JPH0473095A - Washing machine - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To obtain a satisfactory washing effect or dehydrating effect throughout a year by recognizing the current season from a clock function for counting month and setting the contents of operation corresponding to the current season based on the recognized result. CONSTITUTION:If a standard course is selected, a controller 12, on starting, reads time displayed by a display device 18. Then, it decides whether or not the current month belongs to November to March, namely, whether or not it belongs to the season with low water temperature. When it is judged that the current month does not belong to November to March (season with high water temperature), a prescribed operation is directly started. However, when it is judged that the current month belongs to November to March, washing time and dehydrating time are respectively corrected. This correction is performed by, for example, adding one minute respectively to the washing time and the dehydrating time. If the washing time is 10 minutes and the dehydrating time is 6 minutes from April to October, the washing time is 11 minutes and the dehydrating time is 7 minutes from November to March.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Object of the Invention] (Field of Industrial Application) The present invention relates to a washing machine that can be operated according to the season.

(Prior Art) Conventionally, various operating courses have been set for washing machines, and the washing machine can be operated by arbitrarily selecting one of the operating courses.

(Problem to be solved by the invention) However, the operation contents of each of the above-mentioned operation courses are constant and unchanged regardless of the season, and as a result, in the conventional washing machine, it is difficult to There was a problem in that a sufficient washing effect or dehydration effect could not be obtained.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned circumstances, and an object thereof is to provide an excellent washing machine that can consistently obtain sufficient washing or dehydration effects throughout the year.

[Configuration of the Invention (Means for Solving the Problem) In order to achieve the above object, the washing machine of the present invention has a clock function that counts the months, and the current season is recognized from this clock function. The driving content setting means includes a season recognition means and sets driving contents according to the current season based on the recognition result by the season recognition means, and the driving contents setting means sets the driving contents according to the current season based on the recognition result by the driving contents setting means. The present invention is characterized in that it includes an operation control means for controlling the execution of the operation of the contents.

(Function) The reason why conventional washing machines do not provide sufficient washing or dehydration effects during the cold season is the water temperature. In other words, the higher the water temperature, the more laundry will be washed or dehydrated, and conversely, if the water temperature is lower, the laundry will not be washed or dehydrated adequately. During seasons when the water is low, it is not washed or dehydrated sufficiently. Therefore, in a washing machine that has a clock function that counts the months, the current season is recognized from the clock function, and based on the recognition result, the operation content is set according to the current season, and the set content is As a result of this operation, it was possible to consistently obtain sufficient washing or dehydration effects throughout the year.

(Example) Hereinafter, an example of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

First, FIG. 2 shows an outer box 1 of the whole washing machine, and an outer tub 2 and an inner tub 3 are arranged inside this. A stirring body 4 is disposed inside the inner tank 3, and this stirring body 4 is driven by a drive mechanism 6 mainly including a motor 5 disposed exclusively at the outer lower part of the outer tank 2.
The inner tub 3 is rotated during washing by the drive mechanism 6, and the inner tub 3 is rotated during dewatering by the same drive mechanism 6. In addition, a drain valve 7 and a drain hose 8 are provided on the outer lower part of the outer tank 2, while a water supply valve 10 and a water level sensor 11 are provided on the rear part of the top cover 9 on the outer box 1. A control device 12 is installed in the front part, and an operation panel 13 is provided on the outer upper surface of the control device 12.

As shown in detail in FIG. 3, the operation panel 13 includes, for example, a "power" switch 14 and a "start" switch 15.
In addition, it has a switch group 16 for selecting the water flow, water level, time and number of unit strokes, and course, and an LED group 17 for displaying the results of each selection, and a digital display for the month, date, and time. display device 18, rAMJ
, rPMJ, a "month/day" selection switch 20, a "time" selection switch 21, a "month/hour" setting switch 22, and a "day/minute" setting switch 23.

Here, to set the "month/day", press the "month/day" selection switch 20, then press the "month/hour" setting switch 22.
Each time the button is pressed, the month numbers 1 to 12 are sequentially displayed in the upper two digit positions of the display device 18. Next, if you press the "day/minute" setting switch 23, each time you press it, the display device 18
Day numerals from 1 to 31 are sequentially displayed in the lower two digit positions. After the current month and day are displayed, if the "month and day" selection switch 20 is pressed again, the displayed current month and day are set. FIG. 4(a) shows an example in which "May 26th" is displayed and set.

On the other hand, to set the "time", press the "time" selection switch 21, then press the "month/hour" setting switch 22, and each time you press it, 1 will appear in the upper two digits of the display 18.
~12 When the number is rAMJ or rPM by LEDI9
They are displayed in sequence with the display of J. Then "days/minutes"
When the setting switch 23 is pressed, minute numbers from 00 to 59 are sequentially displayed in the lower two digit positions of the display device 18 each time the setting switch 23 is pressed.

After displaying the current time in this manner, by pressing the "time" selection switch 21 again, the displayed current time is set. FIG. 4(b) shows an example in which the time is set to display 7:00 AM, 3:00:00 AM.

