JP4455910B2 - Drum washing machine - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a drum-type washing machine that performs washing by rotating a drum about a horizontal axis or an inclined axis, and in particular, high-concentration washing that performs washing operation by spraying a detergent solution directly on laundry put in the drum. The present invention relates to a drum-type washing machine having a function.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as a drum type washing machine, a so-called front loading type drum type washing machine (see, for example, Patent Document 1), which has an opening provided on a front end surface of a drum and a laundry is introduced from the front side, is disposed sideways. When both ends of the drum are closed and the drum is in a stationary state, the opening (drum lid) formed in the cylindrical portion of the drum stops upward, and the laundry is poured from the opening. A top-loading drum type washing machine has been proposed (see, for example, Patent Document 2). In addition, there is a front loading system in which the drum is inclined by about 10 ° to 30 ° with respect to the horizontal position to improve the laundry take-out performance.

  FIG. 7 is a longitudinal sectional view showing an example of a conventional top loading drum type washing machine. Hereinafter, the present invention will be described based on a top loading drum type washing machine. First, a general operation control method for washing with a drum type washing machine will be described. In a conventional top loading drum type washing machine, a cylindrical drum 3 is included in an outer tub 2 disposed inside a washing machine outer frame 1 in FIG. 1 so as to be rotatable around a horizontal rotating shaft 15. ing. The drum 3 is provided with a plurality of small dewatering holes 9 (diameter 3 to 5 mm), and the drum 3 is loaded with the laundry 4 and is rotationally driven by the rotational force of a motor as a rotational driving means. . Further, a plurality of (for example, three) lifters 17 are provided on the inner peripheral wall of the drum 3 at equal intervals on the inner peripheral wall of the drum 3, and when the drum 3 rotates while rotating forward or backward, The laundry 4 is scooped up by the lifter 17 and allowed to fall naturally, whereby the laundry 4 is washed.

  First, when the laundry 4 is put into the drum 3, the upper cover 6 provided on the upper flat part 5a of the top cover 5 provided on the uppermost part of the washing machine outer frame 1 is opened, and then the outer cover 6 is removed. The outer tank upper lid 7 provided at the upper part of the tank 2 is opened. Next, the drum lid 8 positioned at the drum circumference provided in the outer tub 2 is opened, and the laundry 4 is put into the drum 3.

Next, in the case of washing, each lid is sequentially operated in the reverse order from the lid open state described above and closed. That is, the drum lid 8 of the drum 3 is closed, then the upper lid 7 of the outer tub 2 is closed, and then the upper lid 6 located at the top cover 5a is closed. Thereafter, by pressing the power switch 11 of the control panel 10 disposed on the front surface of the top cover 5, water necessary for washing and rinsing is automatically supplied according to a preprogrammed control program. Start rinsing.
First, washing is performed through a flexible hose 13 that connects the detergent charging box 12 and the outer tub 2 while dissolving the detergent charged in the detergent charging box 12 disposed in the top cover 5 with water supplied. Then, a specified amount of water necessary for washing is supplied into the outer tub 2. The washing water containing the supplied detergent content gradually raises the water level from the bottom surface of the outer tub 2 and immerses the laundry 4 in the drum 3.

  When a required amount of washing water containing a specified amount of detergent is supplied into the outer tub 2, a DC brushless motor 26 that rotates the drum 3 is energized by a command from a water level detection means (not shown). The rotation of the drum 3 is started. The DC brushless motor 26 is an outer rotor type inverter motor. The outer rotor 14 is connected to the rotating shaft 15 of the drum 3, and the drum 3 rotates as the outer rotor 14 rotates. Inside the outer rotor 14, a stator 16 fixed to the outer tub 2 and wound with a coil is provided. The stator 16 and the outer rotor 14 constitute an inverter motor.

  As described above, at the time of washing, the laundry 4 is scraped upward by the plurality of lifters 17 projecting inside the drum 3 as the drum 3 rotates, and reaches almost the highest position at the height of the inner diameter of the drum 3. Then, it naturally falls toward the bottom of the drum 3. The washing is performed by dropping the laundry 4 with the drop in the inner diameter of the drum 3.

  Then, after the washing is finished, the washing water is drained from the drain hose 19 to the outside of the outer frame 1 by opening the drain valve 18 which is a draining means. After the drainage is finished, the drain valve 18 is closed and fresh water is supplied during washing. Water is fed into the outer tub 2 by the same control as the method. The amount of fresh water supplied at the time of rinsing is controlled to be slightly larger than the amount of fresh water at the time of washing so that the detergent contained in the laundry 4 can be efficiently rinsed. In addition, the drum 3 rotates in the forward direction during washing, and then reversely rotates after some pause time. However, since the rinsing is not a process of removing dirt attached to the laundry 4, the rotation of the drum 3 is performed. Drives forward and reverse rotation in a shorter time than during washing. And the resting time in the meantime is set a little longer, and the rotation is controlled while preventing the laundry 4 from being damaged.

  Next, when the rinsing is completed, the drain valve 18 is opened, and the rinse water is drained from the drain hose 19 to the outside of the washing machine outer frame 1. When drainage is completed, the process automatically proceeds to a step of dehydrating the moisture contained in the laundry 4. In the dehydration process, the outer rotor 14 of the DC brushless motor 26 rotates at high speed in one direction. As a result, the drum 3 rotates at a high speed, and the moisture in the laundry 4 is dehydrated from the dewatering hole 9 to the outer tub 2 by centrifugal force and drained from the drain valve 18 to the outside of the washing machine via the drain hose 19.

When the laundry 4 is not uniformly positioned on the inner peripheral wall of the drum 3 at the time of dehydration, the drum 3 rotates at a high speed and becomes an unbalanced load, and the outer tub 2 undergoes a large vertical vibration during the dehydration. Doing so may prevent normal dehydration operation.
This vertical vibration increases the vibration of the washing machine outer frame 1 to increase the vibration transmitted to the floor and also increases the noise. In order to eliminate this noise disturbance during dehydration, four anti-vibration mechanisms 20 are interposed at the bottom of the outer tub 2 and are supported on the base 50 at the bottom of the washing machine outer frame 1. The vibration isolating mechanism 20 absorbs the vertical vibration of the outer tub 2 and reduces vibration and noise even when the dehydration operation is performed with the laundry 4 in an unbalanced state during dehydration. The four vibration isolation mechanisms 20 are configured by any one of a hydraulic damper damping method, a friction damping method, an air damper damping method, and the like.

  Next, an inverter motor used in the drum type washing machine will be described based on a schematic diagram of the DC brushless motor 26 shown in FIG. As described above, the DC brushless motor 26 is of the outer rotor type. In this outer rotor type, a plurality of (for example, 24) magnets 21 are provided on the inner peripheral side wall of the rotating outer rotor 14. Yes. The stator 16 around which the coil 16 a is wound is located inside the outer rotor 14, and the stator 16 is fixed to the outer tub 2 by several fixing screws 25.

The rotation of the outer rotor 14 is transmitted to the drum 3 by fixing the rotating shaft 15 of the drum fixed to the outer rotor 14 to the flange fixed to the drum 3.
The stator 16 is provided with three magnetic pole detection elements 22a, 22b, and 22c having the same electrical angle θ3. As the electrical angle θ3 of the three magnetic pole detection elements 22a to 22c, one having 120 degrees or 60 degrees is generally used. In rare cases, two electrical angles are arranged at 90 degrees. Here, the electrical angle is an angle obtained by multiplying a value obtained by dividing the mechanical angle (one rotation of the motor by 360 degrees) by the number of magnetic poles to be 360 degrees, and the number of magnetic poles is 24 As a result, 15 degrees obtained by dividing the mechanical angle of 360 degrees by 24 corresponds to an electrical angle of 180 degrees.

