KR20090124564A - Washing machine and method of controlling the same - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: A washing machine and a controlling method thereof are provided to spray steam, and to properly rotate a rotary tub or a pulsator, thereby improving deodorization performance by uniformly supplying steam to laundry. CONSTITUTION: It is decided whether a deodorization mode is selected(300). If so, laundry is uniformly spread on the bottom of a rotary tub by rotating the rotary tub or a pulsator(320). Steam is sprayed to a space between a water tub and the rotary tub to deodorize the laundry(330). The number of spraying times of the steam is set according to weight of the laundry. The laundry contacted with an inner wall of the rotary tub is dropped to the bottom of the rotary tub through a sudden stop of the rotary tub.

Description

Washing machine and its control method {WASHING MACHINE AND METHOD OF CONTROLLING THE SAME}

The present invention relates to a washing machine and a control method thereof, and more particularly, to a washing machine and a control method having a steam generator capable of deodorizing the smell of the object to be deodorized.

A washing machine, one of the representative household appliances, includes a washing stroke for separating the contamination of the cloth with water in which detergent is dissolved, a rinsing stroke for rinsing the foam or residual detergent with water that does not contain detergent, and a dewatering stroke for dewatering the cloth at high speed. Go through a series of laundry operations.

In addition, recent washing machines have a deodorizing function in order to prevent unnecessary washing performed by attaching unpleasant odor particles such as cigarette smell or meat smell to the clothes, in addition to a series of washing operations such as washing, rinsing and dehydration. It is becoming a trend.

The conventional washing machine providing the deodorizing function includes a steam generator and a hot air supply device inside the main body, and when a deodorization course is selected by the user, the steam is sprayed through the steam generator or the hot air is deodorized by the hot air supply device. Supply was to remove the odor particles attached to the deodorant.

However, in the conventional washing machine, the drum washing machine in which the inside of the main body is sealed by the door is easy to provide a deodorizing function because steam and heat are not discharged to the outside, but the vertical washing machine in which the door is installed on the washing machine main body does not seal the inside of the washing machine. In the case of steam and heat is released to the outside there was a problem difficult to provide a deodorizing function.

In particular, a conventional vertical washing machine that provides a deodorizing function is located in the upper part of the washing machine as disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2004-167131, and deodorization is performed using steam injected from the steam generating means. Was performed. However, this method required a strong discharge pressure in order to discharge steam injected at a high temperature to the lower part of the main body. In addition, there is a problem in that the deodorization of the deodorization object is partially performed by supplying the injected steam only the upper portion of the deodorization object.

The present invention is to solve the above problems, an object of the present invention is to provide a washing machine to effectively deodorize the deodorizing object by arranging the steam generating device effectively inside the washing machine.

Another object of the present invention is to properly rotate the rotary bath and pulsator so that steam can be evenly supplied to the deodorizing object. In addition, the present invention provides a control method of a washing machine for drying a deodorant object by using wind generated by the rotation of a rotating tank or a pulsator.

The washing machine control method of the present invention for achieving the above object includes determining whether a deodorization operation is selected, and if deodorization operation is selected, spraying steam into the space between the water tank and the rotating tank to deodorize the deodorization object.

In addition, the step of rotating the rotary tub or pulsator before the injection of steam evenly spreading the deodorant object on the bottom of the rotary tub.

In addition, the step of setting the number of injection of steam in accordance with the weight of the deodorizing object, spraying the steam, by rotating the rotary bath or pulsator to close the deodorizing object to the inner wall of the rotating tank, and then suddenly stop the deodorizing object in close contact with the inner wall of the rotating tank Comprising the step of dropping the set steam injection number of times.

In addition, after the injection of the steam to rotate the rotating tank or pulsator at the second rotational speed to close the deodorization object to the inner wall of the rotating tank and to stop the rotating tank or pulsator, the rotating tank or pulsator than the second rotational speed Rotating at a low first rotational speed to evenly spread the deodorizing object on the bottom of the rotating tub.

In addition, the washing machine of the present invention includes a steam generator in which a discharge port through which steam is injected is installed between a water tank and a rotating tank, and a control unit for injecting steam by driving the steam generator when a deodorization operation is selected.

As described in detail above, the present invention has an effect of improving the deodorization of the deodorizing object by allowing the steam evenly sprayed on the deodorizing object according to the effective arrangement of the steam generator in the vertical washing machine.

In addition, as the steam is sprayed and the rotating tank or pulsator is properly rotated to spread the deodorizing object, steam is evenly supplied to the deodorizing object to improve the deodorizing performance of the deodorizing object, and when the deodorizing object is dried, By drying the wind by the rotation is effective to prevent damage to the cloth.

