CN108626293B

CN108626293B - Damper and washing machine including the same

Info

Publication number: CN108626293B
Application number: CN201710167730.4A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 赵志强
Original assignee: Qingdao Haier Drum Washing Machine Co Ltd; Haier Smart Home Co Ltd
Current assignee: Qingdao Haier Drum Washing Machine Co Ltd; Haier Smart Home Co Ltd
Priority date: 2017-03-20
Filing date: 2017-03-20
Publication date: 2020-12-15
Anticipated expiration: 2037-03-20
Also published as: CN108626293A

Abstract

The invention belongs to the technical field of washing machines, and particularly provides a shock absorber and a washing machine comprising the same. The invention aims to solve the problem of poor damping effect of the existing damper. To this end, the shock absorber of the present invention comprises: a cylinder having a first chamber; a plunger slidably inserted into the first chamber of the cylinder; and one end of the liquid bag is fixedly connected with the plunger, a second chamber and an orifice are arranged in the plunger, fluid is filled in the inner chamber and/or the second chamber of the liquid bag, and the fluid can flow between the inner chamber and the second chamber of the liquid bag through the orifice. As the stroke of the plunger in the cylinder barrel is increased, the damping force applied to the plunger is increased, so that the vibration generated when the washing machine works can be better inhibited. In addition, because the liquid bag is in sealing joint with the partition plate or the plunger, fluid only flows between the liquid bag and the second chamber, so that a dynamic sealing component between the plunger and the cylinder barrel is omitted, the whole structure of the shock absorber is simple, and the shock absorber has higher reliability and longer service life.

Description

Damper and washing machine including the same

Technical Field

The invention belongs to the technical field of washing machines, and particularly provides a shock absorber and a washing machine comprising the same.

Background

The washing machine is a clean electrical appliance for washing clothes by using electric energy, and becomes an essential household electrical appliance in daily life with the acceleration of life rhythm and high requirements of people on living comfort. However, the washing machine generates great vibration and noise during washing, rinsing and dehydrating processes, causing some inconvenience to the normal life of people.

In order to solve the problem of excessive vibration and noise during the operation of the washing machine, the invention patent application with publication number CN1718902A discloses a damper for the washing machine. Specifically, the damper for the washing machine comprises a cylinder barrel and a piston rod inserted in the cylinder barrel, wherein a piston is arranged at the end of the piston rod, and the piston divides the cylinder barrel into an upper cylinder barrel chamber and a lower cylinder barrel chamber. In addition, the piston is also provided with a throttling passage for communicating the cylinder barrel upper chamber and the cylinder barrel lower chamber. Fluid is injected into the cylinder barrel upper chamber and the cylinder barrel lower chamber, and in the sliding process of the plunger, the fluid can flow between the cylinder barrel upper chamber and the cylinder barrel lower chamber through the throttling channel, so that fluid damping is generated, and the aim of reducing the vibration of the washing machine is fulfilled. However, when the piston rod reciprocates in the cylinder, the volumes of the cylinder upper chamber and the cylinder lower chamber are correspondingly increased or decreased, so that the damping force applied to the damper over the whole movement stroke of the piston rod is basically kept unchanged. Therefore, the damper for the washing machine cannot enhance the damping force generated by the damper according to the increase of the movement stroke of the piston rod relative to the cylinder barrel, and particularly has poor damping effect on severe vibration.

In addition, in the damper of CN1718902A, only the outer edge of the piston contacts the inner wall of the cylinder, and after a period of use, the piston is liable to deflect in the cylinder, thereby causing an "eccentric wear" problem. In addition, the CN1718902A damper has more parts and complex structure, and is time-consuming and labor-consuming to manufacture.

On the other hand, in the damper of CN1718902A, a dynamic seal member is provided between the plunger and the cylinder to ensure the sealing performance of the oil, but the dynamic seal member is gradually worn due to the continuous reciprocating motion of the piston rod in the cylinder, which causes a problem of poor sealing effect over time. Moreover, the use of dynamic sealing components increases manufacturing costs and processing difficulties.

