JP7198737B2 - Laundry processing liquid tank and washing machine - Google Patents

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a laundry treatment liquid tank and a washing machine.

As a background art of this technical field, there is Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 2018-11618 (Patent Document 1). In this publication, "a housing, a water tank provided inside the housing, an automatic washing liquid feeding means for supplying the washing liquid into the water tank, and a detergent for supplying the washing liquid into the water tank. an inlet, a water supply means for supplying water to the automatic laundry treatment liquid introducing means and the detergent inlet, and a control means for controlling the laundry treatment liquid supply means, wherein the laundry treatment liquid supply means a tank for holding the treatment liquid inside; and a conveying pump for conveying the washing treatment liquid from the inside of the tank to the outside of the tank. and positioned between said detergent inlet and said water supply means" (see abstract).

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2018-11618

Patent Document 1 discloses liquid agents such as liquid detergents and softeners that are put into the water in the washing tub and bring effects such as washing and softening to the laundry (herein, referred to as "laundry treatment liquid"). A storage tank is disclosed. This tank is provided in a washing machine, and a required amount of the washing processing liquid in the tank is discharged from a discharge port provided on the bottom side of the tank by a predetermined device and thrown into the washing tub.
However, when the amount of washing processing liquid in the tank decreases and the water level (liquid level) drops, air is mixed in with the washing processing liquid discharged from the discharge part, causing the control system of the washing machine to become inadequate. There is a possibility that a problem may occur in which only a smaller amount of washing processing liquid than the determined amount is supplied into the washing tub.

Accordingly, the present invention provides a washing processing liquid tank and a washing machine capable of suppressing the mixing of air into the washing processing liquid supplied into the washing tub and supplying an appropriate amount of the washing processing liquid into the washing tub. The task is to provide

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention includes a tank body in which the washing treatment liquid is stored, and a discharge part that is open to the bottom side in the tank body and communicates with the outside to serve as a discharge port for the washing treatment liquid. a tank filter formed with meshes or slits through which the washing treatment liquid permeates and covering the periphery of the opening of the discharge part within the tank body; A partition member provided to span between the opening side space partitioned by the tank filter in the tank main body into an upper side and a lower side, and the mesh or slit is provided to divide the tank filter The tank filter is provided below the intermediate position of the tank filter, the cross-sectional shape in the thickness direction is bent, and the convex direction due to the bending is opposite to the opening side, and the tank filter A mountain-shaped side plate is provided on both sides in the width direction, and ribs are formed in the most concave portion due to the bending and in the portion perpendicular thereto.

According to the present invention, there is provided a washing processing liquid tank and a washing machine that can supply an appropriate amount of washing processing liquid into the washing tub by suppressing the mixing of air into the washing processing liquid supplied into the washing tub. can provide.
Problems, configurations, and effects other than those described above will be clarified by the following description of the embodiments.

1 is a perspective view showing an appearance of a washing machine according to one embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a detergent dispenser built in an upper portion of a washing machine according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. is. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view of a laundry processing liquid tank of a washing machine according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. FIG. 4 is a top view of the laundry processing liquid tank of the washing machine according to the embodiment of the present invention, with the lid removed. FIG. 4 is a side view of the laundry processing liquid tank of the washing machine according to one embodiment of the present invention, with the lid removed. 1 is a perspective view of a laundry processing liquid tank of a washing machine according to an embodiment of the present invention, viewed from above with a cover removed; FIG. FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA of FIG. 4; FIG. 8 is an enlarged view of a portion B of FIG. 7; FIG. 4 is an enlarged vertical cross-sectional view of a portion centering on a tank filter, a partition member, etc. of a washing machine according to a first modified example of one embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 11 is a perspective view of a tank filter of a washing machine according to a second modified example of the embodiment of the present invention, as viewed from above; FIG. 8 is a bottom perspective view of a washing machine according to a second modified example of one embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 12 is a sectional view taken along line CC of FIG. 11; FIG. 13 is a vertical cross-sectional view of a laundry processing liquid tank equipped with the tank filter of FIGS. 10 to 12 of a washing machine according to a second modified example of one embodiment of the present invention;

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In the drawings, the directions of up, down, left, right, front and back as viewed from the washing machine are indicated by arrows as appropriate.
FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the appearance of a washing machine according to one embodiment of the present invention. The washing machine 1 shown in this example is a drum-type washing machine, but the present invention may be implemented as a vertical washing machine. Moreover, the washing machine 1 may or may not have the function of a dryer. An opening/closing door 2 for a washing tub 4 inside the washing machine 1 is provided on the front surface of the housing 1 a of the washing machine 1 . The opening/closing door 2 can be manually opened and closed, and has a substantially circular outer shape. A door frame 3 of an opening/closing door 2 is provided with a transparent door glass 5 through which a washing tub 4 can be seen from the outside.

