JPH0435684A - Washing machine - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To control the washing and the rinsing by detecting the dirty condition by the variation of transmissivity from a clear water condition with no muddiness prior to a rinsing and churning. CONSTITUTION:The output of a transmissivity detecting device is regulated in the condition a clear water prior to a rinsing and churning is fed to a washtub 1, the output regulating data are stored, and the washing and the rinsing are controlled by the variation of the signals of a light sensor 6 from the clear water. As a result, by detecting the variation of transmissivity from the clear water prior to the rinsing and churning, the degree of dirt and the difference between a liquid cleanser and a powder cleanser can be discriminated, and it is also discriminated whether the dirt of washing is cleaned easily or not by detecting the variation with the time of the muddiness. Consequently, the washing time and the rinsing time can be controlled.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a washing machine that controls washing, rinsing, etc. operations depending on the dirtiness of the washing liquid.

2. Description of the Related Art A prior art technique in which a transmittance detection device consisting of a light emitting element and a light receiving element is provided near the drain outlet of a washing tub to detect dirt in the washing liquid and control the washing or rinsing operation is disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication No. 61-50595, for example. There is something shown in the publication. This method measures the time until the transparency of washing water reaches a set value (for example, 20%) or less, determines the size of dirt, and controls washing.

However, the degree of decrease in permeability varies depending on the amount of dirt, the quality of the dirt, and the type of detergent (liquid, powder, etc.). It is impossible to judge accurately. In addition, when measuring transmittance, it is difficult to determine the size of dirt using conventional methods, as there are problems with dirt on the mounting part of the light receiving and emitting elements, and timing issues such as whether detergent is added before stirring or before water supply. Ta.

In view of the above problems, an object of the present invention is to control washing or rinsing operation by detecting the amount of dirt and the rate of change in dirt.

Means for Solving the Problems In order to achieve the above object, the first technical means according to the present invention is to detect the amount of dirt based on the change in permeability from clean water, and to detect the amount of dirt from the clean water state before rinsing and stirring. Dirt is detected based on changes in transmittance. For this purpose, after the completion of rinsing water supply, the light emitting output of the light emitting element is controlled so that the output signal of the transmittance detection device becomes the set value, and dirt is detected based on the change from the set value.

The second technical means of the present invention is to control the light emitting output of the transmittance detection device before the second rinsing water supply or rinse agitation to detect the change in transmittance from fresh water that is as transparent as possible, and to output the optical sensor output. It controls the signal to a set value. In particular, the second rinsing water is clearer than the first rinsing water, and furthermore, the water supply or the washing liquid before rinsing and agitation is clear, and the detection of turbidity changes from clear water can be used to detect dirt. This makes it possible to improve detection accuracy.

According to the first technical means of the present invention, the output of the permeability detection device is adjusted while the clear water before rinsing and agitation is supplied to the washing tub, and the output adjustment data is stored. Washing and rinsing are controlled by changes in the optical sensor output signal from the washing machine. By detecting changes in transmittance from clear water before rinsing and stirring, it is possible to distinguish between the size of dirt and whether it is a liquid detergent or a powder detergent.Also, by detecting temporal changes in turbidity, it is possible to identify stains that are difficult to remove. It is possible to determine whether the stain is easy to remove, and control when washing and rinsing is possible.

According to the second technical means of the present invention, since the output of the permeability detection device is adjusted before the second rinsing agitation, the turbidity of the washing water can be detected by detecting the change in permeability from more transparent water. becomes accurate. In particular, even if slightly cloudy leftover bath water is used in the first rinse, almost no leftover bath water is used in the second rinse, so changes in transmittance from clear water can be detected. Further, since the output adjustment data of the permeability detection device is stored and used for the next washing and the output adjustment of the permeability detection device for the first rinse, more accurate turbidity change detection is possible.

Embodiment FIG. 1 shows an embodiment showing the structure of a washing machine according to the present invention. Reference numeral 1 is a washing tub for storing washing liquid, and 2 is a washing and dehydrating tub, which has a plurality of dehydrating holes in its cylindrical peripheral wall.

3 is a stirring blade provided at the bottom of the washing and dehydrating tank 2. 4 is a drain valve, and 5 is a drain cock that connects the washing tub 1 and the drain valve 4. Reference numeral 6 denotes an optical sensor composed of a light emitting element and a light receiving element. Reference numeral 7 denotes a water supply valve, which has a first water supply lower' on the water outlet side for supplying water to the washing tub 1, and a second water supply lower' which is connected to the drain nick 5 near the optical sensor 6 through a water supply pipe 8. Reference numeral 9 denotes a washing motor, which drives a deceleration clutch mechanism 10 to drive the agitation blades 3.

