JPH0332398B2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Technical Field of the Invention] The present invention comprises a washing tub having a peripheral wall composed of a fixed peripheral wall part and a movable peripheral wall part, and washing is performed mainly by frictional contact between these peripheral walls and the laundry. It relates to a washing method that obtains the desired effect.

[Technical background of the invention and its problems]

Among conventional washing machines, those with rotary vanes that generate a water flow using rotary vanes to achieve the cleaning effect require a large washing tank volume relative to the amount of clothes because the washing machine essentially uses a water flow to move the laundry. , which means that the amount that can be washed at one time is small. Furthermore, when the amount of cloth is small, the water flow becomes extremely strong, resulting in excessive cleaning, while when the amount of cloth increases, the speed of the water flow decreases and the cleaning effect tends to decrease rapidly. Furthermore, since the laundry and the rotating blade come into contact only incidentally and only partially, it is not possible to expect a scrubbing effect over the entire laundry, and on the contrary, the laundry may be partially damaged.

On the other hand, a new method has recently been developed in which the rotating blades have been removed, in which the entire washing tank is intermittently rotated while containing water and laundry, and the cleaning effect is obtained by the speed difference between the water and the laundry. Although this method has the advantage of not damaging the laundry, it has the disadvantage that the speed difference between the laundry and water is small and the movement is simple, resulting in a low cleaning effect. be.

[Purpose of the invention]

Therefore, the present invention can be expected to achieve a better cleaning effect and prevention of fabric damage than conventional methods without using the conventional rotary blades or the rotation of the entire washing tank, as well as increase the amount of laundry that can be washed at one time, and also achieve an appropriate cleaning effect. The purpose is to provide a washing method that can maintain a wider range of laundry weight and is also economically advantageous.

[Summary of the invention]

In the present invention, the peripheral wall of the washing tub is composed of a fixed peripheral wall section located above and a movable surrounding wall section located below. The laundry is rotated mainly on the movable peripheral wall by intermittent rotational driving in which the peripheral wall is rotated and then stopped, and the laundry, which rotates due to inertia during the stop, is rotated again before it stops. The washing is carried out by the synergistic effect of the contact friction force with the fixed peripheral wall part and the frictional force received from the fixed peripheral wall part, thereby reducing the friction between the fixed peripheral wall part and the movable peripheral wall part of the laundry and the friction between the laundry items. It is possible to expect the washing effect and the so-called kneading effect due to the washing being rolled even when the laundry is subjected to forces in different directions from the fixed peripheral wall part and the movable peripheral wall part, and to achieve this with low power consumption. It is characterized by:

[Embodiments of the invention]

An embodiment in which the present invention is applied to a dehydrating and washing machine will be described below with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3.

Reference numeral 1 denotes an outer box, inside of which a water receiving tank 2 is disposed, which is elastically supported via a hanging rod mechanism 3 so as to be swingable. Reference numeral 4 designates a washing tank, which essentially consists of a fixed surrounding wall and a movable surrounding wall located below the fixed surrounding wall. This is achieved by a combination of a fixed tank 5 that rotates and is stopped during washing, and an agitator 6 shaped like a shallow container. To explain this in detail below, the fixed tank 5 is placed in the water receiving tank 2, and its outer bottom is connected to the hollow dehydration shaft 7, and the container-shaped stirring body 6 is arranged along the inner peripheral wall surface of the fixed tank 5. The outer flaw part is connected to the washing shaft 8. At this time, the height of the circumferential wall of the container-shaped stirring body 6 is approximately half the height or depth of the fixed tank 5, and the diameter is set within a range that allows rotation within the fixed tank 5.
Further, in this embodiment, the washing tank 4 also serves as a dehydration tank, and for this purpose, dehydration holes 9 and 10 are formed in the peripheral wall of the fixed tank 5 and the peripheral wall of the container-shaped stirring body 6, respectively. Reference numeral 11 denotes a power control mechanism, which transmits the rotational force of the washing machine motor 12 to the washing shaft 8 at a reduced speed and alternately reverses during washing, and transmits it to the spin-driving shaft 7 and washing shaft 8 during spin-drying to rotate the rotational force of the washing machine motor 12 to the fixed tank 5. a deceleration mechanism for rotating the container-shaped stirring body 6 integrally with the
It has a built-in clutch mechanism, brake mechanism, etc. 13 is a drain valve that drains the water in the washing tank 4 to the water receiving tank 2.
The water can be discharged from the bottom of the machine via a drainage hose 14. Reference numeral 15 denotes a timer, which automatically controls each process from washing to final dehydration. FIG. Indicates control details.