Accordingly, there is a need in the art for a new shock absorber that addresses the above-mentioned problems.

Disclosure of Invention

In order to solve the above problems in the prior art, that is, to solve the problems that the damping force cannot be enhanced according to the increase of the movement stroke of the plunger relative to the cylinder in the working process of the conventional shock absorber, the structure is complex, eccentric wear is easy to occur, and the like, the invention provides a shock absorber, which comprises: a cylinder having a first chamber; a plunger slidably inserted into the first chamber of the cylinder; the plunger is provided with a first chamber, a second chamber and a throttling hole, the first chamber is internally provided with a liquid bag, the plunger is internally provided with a second chamber and a throttling hole, the liquid bag and the second chamber are communicated with each other through the throttling hole, an inner cavity of the liquid bag and/or the second chamber are filled with fluid, and when the plunger slides relative to the cylinder barrel, the fluid flows between the inner cavity of the liquid bag and the second chamber through the throttling hole.

In a preferred embodiment of the above shock absorber, a partition is provided at an end of the plunger, and the orifice is provided in the partition.

In a preferred embodiment of the above shock absorber, the sac is sealingly attached to an end of the plunger or the diaphragm.

In a preferred embodiment of the above shock absorber, an outer diameter of the plunger is set so that the plunger can be slidably brought into close engagement with the cylinder.

In a preferred technical solution of the above shock absorber, the shock absorber further includes a friction plate and a groove for accommodating the friction plate, the groove is provided on an inner wall of the cylinder or an outer wall of the plunger, so that the plunger can generate frictional damping via the friction plate when sliding with respect to the cylinder.

In a preferred embodiment of the above shock absorber, the plunger and the partition are of an integral structure.

In a preferred technical solution of the above shock absorber, the liquid bag is made of an elastic material.

In a preferred embodiment of the above shock absorber, the cylinder further has a first fixing portion at an end facing away from the first chamber, and/or the plunger further has a second fixing portion at an end facing away from the partition, the first fixing portion and the second fixing portion being used to connect the shock absorber to an external structure.

In a preferred technical solution of the above shock absorber, an open end of the sac is fixedly connected to the plunger.

The invention also provides a washing machine, which comprises a shell and a washing drum assembly arranged in the shell, and is characterized in that the washing machine comprises a plurality of dampers, the washing drum assembly is supported on the shell through the dampers, and at least one of the dampers is the damper according to the invention.

As can be understood by those skilled in the art, in the preferred technical scheme of the invention, by arranging the liquid bag with one end fixedly connected with the plunger and the other end arranged in the cylinder, the plunger can stretch or compress the liquid bag in the reciprocating process of the plunger, so that the liquid bag can provide an elastic force, and the elastic force applied to the liquid bag is increased along with the increase of the stroke of the plunger in the cylinder, thereby enhancing the damping effect of the shock absorber. Meanwhile, as the plunger is internally provided with the second chamber, the volume of the second chamber is kept unchanged in the process of the telescopic motion of the plunger along the cylinder, when the plunger does compression motion, the fluid in the second chamber is gradually increased, so that the pressure in the second chamber is gradually increased, and the fluid in the first chamber needs larger force to enter the second chamber, so that the damping force generated by the shock absorber is larger; when the plunger makes stretching movement, the fluid in the second chamber enters the first chamber, the fluid in the second chamber gradually decreases, so that the negative pressure in the second cavity is increased, and the damping force applied to the fluid in the second chamber entering the first chamber is increased. Therefore, in the shock absorber of the invention, as the stroke of the plunger in the cylinder barrel is increased, the damping force applied to the plunger is increased, so that the shock absorption effect of the shock absorber is further enhanced. In other words, the damper can automatically adjust the fluid damping according to various working conditions of the washing machine, for example, under the condition of load, especially under the condition that the dehydration speed is increased from a low speed to a high speed, the damper can ensure large damping force along with the increase of the stroke of the plunger in the cylinder, enhance the damping and keep the stability of the washing machine; when the load is small, the damping damper is in low damping, and particularly when the spin-drying speed is high, the damping force is minimum along with the reduction of the stroke of the plunger in the cylinder, so that the stability of the washing machine is maintained.

