JP3246136B2 - Washing machine - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a washing machine provided with an operation panel on a front upper surface of a main body of the washing machine.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art The configuration of a conventional fully automatic washing machine will be described with reference to FIG. An upper frame 103 is attached to an upper portion of a box-shaped outer frame 102 to constitute a washing machine main body. A clothes inlet 104 is provided at the center of the upper surface of the main body of the washing machine, and an operation panel 100 is attached to the upper surface on the front side. The controller unit 101 is provided on the back side of the operation panel 100.

The configuration of the controller unit 101 will be described with reference to FIG. Controller unit 10
1 is a DC power supply unit 61 for converting a commercial power supply 60 to DC,
It is composed of microcomputers, etc., washing, rinsing,
A control unit 62 for controlling operations such as dehydration; a motor 66;
It comprises load drive circuits 63, 64, 65 for controlling the energization of the water supply valve 67 and the drain valve 68 and driving each load such as a motor. The DC power supply 61 supplies DC to the control means 62, and makes the control means 62 operative.

[0004] When the control means 62 is in the operating state, a series of steps from washing to dehydration according to the program are executed. First, in the washing process, the water level in the washing tub is detected by the water level detecting means 69, and when the predetermined water level is detected, the load driving circuit 6
The operation of Step 4 is stopped, and water supply from the water supply valve 67 into the washing tub is stopped. Then, the control means 62 controls the load drive circuit 63
Is driven to energize the motor 66, transmitting the rotation of the motor 66 to the stirring blades to stir the clothes and water in the washing tub. After the stirring operation is continued for a predetermined time, the control means 62 drives the load drive circuit 65, opens the drain valve 68, and drains the water in the washing tub. By repeating such an operation, a series of steps from washing to dehydration is performed.

Next, the above-described controller unit 1
FIG. As shown in the figure, the controller unit 101 is configured by mounting various electric components on two printed boards. On the upper printed circuit board 87a, a switch 85 for setting and displaying a water level and a washing time, an LED 84, and the like are arranged. On the lower printed circuit board 87b, a control means including a microcomputer 83 for executing a set program; Transformer 80,
A DC power supply unit including a diode bridge 90 and the like, and a load driving circuit including a triac 81 and the like for driving a load such as a motor are mounted.

[0006] Considering that the washing machine is used in a very humid environment such as a bathroom, the printed circuit board 87 is used.
a and 87b are coated with a moisture-proofing agent such as urethane resin 86. In addition, the triac 81 generates a heat of several amperes when a load such as a motor is operated, and generates heat. Therefore, a very large aluminum heat dissipation plate 82 is attached as shown in FIG.

[0007]

However, in the conventional washing machine, the controller unit 101 is prepared by simply mounting various electric components on a printed circuit board.
Large components such as the transformer 80 and the heat sink 82 increase the height of the controller unit 101, the height of the operation panel 100 on which the controller unit 101 is mounted also increases, and the upper front side of the washing machine body can be kept low. Did not. The operation panel 100 is provided on the front side in order to improve the operability of the user, but when putting on clothes, the height of the operation panel 100, that is, the height up to the front upper surface of the main body of the washing machine. If the garment is high, the garment must be lifted high and the garment must be thrown in, causing a problem that the garment loading workability is poor.

Further, since the transformer 80 and the triac 81, which are heat-generating components, are mounted on the same printed circuit board 87b as the microcomputer 83, the microcomputer 83 is easily affected by the heat of the transformer 80 and the triac 81. There was a risk due to malfunction of the computer 83.

[0009] In addition, a triac 8
1 was often destroyed, and in that case, the entire controller unit 101 was replaced, which resulted in poor serviceability and was uneconomical.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In view of the above-mentioned problems, it is a first object of the present invention to make it possible to easily perform a work of putting clothes on and to prevent a malfunction of a microcomputer which controls the control.

It is a second object of the present invention to improve the operability of replacing a switching element such as a triac which is fragile, and to prevent other elements from being adversely affected by the destruction of the switching element.

