washing machine

Abstract

The present disclosure provides a washing machine that can prompt a user to perform drain filter maintenance at an appropriate time. [Solution] The washing machine disclosed herein comprises a housing, a water tub arranged to be freely swingable within the housing, a rotating drum rotatably contained within the water tub, a water level detection means for detecting the water level in the water tub, a drainage path for discharging the wash water in the water tub to the outside of the housing, a drainage filter arranged in the drainage path for capturing foreign matter, and a control device for controlling at least the washing, rinsing, and spin-drying cycles. During the drainage operations of the rinsing and spin-drying cycles, the control device measures the drainage time required for the wash water in the water tub to be drained from a first predetermined water level WL1 lower than the bottom surface of the rotating drum to a second predetermined water level WL2 slightly higher than the lowest water level detectable by the water level detection means, and if the predetermined time is exceeded, it estimates that the drainage filter is clogged and outputs an alert urging maintenance of the drainage filter.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to washing machines. [Background technology]

[0002] Patent Document 1 discloses a drum-type washing machine equipped with a drain filter. This drum-type washing machine includes a rotary drum, a water tub containing the rotary drum, a drain outlet formed in the bottom of the water tub, a drain pipe communicating with the drain outlet, and a filter case communicating with the drain pipe and housing a drain filter. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2023-44771 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] The present disclosure provides a washing machine that prompts a user to perform drain filter maintenance at an appropriate time. [Means for solving the problem]

[0005] The washing machine of the present disclosure comprises a housing, a water tub arranged to be swingable within the housing, a rotating drum rotatably contained within the water tub, a water level detection means for detecting the water level in the water tub, a drainage path for discharging the wash water in the water tub to the outside of the housing, a drainage filter arranged in the drainage path for capturing foreign matter, and a control device for controlling at least the wash cycle, rinse cycle, and spin cycle, and the control device estimates clogging of the drainage filter based on the drainage time during the drainage operation of the rinse cycle and spin cycle, which takes the wash water in the water tub to be drained from a water level lower than the bottom surface of the rotating drum to a water level slightly higher than the lowest water level detectable by the water level detection means, and outputs an alert urging maintenance of the drainage filter. [Effects of the Invention]

[0006] The washing machine according to the present disclosure can prompt the user to perform drain filter maintenance at an appropriate time, thereby providing a washing machine that prevents abnormalities in the drain operation. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0007] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view of a drum-type washing machine according to a first embodiment. [Figure 2] Schematic diagram of a drain filter of a drum type washing machine according to the first embodiment. [Figure 3] 1 is a configuration diagram of a control device of a drum-type washing machine according to a first embodiment; [Figure 4] Flowchart of determination operation of drum type washing machine according to embodiment 1 DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0008] (Findings that formed the basis of this disclosure) At the time the inventors came up with the idea for this disclosure, in a washing machine, the drain filter would capture foreign matter such as lint contained in the wastewater flowing through the drain path every time the washing water was drained. When the washing machine was running, foreign matter would accumulate on the drain filter, and if a certain amount of foreign matter accumulated on the drain filter, it became difficult for the wastewater to pass through the drain filter, which could cause abnormalities in the drain operation. Therefore, users had to regularly perform maintenance such as cleaning the drain filter to prevent abnormalities in the drain operation. However, However, washing machines cannot directly detect the amount of foreign matter that has actually accumulated in the drain filter, and when a washing machine determines the amount of foreign matter that has accumulated in the drain filter from the number of times it has run, it is difficult to estimate the actual amount of foreign matter that has occurred and poor drainage caused by the foreign matter. Furthermore, when a washing machine determines the amount of foreign matter that has accumulated in the drain filter from the time it takes to drain the wash water, the drainage time is affected by the amount and fabric quality of the clothes, as well as the structural shape of the rotating drum that stores the clothes, etc. The inventors discovered a problem in that it is difficult to generally estimate the amount of foreign matter that has accumulated in the drain filter from the drainage time, and have come to constitute the subject matter of the present disclosure in order to solve this problem.

[0009] Therefore, the present disclosure provides a washing machine that can prompt the user to perform drain filter maintenance at an appropriate time.

[0010] Hereinafter, embodiments will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. However, unnecessary detailed description may be omitted. For example, detailed description of well-known matters or redundant description of substantially the same configuration may be omitted. This is to avoid unnecessary redundancy in the following description and to facilitate understanding by those skilled in the art.