Further, since the sac is sealingly connected to the plunger, oil will only flow between the sac and the second chamber during sliding of the plunger relative to the cylinder. Compared with the existing damper for the washing machine, a dynamic seal or an oil seal component does not need to be arranged between the plunger piston and the cylinder barrel, the overall structure of the damper is simplified, and the manufacturing cost and the processing difficulty are reduced.

In addition, because the whole outer wall of the plunger is in slidable close joint with the inner wall of the cylinder barrel, the whole structure of the shock absorber is more stable in the process that the plunger slides relative to the inner wall of the cylinder barrel, the problems of inclination and eccentric abrasion of the inner wall of the cylinder barrel cannot occur in the sliding process, and meanwhile, compared with the existing damper for the washing machine, the damper does not need a piston and a plunger rod supporting/guiding mechanism at the end part of the cylinder barrel, the whole structure is simplified, and the manufacturing cost is reduced.

Drawings

FIG. 1 is a schematic view of the installation location of the shock absorber of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the shock absorber of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a schematic illustration of the plunger compression process of the shock absorber of the present invention;

figure 4 is a schematic diagram of the plunger extension process of the shock absorber of the present invention.

Detailed Description

Preferred embodiments of the present invention are described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. It should be understood by those skilled in the art that these embodiments are only for explaining the technical principle of the present invention, and are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention. For example, although described in the context of hydraulic oil, it is apparent that the invention may take the form of other fluids having a certain viscosity, provided that the fluid itself does not corrode the plunger and the sac.

It should be noted that in the description of the present invention, the terms of direction or positional relationship indicated by the terms "upper", "lower", "left", "right", "inner", "outer", etc. are based on the directions or positional relationships shown in the drawings, which are only for convenience of description, and do not indicate or imply that the device or element must have a specific orientation, be constructed in a specific orientation, and be operated, and thus, should not be construed as limiting the present invention. Furthermore, the terms "first" and "second" are used for descriptive purposes only and are not to be construed as indicating or implying relative importance.

Furthermore, it should be noted that, in the description of the present invention, unless otherwise explicitly specified or limited, the terms "mounted," "connected," and "connected" are to be construed broadly, and may be, for example, fixedly connected, detachably connected, or integrally connected; can be mechanically or electrically connected; they may be connected directly or indirectly through intervening media, or they may be interconnected between two elements. The specific meanings of the above terms in the present invention can be understood by those skilled in the art according to specific situations.

Referring first to fig. 1 and 2, fig. 1 is a schematic view illustrating an installation position of a damper for a washing machine according to the present invention in the washing machine; fig. 2 is a sectional view of a damper for a washing machine of the present invention. As shown in fig. 1, one end of the damper 2 is connected to the casing 1 of the washing machine, and the other end of the damper 2 is connected to the bottom of the washing tub assembly 3 of the washing machine, so that when the washing tub assembly 3 vibrates during operation, the damper 2 can support the washing tub assembly 3 and dissipate vibration energy generated from the washing tub assembly. With regard to the washing tub assembly 3, it is noted that it comprises the inner tub and the outer tub of the washing machine, the damper 2 directly supporting the outer tub, but it also carries the weight of the inner tub and thus serves to damp vibrations generated by the inner tub. Further, although the washing tub assembly of the drum washing machine is shown in the drawings, the washing tub assembly 3 may be a washing tub of other types of washing machines such as a pulsator washing machine.

Specifically, as shown in fig. 2, the damper 2 includes a cylinder 21, a first fixed end 22 fixedly connected to a first end (a left end of the cylinder 21 shown in fig. 2) of the cylinder 21, a plunger 23, and a second fixed end 24 fixedly connected to a first end (a right end of the plunger 23 shown in fig. 2) of the plunger 23, and in an assembled state, a second end (a left end of the plunger 23 shown in fig. 2) of the plunger 23 is slidably inserted into the first chamber 211 of the cylinder 21 from the second end (a right end of the cylinder 21 shown in fig. 2) of the cylinder 21. The first fixed end 22 is for connection to the washing drum assembly 3 of the washing machine and the second fixed end 24 is for connection to the housing of the washing machine. Of course, it will be understood that the first fixed end 22 may be connected to the housing of the washing machine and the second fixed end 24 may be connected to the washing tub assembly 3 of the washing machine.

