JP7625405B2 - washing machine - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a washing machine that has a function for automatically dispensing liquid agents (such as liquid detergent and fabric softener) into a washing tub and is equipped with a liquid agent tank that contains the liquid agents that are automatically dispensed.

Washing machines are known that have a function for automatically dispensing liquid agents such as liquid detergent and fabric softener into the washing tub. Such washing machines are equipped with a removable liquid agent tank (detergent tank and fabric softener tank), and the liquid agent that is automatically dispensed into the washing tub is stored in the liquid agent tank.

Patent Document 1 discloses a washing machine in which the liquid agent tank is located behind (on the back side of) the washing tub. In the case of a vertical washing machine, in order to position the washing tub closer to the front of the washing machine, it is preferable to position the liquid agent tank on the rear side of the washing machine.

Patent No. 3544875

However, when the liquid tank is placed behind the washing tub, there are also connection parts at the rear of the washing machine for connecting a water supply hose, bath water hose, etc., making it difficult to secure the space and capacity for the liquid tank. In addition, there is room for improvement in terms of the ease of attaching and detaching the liquid tank from the washing machine when the liquid tank is placed behind the washing tub.

The present invention was made in consideration of the above problems, and aims to provide a washing machine that can secure the space and capacity for the liquid agent tank and that allows the liquid agent tank to be easily attached and detached.

In order to solve the above problems, the washing machine of the present invention is a washing machine that has a function of automatically dispensing a liquid agent into a washing tub and is equipped with a liquid agent tank that contains the liquid agent to be automatically dispensed, and the liquid agent tank has a horizontally elongated shape with the width direction of the washing machine as its longitudinal direction, and is disposed in a tank storage area that is formed across the entire width of the washing machine in the width direction, and a water supply hose connection part is provided behind the tank storage area.

According to the above configuration, the liquid agent tank has a horizontally elongated shape with the width direction as the longitudinal direction, and the tank storage area is formed to span the entire width of the washing machine, so the tank storage area can also have a small dimension in the front-to-rear direction of the washing machine. Therefore, even if a water supply hose connection section is provided behind the tank storage area, it is possible to ensure space for the liquid agent tank while suppressing an increase in the front-to-rear dimension of the washing machine as a whole. Furthermore, by increasing the width dimension of the liquid agent tank, sufficient liquid agent capacity is ensured, and it is possible to suppress an increase in not only the depth dimension but also the height dimension. This makes it easier for the user to insert and remove the liquid agent tank when attaching or detaching it from the washing machine.

In addition, in the washing machine, the tank storage area can be configured to be located behind a top lid that covers the laundry inlet of the washing machine.

With the above configuration, the size and weight of the top lid can be reduced by the dimensions of the tank storage area, making it easier for users to open and close the top lid.

The washing machine may be configured to include a plurality of the liquid agent tanks, and the plurality of liquid agent tanks may be arranged side-by-side in the tank storage area.

The washing machine may also have a sheet metal member in front of the tank storage area, and the hinge shaft of the top lid may be attached to the sheet metal member.

With the above configuration, when the top lid is opened or closed, the load on the hinge shaft is absorbed by the sheet metal member, and deformation of the storage location of the liquid agent tank in the washing machine housing due to the load of the hinge shaft can be suppressed.

The washing machine of the present invention has an elongated liquid tank and a tank storage area that spans the entire width of the washing machine, thereby achieving the effect of ensuring space for the liquid tank while suppressing an increase in the overall front-to-rear dimension of the washing machine. Furthermore, the liquid tank has an increased width dimension to ensure sufficient liquid capacity, and the height dimension is suppressed from increasing, which also achieves the effect of making it easier for users to insert and remove the liquid tank.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an embodiment of the present invention, illustrating a configuration near an upper portion of a washing machine. FIG. 2 is a top view of the washing machine of FIG. 1 . FIG. FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the outer case of the detergent dispenser case, seen obliquely from below and at a front angle. FIG. FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a method for automatically dispensing a liquid agent into a washing machine and a method for manually dispensing a liquid agent or a powder detergent. FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a sheet metal member used in a washing machine.

[First embodiment]
Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. Fig. 1 is a perspective view showing a configuration near the upper part of a washing machine 1 according to the first embodiment. Fig. 2 is a top view of the washing machine 1. The external housing of the washing machine 1 is divided into an upper panel 10 and a lower housing shown in Fig. 1. A washing tub and the like are disposed inside the lower housing, but as this part is a known configuration, detailed description thereof will be omitted here.

