JPH0380520B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (a) Field of Industrial Application The present invention relates to a device for dispensing laundry treatment agents such as fabric softeners.

(b) Prior Art A general washing machine will be explained based on FIG. 12. 1 is a machine frame, 2 is an operation part provided at the rear of the upper part of the machine frame 1, 3 is an outer tank installed inside the machine frame 1, 4 is installed inside the outer tank 3, and dewatering holes 5 are provided around the periphery. 6 is a large-diameter mountain-shaped rotating blade disposed at the bottom of the washing tub 4; 7 is a drive motor;
It is connected to the rotary blade 6 via a power transmission mechanism 8, and rotates the rotary blade 6 during washing, and rotates both the washing tub 4 and the rotary blade 6 at high speed during dehydration. 9 is a drain port provided at the bottom of the outer tank 3, 10 is a drain pipe connected to the drain port 9, 11 is a drain solenoid valve provided in the drain pipe 10, and 12 is a water supply provided in the water supply pipe 13. It is a solenoid valve. An air trap 14 is provided at one corner of the bottom of the outer tank 3, and is connected to a pressure switch 15 in the operating section 2 via a pressure hose 16.

In such a washing machine, a device that automatically adds fabric softener etc. into the washing tub 4 at a predetermined time is disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication No. 60-50479 (D06F 39/02) and Japanese Patent Publication No. 62-10680. (D06F 39/02).

That is, in the former case, a container in which the finishing agent is stored is attached to the balance ring in advance, and the finishing agent is moved between holding chambers divided within the container using centrifugal force during dehydration, and then added during the final rinse. In the latter, a storage container for the finishing agent is placed in advance in the operating section, and the container is moved to the input position at a predetermined time by controlling a cam.

(c) Problems to be solved by the invention In the conventional example, in the former case, when an abnormality occurs in the dehydration operation such as dehydration unbalance and an operation to correct the imbalance is performed, In the latter case, there is a problem that the finishing agent remains in the corners of the container and sticks to it.

In view of the above problems, the present invention provides a washing treatment agent dispensing device that has a reliable dispensing operation and is easy to clean.

(d) Means for Solving the Problems The laundry treatment agent feeding device of the present invention includes: a storage portion with an opening on the top surface for storing the laundry treatment agent; and a lid body that covers the top surface of the storage portion so as to be openable and closable. a siphon device provided in the storage section for leading out the washing treatment agent together with water to the outside of the storage section; a water inlet body provided in parallel with the storage section and having a bottom opening into which supply water is introduced; A water inlet cover rotatably biased to open and close the lower surface of the water inlet body, a rotating means for the water inlet cover, and an overflow port provided at a position facing the inside of the storage portion of the water inlet body. and a water supply channel for accommodating the washing treatment agent and supply water drawn out from the siphon device and the water inlet body and introducing them into the washing tub.

(E) Function: When supply water is introduced into the water inlet body, when the water inlet cover opens the lower surface of the water inlet body by the rotating means, the supplied water falls directly onto the water supply path. In addition, if the opening degree of the water inlet cover is small or if the water inlet body is blocked, the supplied water is supplied into the reservoir from the overflow port of the water inlet body, and the laundry treatment agent is dissolved in this water, and the siphon device It is led out onto the water supply road. Then, it is introduced into the washing tub from the water supply channel.

(F) Embodiment An embodiment of the present invention will be described based on FIGS. 1 to 11. However, the same reference numerals are used for the same parts as in the conventional example, and the explanation is omitted.

First, the finishing agent feeding device 17 will be explained.