  A position detecting magnet 23 is provided on the outer peripheral portion of the outer rotor 14, and the position thereof is provided at a position of θ 2 in electrical angle with respect to the magnet 21. θ2 is 30 degrees or 60 degrees in electrical angle. The positioning magnetic pole detection device 24 is fixedly supported by the outer tub 2, and passes through the position detection magnet 23 fixed to a part of the outer periphery of the outer rotor 14 each time the outer rotor 14 makes one rotation. To detect. The position of the positioning magnetic pole detection device 24 is located in the middle of two of the three magnetic pole detection elements 22a, 22b, and 22c.

  Incidentally, a plurality of magnets 21 arranged on the inner peripheral portion of the outer rotor 14 are equally provided so that the electrical angle θ1 is 180 degrees. The number of poles P is determined by the number of magnets 21. Increasing the number of magnets 21 increases the number of poles P, and the amount of movement during energization for each pulse that is energized when the DC brushless motor 26 is rotated decreases. As a result, the rotation accuracy increases. The magnet 21 used in the drum type washing machine that directly drives the drum is provided with 24 magnets having an electrical angle θ1 of 180 degrees (mechanical angle of 15 degrees).

Next, the operation control of the drum type washing machine will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 9 is a configuration diagram of a control device that operates the drum type washing machine under the control of the microcomputer.
The microcomputer 27 includes a timer 28, a CPU (central processing unit) 29, a memory 30, an input port 31, and an output port 32. The processing in the micro coin computer 27 is performed by exchanging data between the CPU 29 and the memory 30 through the data bus by the clock signal from the timer 28.

  The CPU 29 includes a calculation unit 29a and a control unit 29b, and forms the center of the system. The overall flow of program processing of the drum type washing machine, such as arithmetic operation, logical operation, read / write control of the contents of the specified address of the memory 30, input / output control to the specified address of the input / output port (31, 32), etc. Is controlled.

  The memory 30 stores both programs and data. The memory 30 includes two types, a RAM 30a having both reading and writing functions and a ROM 30b having only reading functions. The RAM 30a stores data necessary for processing and is used as a work area when the program is operated on the CPU 29. The ROM 30b is used for storing predetermined programs and fixed data and performing the same processing at any time. The input port 31 and the output port 32 are circuits that mediate when data is exchanged between the CPU 29 and each input device and output device, and are generally called I / O ports.

  The input port 31 receives electrical command signals from various switches and sensors provided in the drum type washing machine. For example, a power switch 11 for transmitting a washing start command to the CPU 29, a water level sensor 33 for detecting the water level in the drum type washing machine, a lid switch 34 for detecting the open / closed states of the upper lid 6, the outer tub upper lid 7, and the drum lid 8. Program selection switch 35 for selecting washing courses such as standard courses, soft courses, rush courses, etc. In addition to starting water supply, it has a function to temporarily stop operation during the washing, rinsing, draining and dehydration operation processes A stop switch 36, a detergent guide for measuring the amount of laundry and selecting an approximate amount of detergent, a cloth amount sensor 37, and the like are connected.

  Further, the output port 32 includes a drum driving motor for washing and dewatering, that is, a DC brushless motor 26, a water supply valve 38 for supplying water to the washing machine, a drain valve 18 for draining washing water to the outside, washing or An alarm 39 for notifying the operator of the completion of dewatering and a display panel 40 for notifying the operator of the progress of washing and dewatering of the drum type washing machine are connected. Then, based on information from the input devices such as sensors and switches connected to these input ports 31, the CPU 29 processes the program stored in the memory 30 and sends it to each control device via the output port 32. Issue a command. Thus, the operation of the drum type washing machine is controlled.

Next, based on the block diagram of the washing process of FIG. 10, the process of automatic operation from washing to rinsing and dehydration in a general drum-type washing machine will be described in the order of the processes.
[S101 / Water supply process]
When the washing machine presses the power switch 11 instructing the start of washing, the program selection switch 35 selects, for example, a standard course, and the start / stop switch 36 is pressed, the washing machine is disconnected from the water supply hose through the water supply valve (omitted). Water is supplied into the tank 2. A water level sensor 33 (not shown in FIG. 7) detects that a specified amount of washing water has entered the outer tub 2, and information from the water level sensor 33 is sent to the CPU 29 via the input port 31. The CPU 29 stops water supply to the washing machine based on the signal from the water level sensor 33.
[S102 / Laundry process]
After the water necessary for washing is supplied, for example, the washing operation is performed by rotating the drum 3 for a required time programmed in advance as a standard course.
[S103 / Drainage process]
After the washing operation is completed, the drain valve 18 is opened, and the washing water is drained from the drain hose 19 to the outside of the washing machine.
[S104, dehydration process 1]
Next, after the washing water in the outer tub 2 is completely drained, the water containing the detergent contained in the laundry 4 is dehydrated from the dehydration hole 9 by centrifugal force by the high speed rotation of the drum 3. This is dehydration step 1.
[S105 / Water supply process]
After the dehydration is completed, the DC brushless motor 26 is stopped, the drain valve 18 is closed, and water for rinsing is supplied. The water supply control at this time is the same as the water supply before washing in S101, but in order to improve the rinsing efficiency, the water supply amount at the time of rinsing is supplied more than the water supply amount at the time of washing, and the detergent amount at the time of washing is diluted. That is, the water level at the time of rinsing is also detected by the water level sensor 33, but the detection at this time is generally controlled by setting the water level higher than at the time of washing.
[S106 / Rinse Step 1]
The operation of the rinsing process 1 is controlled in the same manner as the washing operation in S102. However, the rinsing process 1 is not intended to remove the dirt adhering to the laundry 4, but to rinse the detergent contained in the laundry 4. Therefore, the number of rotations and the rotation time of the right and left with the drum 3 resting are set to be smaller than those at the time of washing in S102 so as to prevent fabric damage and entanglement.
[S107 / Drainage process]
In this drainage process, the rinse water in the rinse process 1 is drained outside the washing machine, and the control is the same as in the drainage process of S103.
[S108, dehydration step 2]
The dehydration process 2 is operated by the control that performs the same operation as the dehydration process 1 of S104 and dehydrates the water of the rinse water contained in the laundry 4.
[S109 / Rinsing Step 2]
The rinsing process 2 is operated under the same control as the rinsing process 1 of S106.
[S110, drainage process]
The draining process of S110 is operated under the same control as the draining process of S103 and S107.
[S111 / Final dehydration process]
In the final dehydration step S111, the drum 3 is dehydrated at high speed for a longer time than the dehydration step of S104 and S108, and the moisture contained in the laundry 4 is dehydrated. A notification of the end of the washing is automatically made by the alarming device 39, and the washing course from the series of washing to the dehydration is finished.

  The above is the structure of the conventional drum type washing machine, its control device, and the entire washing process. Next, the relationship between the amount of laundry and the detergent put into the washing machine will be described. 2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a washing machine that performs washing with a detergent has been required to supply a water supply amount corresponding to the amount of laundry and a corresponding amount of detergent into the washing machine. As the detergent, a powdered synthetic detergent, a powdered soap, or the like is generally used, and the washing process is executed by adding the washing detergent while dissolving the detergent when water is supplied.

  In general, as the amount of detergent, 20 g is standard with respect to 30 L of water based on the amount of commercially available detergent used, and this concentration is 1-fold. For example, a detergent solution in which 20 g of detergent is dissolved in 10 L of water is a triple concentration detergent solution and is called a high concentration detergent solution. For the purpose of efficiently dissolving powder detergent at a high concentration and sprinkling water on the laundry, the present inventors set the bottom surface of the detergent dissolution container as an inclined surface, in addition to a water supply system of 20 L / min, 5 L / min. A detergent charging apparatus that can provide a high-concentration detergent solution by providing a water supply system has been proposed (see, for example, Patent Document 3).