The top panel 10 is provided with a top lid 11 that covers the top surface of the washing machine 1 (i.e., covers the laundry inlet). The top lid 11 is connected to the top panel 10 via a hinge at its rear end (the rear side of the washing machine 1), and can be opened and closed by vertically rotating the front end of the top lid 11. As shown in FIG. 2, the washing machine 1 is provided with a tank storage area Rt behind the top lid 11, and a water supply hose area Rh is provided behind the tank storage area Rt and at the rear of the top surface of the washing machine 1.

The tank storage area Rt is configured to store a detergent tank 20 and a fabric softener tank 21 as liquid tanks. The tank storage area Rt is covered with a lid 12 (see FIG. 1), and opening the lid 12 exposes the top surfaces of the detergent tank 20 and fabric softener tank 21. The lid 12, like the top lid 11, is connected to the top panel 10 via a hinge at its rear end, and can be opened and closed by rotating the front end of the lid 12 up and down. Note that the lid 12 is not shown in FIG. 2 so that the storage state of the detergent tank 20 and fabric softener tank 21 can be visually confirmed.

By separating the top lid 11 and the lid 12, the size and weight of the top lid 11 can be reduced by the dimensions of the tank storage area Rt, making it easier for the user to open and close the top lid 11. In addition, since the lid 12 can be made to protrude above the rear end of the top lid 11, the liquid tank can be easily made large-capacity without complicating the structure of the top lid 11 or compromising the design. Note that if the capacity of the liquid tank does not need to be large, the lid 12 can be integrated with the top lid 11, and the top lid 11 can also cover the tank storage area Rt.

The water supply hose area Rh is provided with a water supply hose connection port (water supply hose connection section) 13 so that a hose can be connected to a water faucet. The water supply hose area Rh may also be provided with a bath water hose insertion port 14 and (when the washing machine 1 to which the present invention is applied is a washer-dryer) an exhaust port 15 for the drying unit. The bath water hose insertion port 14 may be covered with a lid 16 (see FIG. 1, not shown in FIG. 2) when not in use.

Figure 3 is a perspective view of a detergent tank 20, which is an example of a liquid tank. The detergent tank 20 has a width dimension that is sufficiently longer than the depth dimension (the width direction is the longitudinal direction), and has a horizontally elongated, approximately rectangular parallelepiped shape that is short in the front-to-rear direction. In the explanation here, the dimensional directions of the detergent tank 20 correspond to the respective directions of the washing machine 1 when it is stored in the washing machine 1. In addition, the shape of the fabric softener tank 21 is approximately symmetrical to the shape of the detergent tank 20.

The tank storage area Rt is formed across the entire width of the washing machine 1, and the detergent tank 20 and fabric softener tank 21 are arranged side-by-side in the tank storage area Rt. And because the detergent tank 20 and fabric softener tank 21 have a long, horizontal shape that is short in the front-to-rear direction, the tank storage area Rt can also be made small in the front-to-rear dimension of the washing machine 1. Therefore, even if a water supply hose area Rh is further provided behind the tank storage area Rt, the increase in the overall front-to-rear dimension of the washing machine 1 can be suppressed.

In addition, the detergent tank 20 and fabric softener tank 21 have a large width dimension to ensure sufficient liquid capacity, and not only are their depth dimensions reduced, but their height dimensions are also kept from becoming too large. This makes it easier for the user to insert and remove the detergent tank 20 and fabric softener tank 21 from the washing machine 1.

The washing machine 1 according to the present embodiment 1 is capable of not only automatically dispensing liquid agents such as liquid detergent and fabric softener, but also manually dispensing liquid agents and powder detergent, and therefore has a detergent dispenser case 30 as shown in FIG. 4. The detergent dispenser case 30 is disposed in the approximate center of the width of the washing machine 1. The detergent dispenser case 30 is also disposed below the detergent tank 20 and fabric softener tank 21.

The detergent dispenser case 30 comprises an outer case 31 and a drawer-type manual dispenser case 32, and FIG. 4 shows the manual dispenser case 32 pulled out from the outer case 31. The front of the manual dispenser case 32 is exposed to the outside when the top lid 11 is opened, allowing the user to pull the manual dispenser case 32 forward to refill the manual dispenser case 32 with detergent (liquid detergent or powder detergent) and fabric softener.

The manual input case 32 is provided with a liquid detergent input section 32a, a powder detergent input section 32b, and a fabric softener input section 32c. The outer case 31 is provided with the water supply hose connection port 13 described above, and when the detergent input case 30 is attached to the washing machine 1, the water supply hose connection port 13 is exposed on the top surface of the washing machine 1. The detergent input case 30 is also provided with a valve mechanism 33 (see FIG. 6) described later, which switches the water supply path of tap water supplied from the water supply hose connection port 13 by the valve mechanism 33, so that water can be supplied to the manual input case 32 through the desired water supply path. The water supplied to the manual input case 32 is discharged to the outside of the detergent input case 30 from a water supply port 34 provided at the bottom of the outer case 31 while dissolving the detergent or fabric softener, and is supplied to the washing tub of the washing machine 1.

