JPH0728980B2 - Washing machine - Google Patents

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an automatic washing machine, and more particularly, to automatically set various washing conditions according to the quality and quantity of laundry, a desired degree of washing and the like. About possible washing machines.

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as an example of automating the setting of laundry conditions, the quality and quantity of laundry are quantified using a cloth amount sensor that detects the ease of stirring the laundry, and various types of laundry are accordingly quantified. There has been an attempt to automatically determine the washing time and rinsing time by setting the washing conditions and detecting the turbidity of water using an optical sensor (eg National Technical Report Vo.
l.30 No. 5 (1984), pages 606 to 612).

Further, it is already common as a product to wash a washing course by manual input and perform washing under the washing condition determined according to each course.

Problems to be Solved by the Invention However, in the above-mentioned cases, the following problems were found. In an attempt to automate washing conditions using a sensor, the detection of the state by the sensor must be incomplete, so if the operation is determined by the output of a few sensors, it may perform an inappropriate operation. It was difficult to automatically set the optimum washing conditions. In addition, a method for comprehensively judging information from many sensors has not been established.

In the case of manually setting the laundry course, it is necessary for the operator to determine appropriate washing conditions according to the state of the laundry, but the optimal conditions are determined by the state of the amount of laundry and the type of cloth. Setting was a difficult task even for experienced people.

In view of such a problem, the present invention provides a washing machine that comprehensively determines based on plural information such as outputs from a plurality of sensors and information manually input to set optimal washing conditions. To aim.

Means for Solving the Problems In the present invention, as information for determining various washing conditions, information by sensors such as the amount and quality of laundry, turbidity of water, and desired washing condition by manual input By using fuzzy inference with these information as input, the washing condition is set while considering many conditions at the same time.

By determining the washing conditions using fuzzy reasoning,
It becomes possible to set the conditions in consideration of the plural information at the same time, and it is possible to set the minimum washing conditions. Depending on how the fuzzy reasoning rules are set, it is possible to consider indicators such as water usage and washing time.

Example One example of the present invention will be described below.

FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram of an embodiment of a washing machine according to the present invention. In FIG. 2, reference numeral 2 is a pulsator that stirs the laundry and the washing water put in the washing machine 1, and is rotated by the motor 5 via the mechanical case 3 and the transmission belt 4 at the time of washing and rinsing. Also, the washing machine 1 is driven by the motor 5 during dehydration. 6 is a cloth amount sensor that detects the load applied to the pulsator when the pulsator is rotating, 8 is a water level sensor that detects the amount of water in the washing tub by detecting the atmospheric pressure in the air trap 7, and 9 is the light transmittance in the drain hose. It is an optical sensor that detects the turbidity of water in the washing tub. Water in and out of the washing tub is controlled by a water supply valve 10 and a drain valve 11 driven by solenoid valves. The washing operation in the fully-automatic washing machine consists of three steps: a washing step, a rinsing step, and a dehydrating step. The washing step is a water supplying step and a stirring step, and the rinsing step is draining, dehydrating,
Each process of water supply, stirring, and dehydration process consists of a combination of drainage process and dehydration process.

Next, the operation of the control unit will be described based on FIG. Each basic process is performed by controlling the motor 5, the water supply valve 10, and the drain valve 11. Each operation is controlled by the control unit 13
The control unit 13 determines the output by performing fuzzy inference using information from the cloth amount sensor 6, the water level sensor 8, the optical sensor 9, and the manual input unit 12 as input. For example, the water supply stroke is performed by controlling the opening time of the water supply valve 10 by the water level sensor 8, and the draining stroke is performed by controlling the opening time of the drain valve 11 by the optical sensor 9. In the setting of the overall washing conditions, the setting of the washing time,
It is important to set the rinse time, the number of rinses, and the dehydration time. Below, the operation of the control unit will be described by taking the setting of the wash time as an example.

The washing time is determined by the quantity and quality of the laundry, the desired degree of washing, and the like. The washing time is decided by setting the scheduled washing time at the start of the washing process and judging the end of washing during washing.
It consists of two steps.

The first scheduled washing time setting indicates a standard washing time determined by the quantity and quality of the laundry and the desired degree of washing. This scheduled washing time is, for example, a longer washing time if the amount of cloth is large, or a longer washing time if you want to wash carefully, and conversely, a shorter washing time if you want to save time. The decision is made based on the decision made by the person operating the machine, and this decision is made by using fuzzy reasoning.

The process of actual fuzzy reasoning is shown below. Fuzzy reasoning is a method that quantifies linguistically expressed control rules and replaces them with actual numerical values. As a control rule, if the amount of cloth is large (the antecedent of the rule), the washing time is prolonged (the consequent of the rule), or if you want to wash it carefully (the antecedent of the rule) Part), and a little longer washing time (consequent part of the rule). The concept of a large amount of cloth (the antecedent part) and a long washing time (the consequent part) is quantitatively expressed as a fuzzy variable by a membership function as shown in FIGS. 3 (a) and 3 (b). , Can be calculated. The inference operation is based on the usual method. First, the fitness of the antecedent part for the input is obtained by taking the input value and the MAX of the antecedent part variable, and the conclusion of the rule is obtained by taking the MIN of the antecedent part variable and the antecedent part fitness. That is, the consequent part of the rule is weighted by the goodness of fit. Then, after each conclusion is obtained for all given rules (after the consequent part is weighted for all rules),
By taking the MAX of all conclusions (synthesizing all conclusions),
The final inference result is the scheduled washing time. This scheduled washing time is expressed in the form of a membership function, as shown in FIG. 4 (a), and indicates the likelihood that the washing will end at each time.

Next, the process of determining the end of washing during washing will be described with reference to FIG. First, the membership function of the scheduled washing time (FIG. 4 (a)) obtained by the above steps is integrated and normalized so that the maximum grade value becomes 1. This has a form as shown in FIG. 4 (b), and indicates how likely it is that washing will be completed after a certain period of time. The value of the washing degree is a numerical value obtained by the degree of change of the output of the optical sensor 9 within a fixed time, and is represented by the section [0, 1]. This numerical value shows that the turbidity of the washing liquid, which increases as the washing progresses, becomes smaller as it becomes saturated, indicating that the washing is nearing the end. The judgment of the end of washing is made by comparing this washing degree with the above-mentioned integral of the scheduled washing time. As shown in FIG. 4 (c), the washing is finished when the value of the washing degree falls below the integral value of the scheduled washing time. As you can easily see from the figure,
Even if the scheduled washing time is constant, if the washing is completed early, the washing time will be shortened, and even if the washing progress is constant,
If you want to wash more carefully, the scheduled washing time moves to the longer side, so the washing time becomes longer.

In addition, here, the scheduled washing time is represented by a fuzzy set, and the final washing end is determined by comparison with the washing degree. However, the scheduled washing time obtained at the start of washing is not compared with the washing degree. It is also possible to determine the washing time as it is by a method of obtaining the time corresponding to the center of gravity of the membership function of.

Although the process of determining the washing time has been described above, the scheduled rinsing time can be determined by the same process for determining the rinsing time, and the progress of rinsing can be known from the output of the optical sensor. Further, the determination of the number of rinses, which is a type of rinse time, and the determination of the dehydration time are performed by the same method as the determination of the scheduled washing time, and therefore the description thereof is omitted here. The fuzzy inference operation as shown here can be realized by using a general-purpose microcomputer or a dedicated fuzzy operation chip.

With the above configuration, it is possible to determine the operation of the washing machine on the basis of plural information such as outputs from a large number of sensors and information obtained by manual input. In addition to the example shown above,
Finer control can be realized by using the water temperature and the weight of clothes as the sensor information, or by manually inputting parameters such as the time and the amount of water used.

EFFECTS OF THE INVENTION As described above, according to the present invention, the washing condition can be determined in consideration of various conditions by using the plural information obtained by a large number of sensors and manual inputs. It is possible to finely control, and control can be performed under optimum washing time such as washing time, rinsing time, and dehydration time. In addition, by using fuzzy reasoning, it becomes easy to design the control unit by utilizing empirical knowledge.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a control system of an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a sectional view showing a mechanism of the embodiment, and FIG. 3 is an explanatory view showing an example of definition of fuzzy variables. FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing the process of determining the end of washing. 5 ... motor, 6 ... cloth amount sensor, 8 ... water level sensor,
9 ... Optical sensor, 10 ... Water supply valve, 11 ... Drain valve, 12 ...
Manual input section, 13 ... Control section.

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A washing machine for automatically performing a washing operation including washing, rinsing, and dehydrating processes, which comprises a sensor for detecting the amount and quality of a cloth and various detection signals detected by the sensor. The washing time, the rinsing time, and the dehydration time are determined by performing fuzzy inference based on these various detection signals, and a control unit for controlling the motor, the water supply valve, and the drain valve is provided. It has rules for inferring washing time, rinsing time, and dehydration time from various detection signals, and the rule consequent part is weighted according to the goodness of fit obtained from various signals and the antecedent part membership function for the rule, and this weighting A washing machine characterized by outputting a washing time, a rinsing time, and a dehydrating time which are determined based on a result of synthesizing the conclusions of the attached rules. 2. A washing machine for automatically performing a washing operation including washing, rinsing, and dehydrating steps, wherein a sensor for detecting the amount and quality of cloth and a manual operation for inputting the operator's thoughts regarding the washing condition. Input section, various detection signals to be detected by the sensor and the manual input information of the manual input section are comprehensively input, and by performing fuzzy inference based on these various detection signals and manual input information, washing time, rinsing time, A control unit that determines the dehydration time and controls the motor, the water supply valve, and the drain valve is provided, and the control unit has rules for inferring the washing time, the rinse time, and the dehydration time from the various detection signals and the manually input information. The rule consequent part is weighted by various detection signals and manual input information for the rule, and the goodness of fit obtained from the antecedent part membership function, and the result of combining the conclusions of the weighted rules is obtained. Washing time determined by Zui, washing machine, characterized in that rinsing time, and outputs the dewatering time. 3. A washing machine for automatically performing a washing operation including washing, rinsing, and dehydrating steps, and a sensor for detecting the amount and quality of cloth and a degree of dirt of water in a washing tub. The turbidity sensor and the various detection signals detected by the sensor are comprehensively input, and fuzzy inference is performed based on these various detection signals to determine the washing time, rinsing time, and dehydration time, and the motor and water supply valve. , A control unit for controlling a drain valve, the control unit having a rule for inferring a washing time, a rinsing time, and a dehydration time from the various detection signals, the various detection signals and the antecedent part membership function for each rule. It is characterized in that the consequent part of the rule is weighted according to the goodness of fit obtained and the washing time, rinsing time, and dehydration time determined based on the result of combining the conclusions of the weighted rules are output.濯機.