WO2011080225A2

WO2011080225A2 - A washing machine

Info

Publication number: WO2011080225A2
Application number: PCT/EP2010/070696
Authority: WO
Inventors: Mehtap Gencer; Erkan Ozturk
Original assignee: Arcelik Anonim Sirketi
Priority date: 2009-12-31
Filing date: 2010-12-23
Publication date: 2011-07-07
Also published as: WO2011080225A3

Abstract

The present invention relates to a washing machine (1) comprising a drum (2) wherein the laundry is placed, a tub (3) wherein the drum (2) moves, a control unit (4) that controls the amount of water received into the tub (3) and an air trap (5) having a receptacle (6) connected to the tub (3) that is filled with water and wherein the air therein is compressed as water is received into the tub (3), a duct (7) with one end connected to the receptacle (6) wherein the air compressed in the receptacle (6) moves along, and a pressure sensor (8) having a connection member (9) whereto the other end of the duct (7) is fastened, measuring the pressure of the compressed air.

Description

A WASHING MACHINE

[0001] The present invention relates to a washing machine wherein the water level measurement is rendered to be reliable.

[0002] In washing machines, the amount of the water received into the machine is determined by measuring the pressure of the air compressed inside the air trap connected to the tub by a pressure sensor which is connected to the air trap with a duct, as the manometric height of the water rising in the tub increases, and by comparing this pressure with the reference pressure value in the situation when the tub is empty. However, in the case the duct providing the connection between the pressure sensor and the air trap is dislodged or damaged, the air compressed in the air trap cannot reach the pressure sensor and the amount of water received into the tub cannot be determined.

[0003] In the state of the art German Patent Document No. DE19505414, a

washing machine is explained wherein the water level is detected by means of the pressure sensor and which generates a fault signal when the changing speed of the pressure signal is below a predetermined limit value.

[0004] The aim of the present invention is the realization of a washing machine wherein the error condition in the measurement of the water level is detected.

[0005] The washing machine realized in order to attain the aim of the present invention, explicated in the first claim and the respective claims thereof, comprises at least two cables that allow data transfer between the pressure sensor and the control unit when transmission is provided therebetween. A conductive element is disposed on the duct. When the duct is mounted on the pressure sensor by means of the connection member, the cables contacts with each other and thus the conductive element provides the transmission between the cables. Therefore, the data transmission between the pressure sensor and the control unit is realized only when the duct is mounted to the connection member. If for any reason the duct is dislodged from the connection member, the data transmission is not realized and thereby the control unit detects that a problem exists in the connection of the duct.

[0006] The first cable is disposed to extend from the pressure sensor to the

connection member, the second cable from the connection member to the control unit.

[0007] In an embodiment of the present invention, a C shaped latch is disposed at the ends of the cables on the duct. The latches are produced from a metal-like conductive material. The conductive element is ring shaped such that the latches are seated thereon and provide transmission therebetween when the duct is mounted on the connection member.

Accordingly, when the duct is mounted onto the connection member, the conductive element is guaranteed to contact on the latches.

[0008] In an embodiment of the present invention, the conductive element

comprises a body that is laid along the inside and/or outside of the duct and a head disposed at the orifice of the duct. The head and the body join to complete the transmission line. Accordingly, the transmission between the cables is prevented from being interrupted when either the duct is not installed in place or is damaged.

[0009] The body can be in the form of conductive wire or cladding in different embodiments of the present invention.

[0010] The control unit stops receiving water to prevent overflowing when it

cannot receive data from the pressure sensor due to the duct not being installed or being damaged. In this situation, the control unit furthermore informs of the error condition by warning the user.

[001 1] The washing machine realized in order to attain the aim of the present invention is illustrated in the attached figures, where:

[0012] Figure 1 - is the front schematic view of an embodiment of the present invention.

[0013] Figure 2 - is the exploded schematic view of the duct, conductive element and the connection member in an embodiment of the present invention.

[0014] Figure 3 - is the exploded schematic view of the duct, conductive element and the connection member in another embodiment of the present invention. [0015] Figure 4 - is the schematic view of the duct and the conductive element in another embodiment of the present invention.

[0016] The elements illustrated in the figures are numbered as follows:

1. Washing machine

2. Drum

3. Tub

4. Control unit

5. Air trap

6. Receptacle

7. Duct

8. Pressure sensor

9. Connection member

10. 1 10. Cable

1 1. Conductive element

12. Latch

[0017] A washing machine (1 ) comprises a drum (2) wherein the laundry is

placed, a tub (3) wherein the drum (2) moves, a control unit (4) that controls the amount of water received into the tub (3) and an air trap (5) having

- a receptacle (6) connected to the tub (3) that is filled with water and wherein the air therein is compressed as water is received into the tub (3),

- a duct (7) with one end connected to the receptacle (6) wherein the air compressed in the receptacle (6) moves along,

- a pressure sensor (8) having a connection member (9) whereto the other end of the duct (7) is fastened, measuring the pressure of the compressed air,

[0018] (Figure 1).

