JPH0251358B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (Technical Field) The present invention relates to a method for controlling dehydration in fully automatic washing machines, centrifugal dehydrators, and the like.

(Prior Art) Conventionally, in the case of a system in which the amount of water that jumps out of a dehydration tank is used as dehydration control data and the dehydration operation is controlled based on this data, for example, the dehydration rate changes from rapid to slow due to a change in the amount of water that jumps out. Based on the elapsed time from the start of dehydration to the above-mentioned point, the time until completion of dehydration is calculated, and the end of the dehydration operation is controlled.

By the way, even with such a centrifugal dehydrator,
If the dehydration lid is opened during the dehydration operation, the dehydration operation is interrupted for safety reasons, but the control in this case is to first stop the dehydration operation by opening the dehydration lid, and then check the dehydration control data until the lid is opened. When the dehydration operation was resumed by closing the lid and returning to the initial state, the end of the dehydration operation was controlled based on the dehydration control data after restart, resulting in insufficient dehydration as shown below. I was getting used to it.

For example, if the dehydration lid is opened once before the point at which the dehydration rate changes from rapid to slow, and then operation is restarted by closing the lid, the time from restarting operation to reaching the above point is short, and based on this time. Since the dehydration completion time is calculated based on the time, the dehydration time is shorter than the actual time required to complete the dehydration (approximately three times the elapsed time from the start of dehydration to the above point).
This will lead to dehydration. In addition, if the dehydration lid is opened after the dehydration rate changes from rapid to slow, it is determined that the above point does not occur after restarting operation and there is no signal after a certain period of time, and the predetermined minimum time is determined. The dehydration operation ends at this point, resulting in insufficient dehydration.

(Purpose) The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and it stores the dehydration control data from when the lid is opened to when the lid is opened without canceling it, and compares this dehydration control data with the dehydration control data after restarting operation. By controlling the end of the dehydration operation based on the comparison result, the dehydration shortage caused by opening and closing of the dehydration lid is resolved.

(Embodiment) The method of the present invention uses the amount of water that jumps out of the dehydration tank as dehydration control data and controls the dehydration operation based on the data, and includes a lid opening/closing detection means for detecting opening/closing of the dehydration lid; an operation restart means for stopping the dewatering operation in response to a lid opening signal from the means, retaining dehydration control data up to the lid opening, and restarting the dehydrating operation in response to a subsequent lid closing signal; and dehydration control data after the operation is resumed by the means. and a comparison means for comparing the dehydration control data up to the opening of the lid, and controls the end of the dehydration operation based on the comparison result by the comparison means.One embodiment thereof will be described in detail below.

Figure 1 is a front view showing the main parts of the dehydration sensor.
FIG. 2 shows the same side view, showing a ceramic piezoelectric element 12 (hereinafter referred to as a piezoelectric element. Electrodes are formed on both sides of the piezoelectric element 12, respectively) and the piezoelectric element 1.
2 shows the external appearance of the metal diaphragm 11 and the electrode terminals 13 and 14, which are connected to one electrode surface of the metal diaphragm 11 and bonded together.

FIG. 3 shows the appearance of the dehydration sensor 10, where 15 is an electrically insulating case. 17a~
d is a stop hole.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along line A-A' in FIG. 3, in which the piezoelectric element 12 and metal diaphragm 11 shown in FIG. It shows the condition. 15a is a circular protrusion provided on the case.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of the main parts when the dehydration sensor 10 is attached to the dehydrator, in which 1 is the machine frame, and the machine frame 1 has a motor 2 that drives the dehydrator tank 5 via a cushioning material (for example, a spring) 4. is installed. The dewatering tank 5 is connected to the motor 2 by a shaft 3. Reference numeral 6 is a water receiving tank located on the outer periphery of the dewatering tank 5 for receiving the dehydrated liquid, and a drain pipe 7 is connected to a part of the bottom of the tank. The dehydration tank 5 has an appropriate number of holes 8a to 8d through which the dehydration liquid passes. Several dehydration sensors 10 (9 in this embodiment) are provided at the bottom of the dehydration tank 5.
The hole 8a is provided so as to face the hole 8a of the hole 8a.

