KR950007069B1 - Method of clothes quantity and water-level determination - Google Patents

Abstract

(1) when a motor is switched on, for a designated time, counting the number of pulses and integrating a current convertive value for analog/digital converting the current-amplified signal of the motor; (2) when the motor is switched off, for a designated time, integrating an average current value; and (3) after repeating the steps (1) and (2) for a designated number of times, combining the integrated pulse value and the average current value so as to determine a washing amount and a water level.

Description

How to detect the amount of water in washing machine

1 is a circuit diagram of a conventional washing machine.

2 is a flowchart of a method for detecting a quantity of a washing machine and setting a water level in FIG.

3 is a circuit diagram of a washing machine of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a flow chart of a method for detecting a quantity of water in a washing machine and setting the water level in the airborne state in FIG.

5 is a detailed circuit and voltage waveform diagram of a voltage sensing and pulse conversion unit in a circuit configuration of a washing machine.

6 is a waveform diagram of the amplification current when the motor is turned on in the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart of a method of detecting a quantity of a washing machine and setting the water level when the user sets the water level by manual operation in FIG.

8 is a table table for comparison with actual pulse number and level determination in the present invention.

* Explanation of symbols for main parts of the drawings

11: microcomputer control unit 12: water supply valve drive unit

13: water level detection unit 14: motor driving unit

15: BLDC motor 16: FG signal conversion unit

17: current detection and amplification unit 18: water supply valve

19: Automatic detergent input and display unit 20: Key control unit

The present invention is to set the water level after detecting the amount of laundry using the frequency generating (FG) signal of the non-commutator direct current (BLDC) motor, in particular the motor by operating the washing machine to a predetermined time initially without adding water The present invention relates to a method for detecting a quantity of a washing machine and a level of water, which can reduce washing time and reduce a quantity of error detection rate by detecting a quantity of water by combining a pulse number and a motor current.

The circuit configuration of the conventional washing machine is shown in FIG. 1 so that the washing machine can supply water into the washing tank according to the control signal of the microcomputer control unit 1 and the microcomputer control unit 1 for controlling the load and the washing stroke. A water supply valve control unit 4 for controlling the water supply valve 2, a water level detection unit 3 for detecting the amount of water supplied to the washing tank, and an induction motor 5 according to the control signal of the microcomputer control unit 1 It consists of a motor drive unit 6 for driving the voltage detection and pulse conversion unit 7 for detecting the back electromotive force generated by the drive of the induction motor 5 and pulse conversion thereof.

A conventional washing machine configured as described above will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 2.

First, when the operation switch is pressed, a signal is transmitted from the microcomputer control unit 1 to the water supply valve control unit 4 to turn on the water supply valve 2. Then, when water flows into the washing tank and the water is supplied to the water capacity detection point (the water level), the water supply valve 2 is turned off under the control of the microcomputer control unit 1, and then the induction motor 5 is turned on for 0.6 seconds and for 0.6 seconds. When the control signal is sent to the motor driving unit 6 so as to be turned off, the induction motor 5 is repeatedly turned on and off 24 times in accordance with the driving signal of the motor driving unit 6.

At this time, the voltage sensing and pulse converting unit 7 accumulates the number of pulses obtained when the induction motor 5 pulse-converts the back electromotive force generated in the a degree and when the motor is off, as shown in FIG. 5, which is the counter electromotive force detecting unit 17a. When the counter electromotive force detected by the reference value is greater than or equal to a predetermined value (5V), the output value through the comparator 17b is high, and when it is less than or equal to the predetermined value, the output value is low, as in FIG. 5b.

The larger the number of pulses, the smaller the number of guns. The smaller the number of pulses, the more guns are detected.

After determining the amount of water by the accumulated force pulse value and determining the water level, the water supply valve 2 is turned on to supply water to the washing tank until the set water level, and then the water supply valve 2 is turned off to proceed to the washing course.

However, in the conventional dose detection method as described above, the number of pulses of the motor may vary depending on the state of the cloth in the washing tank and how wet the cloth is, even if the same dose is detected, and the quantity is detected only by the number of pulses. It was generated, and the water was always supplied to the quantity detection set level (single level), which consumed a lot of washing time.

In addition, if the amount of water to be detected up to the amount of water detection setting water, there is a problem that can cause problems such as damage to the laundry when the amount of water is low, and when the amount of water is large.

Therefore, in order to solve the conventional problems, the present invention detects a quantity of air by combining the number of pulses at the time of motor on and off and the current value at the time of motor in the airborne state when the quantity of water is detected, and the user sets the level by manual operation When the amount of water is detected and the water level is set by using the FG signal of the motor, the method of detecting the amount of water and setting the water level of the washing machine can be prevented. When described in detail with reference to the drawings as follows.

3 is a circuit configuration diagram of a washing machine of the present invention, as shown in the microcomputer control unit 11 for controlling the washing machine load and washing operation, and to supply water to the washing tank according to the control signal of the microcomputer control unit 11. According to the control signal of the water supply valve drive unit 12 for driving the water supply valve 18, the water level detection unit 13 for sensing the amount of water in the washing tank to adjust the water level, and the microcomputer control unit 11 A motor driver 14 for driving the BLDC motor 15, an FG signal converter 16 for converting an electromagnetic force generated by a rotating magnetic field when the BLDC motor 15 rotates into a square wave, and a stator when the BLDC motor is turned on Detergent to detect the current flowing through the current detection and amplification unit 17 to amplify to a recognizable value, and set detergent and to automatically put detergent into the washing tank And the input and display unit 19, the user can manipulate and constitutes a key operating part (10) so as to proceed with the laundry by the operation.