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. As shown in FIG. 1, the vertical washing machine 1 according to the exemplary embodiment of the present invention has a main body 10 forming an external appearance and a water tank 11 installed in the main body 10 to receive water. And a rotating tub 12 rotatably installed in the water tank 11 and a balancing unit 40 fixed to the rotating tub 12 to reduce vibrations of the rotating tub.

The rotating tub 12 rotatably disposed in the water tank 11 is formed in a cylindrical shape with an open top, and a dehydration hole 13a is drilled in the cylindrical portion 13 forming a circumference in which laundry is contained. In addition, a pulsator 14 is formed in the rotary tub 12 to rotate in the forward and reverse directions to form a water flow, and the dehydration hole 14a is drilled in the upper and lower portions of the pulsator 14.

In the upper part of the water tank 11, the water supply device 15 which consists of a water supply pipe 15a which can supply water to the inside of the water tank 11, a water supply valve 15b, etc. is installed in the upper part of the water tank 11. In addition, the water supply device 15 is provided with a steam water supply pipe 15c for water supply to the steam generator 30 and a steam valve 15d installed in the steam water supply pipe 24 to control water supply to the steam generator 30. ).

A drainage device 16 including a drain pipe 16a and a drain valve 16b is installed at the lower portion of the water tank 11 so as to discharge the water filled in the water tank 11 to the outside.

In addition, a driving device 20 for rotating the rotating tank 12 and the pulsator 14 is provided on the outer side of the lower surface of the water tank 11, and the driving device 20 receives a power to generate a driving force. (21), a power transmission device (22) capable of simultaneously or selectively transmitting the rotational force of the drive motor (21) to the pulsator (14) and the rotating tub (12). In addition, the power transmission device 22 is connected to a braking device 25 including a braking motor 25a for rapidly braking the rotation of the rotating tub 12 and the pulsator 14. It also includes a belt 23 connected between the drive motor 21 and the power transmission device 22 to mediate power transmission.

The steam generator 30 is installed below the main body 10. The steam generator 30 includes a U-shaped steam heater 31 and a steam temperature sensor 32 installed on an outer surface of the steam generator 30 to sense a temperature of the steam generator 30. Then, the steam supply pipe 33 for supplying the steam generated from the steam generating device 30 to the water tank 11 through the discharge port 33a installed through the lower surface of the water tank 11 to the inside, the steam supply pipe ( It further comprises a steam generating pipe 34 connected to the 15c) and the outlet is connected to the steam supply pipe 33, and the injection nozzle 35 is installed on the discharge port 33a side of the steam supply pipe (33). The discharge port 33a of the steam generator 30 is installed between the lower part of the rotary tank 12 and the bottom of the water tank 11, so that the steam injected from the steam generator 30 is rotated by the rotary tank 12 and the pulsator. It is supplied evenly to the deodorizing object through the dehydration holes 13a and 14a of (14).

2 is a control block diagram of the washing machine shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 2, the input unit 100 is connected to the input side of the control unit 120 that controls the overall operation of the washing machine so as to communicate with the control unit 120. The input unit 100 includes various buttons to directly receive driving information such as type of laundry, a washing course, a washing temperature, a dehydration RPM, and a rinse addition, and in particular, a deodorizing button 105 is provided to select a deodorizing operation. .

In addition, a driving unit 140 for driving the load 160 is connected to the output side of the control unit 120 so as to communicate with the control unit 60. The load 180 is composed of a water supply valve 15b, a steam valve 15d, a drain valve 16b, a drive motor 21, a braking motor 25a, and a steam heater 31 described with reference to FIG. 120 controls the drive unit 140 to drive the load 160 so that the desired washing and deodorization is made.

The control unit 120 is set the number of times of steam injection according to the weight of the deodorizing object. In particular, the control unit 120 is set to the first rotational speed of the rotary tub 12 and the pulsator 14 to evenly spread the deodorizing object laid on the bottom of the rotary tub 12 on the lower surface of the rotary tub 12 have. Accordingly, the control unit 120 adjusts the ALPM of the driving motor 21 such that the rotating tank 12 and the pulsator 14 become the first rotational speed when performing the control of spreading the deodorizing object evenly. In addition, the control unit 120 is set to the second rotational speed of the rotating tank 12 and the pulsator 14 to closely contact the deodorizing object laid on the bottom surface of the rotating tank 12 to the side inner wall of the rotating tank 12 have. Here, the second rotational speed is a speed at which wrinkles do not occur when the deodorizing object is brought into close contact with the side inner wall of the rotating tub 12. The control unit 120 controls the ALPM of the drive motor 21 when the deodorizing stroke course is input, thereby rotating the rotary tub 12 and the pulsator 14 at the first and second rotational speeds to prevent the deodorization object from creasing. Ensure that steam is evenly supplied to the deodorant bed. Then, the control unit 12 performs the drying of the deodorizing object by the wind generated while rotating the rotary bath 12 and the pulsator 14 at a second rotational speed. The deodorizing stroke control method of the control unit 120 will be described in detail with reference to FIG. 3 below.

