Drum washing machine

Abstract

To provide a drum type washing machine capable of achieving improvement in safety.SOLUTION: A drum type washing machine 1 includes: a housing; an outer tub arranged in the housing; a door supported by the housing, and for opening / closing an entrance of the outer tub; a drum arranged in the outer tub; a lock part 20; and a control part 37 for controlling the lock part 20. The lock part 20 locks the door in a state where the entrance is closed. In the case where the power supply of the drum type washing machine 1 is turned off, lock of the door by the lock part 20 is in a released state. When the power supply of the drum type washing machine 1 is turned on, the control part 37 executes confirmation processing for confirming presence / absence of a person in the drum, and after confirming that nobody is in the drum in the confirmation processing, the door is locked by the lock part 20 in a state where the entrance is closed.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 10

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a drum-type washing machine. [Background technology]

[0002] The drum-type washing machine described in Patent Document 1 below includes a housing with an operation panel and a laundry inlet on the front, a water tub as an example of an outer tub located within the housing, a drum located within the water tub and rotatable about a horizontal axis, a door for opening and closing the laundry inlet, and a door lock mechanism for locking the door when the laundry inlet is closed. A user unlocks the door by operating a key on the operation panel, then opens the door and loads or unloads laundry from the laundry inlet into the drum. When the user closes the door, the door lock mechanism locks the door. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2007-181629 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] In general, drum-type washing machines are required by official standards to have specifications that allow a person to open an unlocked, closed door from inside the drum to prevent people, such as children, from becoming trapped inside the drum, and the drum-type washing machine in Patent Document 1 is also considered to be safe because it naturally has such specifications. However, improvements in the safety of drum-type washing machines are always desired.

[0005] The present invention has been made under such circumstances, and has an object to provide a drum-type washing machine that can improve safety. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] The present invention is a drum-type washing machine that includes a housing, an outer tub that is arranged within the housing and has an entrance / exit for laundry and that stores water, a door that is supported by the housing and opens and closes the entrance / exit, a drum that is arranged within the outer tub and has an internal space that communicates with the entrance / exit and that stores laundry in the internal space, a drive unit that rotates the drum, a lock unit that locks the door with the entrance / exit closed, and a control unit that controls the drive unit and the lock unit, and when the power is turned off, the door is unlocked by the lock unit, and when the power of the drum-type washing machine is turned on, the control unit executes a confirmation process to confirm whether or not a person is inside the drum, and after confirming in the confirmation process that no person is inside the drum, the lock unit locks the door with the entrance / exit closed.

[0007] The present invention is also characterized in that the outer tub is provided with an air vent, and the drum type washing machine includes an opening / closing unit that opens and closes the air vent, and that keeps the air vent open when the power of the drum type washing machine is turned off, and when the power of the drum type washing machine is turned on, the control unit closes the air vent using the opening / closing unit after confirming in the confirmation process that there is no person in the drum.

[0008] The present invention is also characterized in that the drum-type washing machine includes a temperature detection unit that detects the temperature inside the drum, a capacity detection unit that detects the capacity inside the drum, and an eccentricity detection unit that detects the eccentricity of the drum while it is rotating, and in the confirmation process, if the detection result of the temperature detection unit is equal to or less than a first threshold, the detection result of the capacity detection unit is equal to or less than a second threshold, and the detection result of the eccentricity detection unit is equal to or less than a third threshold, the control unit determines that no one is inside the drum.

[0009] The present invention is also characterized in that the locking portion locks the door that closes the entrance in a state where the door is pushed toward the outer tub.

[0010] The present invention is also characterized in that the locking portion includes a protrusion provided on the door and a slider provided on the housing that can slide toward or away from the protrusion when the door closes the entrance / exit, and at least one of the protrusion and the slider is provided with an inclined surface portion, and when the slider slides toward the protrusion, the inclined surface portion pushes the protrusion toward the outer tank. [Effects of the Invention]

[0011] According to the present invention, when a drum-type washing machine is turned on, the control unit executes a confirmation process to check whether or not a person is inside the drum. After the confirmation process confirms that no person is inside the drum, the lock unit locks the door with the entrance / exit closed. In other words, even if the power is turned on, the door remains unlocked until the subsequent confirmation process confirms that no person is inside the drum. Therefore, even if the power of the drum-type washing machine is turned on while a person is inside the drum, the person inside the drum can easily open the door from the inside and escape to the outside. This improves the safety of the drum-type washing machine.

