JPH0410356B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Object of the Invention] (Industrial Application Field) The present invention relates to a detergent supply device for a washing machine, etc., for supplying a detergent, particularly a powdered detergent, to a washing section of a washing machine, etc.

(Prior Art) Conventionally, detergent supply devices for washing machines and the like used for supplying this type of powdered detergent have been used, for example, in the
As shown in Japanese Patent No. 43827, there is a washing machine in which powdered detergent in a detergent reservoir provided in the upper part of the washing machine is dispensed in fixed amounts by a manually operated valve and supplied into a washing tub. On the other hand, as shown in Japanese Patent Publication No. 42-18769, for example,
Similarly, there is a washing machine in which powdered detergent in a detergent reservoir provided in the upper part of the washing machine is discharged and supplied into the washing tub by a screw driven by a water wheel provided in a water supply channel facing the washing tub.

(Problems to be solved by the invention) Among the above conventional ones, the former
According to the method disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 43827, the valve is manually operated, which makes it troublesome to handle, and it is difficult to supply an appropriate amount of powdered detergent. On the other hand, the latter
According to the method disclosed in Publication No. 42-18769, the user does not need to perform every operation, and the amount of water supplied to the washing tub is proportional to the amount of water supplied into the washing tub. It is not possible to supply the appropriate amount of detergent according to the degree of soiling, and if the amount of detergent used to wash heavily soiled laundry is small, the dirt will transfer to and adhere to other laundry that is less soiled. However, there was a problem in that the degree of contamination was increased.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned circumstances, and its purpose is to provide an excellent method that can automatically supply powder detergent in an appropriate amount according to the degree of dirtiness of the laundry and the user's wishes. The present invention provides a detergent supply device for washing machines, etc.

[Structure of the Invention] (Means for Solving the Problems) The present invention includes a detergent storage section that accommodates and stores powdered detergent, and is driven by an appropriate drive device to remove the powdered detergent from the detergent storage section. and a switch that can arbitrarily set the amount of powdered detergent supplied by the detergent dispenser to a standard value, a value that increases the amount from the standard, and a value that decreases the amount from the standard. It is characterized by this.

(Function) According to the above means, the necessary powder detergent is automatically dispensed from the detergent reservoir by the detergent dispensing member, and the amount is dispensed according to the degree of dirtiness of the laundry and the user's wishes based on the arbitrary switch operation. It will be done.

(Example) An example in which the present invention is applied to a detergent supply device for a washing machine will be described below with reference to the drawings.

First, the main body 1 of the washing machine, the entire structure of which is shown in FIG. In addition, a first operation panel 5 and a second operation panel 6 are provided at the front edge of the lid 4. Of the two operation panels 5 and 6, the first operation panel 5 is constructed as shown in FIG. A switch 7, a switch 8 for setting the desired water level, a switch 9 for setting according to the degree of dirtiness of the laundry or the wishes of the user, and a switch 10 for setting according to the initial capacity of powder detergent in the hopper, which will be described later, are provided. ing. In addition, each switch 7, 8,
The parts to the left of 9 and 10 respectively have switches 7 and 10.
Displays 11, 12, 13, and 14 are provided using light emitting diodes that sequentially emit light in accordance with the number of operations 8, 9, and 10 to display the set contents. On the other hand, the second operation panel 6 is also configured as shown in Fig. 4 in detail, and from the left in the figure there are also switches 15 for setting the desired strength of the water flow, and a switch 15 for setting the desired washing time. A switch 16, a switch 17 for setting the desired number of rinses, a switch 18 for water injection, a switch 19 for setting the desired dehydration time, and a switch 20 for selectively starting and stopping the operation are provided. . In addition, in accordance with this, the parts to the left of the switch 15 and the parts above the switches 16, 17, and 19, respectively, are equipped with the switches 15, 16, 17, and 19.
Indicators 21, 22, which are light emitting diodes that sequentially emit light to display the set contents according to the number of operations of
23 and 24 are provided, and an indicator 25 made of a light emitting diode is also provided above the switch 18.