With continued reference to fig. 2, it is preferable that the outer wall of the plunger 23 is slidably engaged with the inner wall of the cylinder 21, so that the overall structure of the damper 2 is more stable and the plunger 23 does not have a problem of being deflected and eccentric against the inner wall of the cylinder 21 during sliding. As shown in fig. 2, the plunger 23 is provided therein with a second chamber 231 and a second end thereof is sealingly provided with a partition 26. A sac 212 made of an elastic material is arranged in the first chamber 211, the left end (as shown in the direction of fig. 2) of the sac 212 abuts against the first chamber 211 of the cylinder 21, and is preferably fixedly connected with the cylinder 21, the right end, i.e., the open end (as shown in the direction of fig. 2) of the sac 212 is tightly connected with the second end (specifically, the partition 26) of the plunger 23 in a sealing manner, an orifice 27 is arranged on the partition 26, the orifice 27 is communicated with the sac 212 and the second chamber 231, hydraulic oil 30 is injected into the sac 212 and/or the second chamber 231, and when the plunger 23 slides in the first chamber 211 of the cylinder 21, the hydraulic oil 30 can flow back and forth in the sac 212 and the second chamber 231. It will be understood by those skilled in the art that although the diaphragm 26 is shown as a separate member in fig. 2, the diaphragm 26 and the plunger 23 may be of an integral structure, i.e., a cavity is formed directly inside the plunger 23 as the second chamber 231, while the orifice 27 is provided at the second end of the plunger 23; additionally, while the figures depict the preferred embodiment as hydraulic oil 30, it is apparent that other fluids may be substituted. Specifically, the liquid bag is made of an elastic material, such as polyurethane, silica gel, rubber and the like.

With continued reference to FIG. 2, the shock absorber further includes a friction plate 29 and a groove (not labeled) for receiving the friction plate 29. Similarly, a groove may be provided on the inner wall of the cylinder 21 or the outer wall of the plunger 23 to enable frictional damping via the friction plate 29 when the plunger 23 slides relative to the cylinder 21, thereby further enhancing the shock-absorbing effect of the shock absorber.

Referring back to fig. 1, according to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a washing machine including a housing 1 and a washing drum assembly 3 provided in the housing 1, the washing drum assembly 3 being supported on the housing 1 by a plurality of dampers 2, at least one of the dampers 2 being a damper according to the present invention.

The operation of the damper for a washing machine according to the present invention will be briefly described with reference to fig. 3 and 4. Fig. 3 is a schematic view illustrating a compression process of a plunger 23 of the damper for a washing machine according to the present invention; fig. 4 is a schematic view illustrating a drawing process of the plunger 23 of the damper 2 for a washing machine according to the present invention. As shown in fig. 3, when the plunger 23 is forced to slide to the left (in the direction of fig. 3), the friction plate 29 rubs against the outer wall of the plunger 23, and the compression force to the left applied to the plunger 23 is relieved; in addition, during the leftward sliding of the plunger 23, the volume of the fluid bag 212 becomes smaller, the hydraulic oil 30 in the fluid bag 212 is squeezed to flow to the second chamber 231 through the orifice 27, and because the orifice 27 is small in size, the hydraulic oil 30 exerts a rightward force on the partition plate 26 when flowing to the second chamber 231, and the leftward movement of the plunger 23 is slowed down. As shown in fig. 4, when the plunger 23 is forced to slide rightward (in the direction of fig. 4), the friction plate 29 rubs against the outer wall of the plunger 23, slowing down the rightward sliding of the plunger 23; in addition, during the rightward sliding process of the plunger 23, the hydraulic oil 30 in the second chamber 231 enters the liquid bag 212, the hydraulic oil 30 in the second chamber 231 is gradually reduced, and the volume of the second chamber 231 is not changed, so that the negative pressure in the second chamber 231 is increased, the damping force applied to the hydraulic oil 30 in the second chamber 231 entering the liquid bag 212 is increased, and the rightward movement of the plunger 23 is slowed down.

