JPH0975578A - Washing machine - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Abstract] [Purpose] In a washing machine that can be operated by supplying water with a water supply pump, shorten the switching time between the water supply pump and the water supply valve to shorten the water supply time. [Constitution] Tap water, bath water, or the like is supplied to a washing tub by a water supply valve 11 or a water supply pump 12, and a stirring blade disposed at the bottom of the washing tub is rotationally driven by a motor 7 to supply the water supply valve 1
1. The water supply pump 12 and the like are driven and controlled by the control means 15 to control the washing operation. The control means 15 includes a control circuit 19 including a microcomputer, an operation display means 20 for displaying the operation contents set by operation, and a power switching for driving and controlling the water supply valve 11, the water supply pump 12 and the like by a signal from the control circuit 19. Means 21 and water supply pump 1
It consists of a water supply pump detection circuit 22 that detects the connection of 2,
By controlling the power switching means 21, the water supply valve 11 and the water supply pump 1 are controlled by the output signal of the water supply pump detection circuit 22.
The switching of 2 is controlled.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a washing machine in which water is supplied by a water supply pump and clothes are washed by a stirring blade which is rotationally driven by a motor.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, as a domestic washing machine, there has been proposed a washing machine which uses a bath water feed pump to supply water to a washing tub for washing in order to reduce the amount of water used.

Conventionally, this type of washing machine is disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2-11.
It was constructed as shown in Japanese Patent Publication No. 199. That is,
It is composed of a water level detection means, a bath water feed pump, and a feed valve that feeds tap water, and when the water level change in the washing tub due to the water feed from the bath water feed pump disappears, it is judged that the bath water has run out Was turned off and tap water was supplied from the water supply valve.

[0004]

In such a conventional washing machine, it takes several minutes to detect a change in the water level of the washing tub when the bath water feed operation is executed without connecting the bath water feed pump. Therefore, the switching time from the bath water supply pump to the water supply valve becomes long, or the water is not supplied immediately after the operation, which causes a problem such as a malfunction.

[0005] The present invention solves the above-mentioned conventional problems.
The first object is to shorten the switching time between the water supply pump and the water supply valve and to shorten the water supply time.

A second object of the present invention is to achieve the first object and to detect the connection state of the water supply pump and the abnormality.

[0007]

To achieve the first object of the present invention, a washing tub for washing clothes, a water supply valve for supplying tap water to the washing tub, and bath water for the washing tub are provided. A water supply pump for supplying water, a stirring blade arranged at the bottom of the washing tub, a motor for rotating the stirring blade, a control for driving the water supply valve, the water supply pump, and the like to control the washing operation. Means for controlling the water supply valve, the water supply pump and the like by a signal from the control circuit, a control circuit including a microcomputer, operation display means for displaying the operation contents set by operation, Power switching means and a water supply pump detection circuit for detecting connection of the water supply pump, controlling the power switching means, and controlling the power switching means by the output signal of the water supply pump detection circuit. That the water valve and to control the switching of the water supply pump is set to the first means for solving problems.

In order to achieve the second object, in addition to the means for solving the first problem, the power switching means for driving the water supply pump is ON-controlled, and the connection state is produced by the output signal of the water supply pump detection circuit. Alternatively, the second problem solving means is to detect an abnormality.

Further, in addition to the first problem solving means, the power switching means for driving the water supply pump is controlled to be turned off, and the abnormality is detected by the output signal of the water supply pump detection circuit. It is used as a means for solving problems.

[0010]

According to the first means for solving the above problems, the present invention provides:
The water supply pump detection circuit can detect whether or not the water supply pump is connected.If the water supply pump is connected, water can be supplied by the water supply pump, and if not connected, water can be supplied by the water supply valve. The switching of pumps can be automatically controlled in a short time, and the water supply time can be shortened.

Further, according to the second problem solving means, the output signal of the water supply pump detection circuit when the power switching means for driving the water supply pump is turned on, the connection state of the water supply pump or the open failure of the power switching means is detected. It is possible to detect abnormalities such as current fuse disconnection.