Further, a platform 3a is provided at the rear edge of the upper cover 3, and a hot pass set opening 26 is formed on the left side of the platform 3a in FIG. Below that, a hopper receiving portion 27 is formed which has a V-shaped cross section as shown in FIG. 5 and is open at both ends as shown in FIG. The hopper receiving part 27 accommodates a hopper 28, which is a detergent storage part, whose lower part is formed into a V-shaped cross section to match the hopper receiving part 27, and whose both sides are also formed obliquely, through the hopper setting opening 26. At the same time, a claw part 29 formed on the left side of the hopper 28 in FIG.
is elastically engaged with the right side edge of the hopper setting opening 26 to prevent the hopper 28 from falling off. A lid 32 is pivotally mounted on the top opening of the hopper 28 so that it can be opened and closed by a shaft 33 at the rear end (see Fig. 5), and a projection protruding in the front and rear direction is provided inside the hopper 28. A stirring member 37 having a plurality of portions 34, a large number of protrusions 35 protruding outward from the periphery, and a plurality of holes 36 is rotatably supported with a shaft 38 passing between the front and rear of the hopper 28. Ori,
Further, at the lower end of the hopper 28, a detergent delivery part 39 is formed extending from the inside of the hopper 28 to a cylindrical part that projects outwardly to the right in FIG. It faces the detergent receiving portion 42 at the substantially central portion of the upper surface of the disposed receiving plate 41. The upper surface of the receiving plate 41 also serves as a water supply channel, and as shown in FIG. 6, it is provided so as to gradually descend toward a supply port 43 at the tip facing a washing tub (not shown), which is a washing section inside the outer box 2. A water supply valve 44 is disposed on the uppermost rear end portion. A coil 45 serving as a detergent dispensing member is rotatably housed in the detergent dispensing portion 39 over its entire length as shown in FIG. One of them is engaged with the coil 45. On the other hand, detergent delivery section 39
A transmission shaft 46 to which the base end of a coil 45 is engaged is inserted into the end opposite to the outlet 40, and a connector 47 is connected to the end of the transmission shaft 46 opposite to the coil 45. I'm wearing it. Corresponding to the connector 47, a motor 48 serving as a drive device is attached to the inner surface of the left side of the platform 3a in FIG. 5
0 is removably engaged with the connector 47.

Next, reference numeral 51 shown in FIG. 7 is an operation control device for the washing machine using, for example, a microcomputer.
The above-mentioned switches 7 to 10 and switches 15 to 20 are connected to the input terminals of this, and a safety switch 5 that responds to abnormal shaking of the washing tub, for example.
2 is connected, and further a water level detection circuit 53 is connected. Further, a water level detector 55 is connected to the water level detection circuit 53, which changes the inductance of the coil 54 in response to the water level in the washing tub. Further, the above-mentioned indicators 11 to 14, 21 to 25 are connected to the output terminal of the operation control device 51, and the motor 48 and the washing machine motor 5 are connected to each other.
6, the drain valve 57, the water supply valve 44 and the finishing agent input valve 58 are connected.

Now, in the case of the device constructed as described above, when using it, first, the lid 32 of the hopper 28 is
Open it as shown by the two-dot chain line in the figure, put the powder detergent 59 into the hopper 28 in this state, and then open the lid 32.
Close. Then, the switch 10 is operated so that the light emitting display state of the display 14 matches the amount of the contained powder detergent 59, thereby causing the operation control device 51 to store the amount of detergent contained. In addition, the contained powder detergent 5
Operate the switch 7 to match the light-emitting display state of the display 11 to the type 9, and then operate the switch 8 to match the light-emitting display state of the display 12 to the required water level. The switch 9 is operated so as to adjust the light emission display state of the display 13 to the degree of illumination. In this way, the type of powdered detergent 59, the required water level, and the degree of soiling of the laundry are stored in the operation control device 51, and then the switch 20 is operated to start washing. Then, the motor 48 is energized by the operation control device 51 prior to the start of washing, the energized motor 48 starts, and its rotational force is transferred from the rotation shaft 49 to the transmission pin 5.
Transmission shaft 4 through the engagement structure between 0 and connector 47
6, and further from this transmission shaft 46 to the coil 4.
5, the coil 45 is rotated, particularly in a so-called spiral direction, and the coil 45 rotated in this manner moves while contacting the powdered detergent 59 in the hopper 28, thereby discharging the powdered detergent. The detergent is advanced through the inside of the detergent delivery section 39 toward the outlet 40 while cutting the detergent 59 finely, and then taken out from the outlet 40. The powdered detergent 59 thus dispensed is shown in Fig. 1 as well as in Fig. 6 by arrow A.
The detergent receiving portion 42 on the receiving plate 41 as shown in FIG.
4 through the water supply port 43 as shown by arrow B in FIG.

