Washing Machine of Water Storage Type
A washing machine comprises a laundry basket, a water inlet, water storage means, a connection pipe assembly, a pipe control valve, a reclaiming pipe, a three-way control valve, and a controller. The water storage means is capable of storing fresh water from the water inlet and storing at least a final batch of rinse water from the laundry basket. The connection pipe assembly is connected between the water storage means and the laundry basket. The pipes of the connection pipe assembly have a large diameter or are installed with pumps to increase the flow rate of the water entering the laundry basket. The reclaiming pipe is connected between the water storage means and the three-way control valve at an outlet of the laundry basket for transferring the final rinse water from the laundry basket to the water storage means. In operation, the washing machine can save time, power, and water.
The present invention relates to a washing machine and, more particularly, to a washing machine of water storage type, whereby the time and power required for a laundry activity can be reduced, and the rinse water thereof can be reclaimed for a next laundry activity, so that water consumption can be reduced.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ARTIn recent years, the washing machine industry developed very fast, however, it often focused on advanced functions, such as ozone sterilization and inverter technology. There are few manufacturers that pay attention to developing a time-saving and power-saving washing machine. The existing washing machines employ almost the same operating cycles to conduct a laundry activity, which generally includes washing, rinsing and spinning cycles. Except that the washing cycle needs to be added with detergent or washing chemicals, each rinsing cycle use water to remove the detergent or washing chemicals added in the washing cycle. Each rinsing cycle consumes a lot of time for waiting the laundry basket of the machine to be filled up with water. Also, the water used in each rinsing cycle is discharged out. In fact, the water used in the last one or two rinsing cycles is often clean enough to be used again, because the clothes would be taken to a dryer machine after the final rinse and then can be directly put on a person. At least, the water used in the final rinsing cycle would be clean, it is unfortunate that the existing washing machines do not make use of the rinse water again.
In view of the foregoing, the applicant has contrived an improved washing machine that can mitigate the disadvantages of the existing washing machines.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONThe primary object of the present invention is to provide a washing machine of water storage type, which can save time, power, and water in laundry activities.
To achieve the above object, one embodiment of the washing machine of water storage type may comprise a laundry basket, a water inlet, water storage means, a connection pipe assembly, a pipe control valve, a reclaiming pipe, a discharge pipe, a three-way control valve, and a controller. The water inlet is adapted to be connected to an outside fresh water source. The water storage means is provided with at least one water level regulator that can close or open the water inlet according to water level of the water storage means. The water storage means is capable of storing fresh water from the water inlet and storing at least a final batch of rinse water from the laundry basket. The connection pipe assembly, including at least one upstream pipe and at least one downstream pipe, is connected between the water storage means and the laundry basket. The pipes of the connection pipe assembly have a large diameter or are installed with pumps to increase the flow rate of the water entering the laundry basket. The pipe control valve is mounted between the upstream pipe and the downstream pipe of the connection pipe assembly, so that the upstream pipe is connected between the water storage means and the pipe control valve, and the downstream pipe is connected between the pipe control valve and the laundry basket. The reclaiming pipe has one end connected to the water storage means for transferring at least the final batch of rinse water from the laundry basket to the water storage means. The three-way control valve has an inlet port connected to an outlet of the laundry basket, a first outlet port connected to another end of the reclaiming pipe, and a second outlet port connected to one end of the discharge pipe. The controller is provided for controlling the pipe control valve and the three-way control valve.
Other objects, advantages, and novel features of the present invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.
In operation, when the controller 7 issues a command to open the pipe control valve 5, water in the water storage means 1 can flow into the laundry basket 11a via the upstream pipe 4 and the downstream pipe 6. Since the pipes 4, 6 of the connection pipe assembly of the present invention have a diameter than those of conventional washing machines or the pipes 4, 6 of the connection pipe assembly are installed with pressurizing pumps, the flow rate of the water flowing into the laundry basket 11a can be increased, so that the time required for filling the laundry basket 11a can be reduced. When the machine conducts a washing cycle, a rinsing cycle, or a spinning cycle of a laundry activity, fresh water may flow into the water storage means 1 until the predetermined level thereof has been reached, and the water stored therein can be used for a next cycle of the laundry activity, thereby significantly reducing the time and power required for completing the laundry activity.
Next, the following paragraphs will illustrate the water-saving advantage of the present invention. For a laundry activity, detergent or other washing chemicals are only added in the washing cycle thereof. Thereafter, several rinsing cycles are conducted to remove the detergent or washing chemicals. After the final rinsing cycle and the spinning cycle thereof is finished, the laundry clothes can be taken to a dryer machine, after which the dried clothes can be put on a person. Generally, the water of the final or the last two rinsing cycles is clean enough to be re-used. Alternatively, a water quality sensor 11b (see
The three-way control valve 8, which is provided for the laundry basket 11a for controlling water flow direction, has an inlet port connected to the outlet of the laundry basket 11a, a first outlet port connected to another end of the reclaiming pipe 9, and a second outlet port connected to one end of the discharge pipe 12. When the final rinsing cycle of a laundry activity is finished, the controller 7 can operate the three-way control valve 8 to have the inlet port thereof communicated with the first outlet port thereof but not communicated with the second outlet port thereof, so that the water of the final rinse can be reclaimed to the water storage means 1 and thus can be re-used for a next laundry activity, thereby achieving the purpose of saving water.
