JPS6364237B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a washing machine having a so-called shower dehydration rinsing process in which water is supplied into the dehydration basket in a shower-like manner while rotating the dehydration basket.

In this type of washing machine, rinsing is performed by centrifugal force passing through the laundry in the dehydration basket during the shower dehydration process, so the rinsing of the laundry is shortened. In order to do this in an hourly manner, it is sufficient to increase the amount of water supplied to the dehydration basket per unit time. However, in reality, the water flow resistance of laundry is approximately constant, and there is a general situation that there is an upper limit to the amount of water that can pass through the laundry, so if you blindly increase the amount of water supplied, It doesn't mean it's good. In other words, if the amount of water supplied during the shower dehydration rinsing process is excessive compared to the amount of water passing through the laundry, the excess water will flow out of the dehydration basket without passing through the laundry. This results in a deterioration in rinsing efficiency relative to the amount of water used. In other words, it is necessary to set the amount of water supplied per unit time in the shower dehydration rinsing process to an appropriate amount in order to prevent wastage of water. However, if the amount of water supplied in the shower dewatering and rinsing process is set to an appropriate amount in this way, there is a risk that the time required for the water supply process prior to the washing process will be unnecessarily prolonged. Preventing wasted water during the shower dehydration and rinsing process has become a contradictory issue.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and its purpose is to prevent wastage of water in the shower dewatering and rinsing process even when the time required for the water supply process is shortened, and to obtain such effects. To provide a washing machine capable of easily and accurately adjusting the amount of water supplied in the necessary shower dehydration process.

EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION Hereinafter, an embodiment in which the present invention is applied to a dehydrating and washing machine will be described with reference to the drawings.

In Fig. 1, 1 is a water tank suspended in an outer box 2, 3 is a rotating tank for washing and dewatering that is a dewatering basket installed in the water tank 1, and 3a is a peripheral wall of this rotating tank 3. Numerous holes are formed, 4 is a pulsator disposed at the inner bottom of the rotating tank 3, 5 is a motor, and the rotational force of the motor 5 is transmitted to the rotating tank via a belt transmission mechanism 6 and a clutch mechanism 7. 3 and pulsator 4
selectively transmitted. Reference numeral 8 denotes an inner lid attached to the upper opening of the water receiving tank 1, and this inner lid 8
It has a recessed part 9 for water supply facing from above, and a large number of small holes are formed in the bottom wall of this recessed part 9 to connect the rotary tank 3.
A shower water inlet group 10 is provided in a concentric annular arrangement. Therefore, when water is supplied into the concave portion 9, the water falls from the shower water injection hole group 10 to a portion of the rotating tank 3 near the peripheral wall in a shower-like manner. 11 is operation box 1
A solenoid valve for water supply, which is a water supply valve installed in 2.
The suction port is connected to a water faucet (not shown) via a hose 13. 14 is a water supply port disposed inside the operation box 12, which is connected to the water supply solenoid valve 11.
The water from the discharge port is guided into the recessed portion 9. Further, 15 is an outer lid, and 16 is a drain electromagnetic valve for discharging water in the water receiving tank 1 via a drain hose 17.