[0012] Furthermore, according to the present invention, even if the power is turned on, in a drum-type washing machine, the door remains unlocked and the air vent in the outer tub remains open until a subsequent confirmation process confirms that no one is inside the drum. Therefore, even if a person enters the drum, regardless of whether the power of the drum-type washing machine is on or off, the person inside the drum can continue to breathe as outside air flows into the outer tub through the air vent, and can easily open the door from the inside to escape to the outside. This further improves the safety of drum-type washing machines.

[0013] Furthermore, according to the present invention, in the confirmation process, if the detection result of the temperature inside the drum detected by the temperature detection unit is equal to or less than the first threshold, the detection result of the capacity detection unit is equal to or less than the second threshold, and the detection result of the eccentricity detection unit is equal to or less than the third threshold, the control unit determines that no one is inside the drum. In other words, by performing this strict confirmation process using the detection results of the temperature detection unit, capacity detection unit, and eccentricity detection unit, it is possible to more accurately confirm the presence or absence of a person inside the drum.

[0014] According to the present invention, the locking unit locks the door with the entrance closed while it is pushed toward the outer tub, so that the locked door seals the entrance to the outer tub. This improves the safety of the drum-type washing machine and prevents water leakage from the outer tub during the washing operation after the confirmation process.

[0015] Furthermore, according to the present invention, when the slider on the housing slides toward the protrusion of the door, the sloped surface provided on at least one of the protrusion and the slider pushes the protrusion toward the outer tub, thereby allowing the locking unit to lock the door, which has closed the entrance, in a state where it is pushed toward the outer tub. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0016] [Figure 1] 1 is a front view of a drum-type washing machine according to an embodiment of the present invention; [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a front view of the drum-type washing machine with the door open. [Figure 3] FIG. 2 is a plan view of the drum-type washing machine with the interior exposed. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is an enlarged view of the exposed portion in FIG. 3. [Figure 5] 5 is a diagram showing a state after the lid at the opening / closing part of the drum type washing machine in FIG. 4 has been moved. [Figure 6] FIG. 2 is a plan view of the drum-type washing machine, showing the door and the surrounding essential parts. [Figure 7]FIG. 7 is an enlarged view of a locking portion, which is a part of FIG. 6. [Figure 8] 7 is a diagram showing a state in which the door is locked by a locking unit in FIG. 6. FIG. [Figure 9] FIG. 9 is an enlarged view of the locking portion in FIG. 8. [Figure 10] FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the electrical configuration of the drum-type washing machine. [Figure 11] 4 is a flowchart showing a washing operation performed in the drum type washing machine. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0017] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. Fig. 1 is a schematic front view of a drum type washing machine 1 according to one embodiment of the present invention. The left-right direction in Fig. 1 is referred to as the left-right direction X of the drum type washing machine 1, the direction perpendicular to the plane of Fig. 1 is referred to as the front-rear direction Y of the drum type washing machine 1, and the up-down direction in Fig. 1 is referred to as the up-down direction Z of the drum type washing machine 1.

[0018] In the left-right direction X, the left side in FIG. 1 is referred to as the left side X1, and the right side in FIG. 1 is referred to as the right side X2. The front side in the plane of FIG. 1 is referred to as the front Y1, and the back side in the plane of FIG. 1 is referred to as the rear Y2. In the up-down direction Z, the upper side is referred to as the upper side Z1, and the lower side is referred to as the lower side Z2. The left-right direction X and the front-back direction Y are included in the lateral direction. The lateral direction may be the horizontal direction H, or may be a substantially horizontal direction that is slightly inclined relative to the horizontal direction H.

[0019] The drum type washing machine 1 may be a drum type washer-dryer with a drying function or a drum type washing machine without a drying function. The drum type washing machine 1 includes a housing 2 and a door 3 supported by the housing 2.

[0020] The housing 2 is formed in a box shape and is mostly made of metal. The front surface of the rectangular front wall 2A of the housing 2 is, for example, a vertical surface. A circular recess 2B recessed toward the rear Y2 is provided in the central region of the front surface of the front wall 2A. An annular bottom surface 2C is provided in the rear Y2 region of the recess 2B, and a circular opening 2D is formed inside the bottom surface 2C, located in a lower region of the recess 2B, and communicating the inside and outside of the housing 2 (see FIG. 2).