Further, according to the third means for solving the problems, the output signal of the water supply pump detection circuit when the power switching means for driving the water supply pump is turned off, causes malfunction of the power switching means for driving the water supply pump and disconnection of parts. It is possible to detect defects.

[0013]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A first embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS.
Will be described with reference to.

As shown in FIG. 2, the stirring blade 1 is for stirring and washing the article to be washed (clothes) and is arranged at the bottom of the washing tub 2. The washing tub 2 also functions as a dewatering tub that rotates at a high speed during the dehydration operation to remove the water content of the clothes by centrifugal dehydration, and does not rotate during the normal washing operation and only the stirring blade 1 rotates. The water receiving tub 3 is arranged outside the washing tub 2 to store water for washing operation. The water receiving tank 3 includes an outer box 6 with a support rod 4 and a damper 5.
It is hung on. The motor 7 includes pulleys 8a, 8
The rotation speed of the motor 7 is controlled by rotationally driving the stirring blade 1 and the washing tub 2 via a clutch mechanism 10 in which a first speed reduction mechanism composed of b and a belt 9 and a second speed reduction mechanism are integrally formed. By doing so, the rotation of the stirring blade 1 or the washing tub 2 can be controlled.

The water supply valve 11 supplies tap water or the like to the washing tub 2, and the water supply pump 12 supplies bath water or the like to the washing tub 2 through the water supply port 13. The drain valve 14 drains the wash water in the washing tub 2. As shown in FIG. 1, the control unit 15 is connected via an AC power source 16 through a power switch 17 that can be shut off, and the motor 7, the water supply valve 11, the water supply pump 12, and the drain valve 1 are connected.
4 and the like are drive-controlled to control the washing operation. The phase advance capacitor 18 is connected between the main winding and the auxiliary winding of the condenser run type motor 7.

The control means 15 includes a control circuit 19 which has a microcomputer as a main control component, an operation display means 20 which is operated and set by a user, and which displays and informs the setting content, the operation content or the abnormality content, the water supply valve 11 or. Motor 7
The power switching means 21 for driving and controlling the water supply pump 12 and the water supply pump 12 are pump output terminals V1, V of the control means 15.
Water supply pump detection circuit 22 that detects whether or not it is connected between two
It has.

The power switching means 21 is composed of a relay or a bidirectional thyristor, and is usually composed of a bidirectional thyristor with low power consumption. In this embodiment,
Although shown as a relay, a bidirectional thyristor will not cause any problems. Power switching means 2 in series with the water supply valve 11
1a is connected, the primary winding of the insulation transformer 23 is connected in series with the power switching means 21e, the rectification circuit 24 is connected to the secondary winding side of the insulation transformer 23, and its output terminal V
The water supply pump 12 is connected between 1 and V2.

The control means 15 controls the power switching means 21, controls the switching between the water supply valve 11 and the water supply pump 12 according to the output signal of the water supply pump detection circuit 22, and also drives the water supply pump 12. 21e is turned on and the connection signal or abnormality is detected by the output signal of the water supply pump detection circuit 22.

Further, the water tub 2 is detected by the water level detecting means 25.
The water level of the water is detected and a signal corresponding to the water level is sent to the control circuit 19
To enter. Further, the cloth amount detecting means 26 detects the amount of laundry, and the control circuit 19 determines the laundry amount by the signal of the cloth amount detecting means 26 to determine the washing water level, and drives the water supply valve 11 or the water supply pump 12. And supply water up to the prescribed water level.

The water supply pump detection circuit 22 is constructed as shown in FIG. That is, the primary winding of the insulation transformer 23 is connected in series with the power switching means 21e, and the rectifier circuit 24 is connected to the secondary winding thereof. The secondary winding of the insulating transformer 23 has a center tap, and diodes 240 and 241 are connected from both ends of the secondary winding to form a center tap type full-wave rectification circuit. An electrolytic capacitor 242 is connected between the DC output terminals to reduce the ripple of the DC voltage. A current fuse 243 is connected in series to the center tap of the insulation transformer 23.

