CN107278237B

CN107278237B - Gasket for use in washing machine

Info

Publication number: CN107278237B
Application number: CN201480084375.9A
Authority: CN
Inventors: E·梅廷; C·菲利兹; S·卡塔特佩; S·伊迪里姆; B·塞廷卡亚
Original assignee: Arcelik AS
Current assignee: Arcelik AS
Priority date: 2014-12-25
Filing date: 2014-12-25
Publication date: 2020-01-17
Anticipated expiration: 2034-12-25
Also published as: EP3237666B1; WO2016102029A1; EP3237666A1; CN107278237A

Abstract

The present invention relates to a washer (1) for use in a front-loading washing machine (2), the front-loading washing machine (2) comprising: a body (3), a tub (4), a drum, and a door (5) having an opening (6) for accessing the drum. The gasket (1) comprises: a flexible annular ring (7), the flexible annular ring (7) being used to seal, leak-tightly, the area between the tub (4) and the door (5) surrounding the opening (6); and radially extending tongues (8), the radially extending tongues (8) being for diverting laundry inside the drum away from a region immediately between the drum and the annular ring (7).

Description

Gasket for use in washing machine

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a washing machine, and more particularly, to a front loading type washing machine. The present invention more particularly relates to a gasket for a front loading washing machine that seals the tub from the inside of the appliance in a leak-proof manner.

Background

Front loading washing machines are well known. In order to increase user convenience, such a washing machine is also generally provided with a drying function for drying laundry by means of heat-treated air. In the present application, the term "washing machine" is intended to include a front loading type washing machine having a drying function or not. The washing machine generally includes a main body, a tub within the main body, a drum rotatably disposed in the tub to rotate laundry about a rotation axis, and a front door having an opening for entering the drum. Typically, the drum is connected to the shaft of a motor located behind the tub. The drum has a loading/unloading hole facing the opening of the front door. Also, the tub has a hole generally concentrically disposed with the loading/unloading hole of the drum. Therefore, the area between the front door and the tub around the opening must be leak-tightly sealed by a gasket. Typically, the gasket includes an annular ring, an outer edge for connecting the annular ring to the perimeter of the opening of the front door, and an inner edge for connecting the annular ring to the perimeter of the bore of the tub. In order to counteract the vibrations generated during the rotation of the drum, the tub is generally supported by a damping mechanism. Thus, during operation, the tub and the drum are in continuous relative movement with respect to the opening of the front door. Thus, the annular gasket is typically provided with flexible annular curved sections that engage the outer and inner edges, allowing relative movement of the buckets and absorbing vibration.

During rotation of the drum, the clothes inside the drum are periodically moved to the area immediately between the annular ring and the flange of the loading/unloading aperture of the drum. Therefore, during operation, the laundry is rubbed with the gasket very frequently. Therefore, there is a risk of damage to the clothing, especially scratches on the rubber. Another risk is that laundry can move into the gap between the tub and the drum. To prevent the above undesirable situation, the gasket is usually provided with radially extending tongues for diverting the laundry away from the region immediately between the drum and the annular ring. Such a tongue is often referred to as a diverter. TR 200300616T 1 discloses a washing machine that includes a washer with a diverter. Generally, the deflector must be strong enough to withstand the thrust of rotating the laundry during the washing process and the spinning process. Therefore, the diverter is typically made of solid rubber. However, such diverters are relatively expensive to manufacture, both in terms of material costs and labor costs.

Disclosure of Invention

It is an object of the present invention to provide a gasket and a washing machine having the same, which overcomes the disadvantages of the prior art in a cost-effective manner and enables sufficient thrust to be achieved and also enables sensitive laundry to be treated gently.

This object has been achieved by a washer according to the present invention and a washing machine according to the present invention. Further improvements are obtained according to different embodiments of the invention.

In the gasket of the present invention, each of the axially inwardly facing surface of the tongue and the axially outwardly facing surface of the tongue includes a plurality of ribs and a plurality of recesses.

By means of the invention, in particular by means of the ribs and recesses, on the one hand the tongue has been rendered sufficiently strong to withstand the thrust of a garment made in particular of heavy fabric; on the other hand, the tongue already behaves sufficiently soft with respect to garments made in particular of fabric which is easily torn. Thus, sensitive clothing can be gently diverted away from the critical area. In particular, the risk of any rubber marks on the garment is eliminated or reduced as much as possible, since the contact area of the tongue is reduced by the provision of the recess and the flexibility of the exposed surface of the tongue is also increased by the provision of the rib. By means of the invention, the steering function of the tongue is improved. Thus, the satisfaction of the consumer can be improved. By means of the invention, in particular by means of the recess, the amount of rubber required for manufacturing the tongue is also relatively reduced, while at the same time its resilience is not impaired. Therefore, the manufacturing time (especially the time required for the vulcanization process) has also been relatively shortened. With the present invention, material costs and labor costs have been relatively reduced.