An operation panel 6 for receiving various operations from the user and displaying various messages is provided on the upper portion of the housing 1a. A tank opening/closing lid 7 for opening and closing the upper portion of a tank housing portion 11 (FIG. 2), which will be described later, is also provided on the upper portion of the housing 1a. A detergent inlet opening/closing cover 8 for opening and closing a detergent inlet 12, which will be described later, is also provided on the top of the housing 1a.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a detergent dispenser built in the upper part of the washing machine. Underneath the upper portion of the housing 1a of the washing machine 1, a detergent and the like input device 13 is provided as schematically shown by a dashed line. The detergent etc. input device 13 includes an automatic laundry treatment liquid input device 14 and a detergent input port 12 . The detergent input port 12 is opened by opening the detergent input opening/closing cover 8, and the user can manually input detergent or the like into the washing tub 4 from the outside without going through the automatic laundry treatment liquid input device 14. It is an input port for

The automatic washing processing liquid injection device 14 is a device for automatically feeding the washing processing liquid stored therein into the washing tub 4 . The type of laundry processing liquid that can be automatically injected by this device may be one or plural. In this embodiment, there are two types, specifically, for example, a liquid detergent and a softening agent. The automatic laundry treatment liquid charging device 14 has a tank housing portion 11 . The tank storage part 11 is a tray-shaped container, and can detachably store a laundry treatment liquid tank therein. The washing liquid tanks are prepared in the same number as the types of washing liquid that can be automatically injected by the automatic washing liquid injection device 14 . That is, one laundry processing liquid tank corresponds to one type of laundry processing liquid. In this embodiment, it is possible to put in two kinds of liquid detergent and softener as the washing treatment liquid. Detachably stored inside. Of the laundry treatment liquid tank 15 and the laundry treatment liquid tank 16, either one may be for liquid detergent, or either one may be for softener. Each of the laundry processing liquid tanks 15 and 16 stores a corresponding type of laundry processing liquid therein.

The laundry processing liquid tanks 15 and 16 include tank bodies 15a and 16a that respectively store the laundry processing liquid therein, lids 15b and 16b that cover the entire upper portions of the tank bodies 15a and 16a, respectively, and lids 15b and 16b. It is provided with open/close lids 15c and 16c. The opening/closing lids 15c and 16c are lids that can be opened to allow the laundry treatment liquid to be introduced into the tank bodies 15a and 16a and stored therein. Moreover, the lids 15b and 16b may be fixed to the upper portions of the tank bodies 15a and 16a, or may be detachable.

The automatic washing treatment liquid injection device 14 discharges each washing treatment liquid stored inside each of the washing treatment liquid tanks 15 and 16 from the washing treatment liquid tanks 15 and 16, and the discharged washing treatment liquid is discharged. A supply device 17 is provided as a driving source for loading into the washing tub 4 . A piston pump or the like can be used as the supply device 17 . The supply device 17 feeds the laundry processing liquid in the laundry processing liquid tanks 15 and 16 into the washing tub 4 through a predetermined liquid distribution system. Under the control of a control device (not shown), the washing machine 1 puts a predetermined amount of each washing treatment liquid into the washing tub 4 at a predetermined timing according to the weight of the laundry (this is a known technique, so the details are omitted). do).

FIG. 3 is a longitudinal sectional view of the laundry processing liquid tank. Since the configuration and effects of the laundry treatment liquid tank 15 and the laundry treatment liquid tank 16 are basically the same, only the laundry treatment liquid tank 15 will be described below as a representative. The washing machine 1 is provided with a liquid amount detection device 29 for detecting the amount of the washing treatment liquid inside the washing treatment liquid tank 15 . The liquid volume detection device 29 is composed of a support shaft 21, a float 22, a magnetic sensor 24, and the like.

