JP4679379B2 - Drum washing machine - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a drum-type washing machine that rotates a drum in a horizontal or inclined state, and more specifically, relates to a drum-type washing machine having a water discharge means for directly discharging water to laundry.

There is known a drum type washing machine that rotates a drum (inner tub) for putting laundry in a horizontal or inclined state (for example, see Patent Document 1). As shown in FIG. 10, a general washing course is composed of a washing process, a rinsing process, and a final dehydration process, and the rinsing process includes water supply, drainage, and dehydration. Hereinafter, the dehydration in the rinsing process is referred to as intermediate dehydration.
There is also a drum-type washing machine provided with a water discharge means for directly discharging water to the laundry, such as a shower, and when the water is supplied to the drum in the washing process and the rinsing process, the water is discharged directly from the water discharge means into the drum. is there.

  In a drum-type washing machine, if the drum is rotated while the laundry is unevenly distributed in the drum, the drum vibrates greatly, so that the laundry is dispersed in the drum on average before the intermediate dehydration process. In addition, for example, it is necessary to interpose a process of balancing the drum by rotating it forward and backward at a low speed (hereinafter referred to as “balance process”).

JP-A-10-272284

In the rinsing step, as shown in FIG. 10, the rotation of the drum is temporarily stopped (indicated by A in the figure), and water supply or drainage is performed. For this reason, it is necessary to eliminate the uneven distribution of the laundry in the drum by the balancing process (indicated by B in the figure) before entering the intermediate dehydration. As described above, the balancing step is to rotate the drum forward and backward at low speed to disperse the unevenly distributed laundry in the drum, and requires several tens of seconds to several minutes. In this balancing step, if the uneven distribution of the laundry cannot be eliminated, the subsequent steps are stopped, and after the person once loosens the laundry, the process is resumed from the balancing step.
After the drum rotation is stopped and water supply and drainage are performed, if the drum rotation speed is increased in order to enter the balance process or intermediate dehydration process, the drum passes through the resonance rotation speed of the drum. It sometimes vibrated greatly.

  For this reason, it is conceivable that water is discharged by the water discharge means while rotating the drum at the rotation speed of the intermediate dewatering step. However, even if the drum is discharged at a high speed, a high-speed air flow is generated in the drum. In addition, since the laundry is firmly stuck inside the drum due to centrifugal force, the water may be splashed or scattered without penetrating the laundry.

Moreover, in the drum type washing machine that discharges water from the water discharge means, the water discharged from the water discharge head is concentrated near the entrance of the drum. This is because of the high-speed airflow generated in the drum.
In a drum type washing machine that rotates with the drum tilted, the back side is inclined to be lower than the vicinity of the opening on the front side where the lid is attached. Therefore, in both the washing process and the rinsing process, the laundry Tends to be biased toward the back of the drum. Therefore, if the water discharge is biased near the entrance, the laundry may not be sufficiently covered with water, and the efficiency of washing, rinsing, etc. may be reduced.

An object of the present invention is to provide a drum type washing machine capable of reducing the number of balance steps and shortening the rinse step by continuously rotating the drum without stopping after dehydration in the rinse step. There is .

In order to solve the above problems, a first drum-type washing machine of the present invention includes:
An outer tub supported in the housing, a drum that is loaded with laundry, and rotates in a horizontal or inclined state, a motor that rotates the drum, a water discharge means that directly pours water on the laundry in the drum, In a drum-type washing machine comprising a drainage means for discharging water in the tank, and a control means for controlling the motor, the water discharge means and the drainage means in the washing step, the rinsing step and the dewatering step,
During the rinsing process, the control means, after dehydration, supplies water by the water discharge means while driving the motor to rotate the drum without stopping at a rotational speed higher than the resonance rotational speed of the drum, Drained from the tank.

  It is desirable that the control means controls the motor so that the rotation speed of the drum when water is supplied by the water discharge means is at least the rotation speed at which the laundry is not detached from the drum.

  The control means desirably controls the motor such that the number of revolutions of the drum when water is supplied by the water discharge means in the rinsing process is lower than the number of revolutions of the drum in the dehydration process.

Controlled by the control means, comprising water injection means for supplying water into the outer tub,
In the rinsing process, the control means reduces the amount of water used by the water discharge means to be less than the amount of water used by the water injection means, and when water is supplied by the water discharge means, the dehydration time in the rinsing process is supplied by the water injection means. It is desirable to make it longer than the case.