Although the washing machine described in Patent Document 3 is not a drum type washing machine, according to the detergent charging device of this washing machine, first, the detergent charging lid is opened and a predetermined amount of detergent is charged into the detergent charging container. The When the washing process is started, a predetermined amount of detergent-dissolved water is supplied from a detergent-dissolved water outlet having a small flow rate. The amount of the detergent-dissolved water supplied is 3 to 50 times (preferably, the detergent concentration of the wash water based on the amount of detergent set according to the amount of laundry clothes (20 g of detergent is 30% water) 10 to 40 times) high concentration detergent solution can be produced. In this case, the detergent stirring blades are rotated in synchronization with the supply of the detergent-dissolved water to agitate the powder detergent, thereby supporting the production of a high-concentration detergent liquid.
Other washing machines that perform washing by spraying such a high-concentration detergent solution include those disclosed in Patent Document 4, for example.
JP 2003-126588 A JP 2003-93776 A (particularly FIGS. 1 and 2) Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2002-177689 (paragraph [0047], FIG. 4) Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 7-80182

  However, in the conventional drum type washing machine shown in FIG. 7, since the flexible hose 13 is connected to the upper part of the outer tub 2 and supplied, the washing water containing the detergent liquid is directly washed in the drum 3. It is not sprayed on the object 4 but supplied between the outer tub 2 and the drum 3. For this reason, a detergent component with high concentration is accumulated in a gap G portion formed on the bottom surface portion between the drum 3 and the outer tub 2 due to the structure. In addition, there is a problem that a detergent enters the drain port 18a of the drain valve 18 and the detergent cannot be effectively used.

  Moreover, the volume of the gap G between the drum 3 and the outer tub 2 is about 5 to 7 L, and it is further 20 to 25 L to immerse the laundry 4 stored in the drum 3 with the detergent liquid containing the detergent. A certain amount of water must be supplied. As a result, water must be supplied while being dissolved in a larger amount of water with respect to the specified amount of detergent, so that the detergent concentration decreases and the chemical power of the detergent does not act efficiently on the dirt adhering to the laundry 4. There were drawbacks.

As described above, in the case of a drum type washing machine, during washing, the lifter 17 provided inside the drum 3 scoops up the laundry 4 according to the rotation of the drum 3, and the laundry 4 is positioned at the highest position in the drum 3. It is allowed to fall naturally and beat and wash.
Accordingly, in the case of such a drum type washing machine, a large amount of water is not required, and the detergent liquid only needs to be absorbed by the laundry 4, but the drum type washing machine of FIG. Then, the detergent solution is accumulated in the gap G between the drum 3 and the outer tub 2, and there is a problem that unnecessary water is required to immerse the laundry 4 in the washing water. For this reason, it was extremely difficult in terms of construction to wash with a high detergent concentration (about 5 times or more).

  Further, when the drum 3 rotates during washing, a foaming phenomenon occurs in which the detergent liquid accumulated in the gap G is stirred by the drum 3 and bubbles are generated. When a foaming phenomenon occurs between the outer tub 2 and the drum 3, a large rotational torque is generated in the motor that rotates the drum 3 by resisting the rotation of the drum 3, so the drive motor is stopped by this torque. Or a lot of power consumption. In addition, when the drum 3 rotates during washing and rinsing, the washing water between the drum 3 and the outer tub 2 is stirred by the drum 3, and the sound of the washing water generated at that time becomes a noise generation source. there were.

  In addition, the generated foam not only reduces the cleaning effect by natural falling, which is a feature of the drum-type washing machine, but also deteriorates the rinsing effect. For this reason, at the time of rinsing, it is necessary to supply an excessive amount of water supply, and there is a problem that a large amount of water must be used for rinsing.

  As described above, in the drum type washing machine, it is sufficient that the detergent liquid is immersed in the laundry 4 put in the drum 3 in order to make the tapping washing an essential washing method. On the other hand, in the conventional drum-type washing machine described above, since it is necessary to use more washing water than necessary, the running cost required for one wash (water bill, electricity bill, detergent consumed for one wash) The total cost) was high.

  Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to perform efficient washing by spraying a high-concentration detergent solution directly onto the laundry, minimizing the amount of water necessary for washing, and reducing the amount of water used, and It is an object of the present invention to provide a drum type washing machine in which it is not necessary to select the type of detergent in order to enable the use of a detergent.

In order to achieve the above object, a drum-type washing machine of the present invention includes a drum into which laundry is put, an outer tub that rotatably includes the drum around a rotating shaft that is horizontal or inclined, and the drum. Rotation driving means for rotating, high concentration detergent liquid generating means for generating a high concentration detergent liquid provided above the outer tub, a water inlet provided with a hollow rotation shaft of the drum, and the high Detergent liquid supply means connected to the concentrated detergent liquid generating means, and spraying high concentration detergent liquid from the water inlet to the laundry via a path connected to the rotating shaft of the drum through the upper part of the outer tub A conical water spray member having a conical apex portion inserted into the hollow portion of the rotary shaft at the tip of the water injection port, and fresh water supply means for spraying clean water on the laundry through the water spray member; Drainage means for draining water from the outer tub; A rotation drive means, the detergent liquid supply means, the fresh water supply means, and a control device for controlling the drainage means, and the control device is configured to prevent the laundry from dropping due to its own weight before the washing process. In the state where the laundry was rotated and adhered to the inner peripheral wall of the drum, the fresh water was sprayed to such an extent that the laundry was wetted by the fresh water supply means, and then the drum was rotated at a high speed to be included in the laundry. The step of spraying high-concentration detergent liquid onto the laundry by the detergent liquid supply means is performed while dehydrating the water and then decelerating the rotation of the drum.

  Further, in the washing process, the washing step 1 in which the laundry is rotated while the laundry is wet only with the high-concentration detergent solution, and the laundry is sprayed with fresh water by the fresh water supply means and the laundry is sufficiently wetted. The two steps of washing step 2 in which washing is carried out by rotating are performed.

  Further, at the time of washing in the washing step 2, washing is performed by rotating the drum while opening the drainage means and draining the washing water for the required time before the end of washing.

  Furthermore, at the time of the dehydration process after the end of the washing process, shower watering is performed in which fresh water is sprayed intermittently or continuously on the laundry by the fresh water supply means while rotating the drum at a high speed.

According to the present invention, in a drum-type washing machine, since a high-concentration detergent solution can be sprayed directly onto the laundry put in the drum, washing can be performed with a minimum amount of detergent solution necessary for washing, Moreover, the amount of water required to dissolve the detergent can also be reduced.
In addition, since washing water is not accumulated in the gap between the outer tub and the drum due to the structure, the detergent liquid is not stirred by the rotation of the drum during washing, and the foaming phenomenon can be prevented. Further, since foaming at the time of washing is prevented, washing can be performed using a high foaming detergent that could not be used in a drum type washing machine, and rinsing can be simplified.
In particular, in the present invention, the high-concentration detergent liquid and fresh water are sprayed from the water injection port having a hollow drum rotation shaft, so that the high-concentration detergent liquid and fresh water uniformly permeate into the laundry in the drum. There is an effect of improving efficiency and rinsing efficiency.
Furthermore, in the drum type washing machine of the present invention, in the washing process, the washing step 1 in which the laundry is rotated while the laundry is wet only with the high-concentration detergent solution, and washing is performed by spraying fresh water with fresh water supply means. By executing the two steps of washing step 2 in which the drum is rotated and washing while the article is sufficiently wet, washing is performed with a high-concentration detergent solution in washing step 1 and is included in the laundry in washing step 2 While diluting the high-concentration detergent component, and supplying clean water so that the washing unevenness is uniform, the detergent component contained in the laundry is diluted to the normal concentration of the washing water solution, and in the next rinsing step Rinsing efficiency can be improved and cleaning is performed using the chemical power of the detergent to effectively prevent a reduction in cleaning power and unevenness due to a decrease in mechanical power at the rated load. It is possible.
Furthermore, in the drum type washing machine of the present invention, at the time of washing in the washing step 2, the drainage means is opened for draining the washing water in the required time before the washing is completed, and the washing is performed by rotating the drum to perform the washing. There is an effect that time can be shortened.
Furthermore, in the drum type washing machine of the present invention, during the dehydration process after the end of the washing process, by performing shower sprinkling that sprays fresh water intermittently or continuously on the laundry by the fresh water supply means while rotating the drum at high speed. Since it can also serve as rinsing during the dehydration operation, the number of times of rinsing can be reduced to reduce the rinsing water, the rinsing time, and the power consumption.