A third object is to improve the assemblability of the switching element and its heat radiating plate and improve the productivity.

[0013]

In order to achieve the first object, a first object of the present invention is to provide a washing machine main body having a clothes input port on an upper surface, and a front side of the washing machine main body. An operation panel portion disposed on the upper surface portion, and includes various electrical components disposed on the back side of the operation panel portion, the various electrical components,
A display element and setting switches for setting and displaying the operation contents such as washing, rinsing, and dehydration, a control unit including a microcomputer for executing the operation contents set by the setting switches, and a DC power supply for the control unit. And a load driving unit comprising a motor, a switching element for driving a load such as a water supply valve, and a gate circuit thereof, and the respective units are configured on an independent printed circuit board. And a control unit on the rear side of the center of the operation panel, a power supply unit and a load drive unit on the left and right sides of the operation panel, and a central part of the operation panel. Are formed lower than the left and right portions.

In order to achieve the second object, a second object of the present invention is to provide a control system in which the gate circuit of the first object is realized by using a gate resistor connected to a gate of a switching element. The unit section is provided with a signal generating section for supplying an ON / OFF signal to the gate of the switching element.

In order to achieve the third object, a third object of the present invention is to provide a switching device and a gate circuit which constitute a load drive unit on a printed circuit board and to dispose the printed circuit board for heat radiation. The switching element is disposed on a metal substrate, and a switching element on a printed board is brought into thermal contact with the metal substrate.

[0016]

According to the first means for solving the above problems, the control unit comprising a microcomputer or the like, the power supply unit having a transformer and a switching element, and the load drive unit are provided on independent printed circuit boards. Therefore, it is possible to suppress the microcomputer from being affected by heat from the power supply unit and the load drive unit. In addition, since the control unit does not need to be provided with a large component transformer and a switching element that requires a heat sink, the height of the control unit can be kept as low as possible. By arranging it on the center rear surface side of the operation panel section, the height of the center of the operation panel section can be reduced.

According to the second means for solving the problems, since the gate resistor is provided on the load drive unit side, even if not only the switching element but also the gate resistor burns out, it can be easily replaced. At the same time, it is possible to prevent electric components such as a microcomputer from being burned out due to burning of the gate resistor.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, the switching element and the gate circuit are provided on a printed board, and the mounted printed board is provided on a metal substrate for heat radiation.
By bringing the switching element on the printed board into thermal contact with the metal substrate, a heat sink can be easily attached to the switching element.

[0019]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS One embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of the washing machine of the present embodiment. In the figure, reference numeral 1 denotes a commercial power supply, to which a power supply unit 2 is connected via a power switch 13. After stepping down the commercial power supply 1 by the transformer 2a, the power supply unit 2 performs full-wave rectification by a full-wave rectifier, and converts it to a DC power supply via a smoothing capacitor, a transistor, and a constant voltage diode.

The DC power of the power supply unit 2 is supplied to each electric component of the control unit 4 to operate the control unit 4. The control unit 4 is a microcomputer 4
a, signal generator 4b, display element 4c, setting switch 4d
It is composed of The microcomputer 4a receives a signal from the water level detecting means 3, detects the water level in the washing tub, and controls water supply to the washing tub. Further, the microcomputer 4a sets the contents of washing, rinsing, dehydration, etc. from the setting switch 4d,
The set contents are displayed on the display element 4c, and a series of steps of washing, rinsing, and dehydrating are executed according to the set contents.

The signal generator 4b supplies an on / off signal to a switching element for driving a load such as the motor 9, for example, a gate of a triac. A transistor is used as a basic circuit element to generate the ON / OFF signal.

The configuration of the load drive unit 12 for driving the switching element by the signal from the signal generator 4b and operating the load group such as the motor 9 will be described. As a load of the washing machine, a motor 9 for rotating and driving the stirring blades / wash tub,
A water supply valve 10 for supplying water into the washing tub, and a geared motor 1 for driving a drain valve for discharging water in the washing tub out of the washing tub.
There is one.