A water supply pump detection circuit 22 is connected between the DC output terminals V1 and V2, and a resistor 220, a Zener diode 221 and an input light emitting diode 222a of a photocoupler 222 are connected in series. Photo coupler 22
Resistor 2 connected in series with the second output transistor 222b
The terminal voltage vp of 23 is applied to the control circuit 19, and the connection state of the water supply pump 12 or the power switching means 21e.
The open / close state of is detected.

In the above structure, first, the operation of the water supply pump detection circuit 22 will be described with reference to FIG.

FIG. 4 shows a voltage change when the water supply pump 12 is connected. When the power switching means 21e is closed as shown in FIG. 4 (a), the DC output terminals V1 and V2 are connected.
The inter-voltage has a large ripple as shown in Fig. 4 (b),
When the Zener voltage of the Zener diode 221 is appropriately selected, the output voltage vp of the feed water pump detection circuit 22 becomes low at a voltage lower than the set voltage vs, and becomes high at a voltage higher than the set voltage vs. As shown, the output voltage vp has a pulsed waveform.

If the water supply pump 12 is not connected, the output voltage of the insulation transformer 23 becomes high and the rectification circuit 24
, The output voltage vp becomes high, so that the connection state of the water supply pump 12 can be determined. When the power switching unit 21e has an open failure, or the insulation transformer 23 is disconnected or the current fuse 243 is disconnected, the output voltage vp becomes low, and it is possible to determine an abnormality due to a failure.

3 and 4, the load, that is, the presence or absence of the water supply pump 12, or the power switching means 21 is detected by detecting a change in the voltage between the DC output terminals V1 and V2.
Although the open failure of e or the disconnection failure of the insulation transformer 23 or the disconnection failure of the current fuse is detected, it should be possible to detect the output voltage of the insulation transformer 23 or the primary side current of the insulation transformer 23. Is clear from this example.

Next, the operation will be described with reference to FIG. 5. In step 100, the bath water supply operation program set by the operation display means 20 is started, and in step 1
In 01, the cloth amount detecting means 26 detects the cloth amount and sets the optimum water level and water flow. Water pump 1 in step 102
In order to detect whether or not No. 2 is connected, the power switching means 21e is turned on, and a subroutine for detecting connection of the water supply pump 12 is executed in step 103.

This subroutine will be described later in detail. In brief, the feed water pump 12 is driven by the voltage or current change of the insulation transformer 23 or the rectifier circuit 24.
Whether the water supply is connected or not normally 1
It is determined by the output voltage of the feed water pump detection circuit 22 whether or not the drive output of No. 2 is output.

At step 104, the contents of the various flags detected at step 103 are judged, and if there is an abnormality, the power switching means 21e is turned off at step 105 to notify the abnormality. As the contents of the abnormality, the water supply pump detection circuit 2
2 if there is no output signal, in other words, if there is no voltage between the DC output terminals V1 and V2, if the power switching means 21e does not close normally, or the insulation transformer 23.
It is conceivable that the current fuse 243 connected to the output circuit of 1 is broken.

In the case of an abnormality, water can be supplied from the water supply valve 11. Therefore, the abnormality content is stored in a storage means such as a non-volatile memory without notifying the abnormality, and the failure content will be stored later when a repair engineer analyzes the failure. Operation display means 2 so that
You may notify the content of abnormality by 0.

If there is no abnormal flag in step 104, the water supply pump flag is turned on if the water supply pump 12 is connected in step 106, and the operation display means 2 is displayed.
0 is connected to the water supply pump 12 or the water supply valve 1
Displays whether the operation is 1 or not. In step 107, it is judged whether or not there is a water supply pump flag indicating whether the operation is performed by the water supply pump 12, and if there is a water supply pump flag, it becomes Y,
In step 108, the water supply pump 12 is driven to supply water,
If there is no water supply pump flag, the water supply valve 11 is driven in step 109 to supply water from tap water.