[0021] A drawer 4 for dispensing detergent and fabric softener is provided in a corner region on the front surface of the front wall 2A above and to the left of the recessed portion 2B. A power button 5 for the drum-type washing machine 1 is provided in a corner region on the front surface of the front wall 2A above and to the right of the recessed portion 2B. A display / operation unit 6 formed of a liquid crystal touch panel or the like is provided in an area Z1 above the recessed portion 2B on the front surface of the front wall 2A between the drawer 4 and the power button 5.

[0022] An opening 2E for a drain filter (not shown) and a cover 7 for opening and closing the opening 2E are provided in a corner region on the front surface of the front wall 2A, lower right than the recess 2B. Legs 8 are provided at the four corners of the lower surface of the rectangular bottom wall 2F of the housing 2, and are adapted to come into contact with a placing surface (not shown), such as a floor.

[0023] The door 3 is transparent or translucent, for example, by being made of glass. The door 3 is connected to the housing 2 via a hinge 9 (see FIG. 2) provided at its left end, and is rotatable about the hinge 9 between a closed position (see FIG. 1) and an open position (see FIG. 2). When the door 3 is in the closed position, the door 3 includes a disk-shaped main body 3A having a size that fits perfectly into the recess 2B, and a protrusion 3B (see FIG. 2) that protrudes rearward Y2 from the rear surface of the main body 3A. A recess 3C is provided on the front surface of the main body 3A, for example, in the upper right region, for the user to place their finger on to open or close the door 3.

[0024] FIG. 2 is a front view of the drum-type washing machine 1 with the door 3 open to the open position. When the door 3 is in the open position, the main body 3A extends forward Y1 substantially perpendicular to the front surface of the front wall 2A of the housing 2, and an opening 2D on the front surface of the front wall 2A is opened forward Y1. The protrusion 3B of the door 3 is substantially cylindrical and sized to fit perfectly into the opening 2D of the housing 2. The protrusion 3B is provided in a lower region on the rear surface of the main body 3A and is surrounded by an annular outer periphery 3D on the rear surface. When the door 3 is rotated to the closed position, the main body 3A fits into the recess 2B of the housing 2, the outer periphery 3D on the rear surface of the main body 3A faces the bottom surface 2C of the recess 2B from the front Y1, and the protrusion 3B fits into the opening 2D, closing the opening 2D (see FIG. 1).

[0025] Drum type washing machine 1 includes an outer tub 10 disposed in a housing 2, and a drum 11 disposed in outer tub 10 to accommodate laundry (not shown).

[0026] The outer tub 10 is supported by a damper (not shown) extending upward Z1 from the bottom wall 2F of the housing 2, and is suspended by a spring (not shown). As a result, the entire outer tub 10 and the drum 11 inside it are elastically supported by the housing 2. The outer tub 10 is cylindrical, centered on an axis J that extends in the front-to-rear direction Y along the horizontal direction H. The axis J may be inclined with respect to the horizontal direction H. A laundry entrance / exit 10A is provided in an area of ​​the outer tub 10 facing the opening 2D of the housing 2. The entrance / exit 10A is circular and has approximately the same size as the opening 2D. Water is stored in the outer tub 10.

[0027] The drum 11 is cylindrical and slightly smaller than the outer tub 10. It is coaxially disposed within the outer tub 10 and is supported by the outer tub 10 so as to be rotatable about an axis J. The drum 11 has a plurality of through-holes (not shown), and water in the outer tub 10 flows between the outer tub 10 and the drum 11 through these through-holes. Therefore, the water level in the outer tub 10 and the water level in the drum 11 are the same.

[0028] A laundry entrance / exit 11A is provided in a region of the drum 11 facing the entrance / exit 10A of the outer tub 10. An internal space 11B of the drum 11 is in communication with the entrance / exit 10A of the outer tub 10 at the entrance / exit 11A. The entrance / exit 10A and the entrance / exit 11A, together with an opening 2D of the housing 2, are opened and closed together by the door 3. That is, when the door 3 is in the open position, the opening 2D, the entrance / exit 10A, and the entrance / exit 11A are all opened, and when the door 3 is in the closed position, the opening 2D, the entrance / exit 10A, and the entrance / exit 11A are all closed.

[0029] A user places laundry in or takes laundry out of the internal space 11B of the drum 11 through the open opening 2D, the entrance 10A, and the entrance 11A. The drum 11 stores laundry in the internal space 11B. An annular gasket 12 is provided on the outer peripheral surface of the protrusion 3B on the rear surface of the door 3, and comes into close contact with the peripheral edge of the entrance 10A in the outer tub 10 when the door 3 closes the opening 2D, the entrance 10A, and the entrance 11A.

