JPH0361468B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention provides a fabric softener that can reliably add a fabric softener or the like when rinsing after a specified spin cycle when washing, rinsing, draining, spin drying, etc. The invention relates to an automatic dosing device for liquid agents such as the above.

Conventionally, a balancer for vibration suppression is provided in a washing and dehydrating tank, and a charging container is detachably attached to the balancer, and centrifugal force during the dehydration process sequentially opens a time-keeping chamber during stoppage, a holding chamber during rotation, etc. in the charging container. It is structured so that the fabric softener and the like move and are added during rinsing. However, the charging container must be provided with a holding chamber during stoppage and a holding chamber during rotation, depending on the number of dehydration processes in progress, which results in a large volume of the charging container, which is inconvenient to use, and reduces material costs. was expensive. Also, a method has been considered in which the charging container is integrally formed with the vibration suppressing balancer, but it is difficult to use because it is troublesome to initially put the softening agent or the like into a portion corresponding to the charging container. Therefore, only one of the above-mentioned chambers is left in the charging container, and the other chambers are formed integrally with the balancer, and the charging container is detachably attached to the balancer, and the charging container and each of the above chambers are connected. By doing so, a method was devised to make the charging container smaller and to achieve the above-mentioned ease of use at the time of initial charging.

The present invention focuses on the height relationship between the injection hole and the discharge port of the input container in this case, and provides a structure with good operability.

Hereinafter, one embodiment of the present invention will be described based on the accompanying drawings.

Figure 1 shows an example of a single-tank centrifugal dehydrating washing machine.
1 is an outer box, 2 is a washing and dehydrating tank, and 3 is a water receiving tank. Laundry and detergent are put into the washing and dewatering tank 2, the time switch 4 is operated, the water supply valve 5 is opened, and water is injected through the water supply hose 6. When a certain amount of water enters, the motor 7 rotates the pulsator 10 via the pulley 8 and belt 9 to perform cleaning. Thereafter, after opening the drain valve 11 to drain the water, the rotational drive of the motor 7 is transmitted to the washing and dehydrating tank 2 by the washing/dehydrating switching mechanism section 16, which is rotated to perform dewatering by centrifugal force. In order to dampen the vibrations during dehydration, the vibration system is suspended from the outer box 1 by several hanging rods 13 via a vibration absorber 12.

After dehydrating, pour water again, rinse, drain,
Perform dehydration. Repeat this rinse cycle several times, then dehydrate at the end. These operations are automatically performed using the time switch 4.

On the other hand, if a soft finish is desired, it is necessary to add a softening agent during the final rinse. A charging container 15, which forms part of an automatic loading mechanism for softening agent, etc., is detachably attached to the balancer 14, thereby forming a part of an automatic loading mechanism for softening agent, etc. The objective is to improve the ease of adding the softener without interrupting the process.
Figures 2 to 6 show container 1 for feeding fabric softener, etc.
5 and the balancer 14 and their functions, a indicates the direction of spin rotation of the washing and spin-drying tank 2, and b indicates a liquid such as a fabric softener.

In the figure, 17 is a saucer formed on the upper surface of the input container 15, and an injection hole 18 is provided in the center of the tray.
A cylindrical or rectangular pipe 21 serving as a discharge port is provided on the side wall facing the. The height H of the injection hole 18 from the bottom of the injection container 15 is
is the input container 15 of the pipe 21 which is the discharge port.
is lower than or the same as the height h from the bottom of the
≦h), and the stop holding chamber A20 communicates with the outside through the injection hole 18 and the pipe 21 which is the discharge port. Further, the input container 15 is provided with a hook 19, which allows the input container 15 to
It is detachably attached to the balancer 14. At the time of this installation, the communication hole A formed in the balancer 14
The pipe 21 is inserted into the balancer 1
Each chamber in A 4 communicates with the holding chamber A20 at the time of stop.

On the other hand, a passageway 26 filled with salt water, etc. is formed in the balancer 14, and a holding chamber during rotation A23 and a holding chamber during stoppage, which constitute a part of the softener injection mechanism, are formed in a part of the passageway 26. A rotation holding chamber B24 and a rotation holding chamber B25 are formed, and these are partitioned from the water passage 26 by a partition wall A28 and a partition wall B29. Furthermore, the partition walls C30 and D31 provide the holding chamber A23 during rotation and the holding chamber B2 during stoppage.
4. Three chambers are formed: a holding chamber B25 during rotation.