If the water level change of the washing tub 2 is detected in step 110 and it is judged that there is no water level change in step 111, the water supply from the water supply pump 12 is stopped and the water supply valve 11 is switched to the water supply. Turn off the water pump flag. In step 113, it is determined whether or not water has been supplied up to the set water level set in the washing tub 2 in step 101, and when the set water level is reached, the water supply process is stopped and the process proceeds to the next stirring process. If the set water level has not been reached, the process returns to the determination of the water supply pump flag in step 107.

Next, a subroutine for detecting connection of the water supply pump 12 in step 103 of FIG. 5 will be described with reference to FIG.

The subroutine is started at step 200, and the pulses of the output voltage vp of the feed water pump detection circuit 22 are counted at step 201. As a pulse counting method, the output voltage vp is synchronized with a signal synchronized with the AC power supply 16, that is, a signal obtained by dividing the AC zero voltage signal into several parts.
Input, and discriminate between high and low to count pulses. When the signal changes from high to low, it counts as one pulse.

In step 202, the pulse counting time is counted, and specifically, the AC zero voltage signal is counted. In step 203, it is determined whether or not the pulse count number is the set value Ns or more. If it is the set value Ns or more, it is determined that the ripple of the voltage between the DC output terminals V1 and V2 is large, and the water supply pump 12 is connected. At 204, a water supply pump connection flag is set.

If the pulse count number is less than the set value Ns, the routine proceeds to step 205, where it is determined whether the pulse count time is the set time Ts or more. If the water supply pump 12 operates normally, the pulse number is the same as the AC zero voltage signal.
It can be determined in a time of 1 second or less, that is, from 50 milliseconds to 200 milliseconds. Therefore, when the set time Ts is set to 200 milliseconds, the set value Ns of the pulse count number is half or less, that is, set to 50 to 100.

When the set time Ts or more has elapsed, it is determined in step 206 whether the output voltage vp is high or low. Alternatively, the output voltage vp may be input in synchronism with the signal obtained by dividing the AC zero voltage signal into several signals at the time of pulse counting in step 201, and the output voltage vp may be determined by the majority of the high or low signals. Output voltage v
If p is high, it is determined in step 207 that the water supply pump 12 is not connected, and the no water supply pump flag is set. If output voltage vp is low, DC output terminals V1, V
It is determined that the voltage between the two is low, and in step 208 a flag indicating no output voltage is set. At step 209, the subroutine returns.

In the above embodiment, the DC output terminal V
Although the case where the connection of the feed water pump 12 is detected from the change in the voltage between V1 and V2 is shown, the change in the DC output current or the change in the primary side current of the insulation transformer 23 may be detected.

Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described. The control means 15 in FIG.
The power switching means 21e for driving the motor is controlled to be off, and an abnormality is detected by the output signal of the water supply pump detection circuit 22. The other structure is the same as that of the first embodiment.

The operation of the above structure will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 7 shows the subsequent operation after the end of the water supply stroke of FIG. 5, in which the water supply valve 11 or the water supply pump 12 is turned off in step 114, that is, the power switching means 21a and 21e are turned off, and in step 115 the water supply pump. Execute the connection detection subroutine. If the output of the power switching means 21e is normal, it is in the open state, so that the output signal vp of the water supply pump detection circuit 22 is normal low,
In the subroutine of FIG. 6, the case where there is no output voltage in step 208 is normal, and the case where there is the water supply pump connection flag in step 204 or the case where there is no water supply pump connection flag in step 207 is abnormal and step 11
An abnormality is notified at 7.