By the way, among the operations of switches 7, 8, and 9 performed when starting the above-mentioned washing, the operation of switch 7 is a switch operation for storing the type of powder detergent 59 in the operation control device 51, On the other hand, the switch 8 is used to store the required water level in the washing tub in the operation control device 51, and the switch 9 is used to store the degree of dirt on the laundry in the operation control device 51. It's a manipulation. As mentioned above, in the case of this embodiment, the operation control device 51 determines the length of energization time or the rotational speed of the motor 48 according to the water level stored or set by the operation of the switch 8. The supply amount of the powder detergent 59 is basically determined, and the supplementary supply amount of the powder detergent 59 is determined by a linear multiplier of the basic supply amount according to the memory by operating the switch 7, that is, the type of detergent. Further, in accordance with the memory stored by the operation of the switch 9, that is, the degree of dirtiness of the laundry, the supplementary supply amount of the powder detergent 59 is determined by a quadratic multiplier for the basic supply amount multiplied by the above-mentioned primary multiplier. Figure 8 shows such a relationship in a table. That is, when the water level is set to 48 [high] according to the amount of laundry of 3 to 4 [Kg], the powder detergent 59 For example, if the basic supply amount is about 20 [g] and the type of powder detergent 59 is a synthetic detergent and a concentrated type, then the multiplier of "2" by operating switch 7 will determine about 40 [g]. On the other hand, if the degree of soiling of the laundry is severe, approximately 48 "g" is finally determined by operating the switch 9 with a multiplier of "1.2", and this amount is supplied. Also, if the degree of soiling of the laundry is normal, switch 9 should be set for the primary determination value of about 40 g.
The final value of approximately 40g is determined using the multiplier of 1, and this is what is supplied, and if the laundry is lightly soiled, the above 40g will be supplied. The final value is approximately 20 g by using the multiplier of 1/2 by operating switch 9 on the primary determined value.
is determined and supplied. If the type of powder detergent 59 is a synthetic detergent and is a normal type, then the basic supply amount of about 20 g will be multiplied by the multiplier of 3.2 by operating switch 7 to about 64 g.
``g'' is determined, and if the degree of soiling of the laundry is severe, approximately 77 ``g'' is finally determined by operating the switch 9 and using a multiplier of ``1.2''.
It is supplied. In addition, if the degree of soiling of the laundry is normal, the primary determination value of about 64 "g" is multiplied by "1" by operating the switch 9, and the final value of about 64 "g" is the same as before. If the degree of soiling of the laundry is light, the primary determined value of about 64 g is multiplied by 1/2 by operating switch 9. Approximately 32 "g" was finally determined and supplied.
Furthermore, if the type of powdered detergent 59 is powdered soap and concentrated type, the basic supply amount of about 20g will be increased to about 64g by operating the switch 7 with a multiplier of 3.2. '' is determined, so the rest is the same as when the above-mentioned powder detergent 59 is a synthetic detergent and is a normal type, and if the laundry is extremely dirty, the multiplier of ``1.2'' is determined by operating the switch 9. Finally, about 77 "g" is determined, and if the degree of soiling of the laundry is normal, "1" is set by operating switch 9 for the primary determined value of about 64 "g" above.
The final value of approximately 64 g is determined by the multiplier, and if the degree of soiling of the laundry is light, the primary determined value of approximately 64 g is changed to 1/ by operating switch 9. Approximately 32 "g" is finally determined by a multiplier of "2", and each of them is supplied. If the powdered detergent 59 is a normal type of powdered soap, the basic supply amount of about 20g will be increased to about 80g by operating the switch 7 to a multiplier of 4.
is determined, and if the degree of soiling of the laundry is severe, the final value of approximately 96 "g" is determined by the multiplier of "1.2" by operating switch 9; If the above is about 80
The primary determined value of "g" is finally kept at about 80 by multiplying it by "1" by operating switch 9.
``g'' is determined, and if the degree of soiling of the laundry is light, the primary determined value of approximately 80 ``g'' is multiplied by ``1/2'' by operating switch 9, and the final value is approximately 40. "g" is determined and each is provided.
On the other hand, depending on the amount of laundry of 2 to 3 [Kg]
When the water level is set to 43 [middle], the basic supply amount of the powder detergent 59 is, for example, about 18 "g", and the powder detergent 59 is supplied in the order of type by approximately 36 "g" using the same multiplier as described above.
"g", approximately 57 "g", approximately 56 "g", and approximately 72 "g" are respectively determined, and "x1.2", "x1", and "x1/ 2' amounts are finally determined and supplied. Also, 1-2
When the water level is set to 38 [low] depending on the amount of [Kg] of laundry, the powder detergent 59 weighs about 16 [g].
is the basic supply amount, and the following is the same multiplier as above, and the powder detergent 59 is approximately 32 "g", approximately 51 "g", and approximately 51 "g" in order of type.
"g" and approximately 63 "g" are respectively determined, and "×1.2" and "×
1” and “×1/2” are finally determined, respectively.
It is supplied. Furthermore, when the water level is set to 33 [a small amount] depending on the amount of laundry of 1 [Kg] or less, the basic supply amount of the powder detergent 59 is, for example, about 14 [g], and the following multiplier is the same as above. Powdered detergent 5
Approximately 28 "g", approximately 44 "g", approximately 44 "g", approximately
55 "g" are determined respectively, and "×1.2", "×1", "×1/
2'' is finally determined and supplied.