In order to rotate the motor 9 in both left and right directions, two motor driving units 5 and 6 are connected to the motor 9, respectively. The motor drive unit 5 includes a switching element 5
b, a gate resistor 5a connected to the gate of the switching element 5b, a capacitor 5 for removing noise to the gate
c, a snubber resistor 5d for protecting the switching element 5b from lightning surge and a snubber capacitor 5e. The motor drive unit 6 has the same configuration. Further, the water supply valve drive section 7 and the geared motor drive section 11 are composed of switching elements and gate resistors.

FIG. 2 shows a specific configuration of the power supply unit 2, the control unit 4, and the load drive unit 12. In the figure, a setting switch 4d is for setting a water level, a washing time, a course and the like at the time of washing, and a display element (LED) 4c for allowing a user to judge the set contents is provided on the same printed circuit board 32. ing. This printed circuit board 32
Are provided with an electric component 23 such as a microcomputer 4a and a capacitor. The printed board 37 constitutes a control unit.

The power supply unit 25 includes a transformer 2a for stepping down a commercial power supply to more than ten volts, a diode bridge (full-wave rectifier) 33 for producing a DC power supply, a transistor, and an electrolytic capacitor 21 on the same printed circuit board 34. Has been established. The load drive unit is provided with a triac (switching element) on an aluminum substrate 28 serving as a heat sink.
26 and the printed circuit board on which the gate circuit is mounted,
In particular, the triac 28, which generates a large amount of heat, is directly in thermal contact with the aluminum substrate 28. PET and these parts
And is sealed in an epoxy resin 27.

Each unit configured as described above has:
They are electrically connected by cables 37a and 37b, and are connected to the load drive unit by a detachable connector 38a.

Next, a configuration for mounting each of the above units on the back side of the operation panel unit of the washing machine will be described with reference to FIG. In the figure, reference numeral 42 denotes a washing machine main body, in which a washing tub is housed. An upper frame 43 having a clothes input port 44 in the center is attached to an upper portion of the main body 42 of the washing machine. The upper surface on the front side of the upper frame 43 is covered with the operation panel unit 40. The center of the operation panel section 40 is low and the left and right sides thereof are high. A control unit 4 capable of keeping the height low is mounted on the center rear surface side of the operation panel unit 40, and a relatively large power supply unit unit 2 and a load drive unit unit 12 are mounted on the left and right sides of the operation panel unit 40. Can be

As described above, the control unit 4 comprising a microcomputer and the like, the power supply unit 2 having a transformer and a transistor, and the load drive unit 12 having a switching element are provided on independent printed circuit boards, respectively. Are disposed apart from each other, so that the influence of heat generated from the transformer and the transistor included in the power supply unit 2 and heat generated from the switching element included in the load drive unit 12 is controlled by the control unit 4. In particular, it is possible to prevent the microcomputer from receiving it. Therefore, malfunction of the microcomputer due to heat can be suppressed, and a highly safe washing machine can be provided.

Since the control unit 4 does not need to be provided with a switching element requiring a large-sized transformer and a heat radiating plate, the height of the control unit 4 can be kept as low as possible. By arranging the control unit unit 4 on the center rear surface side of the operation panel unit 40, the operation panel unit 40
The height of the center can be reduced. Therefore, the clothes can be smoothly put into the clothes slot 44, and the work of putting clothes can be improved.

Further, since the switching element and the gate resistor which are easily broken by lightning surge or the like are collected in the load drive unit 12, only the load drive unit 12 is damaged when the above-mentioned fragile electric component is damaged. It is only necessary to replace it, and it is not necessary to replace all parts including the control unit as in the related art, so that the replacement workability is improved. The control unit 4 and the load drive unit are electrically connected to each other via a lead wire.
Is provided with a connector for electrically and detachably connecting a lead wire from the control unit section 12, so that the control unit section 4 and the load drive unit section 12 can be easily separated.