[0019] The washing machine (1 ) of the present invention furthermore comprises a first cable (10) extending between the pressure sensor (8) and the connection member (9), a second cable (1 10) extending between the connection member (9) and the control unit (4) and at least one conductive element (1 1) disposed on the duct (7) that provides transmission between the first cable (10) and the second cable (1 10) when the duct (7) is mounted to the connection member (9). Thus, the pressure data measured by the pressure sensor (8) is transmitted to the control unit (4) while the duct (7) is mounted to the pressure sensor (8), however data cannot be transmitted to the control unit (4) in the situation the duct (7) is not mounted to the pressure sensor (8) since transmission cannot be maintained between the first cable (10) and the second cable (1 10).

[0020] In an embodiment of the present invention, the washing machine (1 )

comprises a latch (12) produced from conductive material and shaped as ring segment, disposed at the ends of the cables (10, 1 10) mounted to the connection member (9). In this embodiment, the conductive element (1 1 ) is ring shaped and is integrated with the orifice of the duct (7). The latches (12) are positioned so as to remain under the conductive element (1 1 ) when the duct (7) is mounted to the connection member (9).

Consequently, the need for assembling the duct (7) with high precision for maintaining the transmission between the cables (10, 1 10) is eliminated.

[0021] In an embodiment of the present invention, the conductive element (1 1 ) is in the form of conductive wire laid longitudinally inside the duct (7). Thus, it is possible to make low cost detection of both situations where the duct (7) is not mounted or is damaged. As the laying down rate of the conductive element (1 1) increases, precision of the error detection also increases.

[0022] In an embodiment of the present invention, the conductive element (1 1 ) is in the form of conductive cladding that is clad longitudinally inside the duct (7). Thus, high precision detection of the situations wherein the duct (7) is not mounted is provided.

[0023] In the preferred embodiment of the present invention, the control unit (4) stops receiving water when the duct (7) is not mounted to the pressure sensor (8) or is damaged, that is when there is no transmission between the first cable (10) and the second cable (1 10) and the pressure data is not transmitted thereto. In the preferred version of this embodiment, the control unit (4) not only stops receiving water but also reports the error to the user.

[0024] By means of the washing machine (1 ) of the present invention, erroneous measurement is prevented in the case the duct (7) is dislodged or is damaged, receiving excessive water into the washing machine (1 ) and the risk of overflowing is eliminated by providing the level of water received into the tub (3) to be accurately measured.

It is to be understood that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments disclosed above and a person skilled in the art can easily introduce different embodiments. These different embodiments should also be considered within the scope of the claims of the present invention.

Claims

1. A washing machine (1 ) comprising a drum (2) wherein the laundry is placed, a tub (3) wherein the drum (2) moves, a control unit (4) that controls the amount of water received into the tub (3) and air trap (5) having

- a pressure sensor (8) having a connection member (9) whereto the other end of the duct (7) is fastened, measuring the pressure of the compressed air, characterized by a first cable (10) extending between the pressure sensor (8) and the connection member (9), a second cable (1 10) extending between the connection member (9) and the control unit (4) and at least one conductive element (1 1 ) disposed on the duct (7) that provides transmission between the first cable (10) and the second cable (1 10) when the duct (7) is mounted to the connection member (9).

2. A washing machine (1 ) as in Claim 1 , characterized in that the conductive element (1 1 ) being integrated with the orifice of the duct (7).

3. A washing machine (1 ) as in Claim 1 or 2, characterized by two latches (12) produced from conductive material and shaped as ring segments, each disposed at the ends of the cables (10, 1 10) mounted to the connection member (9) and the ring shaped conductive element (1 1) seating onto the latches (12) when the duct (7) is mounted to the connection member (9).

4. A washing machine (1 ) as in Claim 1 , characterized in tha the conductive

element (1 1 ) being in the form of conductive wire laid longitudinally inside the duct (7).

5. A washing machine (1 ) as in Claim 1 , characterized in that the conductive element (1 1 ) being in the form of conductive cladding that is clad inside the duct (7).

6. A washing machine (1 ) as in any one of the above Claims, characterized by the control unit (4) that stops receiving water when there is no transmission between the first cable (10) and the second cable (1 10) and the pressure data is not transmitted thereto.

7. A washing machine (1 ) as in any one of the above Claims, characterized by the control unit (4) that reports the error to the user when there is no transmission between the first cable (10) and the second cable (1 10) and the pressure data does not reach thereto.