In the above configuration, in the washing operation, the fixed tank 5 is restrained by the brake mechanism so as not to rotate, and the container-shaped agitator 6 is rotated in forward and reverse directions, so that the peripheral wall portion of the fixed tank 5 exposed upward from the container-shaped agitator 6 Among the peripheral walls of the washing tank 4, the peripheral wall functions as a fixed peripheral wall part, and the peripheral wall of the container-shaped stirring body 6 functions as a movable peripheral wall part.

Next, the operation of the above configuration will be explained. At the time of washing, water is supplied into the water receiving tank 2 and thus into the washing tank 4 in an amount comparable to that of a conventional rotary blade type washing machine, and the laundry is thrown into the washing machine. The washing operation is carried out by rotating only the container-shaped agitator 6 in forward and reverse directions while the fixed tank 5 is restrained by a brake mechanism so as not to rotate. In this embodiment, the rotation speed of the container-shaped stirring body 6 is within the range of 120 to 180 revolutions per minute, and the direction of rotation is reversed approximately every 2 to 3 revolutions. As shown, the rotation is stopped once, and while the rotation is stopped, the rotation is started again before the laundry rotating due to inertia stops, and this is repeated, so that the container-shaped agitator 6 is driven to rotate intermittently. I have to. In particular, in the case of this example, the rotation is 0.5 to 5 seconds and the stop is 0.5 to 5 seconds.
The time is set at 0.2 to 3 seconds.

In such a washing movement, the laundry comes into contact with the peripheral wall of the container-shaped agitator 6 and the peripheral wall of the fixed tank 5, so that in the lower part, rotational force is applied from the container-shaped agitator 6 due to frictional contact therewith. given,
The upper part receives a restraining force due to frictional contact with the fixed tank 5, and by simultaneously receiving these frictional forces in different directions, it gives a twisting or compressing effect to the laundry, and also a centrifugal force accompanying the rotation of the foldable container-shaped agitator 6. The laundry is pushed toward the peripheral wall of the washing tub 4, and the reaction is received inward from the peripheral wall of the upper fixed tub 5, thereby creating an effect of inverting the laundry vertically, giving it a complex movement. Therefore, while the laundry is subjected to a scrubbing action due to the large friction between the cloths due to such complicated movements and the large friction with the peripheral walls of the fixed tank 5 and the container-shaped agitator 6,
It is washed by a type of massaging action caused by repeated twisting and pressure, and its excellent cleaning effect is shown in Figure 3 as an example of the results of a comparative experiment. In the figures, curve A shows the cleaning ratio characteristics in the case of the present invention, curve B shows the cleaning ratio characteristic in the case of the conventional rotating blade system, and curve C shows the cleaning ratio characteristic in the case of the washing tank rotation system considered prior to this invention. It turns out to be highly effective.

In addition to the above, the container-shaped agitator 6 is driven to rotate intermittently, and at each stop, the laundry rotates inside the washing tub 4 while being in frictional contact with its inner circumferential surface due to the inertia caused by the rotation before the stop. Therefore, even in this case, a considerable scrubbing effect can be obtained, and in hopes of achieving a cleaning effect due to such inertia, the rotation of the container-shaped stirring body 6 is intermittently driven as described above. By focusing on the target, it can be operated with less power consumption than a continuous rotation drive, and can be used economically. Also, in this case, the restart of rotation after stopping is done before the laundry, which rotates due to inertia while stopped, comes to a stop, so that the washing effect of scrubbing the laundry due to inertia is improved. The container-shaped agitator 6 can be driven to rotate before the particles are lost, and as a result, strong cleaning power can be exerted on the laundry again, so that the washing effect will not be reduced.

