JPH048396A - Valve operating device of washing machine or the like - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To quietly open and close a valve so as to make cost down and reliability improvable without complicating a structure by providing a motor for giving opening/closing force to a valve unit through a reduction mechanism and a switch operated by detecting the valve unit when it reaches a closed position. CONSTITUTION:A driving force of a motor 14 is transmitted through a reduction mechanism 15 to a cam 17 and a lever 19 rotated, and by this rotation, the lever 19 pulls up a valve rod 8 of a drain valve 4 by a cord 20 in the first half turn and releases the pulling up by the latter half turn. In the drain valve 4, a valve hole 10 is opened by a valve unit 7 in the first half turn of the lever 19 and closed in the latter half turn. When the valve unit 7 is placed in a closed condition, a switch 18 is placed in an off-condition by dropping a movable contact piece 18a of the switch 18 to a cam groove 17b to be detached from a fixed contact piece 18b. When the drain valve 4 is opened, a current is conducted only for a time, in which the valve unit 7 of the drain valve 4 reaches an opening position by half-rotating the lever 19 when the motor 14 is energized, in a control unit 23.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Purpose of the Invention (Industrial Application Field) The present invention relates to a valve operating device for a washing machine or the like in which a motor opens and closes a valve.

(Prior Art) Conventionally, for example, in a washing machine, the drain valve has generally been opened by the suction force of an electromagnet and closed by the force of a spring.

(Problem to be Solved by the Invention) However, in the case of the above, when the drain valve is opened, the plunger of the electromagnet collides with the core, while when the drain valve is closed, the valve body returned by the spring force collides with the valve seat. However, all of them had the problem of being loud and noisy.

Therefore, in recent years, a system has been developed in which the drain valve is opened using the driving force of a motor via a deceleration mechanism, and the drain valve is closed using the spring force of a spring and the braking force of a governor mechanism that slows down the return speed of the valve body. It is provided.

According to this, the drain valve is opened and closed slowly, and no loud noise is produced. However, since the governor mechanism is required, the structure is complicated, the cost is high, and the system is prone to failure.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned circumstances, and therefore, its purpose is to enable quiet opening and closing of the valve without complicating the structure, thereby reducing freezing costs and improving reliability. The purpose of this invention is to provide valve operating devices for washing machines, etc.

[Structure of the Invention] (Means for Solving the Problems) In order to achieve the above object, the valve operation device for a washing machine or the like of the present invention includes a motor that applies an opening/closing force to the valve body via a deceleration mechanism; and a switch that detects and activates when the valve body reaches a closed position, and energizes the motor for a time long enough for the valve body to reach the open position when the valve is opened, and the switch is activated when the valve is closed. The device is equipped with a control means that controls energization up to the point where the current is applied.

(Function) According to the above means, the valve can be opened and closed slowly by the driving force of the motor via the speed reduction mechanism. Further, in this case, the valve is particularly closed by energizing the motor until the switch that detects that the valve body has reached the closed position is operated, so that the valve can be definitely closed.

(Example) Hereinafter, an example in which the present invention is applied to a drain valve operating device for a washing machine will be described with reference to the drawings.

First, FIG. 1 shows a washing tub 1 of a washing machine, a drain valve 4 is connected to a drain port 2 of the tub via a connecting pipe 3, and a drain hose 5 is connected to the drain valve 4. In addition, the drain valve 4 includes, in detail, a valve body 7 in a valve housing 6, a valve stem 8 with the valve body 7 attached to its tip, and a valve stem 8 with the valve body 7 in contact with a valve seat 9. A spring 1 is disposed to bias the valve hole 10 in the direction of closing it, and the base end of the valve stem 8 protrudes from the valve cover 12.

On the other hand, on the panel above the washing tub 1,
An operating unit box 13 is disposed, and within this operating unit box 13, as shown in FIG. 2, there is a motor 14, and in addition, there is a reduction mechanism in which a gear train (not shown) is connected to the motor 14. 15 or this speed reduction mechanism 15
The cam 17 attached to the output shaft 16 of
There is a switch 18 which is actuated by. or,
A lever 19 is attached to the output shaft 16 of the speed reduction mechanism 15 at its tip that protrudes outside the operation unit box 13. A string 20 is connected to the tip of the lever 19, and the tip of the string 20 is connected to the tip of the lever 19. It is connected to the valve stem 8 of the drain valve 4.