FIGS. 1 to 6 are diagrams for explaining an embodiment of a drum type washing machine according to the present invention, and FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view of the drum type washing machine of this example. Here, the same components as those of the conventional drum-type washing machine shown in FIG. 7 are denoted by the same reference numerals.
The drum-type washing machine of this example is configured to support the outer tub 2 on the outer frame 1 with vibration isolation by four vibration isolation springs 20 such as compression coil springs. Further, this vibration isolation mechanism is supported by various types such as a hydraulic damper system, an air damper system, and a friction damper system. A top cover 5 is provided on the upper surface of the outer frame 1, and an upper lid 6 is provided on the upper flat portion 5 a of the top cover 5.

  In addition, a control panel 10 is provided on the front portion of the top cover 5, and the control panel 10 includes a standard course, a soft course, a rush course, etc. in addition to the main power switch 11 when starting washing. Various switches including a program selection switch 35 for selecting a washing mode are provided. Similarly, a drawer type detergent charging box 12 is provided on the front portion of the top cover 5, and detergent and fresh water are mixed in the detergent charging box 12, and a high-concentration detergent basket is sent to the flexible hose 13. It is like that.

  A flexible hose 13 passes through the upper part of the outer tub 2, and a drain port 18 a connected to a drain valve 18 connected to the water distribution pipe 19 is provided at the bottom. Further, a rotary bearing (ball bearing) 44 attached to the outer tank flange 43 is provided at the center of the side surface on both sides of the outer tank 2, and the rotary shaft 15 of the cylindrical drum 3 is connected to the outer tank by the rotary bearing 44. 2 is supported horizontally and rotatably with respect to the outer tub 2.

  The drum 3 is formed with a large number of small dewatering holes 9 having a diameter of 3 to 5 mm over the entire circumference. When dewatering, fresh water or detergent liquid poured into the drum 3 by centrifugal force passes through the dewatering holes 9. Discharged. The outer rotor 14 of the DC brushless motor 26 is fixed to one rotating shaft 15 of the drum 3.

  A plurality of (for example, 24) magnets 21 are attached to the inner side of the outer rotor 14, and the outer rotor 14 rotates by the interaction between the magnet 21 and the stator 16 having a coil therein. A position detection magnet 23 is disposed on the outer peripheral portion of the outer rotor 14, and the position of the drum 3 is determined by detecting the rotation of the magnet 23 by the positioning detection device 24. For example, the position at which the magnet 23 is detected by the positioning detection device 24 is a position where the direction of the drum lid 8 of the drum 3, the outer tank upper lid 7, and the outer frame upper lid 6 is aligned.

Further, as shown in FIG. 2, the other rotary shaft of the drum 3 opposite to the outer rotor 14 is constituted by a hollow shaft 42a formed integrally with a drum flange 42 attached to the drum 3 by a screw 48. A rotary bearing 44 is rotatably supported on the outer tub 2.

  The flexible hose 13 connected to the detergent charging box 12 passes through the upper part of the outer tub 2 and is connected to the water passage 41. The water passage 41 is connected to a hollow shaft 42a which is one of the rotating shafts of the drum 3. The high-concentration detergent liquid obtained by mixing with clean water in the detergent charging box 12 is the flexible hose 13, the water passage 41, the hollow It is sprayed on the laundry 4 in the drum 3 via the shaft 42a. In addition, as this detergent liquid density | concentration, the case where 20 g of detergent is melt | dissolved in 30 L of water is set to 1 time concentration, The thing of about 4 to 5 times to 50 times, Preferably 10 times to 40 times is used. The concentration can be arbitrarily set by the operator, but is usually set automatically in a pre-programmed washing course.

  When the laundry 4 in the drum 3 is taken out after washing, rinsing and dehydration, the drum lid 8 provided on the outer periphery of the drum 3 and the outer tub provided on the upper part of the outer tub 2 are used. The upper lid 7 and the upper lid 6 provided on the upper flat portion 5a of the top cover 5 must be in the same position. If they are not aligned at the same position, the laundry 4 in the drum 3 cannot be taken out. Therefore, the position detection magnet 23 provided on the outer periphery of the outer rotor 14 is detected by the state positioning detection device 24, and the drum 3 The drum 3 is rotationally braked so that the drum lid 8 provided on the circumference of the drum is in the same direction as the outer lid 7 and the upper lid 6.

  Further, in the drum 3, when the laundry 4 is in an unbalanced state on the inner peripheral wall of the drum 3, the position detection magnet 23 is detected by the positioning pole detection device 24, and the position of the drum lid 8 of the drum 3 is detected. After the determination, the energization to the DC brushless motor 26 is stopped. At this time, when the laundry 4 in the drum 3 has an unbalanced load, the drum 3 is in an unbalanced state and rotates spontaneously, and the position of the drum lid 8 may be displaced, and the laundry 4 may not be taken out. For this reason, the drum 3 must be fixed in a state where the lids are aligned in the same direction. As a method of fixing the drum 3 with the open / close lids facing the same direction, there is a method of mechanically fixing the outer peripheral portion of the outer rotor 14 by the drum 3 and the rotating shaft 15.

  In addition, as a means for braking the state where the drum 3 is rotated by the inertial force after dehydration, an electromagnetic brake using a reverse-phase braking method or a three-phase short-circuit method generally performed for the DC brushless motor 26 is used. There is a method of applying. With these methods, the rotational speed of the drum 3 is reduced. Here, the reverse-phase braking method can increase the brake torque and can brake the rotation of the drum 3 in a short time. However, it is necessary to perform vector control on the control software, and is complicated.

  The three-phase short-circuit braking method is weak in brake torque and takes some time to brake the rotation of the drum 3, and has a longer stop time, but has the advantage that it can be controlled more easily than the reverse-phase braking method. . As a method of effectively using them, the reverse phase braking method can be used when the load is large in conjunction with the means for detecting the load amount, and the three-phase short circuit method can be used when the load is small. Thus, after stopping the rotation of the drum 3 by dehydration, in order to take out the laundry 4 from the drum 3, the opening position of each lid is determined to be in the same direction, and the laundry 4 is taken in and out.

Next, an embodiment of the detergent liquid spraying method will be described based on a partially enlarged view of the detergent liquid spraying part of the drum type washing machine shown in FIG.
The central portion of the side surface of the drum 3 is supported by a drum flange 42, and the drum flange 42 is formed integrally with a hollow shaft 42 a that is the other rotating shaft of the drum 3. The hollow shaft 42 a is supported on an outer tank flange 43 fixed to the outer tank 2 with a rotary bearing 44 interposed.