[0011] The accompanying drawings and the following description are provided to enable those skilled in the art to fully understand the present disclosure, and are not intended to limit the subject matter described in the claims.

[0012] (Embodiment 1) Hereinafter, the first embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS.

[0013] [1-1.Configuration] [1-1-1. Washing machine configuration] The washing machine in this embodiment is configured as a drum type washing machine 100.

[0014] In FIG. 1, drum-type washing machine 100 includes housing 101, water tub 102, and rotating drum 103. Water tub 102 is disposed within housing 101 and is supported in a vibration-isolating manner by vibration damper 111. Rotating drum 103 is contained within water tub 102 and is rotatable by motor 112. Water tub 102 and rotating drum 103 are formed in a cylindrical shape with a bottom. A number of water passage holes 103a are provided on the circumferential surface of rotating drum 103. Water passage holes 103a connect water tub 102 and rotating drum 103 to allow water to pass through. Housing 101 has a housing opening 101a on the front surface for inserting clothes into rotating drum 103.

[0015] A cover 104 is provided on the front surface of the housing 101. The cover 104 covers the housing opening 101a in an openable and closable manner.

[0016] A water supply valve 113 that supplies water to the water tub 102 is provided at the upper interior portion of the housing 101. The water supply valve 113 and the water tub 102 are connected by a water supply path (not shown), and a detergent case (not shown) into which detergent and fabric softener are poured is provided on the water supply path.

[0017] Drain valve 114 and drain path 120 are provided at the lower inside portion of housing 101. Drain path 120 connects the bottom of water tub 102 to the outside of housing 101. Drain valve 114 is provided on drain path 120. Drain valve 114 is provided so as to be able to open and close freely, and when drain valve 114 is opened, the wash water in water tub 102 is drained.

[0018] A drain filter unit 125 is disposed in the drain path 120 between the bottom of the water tank 102 and the drain valve 114 .

[0019] As shown in FIG. 2, drain filter unit 125 has drain filter unit inlet 125a through which wash water is introduced into drain filter unit 125, and drain filter unit outlet 125b through which wash water is discharged from drain filter unit 125. Furthermore, drain filter unit 125 includes drain filter attachment unit 126 fixedly provided within housing 101, and mesh-shaped drain filter body 127 removably provided on drain filter attachment unit 126. Drain filter body 127 is provided between drain filter unit inlet 125a and drain filter unit outlet 125b. Drain filter body 127 captures foreign matter such as lint mixed in with the wash water flowing through drain filter body 127. A user can remove drain filter body 127 from drain filter attachment unit 126 to perform maintenance on drain filter body 127.

[0020] 1, drain filter section 125 is provided with water level detection means 115. The water level detection means detects the level of the wash water in water tub 102 based on the water pressure.

[0021] Drying section 130 is provided in the upper interior portion of housing 101. Drying section 130 includes drying path 131, dehumidifying means 132, heating means 133, and air blowing means 134. Drying path 131 has drying path inlet 131a through which air flows into drying path 131 from water tank 102, and drying path outlet 131b through which air flows out from drying path 131 into water tank 102.

[0022] Dehumidifying means 132, heating means 133, and air blowing means 134 are provided within drying path 131. Dehumidifying means 132 removes moisture from humid air that flows in from drying path inlet 131a to dehumidify the air. Heating means 133 heats the air dehumidified by dehumidifying means 132. Air blowing means 134 is provided within drying path 131 downstream of dehumidifying means 132 and heating means 133, and sends out the dehumidified and heated air in the direction of water tub 102.

[0023] A control device 200 is provided at the lower inner portion of the housing 101 to control the operations of the washing process, rinsing process, spin-drying process, and drying process.

[0024] An operation display unit 140 is provided on the upper front surface of the housing 101. The operation display unit 140 receives instructions from the user regarding the operation details. The operation display unit 140 also displays information regarding the operating status and the like.

[0025] [1-1-2. Control device configuration] As shown in FIG. 3, the control device 200 includes an information acquisition unit 201, a timer unit 202, a storage unit 203, a control processing unit 204, and an output unit 205.

[0026] The information acquisition unit 201 acquires information relating to the operation settings input by the user from the operation display unit 140 and information relating to the water level in the water tank 102 detected by the water level detection means 115 .

[0027] The timing unit 202 measures the water supply time during which water is supplied to the water tub 102 by the water supply valve 113 and the drain time during which the washing water in the water tub 102 is drained by the drain valve 114, based on the information on the water level in the water tub 102 acquired by the information acquisition unit 201.

[0028] The storage unit 203 stores various parameters including the information acquired by the information acquisition unit 201, the water supply time and drain time measured by the timer unit 202, and the number of operations.

[0029] The control processing unit 204 controls the motor 112, the water supply valve 113, the drain valve 114, and the like to perform various operations including a washing process, a rinsing process, a spin-drying process, and a drying process. Furthermore, the control processing unit 204 uses various parameters stored in the storage unit 203 to perform various calculations and decisions.

[0030] The output unit 205 outputs various operational statuses to the operation display unit 140. Furthermore, when the control processing unit 204 determines that maintenance of the drainage filter main body 127 is necessary, the output unit 205 outputs a message to that effect to the operation display unit 140.

[0031] [1-2. Operation] [1-2-1. Washing and drying operation] The operation of the drum type washing machine 100 configured as above will be described below.

[0032] The following description will be made of the operation when the user selects the washing and drying operation, which includes the washing step, rinsing step, spin-drying step, and drying step.

[0033] When operation starts, the washing process begins.

[0034] In the washing cycle, control processing unit 204 opens water supply valve 113 to introduce wash water into housing 101. The wash water introduced into housing 101 flows down the water supply path and is sent into water tub 102 while dissolving the detergent placed in the detergent case. When the wash water has been supplied to a predetermined water level in water tub 102, control processing unit 204 closes water supply valve 113 and then drives motor 112 to rotate rotating drum 103 and perform an agitation operation. When the washing cycle is completed, a rinsing cycle is started.

[0035] In the rinse process, an intermediate rinse and a final rinse are performed in this order. In the intermediate rinse, control processing unit 204 opens drain valve 114 to drain the wash water in water tub 102 out of housing 101 and initiates a determination operation. After draining the wash water in water tub 102 is complete, control processing unit 204, with drain valve 114 open, drives motor 112 to rotate rotating drum 103 and perform a spin-drying operation to remove moisture from the laundry. After the spin-drying operation is complete, control processing unit 204 closes drain valve 114 and opens water supply valve 113 to introduce new wash water into water tub 102. When wash water has been supplied to a predetermined water level in water tub 102, control processing unit 204 closes water supply valve 113 and then drives motor 112 to rotate rotating drum 103 and perform a stirring operation. After the stirring operation is complete, the intermediate rinse ends and a final rinse is performed. In the final rinse, the same steps as in the intermediate rinse are performed in order: draining, determining, spin-drying, water supplying, and agitating. When the agitation is completed, the rinsing process ends and the spin-drying process begins.

[0036] In the spin cycle, control processing unit 204 opens drain valve 114, drains the wash water in water tub 102 out of housing 101, and starts a determination operation. When draining of the wash water in water tub 102 is complete, control processing unit 204, with drain valve 114 open, drives motor 112 to rotate rotating drum 103 and perform a spin cycle to remove moisture from the laundry. When the spin cycle for a predetermined period of time is completed, the spin cycle ends and a drying cycle begins.

[0037] During the drying process, air that has been dehumidified and heated in the drying section 130 is ejected into the rotating drum 103 from the drying path outlet 131b. The air ejected into the rotating drum 103 removes moisture from the clothes. The humid air that has removed moisture from the clothes then flows into the drying section 130 from the drying path inlet 131a. This air circulation dries the laundry. When the drying process is completed, the process proceeds to a determination operation, which will be described later. When the determination operation is completed, the operation ends.

[0038] [1-2-2. Judgment operation] Hereinafter, with reference to FIG. 4, the capture of foreign matter such as lint by the drain filter body 127 during drainage will be described. The detailed operation of determining the degree of catch will be described.

[0039] When the determination operation starts (step S101), when the wash water in the water tub 102 reaches a first predetermined water level WL1 (see Figure 1) that is lower than the bottom surface of the rotating drum 103 so as not to be affected by the shape of the rotating drum 103 (Yes in step S102), the timing unit 202 starts the timer (step S103).

[0040] The drainage time T until the water is drained to a second predetermined water level WL2 (see FIG. 1) that is slightly higher than the lowest water level that can be detected by the water level detection means 115 is measured (Yes in step S104, step S105).

[0041] Next, it is determined whether the measured water discharge time T is equal to or longer than a predetermined time TS (step S106). If the measured water discharge time T is equal to or longer than the predetermined time TS (Yes in step S106), an announcing operation is performed (step S107).

[0042] In the notification operation, the output unit 205 outputs a notification to the operation display unit 140 to prompt the user to perform maintenance on the drain filter body 127. The notification to prompt the user to perform maintenance on the drain filter body 127 may be made by flashing or lighting a light-emitting diode (not shown) provided on the top or front surface of the housing 101, or by sounding a buzzer (not shown) provided in the drum type washing machine 100.

[0043] The user can change the predetermined time TS in step S106 by operating the operation display unit 140.

[0044] For example, if the user wants to be notified when the drain filter body 127 is only slightly clogged, the user can input an instruction to the operation display unit 140 to be notified when the clog is only slightly clogged, and change the setting to reduce the specified time TS.

[0045] [1-3.Effects] As described above, in this embodiment, drum-type washing machine 100 includes housing 101, water tub 102 swingably provided within housing 101, drain path 120 for discharging wash water in water tub 102 to the outside of housing 101, drain filter body 127 provided in drain path 120 for capturing foreign matter, and control device 200 for executing a washing cycle, a rinsing cycle, and a spin-drying cycle. During the draining operation of the rinsing cycle and the spin-drying cycle, control device 200 estimates clogging of drain filter body 127 based on drain time T for the wash water in water tub 102 to be drained from a first predetermined water level WL1 that is lower than the bottom surface of rotating drum 103 and is not affected by the amount of clothes placed in rotating drum 103, the fabric type, or the shape of rotating drum 103, to a second predetermined water level WL2 that is slightly higher than the lowest water level detectable by water level detection means 115, and outputs a notification urging maintenance of drain filter body 127.

[0046] As a result, the control device 200 can accurately measure the drainage time T without being affected by the shape of the rotating drum 103, and can output an alert urging maintenance of the drainage filter main body 127 based on both the state of the drainage path 120, including poor drainage caused by foreign matter such as lint accumulated in the drainage filter main body 127, which is inferred from the drainage time T.

[0047] Therefore, the user can be prompted to perform maintenance on the drainage filter body 127 appropriately.

[0048] As in this embodiment, the control device 200 can change the predetermined time TS in S106 by operating the operation display unit 140. For example, when the user detects clogging of the drain filter body 127, If it is desired to notify when the clogging is small, the setting may be changed so that the predetermined time TS is reduced when an instruction to notify when the clogging is small is input to the operation display unit 140.

[0049] This allows the user to change the frequency at which a notification is issued to prompt maintenance of the drainage filter body 127.

[0050] Therefore, it is possible to prompt the user to perform drain filter maintenance at an appropriate time based on the user's preferences. [Industrial Applicability]

[0051] The present disclosure is applicable to washing machines equipped with a drain filter. Washing machines include top-loading washing machines, top-loading washer-dryers, drum-type washing machines, and drum-type washer-dryers. [Explanation of symbols]

[0052] 100 Drum type washing machine (washing machine) 101 Case 101a Housing opening 102 Aquarium 103 Rotating Drum 103a Water hole 104 Lid 111 Vibration damper 112 Motor 113 Water supply valve 114 Drain valve 115 Water level detection means 120 Drainage route 125 Drainage filter section 125a Drainage filter inlet 125b Drain filter outlet 126 Drain filter mounting part 127 Drainage filter body 130 Drying section 131 Drying Route 131a Drying path entrance 131b Drying path exit 132 Dehumidification means 133 Heating means 134 Ventilation means 140 Operation display section 200 control device 201 Information acquisition department 202 Timing section 203 Storage section 204 Control processing section 205 Output section WL1 First predetermined water level WL2 Second predetermined water level T Drain time TS Scheduled Time

Claims

1. The housing and a water tank provided within the housing so as to be able to swing; a rotating drum rotatably contained within the water tank; a water level detection means for detecting the water level in the water tank; a drainage path for discharging the washing water in the water tub to the outside of the housing; a drainage filter provided in the drainage path to capture foreign matter; a control device that controls at least a washing step, a rinsing step, and a spin-drying step; Equipped with The control device During the rinse and spin cycles, a drain time required for the wash water in the water tub to be drained from a first predetermined water level lower than the bottom surface of the rotary drum to a second predetermined water level slightly higher than the lowest water level detectable by the water level detection means is measured, and if the predetermined time is exceeded, Estimating clogging of the drainage filter; outputting a notification to prompt maintenance of the drainage filter; washing machine.

2. The predetermined time can be changed by the user. The washing machine according to claim 1.

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