In FIG. 2 showing the control system of the motor 5, the water supply solenoid valve 11, and the drainage solenoid valve 16, 18 is a water level switch for detecting the water level in the water tank 1; An upper limit water level detection signal _S1 is output when water is supplied to a specified water level, and a lower limit water level detection signal _S2 is output when the water level in the water receiving tank 1 falls below a predetermined water level. 19
is a control circuit that includes, for example, a microcomputer, and this is a control circuit that receives each of the water level detection signals mentioned above.
The motor 5, the water supply solenoid valve 11, and the drainage solenoid valve 16 are controlled based on signals from _S1 , _S2 and the operation switch group 20 disposed in the operation box 12, so that, for example, "water supply", ""Washing","Draining","Dehydration","
It is configured to automatically execute a washing operation consisting of a series of steps of "shower dehydration, rinsing" and "dehydration". Therefore, the configuration and operation of the control circuit 19 will be explained below with reference to FIG. 3 as well as FIG. 2. However, in FIG. 2, only the parts directly related to the gist of the present invention among the configurations related to the control circuit 19 are shown, and in FIG. 3, among the signals from the operation switch group 20, the washing operation start start signal S ₃ , upper limit water level detection signal S ₁ , lower limit water level detection signal S ₂ , water supply solenoid valve 1
The output timings of the command signal S ₄ for driving the water discharge electromagnetic valve 16, the command signal S ₅ for driving the drain electromagnetic valve 16, and the command signal S ₆ for driving the motor 5 are shown in relation to processes such as "water supply". In addition, upper limit water level detection signal S ₁ and start signal
S ₃ , each command signal S ₄ , S ₅ , S ₆ is a high level signal, the lower limit water level detection signal S ₂ is a low level signal, and the water supply solenoid valve 11, drain solenoid valve 16, and motor 5 are each command signal. The configuration is such that the current is driven only during the period when S ₄ , S ₅ , and S ₆ are being output. When the control circuit 19 receives the start signal _S3 for starting the washing operation, it continuously outputs the command signal _S4 to energize the water supply solenoid valve 11, and at the same time starts driving the counter 21. Therefore, the "water supply" process of supplying water from the water supply electromagnetic valve 11 into the water receiving tank 1 is started, and at the same time, the counter 21 starts counting periodic clock pulses Pc from the clock pulse generator 22. After this,
When the water in the water tank 1 reaches the specified water level, the water level switch 18 is turned on.
When the upper limit water level detection signal _S1 is output from the control circuit 19, the control circuit 19 that receives this stops outputting the command signal _S4 , stops the water supply solenoid valve 11 from being de-energized, and ends the "water supply" process. At the same time, the command signal _S6 is intermittently outputted to intermittently energize the motor 5, and at the same time, the counter 21 is stopped and the count value M of the counter 21 at this time is stored. When the command signal _S5 is not output and the drain solenoid valve 16 is de-energized, the clutch mechanism 7 is in a state of transmitting the rotational force of the motor 5 to the pulsator 4, and therefore the "water supply" process is not completed. Upon completion of this, a "washing" process is started in which the pulsator 4 is intermittently driven to rotate by intermittent energization of the motor 5. Furthermore, the count value M stored by the control circuit 19 corresponds to the time required for the inside of the water tank 1 to reach the specified water level, and therefore, the count value M is inversely proportional to the amount of water supplied per unit time by the water supply solenoid valve 11. exhibit a value. When a preset time in the control circuit 19 has elapsed after the start of the "washing" process, the control circuit 19 transmits a command signal S ₆
The "washing" process is ended by stopping the output of the motor 5 and cutting off the power to the motor 5, and at the same time, the command signal _S5 is continuously output to de-energize the draining solenoid valve 16 and the "draining" process begins. Migrate. When the water level in the water receiving tank 1 drops to a predetermined level due to this "drainage" process, a lower limit water level detection signal _S2 is output from the water level switch 18, and the control circuit 19 that receives this outputs a command signal _S5 after a predetermined time. command signal while continuing
_S6 is now output intermittently at relatively small cycles, thereby completing the "draining" process. When the draining electromagnetic valve 16 is energized by the command signal _S5 , the clutch mechanism 7 is in a state of transmitting the rotational force of the motor 5 to the rotating tank 3, and therefore the "draining" stroke is completed. According to the rotation tank 3, the rotation tank 3 is
The "foam removal dehydration" process begins, in which the water is rotated at low speed. When a predetermined period of time has elapsed after the start of this "foam removal and dehydration" process, the control circuit 19
Increasing the intermittent output cycle of the command signal S ₆ and repeating the operation of rotating the rotating tank 3 at high speed and then rotating at low speed due to inertia,
A command signal is generated based on the count value M stored as described above.
_S4 is intermittently outputted, and the water supply solenoid valve 11 is thereby intermittently opened and closed to shift to a "shower dewatering rinse" process. In this case, the control circuit 19
determines the output cycle of the command signal _S4 by reading out or calculating pre-stored information based on the count value M (corresponding to the amount of water supplied per unit time in the "water supply" process). The output cycle is determined so that the amount of water supplied per unit time in the "shower dehydration rinsing" process is an appropriate amount, for example, 10 per minute. In such a "shower dewatering rinse" process, after water is supplied from the water supply electromagnetic valve 11 into the recessed part 9, a shower-like water is applied from the shower water injection hole group 10 to a portion near the peripheral wall of the rotating tank 3 while it is rotating. This water is poured into rotating tank 3.
Due to the centrifugal force of the detergent, it passes through the detergent-containing laundry and is discharged from the hole 3a. As described above, the injected water passes through the laundry one after another, thereby rinsing the laundry. Incidentally, since the water from the water supply solenoid valve 11 is temporarily accumulated in the concave portion 9, even if the water supply solenoid valve 11 is opened and closed intermittently, water is continuously poured into the rotary tank 3. When a predetermined period of time has elapsed after the start of the "shower dehydration rinse" process as described above, the control circuit 19 stops outputting the command signal _S4 to stop the water supply operation by the water supply solenoid valve 11, and also outputs the command signal S4. The signal _S6 is output continuously to cause the rotary tank 3 to rotate at a continuous high speed, thereby causing a transition from the "shower dewatering and rinsing" process to the "dewatering" process. When this "dehydration" process is about to end, the control circuit 19
stops the output of the command signal _S6 to cut off the power to the motor 5, and after this predetermined time, stops the output of the command signal _S5 and closes the drainage solenoid valve 16, thus ending the "dewatering" process. to complete a series of washing operations.