Further, since the gate resistor 5a is provided on the load drive unit section 12, not only the switching element but also the gate resistor 5a can be easily replaced even if the gate resistor 5a burns out. It is possible to prevent electric components such as a microcomputer from being burned due to the burning of the battery.

Further, since a printed circuit board on which switching elements and gate circuits are mounted is provided on an aluminum board 28, and the switching elements mounted on the printed board are brought into thermal contact with the aluminum board 28 for heat dissipation, The aluminum substrate 28 can be easily attached to the switching element.

[0034]

As apparent from the above embodiments, according to the first aspect of the present invention, a control unit including a microcomputer, a power supply unit including a transformer and a transistor, and a load driving unit including a switching element are provided. Are provided on independent printed circuit boards,
Since these are arranged apart from each other, the influence of the heat generated from the transformer and the transistor included in the power supply unit and the heat generated from the switching element included in the load driving unit is controlled by the control unit, particularly It is possible to suppress the reception of the microcomputer. Therefore, malfunction of the microcomputer due to heat can be suppressed, and a highly safe washing machine can be provided.

Since the control unit does not need to be provided with a large-sized transformer and a switching element requiring a heat sink, the height of the control unit can be kept as low as possible. By arranging the unit on the center rear surface side of the operation panel unit, the height of the center of the operation panel unit can also be reduced. Therefore, the clothes can be smoothly inserted into the clothes input port, and the clothes input operation can be improved.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, since the gate resistor is provided on the load drive unit section side, it is possible to easily replace not only the switching element but also the gate resistor when the gate resistor is burned out. At the same time, it is possible to prevent electric components such as a microcomputer from being burned out due to burning of the gate resistor.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, the printed circuit board on which the switching element and the gate circuit are mounted is provided on the heat sink, and the switching element mounted on the printed board is brought into thermal contact with the heat sink. The heat sink can be easily attached to the switching element, and the productivity can be improved.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a fully automatic washing machine according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view of each unit of the fully automatic washing machine.

FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of the fully automatic washing machine.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of a conventional fully automatic washing machine.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view of each unit of the fully automatic washing machine.

FIG. 6 is an exploded perspective view of the fully automatic washing machine.

[Explanation of symbols]

 2 Power supply unit 4 Control unit 9 Motor 10 Water supply valve 12 Load drive unit 28 Aluminum board (heat radiator) 32 Printed board 34 Printed board 40 Operation panel 42 Washing machine main body 44 Clothes slot

────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued on the front page (72) Inventor Shigeru Matsuo 1006 Kazuma, Kadoma, Osaka Prefecture Inside Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. (56) References JP-A-63-24997 (JP, A) JP-A-63- 15496 (JP, A) (58) Fields investigated (Int. Cl. ⁷ , DB name) D06F 39/12

Claims (3)

(57) [Claims] 1. A washing machine main body provided with a clothes input port on an upper surface, an operation panel portion disposed on a front upper surface portion of the washing machine main body, and various electric components disposed on a back surface side of the operation panel portion. Provided, the various electrical components are a display element and a setting switch for setting and displaying operation contents such as washing, rinsing, dehydration, and the like, a control unit unit including a microcomputer for executing the operation contents set by the setting switch, A power supply unit for supplying DC power to the control unit, and a motor, a switching element for driving a load such as a water supply valve, and a load drive unit including a gate circuit thereof are unitized to form a unit. A control unit and an operation panel are mounted on a printed circuit board and electrically connected between them. A washing machine in which a power supply unit and a load drive unit are disposed on the left and right back sides of the printer, and the center of the operation panel is formed lower than the left and right parts. 2. The gate circuit of the load driving unit has a gate resistor connected to the gate of the switching element.
The washing machine according to claim 1, wherein the control unit includes a signal generator for supplying an on / off signal to a gate of the switching element. 3. The load driving unit is configured by providing a switching element and a gate circuit on a printed circuit board, arranging the printed circuit board on a metal substrate for heat radiation, and connecting the switching element on the printed circuit board to the metal. 3. The washing machine according to claim 1, wherein the washing machine is in thermal contact with the substrate.