundry is accommodated in the drum, the amount of laundry is detected. Then, in the water supply step, the motor 41 rotates the drum 30 and the water supply valve is opened to supply wash water into the tub 20 . Wash water supplied to the detergent box by the water supply valve passes through a portion where detergent is accommodated, is mixed with laundry detergent, and is then supplied into the tub 20 through a water supply pipe. At this time, when wash water is supplied up to the set water level, the initial supply of wash water by the water supply valve is terminated, and then the process goes to the soaking step.

When entering the soaking stage, the motor 41 rotates the drum 30 and the pump 80 circulates the wash water to spray and supply the circulated wash water into the drum 30 through the circulation nozzle. Through the supplied wash water, the laundry in the drum 30 is wetted by the wash water. At this time, a water re-supplying process is performed to wet the fabric through the wash water reaching the set water level.

In the initial stage of immersion, heating through the induction heater 70 is not performed. This is because if the drum is heated while the fabric is not yet wet, it will result in heating the dry fabric, which may cause damage to the fabric due to heating the fabric. However, in the case of the induction heater 70, since there is no need for a protection level to protect the heater, the heating step can always proceed as long as the cloth is wetted through only a small amount of washing water.

In the soaking step, a drum rotation section is included in which laundry is wetted in the drum 30 through circulating water and the drum 30 rotates while periodically and repeatedly accelerating and decelerating. Contents related to the rotation of the drum to be described later in the wetting step mean that the drum rotation control is performed by the control unit 90 in the drum rotation section. Content related to drum rotation to be described later means that drum rotation control is performed by the control unit 90 in the drum rotation section. In the soaking step, the wash water stored in the tub 20 is sprayed into the drum 30 through the pump 80, whereby the wash water is circulated.

In addition, the rotational speed of the drum is controlled by the control unit 90 in the wetting step, and first, the laundry is accelerated to a speed at which spin-drying is possible by adhering to the inner circumferential surface of the drum. The drum is then decelerated again after washing water is formed through spin-drying at the maximum speed after acceleration. Until the deceleration, the laundry adheres to the inner circumferential surface of the drum and rotates for a predetermined time. Here, the deceleration speed when the drum is decelerated after acceleration reaches a speed at which tumbling is possible. Tumbling refers to an operation in which the fabric that is in close contact with the inner circumferential surface of the drum falls to the lowest point of the drum.

The above-described change in rotational speed of the drum is made in performing the wetting process with a small amount of wash water, and the fabric can be evenly wetted by spraying the wash water generated through dehydration of the fabric to the fabric again, and a small amount of wash water This is because a predetermined drum rotation speed is required to dehydrate the fabric from the fabric again to form wash water, and the washing water that has descended to the tub through dehydration is sprayed on the fabric that has fallen through tumbling to efficiently perform the wetting process. .

As described above, the reason why the wash water is circulated with a small amount of wash water is that a certain level of protection water level is not required to protect the heater, and therefore, the soaking step must be performed with only a small amount of wash water. .

Since the drum 30 must be accelerated to maximize the circulation of wash water in such a situation where the number of wash water is small, the maximum rotation speed of the drum when the drum 30 rotates as described above is the maximum rotation speed of the drum in the main washing step, which will be described later. It happens faster than speed.

The process of accelerating and decelerating the drum as described above is periodically repeated, and through this repetition process, the foaming stage is performed, and the control unit 90 controls the induction heater 70 after starting control of the foaming center.

The drum driving motion in the bombardment stage is driven by a tumbling motion. In tumbling, a motor rotates the drum in one direction so that the laundry on the inner circumferential surface of the drum comes into close contact with the inner circumferential surface of the drum up to a certain height in the rotational direction of the drum and then falls down again, repeatedly. Through the motion described above, the tangled laundry is separated and the laundry is dispersed so that the fabric can be more efficiently wetted.

After the aforementioned foaming process is completed after a certain period of time, the heating process is performed. At this time, the heater is an induction heater 70, and washing water is heated through the induction heater 70, and a chemical washing process using a high-concentration detergent may be performed before a mechanical washing process through the main washing.

The induction heater 70 is provided above the tub 20 . More specifically, the heater 70 may be provided on a surface of the tub at a position higher than the maximum water level of the wash water stored in the tub 20 . This is because the induction heater 70 does not directly heat the wash water, but indirectly heats the wash water by heating the drum 30 through rotation of the drum.

When the drum 30 is heated through the induction heater 70 above the tub 20, the entire circumferential surface of the drum 30 is heated while the drum 30 rotates. The heated drum 30 contacts the wash water stored in the tub 20 and heats the wash water.