One end of a support shaft 21 is supported in the upper part inside the laundry treatment liquid tank 15 so as to be vertically rotatable (also indicated by broken lines). A float 22 is attached to the other end of the support shaft 21 . A magnet 27 is provided on the float 22 . A magnetic sensor 24 is provided under the tank housing portion 11 (not shown in FIG. 3). The float 22 floats above the laundry processing liquid in the tank bodies 15a and 16a by its buoyancy. Therefore, the height of the float 22 indicates the amount of laundry processing liquid in the tank body 15a. When the washing liquid in the tank body 15a is large and the height of the float 22 is high, the magnet 27 moves away from the magnetic sensor 24, the magnetic force detected by the magnetic sensor 24 is weak, and the washing liquid is small and the height of the float 22 is high. is low, the magnet 27 approaches the magnetic sensor 24 and the magnetic force detected by the magnetic sensor 24 increases. As a result, the magnetic sensor 24 can detect the level of the washing liquid in the tank main body 15a, and thus the amount of the liquid. When it is detected that the water level has fallen below the reference value, it is notified to the user by displaying a message on the operation panel 6 or emitting a sound.

By the way, when a piston pump is used as the supply device 17 , a necessary amount of the washing treatment liquid is sucked from the washing treatment liquid tank 15 into the cylinder of the piston pump to discharge the washing treatment liquid from the washing treatment liquid tank 15 . Then, the sucked washing processing liquid is put into the washing tub 4 . The amount of the laundry treatment liquid to be sucked is determined by a control system (not shown) of the washing machine 1 according to the weight of the laundry.
However, when the amount of the laundry processing liquid in the laundry processing liquid tank 15 decreases and the liquid level drops, air is mixed in the washing processing liquid discharged from the washing processing liquid tank 15, causing the washing machine 1 to run out of water. There is a possibility that the washing tub 4 is supplied with a smaller amount of the washing processing liquid than the amount determined by the control system to be appropriate.

Therefore, the present invention provides a washing processing liquid tank 15 capable of suppressing the mixing of air into the washing processing liquid supplied into the washing tub 4 and supplying an appropriate amount of the washing processing liquid into the washing tub 4; The washing machine 1 will be explained. The same applies to the laundry treatment liquid tank 16 as well.

FIG. 4 is a top view of the laundry processing liquid tank with the cover removed, and FIG. 5 is a side view of the same. A tank body 15a of the laundry treatment liquid tank 15 is a substantially rectangular tank when viewed from above. The bottom plate 15a1 slopes gently downward from the front side to the rear side. The handle 28 is a member to be gripped by the user in order to attach or detach the laundry treatment liquid tank 15 to or from the tank housing portion 11, and both ends of the handle 28 are rotatable above the front and rear side plates 15a2 and 15a3 of the tank main body 15a. attached to the Legs 30 are provided on the front and rear end sides of the lower surface of the bottom plate 15a1 so that the laundry processing liquid tank 15 can stand on its own on a table or the like with the bottom side down.

6 is a perspective view of the laundry processing liquid tank with the lid removed, viewed from above, FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view along line AA of FIG. 4, and FIG. 8 is an enlarged view of a portion B of FIG. . At the rear of the bottom plate 15a1 of the tank main body 15a, a discharge part 23 is provided that is open to the bottom side of the tank main body 15a and communicates with the outside to serve as a discharge port for the washing treatment liquid. The discharge part 23 includes an opening 23a for sucking the washing treatment liquid in the tank main body 15a and a discharge port 23b for discharging the suctioned washing treatment liquid to the outside of the washing treatment liquid tank 15. The opening 23a and the discharge port 23b A check valve 25 is provided in the flow path between . When the laundry processing liquid in the tank main body 15a is sucked by a piston pump as the feeding device 17 (see FIG. 3), the washing processing liquid is discharged (discharged) from the tank main body 15a. The check valve 25 prevents the air on the piston pump side from flowing back to the tank main body 15a side when the piston of the piston pump is returned.

A tank filter 31 is provided in the tank main body 15a. The tank filter 31 has, for example, a substantially rectangular plate shape, and is fitted in the tank main body 15a so that the vertical cross-sectional shape is obliquely inclined from the inner surface of the side plate 15a3 to the inner surface of the bottom plate 15a1. The tank filter 31 is provided so as to cover the periphery of the opening 23a inside the tank body 15a of the discharge portion 23 . In the lower portion of the tank filter 31, a mesh 31a (or a slit or the like, the same applies hereinafter) that penetrates the tank filter 31 in the plate thickness direction is formed. The laundry processing liquid in the tank body 15a flows into the opening 23a only through the mesh 31a. The tank filter 31 closes the opening 23a so that the laundry treatment liquid does not flow into the opening 23a from a portion other than the mesh 31a.

The partition member 32 is provided so as to bridge between a vertical intermediate position of the tank filter 31 and a predetermined position above the opening 23a, and the space on the side of the opening 23a partitioned by the tank filter 31 in the tank body 15a. For example, it is a rib-like member that partitions the upper and lower sides of the .
The partition member 32 is a member that extends from an intermediate position in the vertical direction of the tank filter 31 and contacts a predetermined position above the opening 23a, or extends from the predetermined position and contacts the intermediate position. In the example of FIG. 8, the plate width direction of the partition member 32 is substantially perpendicular to the plate width direction of the tank filter 31, and the partition member 32 is inclined downward from the tank filter 31 side to the opening 23a side.

The mesh 31 a is provided below the intermediate position in the vertical direction of the tank filter 31 , that is, below the position of the partition member 32 .
A predetermined position above the opening 23a where the partition member 32 is positioned is a position directly above the opening 23a.

Next, the effects of this embodiment will be described.
By mounting the washing treatment liquid tank 15 storing the washing treatment liquid inside the tank storage part 11, a predetermined amount of the washing treatment liquid is introduced into the washing tub 4 at a predetermined timing by using the supply device 17 as a driving source. can do.

The mesh 31a of the laundry treatment liquid tank 15 blocks the foreign matter inside the water tank of the tank body 15a, preventing it from flowing into the washing tub 4 side.
As shown in FIG. 8, the partition member 32 is provided so as to bridge between a vertical intermediate position of the tank filter 31 and a predetermined position above the opening 23a, and is partitioned by the tank filter 31 in the tank main body 15a. The space on the side of the opened opening 23a is partitioned into an upper side and a lower side. The mesh 31a is provided below the intermediate position of the tank filter 31 in the vertical direction. Therefore, even if the washing liquid in the tank main body 15a decreases considerably, the washing liquid in the tank main body 15a is sucked by the piston pump as the supply device 17 until the water level drops below the upper end of the mesh 31a. However, it is possible to prevent the air above the water surface of the washing treatment liquid from being sucked in. In this case, even if the air is sucked, it is limited to the air in the upper space 35 partitioned by the partition member 32 and the tank filter 31 at most. Such air is sucked through a slight gap between the tip of the partition member 32 and the intermediate position or the predetermined position.

Therefore, even if the washing liquid in the tank main body 15a is considerably reduced, it is possible to prevent air from being sucked by the supply device 17, so that the control system (not shown) of the washing machine 1 is designed to A large amount of washing processing liquid can be supplied into the washing tub 4 .
In addition, since it is directly above the opening 23a that becomes the base end portion of the partition member 32 or the tip portion of the partition member 32 abuts, the position of the partition member 32 can be lowered. As a result, the water level of the washing processing liquid, which is the limit at which the air in the tank body 15a is not sucked into the opening 23a, is lowered, and the air is opened even though a large amount of the washing processing liquid remains in the tank body 15a. It is possible to prevent a situation in which the liquid is sucked into 23a.

Next, a plurality of modified examples of the present embodiment described above will be described. In the modified examples described below, the same reference numerals as in the above embodiment are used for the same members as in the above embodiment, and detailed illustration and description are omitted. FIG. 9 is an enlarged vertical cross-sectional view of a portion centering on a tank filter, a partition member, etc. of a washing machine according to a first modification of the embodiment. The first modification differs from the above-described embodiment in that, unlike the tank filter 31, the upper edge 31A1 of the mesh 31aA of the tank filter 31A is the upper edge 23a1 of the opening 23a and the upper edge 23a1 of the opening 23a. is substantially the same height when attached to the washing machine 1. Further, unlike the partition member 32, the partition member 32A is also different in that the plate width direction thereof is substantially horizontal when the laundry treatment liquid tank 15 is attached to the washing machine 1. As shown in FIG. As a result, the height of the partition member 32A on the side of the mesh 31aA can be made lower than in the above embodiment.