In addition, a communication port A22 is arranged on the wall of the rotation holding chamber A23 facing the input container 15, and a partition wall C3 is provided between the rotation holding chamber A23 and the stop holding chamber B24.
0 is cut out to form an outlet A27, and a communication port B32 is arranged in a partition wall D31 that partitions a holding chamber B24 during stoppage and a holding chamber B25 during rotation. The partition wall B29 also includes an outlet B33 that communicates the outside of the balancer 14 with the holding chamber B25 during rotation.
The outflow port B33 and the rotation holding chamber B25 are incompletely partitioned by the partition wall E34.

With the above configuration, the input container 15 can be
By attaching it to the balancer 14, the time keeping chamber A20 when stopped is connected to each chamber in the balancer and the outlet B33.
This is an automatic dosing device for fabric softener, etc.

Next, the operating principle of this automatic loading device will be explained. First, when the input container 15 is removed from the balancer 14 and a softener or the like is poured into the saucer 17 of the input container 15, it falls through the injection hole 18 into the stop holding chamber A20 and then accumulates therein. This charging container 15 is attached to the balancer 14, and the pipe 21 is inserted into the communication port A22 of the balancer 14. During washing, the fabric softener and the like remain held in the holding chamber A20 when the input container 15 is stopped. This state is the fourth
Figure A.

When the water is drained and the washing and dewatering tank 2 starts rotating for centrifugal dehydration, the balancer 14 and the charging container 15 also rotate at the same time. When rotating, centrifugal force acts on liquid B, and when the charging container 15 is stopped, the holding chamber A
During the dehydration rotation of 20, the liquid b is pressed against the wall farthest from the center of rotation, passes through the pipe 21, and moves to the holding chamber A23 during rotation. A centrifugal force acts on the liquid b, and the liquid b is pressed against the partition wall A28. This state is shown in FIG. 4B.

When the dehydration rotation stops, it falls to the bottom of the holding chamber A23 during rotation. On the other hand, the bottom of the rotation holding chamber A23 is different from the bottom of the stop holding chamber B24 by providing a step with the outlet A27 as a boundary, as shown in FIG. Since the setting is made so that the liquid B is set to
24 and is retained. Here, water is supplied to the washing and dehydrating tank 2, the pulsator 10 rotates, and a rinsing process is performed. During this time, the liquid b remains held in the stop holding chamber B24. This state is shown in FIG. 4C.

Next, when it is drained and enters dehydration, the liquid B
is the partition wall B through the communication port B32 which communicates with the holding chamber B24 during stoppage and the holding chamber B25 during rotation due to centrifugal force.
29 and remains in that position during rotation. This state is shown in FIG. 4D.

When the rotation is stopped after dehydration, the liquid b that was pressed against the partition wall B29 falls to the bottom due to gravity.
Since the bottom surface of the holding chamber B25 during rotation is inclined with respect to the outlet B33, the liquid B flows through the outlet B3.
3, flows out of the balancer 14 and is thrown into the water receiving tank 3, and during the next rinsing process, the liquid b will be thrown into the rinsing water.

Next, the above-mentioned input container will be explained. The charging container 15 is generally made of a synthetic resin material that is opaque in design.
When injecting, there was a problem that it was difficult to see how much liquid had been injected.

FIG. 6 shows an example of a charging container embodying the present invention.
Remove it from 4 or leave it attached to the saucer part 1.
When the liquid is poured into 7, it enters the stop holding chamber A from the injection hole 18.
The liquid b accumulates in the inside 20, and the liquid level rises to the injection hole 18. When the relationship between the height H from the bottom of the charging container to the injection hole 18 and the height h of the discharge port is h>H, the saucer portion 17 is filled before the liquid flows out from the pipe 21 which is the discharge port. The liquid appears on the screen, allowing the user to easily check the position of the liquid level and preventing spillage due to overfilling. In addition, after the input container 15 is attached to the balancer 14, the liquid is transferred from the holding chamber A20 during rotation to the holding chamber A2 during rotation due to the dehydration rotation.
When moving to 3, as shown by the two-dot chain line in Figure 5, when the rotation speed at the beginning of dehydration is small, the liquid level moves while being inclined, so for example, if you put in a little too much,
Even if the liquid level rises in the saucer part, the liquid in the saucer part will flow into the holding chamber A23 at the time of stoppage due to the slope of the liquid level at the time of dehydration.
Since the liquid is collected inside and moved to the holding chamber A23 during rotation through the pipe 21 which is the discharge port, no liquid is wasted. In addition, when h = H, the liquid starts flowing out from the outlet at the same time as the liquid level appears at the inlet at the bottom of the saucer, so to prevent the liquid from flowing out from the outlet, check the liquid level and add the liquid at the same time. need to be discontinued.

However, as described above, when the liquid is stopped, the liquid in the holding chamber A20 is pushed toward the circumferential side by centrifugal force, and the pipe 2
1 to the holding chamber A23 during rotation, therefore, if the receiving tray protrudes too far downward, it may obstruct outflow.

Therefore, the height of the outlet is often set close to the height of the inlet at the bottom of the saucer.

However, as shown in FIG. 5, when h<H,
When removing the input container 15 from the balancer 14 and injecting liquid, if the liquid level reaches the height h of the pipe 21 which is the outlet, even if you put in more liquid, it will flow out from the outlet and be wasted. However, if the height of the discharge port is higher than the injection hole 18, it is difficult to see the liquid level from the injection hole 18.
It is difficult to confirm even if a mark is placed below the discharge port in 20. When the discharge port is set at the liquid level, if a little too much liquid is added, it will be discharged from the discharge port and will be wasted.

In addition, when injecting liquid with the input container 15 set as a balancer, the overfilled liquid will flow into the holding chamber A23 during rotation and accumulate in the holding chamber B24 during stoppage. It cannot be used in the necessary washing process and is wasted. Furthermore, as described above, since it is difficult to confirm the position of the liquid level from the injection hole 18, there is a risk of overfilling. Although not described in detail here, a patent application filed in 1987-78796 provided a valve at the discharge port that was controlled to open and close by centrifugal force.
It has already been proposed in the issue. In this case, regardless of the height of the discharge port and the injection hole, even if the liquid is poured up to the injection hole, the above-mentioned waste will not occur, and even if too much liquid is poured, the valve will be closed until the dehydration rotation starts. Therefore, it is stored in the holding chamber A20 at the time of stoppage, and can be put into the necessary washing process.

However, according to such a configuration, a complicated valve mechanism must be constructed in the charging container, which not only complicates the charging container structure and increases the cost, but also
In terms of quality, the valve tends to malfunction, such as lint getting tangled in the valve part or dirt getting caught in the valve part, making it unstable.

As described above, according to the present invention, the necessary amount of liquid such as fabric softener can be reliably poured into the charging container,
Even if a large amount of liquid is injected, the liquid can be used without wastage, and an automatic dosing device that is easy to use can be provided.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of a washing machine with a dehydrating function showing an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the main parts of the balancer with the liquid agent input container removed.
Fig. 3 is a perspective view with some of the main parts cut out;
Figure 4A is a diagram showing the location during water supply, washing, and drainage;
Figure B shows the location of the liquid during the first dehydration;
Figure C shows the location of the liquid during water supply and rinsing.
Figure D shows the location of the liquid during the second dehydration;
FIG. 5 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view showing a state in which a liquid agent charging container is attached, and FIG. 6 is a vertical cross-sectional view showing a conventional mounting structure for a charging container. 2...Washing/dehydration tank, 14...Balancer, 1
5...Input container, 17...Saucer, 18...Injection hole, 20...Holding chamber during stoppage.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A balancer for vibration suppression is provided at the upper opening end of the washing/dehydration tank which is rotatably disposed inside the water receiving tank, and at least one chamber is formed in the balancer, and the balancer has a receiving tray part and a water-injection tank. A charging container provided with a hole and a discharge port is detachably provided, the discharge port of the charging container is communicated with a communication port provided in a side wall of the chamber of the balancer, and a substantially concave saucer is provided at an upper opening of the charging container. An automatic liquid dispensing device for a dehydrating and washing machine, wherein an injection hole is provided at the bottom of the part, and the height of the injection hole from the bottom of the input container is set to be equal to or lower than the height of the discharge port.