Also, in the heating step, the washing water is heated through the induction heater 70, and at the same time, the drum includes a drum rotation section in which acceleration and deceleration are periodically repeated. In the heating step, the contents related to the rotation of the drum, which will be described later, mean that the drum rotation control is performed by the control unit 90 in the drum rotation section. In the heating step, the wash water stored in the tub 20 is sprayed into the drum 30 through the pump 80, and thus the wash water is circulated.

In the heating step, the rotational speed of the drum is controlled by the control unit 90, and first, laundry is accelerated to a speed at which laundry can be spin-dried by adhering to the inner circumferential surface of the drum. The drum is then decelerated again after washing water is formed through spin-drying at the maximum speed after acceleration. Until the deceleration, the laundry adheres to the inner circumferential surface of the drum and rotates for a predetermined time. Here, the deceleration speed when the drum is decelerated after acceleration reaches a speed at which tumbling is possible. Tumbling refers to an operation in which the fabric that is in close contact with the inner circumferential surface of the drum falls to the lowest point of the drum.

The heating stage also circulates a small amount of wash water, because there is no need for a protective water level to protect the heater, and the drum must be accelerated to maximize the circulation of wash water in such a situation where there is a small amount of wash water. When the drum rotates, the maximum rotation speed of the drum is higher than the maximum rotation speed of the drum in the main washing step, which will be described later.

Also, in the heating step, the washing water is heated through the induction heater, and the drum rotates while periodically accelerating and decelerating.

In the drum driving motion in the heating step, tumbling and filtration motions are alternately driven. The filtration refers to a rotational motion of the drum so that the laundry does not fall off the inner circumferential surface of the drum by centrifugal force. Accordingly, the heating step can be efficiently performed while repeatedly adhering to and detaching the laundry from the inner circumferential surface of the drum through repetition of the above-described motion.

The washing water heating process through the induction heater 70 as described above is performed through the control of the controller 90.

After the heating step, the main washing step of removing contamination from the laundry by rotating the drum follows. In the main washing step, the drum 30 is rotated by the motor 41 and at the same time, wash water is additionally sprayed into the drum 30 through the circulation nozzle. At this time, the drum 30 rotates at various rotational speeds or directions to repeatedly raise and fall the fabric, thereby applying predetermined mechanical forces such as bending force, frictional force, and impact force to the fabric to remove contamination from the fabric. After the main washing step, washing may be completed through a rinsing and spin-drying step.

In the above processes, the control unit may independently control acceleration, deceleration, and maximum rotation speed of the drum, heating of the drum through the induction heater 70, and circulation of wash water through the pump 80.

6 is a view showing the inside of a tub according to an embodiment of the present invention in relation to the presence or absence of a protective water level. 9 is a graph showing an increase in the actual operation rate of a motor and application of a drum motion when an induction heater is used. 10 is a graph showing the optimization of laundry mechanical power according to the improvement of the threading rate and the possibility of water circulation in the heating step.

Referring to FIGS. 6, 9, and 10, effects of using an induction heater compared to conventional heaters will be described.

Since the induction heater 70 is fixed in one place and heats, if the drum 30 is not rotated, only one part of the drum 30 is heated and product failure may occur due to partial overheating, and the work of the drum 30 Since only the side is heated, the wash water may not be heated evenly.

Therefore, by allowing the drum 30 to rotate, the outer circumferential surface of the drum 30 is evenly heated by the induction heater 70 so that the wash water contacting the drum 30 can also be heated evenly.

In the case of the existing heater provided in the tub 20, when washing water is heated, if the washing water is not sufficiently provided in the tub 20 and the heater itself is exposed to the air, the heater is overheated, resulting in safety problems. can In addition, when overheating becomes severe, there is a concern that the heater may be damaged or furthermore, the clothes handling machine may be damaged.

However, since the induction heater 70 is provided with an overheating prevention means in the module itself and the drum 30, damage to the product due to the water level does not occur.

In addition, in the case of the existing heater, since the protection level for protecting the heater must always be maintained, it is difficult to rotate the drum 30 as much as necessary for washing when the heater is actually driven. This is because when the drum 30 continuously rotates, the washing water level in the central portion of the tub 20 is lowered by the centrifugal force, exposing the heater to the air, which may cause overheating and failure.

However, in the case of the induction heater 70, since a protective water level through washing water is not required, the drum 30 can be accelerated as much as necessary for washing, and the drum 30 can be heated even while being heated through the heater 70. By periodically rotating, the detergent is easily dissolved, and as a result, washing performance can be improved.

In addition, the actual operation rate of the motor 41 rotating the drum 30 may be increased compared to the existing heater.

