JPH0367440B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (A) Field of Industrial Application The present invention relates to a drum-type washing machine in which a rotating drum is driven by a motor via large and small pulleys and a belt.

(b) Conventional technology An example of this type of drum-type washing machine was developed in the 1980s.
As disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 171279, if the drum does not rotate due to a defect in the motor, a thermal relay or thermal protector attached to the motor cuts off the power to perform a protective function.

However, since this method uses temperature as a basis for detection, the detection time is long, and it cannot deal with poor rotation of the drum due to loosening of the belt.

(c) Problems to be Solved by the Invention The present invention is capable of quickly detecting and notifying a drum rotation failure due to a motor failure, belt loosening, or the like.

(d) Means for solving the problem The present invention connects a rotating drum to a drive motor via large and small pulleys and a belt, and drives this drive motor to rotate at at least two rotational speeds, high and low.
On one of the above rotating drum or pulley side and fixed side,
A drum-type washing machine having at least one switch member and an operating member for operating the switch member, the drum type washing machine having a rotation speed detection system that detects the number of times the switch member is switched within a certain period of time from the start of the motor. a comparison unit that compares the number of times of detection by the detection means with a predetermined set number of times; The apparatus is equipped with a control section that switches to a high-speed rotation mode and instructs a notification means such as a buzzer or a display to report malfunction of the drum if it is in the high-speed rotation mode.

(E) Function: When the drive motor is in high-speed rotation mode, measure a certain period of time at the start of the mode using, for example, a counter, and measure how many times the switch member switches during this period, in other words, how many times the drum rotates. The number of times of detection is compared with a preset lower limit number of times, and if the number of times of detection is less than the lower limit number of times, it is determined that there is a rotation failure and an abnormality is notified.

Also, if the rotation speed mode of the drive motor at this time is low-speed rotation mode, before reporting an abnormality, switch to high-speed rotation mode and restart, and if a rotational failure is still detected, an abnormality notification will be issued. .

(f) Example To explain based on the drawings, 1 in Fig. 5
The horizontal bottomed cylindrical outer tank 2 is connected to the spring 3...
This is the frame of a dry cleaning machine that is elastically supported by dampers 4 and 4. A rotary drum 5 is coaxially and rotatably installed in the outer tank 2, and serves as a washing, dewatering (liquid), and drying processing chamber.

Reference numeral 6 denotes a large pulley fixed to the rotating shaft of the rotating drum 5, which is suspended by a belt 9 to a small pulley 8 fixed to the rotating shaft of the dewatering motor 7. Reference numeral 10 denotes a washing motor, which is connected to the rotating part of the dewatering motor 7 through large and small pulleys 11 and 12 and a belt 13. Here, although the dewatering motor 7 and the washing motor 10 are induction motors, their respective frequencies are controlled and their rotation speeds can be continuously changed from low speed to high speed.

14... is a switch member arranged at each predetermined rotation angle on the outside of the rear surface of the outer tank 2.
If there are 1, they are provided every 60 degrees, preferably 5 or more. Reference numeral 15 denotes a switch actuating member fixed to the outer circumference or arm of the large pulley 6 so as to correspond to each switch member 14. to switch. As the switch members 14 and the operating member 15, a photo sensor and a shield plate, a reed switch and a magnet, an oscillation coil and a magnetic counter, etc. can be considered.

Regarding such switch members and operating members, as shown in FIG. 6, one switch member 14 can be replaced with six operating members 15 (each at an interval of 60 degrees). If the switching system is a combination of a photo sensor and a shield plate, the arm itself can be used as the actuating member 15. If it is a combination of a reed switch and a magnet, or a combination of an oscillation coil and a magnetic pair, the arm itself can be used as the actuating member 15. A magnet or magnetic material is attached.

Note that with the switch member 14 on the rotating side, the operating member 1
5 may be on the fixed side.

The entire operation of such a dry cleaning machine is controlled by a microcomputer (hereinafter referred to as microcomputer) 16, and a control block diagram of this microcomputer 16 is shown in FIG. As disclosed in the same figure, the microcomputer 16 includes the switch member 14 (or one switch member 14), a washing method setting key 17, a drum rotation speed setting key 18 during washing, a start key 19, and a stop key 20. can be entered. By using the setting key 17, for example, so-called swing washing can be established, in which the rotating drum 5 is swung left and right to wash delicate clothes without hitting them. Further, the rotation speed of the washing motor 10 can be switched between high and low two stages by frequency control according to the load amount and type using the setting key 18.

Then, the microcomputer 16 calls up an operating program previously stored in the ROM, changes it as necessary according to each input signal, and operates the washing motor 10 and the dewatering motor 7 via inverters 21 and 22, respectively, based on this operating program. At the same time, it is output to the display 23, buzzer 24, and output system 25 of other dry cleaning machines.