The operating section 2 is formed of synthetic resin into a box shape, and is integrally provided with a recess with an opening on the upper surface at one rear corner of the upper surface, so as to store laundry processing agents such as finishing agents (hereinafter referred to as finishing agents). It constitutes a storage section 18. A lid 19 is pivotally supported at the rear of the storage section 18, so that the upper surface of the storage section 18 can be opened and closed. A siphon device 20 is provided on the bottom surface 18a of the storage section 18, and water in the storage section 18 is drawn out from the bottom surface 18a due to the siphon effect. Further, the front wall 21 of the storage section 18 is provided with an overflow section 22 for preventing the water level in the storage section 18 from rising and overflowing from the top surface. In Figure 5
H ₁ ) is set higher than the operating water level of the siphon device 20 (H ₂ in FIG. 5).

23 is a box-shaped water inlet body with an open bottom;
They are arranged in parallel in front of the storage section 18.

Reference numeral 24 denotes a gutter-shaped water supply channel provided below the storage section 18 and the water inlet body 23, which slopes downward from the rear to the front. It is accommodated in the water supply channel 24,
The water is poured into the washing tub 4 from the front end 24a. 2
5 is a rectifying pin that is integrally protruded from the front part of the water supply channel 24.

As shown in FIG. 3, a joint portion 27 for connecting the water supply pipe 13 via a groove-like portion 26 is integrally formed on one side wall 24b of the water supply channel 24. A supply water introduction part 28 and a cover part 29 covering the upper surface of the groove part 26 are integrally formed on the side wall 23a. Then, the groove portion 26 of the water supply channel 24 is covered with the cover portion 29 of the water inlet body 23, and the water inlet body 23 is fixed to the screwed portion 30 of the water supply channel 24. Therefore, the water supplied from the water supply pipe 13 is supplied to the joint portion 2.
7, is introduced into the water inlet body 23 from the introduction part 28 through a flow path 31 constituted by the groove part 26 and the cover part 29. At this time, since the flow path 31 is bent at about 45 degrees as shown in FIG. 2, the water pressure is weakened by this flow path resistance. Further, as shown in FIG. 8, the cover portion 31 and the groove portion 26 are arranged in a groove 32 having a U-shaped cross section formed at the end of the cover portion 31.
By fitting and connecting the upper ends of the grooved portions 26, water leakage is prevented as much as possible.

Now, 33 is the front wall 23b of the water inlet body 23.
The water inlet 34 (lower end) is higher than the lower surface of the water inlet body 23, and the water outlet is an overflow port 35 that extends from the rear wall 23d to the storage section 18. Overflow part 2
It is protruded into 2. Further, the side walls 33a and 33b of this overflow channel 33 are located at the end of the water inlet 34, as shown in FIG.
3b is cut out. 36 is the water inlet body 23
A rib that protrudes from the peripheral wall and extends below the lower surface. Note that a rectifying pin (not shown) is provided protrudingly within the water inlet body 23.

Reference numeral 37 denotes a water inlet cover pivotally supported on the rear part of the rib 36 to cover the lower surface of the water inlet body 23, and an operating piece 38 serving as a point of effort is connected to the reservoir 18.
The spring 3 extends to the side of the operating piece 38.
9 is locked, and the water inlet cover 37 is always urged to be in the closed state. The spring 39 is held by being wound around the pivot shaft 40 of the water inlet cover 37. Furthermore, the water inlet cover 37 is
A depression from the periphery to the center and one end side 37
The water inlet body 23 has a wall thickness t ₁ of a portion of the water inlet body 23 that abuts the water inlet cover 37 and is set to be 1 mm or less. These are measures to prevent freezing, which will be described later. Further, the three sides of the water inlet cover 37 are completely in close contact with the lower surface of the water inlet body 23, and a gap _t2 is provided only on the one end side 37a.

An operating arm 41 further extends from the operating piece 38 along the side wall of the storage section 18,
On the other hand, reference numeral 42 denotes a rotating arm that rotates in conjunction with the opening and closing of the lid 19, which rotates during the opening operation of the lid 19, comes into contact with the operating arm 41, and pushes up the operating arm 41 from below. . Therefore, the water inlet cover 37 rotates against the biasing force of the spring 39, and the lower surface of the water inlet body 23 is opened. At this time, opening the lid 19 means supplying the finishing agent into the reservoir 18, so the supplied water rises up the overflow channel 33 and flows from the overflow port 35 of the water inlet body 23 into the reservoir. The water inlet cover 37 is opened at such an opening that the water is not introduced into the water inlet cover 18.
need to be rotated. In this embodiment, the opening degree x is set to 25 degrees or more based on experiments.