  The hollow shaft 42 a of the drum flange 42 is connected to the water passage 41 through a seal 46. This water passage 41 is connected to the detergent charging box 12 via the flexible hose 13 shown in FIG. 1 to form a water passage for spraying a high concentration detergent solution on the laundry 4. Then, the high-concentration detergent liquid flows in the hollow shaft 42 a in the direction indicated by the arrow 51 and is spread on the laundry 4 in the drum 3.

  Here, an inverted conical watering head 45a is provided at the water injection port 45 at the tip of the hollow shaft 42a so that a high-concentration detergent solution is evenly sprayed on the laundry 4 in the drum 3. The high-concentration detergent liquid supplied from the water passage 41 hits the watering head 45a after passing through the hollow shaft 42a and is uniformly sprinkled toward the outside inside the drum 3. As described above, the laundry 4 can be washed with the minimum necessary detergent liquid by spraying the detergent liquid directly onto the laundry 4 from the water inlet 45 of the central shaft 42a located at the center of the drum flange 42.

  The drum flange 42 is fixed to the side surface of the drum 3 by several fixing screws 48. The hollow shaft 42 a of the drum flange 42 has a function as a rotation shaft for rotating and supporting the drum 3, and is supported by a rotation bearing 44 of the outer tank flange 43.

  The hollow shaft 42a prevents water leakage through a water passage 41 and a seal 46 as a detergent liquid passage. The hollow shaft 42a and the outer tub flange 43 are fixed to the outer tub 2 with a seal 47 for preventing water leakage during washing and rinsing. Further, the outer tank flange 43 is provided with several reinforcing ribs 49 on the outside for reinforcement.

Next, the operation of the embodiment of the drum type washing machine shown in FIG. 1 will be described. The operation of the drum type washing machine is controlled by the control device shown in FIG.
First, the laundry 4 is put into the drum 3 and the power switch 11 for starting washing is turned on. Subsequently, when, for example, a standard course is selected by the program selection switch 35 and the start / stop switch 36 (see FIG. 9) is pressed, a water supply valve 38 (not shown) is opened, and an amount of tap water required for washing is obtained. Is supplied with water. As will be described later, the tap water to be supplied is first sprayed on the laundry 4 as fresh water, and then passed through the detergent charging box 12 provided in the top cover 5 at the top of the washing machine main body. A high-concentration detergent solution in which the charged powder detergent is dissolved is sprayed on the laundry 4 in the drum 3 via the flexible hose 13 and the water passage 41. As an example of the water supply amount detection, when the laundry 4 contains moisture, the mass of the laundry 4 increases, and the amount of current supplied to the drive motor when the drum 3 is rotated changes greatly. Therefore, there are a method of controlling the amount of water supplied by detecting a change in the amount of current with a current sensor or the like, and a method of detecting the amount of water supplied by a water level sensor.

  As described above, in general, a commercially available synthetic detergent has a standard use amount, that is, a 1-fold concentration of 20 g per 30 L of water. In addition, the relationship between the laundry load amount and the detergent is generally determined for commercially available detergents with a use amount of 8 g of synthetic detergent per kg of the load amount as a specified amount. In the case of a conventional drum-type washing machine, the washing water amount is a mechanism for washing with a water amount of about 30 L even when the washing load amount is 8 kg. Therefore, when the detergent amount is set by the washing water amount, 20 g of detergent is obtained in the case of the 8 kg washing load amount. However, the amount of detergent used is small, but the amount of detergent is small, and the dirt attached to the laundry does not fall.

  As an example of this countermeasure, in the case of a drum type washing machine, the amount of detergent with respect to the laundry load is determined. That is, in a drum type washing machine capable of washing 8 kg, the amount of detergent when washing the rated 8 kg is about 64 g. For this reason, a detergent amount corresponding to the laundry load amount is introduced into the detergent charging box 12. That is, when washing the laundry 4 having a rating of 8 kg, a detergent amount of about 64 g is added. Therefore, in the detergent charging box 12, when about 64 g of the introduced detergent is dissolved in about 5 L to 10 L of water, about 20 times to about 20 times when the amount of the general detergent of 20 g is set to 1 time with respect to 30 L of water. The detergent concentration liquid is sprayed on the laundry 4 in the drum 3.

Next, based on FIG.3 and FIG.4, the method to spray a high concentration detergent liquid efficiently on the laundry 4 in the drum 3 is demonstrated. As shown in FIG. 3, first, at the start of washing, washing liquid or fresh water necessary for washing is supplied from the water supply electromagnetic valve 52a or the water supply electromagnetic valve 52b (corresponding to the water supply valve 38 of FIG. 9).
That is, the water supply electromagnetic valve 52 a is an electromagnetic valve for creating a high-concentration detergent liquid in the detergent charging box 12, and the water supply electromagnetic valve 52 b is an electromagnetic valve for supplying fresh water to the laundry 4. The two water supply electromagnetic valves 52 a and 52 b are switched by the switching valve 53 and guided to the water passage 41.
The detergent charging box 12 is charged with a necessary amount of detergent (for example, 64 g with respect to 8 kg of dry cloth). In this detergent charging box 12, the water and the detergent supplied from the water supply electromagnetic valve 52a are stirred. A high concentration detergent solution is produced. The water supply solenoid valve 52b is used to wet the dry cloth or spray fresh water during rinsing.

  First, the laundry 4 put into the drum 3 is sprinkled with fresh water from the electromagnetic valve 52b in the direction of the arrow 51 while rotating the drum 3 under the control of the switching valve 53. After spraying fresh water, the drum 3 is once rotated to dehydrate to a dehydration rate of 50% or more, the switching valve 53 is switched to the water supply electromagnetic valve 52a side, and a high concentration detergent solution passed through the detergent charging box 12 is supplied to the drum 3. Watering inside. As a result, a highly concentrated detergent solution is uniformly sprinkled on the laundry 4. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the drum 3 showing a state where a high-concentration detergent solution is uniformly sprayed on the laundry 4. As shown in FIG. 4, by rotating the drum 3, the laundry 4 is pressed against the inner peripheral wall of the drum 3 by centrifugal force during rotation. Then, while maintaining this state, the drum 3 is rotated, and fresh water or high-concentration detergent liquid is sprinkled onto the laundry 4 from the sprinkling head 45a, so that the laundry 4 is uniformly sprinkled. At this time, the rotation speed of the drum is set to 70 to 100 rpm so that the laundry 4 is uniformly distributed on the inner wall of the drum 3.

  FIG. 5 shows another example of the embodiment of the drum type washing machine for spraying the high-concentration detergent liquid on the laundry, and the water injection method of the drum type washing machine for spraying water into the drum 3 using the pump 54 Is described. If the water spray pressure in the drum 3 is low, water cannot be uniformly sprayed on the laundry 4. Therefore, the water flow pressure applied to the water spray head is increased by using the discharge pressure of the pump 54, and the laundry 4 in the drum 3. The water is sprayed evenly. A specific method for spraying the high-concentration detergent solution is the same as the method shown in FIG.

Next, a method for spraying a high-concentration detergent solution and a laundry method in the drum type washing machine of this example will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. This flow chart explains the case where the drum type washing machine of this example executes the water supply process in step S101 and the washing process in step S102 shown in FIG. 10 as the washing process of the conventional drum type washing machine.
First, when the power switch 11 is turned on, the water supply electromagnetic valve 52b is energized, and the operation of the switching valve 53 starts fresh water spraying from the water inlet 45 into the drum 3 via the water passage 41 (step). S1). At this time, the fresh water is sprinkled while the drum 3 rotates at a medium speed of about 300 to 500 rpm (step S2). The reason why water is sprinkled while rotating the drum 3 is that the sprinkled fresh water wets the laundry 4 evenly.