The idle rate is defined as the ratio of the actual driving time of the motor 41 to the total time of the driving signal applied to the driving unit. It includes an OFF time period in which no current is applied to the drive motor. Therefore, when the deadlock ratio is low, the rotation of the motor 41 does not occur easily and the rotation of the drum 30 accordingly does not occur much either. However, when the actual operation rate is high, the rotation rate of the motor 41 increases, and accordingly, the drum 30 can also rotate frequently.

Judging through experiments, when washing water is heated through an existing heater, the rate of failure of the motor 41 is only around 10%, whereas when washing water is heated through the induction heater 70, the rate of failure of the motor 41 is approximately rises to around 80%. This is possible because the activation rate of the motor can be controlled independently of the wash water level in the tub since the protection water level is no longer needed.

Overall washing machine force for the fabric acting in the heating step and the main washing step can be optimized through the increase in the threading rate.

In addition, in the case of the existing heater, since the protection water level for protecting the heater had to be always maintained, circulation of water through the pump 80 could not occur when the heater was driven. This is because when the heater is exposed to the air while the water circulates, concerns about overheating and failure may occur. However, in the case of the induction heater 70, since a protective water level through the wash water is not required, even if only a certain amount of wash water is formed in the tub, the wash water in the tub can be circulated through the pump 80. By circulating, it became possible to improve the cleaning performance.

In addition, in the case of an induction heater, since a protection water level is not required to protect the heater, high-concentration washing is possible through a small amount of wash water. In the case of high-concentration washing, when the amount of water is small, the solubility of the detergent increases and high-concentration washing water can be generated.

In this way, a high-concentration washing process can be effectively performed using an induction heater, but the amount of wash water must be basically small because washing must be performed through high-concentration wash water. In this case, a control method for efficiently circulating the washing water is required when the water supply amount is so small.

Hereinafter, a control method of a laundry treatment machine capable of smoothly circulating wash water even with only a small amount of water supplied will be described.

First, since there is no need for a protective water level in the tub 20, and the motor 41 can have a high rate of activation, the rotational speed of the drum 30 is accelerated and the centrifugal force acting on the drum motion is used to facilitate the circulation of wash water. should be induced. This is because as the circulation of wash water progresses more smoothly, the area and time in which the laundry is in contact with the wash water increases, so that efficient high-concentration washing can be performed.

However, in an environment according to an embodiment of the present invention in which the number of actual washings is small, the washing water must be circulated through a higher rotational speed. It should be. This is because the circulation of the wash water should be possible through the amount of wash water after the moisture contained in the laundry is separated from the laundry.

In addition, if the rotation speed of the drum 30 is fast and the laundry is kept in close contact with the circumferential surface of the drum 30 for a long time, the laundry is directly heated through the heated drum 30, so there is concern about damage to the laundry. It can be. Therefore, the rotational speed of the drum 30 in the wetting step basically requires a high speed to circulate the wash water, but in order to prevent the aforementioned damage to the laundry in advance, the laundry adhered to the inner circumferential surface of the drum 30 is adhered to. It is necessary to periodically accelerate and decelerate the rotational speed of the drum 30 to the extent that the maintenance time is minimized and the drum 30 and the laundry can be separated.

In addition, by periodically accelerating and decelerating the rotational speed to repeatedly discharge and absorb wash water contained in laundry, it is possible to efficiently improve chemical washing performance through high-concentration detergent.

7 is a diagram showing washing time and washing energy in a heating step.

Referring to FIG. 7 , factors influencing the degree of cleaning and washing time and washing energy in the high-concentration washing step will be described.

The cleaning degree indicates the degree to which contaminants from laundry can be removed. A cleaning degree of 100% indicates a case in which all contaminants of the laundry are removed. In the washing process, a more efficient washing process may be performed by reducing energy and washing time required for washing based on the cleaning degree.

Factors that determine the cleaning degree include the concentration of the detergent and the temperature of the washing water. When compared under the assumption that all other conditions are the same, the higher the concentration of the detergent, the higher the cleaning degree, and the lower the concentration of the detergent, the lower the cleaning degree. In addition, the cleaning degree increases as the temperature of the wash water increases, and the degree of cleaning decreases as the temperature of the wash water decreases.

As described above, the degree of cleaning is determined by the concentration of the detergent and the temperature of the wash water. Cleaning time is shortened.

More specifically, when the induction heater 70 is used compared to the case of using a conventional heater, the washing energy is reduced by about 220wh from 870wh to 650wh, and the washing time is 60 minutes from 340 minutes to 280 minutes. It has the effect of being shorter.

This eliminates the need for a protective water level, so high-concentration washing is possible with only a small amount of washing water, which saves washing water consumption. because it can be done

In addition, conventionally, when washing water is heated using a heater, the drum 30 hardly rotates and water does not circulate due to the maintenance of the water level, so substantially washing time is required only by heating. However, according to the present invention, washing water is heated and simultaneously This is because the washing function is performed by rotating the drum 30 and circulating water, thereby shortening the overall washing time.