Reference numeral 43 denotes a mounting plate that is attached to a fixing part 44 integrally formed in the water supply channel 24 so as to be located on the side of the operating arm 41, and a solenoid 45 for supplying finishing agent is fixed thereto. . 46 is an actuation piece bent into an S-shape, one end 46a of which is
It is inserted and pivoted into a pivot hole 47 provided at the lower part of the mounting plate 43, and is constantly urged in the pressing direction (arrow direction in FIG. 4) by a spring member 48 between it and the mounting plate 43. ing. Therefore, the other end 46b of the actuating piece 46 is urged to rotate in the direction opposite to the arrow by the spring member 48, and comes into contact with the side surface of the operating arm 41. The other end side 4 of the operating piece 46
6b is also attracted by the excitation of the solenoid 45, rotates against the bias of the spring member 48, and is released from the contact state with the operating arm 41.

As described above, when the operating arm 41 is pushed up by the opening operation of the lid 19, the other end 46 of the operating piece 46 is biased by the spring member 48.
b moves below the operating arm 41, so
Even if the lid body 19 is closed, the return of the operating arm 41 is regulated, and the water inlet cover 37 is closed to the water inlet body 23.
is held with the bottom side open.

In such a configuration, the user can open the lid 19
is opened and a predetermined amount of finishing agent is poured into the storage section 18. This opening/closing operation of the lid body 19 locks the water inlet cover 37 in the open position. When the program is started, the water supply solenoid valve 12 is first opened, and supply water is introduced into the water inlet body 23 from the introduction port 28. This water directly falls from the lower surface of the water inlet body 23 onto the water supply channel 24, and is poured into the washing tub 4 from the front end 24a (as shown by the dotted line in Figure 5). In the final rinsing process, when the finishing agent injection solenoid 45 is energized, the actuating piece 46 is attracted and the locking between the actuating piece 46 and the operating arm 41 is released, so that the water inlet cover is 37 returns to rotation due to the bias of the spring 39 and closes the lower surface of the water inlet body 23 . When water is supplied, the water introduced into the water inlet body 23 rises in the overflow channel 33 and reaches the water inlet 3 because the lower surface is closed.
5 into the storage section 18 (solid line state in FIG. 5). At this time, if the water pressure is higher than a predetermined level, the water inlet cover 37 opens with an opening degree corresponding to the water pressure against the spring 39, so that a part of the supplied water escapes therefrom. Therefore, the amount of water discharged from the overflow port 35 is approximately constant regardless of the water pressure. When water is supplied into the storage section 18, the finishing agent is dissolved in this water, and the water is drawn out onto the water supply channel 24 by the siphon device 20, and is applied to the front end 24 of the water supply channel 24.
It is supplied into the washing tub 4 from a. Further, water that cannot be treated by the siphon device 20 is led out onto the water supply channel 24 from the overflow part 22 on the front wall of the storage part 18.

The finishing agent feeding device 17 described above has the following effects in addition to the effects already described.

(a) Since the channel 31 and the overflow channel 33 have a bent structure, water flow can be buffered at these locations.

(b) The ribs 36 formed on the water inlet body 23 prevent water spouting from the lower surface from scattering.

(c) When the water supply channel 24 is filled with water, the water outlet 20a of the siphon device 20 may become blocked with water and the siphon device ₂₀ may become inoperable. The operating water level _H2 was lowered. Therefore, the siphon operates before the water supply channel 24 is filled with water due to overflow, so the above-mentioned danger does not arise.