Figure 9 shows the relationship between the final multiplying factor (quadratic multiplier) of the amount of detergent and the cleaning power, and shows the efficiency and economical efficiency when using a detergent that is 1.2 times the multiplying factor for the normal amount. It can be seen that the greatest cleaning power can be obtained in terms of.

Also, as mentioned above, when the switch 9 is operated according to the degree of dirtiness of the laundry, the contents of the wash will change accordingly.For example, if the degree of dirtiness is severe, the washing time will be longer than usual. If the wash time is longer or the water flow becomes stronger, if the wash time is lighter, the washing time becomes shorter or the water flow becomes weaker.

Furthermore, in the case of the above embodiment, when the remaining amount of the powdered detergent 59 contained in the hopper 28 becomes less than 1/4, the light emitting diode displaying the initial amount contained in the display 14 flashes to issue a warning. It's getting old. In this case, the light-emitting diode is used to display the powder detergent 5 in the hopper 28 from the one that displays the initial capacity.
As the number of 9 decreases, the light emitting diodes may be shifted in order, and finally the light emitting diodes displaying 1/4 or less may blink.

In this way, according to this embodiment, the powdered detergent 59 can be supplied automatically and can also be supplied depending on the degree of dirtiness of the laundry, making it possible to conveniently and more appropriately supply the amount. Therefore, the washing effect can be properly obtained without excess or deficiency, and there is no problem of stains adhering to other laundry items when heavily soiled laundry items are washed. Furthermore, the switch 9 was not operated according to the degree of dirtiness of the laundry, but was intentionally operated to set it to "standard".
If set to ``Heavy soiling'', a standard amount of detergent will be dispensed, if set to ``Heavy soiling'', a larger amount of detergent will be dispensed than the standard amount, and if set to ``Light soiling'', a smaller amount of detergent will be dispensed than the standard amount. This allows the user to supply the amount of detergent desired by the user regardless of the degree of dirtiness of the laundry, allowing the user to use the detergent in a way that suits their individual circumstances.