Hereinafter, a deodorization operation control method of a vertical washing machine according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. 3.

When the deodorization operation is input from the user (300), the control unit 120 agitates the drive motor 21 from side to side and detects the weight of the deodorant object contained in the water tank 11, the rotating tank 12, and the detected deodorant object The number of injections of steam is set according to the weight of 310.

When the number of injections of steam is set, the control unit 120 drives the driving motor 21 for a predetermined time to evenly spread the deodorizing object contained in the rotating tub 12 on the lower surface of the rotating tub 12. ) And the pulsator 14 is rotated at a first speed and then stopped (320).

The controller 120 determines that the laundry is evenly spread on the lower surface of the rotary tub 12 when the rotary tub 12 and the pulsator 14 are stopped, and drives the steam generator 30 to inject steam. At this time, the steam injected from the steam generating device 30 is supplied to both the upper and lower parts of the deodorizing object through the dehydration hole (13a, 14a) of the rotary tank 12 and the pulsator 14 is deodorized evenly to the deodorizing object Occurs (330).

When the injection of the steam is completed, the control unit 120 drives the drive motor 21 for a predetermined time so that the rotating tank 12 and the pulsator 14 to the second speed is a side surface of the rotating tank 12 to deodorize the object. Make sure that it is in close contact with the inner wall. When the predetermined time is finished, the controller 120 stops the driving motor 21 and drives the braking motor 25a so that the rotating tub 12 and the pulsator 14 are momentarily stopped so that the rotating tub 12 can be stopped. The deodorizing object in close contact with the side inner wall is to fall to an irregular position on the lower surface of the rotating tub (12). In this way, the deodorizing object dropped to the lower surface of the rotating tub 12 is in contact with the lower surface of the rotating tub when the first steam is injected. Accordingly, a portion of the deodorization object that has not been supplied with the previously injected steam may be deodorized by receiving the next injected steam.

The controller 120 determines whether all of the set number of steam injections are completed, and if the number of steam injections still remains, returns to step 330 to finish all the remaining number of steam injections (350).

On the other hand, when all the set number of steam injection, the control unit 120 drives the drive motor 21 to dry the deodorizing object in which the steam is buried to rotate the rotating tank 12 and the pulsator 14 to the second rotation speed After the rotation for a predetermined time to stop the moment is performed a predetermined number of times (N times). As the rotating tub 12 and the pulsator 14 rotate at the second rotational speed, the deodorizing object is brought into close contact with the inner wall of the rotating tub 12, and the deodorizing object is caused by wind generated from the rotation of the rotating tub 12. Allow the steam to dry (360).

When the deodorizing object is dried, the controller 360 drives the driving motor 21 to rotate the rotating tank 12 and the pulsator 14 at a first rotational speed for a predetermined time so that the dried deodorizing object is the rotating tank 12. By spreading evenly on the lower surface of the) to prevent the wrinkle of the deodorizing object (370).

1 is a cross-sectional view showing the configuration of a washing machine according to an embodiment of the present invention.

2 is a control block diagram of a washing machine according to an embodiment of the present invention.

3 is a flowchart illustrating a method for controlling deodorization operation of a washing machine according to an embodiment of the present invention.

* Explanation of symbols on the main parts of the drawing *

11: water tank 12: rotating tank

14: pulsator 20: drive device

21: drive motor 30: steam generator

100 input unit 120 control unit

140: drive unit 160: load

Claims (5)

Determining whether a deodorization operation is selected; If the deodorization operation is selected, the control method of the washing machine comprising the step of deodorizing the deodorizing object by spraying steam in the space between the water tank and the rotating tank. The method of claim 1, Rotating the rotary tub or pulsator prior to the injection of the steam control method of the washing machine comprising the step of evenly spreading the deodorizing object on the bottom of the rotary tub. The method of claim 1, Setting the number of injections of the steam according to the weight of the deodorizing object; Spraying the steam, rotating the rotary tub or pulsator to closely adhere the deodorizing object to the inner wall of the rotary tub, and then suddenly stopping the dropping of the deodorant object adhering to the inner wall of the rotary tub to the bottom of the rotary tub; Control method of the washing machine comprising the step of performing a number of times. The method of claim 1, Rotating the rotating tub or pulsator at a second rotational speed after the injection of steam to bring the deodorizing object into close contact with the inner wall of the rotating tub and then stopping the rotating tub or pulsator; And rotating the rotary tub or pulsator at a first rotational speed lower than the second rotational speed to spread the deodorizing object evenly on the bottom of the rotary tub. A steam generator in which a discharge port through which steam is injected is installed between the water tank and the rotating tank; And a control unit for injecting steam by driving the steam generator when a deodorizing operation is selected.

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