When the power switching means 21e has a short circuit failure, the water supply is not stopped and the water supply pump 12 is continuously operated. Therefore, when the water supply pump 12 is connected, that is, when the water supply pump connection flag is present, The AC power supply 16 is forcibly cut off by the power switch 17 that can be cut off. If the water supply pump 12 is not connected, it is sufficient to store the abnormality content in the storage means and execute the stirring step in step 118 as it is.

[0041]

As described above, the present invention has a washing tub for washing clothes, a water supply valve for supplying tap water to the washing tub, a water supply pump for supplying bath water or the like to the washing tub, and the washing machine. A stirring blade disposed at the bottom of the tub, a motor that rotationally drives the stirring blade, a control means that controls the water supply valve, the water supply pump, and the like to control the washing operation. A control circuit including a microcomputer,
Operation display means for displaying the operation content set by operation, power switching means for driving and controlling the water supply valve, the water supply pump, etc. by a signal from the control circuit, and a water supply pump detection circuit for detecting connection of the water supply pump Since the power switching means is controlled to control the switching of the water supply valve and the water supply pump by the output signal of the water supply pump detection circuit, the water supply pump detection circuit determines whether or not the water supply pump is connected. It can be detected, and if the water supply pump is connected, water can be supplied by the water supply pump, and if not connected, water can be supplied by the water supply valve, and the switching between the water supply valve and the water supply pump can be automatically controlled in a short time. The water supply time can be shortened.

Further, since the power switching means for driving the water supply pump is ON-controlled to detect the connection state or abnormality by the output signal of the water supply pump detection circuit, the power switching means for driving the water supply pump is ON-controlled. By the output signal of the water supply pump detection circuit at this time, it is possible to detect an abnormality such as the connection state of the water supply pump, the open failure of the power switching means, the disconnection of the current fuse, or the like, and store the abnormality content in the storage means The self-diagnosis function enables notification of abnormal contents,
The user can be notified of forgetting to connect the water supply pump, and the self-diagnosis function can notify the user of the details of the failure, thus shortening the failure repair time.

Further, since the power switching means for driving the water supply pump is off-controlled to detect the abnormality by the output signal of the water supply pump detection circuit, when the power switching means for driving the water supply pump is off-controlled. The output signal of the water supply pump detection circuit can detect a malfunction of the power switching means that drives the water supply pump, and can improve safety such as shutting off the power supply when an abnormality occurs.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block circuit diagram of a washing machine according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view of the washing machine.

FIG. 3 is a circuit diagram of a water supply pump detection circuit of the washing machine.

FIG. 4 is an operation time chart of the water supply pump detection circuit of the washing machine.

FIG. 5 is an operation flowchart of the washing machine.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart of a subroutine for detecting connection of a water supply pump of the washing machine.

FIG. 7 is an operation flowchart of the washing machine according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Stirring blade 2 Washing tank 7 Motor 11 Water supply valve 12 Water supply pump 15 Control means 19 Control circuit 20 Operation display means 21 Power switching means 22 Water supply pump detection circuit

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A washing tub for washing clothes, a water supply valve for supplying tap water to the washing tub, a water supply pump for supplying bath water or the like to the washing tub, and an agitation provided at the bottom of the washing tub. A blade, a motor that rotationally drives the stirring blade, a control means that controls the water supply valve, the water supply pump, and the like to control the washing operation, and the control means includes a control circuit including a microcomputer, Operation display means for displaying the operation content set by operation, power switching means for driving and controlling the water supply valve, the water supply pump, etc. by a signal from the control circuit, and a water supply pump detection circuit for detecting connection of the water supply pump A washing machine comprising: the power switching means for controlling the switching between the water supply valve and the water supply pump by an output signal of the water supply pump detection circuit. 2. The washing machine according to claim 1, wherein the power switching means for driving the water supply pump is on-controlled to detect the connection state or abnormality by the output signal of the water supply pump detection circuit. 3. The washing machine according to claim 1, wherein the power switching means for driving the water supply pump is controlled to be off, and the abnormality is detected by the output signal of the water supply pump detection circuit.