As a result, the driving force of the motor 14 is transmitted to the cam 17 via the deceleration mechanism 15, and further transmitted to one lever to rotate them.
0, the valve stem 8 of the drain valve 4 is pulled up in the first half turn and released in the second half turn. Therefore, in the drain valve 4, the valve element 7 is separated from the valve seat 9 during the first half-turn of the lever 19 to open the valve hole 10, and is brought into contact with the valve seat 9 during the second half-turn to open the valve hole 10. It is designed to block the

Then, when the valve body 7 moves in the opening direction and further in the closing direction, the cam 17 moves the movable contact piece 1 of the switch 18.
8a rides on the cam ridge 17a and contacts the fixed contact piece 18b to turn it on, and when the valve body 7 returns to the closed state, the movable contact piece 18a of the switch 18
The off state is achieved by dropping the cam into the cam groove 17b and separating it from the fixed contact piece 18b.

The motor 14 is energized from a power source 21 via a triac 22, as shown in FIG.

Further, from the power supply 21, a control device 23 consisting of a microcomputer is energized as a control means, and the on/off signal from the switch 18 is input to this control device 23, and the input and pre-stored Based on the control program, the control device 23 gives a signal to the gate of the triac 22 to control the energization of the motor 14.

Therefore, the opening/closing operation of the drain valve 4 based on the operation of the control device 23 will be explained below with reference to FIG. 4 and subsequent figures.

When the power is first turned on, the control device 23 switches the switch 1
Looking at the on/off signal input from
As shown in a), whether the switch 18 is in the off state or not, in other words, as is clear from the foregoing, whether the switch 18 is in the off state or not.
It is determined whether or not the state of the drain valve 4 indicated by state 8 is a closed state (step Sl). In this case, normally the drain valve 4 is in the closed state that it returned to after the previous opening operation, and therefore it is determined that the switch 18 is in the OFF state, and the process proceeds to the next step. If the power is cut off during opening or closing and the gear ratio of the reduction mechanism 15 prevents the switch from returning to the closed state, the switch 18 remains in the on state, so it is determined that the switch 18 is not in the off state. motor 1 via triac 22.
4, step S2) and return to step S1, repeat this until the switch 18 is turned off, and return the lever 19 from the position shown by the two-dot chain line to the position shown by the solid line in FIG. 4(b), for example. Then, the drain valve 4 is closed.

Next, when opening the drain valve 4, the control device 23:
As shown in Figure 5(a), the frequency of the power supply is 50 [Hz].
] (Step S3). Here, if it is determined that the frequency of the power source is not 50 [Hz], the frequency of the power source is 60E Hz], so the 60
When the motor] 4 is energized at [Hz], the aforementioned lever 1
9 is an angle 11f. For example, turn on the power for a time T to bring the valve body 7 of the drain valve 4 to the open position by making a half turn of 180 degrees (step S4).Meanwhile, it is determined that the frequency of the power source is 50 [Hz]. If so, 60 [Hz] and 50 [Hz] at the above time T
[Hz] is energized for a time of 1.2T multiplied by 1 and 2 (step S5). From these, lever 19
The drain valve 4 is opened from the position shown by the two-dot chain line to the position shown by the solid line in FIG. 5(b). Note that the open state of the drain valve 4 is maintained against the spring force of the spring 11 by the gear ratio of the reduction mechanism 15 even after the power is cut off.