8 is a diagram showing whether or not there is an interaction for the degree of cleaning.

Referring to the drawing, the concentration of the detergent and the temperature of the wash water are factors that affect the degree of cleaning. As shown in the graph, when the amount of water is different, the two factors almost It maintains the same slope.

This means that in the case where the concentration of the detergent affects the degree of cleaning and the case where the temperature of the washing water affects the degree of washing, they have little effect on each other and affect the degree of cleaning as independent factors.

The accompanying drawings are only for easy understanding of the embodiments described in this specification, and the technical idea disclosed in this specification is not limited by the accompanying drawings, and all changes and equivalents included in the spirit and technical scope of the present invention It should be understood to include water or substitutes.

In addition, although the preferred embodiments of the present invention have been shown and described above, the present invention is not limited to the specific embodiments described above, and the technical field to which the present invention belongs without departing from the gist of the present invention claimed in the claims. Of course, various modifications are possible by those skilled in the art, and these modifications should not be individually understood from the technical spirit or perspective of the present invention.

10: cabinet 20: tub
30: drum 40: driving unit
41: motor 42: rotation shaft
50: lifter 60: door
70: induction heater 71: coil
72: heater cover

Claims (23)

Water supply step of supplying wash water containing detergent into the drum:
a soaking step of wetting the laundry stored in the drum with wash water;
a heating step of indirectly heating the wash water with a heating means provided in a tub accommodating the drum; including,
The heating step is performed in a state where the wash water level is lower than the lowermost part of the drum,
The heating step
repeating acceleration and deceleration of the drum; and
and a wash water circulation step in which wash water stored in the tub is sprayed into the drum through a pump,
The heating step, the repeating of acceleration and deceleration of the drum, and the washing water circulation step are simultaneously performed.
According to claim 1,
In the heating step, the washing water is indirectly heated through the drum heated by the heating means.
According to claim 1,
The heating means is an electric induction heating means to heat the drum.
According to claim 3,
The heating means is located at a place higher than the highest water level of washing water.
According to claim 1,
The step of repeating acceleration and deceleration of the drum is a step of periodically repeating acceleration and deceleration of the drum.
According to claim 1,
The step of repeating acceleration and deceleration of the drum includes accelerating the drum to a spin-drying speed.
According to claim 1,
In the step of repeating acceleration and deceleration of the drum, the drum is decelerated after forming wash water through spin-drying at the maximum speed after acceleration.
According to claim 1,
The control method of the laundry treatment machine further comprising a main washing step of removing contamination from the laundry by rotating the drum after the heating step.
According to claim 8,
The maximum rotational speed of the drum in the step of repeating the acceleration and deceleration of the drum is greater than the maximum rotational speed of the drum in the main washing step.
According to claim 1,
In the step of repeating the acceleration and deceleration of the drum, when the drum accelerates and then decelerates, the deceleration speed reaches a speed capable of tumbling.
According to claim 1,
The heating step is a control method of a clothes handling machine that is started after the soaking step has progressed for a predetermined time.
delete a tub for storing wash water;
a drum rotatably provided in the tub to accommodate laundry;
a heating means provided in the tub and indirectly heating the wash water;
circulating means for circulating the washing water into the drum and performing a wetting process;
A control unit independently controlling rotation of the drum, the heating means, and the circulation means,
The control unit controls the heating means to indirectly heat the wash water in a state where the water level of the wash water is lower than the lowermost end of the drum,
The controller controls the drum, the circulation means, and the heating means at the same time,
repeating the acceleration and deceleration of the drum;
The wash water is circulated into the drum to perform a wet soak,
A laundry treatment machine for indirectly heating the drum, wash water, and cloth.
According to claim 13,
The heating means is provided outside the tub.
According to claim 13,
The heating means is located at a place higher than the highest water level of the washing water.
According to claim 13,
The control unit controls the rotation of the drum to perform drum rotation control while periodically repeating acceleration and deceleration.
According to claim 13,
The controller controls the drum rotation control while alternately performing the acceleration and deceleration.
According to claim 13,
The control unit controls the heating means after controlling the start of the cloth core.
According to claim 13,
The heating means is an electric induction heating means to heat the drum.
According to claim 13,
The heating unit heats the drum by generating an induced current in the drum.
According to claim 13,
The control unit controls the laundry to be in close contact with the inner circumferential surface of the drum and accelerated at a spin-drying speed.
According to claim 13,
The controller controls the laundry to come into close contact with the inner circumferential surface of the drum, rotate for a predetermined time, and then decelerate.
delete

Images