Referring to the operation and effect of the present invention configured as described above in detail.

Referring to FIG. 4 and FIG. 6 for the capacity detection and water level setting of the washing machine, when the user turns on the operation switch, the capacity detection is performed at the air level.

First, in order to control the on and off time, the time interval variable t is initialized (0) and then the BLDC motor 15 is turned on. When the BLDC motor 15 is turned on, the microcomputer controller 11 counts pulses input from the FG signal converter 16 by using an interrupt port, and uses the internal timer to detect the current from the current detector and amplifier 17. After comparing the input current amplification signals, analog / digital conversion is performed and this value is integrated during the on time of the BLDC motor 15 as shown in FIG. The number of analog / digital (A / D) conversions (n) is also increased by one for each conversion.

If the on time of the BLDC motor 15 does not become a predetermined time (t = 0.8 seconds), the above process is repeated, and when the predetermined time is reached, the initializing t is turned off and the BLDC motor 15 is turned off.

Therefore, when the BLDC motor 15 is turned off, the average current value obtained by dividing the current analog / digital conversion value accumulated at the time of turning on the motor 15 by the number of conversions is obtained, and the value is continuously integrated at the average current value obtained at the next on time. .

n: Number of conversions, Ai: Amplification current value during A / D conversion

In addition, pulses generated by the rotation of the force of the BLDC motor 15 continue to accumulate.

If the predetermined time (t = 0.8) of the off time of the BLDC motor 15 is not reached, pulses are continuously accumulated to increase the number of times the motor on / off (x) is increased by one (x = x + 1). Compare its value with the existing on / off count (4 times), and if the number is less than 4, continue the whole process above. If the number is 4, finish the above process and add the total number of pulses. Combination of the current average value is used to determine the quantity of water and the appropriate detergent is displayed on the quantity of water. After that, the detergent is added to the level and quantity and the washing process is carried out.

Another method will be described with reference to FIGS. 7 and 8.

First, when the washing stroke starts, it is determined whether the water level is set by the user. If the water level is not set, it proceeds to the quantity detection course, detects the level corresponding to the quantity, and enters the washing cycle continuously.

Then, when the user sets the water level, a range of comparison pulses for the inversion period, the R.P.M reference voltage (Vref), the washing time, and the user setting water level shown in FIG. Then, the water supply valve 18 is turned on to supply water to the set water level corresponding to the case where the user set water level is a small number, and then detect the water level of the set water level according to the quantity through the water level detector 13.

At this time, if the set water level is high, proceed with washing immediately. However, if the set water level is below the high water level, if the water level according to the quantity does not match with the user set water level, washing performance or damage to the cloth may occur. To prevent this, the water level is detected at the set water level and the water level is re-corrected.

The on / off count of the BLDC motor 15 is initialized (i = 0) and the motor is turned on. Then, the FG signal generated by the BLDC motor 15 is input from the FG signal conversion unit 16 to the interrupt input terminal of the microcomputer control unit 11 to integrate the pulse number. When the on-hold time of the BLDC motor 15 elapses, the motor is turned off, and when the number of pulses due to the rotation of the force is accumulated, the accumulated pulse value is obtained by repeating the motor on / off process 10 times.

Here, the accumulated pulse value is compared with the pulse number range shown in FIG. 8, and then the water level is reset. For example, if the user sets the decimal point and the accumulated pulse number is 700, the modified water level becomes the mid-water level. At the same time as the data set, the rewatering and detergent are reintroduced and the washing process proceeds.

That is, if the water level set by the user is higher than the water level for the quantity of water, if the water level is low, the water is remodified to proceed with washing.

As described in detail above, the present invention can detect the amount of water at the airborne level, which is very effective for automatic input and display of detergent, and the number of pulses accumulated by receiving a preset pulse number and FG signal for a user-set level manually. In comparison, by setting a new water level, there is an effect of preventing damage and deterioration of washing performance due to washing progress.

Claims (3)

The first step of counting the number of pulses for a predetermined time when the motor is on at the air level and integrating the current conversion value obtained by analog / digital conversion of the current amplification signal of the motor, and integrating the current average value for a predetermined time when the motor is turned off. In addition, the second step of continuously integrating the pulse generated by the rotation of the force to the pulse at the time of motor on, and repeating the first and second steps by a predetermined number of times, the combined amount of the pulse value and the current average value is combined Determination and the level detection method of the washing machine, characterized in that consisting of a third step of determining the water level accordingly. The method of claim 1, wherein the current average value is obtained by dividing the number of times of conversion of the current conversion value through the analog / digital conversion at the time of the motor on in the second step. When the user sets the water level manually, set the inverse cycle washing time and the comparison pulse number range for the user setting water level according to the water level, turn on the water supply valve 18 to supply water, and then proceed with washing immediately if the water level is high. And a second step of turning on the motor 15 for a predetermined time and integrating the number of pulses generated when the water level is not equal to the user setting level when the set water level is lower than the high level in the first step. In the second step, the motor 15 is turned on for a predetermined time, and a second step of integrating the number of pulses generated at the second step is performed. When the motor 15 is turned on in the second step, the motor 15 is turned on. Turn off and accumulate the number of pulses by rotation of the force, and repeat the motor on / off process of the second and third steps a predetermined time, compare the accumulated pulse value with the number of comparison water level pulses, and reset the water level. Washing capacity detection and water level setting method characterized in that the fourth step of proceeding with the washing.