As a result, the water level of the laundry processing liquid, which is the limit for preventing the air in the tank body 15a from being sucked into the opening 23a, is further lowered than in the above-described embodiment. Nevertheless, it is possible to further prevent a situation in which air is sucked into the opening 23a.

10 is a top perspective view of a tank filter of a washing machine according to a second modification of the embodiment, FIG. 11 is a bottom perspective view of the same, and FIG. 13 is a longitudinal sectional view of the laundry processing liquid tank 15 equipped with the tank filter of FIGS. 10 to 12. FIG.

The second modification differs from the above-described embodiment in that the cross-sectional shape of the tank filter 31B in the thickness direction is curved. In this example, as shown in FIG. 12, it is bent in a doglegged shape, but this bent shape can be implemented in various ways. As shown in FIGS. 10 and 11, mountain-shaped side plates 41, 41 are provided on both sides of the tank filter 31B. Further, as shown in FIG. 11, a rib 43 is formed in a straight line in the most concave portion of the rear surface 42 of the tank filter 31B, and the rib 43 is also formed in the central portion of the tank filter 31B in the left-right direction so as to be perpendicular to the rib 43. A rib 44 is formed in a straight line. Unlike the tank filter 31, the tank filter 31B spans between the inner surface of one longitudinal side plate 15aB1 of the tank body 15a and the inner bottom surface of the bottom plate 15a1. Although not shown, this covers the entire opening 23a. At this time, the convex portion 45 of the tank filter 31B faces the water tank side in the tank main body 15a, and the rear surface 42 of the tank filter 31B faces the opening 23a side. Although not shown in FIG. 10 and subsequent figures, the partition member 32 spans between the intermediate height of the tank filter 31B and the upper portion of the opening 23a also in the second modification.

As described above, the tank filter 31B is bent in a doglegged shape and provided with the side plates 41, 41 and the ribs 43, 44, so that the tank filter 31B has higher strength than the tank filter 31 described above.
In addition, since the protruding portion 45 of the tank filter 31B, which is bent in a doglegged shape, faces the water tank side in the tank main body 15a, deformation is prevented with high strength even if it is pressed from the water tank side in the tank main body 15a. can do.

In addition, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and includes various modifications. For example, the above-described embodiments have been described in detail in order to explain the present invention in an easy-to-understand manner, and are not necessarily limited to those having all the described configurations. In addition, it is possible to replace part of the configuration of one embodiment with the configuration of another embodiment, and it is also possible to add the configuration of another embodiment to the configuration of one embodiment. Moreover, it is also possible to add, delete, or replace a part of the configuration of each embodiment with another configuration.

1 washing machine 15, 16 laundry treatment liquid tank 15a, 16a tank main body 17 supply device (piston pump)
23 discharge part 23a opening 31, 31A, 31B tank filter 31a mesh 32 partition member 45 convex part

Claims (6)

a tank body in which the laundry processing liquid is stored;
a discharge part that is open to the bottom side in the tank body and communicates with the outside and serves as a discharge port for the washing treatment liquid;
a tank filter formed with a mesh or a slit that allows the washing liquid to pass through and covering the periphery of the opening of the discharge part in the tank body;
A space on the side of the opening partitioned by the tank filter in the tank main body is provided so as to bridge between an intermediate position in the vertical direction of the tank filter and a predetermined position in the upper part of the opening. and a partition member that partitions into
The mesh or slit is provided below the intermediate position of the tank filter ,
The tank filter has a bent cross-sectional shape in the thickness direction, and the convex direction due to the bending is the opposite direction to the opening side. and ribs are formed in a portion having the most concave shape due to the bending and a portion perpendicular to the portion . 2. The laundry processing liquid tank according to claim 1, wherein the partition member is a rib extending from the intermediate position and contacting the predetermined position or extending from the predetermined position and contacting the intermediate position. 3. The laundry processing liquid tank according to claim 1, wherein the predetermined position is directly above the opening. The upper edge of the mesh or slit has substantially the same height as the upper edge of the opening when installed in the washing machine,
4. The laundry processing liquid tank according to claim 3, wherein the partition member has a plate width direction that is horizontal when mounted in the washing machine. a washing tub;
The laundry processing liquid tank according to any one of claims 1 to 4 ;
and a supply device for supplying the washing treatment liquid in the tank body into the washing tub through the discharge part. 6. The washing machine according to claim 5 , wherein said supply device is a piston pump.

Images