On the other hand, because the right end of the liquid bag 212 is fixedly connected with the partition plate 26, and the left end of the liquid bag 212 abuts against the cylinder 21, in the reciprocating process of the plunger 23, the plunger 23 can stretch or compress the liquid bag 212, and further, the liquid bag 212 can provide an elastic damping force, and along with the increase of the stroke of the plunger 23 deviating from the balance position in the cylinder 21, the elastic damping force received by the plunger 23 is increased, so that the shock absorption effect of the shock absorber is further enhanced.

Further, since the sac 212 is provided in the first chamber 211 and one end of the sac 212 is hermetically connected to the plunger 23, the oil 30 flows only between the sac 212 and the second chamber 231 during the sliding of the plunger 23 with respect to the cylinder 21. The dynamic seal or the oil seal does not need to be arranged between the plunger piston and the cylinder barrel as in the prior art, the overall structure of the shock absorber is simplified, the manufacturing cost and the processing difficulty are reduced, the sealing performance is greatly improved, and the reliability and the service life of the shock absorption damper are further improved. Finally, because the outer wall of the plunger 23 is slidably and tightly engaged with the inner wall of the cylinder 21, the overall structure of the damper 2 is more stable, and the problems of deflection and eccentric wear of the inner wall of the cylinder 21 during the sliding process of the piston in the prior art are avoided.

So far, the technical solutions of the present invention have been described in connection with the preferred embodiments shown in the drawings, but it is easily understood by those skilled in the art that the scope of the present invention is obviously not limited to these specific embodiments. Equivalent changes or substitutions of related technical features can be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the principle of the invention, and the technical scheme after the changes or substitutions can fall into the protection scope of the invention.

Claims

1. A shock absorber, said shock absorber comprising:

a cylinder having a first chamber;

a plunger slidably inserted into the first chamber of the cylinder;

the plunger is characterized in that a liquid bag is arranged in the first chamber, a second chamber and an orifice are arranged in the plunger, the liquid bag and the second chamber are communicated with each other through the orifice, a cavity of the liquid bag and/or the second chamber are filled with fluid, and when the plunger slides relative to the cylinder barrel, the fluid flows between the cavity of the liquid bag and the second chamber through the orifice.

2. The shock absorber according to claim 1, wherein a partition is provided at an end of the plunger, and the orifice is provided on the partition.

3. The shock absorber according to claim 2, wherein the sac is sealingly connected to an end of the plunger or the diaphragm.

4. The shock absorber according to claim 1, wherein an outer diameter of said plunger is arranged such that said plunger can slidably and tightly engage with said cylinder.

5. The shock absorber according to claim 1, further comprising a friction plate and a groove for receiving the friction plate, the groove being provided on an inner wall of the cylinder or an outer wall of the plunger, so that frictional damping can be generated via the friction plate when the plunger slides relative to the cylinder.

6. The shock absorber according to claim 2, wherein said plunger is of unitary construction with said diaphragm.

7. The shock absorber according to claim 1, wherein said fluid bladder is made of an elastic material.

8. The shock absorber according to claim 2, wherein the cylinder further has a first fixing portion at an end facing away from the first chamber and/or the plunger further has a second fixing portion at an end facing away from the diaphragm, the first and second fixing portions being used to connect the shock absorber to an external structure.

9. The shock absorber according to claim 1, wherein an open end of said sac is fixedly attached to said plunger.

10. A washing machine comprising a housing and a washing drum assembly disposed in the housing, characterized in that the washing machine further comprises a plurality of dampers by which the washing drum assembly is supported on the housing, at least one of the dampers being a damper according to any one of claims 1-9.