Figure 5 is a diagram showing the inside of the external case 31 with the manual insertion case 32 removed, and is a perspective view of the external case 31 seen from diagonally below the front. As shown in Figure 5, the ceiling of the space in the external case 31 where the manual insertion case 32 is stored is provided with a shower hole outlet 31a for detergent and a shower hole outlet 31b for fabric softener. When the manual insertion case 32 is attached, the shower hole outlet 31a is located above the liquid detergent input section 32a and the powder detergent input section 32b, and is used when detergent is input into the washing tub. When the manual insertion case 32 is attached, the shower hole outlet 31b is located above the fabric softener input section 32c, and is used when fabric softener is input into the washing tub. In this way, water is supplied to the manual insertion case 32 in a shower-like manner from the shower hole outlet 31a or 31b to prevent detergent and fabric softener from remaining undissolved.

In addition, if the washing machine 1 has a bath water hose insertion port 14, the external case 31 may be provided with a hose insertion port 35 (see FIG. 4) that communicates with the bath water hose insertion port 14. This allows the bath water hose to be inserted into the hose insertion port 35 to receive a supply of bath water when using bath water for washing. The bath water supplied from the hose insertion port 35 can be supplied to the washing tub from the water supply port 34. However, in this case, the bath water does not have to pass through the manual input case 32.

Figure 6 is a block diagram for explaining the automatic addition of liquid agents to the washing machine 1 and the manual addition of liquid agents or powder detergent. As shown in Figure 6, the tap water supplied from the water supply hose connection port 13 can have its water supply path switched by a five-valve mechanism 33 having water supply valves V1 to V5.

The water supply valves V1 and V2 are used when liquid is automatically dispensed from the liquid tanks (detergent tank 20 and fabric softener tank 21) (when liquid is automatically dispensed, water supply valves V3 to V5 are closed). The water supply valve V1 is connected to the detergent exchange chamber 42a via a negative pressure pipe 41a. The water supply valve V2 is connected to the fabric softener exchange chamber 42b via a negative pressure pipe 41b. The negative pressure pipes 41a and 41b are connected by a connecting water supply path 43, and the negative pressure pipes 41a and 41b can generate negative pressure in the connecting water supply path 43 by the Venturi effect. Furthermore, a flow meter 44 is arranged in the connecting water supply path 43.

The detergent tank 20 is connected to the detergent exchange chamber 42a via a check valve 45a, and the fabric softener tank 21 is connected to the fabric softener exchange chamber 42b via a check valve 45b. Furthermore, a float valve 46a is provided downstream of the detergent exchange chamber 42a, and a float valve 46b is provided downstream of the fabric softener exchange chamber 42b. The water supply paths after the float valves 46a and 46b join together and are connected to the washing tub 50 via the detergent dispenser case 30.

First, the automatic dispensing operation when a specified amount of liquid detergent is automatically dispensed from the detergent tank 20 will be described. In the first stage of the automatic liquid detergent dispensing operation, water is supplied from the water supply hose connection port 13 while both water supply valves V1 and V2 are open. This water supply causes water to flow through the water supply path via the water supply valve V1, negative pressure pipe 41a, detergent exchange chamber 42a, and float valve 46a, and through the water supply path via the water supply valve V2, negative pressure pipe 41b, fabric softener exchange chamber 42b, and float valve 46b. In other words, at this time, tap water pushes up the float valves 46a and 46b, respectively, to open them.

In this first stage of operation, the detergent replacement chamber 42a and the fabric softener replacement chamber 42b are filled with tap water. However, the check valves 45a and 45b are both closed, and no liquid flows from the detergent tank 20 and the fabric softener tank 21 into the detergent replacement chamber 42a and the fabric softener replacement chamber 42b. In addition, there is almost no flow in the connecting water supply path 43.

When the detergent exchange chamber 42a and fabric softener exchange chamber 42b are filled with tap water by the first stage operation, the water supply valves V1 and V2 are temporarily closed, and the float valves 46a and 46b are lowered to the closed state.