Controlled by the control means, comprising water injection means for supplying water into the outer tub,
In the rinsing step, the control means is preferably controlled so that the first rinsing is performed by the water discharge means and the second rinsing is performed by the water injection means.

  It is desirable that the control means perform water supply by the water discharge means while the rotation speed of the drum is increased in the dehydration process.

Connected to the control means, comprising water amount detection means for measuring the amount of water in the outer tub,
When the amount of water in the outer tub measured by the water amount detection means is less than a predetermined value when rinsing in the state where water is accumulated inside the drum by the water injection means in the rinsing step, the control means is It is desirable to perform rinsing while supplying water by means of water discharge.

  The water injection means can supply the pooled water such as bath water by sucking with a pump, and the control means can switch the water supply by the water discharge means to the water supply by the water injection means when supplying water by suction with the pump. It is desirable to perform rinsing in a state where water is stored in the tank or in a state where water can be discharged from the drainage means.

According to the first drum type washing machine of the present invention, in the rinsing process, after dehydration, the water can be discharged and drained without stopping the drum, thereby reducing the number of times of the balancing process. Can be shortened.
By setting the rotation speed of the drum at the time of water discharge to a higher rotation speed than the resonance rotation speed of the drum, even if the rotation speed of the drum is changed in the rinsing process, the drum-type washing machine does not vibrate greatly and is quiet. Driving can be secured.

  By setting the number of rotations of the drum at the time of water discharge to at least the number of rotations at which the laundry is not detached from the drum, the number of balancing steps can be reduced and the time required for the rinsing step can be shortened.

  By rotating the drum at the time of water discharge in the rinsing process to be lower than the speed of the drum in the dewatering process, high-speed air current is not generated in the drum, and water discharged from the water discharge means is discharged to the drum. Without concentrating on the lid side of the drum, it can reach the inside of the drum uniformly or reach the back side of the drum, and the rinsing efficiency can be improved.

  In the rinsing process, when the amount of water used by the water discharge means is less than the amount of water used by the water injection means, and when water is supplied by the water discharge means, the dehydration time in the rinsing process is compared to when water is supplied by the water injection means. By making it longer, it is possible to increase the rinsing efficiency with a small amount of water used.

  In the rinsing step, the time required for rinsing can be shortened and the rinsing efficiency can be improved by controlling the first rinsing with the water discharging means and the second rinsing with the water pouring means.

  Also in the dehydration step, rinsing efficiency can be increased by supplying water by the water discharge means while the number of rotations of the drum increases.

  In the rinsing process, when rinsing is performed in a state where water has been accumulated inside the drum by the water injection means, if the amount of water in the outer tub measured by the water amount detection means is less than the predetermined value, water is supplied by the water discharge means. However, by performing rinsing while the amount of water supply is small, a sufficient amount of water supply can be ensured and the rinsing efficiency can be increased.

  In the rinsing process, when water is supplied by suction with a pump, water saving is not required, so water supply by the water discharge means is switched to water supply by the water injection means and water is stored in the outer tub, or water is discharged from the drainage means. The rinsing efficiency can be increased by rinsing in a state in which it can be discharged.

FIG. 1 is a diagram schematically showing a drum-type washing machine to which the present invention can be applied.
As shown in FIG. 1, the drum-type washing machine (10) has an outer tub in a housing (12) provided with a lid (17) that can be opened and closed on an inclined front surface via a spring and a damper (14). (20) is swingably supported. The front of the outer tub (20) has an opening (22), and the opening (22) is connected to the housing (12) via a cylindrical packing (24) as shown in FIGS. The water in the outer tub (20) is prevented from leaking into the housing (12). As shown in FIG. 3, the packing (24) extends forward from the outer tub (20), contacts the lid (17), and prevents the outer tub (20) from leaking to the outside.
Further, in order to prevent the laundry from falling from the front end side of the drum (30) to the outer tub (20) side, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the outer tub (20) has an inner peripheral side. A resin annular member (23) that goes around the outer tub (20) is attached.

  A drum (30) for storing laundry is rotatably supported in the outer tub (20). In the illustrated embodiment, the drum (30) is rotatably supported so that the front side is inclined upward. A large number of water passage holes (not shown) are formed on the peripheral surface of the drum (30). A plurality of baffles (32) project in the front-rear direction on the inner peripheral surface of the drum (30) so that the laundry can be agitated.

A motor (34) is disposed at the rear end of the outer tub (20), i.e., the back side, and the rotating shaft of the motor (34) passes through the outer tub (20), and the drum (30) It is connected to the. An example of the motor (34) is an outer rotor type DC brushless motor that directly drives the drum (30).
When the motor (34) is driven, the drum (30) rotates inside the outer tub (20).