Furthermore, the washing machine 11 is provided with the overflow pipe 10 connected between the water storage means 1 and the discharge pipe 12. Therefore, when the water level regulator 3 has a fault, which causes water in the water storage means 1 to reach the overflow outlet thereof, water can flow into the discharge pipe 12 via the overflow pipe 10.
Furthermore, the water storage means 1 can be applied to a washer with single laundry basket as well as a washer with two laundry baskets, wherein the spinning action for extracting water for laundry clothes is conducted in a separate basket for the washer with two laundry baskets. Also, the water storage means 1 can be applied to any type of washer, including top-loading washer or front-loading washer.
The controller 7 can be adopted from any existing controllers, such as a general microchip controller. The pipe control valve 5 and the three-way control valve 8 can be adopted from any existing electrical-operated valves.
As shown in
The water storage means 1 shown in
As a summary, the present invention can increase the flow rate of the water flowing from the water storage means 1 to the laundry basket 11a by employing one or more connection pipes of large diameter or by installing pressurized pumps for connection pipes of normal diameter, so that the time required for completing a laundry activity can be greatly reduced, and thus the power consumption therefor can also be reduced. Additionally, the rinse water of the laundry activity can be reclaimed to the water storage means for a next laundry activity, so that the water consumption can also be greatly reduced.
Although the present invention has been described with a certain degree of particularity, it is understood that the present disclosure is made by way of example only and the combination and arrangement of parts may be resorted to without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention hereinafter claimed.
Claims
1. A washing machine, comprising:
- a laundry basket;
- a water inlet adapted to be connected to an outside fresh water source;
- water storage means being provided with one water level regulator that can close or open the water inlet according to water level of the water storage means, the water storage means capable of storing fresh water from the water inlet and storing at least a final batch of rinse water from the laundry basket;
- a connection pipe assembly connected between the water storage means and the laundry basket, the connection pipe assembly including at least one upstream pipe and at least one downstream pipe;
- a pipe control valve provided for the connection pipe assembly, the pipe control valve being mounted between the upstream pipe and the downstream pipe of the connection pipe assembly, so that the upstream pipe of the connection pipe assembly is connected between the water storage means and the pipe control valve, and the downstream pipe of the connection pipe assembly is connected between the pipe control valve and the laundry basket;
- a reclaiming pipe having one end connected to the water storage means for transferring at least the final batch of rinse water from the laundry basket to the water storage means;
- a three-way control valve provided for the laundry basket for controlling water flow direction, the three-way valve having an inlet port connected to an outlet of the laundry basket and a first outlet port connected to another end of the reclaiming pipe; and
- a controller for controlling the pipe control valve and the three-way control valve.
2. The washing machine of claim 1, further comprising a discharge pipe that has one end connected to a second outlet port of the three-way control valve.
3. The washing machine of claim 2, further comprising an overflow pipe connected between the water storage means and the discharge pipe.
4. The washing machine of claim 1, wherein the water storage means includes at least one water tank.
5. The washing machine of claim 1, wherein the water storage means includes a fresh water unit and a gray water unit, the fresh water unit being connected with the water inlet for storing fresh water flowing therefrom, the gray water unit being connected with the reclaiming pipe for storing gray water or rinse water reclaimed from the laundry basket, the connection pipe assembly including at least two upstream pipes and at least one downstream pipe, one of the upstream pipes connected between the fresh water unit and the pipe control valve, another of the upstream pipes connected between the gray water unit and the pipe control valve, the downstream pipe connected between the pipe control valve and the laundry basket.
6. The washing machine of claim 5, wherein the fresh water unit includes at least a water tank for storing fresh water from the water inlet, the water tank being installed with one water level regulator that can open or close the water inlet according to water level of the water tank.
7. The washing machine of claim 5, wherein the fresh water unit includes a pump for the water inlet.
8. The washing machine of claim 5, wherein the gray water unit includes at least a water tank so that gray water from separate washing and drying operations can be collected to different water tanks.
9. The washing machine of claim 5, further comprising a discharge pipe that has one end connected to a second outlet port of the three-way control valve.
10. The washing machine of claim 9, further comprising an overflow pipe connected between the gray water unit and the discharge pipe.
11. The washing machine of claim 1, further comprising a water quality sensor within the laundry basket for detecting the cleanliness of the water therein and transmitting signal to the controller.
12. The washing machine of claim 1, wherein the connection pipe assembly is a combination of large pipes and small pipes, or the connection pipe assembly is a combination of normal pipes installed with a pressurizing pump.
13. The washing machine of claim 5, wherein the connection pipe assembly is a combination of large pipes and small pipes, or the connection pipe assembly is a combination of normal pipes installed with a pressurizing pump.
Type: Application
Filed: Feb 6, 2013
Publication Date: Aug 22, 2013
Inventor: PEI-TZU HSU (Keelung City)
Application Number: 13/760,063
International Classification: D06F 39/00 (20060101);