  Subsequently, it is determined whether or not the medium speed rotation in step S2 has been continuously performed for a pre-programmed time (step S3). If the time has not elapsed, the fresh water in step S1 is determined. Spraying continues. If it is determined in the determination step S3 that the required time has elapsed, the spraying of fresh water into the drum 3 is stopped (step S4), and the drum 3 is rotated at a high speed of about 800 to 1000 rpm (step S5). The rotation speed and the required time of the high-speed rotation are the rotation speed and the required time required for dewatering the fresh water contained in the laundry 4 to a dehydration rate of about 50% or more. Here, the reason for dehydrating to a dehydration rate of 50% or more is that if the laundry 4 contains a large amount of moisture, a high-concentration detergent solution will not easily penetrate into the laundry 4.

  Subsequently, it is determined whether or not the high-speed rotation in step S5 has passed a predetermined time required to obtain a dehydration rate of 50% or more (step S6). If it is determined that the high-speed rotation in step S5 has been performed for the required time, the rotation of the drum 3 is switched to a low-speed rotation of about 70 to 100 rpm (step S7), and the low-speed rotation (the laundry does not fall off due to its own weight). A high-concentration detergent solution is sprayed on the laundry 4 while maintaining the number of rotations that can be kept pressed against the inner periphery of the drum (step S8). The spraying of the detergent liquid is performed by switching the switching valve 53 to the electromagnetic water supply valve 52a. That is, the fresh water that has passed through the detergent charging box 12 dissolves the detergent in the process of passing, and is sprayed into the drum 3 that rotates from the water inlet 45 as a high-concentration detergent liquid.

Next, it is determined whether or not the low-concentration high-concentration detergent solution is continuously sprayed for a required time in steps S7 and S8 (step S9). After the high-concentration detergent solution has been sprayed for the required time, the drum 3 shifts to a washing operation with a rotational speed of about 40 to 60 rpm (step S10). The rotation speed of about 40 to 60 rpm in the washing operation is a rotation speed at which the laundry that is lifted up by the lifter 17 provided on the drum 3 can be dropped from the highest height in the drum 3. Thus, the laundry 4 soaked in the high-concentration detergent solution falls from the height (the highest part) corresponding to the diameter of the drum 3 and is struck to the lowermost part of the drum 3 to perform the tapping washing. When the washing rotation is completed, the process proceeds to the next process such as draining and rinsing (step S11).
In the case of a drum-type washing machine, the mechanical force that the laundry receives during washing is greater in proportion to the mechanical force because the washing effect by dropping from a height corresponding to the diameter of the drum 3 is greater when the amount of laundry is small. And the detergency improves. On the other hand, as the amount of the laundry 4 increases, the drop height cannot be increased, so that the tapping effect is reduced and the cleaning power is reduced.

Next, the process of the drum type washing machine of this example will be described in more detail with reference to FIGS.
FIG. 11 is a block diagram for explaining a washing course in the drum type washing machine of this example. First, a schematic washing course of the present invention will be described based on the block diagram of FIG.

The laundry 3 is put into the washing machine, the power switch 11 is pressed, and an arbitrary washing course is selected by the program selection switch 35, and then the start / stop switch 36 (see FIG. 9) is pressed to rotate the drum 3.
At this time, the laundry 4 in the drum 3 is in a dry cloth state, and dry cloth sensing (S121) for measuring the mass of the laundry 4 while rotating the drum 3 is performed to determine the amount of detergent necessary for the laundry 4.

  Then, while continuing to rotate the drum 3 in one direction, the fresh water solenoid valve 52b is opened to spray fresh water onto the laundry 4 (S122), and then a high-concentration detergent solution is sprayed onto the laundry 4 (S123).

  In the high-concentration detergent solution spraying step (S123), after the high-concentration detergent solution is sprayed on the laundry 4, the process proceeds to the laundry step (S124). In this washing step, the drum 3 is rotated for washing (about 40 to 60 rpm), and the forward rotation and the reverse rotation are repeated with a pause. The operation time at this time is about 10 to 20 seconds, and the operation is performed with a reversal period in which the pause is about 5 seconds.

In the washing operation 1 (S124a), which is the first half of the washing step (S124), the drum 3 is rotated while being inverted while the laundry 4 is absorbing a high concentration of detergent. The state of moisture absorption in the laundry is a state in which the weight is about 3 to 5 times the mass of the dry cloth laundry.
The amount of water at this time is such that the detergent solution does not accumulate in the gap G between the drum 3 and the outer tub 2 or about 5 L or less, and the washing operation 1 (S124a) is performed with this amount of water. At this time, washing is performed with the above-described detergent solution having a high concentration of about 10 to 20 times.

  When the washing operation 1 (S124a) is completed, the fresh water solenoid valve 52b is opened, and fresh water spraying (S124b) is performed in the drum 3. The amount of fresh water is about 30 L, and water is supplied while detecting the water level supplied by the water level sensor 33.

When this water supply is completed, the process proceeds to the step of washing operation 2 (S124c), and the drum 3 performs reverse rotation under the same control as in the washing operation 1 (S124a). During the washing operation 2 (S124c), the washing water is immersed in the bottom surface of the laundry 4. The detergent concentration in the washing operation 2 (S124c) is about 2.1 times the detergent amount of 20 g with respect to 30 L of water when about 64 g is charged with respect to 8 kg of the laundry 4 which is the prescribed usage amount of the commercially available detergent. It becomes.
Thus, washing operation 1 (S124a) is performed with a high concentration detergent solution, and washing operation 2 (S124c) is performed while diluting the high concentration detergent contained in the laundry and evenly washing unevenness. It is operated by supplying fresh water. That is, in the washing step (S124), washing is performed by diluting the detergent contained in the laundry to a normal washing water concentration while performing high concentration washing, thereby improving the rinsing efficiency in the next rinsing step. .

  When the washing operation 2 (S124c) ends, the process proceeds to the drainage dewatering step (S125). When the drainage dewatering step (S125) is completed, the process proceeds to the rinsing step (S126), and the detergent for the laundry 4 is supplied with about 30 to 40 L of fresh water, and then the final dewatering step (S127) is performed. End the laundry course.