FIG. 6 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of a main part showing a state in which the dehydration sensor 10 is attached. The case 15 of the dehydration sensor 10 is inserted into the screw 19 and the nut 2 through the gasket 18a in such a way as to cover the hole made in the water tank 6.
0, it is closely fixed to the water receiving tank 6. The protrusion 15a of the case 15 bites into the gasket 18a. 18b is also Patsukin. The arrows indicate where the water droplets collide.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram of the main part of the electronic control circuit that controls the dehydration process, in which the detection section 21 is connected to the dehydration sensor 10.
an amplification circuit 22 for amplifying the output voltage of the dehydration sensor 10; and a comparison circuit 23 provided to compare with a constant voltage and output only when the voltage is higher than the constant voltage in order to eliminate a small output voltage from the dehydration sensor 10. When there is an output via the comparator circuit 23 (one output is for a short time), a peak value hold circuit 24 generates an output that is discharged in a longer time than that, and when the output exceeds a certain voltage, an L signal is generated. The comparator circuit 25 outputs an H signal whose output is below a certain voltage.

In FIG. 7, 26 is a start switch that starts the dehydration process, 100 is a controller composed of a microcomputer, and controller 10
The relationship between the basic configuration of 0 and the external circuit is shown in FIG.

101 is a CPU, 102 is a program/fixed data memory ROM, and 103 is a temporary storage memory.
RAM, 104 is a timer, and 105 is an I/O section (input/output section). 27 is a lid switch that responds to the opening and closing of the dehydration lid, and 28 is a lid switch that turns on the motor 2 by the output of the controller 100.
This is a drive circuit that turns off, and in Fig. 7, a relay is assumed in the drive circuit, and its contact point is 33. 3
0 and 32 are windings of the motor 2, and 31 is a capacitor.

FIG. 9 is a model diagram showing the dehydration rate and the output change of the detection unit 21, and the output of the detection unit 21 is as follows.
From the start of dehydration until the water droplets collide with the dehydration sensor 10, the signal becomes H, and when the water droplets from the dehydration tank 5 begin to collide with the dehydration sensor 10, it changes to the L signal. The water droplets from 5 rapidly decrease and continue until the amount and strength of the water droplets colliding with the dehydration sensor 10 decreases, after which the signal switches to the H signal. On the other hand, the change in the dehydration rate is rapid for a while after the start of dehydration, and when the dehydration rate reaches approximately 40%, it changes from rapid to slow, and the point where the dehydration rate changes from rapid to slow is when the signal from the detection unit 21 is L. It coincides with the point where H becomes H. In order to completely squeeze out the dehydrated material, it takes about three times the time required from the start of dehydration until the signal from the detection unit 21 changes from L to H.

Next, an example of controlling the dewatering operation will be explained according to the flowchart of FIG. 10. First, turn on the start switch 26. Confirm that the start switch 26 is ON with the L input of _I1 and initialize it.
After performing T ₄ =0 and then confirming that the lid switch 27 is ON, the output of O ₁ becomes H and the drive circuit 28
The motor 2 is driven, the timer 104 is started, and dehydration is started. Then, the detection section 2
It is repeatedly determined whether the output of 1 is I ₂ =L until a certain period of time has passed, and when it is determined that I ₂ =L, then I ₂
Wait until I = H, and if I ₂ = H, timer 1
Read the data T of 04 and store it as T ₅ , and from this T ₅ the dehydration completion time T ₁ (T ₁ = T ₅ × 3)
Calculate. Then, the timer data T is T≧
If it is determined whether T ₁ or not, and T≧T ₁ , the dehydration is completed, so the output of O ₁ is set to L, the motor 2 is stopped via the drive circuit 28, the timer 104 is stopped, and the timer data is Clear.