In the second stage, only the water supply valve V2 is opened to supply water from the water supply hose connection port 13. This causes water to flow through the water supply path via the water supply valve V2, negative pressure pipe 41b, fabric softener exchange chamber 42b, and float valve 46b, generating negative pressure in the negative pressure pipe 41b. This negative pressure causes tap water to flow from the negative pressure pipe 41a to the negative pressure pipe 41b in the connected water supply path 43. Meanwhile, because both the water supply valve V1 and the float valve 46a are closed, negative pressure is also created in the detergent exchange chamber 42a, which opens the check valve 45a and draws liquid detergent from the detergent tank 20 into the detergent exchange chamber 42a.

In the second stage of operation, the same amount of liquid detergent as the tap water flowing through the connecting water supply path 43 is drawn from the detergent tank 20 into the detergent exchange chamber 42a. Therefore, in the second stage, the flow rate of the tap water flowing through the connecting water supply path 43 is measured by the flow meter 44, and when the measurement value of the flow meter 44 reaches a specified value, the water supply valve V2 is closed to end the second stage of operation. At the end of the second stage, the liquid detergent drawn from the detergent tank 20 remains only in the detergent exchange chamber 42a and does not flow into the connecting water supply path 43.

In the following third stage, water is supplied from the water supply hose connection port 13 while both water supply valves V1 and V2 are open again. As a result, a mixture of tap water and liquid detergent is sent from the detergent exchange chamber 42a to the washing tub 50, and tap water is sent from the fabric softener exchange chamber 42b to the washing tub 50. That is, the liquid detergent drawn into the detergent exchange chamber 42a in the above-mentioned second stage is poured into the washing tub 50 in the third stage. When a sufficient amount of water has been supplied to replace all of the water in all water supply paths with tap water, the water supply valves V1 and V2 are closed, and the automatic liquid detergent supply operation ends.

The automatic dispensing operation when automatically dispensing a specified amount of fabric softener from the fabric softener tank 21 can be performed in the same manner as the automatic dispensing operation of liquid detergent. However, in the automatic dispensing operation of fabric softener, only the water supply valve V1 is opened in the second stage. As a result, in the automatic dispensing operation of fabric softener, negative pressure is generated on the fabric softener exchange chamber 42b side, the check valve 45b opens, and fabric softener is drawn from the fabric softener tank 21 into the fabric softener exchange chamber 42b.

In the above description, the water supply path in the automatic detergent or fabric softener dispensing operation passes through the detergent dispenser case 30 on the way, but does not pass through the manual dispenser case 32 (i.e., the liquid detergent dispenser 32a, the powder detergent dispenser 32b, and the fabric softener dispenser 32c). This prevents liquid detergent or fabric softener from remaining on the edge of the shower hole outlet 31a or 31b, drying, and accumulating. Also, it is not essential that the water supply path in the automatic detergent or fabric softener dispensing operation passes through the detergent dispenser case 30 on the way.

Next, the operation of manually adding detergent or fabric softener will be described. When manually adding detergent, a predetermined amount of detergent is added to the manual addition case 32 by the user. Specifically, liquid detergent is added to the liquid detergent input section 32a, and powder detergent is added to the powder detergent input section 32b. Water is supplied at this time by opening the water supply valve V3. The water supply valve V3 is connected to the shower hole outlet 31a, and the detergent added to the liquid detergent input section 32a or powder detergent input section 32b can be added to the washing tub 50 while dissolving it.

When manually adding fabric softener, the user adds a predetermined amount of fabric softener to the fabric softener insertion section 32c of the manual insertion case 32. Water is supplied at this time by opening the water supply valve V4. The water supply valve V4 is connected to the shower hole outlet 31b, and the fabric softener added to the fabric softener insertion section 32c can be added to the washing tub 50 while dissolving it.

The water supply valve V5 is a water supply valve for supplying shower water to the washing tub 50. The shower water supply to the washing tub 50 can be used when pouring water into the washing tub 50 or during the laundry rinsing process, but is not an essential component of the present invention.

The washing machine 1 according to the present embodiment 1 has a detergent dispenser case 30 as shown in FIG. 4, and the outer case 31 of the detergent dispenser case 30 is configured with a water supply path including automatic liquid dispenser and manual dispenser of liquid or powder detergent. This makes it possible to omit piping between units when realizing the automatic liquid dispenser function by adding another unit, which is expected to reduce manufacturing costs and improve durability.

