Defoaming method of clothes treatment equipment and clothes treatment equipment

Abstract

The invention discloses a defoaming method of clothes treatment equipment and the clothes treatment equipment, the defoaming method comprises a first defoaming program, a second defoaming program and a dehydration pulse process, and the first defoaming program, the dehydration pulse process and the second defoaming program are executed in sequence; wherein the dehydration pulse process is as follows: a control cylinder rotates at a first rotating speed; the first rotating speed is the rotating speed at which clothes in the drum can be dewatered; the first defoaming program and the second defoaming program comprise the steps of monitoring the amount of foam in a cylinder, executing a defoaming process if the monitored amount of foam in the cylinder is judged to be greater than or equal to a set threshold value, and monitoring the amount of foam in the cylinder in the defoaming process; if it is judged that the monitored foam amount in the cylinder is smaller than the set threshold value or the execution time of the defoaming process reaches set time, the first defoaming program or the second defoaming program is ended; after primary defoaming is performed, water with foams and foams in clothes are squeezed out through dewatering pulses, and then secondary defoaming is performed to improve the cleaning ratio.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present application belongs to the technical field of household appliances, and in particular, relates to a defoaming method of a clothes treatment apparatus and the clothes treatment apparatus. BACKGROUND

[0002] In modern life, clothes treatment apparatuses have become indispensable household appliances in people's daily life. With the continuous progress of science and technology, the functions of clothes treatment apparatuses are also constantly enriched and improved. However, in the process of using clothes treatment apparatuses, the problem of foam has always been a difficult problem that troubles users and manufacturers.

[0003] Excessive detergent produces a large amount of foam, and if the foam cannot be handled in time and effectively, it will bring a series of adverse effects. On the one hand, too much foam may overflow the clothes treatment apparatus, causing pollution to the surrounding environment, and also increasing the cleaning burden of the user. On the other hand, foam will affect the washing effect of the clothes treatment apparatus. Foam will hinder the full contact of clothes with washing water, reduce the cleaning ability of the detergent, so that the clothes cannot be thoroughly washed. In addition, foam may also cause damage to the internal structure of the clothes treatment apparatus, affect its normal operation, and reduce the service life of the clothes treatment apparatus. SUMMARY

[0004] The purpose of the present application is to overcome the shortcomings of the prior art and provide a defoaming method of a clothes treatment apparatus. The dehydration pulse process is added to simulate the user squeezing out the foam-containing water in the clothes when washing the clothes by hand. The clothes treatment apparatus sequentially executes a first defoaming program, a dehydration pulse process, and a second defoaming program. The first defoaming is performed, and then the foam-containing water in the clothes is squeezed out through the dehydration pulse, and the second defoaming is performed to realize fast and effective defoaming and improve the cleaning ratio.

[0005] To solve the above technical problems, the basic idea of the technical solution of the present application is:

[0006] A defoaming method of a clothes treatment apparatus, comprising a first defoaming program, a second defoaming program, and a dehydration pulse process, sequentially executing the first defoaming program, the dehydration pulse process, and the second defoaming program.

[0007] Among them, the dehydration pulse process is to control the cylinder to rotate at a first speed; the first speed is the rotation speed of the cylinder that can dehydrate the clothes.

[0008] Further, the first defoaming program and the second defoaming program include,

[0009] monitoring the amount of foam in the cylinder, and if it is judged that the monitored amount of foam in the cylinder is greater than or equal to a set threshold, performing a defoaming process,

[0010] During the defoaming process, the amount of foam in the cylinder is monitored. If the monitored amount of foam in the cylinder is less than the set threshold or the defoaming process takes a set time, the first defoaming program or the second defoaming program is terminated.

[0011] Furthermore, if it is determined that the amount of foam in the monitored cylinder is less than a set threshold, the first defoaming procedure is terminated and the dehydration pulse process is executed, or the second defoaming procedure is terminated.

[0012] Furthermore, the defoaming process involves opening the rinsing nozzle to perform rinsing and defoaming, turning on the drain pump, and controlling the garment processing equipment to operate at a set speed and rotation-to-stop ratio.

[0013] Furthermore, the dehydration pulse process includes gradually increasing the rotational speed of the drum to the first rotational speed and controlling the drum to rotate at the first rotational speed.

[0014] Furthermore, it also includes performing a dehydration process after the second defoaming process is completed.

[0015] Furthermore, it also includes at least one drainage procedure, after which the first defoaming procedure, the dehydration pulse process, and the second defoaming procedure are executed sequentially.

[0016] Furthermore, during the execution of the dehydration process, if the foam detected inside the cylinder is greater than or equal to the foam threshold, the dehydration process is terminated and the first defoaming process, the dehydration pulse process, and the second defoaming process are executed sequentially.

[0017] Furthermore, the monitoring of foam volume in the cylinder and the monitoring of foam volume in the cylinder at least include: acquiring foam images in the cylinder and obtaining the foam volume in the cylinder based on the foam images.

[0018] A garment processing device, employing the defoaming method described above, includes an inner drum and a defoaming device, wherein the defoaming device includes an image acquisition device and a rinsing nozzle.

[0019] By adopting the above technical solution, the present invention has the following beneficial effects compared with the prior art.

[0020] 1. The dehydration pulse process squeezes out the foamy water from the clothes. The clothes treatment equipment sequentially executes the first defoaming program, the dehydration pulse process, and the second defoaming program. After the first defoaming is completed, the dehydration pulse squeezes out the foamy water from the clothes, and then the second defoaming program is performed to achieve fast and effective defoaming.

[0021] 2. By executing a defoaming process when the foam reaches a first set value, the interference of foam on the washing process can be effectively reduced. The low rotation speed and low rotation-to-stop ratio during the defoaming process ensure that the clothes are tumbled, preventing the rinsing nozzle from continuously rinsing the same spot and avoiding the impact of foam residue on the washing effect.

[0022] 3. The spin speed of the dehydration pulse program is the lowest speed at which water can be discharged from the clothes. This helps to squeeze out the water with foam on the clothes and remove some of the foam. Then, a second defoaming program is performed to defoam the foam generated during the dehydration pulse process.

[0023] The specific embodiments of the present invention will now be described in further detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. Attached Figure Description

[0024] The accompanying drawings, as part of this invention, are used to provide a further understanding of the invention. The illustrative embodiments and descriptions of the invention are used to explain the invention, but do not constitute an undue limitation of the invention. Obviously, the drawings described below are merely some embodiments, and those skilled in the art can obtain other drawings based on these drawings without creative effort. In the drawings:

[0025] Figure 1 A flowchart of a defoaming method for a garment treatment device (Part 1);

[0026] Figure 2 This is a flowchart (II) of a defoaming method for clothing treatment equipment;

[0027] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of a garment processing device;

[0028] 1. Image acquisition equipment; 2. Sprinkler head; 3. Rinse nozzle; 4. Clothing treatment equipment; 5. Glass window.

[0029] It should be noted that these accompanying drawings and textual descriptions are not intended to limit the scope of the invention in any way, but rather to illustrate the concept of the invention to those skilled in the art by referring to specific embodiments. Detailed Implementation

[0030] To make the objectives, technical solutions, and advantages of the embodiments of the present invention clearer, the technical solutions in the embodiments will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. The following embodiments are used to illustrate the present invention, but are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention.

[0031] In the description of this invention, it should be noted that the terms "inner" and "outer", etc., indicate the orientation or positional relationship based on the orientation or positional relationship shown in the drawings. They are only for the convenience of describing this invention and simplifying the description, and do not indicate or imply that the device or element referred to must have a specific orientation, or be constructed and operated in a specific orientation. Therefore, they should not be construed as limiting this invention.

[0032] In the description of this invention, it should be noted that, unless otherwise explicitly specified and limited, the terms "installation," "connection," "linking," "contact," and "communication" should be interpreted broadly. For example, they can refer to fixed connections, detachable connections, or integral connections; they can refer to mechanical connections or electrical connections; they can refer to direct connections or indirect connections through an intermediate medium. Those skilled in the art can understand the specific meaning of the above terms in this invention based on the specific circumstances.

[0033] Example 1

[0034] This embodiment provides a defoaming method for clothing treatment equipment.

[0035] When using laundry detergent dispensers, users typically add detergent manually. However, due to a lack of understanding about the correct amount of detergent, users often add too much. If the clothes are not heavily soiled, excess detergent, while removing dirt, will also generate a large amount of foam. This is especially true in heated wash cycles, where higher temperatures produce more foam. Excessive foam can clog the detergent dispenser drum, preventing proper spin-drying. Furthermore, defoaming is time-consuming; simply adding water will not only fail to eliminate foam but may actually increase its concentration.

[0036] To address the aforementioned problems, the inventors have proposed a defoaming method for a garment processing device according to embodiments of this disclosure. This method includes a first defoaming procedure, a second defoaming procedure, and a dehydration pulse process, executed sequentially. The dehydration pulse process involves controlling the drum to rotate at a first rotational speed, which is the minimum rotational speed at which the garments inside the drum can be dehydrated. Specifically, the first and second defoaming procedures are as follows: when it is determined that the foam level inside the drum is greater than or equal to a set threshold, the defoaming process is executed; and when it is determined that the foam level inside the drum is less than the set threshold or the defoaming process execution time reaches a set time, the first and second defoaming procedures are terminated.

[0037] The first defoaming process initially reduces the amount of foam in the drum. A further dehydration pulse process uses the lowest possible spin speed to squeeze out the foamy water from the clothes, further reducing the foam content. A second defoaming process then completes the process, achieving rapid and effective defoaming. This improves the washing ratio, ensuring the garment processing equipment can remove foam more efficiently during washing, enhancing the washing effect, and preventing the garment processing equipment from failing to spin-dry properly due to excessive foam.

[0038] In some embodiments of this invention, the garment processing equipment includes multiple drainage stages during operation. As washing and rinsing proceed, detergent, stains, and water interact to continuously generate foam. If the foam is not dealt with promptly, it will accumulate inside the drum.

[0039] Therefore, after each drainage stage, the foam in the garment processing equipment drum is defoamed. The defoaming method is as follows: Figure 1 As shown, the first defoaming program, the dehydration pulse process, and the second defoaming program are executed sequentially.

[0040] By performing defoaming treatment after the drainage stage, the interference of foam on the washing process is reduced, ensuring that the detergent can play a better role.

[0041] The first defoaming process initially reduces the amount of foam. Then, a spin-drying pulse process squeezes out the foamy water from the clothes, further reducing the foam content. However, some foam is generated during the spin-drying pulse process as the foamy water is squeezed out. Therefore, a second defoaming process is performed to achieve rapid and effective defoaming. This ensures that clothes are not excessively coated with foam during washing, allowing the detergent to fully act on the clothes, improving the washing ratio and enhancing washing quality. Defoaming after each drainage stage removes foam promptly, preventing foam from filling the clothes processing drum and ensuring the smooth operation of each process in the clothes processing equipment.

[0042] The dehydration pulse process involves controlling the drum to rotate at a first rotational speed, which is the rotational speed at which the clothes inside the drum can be dehydrated.

[0043] For example, during the dehydration process, the drum of a garment processing device may rotate at 500 revolutions per minute or even higher to achieve efficient dehydration, generating centrifugal force on the clothes. During the pulse dehydration process, the initial speed is only a low speed sufficient for the clothes to be dehydrated, such as 150 rpm, 200 rpm, 300 rpm, or 400 rpm. Before reaching this pulse speed, the clothes need to be distributed in a slightly eccentric state before gradually increasing the speed to avoid large eccentric speed increases causing the clothes to collide with the drum. Furthermore, the duration of the pulse dehydration process is much shorter than the normal dehydration cycle time, ensuring that the drum rotation allows the clothes to tumble inside.

[0044] The dehydration pulse process involves gradually increasing the drum speed to the first speed and controlling the drum to rotate at the first speed. This helps to squeeze out the water with foam on the clothes and remove some of the foam. Then, a second defoaming process is performed to defoam the foam generated during the dehydration pulse process.

[0045] like Figure 2 As shown, the first defoaming procedure and the second defoaming procedure include: monitoring the amount of foam in the cylinder; if the monitored amount of foam in the cylinder is greater than or equal to a set threshold, executing the defoaming process; during the execution of the defoaming process, monitoring the amount of foam in the cylinder; if the monitored amount of foam in the cylinder is less than the set threshold or the execution time of the defoaming process reaches the set time, ending the first defoaming procedure or the second defoaming procedure.

[0046] If the monitored amount of foam in the cylinder is less than a set threshold, the first defoaming procedure ends and a dehydration pulse process is executed, or the second defoaming procedure ends. During the defoaming process, the foam is rinsed and drained simultaneously.

[0047] The defoaming process involves opening the rinsing nozzles to defoam and activating the drain pump, while controlling the garment processing equipment to operate at a set speed and stop-start ratio. After this process, some of the foam on the surface and inside the garments is dissolved and washed away by the water. At this point, the water inside the garments is saturated, simulating the process of manual washing. To remove some of the foam, the water containing the foam needs to be squeezed out of the garments; therefore, a dehydration pulse process is required. The dehydration pulse process serves to squeeze the water out of the garments.

[0048] When there is a lot of foam in the drum, a high rotation speed and a high stop-start ratio during the defoaming process will generate even more foam, which is detrimental to defoaming. Therefore, the drum's rotation speed and stop-start ratio should be low during the defoaming process. For example, during normal washing or spin-drying, the rotation speed may reach 800 rpm or even higher, while during defoaming, the rotation speed is only 50-100 rpm. Furthermore, a high stop-start ratio, such as 30 seconds of rotation followed by 10 seconds of stop, should be adjusted to at least 5 seconds of rotation followed by 10 seconds of stop during defoaming. This setting allows the garment processing equipment drum to rotate as gently as possible, reducing disturbance to the foam and thus facilitating its elimination. At the same time, the longer stop time gives the foam more time to naturally break down and dissipate, improving the efficiency and effectiveness of defoaming.

[0049] The washing program includes at least a main wash program, a rinsing program, a draining program, and a spin-drying program. A large amount of foam is generated during the main wash program. After the draining program ends and before the spin-drying program starts, the first defoaming program, the spin-drying pulse process, and the second defoaming program are executed sequentially. After the second defoaming program ends, the spin-drying program is executed. During the spin-drying program, if the foam in the drum is detected to be greater than or equal to the foam threshold, the spin-drying program ends and the first defoaming program, the spin-drying pulse process, and the second defoaming program are executed sequentially again.

[0050] In some embodiments of this invention, the set threshold includes at least a first set threshold and a second set threshold. The set threshold is determined at least based on the height of the foam inside the garment processing equipment drum. For example, the first set threshold is: the foam height reaches one-third of the drum height, and the second set threshold is: the foam height reaches one-fifth of the drum height.

[0051] When the foam inside the cylinder is greater than or equal to the first set threshold, the first defoaming program is run; after the first defoaming program is completed, the dehydration pulse process is executed, and when the foam inside the cylinder is detected to be greater than or equal to the second set threshold but less than the first set threshold, the second defoaming program is run.

[0052] After the pulse process is completed, if the foam inside the cylinder is found to be less than the second set threshold, the dehydration process will be executed directly.

[0053] In some embodiments of this invention, the entire washing process consists of at least the following steps: main wash, first drain, spin-dry, first rinse, second drain, spin-dry, second rinse, third drain, and spin-dry. The second rinse is configured as a softening rinse, in which a softener is flushed into the drum.

[0054] If the amount of foam in the drum is detected to be greater than or equal to the set threshold before the second rinse program is executed, the first rinse program will be executed again to avoid leaving foam on the clothes after the last rinse. The second rinse program will be executed after the foam has been rinsed clean.

[0055] Monitoring the amount of foam inside the monitoring cylinder and the amount of foam inside the monitoring cylinder at least includes the following steps: acquiring an image of the foam inside the cylinder, and obtaining the amount of foam inside the cylinder based on the foam image.

[0056] Image Acquisition: First, install a high-resolution camera or camera system above the garment processing equipment drum to clearly capture the position of the foam inside the drum. The camera can be set to acquire the amount of foam inside the drum in real time or to acquire the amount of foam inside the drum at set time intervals.

[0057] Image processing: Image processing algorithms process the acquired images, including at least image enhancement, denoising, and binarization, in order to better separate the foam regions.

[0058] Target recognition and segmentation: Using computer vision techniques, such as edge detection, region growing, or deep learning models, such as convolutional neural networks, to accurately segment bubbles in images and distinguish them from the background.

[0059] Measurement and calculation: Analyze the segmented image and obtain the amount of foam by the pixel difference between consecutive frames.

[0060] The amount of foam is calculated by using a clean image of the garment processing equipment without foam as the background image and a real-time acquired image as the foreground image to calculate the amount of foam through frame difference.

[0061] Example 2

[0062] This embodiment provides a garment treatment device that implements the defoaming method of the garment treatment device described in Embodiment 1 above.

[0063] like Figure 3 As shown, the clothing processing equipment 4 includes a defoaming device, which includes an image acquisition device 1, a spray head 2, and a rinsing nozzle 3. Taking a drum washing machine as an example, the drum washing machine also includes a glass window 5 installed on the door; the image acquisition device 1 is used to acquire images of the foam inside the drum.

[0064] Spray head 2 is used to rinse away residual foam on the glass window 5 and to rinse away foam in the gaps of the window gasket.

[0065] During the final spin cycle, the image acquisition device monitors the glass window and the gaps in the window seal for any foam residue. If no foam residue is detected, the spin cycle proceeds normally. If foam residue is detected in the glass window and the gaps in the window seal, the drum speed is reduced from the current speed to a low speed, which is 90-110 rpm, preferably 93 rpm or 105 rpm. The spray valve is opened for rinsing until no foam residue is detected, after which the spin cycle is accelerated to remove water from the clothes.

[0066] A water spray nozzle 3 is installed above the glass window 5. The spray nozzle 3 sprays water evenly onto the clothes inside the drum to rinse away the foam on the clothes.

[0067] Image acquisition device 1 refers to a hardware device used to capture, convert, and record image or video data. It can be a sensor or a camera. Its working principle is to convert light into digital signals, which are then processed and stored by a built-in processor. In this embodiment, the image acquisition device can acquire still images or dynamic video data.

[0068] The above description is merely a preferred embodiment of the present invention and is not intended to limit the present invention in any way. Although the present invention has been disclosed above with reference to preferred embodiments, it is not intended to limit the present invention. Any person skilled in the art can make some modifications or alterations to the above-described technical content to create equivalent embodiments without departing from the scope of the present invention. Any simple modifications, equivalent changes, and alterations made to the above embodiments based on the technical essence of the present invention without departing from the scope of the present invention shall still fall within the scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A method of defoaming a laundry treating apparatus, characterized by, The method comprises a first defoaming procedure, a second defoaming procedure and a dehydration pulse process, and the first defoaming procedure, the dehydration pulse process and the second defoaming procedure are executed in sequence. The dehydration pulse process is to control the drum to rotate at a first rotating speed, and the first rotating speed is a rotating speed at which the laundry in the drum can be dehydrated.

2. The defoaming method of a laundry treating apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that, The first defoaming procedure and the second defoaming procedure comprise, monitoring the amount of foam in the drum, and if it is determined that the monitored amount of foam in the drum is greater than or equal to a set threshold, executing a defoaming process, In the defoaming process, the amount of foam in the drum is monitored, and if it is determined that the monitored amount of foam in the drum is less than the set threshold or the execution time of the defoaming process reaches a set time, the first defoaming procedure or the second defoaming procedure is ended. 3.The method of claim 2, wherein, If it is determined that the monitored amount of foam in the drum is less than the set threshold, the first defoaming procedure is ended and the dehydration pulse process is executed or the second defoaming procedure is ended. 4.The method of claim 2 or 3, wherein, The defoaming process is to open the rinsing nozzle to perform rinsing defoaming and open the drainage pump, and control the laundry treatment device to operate at a set rotating speed and rotating stop ratio.

5. The defoaming method of a laundry treating apparatus according to claim 4, characterized in that, The dehydration pulse process is executed, which comprises gradually increasing the rotating speed of the drum to the first rotating speed and controlling the drum to rotate at the first rotating speed. 6.The method of claim 5, wherein, The method further comprises executing a dehydration process after the second defoaming procedure is ended.

7. The method of claim 1-6, wherein the method is a method of defoaming a laundry treating apparatus, characterized in that, The method further comprises at least one drainage process, and after the drainage process is ended, the first defoaming procedure, the dehydration pulse process and the second defoaming procedure are executed in sequence. 8.The method of claim 7, wherein, During the execution of the dehydration process, if it is monitored that the amount of foam in the drum is greater than or equal to the foam threshold, the dehydration process is ended and the first defoaming procedure, the dehydration pulse process and the second defoaming procedure are executed in sequence repeatedly.

9. The method of claim 2-4, wherein the method is a method of defoaming a laundry treating apparatus, characterized in that, The monitoring of the amount of foam in the drum and the monitoring of the amount of foam in the drum at least comprise acquiring a foam image in the drum and obtaining the amount of foam in the drum according to the foam image. 10.A laundry treating apparatus, characterized by, A defoaming method for a laundry treatment device according to any one of claims 1-9.

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