  The round hole (13) opened on the front surface of the housing (12) and the front opening (22) of the outer tub (20) can be closed by the lid (17). A transparent plate (18) is provided in the center of the lid (17) so that the inside of the drum (30) can be visually recognized.

  Water is supplied to the outer tub (20) via a water supply valve unit (40) connected to a pipe (41) connected to the water supply. Two pipes (43) and (52) are connected to the water supply valve unit (40), one pipe (43) is connected to the water injection means (42), and the other pipe (52) is Connected to the water discharge means (50). The water supply valve unit (40) can supply tap water to one or both of the water injection means (42) and the water discharge means (50).

The water injection means (42) includes a detergent container (44) that can be taken in and out from the front surface of the housing (12). The detergent container (44) is a container that is inserted into a detergent container housing case formed inside the housing (12) and in which a user appropriately puts detergent, etc., and the detergent container (44) from the water supply through the pipe (43) The water supplied to the water passes through the inside of the detergent container (44), and freely falls into the outer tank (20) through the pipe (45) extending downward from the rear end of the detergent container housing case. .
When detergent is put in the detergent container (44), when water is supplied from the water injection means (42) to the outer tub (20) in the washing process, the water that has passed through the detergent container (44) is removed. The detergent is dissolved and supplied to the outer tub (20).

  The water injection means (42) is further connected to a pipe (49) from a pump (48) that sucks up bath water in order to use the bath water, and the water sucked up from the pump (48) In the above manner, the liquid is supplied from the pipe (49) through the detergent container (44) to the inside of the outer tub (20).

The water discharge means (50) is a pipe (52) connected to the water supply valve unit (40), which is opened at the front upper part of the outer tub (20), and the drum (30) from the front side of the drum (30). And the water can be discharged toward the lid (17).
FIG. 3 is an enlarged view of the upper front of the drum (30). FIG. 4 is an enlarged view of the water discharge means (50). As shown in the figure, a water discharge unit (53) connected to a pipe (52) of the water discharge means (50) is provided in front of the drum (30). The water discharge unit (53) includes a cylindrical water discharge head (54) having a pipe (52) connected to the upper end and a closed lower end. As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the water discharge head (54) has a water discharge port (55) cut out on the drum side. The water discharge port (55) communicates with a recess (25) (see FIG. 5) penetratingly opened at a corresponding position of the annular member (23) connected to the outer tub (20). The upper surface of the recess (25) is inclined toward the lower rear side so that water can be discharged toward the rear of the drum (30). Therefore, the water that has passed through the water discharge port (55) hits the slope of the recess (25) of the annular member (23) and is released while diffusing to the rear of the drum (30), and directly into the laundry in the drum (30). Water is poured.
At the lower end of the water discharge head (54), as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, a lid water discharge port (56) that opens toward the cover body (17) is formed. The water discharged from the lid outlet (56) cleans the transparent plate (18) of the lid (17), removes the foam adhering to the transparent plate (18), and removes the transparent plate (18). The visibility inside the drum (30) can be improved.

  The drainage from the outer tub (20) is performed by the drainage means (60) provided at the rear lower end of the outer tub (20). The drainage means (60) has a valve.When the valve is closed, the water is stored in the outer tub (20), and when the valve is opened, the water in the outer tub (20) is discharged to the outside. Discharge.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the rear surface of the outer tub (20) is provided with water amount detecting means (66) for measuring the amount of water in the outer tub (20). The water amount detection means (66) includes an air trap (67) attached to the rear surface of the outer tub (20), an air hose (68) connected to the air trap (67) and extending upward, and an air hose (68). A configuration including a pressure sensor (69) attached to the upper end can be exemplified.

  Further, in the vicinity of the upper side of the closed rear surface of the outer tub (20), as shown in FIG. 1, when water is supplied to the sealed outer tub (20), the pressure in the outer tub (20) increases. An air vent (62) is provided to prevent this.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the laundry is dried by a drying unit (64) extending from the rear surface to the upper surface of the outer tub (20). The drying unit (64) has an air passage (65) that extends upward from the rear surface of the outer tub (20) and communicates with the front end of the upper surface of the outer tub (20). Inside is a heat exchanger, fan and heater.

Control of the drum-type washing machine (10) having the above-described configuration is performed by the control means (70) disposed at an appropriate position inside the housing (12).
FIG. 6 is a block diagram of the control means (70). The control means (70) is electrically connected to the motor (34), the water supply valve unit (40), the bath water pump (48), the drainage means (60), and the water amount detection means (66). These are operated in accordance with a predetermined program stored in advance in the control means (70) by a control command from the control means (70).

Hereinafter, the control of the drum type washing machine (10) of the present invention will be described.
In the rinsing process, the present invention reduces the number of times of the balancing process by continuing to rotate the drum (30) without stopping.
Specifically, the drum-type washing machine (10) of the present invention controls the rotational speed of the drum (30), that is, the rotation of the motor (34) as shown in the timing chart of FIG. By controlling by (70), uneven distribution of the laundry in the water supply and drainage by the water discharge means (50) is prevented.
In the following description, the rotation speed of the drum (30) can be controlled to a high speed of 1000 rpm, a medium speed of 500 rpm, a low speed of 350 rpm, and an extremely low speed of 100 rpm by the control of the motor (34) by the control means (70). To do. Here, the low speed means a speed at which the laundry in the drum (30) can rotate while sticking to the inner surface of the drum (30). Further, in the case of the drum type washing machine (10) as described above, the resonant rotation speed of the drum (30) is about 150 to 250 rpm, which is lower than the low speed.

When the washing process is completed, the rinsing process is started. In the rinsing step, as shown in FIG. 7, drainage after the preceding washing step and post-washing dewatering are performed, and when the post-washing dewatering is completed, the rotation of the drum (30) is decelerated and the water is rinsed.
In the present embodiment, in the first rinsing step, the water rinsing that is dehydrated after being discharged by the water discharging means (50) is repeated twice, and in the second rinsing step, the reservoir rinsing is performed by the water injection means (42).
As shown in FIG. 7, the water rinsing is performed by adjusting the rotation speed of the drum (30) to be low with the drainage means (60) opened, switching the water supply valve unit (40), 30) Guide the tap water from the water discharge means (50). As described above, the water discharge from the water discharge means (50) is performed so that a large amount of water is applied to the back side of the drum (30). Can be rinsed.
When the water discharge is completed, the water discharge is stopped and intermediate dehydration is performed. The intermediate dehydration is performed by increasing the number of rotations of the drum (30) to a high speed to sufficiently remove moisture contained in the laundry.

As in the present invention, the laundry in the drum (30) is kept attached to the drum (30) by rotating the drum (30) at a low speed without stopping and rinsing the water. In addition, since the laundry is not firmly attached as compared with the medium speed and high speed rotation, water can easily penetrate into the laundry, and the rinsing efficiency can be improved.
Further, by discharging water while rotating the drum (30) at a low speed, the air flow generated inside the drum (30) is suppressed, and the water discharged from the water discharge port (55) is effectively made into the laundry. You can guess. In particular, water can be effectively discharged toward the back side of the drum (30) away from the water outlet (55).
Since the rotation of the drum (30) does not pass through the resonance speed, vibration of the drum type washing machine (10) can be suppressed.

  As described above, there is an advantage that water can be saved while improving the rinsing efficiency by performing the water rinsing in two or more times, rather than using a large amount of water in one water rinsing.

After the water rinse is performed, the drainage means (60) is closed and the reservoir rinse is performed. As shown in FIG. 7, rinsing the reservoir is performed with the drum (30) temporarily stopped, the water supply valve unit (40) switched to the water injection means (42) side, and water accumulated in the drum (30). To do. At this time, if bath water is selected, water is supplied from the pump (48).
If the amount of water inside the outer tub (20) is less than a predetermined value during the rinsing, the water is detected by the water amount detecting means (66), and the water is discharged by the water discharging means (50) while rinsing is performed. It is desirable. Thereby, the rinse performance at the time of insufficient water supply flow volume can be improved. In particular, this is effective when the bath water runs out in the rinse using bath water.
In the reservoir rinsing, in order to increase the rinsing efficiency, it is desirable to control the drum (30) to rotate in both forward and reverse directions by repeating forward and reverse rotation of the motor (34) as shown in the figure. After completion of the rinsing, the dehydration process is started.

8 and 9 show an example of a washing course including the rinsing process of the present invention.
FIG. 8 shows a standard course in which the water rinse shown in FIG. 7 is performed twice and the reservoir rinse is performed once. FIG. 9 shows a forging course in which the water rinse is performed once and the reservoir rinse is performed once. In the Oisori course, the required time is shortened by reducing the number of water rinses.
In the embodiment, the load amount, that is, the weight of the laundry is 9 kg, and the required time is set to 54 minutes for the standard course and 42 minutes for the forging course.
In any case, in the water rinsing, the rotational speed of the drum (30) is maintained at a low speed or higher so that the rinsing efficiency can be improved as described above.
In any course, when the amount of water used by the water discharge means (50) is less than the amount of water used by the water injection means (42) and water is supplied by the water discharge means (50), the dehydration time in the rinsing process Is made longer than when water is supplied by the water injection means (42), so that the rinsing efficiency is increased with a small amount of water.