FIG. 2 shows an embodiment of a washing machine control device according to the present invention. 11 is an AC power supply, 12 is a control device, and motor 9.
Drain valve 4. Controls the water supply valve 7, etc. 9' is a phase advance capacitor of the motor 9. 13 is a signal control circuit consisting of a microcombination unit and its peripheral circuits, and 14 is a switching circuit for controlling power components. Reference numeral 15 denotes an operation display circuit, which consists of a key manual switch and a display device. 6 is a light sensor, and 16 is a water level sensor. A cloth amount sensor 17 counts the number of attenuation pulses of the phase advance capacitor 9' due to inertial rotation during washing and agitation, and determines the amount of cloth.

FIG. 3 shows an embodiment of the output adjustment circuit of the optical sensor 6 according to the present invention, in which 13' is a pulse width control (PWM) function, an A/D
It is a microcomputer with a built-in conversion function, 18 is a storage means such as a non-volatile memory, and 19 is an optical sensor output adjustment circuit. 190 is a D/A conversion circuit that converts the PWM signal into an analog voltage, and a transistor 19 that controls the light emission output.
1 base voltage is controlled. 192 is the transistor 19
It has a constant current function with an emitter resistance of 1. 193 a.

Reference numeral 193b denotes an output resistor of the optical sensor 6, which is connected in series, and performs on/off control of the transistor 195 from the output terminal SW of the microcomputer 13' via a resistor 194 to short-circuit the output resistor 193b.

FIG. 4 shows changes in the output voltage of the optical sensor. During the water supply period, the output voltage is controlled to a constant reference value VO. As washing and agitation starts, the sensor voltage decreases due to dirt. If the sensor voltage is saturated at T1 and the voltage at that time is v1, then V+
The smaller /Vo or the larger ΔV−VoV+, the larger the amount of dirt. Also, the time until saturation T =
= T + T.

The longer the time, the more dirt there is. For mud stains, ΔV is large and Ts
becomes shorter, and an additional washing time Tp is required in addition to the washing time Ts. The additional washing time TF is determined by the amount of dirt (V + / V
o) and the saturation time to determine the optimum washing time. T]~T2 is a drainage period, T2-T3 is an intermediate dehydration period, and T3-T4 and T6-T7 are rinsing water supply periods. T4-T5 is the stirring step of rinse 1, T7-T
8 is the stirring step of rinsing 2. During the rinsing water supply, fresh water is directly supplied from the water supply valve through the water supply hose into the drain cock near the optical sensor. At this time, the output voltage of the optical sensor is adjusted using the PWM signal and the output resistance switching signal.

FIG. 5 shows the relationship between optical sensor output voltage change vI/vO and dirt (absorbance). According to Lambert-Beer's law, if the light emission output is fixed by adjusting it to the output voltage VO in the case of fresh water and the output voltage of the unknown liquid is v1, then v1/Vo = eXI
) (1-"ΔK). l is the distance between the optical sensors, and Δ is the change in absorbance. The difference between the absorbance of clean water and the absorbance of an unknown liquid is considered to be a change due to dirt. From this formula, the drain cock It can be seen that the absorbance change (stain) from clean water can be detected regardless of the dirt inside the water, and the amount of dirt can be detected by taking the logarithm value.

FIG. 6 shows an embodiment of a flowchart of control according to the present invention. Reference numeral 131 reads output adjustment data from the storage means and controls the light emission output to be constant.

132 is a cloth amount detection subroutine that supplies water to a minimum amount, rotates the stirring blade, determines the amount of cloth, and supplies water up to the determined water level. Washing and agitation is started at 133, an optical sensor signal is periodically inputted, and the voltage change per unit time is checked at 134. 185, 136, and 137 determine whether the detergent is a liquid detergent or a powder detergent by checking the magnitude of the sensor voltage from the set value Vχ after a certain period of time has passed since the start of washing. Reference numeral 138 checks whether the washing time has reached the set time. If the set time has not been reached, the rate of change of the sensor voltage per unit time is checked to see if the saturation point has been reached. If the sensor voltage change within a unit time falls within a predetermined range, a saturation detection flag is set (142).