Then, when closing the drain valve 4, the control device 23:
As shown in FIG. 6(a), the motor 14 is energized (step s6), thereby rotating the lever 19 from the position shown by the two-dot chain line in FIG. The valve body 7 is directed toward the closing direction. Further, at this time, the control device 23 determines whether the switch 18 is turned off (step S7), and the switch 18 determines whether the drain valve 4 is about to be opened as described above. The switch 18 has been in the on state for a long time since then, and while the switch 18 is in the on state, the motor 14 continues to be energized.
The valve body 7 of the drain valve 4 is further directed toward the closing direction. As a result, the valve body 7 of the drain valve 4 facing in the closing direction contacts the valve seat 9 as described above by rotating the lever 19 to the position shown by the solid line in FIG. When the drain valve 4 is closed, that is, the switch 18 is turned off as described above, so it is determined that the switch 18 is turned off, and the motor 14 is cut off. Proceed to the next step.

In this way, according to this configuration, the drain valve 4 can also be opened.
Furthermore, both can be closed by the driving force of the motor 14 via the deceleration mechanism 15, and unlike the conventional method of closing by the attraction force of an electromagnet or the spring force of a spring, both can be done slowly, so there is no need for a large without making a sound,
The drain valve 14 can be opened and closed quietly.

In addition, in this case, there is no need for a governor mechanism, etc., which was required in other conventional devices, and the structure can be simplified, so costs can be reduced, and reliability can be improved by reducing the occurrence of failures. I can do it. Furthermore, the drain valve 4 is opened by the valve body 7.
The drain valve 4 is opened by energizing the motor 14 for that length of time, so that the drain valve 4 is opened, thereby avoiding the need for a transverse ratio switch, etc. in this case. The structure can be further simplified. Of course, in this case, water can also be drained smoothly through the drain valve 4. On the other hand, the blockage of the drain valve 4 causes the motor 14 to
A switch 18 that detects that the valve body 7 has reached the closed position
Since the current is applied until the valve is activated, strict control is possible, the drain valve 4 can be reliably closed, and water leakage can be prevented.

In addition to the above, in the above configuration, when the power is turned on, it is determined whether the switch 18 is in the OFF state or not, as described above, and if the switch 18 is not in the OFF state, that is, the drain valve 4 is not in the OFF state. If it is determined that the state has not returned to the closed state, the motor 14 is energized to close the drain valve 4 until the switch 18 turns off. The operation of the system, especially the possibility of eliminating the problem of water supply, can be obtained, but this case is rare and is not necessarily necessary, so it is only necessary for those who need it. It may be possible to obtain it.

Furthermore, the entire device can be applied to devices other than washing machines, such as dishwashers, and can be widely applied as an operating device for valves other than drain valves.

[Effects of the Invention] As is clear from the above description, according to the valve operating device for a washing machine, etc. of the present invention, an opening/closing force is applied to the valve body by a motor via a deceleration mechanism, and When the block reaches the closed position, it is detected by a switch,
The control means controls the motor so that when the valve is opened, the motor is energized long enough for the valve body to reach the open position, and when the valve is closed, the motor is energized until the switch is activated. This can be done quietly without complicating the structure, thereby reducing costs and improving reliability. At the same time, the drain valve can be securely blocked.
This provides an excellent effect of reliably preventing the occurrence of water leakage, etc.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

The drawings show one embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 1 is a front view of the entire device with some parts omitted and the valve portion shown in cross section, and FIG.
The figure is a cross-sectional bottom view of the operation unit box part, Figure 3 is a schematic diagram of the electrical and mechanical configurations, Figure 4 (a) is a flowchart showing the control contents when the power is turned on, and Figure 4 (b) is a flowchart showing the control contents when the power is turned on. Front view showing the movement of the lever at the time, Fig. 5(a)
is a flowchart showing the control contents when the valve is opened;
b) is a front view showing the movement of the lever when the valve is opened; FIG. 6(a) is a flowchart showing the control details when the valve is closed;
Figure (b) is a front view showing the movement of the lever at the time of closing. In the drawing, 4 is a drain valve (valve), 7 is a valve body, 14 is a motor,
15 is a speed reduction mechanism, 18 is a switch, and 23 is a control device (control means).

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A motor that applies opening and closing force to the valve body via a speed reduction mechanism;
A switch that detects and activates when the valve body reaches a closed position, and a control that energizes the motor for a time long enough for the valve body to reach the open position when the valve is opened, and until the switch is activated when the valve is closed. A valve operating device for a washing machine, etc., comprising a control means for controlling a valve.