  Further, in order to increase the rinsing efficiency and reduce the uneven distribution of the laundry, the drum (30) is started from the start of dehydration in the agitation step indicated by C in FIG. 8 and FIG. 9 and the final dehydration (indicated by D in the figure). It is desirable to supply water from the water discharge means (50) while increasing the number of revolutions of the water and continuing the continuous dehydration. Rinsing efficiency can be improved by incorporating rinsing even in final dehydration.

In the above embodiment, the drum type washing machine (10) rotating with the drum (30) inclined is described, but the present invention can also be applied to a drum type washing machine in which the rotation axis of the drum (30) is horizontal. .
Further, the water discharge unit (53) of the water discharge means (50) is not limited to the above embodiment, for example, a nozzle having a water discharge head (55) whose tip is directed to the back side of the drum (30), and a large number of holes. It can also be configured as a shower head established by
Furthermore, a drying process using a drying unit (64) can be added to the washing course as appropriate.

  INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY The present invention is useful as a drum-type washing machine that can increase the rinsing efficiency in water discharge rinsing.

It is a figure which shows the outline of the drum type washing machine of this invention. It is sectional drawing which simplifies and shows the support state of a housing and an outer tank. It is sectional drawing which shows the vicinity of a water discharge means. It is an expanded sectional view of a water discharge means. It is a principal part enlarged view of an annular member. It is a block diagram of a control means. It is a timing chart figure of the rinse process of this invention. It is a chart figure of the standard course of the present invention. It is a chart figure of the drilling course of the present invention. It is a chart figure of the conventional standard course.

Explanation of symbols

(10) Drum type washing machine
(12) Body
(20) Outer tank
(30) Drum
(40) Water supply valve unit
(42) Water injection method
(50) Water discharge means
(55) Water discharge head
(60) Drainage means
(70) Control means

Claims (7)

An outer tub supported in the housing, a drum that is loaded with laundry, and rotates in a horizontal or inclined state, a motor that rotates the drum, a water discharge means that directly pours water on the laundry in the drum, In a drum-type washing machine comprising a drainage means for discharging water in the tank, and a control means for controlling the motor, the water discharge means and the drainage means in the washing step, the rinsing step and the dewatering step,
During the rinsing process, the control means, after dehydration, supplies water by the water discharge means while driving the motor to rotate the drum without stopping at a rotational speed higher than the resonance rotational speed of the drum, A drum-type washing machine that drains water from a tank. 2. The drum type washing machine according to claim 1, wherein the control unit controls the motor so that the number of rotations of the drum when water is supplied by the water discharge unit in the rinsing process is lower than the number of rotations of the drum in the dehydration process. . Controlled by the control means, comprising water injection means for supplying water into the outer tub,
In the rinsing process, the control means reduces the amount of water used by the water discharge means to be less than the amount of water used by the water injection means, and when water is supplied by the water discharge means, the dehydration time in the rinsing process is supplied by the water injection means. The drum type washing machine according to claim 1 or 2 , wherein the drum type washing machine is made longer than the case. Controlled by the control means, comprising water injection means for supplying water into the outer tub,
The drum type washing machine according to any one of claims 1 to 3 , wherein the control means controls the first rinsing by the water discharging means and the second rinsing by the water pouring means in the rinsing step. The drum-type washing machine according to any one of claims 1 to 4 , wherein the control means performs water supply by the water discharge means while the rotation speed of the drum is increased in the dehydration step. Connected to the control means, comprising water amount detection means for measuring the amount of water in the outer tub,
When the amount of water in the outer tub measured by the water amount detection means is less than a predetermined value when rinsing in the state where water is accumulated inside the drum by the water injection means in the rinsing step, the control means is The drum type washing machine according to any one of claims 1 to 5 , wherein rinsing is performed while water is supplied by a water discharge means. The water injection means can supply the pooled water such as bath water by sucking with a pump, and the control means can switch the water supply by the water discharge means to the water supply by the water injection means when supplying water by suction with the pump. The drum type washing machine according to any one of claims 1 to 6 , wherein rinsing is performed in a state where water is stored in a tank or in a state where water can be discharged from a drainage means.

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