(d) The wall thickness t ₁ of the lower end of the water inlet body 23 is set to 1 mm or less, and the water inlet cover 37 is sloped and a gap t ₂ is provided, both of which are measures against freezing. By making the wall thickness thin as in the former case, even if the contact point between the water inlet body 23 and the water inlet cover 37 freezes, it will easily come off, and by making it in the latter case, it will not remain on the water inlet cover 37. Water gathers in the center and flows to one end side 37a, and is discharged onto the water supply channel 24 from the gap _t2 , thereby reducing the degree of freezing.

(e) In the side walls 33a and 33b of the overflow channel, the end of the water inlet 34 farthest from the introduction part 28 is cut out, so that the water from the water guide part 28 hits the opposite side of the water inlet body 23. After rebounding and being buffered, it is led into the overflow channel 33 through the notch. Therefore, water can be smoothly introduced into the overflow channel 33.

(5) Since the inside of the storage section 18 can be seen from the top surface of the operating section 2, cleaning the inside of the storage section 18 is easy.

Now, such a fully automatic washing machine is controlled by a microcomputer, and the control mechanism of the washing machine centered on this microcomputer 47 (hereinafter referred to as microcomputer) will be described below with reference to FIG. 9.

The microcomputer 47 includes a CPU 48, a RAM 49,
It is composed of a ROM 50, a timer 51, a system bus 52, and input/output ports 53-58. Said
The CPU 48 is composed of a control section 59 and a calculation section 60. The control section 59 takes out and executes instructions, and the calculation section 60 receives control signals from the control section 59 during the instruction execution stage. Performs arithmetic processing such as binary addition, logical operations, increase/decrease, and comparison on data provided from input devices and memory. The RAM 49 is for storing information regarding the washing machine, and the ROM 50 is for storing information regarding the washing machine.
The means for operating the washing machine, the setting of conditions for judgment, the rules for processing various information, etc. are loaded in advance.

The input ports 53 to 55 include an input key circuit 61 made up of the various operation keys, a detection circuit 62 such as a water level detector and a top cover safety switch that is linked to opening and closing of the top cover, and a detection circuit 62 such as a water level detector and a top cover safety switch that is linked to opening and closing of the top cover, and a washing machine at a time desired by the user in advance. A signal is input from the time reservation setting circuit 63, etc., which sets the time reservation setting circuit 63 to automatically start, and based on this information, the
An LED drive circuit 64 consisting of a group of LEDs, a buzzer circuit 65 for process end notification or abnormality notification, and a load drive circuit 66 consisting of a bidirectional thyristor, etc.
A control signal is sent to the The load drive circuit 6
6 is a left and right rotation circuit 67 of the rotor blade drive motor 7 according to a control signal from the microcomputer 47;
68, a water supply solenoid valve drive circuit 69 and a drainage solenoid valve drive circuit 70, which control the operation of the finishing agent injection solenoid drive circuit 71; 72 is the microcomputer 47
73 is a reset signal generating circuit.

In this embodiment, as a water level detector in place of the pressure switch 15, a magnetic body is moved in and out of a coil in response to changes in the water level in the washing tub 4 to change the inductance of the coil. It uses a water level sensor (not shown) configured to detect changes in water level.
That is, since the microcomputer 47 detects the water level by determining the change in the inductance of the coil, the water level in the tank can be continuously detected.

Thus, the fully automatic washing machine sequentially executes a program consisting of washing, rinsing, and spin-drying steps under the control of the microcomputer 47. Furthermore, a short dehydration step is performed when transitioning from washing to rinsing and when repeating rinsing. Further, the rinsing process includes two methods, a pre-rinsing method and a water-filling rinsing method, which the user can arbitrarily select before starting the program. Incidentally, a pre-rinse is a process in which water is supplied to a specified level and then the water supply is stopped for rinsing, whereas a water pouring rinse is a process in which the water supply is not stopped and is allowed to overflow while rinsing.

The finishing agent injection operation will be explained below with reference to FIG.

In FIG. 10, the microcomputer 47 determines whether the final rinsing process is a pre-rinse or a water rinse, and controls the X area if it is a pre-rinse and the Y area if it is a water rinse.