The flowchart in FIG. 2 shows how the rotating drum 5 is reversed left and right in the washing process to perform the washing operation. Here, first, the frequency is set based on the setting signal of the setting key 18, and the washing operation is started. The motor 10 is rotated in one direction. The microcomputer 16 clears the counter, checks the number of times the switch member 14 has been switched, and increments the counter by 1 each time the switch member 14 is switched.
(144 degrees if there are 5 switch members 14 or actuating members 15, 120 degrees if there are 6 switch members 14 or operating members 15), it is determined that the drum rotation is good, and the elapsed time of the drum ON time established in advance is measured during the washing process. It is checked over time and when the ON time has elapsed, the motor 10 is stopped. The elapse of a predetermined OFF time is checked along with the elapse of the washing stroke time, and when the OFF time has elapsed, the washing motor 10 is reversed. Thereafter, the counter is cleared, the number of times the switch member 14 is switched is checked by the number detection section, and when the number of times of switching is counted and reaches 2, the drum rotation is determined to be good, and the drum rotation is stopped after the ON time has elapsed, and the washing motor 10 is stopped after the OFF time has elapsed. Reverse it again. Thereafter, such operations are performed until the washing process time has elapsed.

Meanwhile, the counter is cleared and the switch member 14
When checking the number of switching times, if 5 seconds elapse before the number of switching times is counted twice, motor 1
0 and check whether the drum rotation speed is set low. If it is low, the output voltage V is made high according to the ratio between the inverter output voltage V and the frequency f, or the motor 10 is restarted with the frequency f and the output voltage being made high. Even at this restart, the number of times the switch member 14 is switched is detected, and if the counter reaches 2, the normal reversing operation is performed. However, if the counter does not reach 2 even after restarting, or if the counter does not reach 2 even though the drum rotation speed has been set high from the beginning, the microcomputer 16 detects an abnormality in the motor 10.
Alternatively, it is determined that the belts 9 and 13 are loose, and the display 23 displays a drum rotation failure, and the buzzer 24 is activated at the same time.

A washing process in which swing washing is designated by the setting key 17 is shown in the flowchart of FIG. Such work is characterized in that the drum reversal ON time is not set, and the motor 10 is stopped when the switch member 14 is switched twice. That is, the rotating drum 5 is rotated by two switch members 14 or actuating members 15 (144 degrees if there are five members,
(If there are 6 pieces, 120 degrees) and inertial rotation, then stop, and then rotate left and right repeatedly. For this reason, the clothes in the rotating drum 5 are not swept up and dropped, but instead rise and fall repeatedly, and are washed with less damage. still,
The rotation angle of the drum 5 to the left and right can be changed by changing the comparison value (currently 2) of the counter.

Next, the flowchart in FIG. 4 shows the rotation speed control of the dehydration motor 7 in the dehydration (liquid) process. Here, the microcomputer 16 initially outputs a signal corresponding to 25 Hz to the inverter 22, and starts the dehydration motor 7 at low speed rotation in one direction. Then, the microcomputer 16 checks the switching interval of the switch member 14 using the rotation speed detecting section, and determines the switching interval at the predetermined 25Hz.
It is compared with the corresponding reference value of 50rpm to determine whether the reference value has been reached. Once the frequency is reached, the frequency is changed to 75Hz and compared with the corresponding standard value of 150r.pm, and thereafter each time the standard is reached, the frequency is changed to 100Hz (200r.pm) and 125Hz.
(250r.pm), 150Hz (300r.pm), 200Hz (400r.p.
m) and output to change the frequency. Also,
The output voltage of the inverter 22 is high at the 25Hz stage,
After that, lower it. In this way, the dewatering motor 7 accelerates, but the degree of acceleration changes depending on the amount of clothes (load amount) in the rotating drum 5. When the microcomputer 16 outputs a 200Hz compatible signal to the inverter 22, it determines whether a predetermined time set in advance manually or automatically has elapsed, and predetermines centrifugal dewatering at the maximum speed even under the full load. I only let it run for hours.

In this way, in the dehydration (liquid) process, the total process time is automatically changed according to the load amount without wasting any waste.

(G) Effects of the Invention According to the present invention, it is possible to quickly detect a drum rotation failure due to a motor failure, belt loosening, etc., so accidents such as abnormal motor heat generation can be prevented, which is extremely effective. A highly safe drum-type washing machine can be provided.

Furthermore, at this time, if the rotation speed mode of the drive motor is the low speed rotation mode, it is switched to the high speed rotation mode and restarted, and then an abnormality is determined, so that the cleaning operation is not interrupted unnecessarily.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Fig. 1 is a control block diagram of a drum-type washing machine according to the present invention, Figs. 2 to 4 are flowcharts for explaining the operation, Fig. 5 is a rear view showing the internal mechanism, and Fig. 6 is another embodiment. This is a diagram corresponding to FIG. 5 as an example. 5... Rotating drum, 6, 8, 11, 12... Pulley, 9, 13... Belt, 7... Dewatering motor,
10...Washing motor, 14...Switch member, 1
5... Operating member, 16... Microcomputer.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A rotating drum is connected to a drive motor via large and small pulleys and a belt, and the drive motor is driven to rotate at at least two high and low rotational speeds, and at least one switch is installed on the rotating drum or on one of the pulley side and the fixed side. a rotation speed detecting section for detecting the number of times the switch member is switched within a certain period of time from activation of the motor; a comparison unit that compares the number of times with a predetermined set number of times, and when the number of detected times is smaller than the set number of times, if the drive motor is in a low speed rotation mode, the drive motor is switched to a high speed rotation mode; A drum-type washing machine characterized by comprising a control section that instructs a notification means such as a buzzer or a display to report a rotational failure of the drum.