The control device 12 serves as a season recognition means, an operation content setting means, and an operation control means, and is specifically constituted by a microcomputer, and as shown in FIG. Part 24
At the same time, a switch operation signal is input from the water level sensor 11, and a water level detection signal regarding the reservoir water level of the outer tank 2 (inner tank 3) is input from the water level sensor 11. Based on this input and a control program stored in advance, the motor 5 Drive mechanism mainly based on 6. Water supply valve 10. A drive control signal is given to a drive circuit 27 for energizing the drain valve 7, and at the same time, a control signal is also given to a display section 28 consisting of each of the LEDs and the display device 18.

Therefore, the operation based on the control of the control device 12 will be explained below.

First, assuming that the standard course is selected, at the start of the course shown in FIG. 1, the control device 12 reads out the month and day displayed on the display device 18 (step Sl). Next, based on the read result, it is determined whether the current month is from November to March, that is, whether it is the season when the water temperature is low (step S2).

Here, if it is determined that the period is not from November to March (it is from April to October, which is the season with high water temperature), the default operation is started (step S3); If it is determined that it is from March to March, the washing time and dehydration time are each corrected (step S4). This correction is
For example, 1 minute is added to each of the washing time and dehydration time, and as shown in Figure 6, if the washing time from April to October is 10 minutes and the dehydration time is 6 minutes, then from November to March The monthly washing time is set to 11 minutes, and the dehydration time is set to 7 minutes. After that, the process moves to step S3, and the set operation is started.

In this way, with this configuration, the washing machine has a clock function that counts the months, recognizes the current season from the clock function, and sets operation details according to the current season based on the recognition result. The system then executes the set operations, such as washing and dehydrating in the winter, respectively, and dehydration in the spring.

By extending the time from summer and autumn, the lack of washing and dehydration effects can be compensated for, and as a result,
Sufficient washing and dehydration effects can be consistently obtained throughout the year. Figures 7 and 8 show this based on the inventor's experiments, and show that the effects of washing and dehydration are the same as when the water temperature is high by increasing the operating time even when the water temperature is low. This shows that it is possible to obtain

In contrast to the above, FIG. 9 shows a different embodiment of the present invention, in which the high water temperature season is from June to August, and the rather low water temperature season is from March to May and September to November. Then, the season with the lowest water temperature is subdivided into December to February, and the washing time and dehydration time are divided into March to May and September to November compared to June to August.
One minute is added for each month, and two minutes are added for December to February.By doing this, more consistent washing and dehydration effects can be obtained.

Further, FIG. 10 shows a still different embodiment of the present invention, in which the energization pattern for driving the washing motor 5 is changed instead of extending the washing time and dehydration time as described above. , compared to the repeating pattern of 1.1 seconds on and 0.5 seconds off from April to October, it was 1.2 seconds from November to March.
The motor 5 is driven in a repeating pattern of energization for 0.5 seconds and power-off for 5 seconds. Even in this case, the same effect as described above can be obtained. Further, in this case as well, the seasons may be subdivided as described above, and the energization pattern may be changed even more finely. Furthermore, as is clear from this example,
Changing the operation contents according to the season may be only for washing, but not for dehydration (or vice versa).

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 gist.

[Effects of the Invention] As is clear from the above description, the washing machine of the present invention has a clock function for counting the months, and a season recognition means for recognizing the current season from this clock function. , an operation content setting means for setting operation details according to the current season based on the certification result by the season recognition means, and execution control of the operation according to the set content based on the setting result by the operation content setting means. Since the machine is equipped with an operation control means, it is possible to operate according to the season, and the excellent effect of consistently obtaining sufficient washing or dehydrating effects throughout the year can be obtained.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Figures 1 to 8 show one embodiment of the present invention, with Figure 1 being a flowchart showing the main functions, Figure 2 being a longitudinal side view of the entire washing machine, and Figure 3 being a diagram of the operation panel. Plan view,
FIG. 4(a) is a plan view of a display device that displays the month and day of the clock function, FIG. 4(b) is a plan view of a display device that displays the time of the same function, and FIG. 5 is a schematic electrical configuration diagram. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing the operation settings, FIG. 7 is a diagram showing the relationship between water temperature and washing performance, and FIG. 8 is a diagram showing the relationship between water temperature and dewatering performance. 9 is a diagram corresponding to FIG. 6 showing a different embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 10 is a diagram corresponding to FIG. 6 showing a further different embodiment of the present invention. In the drawing, 12 is a control device (season recognition means, operation content setting means, operation control means), 18 is a display device, 20 is a "month/day" selection switch 20, 22 is a "month/hour" setting switch,
23 indicates a "day/minute" setting switch.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. It has a clock function that counts the months, and is equipped with a season recognition means that recognizes the current season from this clock function,
An operation content setting means for setting operation details according to the current season based on the recognition result by the season recognition means, and an operation for controlling the execution of the set operation based on the setting result by the operation content setting means. A washing machine characterized by comprising a control means.