If the "shower dehydration rinse" step is performed without the "water supply" step, the control circuit 19 continuously opens the water supply solenoid valve 11 for a predetermined period of time.

In addition, the present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiments, and can be implemented with various modifications without departing from the spirit thereof, such as being applicable to a two-tub type washing machine, for example.

As explained above, the present invention provides a washing machine having a shower dewatering and rinsing process in which water is supplied into the dehydrating basket in a shower shape while rotating the dehydrating basket. The present invention is characterized by a control circuit that measures the water supply valve and controls the opening and closing of the water supply valve intermittently so that the amount of water supplied per unit time in the shower dehydration rinsing process is an appropriate amount based on the measurement result. As a result, even if the amount of water to be supplied per unit time in the water supply process is increased and the time required for that water supply process is shortened, the amount of water to be supplied in the shower dewatering and rinsing process can be appropriately estimated, so that This has the excellent effect of preventing wastage of water. Moreover, according to the present invention, the amount of water supplied in the shower dehydration rinse process is adjusted by controlling the intermittent opening and closing of the water supply valve as described above, so when adjusting the throttle amount of the water supply valve, Compared to this method, the amount of water supplied can be easily and accurately adjusted.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

The drawings relate to one embodiment of the present invention.
The figure is a vertical side view, FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a control system for motors, etc., and FIG. 3 is a timing chart for explaining the operation. In the diagram, 1 is a water tank, 3 is a rotating tank (dewatering basket), and 5 is a water tank.
is a motor, 11 is a water supply solenoid valve (water supply valve), 1
6 is a drainage electromagnetic valve, and 19 is a control circuit.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. In a device that has a shower dehydration rinsing process in which water is supplied into the dehydration basket in a shower shape while rotating the dehydration basket, the time required for the inside of the tank to reach a certain water level during the water supply process is measured, and based on the measurement result, the above-mentioned A washing machine comprising a control circuit that intermittently controls opening and closing of a water supply valve so that an appropriate amount of water is supplied per unit time during a shower dewatering and rinsing process.