In addition, in the detergent dispenser case 30 according to the first embodiment, the connection ports 36a and 36b with the detergent tank 20 and the softener tank 21 are arranged toward the center in the width direction, and are connected to each other in the width direction by the connecting portion 37. The connecting portion 37 is located above the top surface 38 of the water supply path in which the shower hole outlets 31a and 31b are formed, and the connecting portion 37 and the top surface 38 are connected via the connecting portion 39. With this configuration, the top surface 38 of the water supply path, the connecting portion 39, and the connecting portion 37 can reinforce both the connection ports 36a and 36b with the detergent tank 20 and the softener tank 21. As shown in FIG. 6, the connecting ports 36a and 36b are provided with check valves 45a and 45b, respectively, and the valves open and close depending on the pressure in the detergent exchange chamber 42a and the softener exchange chamber 42b. Therefore, if the shape of the connecting portion 37 is distorted, the check valves 45a and 45b may not function normally. On the other hand, because gaskets and the like are provided at the connection ports 36a and 36b to maintain watertightness with the detergent tank 20 and fabric softener tank 21, they are susceptible to stress when the liquid tank is attached or detached. In the detergent dispenser case 30, the top surface 38 of the water supply path is structured to support the connecting part 37 from below, so that deformation of the connecting part 37 can be prevented by the vertical stress applied when the liquid tank is attached or detached.

[Embodiment 2]
The above-mentioned washing machine 1 has a sheet metal member 60 as shown in Fig. 7 in front of the tank storage area Rt. The sheet metal member 60 has a longitudinal direction that is the width direction of the washing machine 1, and has hinge attachment parts 61 on both sides in the longitudinal direction. In addition, an attachment part 62 for the top plate 10 is provided at the lower end of the sheet metal member 60 extending downward from the hinge attachment part 61. That is, in the washing machine 1, the hinge shaft of the top lid 11 covering the laundry inlet is attached to the hinge attachment part 61 of the sheet metal member 60, and the attachment part 62 of the sheet metal member 60 is fixed to the top plate 10 of the washing machine 1.

As a result, when the top lid 11 is opened or closed, the load on the hinge shaft is absorbed in the left-right and torsional stresses by the sheet metal member 60 arranged across the width of the washing machine 1. Therefore, the mounting portion 62 of the sheet metal member 60 is less likely to be subjected to different stresses on the left and right, and uneven loads on the left and right of the top panel 10, which is a resin member, can be prevented from being applied. As a result, deformation of the top panel 10 due to the load of the hinge shaft can be prevented, and deformation of the storage locations of the detergent tank 20 and the fabric softener tank 21 on the top panel 10 can be prevented even if the tank storage area Rt for the detergent tank 20 and the fabric softener tank 21 is arranged across the entire width of the washing machine 1.

The embodiments disclosed herein are illustrative in all respects and are not intended to be a basis for a restrictive interpretation. Therefore, the technical scope of the present invention is not to be interpreted solely by the above-described embodiments, but is defined based on the claims. Furthermore, all modifications within the scope and meaning equivalent to the claims are included.

1 Washing machine 10 Top panel 11 Top cover 12 Cover 13 Water supply hose connection port (water supply hose connection part)
20 Detergent tank (liquid agent tank)
21 Softener tank (liquid agent tank)
30 Detergent dispenser case 31 External case 31a, 31b Shower hole outlet 32 Manual dispenser case 32a Liquid detergent dispenser section 32b Powder detergent dispenser section 32c Fabric softener dispenser section 33 Valve mechanism 34 Water supply port 41a, 41b Negative pressure tube 42a Detergent exchange chamber 42b Fabric softener exchange chamber 43 Connecting water supply path 44 Flow meter 45a, 45b Check valve 46a, 46b Float valve 50 Washing tub 60 Sheet metal member 61 Hinge mounting section Rt Tank storage area Rh Water supply hose area V1 to V5 Water supply valve

Claims (2)

A washing machine having a function of automatically dispensing a liquid agent into a washing tub and including a liquid agent tank for accommodating the liquid agent to be automatically dispensed,
The liquid agent tank has a horizontally elongated shape with the width direction of the washing machine as a longitudinal direction, and is disposed in a tank storage area formed across the entire width of the washing machine in the width direction;
The tank storage area is provided behind a top cover covering a laundry inlet of the washing machine,
A water supply hose connection portion is provided at the rear of the tank storage area,
A sheet metal member is provided in front of the tank storage area, the sheet metal member having a width direction of the washing machine as a longitudinal direction and a hinge mounting portion on both sides in the longitudinal direction, and a hinge shaft of the top cover is attached to the hinge mounting portion,
The washing machine is characterized in that a connection port to the liquid agent tank provided at the bottom of the tank storage area is supported from below. 2. The washing machine according to claim 1 ,
The liquid agent tank is provided in a plurality of tanks,
The plurality of liquid agent tanks are arranged side by side in the tank storage area,
The washing machine is characterized in that the multiple connection ports provided at the bottom of the tank storage area are supported from below while being connected to each other in the width direction.

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