If the washing time at that time is T1 and the sensor voltage at that time is V, then the longer TI is, the harder it is to remove dirt, the longer the washing time is, and the lower the sensor voltage V1 is, the bigger the dirt is. Make the time longer. T and V can create more fuzzy rules and make fuzzy inferences about the washing time to set the optimal washing time (143).

Liquid detergents and powder detergents have different saturation times and different sensor voltages V1 even with the same degree of dirt, so the fuzzy inference rules are different. v(high), ΔV=VoV+ is smaller than that of powdered detergent, and T is a little longer, so the rules for determining the size of dirt are different.

FIG. 7 shows an embodiment of a method for adjusting the output of the transmittance detection device according to the present invention. During the second rinse (at 145), it is determined whether the set water level is reached, and if the set water level has not been reached, the water supply valve is turned on at 146. 147 opens the drain valve for a certain period of time, turns on the water supply valve, and cleans the drain cock near the permeability detection device. When the set water level is reached, the water supply valve is turned off and the output voltage of the permeability detection device is controlled to the reference value Vo at steps 148 and 149. When the sensor voltage is set to the reference value VO, the output control data is stored in the storage means at 150, and a completion flag is set at 151. If the output adjustment is not completed within a certain period of time, an abnormality flag is set and the process proceeds to the next rinsing and stirring step 152. For a certain period of time (
After rinsing (1 minute diameter) and stirring, if the sensor voltage becomes equal to or higher than the reference value in 153 and the turbidity is small, it is determined that rinsing is complete, and the process proceeds to the next step in 154. If the turbidity is higher than the reference value, water is supplied in step 155 and the amount of rinsing water is increased. Step 156 determines whether the maximum rinsing time tmax has been reached. If the turbidity does not reach the reference value even if the rinsing time tR exceeds tIIlaX, rinsing is set three times in 157, and the next step is performed. Moving on to 158.

Effects of the Invention As described above, the present invention performs the output voltage adjustment 1 light emission output control of the permeability detection device before rinsing and agitation and after the water supply is completed, and stores the output voltage control data in the storage means so that it can be used for the next washing. Since it is used for stain detection, stains in the washing liquid can be detected by detecting changes in turbidity from transparent water, and stains on the optical sensor mounting part can be canceled. Furthermore, since the output voltage of the permeability detection device is always controlled after rinsing water is supplied, the accuracy of detecting turbidity changes from clear water is improved. In addition, since the output voltage adjustment 9 light output control is performed before the second rinse and agitation, the rinse water will be clearer than the first, and the remaining water from the bath will not be used, and the turbidity will be reduced from the clearer water. Since it detects changes,
The accuracy of dirt detection is improved.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a washing machine according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a control device according to the present invention, FIG. 3 is a circuit diagram showing an embodiment of the optical sensor output voltage adjustment circuit according to the present invention, and FIG.
5 is a diagram showing the optical sensor output voltage change during washing and rinsing operations, FIG. 5 is a diagram showing the staining of the optical sensor and output voltage change characteristics, FIG. FIG. 7 is a control flowchart for adjusting the optical sensor output voltage. 1...Washing tub, 5...Drain cock, 4
...Drain valve, 6a...Light emitting element, 6b.
... Light receiving element, 6 ... Light sensor, 7'.
...First water supply port, 7'...Second water supply port, 7...Water supply valve, 8...Water supply hose, 12... ...control device, 18..., storage means. Name of agent: Patent attorney Shigetaka Awano (1 person)

Claims (2)

[Claims] (1) A washing tub, a drain cock and a drain valve provided at the bottom of the washing tub, an optical sensor including a light emitting element and a light receiving element attached to the drain cock and detecting the permeability of the washing liquid, and the washing tub. and a control device that controls washing and rinsing operations, and the control device controls the optical sensor output voltage or the optical sensor issued output before rinsing and agitation, and stores the control data in a storage means. A washing machine characterized by: (2) a washing tub; a drain cock and a drain valve provided at the bottom of the washing tub; an optical sensor that is attached to the drain cock and includes a light-emitting element and a light-receiving element for detecting the permeability of the washing liquid; and the washing tub. and a control device that controls washing and rinsing operations, and the control device controls the optical sensor output voltage or the optical sensor issued output before the second stirring of rinsing, and transmits the control data to the A washing machine characterized by storing information in a storage means.