The steps of the block diagram described above with reference to FIG. 11 will be described in more detail with reference to the flowchart of FIG.
[S200 Start]
The laundry 4 is put into the washing machine, the power switch 11 is pushed, the program selection switch 35 is used to select an arbitrary washing course, for example, a standard course, and the start / stop switch 36 is pushed to select the washing course. A fully automatic course is started (S200).
[S201, dry cloth sensing]
When the operation is started, the drum 3 first rotates in one direction. The force that drives the drum 3 by the rotation at this time is sensed by changing the current value of the inverter motor (the current value is large when the load is large, and the current value is small when the load is small). Set the standard amount of detergent. When the detergent reference amount is set and displayed, if the detergent amount is displayed after notifying for several seconds by the alarm device 39, the timing for putting the detergent into the detergent inlet 12 can be achieved.
In addition, after measuring the mass of the laundry 4 in the dry cloth sensing step (S201), the number of rotations of the drum can be set so that the number of rotations of the laundry 4 can be maintained while the laundry 4 is stuck to the inner peripheral side wall of the drum 3. The number of rotations does not fall) and the operation is performed for the required time (S202).
[S203, fresh water spray]
While maintaining the rotation speed of the drum 3 so that the laundry 4 does not naturally fall due to the drum rotation of S201, the fresh water supply valve 52b is opened to spray fresh water from the water spray head 45a onto the laundry 4 (S203). The amount of water sprayed is the amount that the laundry 4 can sufficiently absorb moisture.
The fresh water application is performed for a predetermined time based on the result of sensing the amount of laundry. For example, when the amount of laundry is sensed and the amount of laundry is 2 kg, watering is controlled for a predetermined time so that the amount of watering is about 4 to 6 L, and in the case of 6 kg, it is about 10 to 14 L. So that the watering time is controlled. That is, if the amount of fresh water sprayed is about 2 to 3 times the amount of laundry, the laundry is sufficiently moistened. At this time, the drain valve 18 may be closed or open.
When 10-12 L of fresh water is sprinkled on 8 kg of laundry, the amount of residual water in the laundry 4 is the residual water rate (%) = 100 × (Wd−Wb) / Wb (1)
Wd: Mass of laundry compress (kg)
Wb: Dry cloth weight of the laundry (kg)
125% to 175%. When this is converted into dehydration rate,
Dehydration rate (%) = 100 x Wb / Wd (2)
Wd: Mass of laundry compress (kg)
Wb: Dry cloth weight of the laundry (kg)
The dehydration rate is about 36 to 44 (%).
Up to this level, fresh water is sprayed for a required time while maintaining the degree that the laundry 4 does not fall from the inner peripheral wall of the drum 3 at the rotational speed of the drum 3 (S204), and the laundry 4 is moistened. This wetting process is a process for uniformly infiltrating the laundry 4 with the high-concentration detergent solution in the next step.
[S205, high-speed drum rotation]
After the laundry 4 is sufficiently wetted, the drum 3 is rotated at a high speed to dehydrate the moisture contained in the laundry 4 (S205). This dehydration by high-speed rotation of the drum is performed until the dehydration rate of the laundry 4 becomes about 50% or more in terms of the above-described calculation formula (S206).
The aim of dehydrating 50% or more here is that when the high-concentration detergent solution is sprayed in the next step in a wet state of 36 to 44% in terms of dewatering rate by fresh water spraying (S203), the moisture absorption state is nearly saturated. This is because the laundry 4 contains a sufficient amount of water, so that a high concentration detergent solution cannot penetrate the laundry 4 evenly.
When dewatering the wet laundry, the drain valve 18 may be opened to drain the dehydrated dehydrated liquid outside the washing machine, and the dehydrated liquid is put into the outer tub 2 with the drain valve 18 closed. It is good also as a method of accumulating and aiming at reduction of the amount of water supply at the next process. In particular, when the amount of laundry is small, the amount of fresh water is also small, so even if the drain valve 18 is closed, it can be dehydrated without any problem, and the next water supply time can be shortened and the amount of water supplied can be reduced.
[S207 / Drum rotation deceleration]
After the dehydration by the high speed rotation of the drum 3 is completed, the rotation speed of the drum 3 is reduced (S207). As a means for decelerating, there is a general method for the above-described DC brushless motor 26, such as an electromagnetic brake using a reverse phase braking method or a three-phase short circuit method.
In this case, the decelerated rotation speed is a rotation speed at which the laundry 4 can be kept attached to the inner peripheral wall of the drum 3 by the high-speed rotation (S205) of the drum 3, and the laundry 4 is rotating during the rotation of the drum 3. The drum 3 is rotated and decelerated while being detected by the rotation detecting means (Hall element or the like) until the rotation speed is such that the natural rotation does not occur and the rotation speed is about 150 to 250 rpm or less (S208).
[S209, high-concentration detergent solution spray]
While maintaining the state where the number of rotations of the drum 3 is reduced as described above, the high-concentration detergent solution is sprayed on the laundry 4 in a state where the dehydration rate is about 50% or more attached to the inner peripheral wall of the drum 3 (S209). . At this time, since the drum 3 is rotating at a constant speed, the detergent liquid sprayed from the watering head 45a can spray the laundry 4 uniformly. Further, the detergent liquid sprinkled by the centrifugal force generated by the rotation of the drum 3 penetrates deep into the laundry 4. The high-concentration detergent solution is sprayed until the laundry components are sufficiently absorbed by the laundry 4 (S210).
[S211, washing step 1]
After sufficient detergent components are absorbed in the laundry 4, the operation of the washing step 1 is performed with the rotation speed of the drum 3 being about 40 to 60 rpm (S211). The rotation speed of the drum 3 in the washing step 1 is set to a rotation speed at which the laundry 4 attached to the inner peripheral wall of the drum 3 naturally falls due to its own weight, and the drum 3 has a rest time of about 5 seconds. The rotation and reversal are repeated in about 10 seconds, respectively, and the laundry is knocked down by the natural fall in the drum 3 (S212). At this time, the concentration of the detergent solution penetrating into the laundry 4 is in a high concentration state.
[S213 / Shimizu Water Supply]
[S214, washing step 2]
After the operation of the washing step 1 is completed, fresh water is sprayed from the watering head 45a into the drum 3 (S213), and the operation of the washing step 2 is performed (S214). At this time, the amount of fresh water sprayed is about 30 L. During spraying, water is supplied up to the required amount of water while detecting the amount of water supplied by the water level sensor (S215).
The operation of the drum 3 with the washing water amount 30L in the washing step 2 (S214) may be operated with the same control as that in the washing step 1 (S211) or by changing the normal rotation-reversal time.
Here, the purpose of washing with about 30 L of washing water is to make the amount of water that the laundry 4 is sufficiently moistened. The amount of residual water in the laundry at this time is about 300 to 500% or more from the above-described calculation formula. The effect of this water supply is that the weight of the laundry becomes heavier due to moisture being absorbed by the laundry than in the wet state in the washing step 1 (S211), so that the drum washing effect by the drum is improved and the stains are unevenly removed. (Washing unevenness) can be reduced and the amount of water supply in the washing process is about 30L, which has the effect of eluting detergent contained in the laundry. This has the effect of increasing the efficiency of the rinsing process, which is the step of, and shortening the rinsing time. Then, the operation of the washing step 2 is continued until the specified washing time has elapsed (S216).
[S217 / Drainage]
After finishing the washing process (washing step 1 and washing step 2), the drain valve 18 is opened to drain the washing water out of the washing machine (S217). In the flowchart of FIG. 12, this drainage process is controlled after the washing process, but in the washing step 2 (S214) process, the drum 3 is rotated before the specified washing time (S216) is reached. Alternatively, the drain valve 18 may be opened and the washing step 2 (S214) may be operated while draining. By adopting such drainage control, the drainage time can be shortened.
[S219 Dehydration Operation]
After the drainage is completed (S218), the detergent contained in the laundry 4 is dehydrated (S219). This dehydration operation (S219) is mainly for the purpose of improving the rinsing efficiency, and the higher the dehydration rate, the better. However, there is a limit to the dewatering performance, and cotton laundry has a dewatering performance of about 60 to 65%. For this reason, in order to improve the rinsing efficiency, fresh water is sprayed (shower water injection) continuously or intermittently from the water spray head 45a onto the laundry 4 when the drum 3 is rotating at a high speed.
The fresh water sprayed here penetrates into the inside of the laundry 4, and the detergent contained in the laundry 4 is discharged to the outer tub 2 by centrifugal force due to the high-speed dehydration of the drum 3. Accordingly, the rinsing efficiency is improved and the rinsing can be performed during the dehydrating operation (S219). Therefore, the number of rinsing times can be reduced to reduce the rinsing water, the rinsing time, and the power consumption.
This dehydration operation by shower water injection is continued for a required time, and after this is completed, the process proceeds to the next step (S220).
[S221: Shimizu water supply]
In order to perform rinsing, fresh water is supplied up to a specified amount of water (S221). The amount of fresh water supplied is about 40 L, more than about 30 L of water supplied during the washing process in order to further rinse the detergent contained in the laundry 4, and this amount of water is detected by the water level sensor. Then, fresh water is supplied until it reaches the specified amount (S222).
[S223 / Rinse operation]
A rinsing operation is performed after fresh water is supplied to the specified amount of water (S223). In this rinsing operation, the drum 3 is rotated by the same control as in the washing process, and the operation is continued until the required time (S224).
[S225 / Drainage]
After completion of the rinsing operation, the drain valve 18 is opened to drain the rinse water (S225). This drainage is performed until the rinse water is completely drained out of the washing machine (S226).
[S227 · Number of rinses]
After determining the number of times of rinsing and determining that the specified number of times has been reached, the process proceeds to the next step (S227).
[S228, final dehydration]
In the final dehydration step (S228), the water contained in the laundry 4 is dehydrated to a dehydration rate of about 60 to 65% or more. This final dewatering operation (S228) is performed for a longer operation time (about 5 minutes or more) than the dewatering operation (S219) during the washing course. This final dehydration operation is performed for the required time (S229), and it is determined that this has been completed, and the washing course is ended (S230).