Furthermore, as mentioned above, the laundry is moved by frictional contact with the peripheral walls of the stationary tub 5 and the container-shaped agitator 6, so as the amount of laundry increases, the frictional force also increases, and the degree of movement of the laundry decreases as the amount of laundry increases. Therefore, the rate of decrease in cleaning effectiveness is small. Moreover, when the amount of laundry is small, the frequency of contact with the peripheral wall of the container-shaped agitator 6 is low, and the contact friction force is extremely small, so the rotation of the container-shaped agitator 6, which has a large surface area in contact with water, causes the problem. The cloth is washed by being washed by the water flow, but the water flow is not as strong as when using conventional rotary blades, so it is possible to ensure an appropriate degree of cleaning regardless of the amount of cloth used, without causing excessive cleaning. These facts mean that the range of cloth amounts that can maintain an appropriate cleaning effect is wider than in the case of the prior art described above (see FIG. 3).

The dewatering operation in this embodiment is carried out by, after draining water by opening the drain valve 13, operating a clutch mechanism (not shown) or the like to rotate the fixed tank 5 and the container-shaped stirring body 6 together in one direction.

Note that the present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiments. For example, the container-shaped stirring body 6 is not limited to being rotated in the forward and reverse directions, but may be rotated intermittently in one direction as shown in FIG. It may be driven, and this type is particularly suitable for washing thick laundry. Furthermore, the present invention may be applied to a washing tank that does not have a dewatering function, and therefore, the peripheral wall of the fixed tank may be made non-porous to store water within itself, and the water receiving tank may be removed. Further, it goes without saying that the means for constructing the fixed peripheral wall and the movable peripheral wall that form the peripheral wall of the washing tank are not limited to the combination of the fixed tank and the container-shaped agitator in the above-mentioned specific shapes.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As is clear from the above, the present invention provides a state in which the peripheral wall of the washing tub is composed of a fixed surrounding wall section located above and a movable surrounding wall section located below, and laundry is accommodated together with water in the washing tub. The laundry is rotated intermittently by rotating the movable peripheral wall portion, then stopping the movable peripheral wall portion, and rotating the laundry rotating due to inertia during the stoppage by repeating the rotation again before the laundry stops. It is characterized in that washing is carried out mainly by the synergistic effect of the contact frictional force with the movable peripheral wall part and the frictional force received from the fixed peripheral wall part, and as a result, it is possible to expect a higher cleaning effect than before, and also to wash the cloth. Damage can be reduced, the amount of laundry that can be washed at one time can be increased, the range of amount of cloth that can maintain an appropriate cleaning effect can be widened, and the amount of electricity consumed can be reduced, resulting in economical operation. It has many significant effects.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Fig. 1 is a longitudinal cross-sectional side view showing an example of a washing machine used in carrying out the method of the present invention, Fig. 2 is a time chart regarding the rotation of a container-shaped agitator, Fig. 3 is a cleaning ratio characteristic diagram, and Fig. 4 2 is a diagram corresponding to FIG. 2 showing a different embodiment of the present invention. In the figure, 2 is a water receiving tank, 4 is a washing tank, 5 is a fixed tank (fixed peripheral wall part), 6 is a container-shaped stirring body (movable peripheral wall part),
11 is a power control mechanism, and 12 is a washing machine motor.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. The peripheral wall of the washing tub is composed of a fixed peripheral wall located above and a movable peripheral wall located below, and the movable peripheral wall is rotated with laundry stored together with water in the washing tub. The laundry is rotated intermittently by repeating the following steps: the laundry is rotated by inertia during the stop, and the laundry rotates again before the laundry stops;
A washing method characterized in that the laundry is washed mainly by the synergistic effect of the contact friction force with the movable peripheral wall portion and the friction force received from the fixed peripheral wall portion.