In the gasket of the invention, the ribs and recesses can be arranged and aligned in various different ways onto the axially opposite surfaces of the tongues and can assume various different sizes and shapes. Thereby, the resiliency of the tongue can be accurately adjusted according to the thrust of the laundry and the type of fabric.

In an embodiment, the ribs and the recesses are arranged alternately.

In other alternative embodiments, the centers of the ribs on the axially opposite surfaces of the tongue are correspondingly positioned back-to-back, or alternately alternate with respect to each other such that the centers of the ribs and the centers of the recesses on the axially opposite surfaces of the tongue are correspondingly positioned back-to-back.

In other alternative embodiments, the ribs and recesses have the same or different widths, respectively.

In other alternative embodiments, the ribs and recesses may have a rectangular cross-section, a V-shaped cross-section, an arcuate cross-section, or the like.

In another embodiment, the ribs on the axially opposite surfaces of the tongue extend away from each other in the axial direction, respectively, and are substantially parallel to each other in the radial direction.

In another embodiment, the gasket has one or more flexible curved sections, one for each, to more easily allow relative movement of the barrel with respect to the front door.

In another embodiment, the entire gasket is molded from rubber as a single piece.

In another embodiment, the tongues are located on the inner periphery of the annular ring, in particular in abutment against the loading/unloading aperture of the drum and extend radially over the flange of the drum by a predetermined distance. Thereby, the laundry moving toward the critical area can be more reliably turned back toward the center of the drum.

In another embodiment, the gasket is secured to the washing machine such that the tongue is positioned on the top side of the tub aperture and extends radially downward.

Drawings

Additional advantages of the gasket and washing machine of the present invention will become apparent from the detailed description of embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

fig. 1 is a partial perspective view of a washing machine having a gasket according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a partial front view of a washing machine having a gasket according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a partial cross-sectional view of the washing machine having a gasket according to an embodiment of the present invention, taken along line A-A of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged view of detail B of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a partial perspective view of a gasket having a tongue according to an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 6 is another partial perspective view of a gasket having a tongue according to an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 7 is a partial radial view of a gasket having a tongue according to an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 8 is a partial axial view of a gasket having a tongue according to an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 9 is another partial cross-sectional view of a gasket having a tongue according to an embodiment of the invention, taken along line C-C of FIG. 8.

The reference numerals appearing in the drawings relate to the following technical features.

1. Gasket ring

2. Washing machine

3. Main body

4. Barrel body

5. Front door

6. Opening of the container

7. Annular ring

8. Tongue-shaped component

9. Inwardly facing surface

10. Outward facing surface

11. Rib part

12. Concave part

13. Outer edge

14. Inner edge

15. Hole(s)

16. A curved section.

Detailed Description

The gasket (1) is suitable for use in a front-loading washing machine (2) with or without drying function.

The front loading type washing machine (2) includes a main body (3), a tub (4) disposed in the main body (3), a drum (not shown) rotatably disposed in the tub (4) about a rotation axis, and a front door (5) having an opening (6) for entering the drum (fig. 1 to 9).

The gasket (1) comprises: a flexible annular ring (7), the flexible annular ring (7) being used to seal, in a leaktight manner, the region between the tub (4) and the front door (5) surrounding the opening (6); and radially extending tongues (8), the radially extending tongues (8) being for diverting laundry (not shown) inside the drum away from a region immediately between the drum and the annular ring (7).

In the gasket (1) of the present invention, each of the axially inwardly facing surface (9) and the axially outwardly facing surface (10) of the tongue (8) includes a plurality of ribs (11) and a plurality of recesses (12).

The washing machine (2) of the invention comprises a washer (1) according to the invention.

In an embodiment, a plurality of ribs (11) and a plurality of recesses (12) are alternately provided on each of the axially inwardly facing surface (9) and the axially outwardly facing surface (10) of the tongue (8).

In another embodiment, the center of the rib (11) on the axially inwardly facing surface (9) of the tongue (8) and the center of the recess (12) on the axially outwardly facing surface (10) of the tongue (8) are positioned back-to-back, respectively.

In another embodiment, the ribs (11) and the recesses (12) have correspondingly different widths in the transverse direction in which the ribs (11) and the recesses (12) are arranged alternately (fig. 1 to 9). The transverse direction is perpendicular to the axial direction (i.e. the axis of rotation of the drum).

In another embodiment, the width of the ribs (11) is correspondingly greater than the width of the recesses (12) in the transverse direction in which the ribs (11) and recesses (12) are alternately arranged.