[0030] Fig. 3 is a plan view of the drum-type washing machine 1 with a portion of the top wall 2G of the housing 2 cut away to expose the outer tub 10. Fig. 4 is an enlarged view of the exposed portion in Fig. 3. An upper end of the circumferential wall 10B, which forms the majority of the outer tub 10, is provided with an air vent 10C that radially penetrates a portion of the circumferential wall 10B. The air vent 10C is, for example, rectangular in shape.

[0031] Drum-type washing machine 1 includes an opening / closing unit 15 that opens and closes air vent 10C. Opening / closing unit 15 includes a rectangular plate-shaped lid 16 having the same size as air vent 10C, a shaft 17 connected to the right end of lid 16 and extendable in the left-right direction X, an electric actuator 18 connected to the right end of shaft 17, and a biasing member 19. Actuator 18 is configured by a solenoid, a geared motor, or the like. When actuator 18 is activated, shaft 17 extends and contracts, causing lid 16 to slide in the left-right direction X.

[0032] In the opening / closing unit 15 shown in Fig. 4, the shaft 17 is in an extended state, and the lid 16 is positioned to the left of the vent hole 10C at X1, in an open position that opens the vent hole 10C. An example of the biasing member 19 is a coil spring that surrounds the shaft 17 and biases the lid 16 to the left at X1 so that the lid 16 is in the open position (see the black arrow in Fig. 4).

[0033] When actuator 18 is activated and shaft 17 is contracted, lid 16 slides to the right X2 against the biasing force of biasing member 19 and is positioned at the closed position shown in Figure 5, closing vent hole 10C. When both door 3 and lid 16 are in the closed position, the inside of outer tub 10 and internal space 11B of drum 11 are sealed. However, when drum-type washing machine 1 is turned off, lid 16 is in the open position, and opening / closing unit 15 keeps vent hole 10C always open (see Figure 4).

[0034] The drum-type washing machine 1 includes a locking unit 20 that locks the door 3 in the closed position. FIG. 6 is a plan view of the door 3 and the locking unit 20. The locking unit 20 will be described below based on the state in which the door 3 is in the closed position. The locking unit 20 includes a protrusion 21 that is provided at the right end of the outer periphery 3D of the rear surface of the main body 3A of the door 3 and protrudes rearward Y2, and an actuator 22 and a slider 23 that are provided on the front wall 2A of the housing 2 to the right of the opening 2D (see FIG. 2). Note that FIG. 6 illustrates cross sections of the protrusion 21 and the slider 23 (the same applies to FIGS. 7, 8, and 9).

[0035] Fig. 7 is an enlarged view of the locking portion 20 extracted from Fig. 6. The protrusion 21 is provided with a recessed portion 21A recessed to the left (X1) from its right side surface, a flat surface portion 21B extending flat along the left-right direction (X) to define the recessed portion 21A from the front (Y1), and an inclined surface portion 21C extending at an angle from the left end of the flat surface portion 21B toward the rear right to define the recessed portion 21A from the rear (Y2).

[0036] A cylindrical magnet 24, which faces the rear end of the protrusion 21I from the rear Y2, is elastically supported at the rear end of the protrusion 21I via a coil spring 25 extending in the front-rear direction Y. A positioning pin 24A extending to the front Y1 is provided in the area surrounded by the coil spring 25 within the magnet 24. A tubular portion extending to the rear Y2 is provided in the area surrounded by the coil spring 25 on the rear end surface of the protrusion 21, and the internal space of this tubular portion is a positioning hole 21D that is open to the rear Y2.

[0037] With regard to the protrusion 21, the actuator 22, and the slider 23, an insertion hole 2H into which the protrusion 21 is inserted when the door 3 rotates from the open position to the closed position is provided on the front wall 2A of the housing 2 to the right of the opening 2D (see FIG. 2). The actuator 22 and the slider 23 are disposed on the rear side of the front wall 2A.

[0038] The actuator 22 is an electric actuator formed by a solenoid or the like. The actuator 22 includes a shaft 26 that is extendable or slidable in the left-right direction X. The shaft 26 is exposed from the left surface of the actuator 22. The slider 23 is wedge-shaped in a plan view. Therefore, the slider 23 in a plan view is provided with a flat surface portion 23A that extends flat along the left-right direction X, and an inclined surface portion 23B that extends at an angle from the left end of the flat surface portion 23A to the rear right side.

[0039] The slider 23 is disposed forward Y1 of the left end of the shaft 26 of the actuator 22. The slider 23 is fixed to the left end of the shaft 26 via a stay 27 extending in the front-rear direction Y, and is movable together with the shaft 26. In the state shown in FIG. 7, the left end of the shaft 26 is located at the rightmost position X2, and the slider 23 at this time is in the release position. In this case, even if the door 3 is in the closed position, the slider 23 is out of the recess 21A of the protrusion 21 to the right X2.

[0040] When the door 3 is in the open position and the slider 23 is in the release position, the magnet 24 on the protrusion 21 side is attracted to the metal part 28 (see FIG. 2) on the housing 2 side, and the door 3 is positioned with a light force. At this time, the positioning pin 24A of the magnet 24 is displaced backward Y2 from the positioning hole 21D of the protrusion 21.

[0041] When the actuator 22 is actuated and the shaft 26 extends or slides to the left X1 while the slider 23 is in the release position, the left end of the shaft 26 moves to the left X1. When the left end of the shaft 26 moves to the leftmost position X1, the slider 23 is positioned in the lock position shown in Figures 8 and 9.

[0042] When the door 3 is in the closed position, the slider 23 moves from the unlocked position to the locked position, causing the slider 23 to slide toward the protrusion 21 of the door 3. At that time, the slider 23 enters the recess 21A of the protrusion 21 from the right X2 (see the black arrow A1 in FIG. 9), and the inclined surface 23B of the slider 23 comes into contact with the inclined surface 21C of the protrusion 21, thereby pressing the protrusion 21 backward Y2 (see the black arrow A2 in FIG. 9). As a result, with the door 3 in the closed position, the packing 12 of the protrusion 3B comes into closer contact with the peripheral edge of the opening 10A of the outer tub 10 (see FIG. 8).

[0043] In this way, when the slider 23 slides toward the protrusion 21, the inclined surface portions 21C and 23B push the protrusion 21 toward the outer tub 10. Therefore, the locking unit 20 locks the door 3, which closes the entrance 10A, in a state where it is pushed toward the outer tub 10. In this embodiment, inclined surface portions are provided on both the protrusion 21 and the slider 23, such as the inclined surface portions 21C and 23B of the protrusion 21, but it is sufficient if an inclined surface portion is provided on at least one of the protrusion 21 and the slider 23. Furthermore, when the slider 23 moves to the locked position, the rear end of the protrusion 21 is pushed into the magnet 24, and the positioning pin 24A of the magnet 24 is inserted into the positioning hole 21D of the protrusion 21, thereby positioning the magnet 24 with respect to the protrusion 21.

[0044] When the actuator 22 is activated and the shaft 26 retracts or slides to the right X2 while the slider 23 is in the locked position, the slider 23 moves out of the recess 21A of the protrusion 21 to the right X2 and returns to the unlocked position (see the black arrow A3 in FIG. 7), thereby unlocking the door 3 from the locking part 20. This causes the protrusion 21 to move slightly forward Y1 (see the black arrow A4 in FIG. 7), so that the rear end of the protrusion 21 moves out of the magnet 24 and the positioning pin 24A of the magnet 24 moves out of the positioning hole 21D of the protrusion 21. At this time, the door 3 remains in the closed position.

[0045] In this way, slider 23 can slide toward or away from protrusion 21 when door 3 closes doorway 10A. When drum type washing machine 1 is turned off, slider 23 is in the release position, and door 3 is therefore unlocked by locking unit 20 (see FIGS. 6 and 7).

[0046] 10 is a block diagram showing the electrical configuration of drum type washing machine 1. Drum type washing machine 1 includes a water supply unit 30 for supplying water into outer tub 10, a drainage unit 31 for draining water from outer tub 10, and a drive unit 32 for rotating drum 11. Drum type washing machine 1 also includes a water level detection unit 33 for detecting the water level in drum 11, a temperature detection unit 34 for detecting the temperature inside drum 11, a storage amount detection unit 35 for detecting the amount of laundry or the like stored in drum 11, an eccentricity detection unit 36 ​​for detecting the eccentricity of drum 11 during rotation, and a control unit 37.

[0047] The water supply unit 30 includes a water supply channel (not shown) connected to the outer tub 10 and a water supply valve (not shown) that opens and closes the water supply channel. The drainage unit 31 includes a drainage channel (not shown) connected to the outer tub 10 and a drainage valve (not shown) that opens and closes the drainage channel. The drive unit 32 is an electric motor.

[0048] The water level detection unit 33 is configured with a known water level sensor. The temperature detection unit 34 is configured with a human presence sensor that irradiates infrared rays into the drum 11. The storage capacity detection unit 35 and the eccentricity detection unit 36 ​​are each configured with a current detection circuit that detects the current flowing through the drive unit 32. One of the storage capacity detection unit 35 and the eccentricity detection unit 36 ​​may also serve as the other.

[0049] The control unit 37 is configured as a microcomputer including, for example, a CPU, memories such as ROM and RAM, and a timer for measuring time, and is built into the housing 2. The water supply unit 30, the drain unit 31, the drive unit 32, the water level detection unit 33, the temperature detection unit 34, the capacity detection unit 35, the eccentricity detection unit 36, as well as the power button 5, the display operation unit 6, the opening / closing unit 15, and the lock unit 20 described above are electrically connected to the control unit 37.

[0050] The control unit 37 supplies or stops water supply to the outer tub 10 by opening or closing the water supply valve of the water supply unit 30. The control unit 37 drains or stops draining water from the outer tub 10 by opening or closing the drain valve of the drain unit 31. The control unit 37 controls the drive unit 32 to rotate the drum 11 at a desired rotation speed. The detection results of the water level detection unit 33, temperature detection unit 34, capacity detection unit 35, and eccentricity detection unit 36 ​​are input to the control unit 37 in real time.

[0051] When the user operates the power button 5, the control unit 37 turns the power of the drum type washing machine 1 on or off. The operation contents of the display operation unit 6 by the user are input to the control unit 37. The control unit 37 controls the display contents of the display operation unit 6. The control unit 37 controls the actuator 18 of the opening / closing unit 15 to slide the lid 16 of the opening / closing unit 15 between the open position (see FIG. 4) and the closed position (see FIG. 5). The control unit 37 controls the actuator 22 of the locking unit 20 to slide the slider 23 of the locking unit 20 between the release position (see FIGS. 6 and 7) and the locking position (see FIGS. 8 and 9).

[0052] Next, the washing operation performed in drum type washing machine 1 will be described with reference to the flowchart in Fig. 11. When the user operates power button 5 to turn on the power of drum type washing machine 1 and then operates display operation unit 6 to instruct the start of the washing operation, control unit 37 starts the washing operation. Then, control unit 37 first performs a confirmation process to confirm whether or not a person is inside drum 11.

[0053] As a confirmation process, the control unit 37 rotates the drum 11 at a low speed using the drive unit 32, and detects the capacity in the drum 11 and the eccentricity of the rotating drum 11 based on the variations in the current values ​​detected by the capacity detection unit 35 and the eccentricity detection unit 36 ​​at that time (step S1).

[0054] Then, the control unit 37 compares the temperature inside the drum 11, which is the result of detection by the temperature detection unit 34, with a first threshold value stored in the memory of the control unit 37 (step S2). The first threshold value is a value that is lower than a person's body temperature and is determined in advance by experiment or the like when an object with a large temperature difference from the surroundings moves.

[0055] If the temperature inside the drum 11 is equal to or lower than the first threshold value (YES in step S2), the control unit 37 compares the amount of storage inside the drum 11, which is the result of detection by the storage amount detection unit 35, with a second threshold value stored in the memory of the control unit 37 (step S3). An example of the amount of storage inside the drum 11 is the weight of the contents. The second threshold value is a value smaller than the weight of a person, particularly the weight of a child, and is determined in advance through experiments or the like.

[0056] If the capacity of drum 11 is equal to or less than the second threshold (YES in step S3), control unit 37 compares the eccentricity of drum 11, which is the detection result of eccentricity detection unit 36, with a third threshold stored in the memory of control unit 37 (step S4). The third threshold is a value smaller than the eccentricity of drum 11 when rotating with a person inside, and is determined in advance by experiment or the like.

[0057] In the confirmation process, if the detection result of the temperature detection unit 34 is equal to or less than the first threshold (YES in step S2), the detection result of the capacity detection unit 35 is equal to or less than the second threshold (YES in step S3), and the detection result of the eccentricity detection unit 36 ​​is equal to or less than the third threshold (YES in step S4), the control unit 37 determines that no one is inside the drum 11. After confirming that no one is inside the drum 11 in this way in the confirmation process, the control unit 37 locks the door 3 with the lock unit 20 in a state where the entrance 10A of the outer tub 10 is closed (step S5), and closes the air vent 10C of the outer tub 10 with the opening / closing unit 15 (step S6). This seals the outer tub 10.

[0058] Then, the control unit 37 continues the washing operation with the outer tub 10 sealed (step S7). Specifically, the washing operation includes a washing process, a rinsing process after the washing process, and a spin-drying process after the rinsing process.

[0059] In the washing process, the control unit 37 fills the outer tub 10 with water to a predetermined level by opening the water supply valve of the water supply unit 30 while keeping the drain valve of the drain unit 31 closed, and then rotates the drum 11 using the drive unit 32. As a result, the laundry in the drum 11 is repeatedly tumbling, in which the laundry is lifted to a certain extent and then falls naturally to the water surface, resulting in a beating wash. In the beating wash, dirt is removed from the laundry by the impact of the tumbling and the detergent components contained in the detergent water accumulated in the drum 11. In the rinsing process, the laundry in the drum 11 is rinsed by repeatedly tumbling while tap water is filled to a predetermined level in the outer tub 10.

[0060] In the spin-drying process, control unit 37 rotates drum 11 for spin-drying with the drain valve of drain unit 31 open. The laundry in drum 11 is dehydrated by centrifugal force generated by the spin-drying rotation of drum 11. Water seeping out of the laundry during the spin-drying process is discharged to the outside of the machine through the drainage channel of drain unit 31. If drum-type washing machine 1 has a drying function, control unit 37 may execute the drying process after the spin-drying process. In this case, drum-type washing machine 1 includes a supply unit (not shown) that supplies hot air into drum 11, and in the drying process, the laundry in drum 11 is dried by supplying hot air into drum 11.

[0061] When the spin-drying or drying process is completed, control unit 37 unlocks door 3 by sliding slider 23 of lock unit 20 to the unlock position while drum 11 is stopped from rotating, and opens vent hole 10C of outer tub 10 by sliding lid 16 of opening / closing unit 15 to the open position (step S8). This ends the washing operation, and control unit 37 turns off the power to drum-type washing machine 1.

[0062] Note that even if the user interrupts the washing operation by operating the display / operation unit 6 during the washing operation after the confirmation process, the control unit 37 unlocks the door 3 and opens the air vent 10C. Then, when the user resumes the washing operation by operating the display / operation unit 6, the control unit 37 locks the door 3 again and closes the air vent 10C. The control unit 37 may perform the confirmation process again before resuming the washing operation.

[0063] On the other hand, in the confirmation process, if the detection result of temperature detection unit 34 exceeds the first threshold value (NO in step S2), control unit 37 determines that there is a possibility that a person is inside drum 11. If the detection result of capacity detection unit 35 exceeds the second threshold value (NO in step S3), control unit 37 also determines that there is a possibility that a person is inside drum 11. If the detection result of eccentricity detection unit 36 ​​exceeds the third threshold value (NO in step S4), control unit 37 also determines that there is a possibility that a person is inside drum 11. If control unit 37 determines that there is a possibility that a person is inside drum 11, it notifies the user of an abnormality by displaying a warning on display / operation unit 6 or sounding a buzzer (step S9), and stops the washing operation. Thereafter, control unit 37 may turn off the power to drum-type washing machine 1.

[0064] As described above, even if the power is turned on in the drum type washing machine 1, the door 3 remains unlocked until the subsequent confirmation process confirms that no one is inside the drum 11. Therefore, even if the power of the drum type washing machine 1 is turned on while a person is inside the drum 11, the person inside the drum 11 can easily open the door 3 from the inside and escape to the outside of the drum 11. This improves the safety of the drum type washing machine 1.

[0065] Furthermore, in the drum-type washing machine 1, the door 3 is not locked unless the power button 5 and the display / operation unit 6 are operated from outside, so it is physically impossible for a person inside the drum 11 to perform an operation to lock the door 3 from inside. Therefore, the door 3 cannot be locked by an operation performed by a person inside the drum 11. Incidentally, when the door 3 is in the unlocked closed position, the magnet 24 of the protrusion 21 is attracted to the metal part 28 (see FIG. 2 ) on the housing 2, and the door 3 is only lightly positioned by the magnetic force of the magnet 24 when the entrance / exit 10A of the outer tub 10 is not sealed. Therefore, a person inside the drum 11 can easily open the door 3 from inside with a light force. When the door 3 is opened, the magnet 24 moves away from the metal part 28 and moves together with the door 3 and the protrusion 21.

[0066] Furthermore, even if the power is turned on in drum type washing machine 1, door 3 remains unlocked and air vent 10C of outer tub 10 remains open until it is confirmed in a subsequent confirmation process that no one is inside drum 11. Therefore, even if a person enters drum 11, regardless of whether the power of drum type washing machine 1 is on or off, the person inside drum 11 can continue to breathe as outside air flows into outer tub 10 through air vent 10C, and can easily open door 3 from the inside to escape to the outside of drum 11. This further improves the safety of drum type washing machine 1.

[0067] In particular, the triple strict confirmation process using the detection results of the temperature detection unit 34, the storage capacity detection unit 35, and the eccentricity detection unit 36 ​​makes it possible to more accurately confirm whether or not a person is inside the drum 11.

[0068] Furthermore, when the confirmation process confirms that no one is inside the drum 11, the locking unit 20 locks the door 3, which has closed the entrance 10A, in a state where it is pushed toward the outer tub 10, so that the locked door 3 seals the entrance 10A of the outer tub 10 (see FIGS. 8 and 9). Furthermore, the opening / closing unit 15 closes the air vent 10C of the outer tub 10 (see FIG. 5). This improves the safety of the drum-type washing machine 1 and prevents water leakage from the outer tub 10 during the washing operation after the confirmation process.

[0069] In particular, in the locking unit 20, when the slider 23 on the housing 2 slides toward the protrusion 21 of the door 3, the protrusion 21 is pushed toward the outer tub 10 by the inclined surfaces 21C and 23B, which are inclined surfaces provided on at least one of the protrusion 21 and the slider 23. This allows the locking unit 20 to lock the door 3, which closes the entrance / exit 10A, in a state where it is pushed toward the outer tub 10.

[0070] The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications are possible within the scope of the claims.

[0071] For example, the above-described confirmation process may be executed before the start of a washing operation, that is, immediately after the power is turned on to the drum type washing machine 1. The confirmation process may also be repeated multiple times. [Explanation of symbols]

[0072] 1. Drum washing machine 2. Case 3 doors 10 Outer tank 10A entrance / exit 10C Ventilation hole 11 Drums 11B Internal space 15 Opening and Closing Section 20 Rock Club 21 Protrusion 21C Slope section 23 Slider 23B Slope section 32 Drive unit 34 Temperature detection unit 35 Capacity detection unit 36 Eccentricity detection unit 37 Control Unit

Claims

1. The housing and an outer tub disposed within the housing, having an inlet and outlet for laundry and configured to store water; a door supported by the housing and configured to open and close the entrance; a drum having an internal space communicating with the inlet and outlet, the drum being disposed in the outer tub and configured to accommodate laundry in the internal space; a drive unit that rotates the drum; a locking unit that locks the door with the entrance closed; a control unit that controls the drive unit and the lock unit, and in which the door is unlocked by the lock unit when the power is off, When the power supply of the drum type washing machine is turned on, the control unit executes a confirmation process to confirm whether or not there is a person inside the drum, and after confirming in the confirmation process that there is no person inside the drum, the lock unit locks the door with the entrance / exit closed.

2. The outer tank is provided with a ventilation hole, the drum type washing machine includes an opening / closing unit that opens and closes the air vent, and the opening / closing unit opens the air vent when the power supply of the drum type washing machine is turned off, 2. The drum-type washing machine according to claim 1, wherein when the power supply of the drum-type washing machine is turned on, the control unit closes the air vent with the opening / closing unit after confirming in the confirmation process that no person is present in the drum.

3. The drum type washing machine includes a temperature detection unit that detects a temperature inside the drum, a storage capacity detection unit that detects a storage capacity inside the drum, and an eccentricity detection unit that detects an eccentricity of the drum during rotation, 3. The drum-type washing machine according to claim 1, wherein, in the confirmation process, if the detection result of the temperature detection unit is equal to or less than a first threshold, the detection result of the capacity detection unit is equal to or less than a second threshold, and the detection result of the eccentricity detection unit is equal to or less than a third threshold, the control unit determines that no one is present in the drum.

4. The drum-type washing machine according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the locking portion locks the door, which closes the entrance, in a state where the door is pushed toward the outer tub.

5. the locking portion includes a protrusion provided on the door and a slider provided on the housing and slidable so as to approach or move away from the protrusion when the door closes the entrance; At least one of the protrusion and the slider is provided with an inclined surface portion, The drum-type washing machine according to claim 4 , wherein the slider pushes the protrusion toward the outer tub at the inclined surface portion when sliding toward the protrusion.

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