  As described above, in the drum type washing machine according to the present invention, one of the rotating shafts 15 supporting the drum 3 is used as the hollow shaft 42a, and the detergent liquid is directly applied to the laundry 4 in the drum 3 through the hollow portion. The washing process is divided into two, and washing is started by rotating the drum 3 while the laundry 4 is sufficiently wetted with a high-concentration washing liquid. The amount of the detergent solution that wets the laundry with a sufficiently high concentration detergent solution is approximately 1 to 2.0 times the mass of the laundry. That is, when the weight of the laundry is 8 kg, the amount of water containing about 8L to 16L of detergent is sprayed on the laundry, and the drum 3 is rotated to wash, so that the concentration is about 4 to 9 times higher. Can be washed with a detergent solution. Also, in the next step, about 30 L of fresh water is supplied during the washing process, and the washing water 4 is slightly immersed in the supplied washing water until the washing water accumulates between the drum 3 and the outer tub 2 or more. By supplying water and washing, it is possible to obtain an effect of increasing the rinsing efficiency in the next step by diluting the detergent while reducing the unevenness of washing performed in the high concentration washing step of the previous step.

  Further, as described above, when spraying a high-concentration detergent solution, rotating the drum 3 at such a rotational speed that the laundry 4 spreads uniformly on the inner wall of the drum 3 can be uniformly applied to the laundry 4. It is efficient for spraying detergent solution. Further, in order to perform uniform spraying, a water spray head 45a having an inverted conical shape is provided at the tip of the water injection port 45 through which the detergent liquid is sprayed into the drum 3. Since the detergent liquid pours into the drum 3 radially by the watering head 45a, water is evenly sprayed on the laundry 4 in the drum 3. Further, by sprinkling water while rotating the drum 3, a high-concentration detergent solution can be sprinkled into the laundry 4 in a short time, and the detergent solution can penetrate well into the laundry 4.

  Further, during the dehydration operation after the washing process is completed, the fresh water is sprinkled from the sprinkling head 45a to the laundry 4 while rotating the drum 3 at a high speed. Since it is dehydrated, the rinsing efficiency is improved.

When washing is performed by the above-described method using the drum type washing machine of the present invention, washing can be performed with a high-concentration detergent solution, and the chemical power of the detergent can be greatly utilized, so that the washing power is improved. In addition, it is possible to wash with the minimum amount of washing water necessary for washing, and to reduce the amount of water used.
In particular, in the case of a drum type, the cleaning power at the time of a small load increases the cleaning power because the effect of the tap washing can be fully utilized and the mechanical power given to the laundry is large, but the mechanical power in the tap washing decreases at the rated load. Therefore, detergency is greatly reduced. For this reason, the present invention is intended to improve the detergency particularly at the rated load, and is performed by fully utilizing the chemical power of the detergent.

  The preferred embodiment of the present invention has been described above, but the present invention is not limited to this embodiment. In the embodiment, a drum type washing machine having a horizontal rotation axis of the drum is exemplified, but the present invention can also be suitably applied to a drum type washing machine in which the rotation axis of the drum is inclined.

It is a longitudinal section showing an example of an embodiment of a drum type washing machine. It is an expanded sectional view near the water pouring mouth in the example of the embodiment of the drum type washing machine. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view for demonstrating the watering method of the high concentration detergent liquid in the example of embodiment of a drum type washing machine. It is a cross-sectional view for demonstrating the watering method of the high concentration detergent liquid in the example of embodiment of a drum type washing machine. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view for demonstrating the watering method of the high concentration detergent liquid in the other example of embodiment of a drum type washing machine. It is a flowchart for demonstrating the high concentration washing | cleaning system in a drum type washing machine. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view for demonstrating the conventional drum type washing machine. It is a figure for demonstrating the inverter motor used for the conventional drum type washing machine. It is a block diagram for demonstrating the operation control of the conventional drum type washing machine. It is a flowchart for demonstrating the driving | running process of the conventional drum type washing machine. It is a washing course explanation block diagram of the present invention. It is a flowchart explaining the washing course description block diagram of this invention further in detail.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Outer frame, 2 ... Outer tub, 3 ... Drum, 4 ... Laundry, 12 ... Detergent input box (high concentration detergent liquid production | generation means), 15 ... Rotary shaft, 18 ... Drain valve (drainage means), 26 ... Micro Computer (control device), motor 29 (rotation drive means), 42a ... hollow shaft, 45 ... water injection port, 45a ... watering head, 52a ... water supply solenoid valve (detergent liquid supply means), 52b ... water supply solenoid valve (fresh water supply means) )

Claims (4)

A drum into which the laundry is put, an outer tub that rotatably contains the drum around a rotating shaft that is horizontal or inclined, a rotational driving means that rotationally drives the drum, and an upper portion of the outer tub. A high-concentration detergent liquid generating means for generating a high-concentration detergent liquid, a water inlet provided with a hollow rotation shaft of the drum, and a high-concentration detergent liquid generation means are connected to the upper part of the outer tub. Detergent liquid supply means for spraying high-concentration detergent liquid from the water inlet to the laundry via a path connected to the rotating shaft of the drum, and a cone-shaped apex at the tip of the water inlet rotates. Provided with a conical watering member inserted into the hollow portion of the shaft , fresh water supply means for spraying fresh water onto the laundry through the watering member, drainage means for discharging water from the outer tub, and the rotation driving means -The detergent solution supply means-The fresh water supplier A control device that controls the drainage means, and the control device rotates the drum so that the laundry does not fall under its own weight before the washing step, and causes the laundry to adhere to the inner peripheral wall of the drum. In this state, after spraying fresh water to the extent that the laundry is wet by the fresh water supply means, the drum is rotated at a high speed to dehydrate moisture contained in the laundry, and then the rotation of the drum is decelerated. A drum-type washing machine that performs a step of spraying a high-concentration detergent liquid onto the laundry by the detergent liquid supply means.   2. The drum type washing machine according to claim 1, wherein in the washing process, the control device is configured to wash the laundry by rotating the drum while the laundry is wet with only a high-concentration detergent solution, and the fresh water supply. A drum-type washing machine that performs two steps of washing step 2 in which fresh water is sprayed by means to rotate the drum while washing is sufficiently wet.   3. The drum type washing machine according to claim 2, wherein the control device rotates the drum while opening the drainage means and draining the washing water in a required time before the end of washing at the time of washing in the washing step 2. A drum-type washing machine that performs washing.   The drum type washing machine according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the controller is configured to supply fresh water by the fresh water supply means while rotating the drum at a high speed during a dehydration process after the end of the washing process. A drum-type washing machine that performs shower watering that sprays the laundry intermittently or continuously.

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