On the other hand, if I ₂ does not become L within a certain period of time from the start of dehydration, it is determined that there is some abnormality, the dehydration completion time T ₁ is set to a predetermined short time, and the timer data T is T≧
When _T1 is reached, the motor 2 is stopped, the timer 104 is stopped, and the timer data is cleared.

Normally, the dewatering operation is controlled as described above, but during this time the lid switch 27 is always turned on and
We have confirmed that the dehydration lid is OFF, that is, the dehydration lid is opened and closed, and if the dehydration lid is opened during dehydration and the lid switch 27 is turned off.
When it is confirmed that the motor 2 is turned off, motor 2 is stopped and the dehydration operation is interrupted, and at this time, the timer 1 is
Read the data T of 04 and set it as T ₃ . Next, the dehydration completion time T ₂ is calculated based on the signal from the detection unit 21 until the dehydration lid is opened. For example, before the dehydration lid is opened, the signal from the detection unit 21 is I ₂
= L, and then I ₂ = H, read out the data T ₅ when I ₂ = H, and based on this, calculate the dehydration completion time T ₂ (T ₂ = T ₅ × 3 ) is calculated. If the dehydration lid is opened before the signal from the detection unit 21 becomes I ₂ =H, the dehydration completion time T ₂ (T ₂ =T ₃ ×3) is calculated based on the timer data T ₃ .

After that, dehydration completion time T ₂ and timer data T ₃
Calculate the remaining dehydration time T ₄ (T ₄ = T ₂ − _{T 3} ) by
Stop the timer 104, clear the timer data T, and wait until the lid switch 27 is turned on. Then, when the dehydration lid is closed and the lid switch 27 is turned on, the output of _O1 is set to H again to drive the motor 2 to restart the dehydration operation, and the timer 104 is started. After restarting operation, the detection unit 2
1 signal, the dehydration completion time T ₁ is calculated as described above.

Next, compare the dehydration control data until the lid is opened and the dehydration control data after restarting operation, that is, compare T ₄ and T ₁ , and if T ₄ > T ₁ , the timer data T is T≧T. ₄ , or if T ₄ < T ₁ , the dehydration operation is performed until the timer data T becomes T≧T ₁ , then the motor 2 is stopped and the timer 10 is
Stop 4 and clear the timer data.

As described above, by comparing the dehydration control data up to the opening of the lid with the dehydration control data after restarting operation, and controlling the end of the dehydration operation based on the result,
Even if the dehydration lid is opened to correct imbalance or to add dehydrated material, dehydration will not be insufficient, and of course, dehydrated material added midway through can be sufficiently dehydrated.

(Effects) As described above, the dehydration control method of the present invention does not cause insufficient dehydration due to opening and closing of the dehydration lid during the dehydration operation, and is excellent in practice.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

The figures show an embodiment of the present invention, FIGS. 1 and 2 are front and side views showing the main parts of the dehydration sensor, FIG. 3 is a front view of the dehydration sensor, and FIG. 4 is A of FIG. 3. -A' sectional view, Figure 5 is a schematic cross-sectional configuration diagram of the dehydrator equipped with a dehydration sensor, Figure 6 is a sectional view showing the installed state of the dehydration sensor, Figure 7 is a block diagram of the main parts of the electronic control circuit, FIG. 8 is a diagram showing the relationship between the controller and the external circuit, and FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an example of the temporal change in dehydration rate and the output signal of the detection unit.
FIG. 10 is a dehydration control flowchart. 5: Dehydration tank, 10: Dehydration sensor, 21: Detection section, 27: Lid switch, 100: Controller.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1 In a device that controls the dehydration operation based on the data such as the amount of water that jumps out of the dehydration tank as dehydration control data, the dehydration operation is stopped by a lid opening/closing detection means for detecting the opening and closing of the dehydration lid and an opening signal from the means. and an operation restart means for holding the dehydration control data up to the opening of the lid and restarting the dehydration operation in response to a subsequent lid closing signal; A dewatering control method comprising a comparison means for comparison, and controlling the end of a dehydration operation based on the comparison result by the comparison means.