In addition, especially in the case of the above embodiment, the water supply valve 44 described above
The powdered detergent 59 is supplied with water through the detergent receiving part 4.
2. Begin to flush the powder before it falls onto the surface, and use powdered detergent 59.
This not only prevents the powdered detergent 59 from directly adhering to the laundry and prevents it from yellowing and staining, but also especially The powder detergent 59
The detergent is flushed out from the detergent receiving part 41 without leaving any residue, so that it does not become stuck. Further, when the coil 45 is driven to rotate as described above, the stirring member 37, which has one of the protrusions 35 engaged with the coil 45, rotates so that the protrusion 35 is sequentially engaged with the coil 45. This agitates the powdered detergent 59 in the hopper 28, loosens it, and allows the powdered detergent 59 to be smoothly introduced into the detergent delivery section 39.

However, the above-mentioned arrangement is not necessarily necessary in the present invention, and the powdered detergent 59 may be directly supplied into the washing tub, or a coil may be used as the detergent dispensing member. 45, but may be a conventional valve, screw, etc. Furthermore, the drive device for driving these detergent dispensing members is not limited to the motor 48, but may be, for example, an electromagnet or the like. The invention as a whole is not limited to washing machines, but can be similarly applied to all appliances that function using powdered detergent, such as dishwashers.

In addition, the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above and shown in the drawings, and may be implemented with appropriate modifications, particularly in terms of the specific supply amount of the powder detergent 59, etc., without departing from the gist of the invention. It is possible.

[Effects of the Invention] As is clear from the above description, the detergent supply device for a washing machine or the like of the present invention includes a detergent storage section that accommodates and stores powdered detergent, and is driven by an appropriate drive device. and a detergent dispensing member for dispensing the powdered detergent from the detergent reservoir, and the amount of the powdered detergent supplied by the detergent dispensing member is arbitrarily set to one of a standard value, a value larger than the standard value, and a value smaller than the standard value. Since it is equipped with a switch that can be selected and set, it is convenient and allows for a more appropriate amount of supply, and therefore, the washing effect can be properly obtained without excess or deficiency, especially for heavily soiled laundry. This has an excellent effect in that there is no problem of dirt adhering to other laundry when washing the laundry, and furthermore, it is possible to supply the amount of detergent according to the user's wishes, so that it can be tailored to the individual circumstances of the user. It has the excellent effect of being able to be used as an ivy.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

The drawings show one embodiment of the present invention, with FIG. 1 being a longitudinal sectional front view of the main parts, FIG. 2 being a perspective view of the overall appearance of the washing machine, and FIG. 3 being an enlarged plan view of the first operation panel. , FIG. 4 is an enlarged plan view of the second operation panel, FIG. 5 is a vertical cross-sectional side view of the main part, FIG. 6 is a vertical cross-sectional side view of the same part at a different cross-sectional position from that in FIG. 5, and FIG. Figure 8 is a block diagram of the operation control circuit, Figure 8 is a table showing the relationship between the amount of water supplied and the amount of detergent supplied, and Figure 9 is a graph showing the relationship between the amount of detergent and cleaning power. be. In the figure, 1 is the main body of the washing machine, 9 is the switch, 28 is the hopper (detergent reservoir), 45 is the coil (detergent dispenser), 48 is the motor (drive device), 51 is the operation control device, and 59 is the powder detergent. show.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1 A device for supplying powdered detergent to a washing section of a washing machine, etc., which includes a detergent storage section that accommodates and stores the powdered detergent, and a detergent storage section that is driven by an appropriate drive device to extract the powdered detergent from the detergent storage section. a detergent dispensing member, and a switch that can arbitrarily set the amount of powdered detergent supplied by the detergent dispensing member to one of a standard value, a value greater than the standard value, and a value less than the standard value. A detergent supply device for a washing machine, etc., characterized by: