JPH0410357B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Object of the Invention] (Industrial Field of Application) The present invention relates to a detergent supply device for a washing machine, etc., for supplying detergent, particularly powdered detergent, to a detergent receiving section of a washing machine, etc.

(Prior Art) Conventionally, detergent supply devices for washing machines and the like used for supplying this type of powdered detergent have been used, for example, in the
As shown in Japanese Patent No. 43827, there is a system in which a powdered detergent stored in a hopper is dispensed in fixed quantities, stored once, and then dispensed. However, with this product, before the powder detergent is supplied, there is a problem that it tends to harden due to water and humidity, which is characteristic of equipment that handles water such as washing machines. Therefore, there was a problem in that the detergent often clogged and the detergent could not be supplied smoothly and reliably.

On the other hand, as shown in Japanese Patent Publication No. 42-18769, for example, there is a system in which powdered detergent contained and stored in a hopper is delivered by rotating a screw-like delivery member. According to this device, as described above, the powdered detergent that hardens easily can be fed by rubbing it finely with the screw-like delivery member, and thus it can be fed more smoothly, reliably, and more conveniently than the above-mentioned method. However, even with this device, a considerable amount of detergent still adheres to the surface of the screw-like delivery member.
It is not yet possible to provide a sufficiently smooth and reliable supply. Furthermore, it is okay to supply solidified powder detergent as long as it is a small mass, but with the screw-shaped delivery member, even the powder detergent that is slightly massy tends to clog, making it impossible to supply it sufficiently. It was hot. Further, the screw-shaped delivery member is difficult to clean, and there is a problem in that detergent tends to remain attached to the corners, which further induces subsequent deposition of detergent.

(Problems to be solved by the invention) As mentioned above, in any of the conventional products,
Powdered detergent cannot be supplied smoothly and reliably, and the screw-shaped delivery member cannot be cleaned easily or sufficiently.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned circumstances, and its purpose is to supply powdered detergent sufficiently smoothly and reliably, even if it is a little lumpy, and to clean the delivery member. It is an object of the present invention to provide an excellent detergent supply device for a washing machine, etc., which can be easily and satisfactorily used.

[Structure of the Invention] (Means for Solving the Problems) The present invention provides a device for supplying powdered detergent to a detergent receiving portion of a washing machine, etc., in which a lower end portion of a hopper that accommodates and stores powdered detergent is provided. A detergent delivery part is provided facing the detergent receiving part, a coil-shaped detergent delivery member is housed in the detergent delivery part, and the detergent delivery member is rotationally driven by a drive device. has.

(Function) According to the above means, the coil-shaped detergent delivery member is rotationally driven by the drive device, thereby supplying the powdered detergent in the hopper to the detergent receiving portion through the detergent delivery portion.

(Embodiment) An embodiment in which the present invention is applied to a detergent supply device for a washing machine will be described below with reference to FIGS. 1 to 5.

First, the main body 1 of the washing machine, whose entire structure is shown in FIG. In addition, an operation panel 5 is provided at the front edge in front of the lid 4, and a platform 6 is provided at the rear edge. The platform part 6 is provided with an operating knob 7 for setting the water level at the right end in the figure, and an operating knob 8 for setting the amount of detergent on the left side thereof. and the platform 6
In this case, a hot pass set opening 9 is formed from the left side of the operating knob 8 to the left end. As shown in FIGS. 4 and 1, a hopper receiving portion 10 that opens is formed. The lower part of the hopper receiving part 10 is attached to the hopper receiving part 10.
A hopper 11, which has a V-shaped cross section and oblique sides, is housed through the hopper setting opening 9, and at the same time, a claw portion 12 formed on the left side of the hopper 11 in FIG. The elastic claw part 14 having the operating protrusion 13 formed on the right side is engaged with the left side edge of the hopper setting opening 9 and is elastically engaged with the right side edge of the hopper setting opening 9 to prevent the hopper 11 from falling off. There is.

On the other hand, a lid 15 is pivotally mounted on the top opening of the hopper 11 so that it can be opened and closed by a shaft 16 at the rear end (see FIGS. 3 and 4). A stirring member 20 having a plurality of protrusions 17 protruding from the outside, a large number of protrusions 18 protruding outward from the periphery, and a plurality of holes 19 is attached to the shaft 21.
is rotatably supported across the front and back of the hopper 11, and furthermore, at the lower end of the hopper 11, there is a detergent delivery portion 22 extending from the inside of the hopper 11 to a cylindrical portion projecting exclusively outward to the right in FIG. The outlet 23 at the tip of the outlet 23 is connected to the detergent receiving portion 25 at the approximately central portion of the upper surface of the receiving plate 24 disposed inside the platform portion 6.
is coming. The upper surface of the receiving plate 24 also serves as a water supply channel, and as shown in FIG. A water supply valve 27 is disposed on the uppermost rear end portion.

Further, inside the detergent delivery section 22, there is a detergent delivery member 2 formed into a coil shape from a wire rod having a circular cross section, for example.
8 is rotatably housed over its entire length as shown in FIG. On the other hand, a transmission shaft 29 to which the base end of the detergent delivery member 28 is engaged is inserted into the end of the detergent delivery portion 22 opposite to the outlet 23, and the transmission shaft 29 is opposite to the detergent delivery member 28. Connector 3 on the side end
It has a value of 0. Corresponding to the connector 30, a motor 31 serving as a drive device is attached to the inner surface of the left side of the platform 6 in FIG.
Transmission pins 33 arranged at right angles at the ends of the connectors 2 are removably engaged with the connector 30.

Now, in the case of the device constructed as described above, when using it, first, the lid 15 of the hopper 11 is
Open it as shown by the two-dot chain line in the figure, put the powder detergent 34 into the hopper 11 in this state, and then open the lid 15.
The hopper 11 is closed and the powdered detergent 34 is left in the hopper 11. Then, when the necessary switches on the operation panel 5 are operated to wash the clothes, the motor 31 is energized before washing starts, and the energized motor 31 starts, so its rotational force is transmitted from the rotating shaft 31. It is transmitted to the transmission shaft 29 via the engagement structure between the pin 33 and the connector 30, and further transmitted from the transmission shaft 29 to the detergent delivery member 28. In this way, the detergent delivery member 28 is rotationally driven, particularly in a so-called spiral direction, and the detergent delivery member 28 that is rotationally driven in this manner is rotated in the hopper 1.
The powder detergent 34 is moved in contact with the powder detergent 34 in the detergent delivery section 22 and directed toward the outlet 23 while rolling it in the central cavity formed by the coiled shape. Proceed once and exit from exit 23. The powdered detergent 34 thus dispensed falls as shown by the arrow A in both FIG. 1 and FIG. 4 and is received by the detergent receiving portion 25 on the receiving plate 24. It is flushed by water supplied through the valve 27 as shown by arrow B in FIG.
The water flows as shown by and is supplied from the supply port 26 into the washing tub (not shown). In particular, in the case of this embodiment, the above-mentioned water starts flowing before the powdered detergent 34 falls onto the detergent receiver 25, and continues to flow even after the powdered detergent 34 has finished discharging. Not only does it prevent powdered detergent 34 from directly adhering to laundry to prevent yellowing and staining, but it also prevents powdered detergent 34 from flowing out from detergent receiver 25 without leaving any residue. I try not to. Further, the rotation of the motor 31 and the powder detergent 34 caused by the detergent delivery member 28
Regarding the delivery of the powder detergent 34, the length of time and the amount of delivery can be adjusted according to the type of powder detergent 34 by operating the operating knob 8. In addition, in this case, the adjustment of the delivery amount by the operation knob 8 refers to a supplement to a predetermined basic delivery amount, and the basic delivery amount is determined according to the water level set by the operation of the operation knob 7. ing. Further, when the detergent delivery member 28 is rotationally driven as described above, the agitation member 20 that has one of the protrusions 18 engaged with the detergent delivery member 28 sequentially engages the protrusion 18 with the detergent delivery member 28. Rotate so that
This agitates the powdered detergent 34 in the hopper 11, loosens any lumps of the powdered detergent 34, and allows the powdered detergent 34 to be smoothly introduced into the detergent delivery section 22.

As described above, according to this embodiment, the powdered detergent 34 accommodated and stored in the hopper 11 can be delivered by the rotation of the coil-shaped detergent delivery member 28, and by contact with the rotating detergent delivery member 28. Needless to say, the powdered detergent 34 can be finely delivered, and especially since the detergent delivery member 28 has a coil shape with a hollow portion in the center,
Compared to the conventional screw-shaped delivery member in which a flat plate is spirally wound around a shaft, powder detergent3
4, the amount of powdered detergent 34 that adheres to its surface is extremely small, and may even be absent, thereby ensuring sufficient supply without clogging the powdered detergent 34. This can be done smoothly and reliably. In addition, since the detergent delivery member 28 has a coil shape, the detergent can freely move inside the cavity formed in the center of the detergent delivery member 28, so even if there is a small amount of clumps, the spiral movement of the detergent delivery member 28 will remove the detergent. It is possible to send it out using a conveyor. On the other hand, in a conventional screw-shaped delivery member in which a private space surrounded by a wall is moved, it is difficult for the hardened detergent to move and the delivery member is likely to become clogged. In this case, especially if the winding diameter is set larger than the winding pitch of the coil, any lump that is large enough to pass between the winding pitches will be able to move inside the coil-shaped cavity, which will ensure that the detergent is prevented from clogging. can. In addition, since the detergent delivery member 28 has a small contact area with the powdered detergent 34 as described above, the delivery force of the powdered detergent 34 based on the contact is not smaller than that of a conventional screw-shaped delivery member, but it is This can be easily and sufficiently compensated for by increasing the number of revolutions, and since the sending force is small, it is basically possible to supply small amounts in a scattering manner, avoiding supplying large amounts at once. It can be fed more conveniently and its dissolution can be faster and more uniform. Furthermore, in this case, since the above-mentioned dispersion-like supply form is adopted, even fine adjustment of the delivery amount can be made as desired. Regarding the cleaning of the detergent delivery member 28, compared to the conventional screw-shaped delivery member, powdered detergent 3 is placed in every corner.
4 will not remain attached to the cleaner, so it can be easily cleaned, and since water can be passed through the inside of the coiled detergent delivery member 28, sufficient cleaning can be achieved. Therefore, problems such as new powder detergent 34 being deposited due to the remaining powder detergent 34 will not occur.

In particular, in the case of the above embodiment, the operating protrusion 13 of the elastic claw part 14 is operated to open the elastic claw part 14.
If you remove it from the edge of the hot pass set opening 9, the rest is
As shown in the figure, by pulling out the elastic claw portion 14 from the hot pass setting opening 9, and further removing the claw portion 12 from the edge of the hot pass setting opening 9,
With the disconnection of the connector 30 from the transmission pin 33, the entire hopper 11 including the detergent delivery member 28 can be removed, and therefore the detergent delivery member 28 and the hopper 11 can be cleaned easily and as desired by washing with water or the like. can.

Here, FIGS. 6 and 7 show different embodiments of the present invention, in which springs 35 and 35 are attached to both side edges of the hotspa set opening 9, respectively, in place of the above-mentioned claws 12 and elastic claws 14. Claws 3
6 and 36 are engaged with recesses 37 and 37 provided on both side surfaces of the hopper 11 to hold the hopper 11, and the rotational force from the motor 31 to the detergent delivery member 28 is also transmitted to the rotation shaft 32. A driving gear 38 attached to the drive gear 38 and a driven gear 39 attached to the transmission shaft 29
Even in this case, if the claws 36, 36 are operated as shown in FIG. 7 to release the engagement with the recesses 37, 37, the entire hopper 11 can be driven. By disengaging the gear 38 and the driven gear 39, they can be removed in the same manner as described above, so that the detergent delivery member 28 and the hopper 11 can be cleaned easily and as desired by washing with water or the like.

Further, FIG. 8 shows a still different embodiment of the present invention, in which the detergent delivery member 40 is replaced with the detergent delivery member 28 described above, and a detergent delivery member 40 is replaced with a flat surface at least in the feeding direction of the powdered detergent 34 (arrow D in the figure). For example, it is made of a wire having a semicircular cross section, and by doing so, it is possible to ensure the feeding of the powdered detergent 34. Also, in this case, the detergent delivery section 22
It also has the effect of being able to scrape off the powdered detergent 34 that tends to harden on the inner bottom surface of the container, and in particular, the illustrated semicircular shape in cross section makes it possible to achieve this scraping effect even more reliably.

It should be noted that, as mentioned above, it is not necessary in the present invention that the entire hopper 11 can be removed, and therefore the entire hopper 11 may be provided in a fixed state. The specific shape of the delivery member 28, the supply of the powdered detergent 34 together with the water supply described above, the time width control of the water supply at that time, the adjustment of the delivery amount according to the type of the powdered detergent 34, the presence or absence of the stirring member 20, etc. The points may also be selected and implemented as appropriate. Furthermore, the detergent receiving part is not limited to the detergent receiving part 25 on the receiving plate 24, but may be in the washing tub.
4 may be directly supplied into the washing tub. Further, the drive device for rotationally driving the detergent delivery member 28 is not limited to the motor 31, and may be, for example, a water wheel operating in a water supply channel. The invention as a whole is not limited to washing machines, but can be similarly applied to all appliances that function using powdered detergent, such as dishwashers.

In addition, the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above and shown in the drawings, but can be implemented with appropriate changes within the scope of the invention.

[Effects of the Invention] As is clear from the above description, according to the present invention, the powdered detergent stored in the hopper is delivered by the rotation of the coil-shaped detergent delivery member. Powdered detergent, which tends to harden due to water and humidity, which is characteristic of machines and other water-handling equipment, can be supplied smoothly and reliably as is even if there is some hardening, and the delivery member can also be easily and thoroughly cleaned. This has excellent effects.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

1 to 5 show an embodiment of the present invention,
Figure 1 is a vertical cross-sectional front view of the main parts, Figure 2 is a perspective view of the overall appearance of the washing machine, Figure 3 is a vertical side view of the main parts, and Figure 4 is a vertical cross-section of the same part at different cross-sectional positions. The side view, FIG. 5 is a cutaway front view of the main part with the hopper being removed, and FIG.
7 and 7 are schematic views corresponding to FIGS. 1 and 5, respectively, showing different embodiments of the present invention, and FIG. 8 is a partially enlarged longitudinal sectional front view of a detergent delivery member showing still another embodiment of the present invention. It is a diagram. In the figure, 11 is a hopper, 22 is a detergent delivery section, and 25
28 is a detergent receiving portion, 28 is a detergent delivery member, 31 is a motor (drive device), 34 is a powdered detergent, and 40 is a detergent delivery member.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A hopper for supplying powdered detergent to a detergent receiver of a washing machine, etc., which accommodates and stores the powdered detergent, and a detergent provided at the lower end of the hopper facing the detergent receiver. The present invention is characterized by comprising a delivery section, a coil-shaped detergent delivery member rotatably housed in the detergent delivery part, and a drive device provided to rotationally drive the detergent delivery member. Detergent supply equipment for washing machines, etc.