In another embodiment, the ribs (11) on the axially inwardly facing surface (9) and the axially outwardly facing surface (10) of the tongue (8) extend in opposite axial directions, respectively.

In another embodiment, the gasket (1) comprises: a flexible outer edge (13), a flexible inner edge (14), and one or more flexible annular curved sections (16). The flexible outer edge (13) is adapted to couple the annular ring (7) with the perimeter of the opening (6) of the front door (5). The flexible inner edge (14) is adapted to couple the annular ring (7) with the perimeter of the aperture (15) of the tub (4). The flexible annular curved section (16) sequentially joins the outer edge (13) and the inner edge (14).

In another embodiment, the annular ring (7), the tongue (8), the rib (11), the recess (12), the edges (13, 14) and the curved section (16) are moulded as a single piece gasket (1). In another embodiment, the one-piece gasket (1) is molded from rubber.

In another embodiment, when the gasket (1) is assembled with the washing machine (2), the tongue (8) has the following dimensions: the dimensions are such that the tongues (8) extend radially a predetermined distance across the flange (not shown) of the loading/unloading aperture of the drum.

In another embodiment, the tongues (8) are directed radially downwards when the gasket (1) is assembled with the washing machine (2).

Claims

1. A washer (1) for use in a front-loading washing machine (2), the front-loading washing machine (2) comprising: -a body (3), -a tub (4) placed in the body (3), -a drum placed rotatably in the tub (4) around a rotation axis, and-a front door (5) having an opening (6) for accessing the drum, the gasket (1) comprising: a flexible annular ring (7), the flexible annular ring (7) being for leak-tightly sealing an area between the tub (4) and the front door (5) surrounding the opening (6); and radially extending tongues (8), said radially extending tongues (8) being adapted to divert laundry inside the drum away from an area immediately between the drum and the annular ring (7),

the gasket (1) being characterized in that each of the axially inward-facing surface (9) and the axially outward-facing surface (10) of the tongue (8) comprises a plurality of ribs (11) and a plurality of recesses (12); the ribs (11) and the recesses (12) are arranged alternately in a transverse direction, which is perpendicular to the axis of rotation.

2. The gasket (1) according to claim 1, characterized in that said plurality of ribs (11) and said plurality of recesses (12) are alternately placed on each of said axially inner facing surface (9) and said axially outer facing surface (10) of said tongue (8).

3. The gasket (1) according to claim 2, characterized in that the centers of the ribs (11) on the axially inwardly facing surface (9) of the tongue (8) and the centers of the recesses (12) on the axially outwardly facing surface (10) of the tongue (8) are positioned back-to-back, respectively.

4. The gasket (1) according to claim 2, characterized in that the centers of the ribs (11) on the axially inwardly facing surface (9) and the axially outwardly facing surface (10) of the tongue (8) are positioned back-to-back, respectively.

5. Gasket (1) according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that said ribs (11) and said recesses (12) have respectively different widths.

6. The gasket (1) according to any of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the ribs (11) and the recesses (12) respectively have the same width.

7. The gasket (1) according to claim 1, characterized in that the ribs (11) on the axially inwardly facing surface (9) and the axially outwardly facing surface (10) of the tongue (8) extend in opposite axial directions, respectively.

8. The gasket (1) according to claim 1, characterized in that: comprises a flexible outer edge (13), said flexible outer edge (13) being intended to couple said annular ring (7) with the perimeter of said opening (6) of the front door (5); and a flexible inner edge (14), the flexible inner edge (14) being for coupling the annular ring (7) with the perimeter of the aperture (15) of the tub (4); and one or more flexible annular curved sections (16), the flexible annular curved sections (16) joining the flexible outer edge (13) and the flexible inner edge (14).

9. The gasket (1) according to claim 8, characterized in that the annular ring (7), the tongue (8), the rib (11), the recess (12), the flexible outer edge (13), the flexible inner edge (14) and the curved section (16) are moulded as a single piece.

10. The gasket (1) according to claim 1, characterized in that said tongue (8) has the following dimensions: said dimensions being such that, when the gasket (1) is assembled with the washing machine (2), the tongues (8) extend radially over a predetermined distance across the flange of the loading/unloading aperture of the drum.

11. A washing machine (2) comprising: -a body (3), -a tub (4) placed in the body (3), -a drum placed rotatably in the tub (4) around a rotation axis, and-a front door (5) having an opening (6) for accessing the drum, characterized by comprising a gasket (1) as defined in any one of claims 1 to 10.

12. A washing machine (2) as in claim 11, characterized by the gasket (1) assembled with the washing machine (2) so that the tongues (8) are directed radially downwards.