(Pre-rinsing) After the intermediate dehydration, the microcomputer 47 first starts supplying water into the washing tub 4 for final rinsing (X-1). Next, when water has been supplied for 10 seconds, the finishing agent input solenoid 45 is energized,
A finishing agent is put into the washing tub 4 (X-2). When this input operation is performed for 2 seconds, the excitation of the solenoid 45 is cut off (X-3), and the water supply is stopped when the set water level is reached (X-4). Thereafter, the stirring operation using the rotary blade 6 is performed for a predetermined period of time.

(Water rinsing) In the case of final rinsing or water rinsing, finish the final rinsing without adding a finishing agent and start draining (Y-1). This drainage is done for 20 seconds,
The state where water still remains in the washing tub 4 is stopped (Y-2). Next, supply water again (Y-3),
At the same time, the finishing agent charging solenoid 45 is energized and the finishing agent is charged into the washing tub 4 (Y-4).
The finishing agent injection operation is completed in 2 seconds (Y-5),
Water supply will stop after 50 seconds (Y-6).
Then, the stirring operation using the rotary blade 6 is performed for 1 minute and ends (Y-7). The reason why the drainage time is shorter than the water supply time is because the drainage capacity is higher than the water supply capacity.

FIG. 11 shows another embodiment, in which the control during preliminary rinsing is the same as in FIG. 10 seconds after the water level reaches the set water level, and water is resupplied to the set water level. By doing this, if the item is washed with the water level set at the lowest level, the amount of finishing agent that is commensurate with the amount of water used is sufficient, and the amount of finishing agent can be saved.

In this example, in the area X, the finishing agent was added for 10 seconds from the start of water supply.
The time period is not limited to seconds, but may be any time required to fill the drain pipe from at least the drain electromagnetic valve 11 to the drain port 9. Also, the reason why the water injection rinsing was not controlled in the same way as the trial rinsing was because
This is because even if the finishing agent diffuses into the rinsing water, most of it will overflow as long as it overflows.

(G) Effects of the Invention The washing treatment agent injection device of the present invention can be loaded at the correct timing, and the treatment agent is less likely to remain in the storage portion and stick, making it easy to clean.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Fig. 1 is a perspective view with main parts cut away of the laundry treatment agent dispensing device of the present invention, Fig. 2 is a diagram of the internal mechanism seen from the same plane, Fig. 3 is a sectional view taken along line B-B' in Fig. 2, and Fig. 4 is a perspective view showing the interlocking mechanism between the lid body and the water inlet cover, Figures 5 and 6 are longitudinal sectional views of the main parts in Figure 2, Figure 7 is a sectional view of the water inlet body, and Figure 8 is the flow path. 9 is a block circuit diagram of the control mechanism, FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing the finishing agent injection operation, FIG. 11 is a diagram equivalent to FIG. 10 showing another embodiment, and FIG. 12 is a dewatering system. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the internal mechanism of the washing machine. 18... Storage part, 19... Lid body, 20... Siphon device, 23... Water inlet body, 24... Water supply channel, 35... Water overflow port, 37... Water inlet cover, 3
8... Operating piece, 39... Spring, 41... Operating arm (38, 39, 41: rotation means).

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A storage section with an opening on the top surface that stores a laundry treatment agent;
a lid that can be opened and closed on the upper surface of the reservoir; a siphon device installed in the reservoir to lead out the laundry treatment agent together with water; and a siphon device installed in parallel with the reservoir; a water inlet body with an opening on the lower surface through which supply water is introduced; a water inlet cover rotatably biased to open and close the lower surface of the water inlet body; a rotating means for the water inlet cover; a water overflow port provided at a position facing the inside of the reservoir of the water inlet body; and a water supply channel for accommodating the washing treatment agent and supply water drawn out from the siphon device and the water inlet body and introducing them into the washing tub. A laundry treatment agent dispensing device characterized by comprising: