U.S. patent application number 16/068265 was filed with the patent office on 2019-01-17 for multi-drum washing machine and control method therefor.
This patent application is currently assigned to Qingdao Haier Washing Machine Co., Ltd.. The applicant listed for this patent is Qingdao Haier Washing Machine Co., Ltd.. Invention is credited to Rongshuai Cai, Wenwei Li, Xiao Ning, Haibo Wang, Jinkai Wang, Jun Wu.
Application Number | 20190017207 16/068265 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 59273719 |
Filed Date | 2019-01-17 |
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United States Patent
Application |
20190017207 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Li; Wenwei ; et al. |
January 17, 2019 |
MULTI-DRUM WASHING MACHINE AND CONTROL METHOD THEREFOR
Abstract
Provided are a multi-drum washing machine and a control method
therefor, and the multi-drum washing machine includes: at least two
independent washing drums, a control panel an integrated circuit
(IC) controller and a driving circuit board; the control panel has
a plurality of input control elements and a plurality of output
display elements the input control elements are configured for
inputting laundry parameters; the output display elements are
configured for displaying states in a washing process; and the IC
controller and the driving circuit board are connected to the
control panel and control an operation of the washing drums.
Inventors: |
Li; Wenwei; (Shandong,
CN) ; Wu; Jun; (Shandong, CN) ; Wang;
Haibo; (Shandong, CN) ; Wang; Jinkai;
(Shandong, CN) ; Cai; Rongshuai; (Shandong,
CN) ; Ning; Xiao; (Shandong, CN) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
Qingdao Haier Washing Machine Co., Ltd. |
Shandong |
|
CN |
|
|
Assignee: |
Qingdao Haier Washing Machine Co.,
Ltd.
Shandong
CN
|
Family ID: |
59273719 |
Appl. No.: |
16/068265 |
Filed: |
January 6, 2017 |
PCT Filed: |
January 6, 2017 |
PCT NO: |
PCT/CN2017/070496 |
371 Date: |
July 5, 2018 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
1/1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
D06F 31/00 20130101;
D06F 37/04 20130101; D06F 34/28 20200201; D06F 2216/00 20130101;
D06F 39/00 20130101; D06F 33/00 20130101; D06F 23/02 20130101 |
International
Class: |
D06F 31/00 20060101
D06F031/00; D06F 39/00 20060101 D06F039/00 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Jan 6, 2016 |
CN |
201610005447.7 |
Claims
1. A multi-drum washing machine, comprising: at least two
independent washing drums, a control panel, an integrated circuit
(IC) controller and a driving circuit board, wherein the control
panel comprises a plurality of input control elements and a
plurality of output display elements, the plurality of input
control elements are configured for inputting laundry parameters,
and the plurality of output display elements are configured for
displaying states in a washing process, and the IC controller and
the driving circuit board are connected to the control panel and
control an operation of the at least two independent washing
drums.
2. The multi-drum washing machine according to claim 1, wherein the
at least two independent washing drums share a part or all of the
plurality of input control elements and the plurality of output
display elements, and shared input control elements and/or shared
output display elements uniquely correspond to an operating program
of one of the at least two independent washing drums by selecting
the one of the at least two independent washing drums at the time
of operation, and serve as input elements or output elements of the
one of the at least two independent washing drums.
3. The multi-drum washing machine according to claim 2, wherein a
selection switch is disposed on the control panel for designating
one of the at least two independent washing drums.
4. The multi-drum washing machine according to claim 2, wherein the
at least two independent washing drums have respective separate
output display elements, and only the plurality of input control
elements are shared.
5. The multi-drum washing machine according to claim 2, wherein the
at least two independent washing drums have respective separate
input control elements, and only the plurality of output display
elements are shared.
6. The multi-drum washing machine according to claim 2, wherein the
at least two independent washing drums share the plurality of input
control elements and the output display elements.
7. The multi-drum washing machine according to claim 3, wherein the
selection switch is a button or a rotary knob.
8. The multi-drum washing machine according to claim 1, wherein the
control panel comprises a power switch served as a total control
power switch.
9. The multi-drum washing machine according to claim 1, wherein one
of the plurality of input control elements and a respective one of
the plurality of output display elements are a same button.
10. A control method for a multi-drum washing machine employing any
one of the multi-drum washing machines in claim 1, the method
comprising: acquiring a selection instruction of a corresponding
washing drum by a washing machine, and retrieving a background
control program of the washing drum and enabling shared input
control elements and/or shared output display elements to uniquely
correspond to an operating program of one of the at least two
independent washing drums and serve as input elements or output
elements of the one of the at least two independent washing
drums.
11. The control method for a multi-drum washing machine according
to claim 10, wherein when the background control program of the
washing drum is retrieved, only the input control elements are used
as input elements.
12. The control method for a multi-drum washing machine according
to claim 10, wherein when the background control program of the
washing drum is retrieved, only output control element are used as
output elements.
13. The multi-drum washing machine according to claim 2, wherein
the control panel comprises a power switch served as a loud control
power switch.
14. The multi-drum washing machine according to claim 3, wherein
the control panel composes a power switch served as a total control
power switch.
15. The multi-drum washing machine according to claim 4, wherein
the control panel comprises a power switch served as a total
control power switch.
16. The multi-drum washing machine according to claim 5, wherein
the control panel comprises a power switch served as a total
control power switch.
17. The multi-drum washing machine according to claim 2, wherein
one of the plurality of input control elements and a respective one
of the plurality of output display elements are a same button.
18. The multi-drum washing machine according to claim 3, wherein
one of the plurality of input control elements and a respective one
of the plurality of output display elements are a same button.
19. The multi-drum washing machine according to claim 4, wherein
one of the plurality of input control elements and a respective one
of the plurality of output display elements are a same button.
20. The multi-drum washing machine according to claim 5, wherein
one of the plurality of input control elements and a respective one
of the plurality of output display dements are a same button.
Description
TECHNICAL FIELD
[0001] The present disclosure relates to a technical field of
design and manufacture of washing machines, in particular relates
to a multi-drum washing machine and a control method therefor.
BACKGROUND
[0002] An ordinary drum washing machine is a single-drum washing
machine. In order to meet the requirements of washing all the
family clothes, a washing machine with a large capacity, such as a
large washing machine over 6 kg, is generally selected by a family.
With the progress of the times and the improvement of people's
living standards, the pace of life is getting faster and faster.
Then, many problems occur in the use of the above-mentioned washing
machines. For example, clothes may be divided into adult clothes,
underwear and children's clothes. The washing machines are used for
several times just for performing separated washings, which
requires a lot of washing time and consumes a lot of energy. When
the energy saving is taken into account, the washing process set in
a large washing machine generally consumes a large amount of water
and a large amount of electricity as well. When a small amount of
laundry is washed, a large washing machine generally is not a good
choice, and at the same time, the washing time is relatively long
due to the large amount of laundry expected during the washing
process. In addition, the washing process set by the large washing
machine is expected to be mainly general clothes, and may not be
suitable for washing fine clothes such as underwear or children's
clothing, etc.
[0003] In order to solve the above problems, a double-drum washing
machine has been developed in a related art. Such a double-drum
washing machine has a large-capacity washing drum and a
small-capacity washing drum that are driven individually or
simultaneously, and performs separate washing operations in each
drum. It is as if that the user should use two drum washing
machines with different capacities at the same time, without
occupying additional physical space. It is possible to flexibly
perform washings simultaneously or separately according to the
washing amount and the type of washing clothes.
[0004] However, in the related art, for the above-mentioned
double-drum washing machine, independent input control unit and
independent output display unit are usually configured for each
washing tub. The control system is simply superimposed on the
hardware, and is still essentially two separate control systems. It
indirectly leads to higher manufacturing costs, hinders the
promotion and application in the market, and it is also to the
disadvantage of the upgrade and maintenance of the control system
in a later period.
SUMMARY
[0005] The present disclosure provides a multi-drum washing machine
and a control method therefor to solve the problem of controlling
each washing dram of the multi-drum washing machine so as to reduce
the manufacturing cost of the multi-drum washing machine.
[0006] Embodiments of the present disclosure provide a multi-drum
washing machine, including:
[0007] at least two separate washing drums, a control panel, an
integrated circuit (IC) controller, and a driving circuit
board,
[0008] the control panel has a plurality of input control elements
and a plurality of output display elements, the input control
elements are configured for inputting laundry parameters, and the
output display elements are configured for displaying states in a
washing process, and
[0009] the IC controller and the driving circuit board are
connected to the control panel and control the operation of the
washing drums.
[0010] In one embodiment, the plurality of washing drums share a
part or all of the input control elements and the output display
elements, and shared input control elements and/or shared output
display elements uniquely correspond to an operating program of one
of the washing drums by selecting one of the washing drums at the
time of operation and serve as input elements or output elements of
one of the washing drums.
[0011] In one embodiment, a selection switch is disposed on the
control panel for designating one of the washing drums.
[0012] In one embodiment, the switch is a button or a rotary
knob.
[0013] In one embodiment, a plurality of the washing drums have
respective separate output display elements, and only the input
control elements are shared.
[0014] In one embodiment, the plurality of the washing drums have
respective separate input control elements, and only the output
display elements are shared.
[0015] In one embodiment, the plurality of the washing drums share
the input control elements and the output display elements.
[0016] In one embodiment, the control panel has a power switch
served as a total control power switch.
[0017] In one embodiment, the input control element and the output
display element are a same button.
[0018] The embodiments of the present disclosure also provides a
control method of a multi-drum washing machine, which adopts the
multi-drum washing machine provided by any one embodiment of the
present disclosure, and the method includes:
[0019] acquiring a selection instruction of a corresponding washing
drum by a washing machine, retrieving a background control program
of the washing drum and enabling the shared input control elements
and/or the shared output display elements to uniquely correspond to
the operating program of one of the washing drums and serve as
input elements or output elements of the one of the washing
drums.
[0020] In one embodiment, when the background control program of
the washing drum is retrieved, only the input control elements are
used as input elements.
[0021] In one embodiment, when the background control program of
the washing drum is retrieved, only the output control elements are
used as output elements.
[0022] Regarding the multi-drum washing machine and the control
method therefor provided by the embodiments of the present
disclosure, input control elements and output display elements are
provided on the control panel. During uses, a plurality of washing
drums share all or a part of the input control elements and the
output display elements. By selecting a specific washing drum, the
corresponding washing program is retrieved, and the above-mentioned
input control elements and/or output display elements are
associated with the washing program as a corresponding input and
output of one of the washing drums so that operations and controls
of a plurality of washing drums are incorporated with a set of
control systems. It replaces a superposition of simple hardware in
the past, and reduces the number of the input control units and the
output display units in the control panel of the multi-washing drum
washing machine, thereby simplifying the hardware structure of the
control panel, reducing the cost of the hardware of the washing
machine and contributing to the later upgrade and maintenance of
the control system.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS
[0023] FIG. 1 is a structural diagram showing an appearance of a
double-drum washing machine according to an embodiment;
[0024] FIG. 2 is a structural composition diagram showing a control
system of the double-drum washing machine according to an
embodiment;
[0025] FIG. 3 is a structural composition diagram showing a control
panel of the double-drum washing machine according to an
embodiment;
[0026] FIG. 4 is a schematic view of the composition of a plurality
of input control elements of the double-drum washing machine
according to an embodiment;
[0027] FIG. 5 is a schematic view of the composition of a plurality
of output display elements of the double-drum washing machine
according to an embodiment;
[0028] FIG. 6 is a second composition diagram showing the control
panel of the double-drum washing machine according to an
embodiment;
[0029] FIG. 7 is a third composition diagram showing the control
panel of the double-drum washing machine according to an
embodiment;
[0030] FIG. 8 is a fourth composition diagram showing the control
panel of the double-drum washing machine according to an
embodiment;
[0031] FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram of the input control elements
and the output display elements located in a same button according
to an embodiment; and
[0032] FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing a control method according to
an embodiment of the present disclosure.
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS
[0033] In the figure:
[0034] 1: Upper drum; 2: Lower drum; 3: Control panel; 4: Input
control unit; 5, 6: Output display unit; 7: Switching unit; 8:
Power switch; 9: Input control element; 10: Output display
element
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0035] The present disclosure will be described in detail below in
combination with alternative embodiments and drawings. It should be
understood that, the alternative embodiments described herein are
merely for purposes of explaining the present disclosure and are
not intended to limit the present disclosure. In addition, for ease
of description, only some of the details related to the present
disclosure are shown in the drawings instead of the whole contents.
The features in the embodiments and the embodiments may be combined
with each other arbitrarily without conflicts.
[0036] As shown in FIG. 1, a schematic diagram of the appearance of
a double-drum washing machine is provided. The washing machine is
equipped with an upper drum 1 and a lower drum 2 in a machine body
to form a pair of separate washing drums, and has a control panel 3
at the same time. In practical productions, the capacity of the
upper drum 1 is usually designed to be small, generally 2-3 kg, and
the capacity of the lower drum 2 is designed to be large, generally
6-8 kg, which is also beneficial to lower of the overall washing
machine's center of gravity. In operations, two separate washing
drums can be operated separately or simultaneously. For a user, it
is as if that there should be two drum washing machines with
different capacities at the same time, and there are more choices
when the user faces various washing conditions at home. For
example, the upper drum can be used for the fine washing of single
or small batches of clothes, and the lower drum can be used for
washing large items of clothing, such as the cleaning of bed
sheets. More importantly, the two batches of washing can be
performed simultaneously, and the waiting time can be reduced. From
the aspect of actual use effect, it provides the advantages of
saving time and energy.
[0037] Since the above-mentioned drum washing machine involves the
control of two independent washing drums (the upper and lower
washing drums), it is objectively necessary to provide two sets of
input control units and output display units respectively
correspond to each of the two independent washing drums on the
control panel 3 to cooperate with the user to perform input
settings and status display for each of the two independent washing
drums, and the composition of the control system of the double-drum
washing machine is shown in FIG. 2. The user performs settings of a
variety of laundry parameters and programs through the control
panel. The IC controller performs a communication connection with
the control panel, the input parameter of the control panel is
received, a selected program is inputted, and instructions are sent
to the driving circuit. According to the instructions, the driving
circuit drives the corresponding operations of the upper drum or
the lower drum, and the corresponding IC controller transmits the
working state parameters of the corresponding drum in real time to
the control panel for a real-time display, so as to facilitate the
user's control over a washing process.
[0038] Regarding a control process of the double-drum washing
machine, the control panel provided by embodiments of the present
disclosure may adopt structures shown in FIGS. 3 to 5. The areas in
the control panel can be divided into an input control unit 4, an
output display unit 5, 6 and a switching unit 7. The input control
unit 4 is composed of six buttons of "temperature", "rotation
speed", "wash", "rinse", "reserve" and "clean", as input control
elements 9, and all the input control elements in the input control
unit 4 are taken as common parts of the upper and lower drums.
Accordingly, the output display unit 5 is also composed of a
plurality of output display elements 10, which respectively
correspond to the displays of the selected parameters at the time
of inputting the input control elements of the upper drum as
"temperature", "rotation speed", "wash", "rinse", "reserve" and
"clean". At the same time, the output display unit 6 is also
composed of a plurality of output display elements, which
respectively correspond to the displays of the selected parameters
at the time of inputting the input control elements of lower drum
as "temperature", "rotation speed", "wash", "rinse", "reserve" and
"clean". During operations, the corresponding upper or lower drum
is selected by the selection of the switching unit 7. As shown in
FIG. 3, at this time, the upper drum is selected, shared input
control elements uniquely correspond to the operating procedure of
the upper drum, and the IC controller transfers the above-mentioned
input parameters to the corresponding operation program. At this
time, shared control elements 9 are merely used as the input of a
control program the upper drum, and the output display units of the
corresponding upper and lower drums are independent, e.g. the
"rotation speed" is 900 rpm for the upper drum and 1000 rpm for the
lower drum; and the "washing" is 30 minutes for the upper drum and
20 minutes for the lower drum. This enables the real-time status of
the operation of the washing machine to be more visible.
[0039] Another option of the structure of the control panel is
shown in FIG. 6. The area of the control panel is divided into an
input control unit 4 and an output display unit 5. In this example,
the corresponding output display unit 5 is formed by a plurality of
output display elements 10, which are served as common output
display elements. There are two input control units 4 to
respectively correspond to the upper drum and the lower drum. Each
input control unit 4 is formed by six buttons marked with
"temperature", "rotation speed", "wash", "rinse", "reserve" and
"clean" as the input control elements 9, and each of the six
buttons corresponds to the input control elements of control
programs of the upper and lower drum. During operations, the
corresponding upper or lower drum is selected by the selection of
the switching unit 7. As shown in FIG. 6, the upper drum is
selected at this time, and the common output display elements
uniquely correspond to the operating procedure of the upper drum.
The IC controller outputs the status parameters of the upper drum
in real-time through the above display elements. As shown in the
figure, the upper drum has a "temperature" of 60.degree. C., a
"rotation speed" of 800 rpm, a "washing" time of 30 minutes and
"rinse" for three times. At this time, the inputs of the upper and
lower drums are inputted through separate control elements.
[0040] A third option of the structure of the control panel is
shown in FIG. 7. The area of the control panel is divided into an
input control unit 4 and an output display unit 5. In this example,
the corresponding output display unit 5 is formed by a plurality of
output display elements 10, which are served as common output
display elements. The input control unit 4 is formed by six buttons
marked with "temperature", "rotation speed", "wash", "rinse",
"reserve" and "clean" as the input control elements 9, which are
also served as common output display elements. During operations,
the corresponding upper or lower drum is selected by the selection
of the switching unit 7. As shown in FIG. 7, the upper drum is
selected at this time, and the common output display elements and
the common input control elements uniquely correspond to the
operating procedure of the upper drum. The IC controller outputs
the status parameters of the upper drum in real-time through the
above display elements. As shown in the figure, the upper drum has
a "temperature" of 60.degree. C., a "rotation speed" of 800 rpm, a
"washing" time of 30 minutes and "rinse" for twice. The advantage
of this solution is that the input and output functions necessary
for separately controlling the upper and lower drums can be
satisfied with merely using a set of common input control elements
and common output display elements.
[0041] Another advantage of the embodiments of the present
disclosure is that, for two or more separate washing drums, no
major changes are required for their respective control systems,
i.e. only one separate system needs to be maintained during
maintenance, which is of practical significance to the later
software upgrading of the product, such as the increasing demands
of the customers driven by the Internet.
[0042] For the entire control panel, since there is merely one set
of control systems, one power switch 8 can be separately configured
as the total power control. The corresponding switching unit 7 also
can be configured in a variety of external forms. In addition to
the commonly used double buttons, a single button can be used for
switching. Alternatively, a knob can be used for performing
selections and switching.
[0043] FIG. 8 shows a fourth possible selection of the structure of
the control panel. As shown in the figure, the rotary knob can be
used as a selection switch, a rotation direction serves as the
input control elements, and program items on both sides serve as
the output display elements. The corresponding input control
elements and output display elements are shared, and the washing
drum is selected by a selection switch. As shown in the figure, it
is used as the output of the lower drum.
[0044] In practical use, another case also exists. As shown in FIG.
9, a corresponding input control element and an output display
element are configured on a same button position, which is used as
an input and also as an output status. As shown in the figure, the
"chemical fiber" washing program is selected at this time, and at
the same time, just at this time, the corresponding "chemical
fiber" button lights up as the output of the state.
[0045] FIG. 10 correspondingly shows a flow chart of the control
method applied in the above-mentioned washing machine. When the
washing machine is operated, it includes the following steps: in
S110, acquiring a selection instruction of a corresponding washing
drum by a washing machine, and in S120, retrieving a background
control program of the washing drum and enabling shared input
control elements and/or shared output display elements to uniquely
correspond to the operating procedure of one of the washing drums
and serve as input elements or output elements of one of the
washing drums.
[0046] Certainly, as an optional mode of program execution, when
the background control program of the washing drum is configured to
be retrieved according to the structure of the control panel, only
the input control element is used as an input element, and when the
background control program of the washing drum is retrieved, only
the output control elements are used as output elements.
[0047] Above descriptions are merely optional embodiments of the
present disclosure and are not intended to limit the disclosure.
For those skilled in the art, the present disclosure may have
various changes and modifications in the alternative
embodiments.
* * * * *