CN110073047B

CN110073047B - Washing machine

Info

Publication number: CN110073047B
Application number: CN201780077578.9A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 川上刚史; 战云飞
Original assignee: Qingdao Jiaonan Haier Washing Machine Co Ltd; Haier Smart Home Co Ltd; Aqua Co Ltd
Current assignee: Qingdao Jiaonan Haier Washing Machine Co Ltd; Haier Smart Home Co Ltd; Haier Asia Co Ltd
Priority date: 2016-12-20
Filing date: 2017-12-19
Publication date: 2021-09-28
Anticipated expiration: 2037-12-19
Also published as: CN110073047A; WO2018113687A1; JP6830626B2; JP2018099218A

Abstract

A washing machine is provided, which can well throw washing articles into an outer barrel even if the stop position of the outer barrel is uncertain. The full-automatic washing machine is provided with: an outer tub (20) which is rotatably disposed in the casing about a longitudinal rotation axis (R1) and stores water; an inner tub which is rotatably disposed in the outer tub (20) about a horizontal rotation axis (R2) and accommodates laundry; an outer input port (21) formed on the upper part of the outer barrel (20) for inputting the washings; an outer cover (50) for covering the outer side inlet (21); and a parallel link mechanism part (60) which connects the outer cover (50) and the outer barrel (20) in a manner that the outer cover (50) can be opened in any direction of 360 degrees around the outer side inlet (21).

Description

Washing machine

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a washing machine.

Background

For example, patent document 1 discloses a washing machine including: a support body which is disposed in the outer tub capable of storing water and is rotatable about a vertical support body rotation axis; and a spherical washing tub rotatably supported by the support body about a horizontal washing tub rotation shaft, the washing tub being rotatable in both a horizontal direction and a vertical direction.

In the washing machine of patent document 1, the support body is rotationally driven by a motor. The inner side of the outer barrel is provided with an annular washing barrel rotating guide rail, and a washing barrel rotating wheel is arranged on a washing barrel rotating shaft. When the washing tub rotates in the horizontal direction together with the support body by the rotation of the motor, the washing tub rotating wheel rotates on the washing tub rotating guide rail, and the washing tub also rotates in the vertical direction.

Documents of the prior art

Patent document

Patent document 1: japanese Re-Table No. 2010-055674

Disclosure of Invention

Problems to be solved by the invention

The washing machine of patent document 1 can store water inside the support body without providing the outer tub. That is, the support body can also function as an outer tub that can store water. In this case, the outer tub serving as the support body is provided with an outer tub cover for blocking the inlet port so that water does not leak from the inlet port for laundry formed in the upper surface of the outer tub.

However, in such a configuration, if the position for stopping the rotation of the outer tub is not determined in the case where the outer tub cover is opened only in one direction with respect to the outer tub, the opened outer tub cover may obstruct the laundry from being smoothly thrown into the outer tub, that is, the washing tub, depending on the stop position.

On the other hand, in the case of adopting a structure in which the tub is stopped at a fixed position, there is a possibility that control of a motor driving the tub becomes complicated or a time required to stop the tub becomes long.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a washing machine capable of satisfactorily throwing laundry into a tub even if a stop position of the tub is not determined.

Means for solving the problems

A washing machine according to a main aspect of the present invention includes: a tub rotatably disposed in the cabinet around a first rotation axis along a vertical direction or inclined with respect to the vertical direction, and storing water; an inner tub which is rotatably disposed in the outer tub around a second rotation axis along or inclined to the horizontal direction and accommodates laundry; an input port formed at the upper part of the outer barrel for inputting the washings; an outer barrel cover covering the input port; and a connection mechanism part for connecting the outer barrel cover and the outer barrel in a manner that the outer barrel cover can be opened at least in four directions of the front side, the rear side, the right side and the left side relative to the input port.

According to the structure, no matter where the outer barrel stops, a user can open the outer barrel cover towards the direction which does not influence the throwing of the washings in the outer barrel. Therefore, the laundry can be smoothly thrown in and out.

In the washing machine of the scheme, the following structure can be adopted: the connection mechanism portion includes a parallel link mechanism portion that connects the outer tub cover and the outer tub so that the outer tub cover can be opened in any direction of 360 ° around the inlet port.

According to the structure, the outer barrel cover can be opened towards the favorite direction of 360 degrees around the input port, and the washings can be more smoothly input and taken out.

Effects of the invention

According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a washing machine capable of satisfactorily throwing laundry into an outer tub even if a stop position of the outer tub is not determined.

The effects and significance of the present invention will be further clarified by the following description of the embodiments. However, the following embodiments are merely examples for carrying out the present invention, and the present invention is not limited to the contents described in the following embodiments.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a right side view of the full automatic washing machine in a state that the cabinet is cut into a section according to the embodiment.

Fig. 2 is a right sectional view of a portion of the full automatic washing machine of the embodiment excluding a cabinet and a vibration preventing device.

Fig. 3 (a) is a view showing the upper part of the outer tub in the state where the outer lid of the embodiment is closed, and fig. 3 (b) is a view showing the upper part of the outer tub in the state where the outer lid of the embodiment is opened.

Fig. 4 (a) is a perspective view of the link mechanism portion of the embodiment, and fig. 4 (b) is an exploded perspective view of the link mechanism portion of the embodiment.

Fig. 5 (a) and (b) are views for explaining the operation of the link mechanism portion of the embodiment.

Detailed Description

Hereinafter, a fully automatic washing machine 1 according to an embodiment of the washing machine of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

Fig. 1 is a right side view of the fully automatic washing machine 1 of the present embodiment in a state where the casing 10 is cut into a section. Fig. 2 is a right sectional view of the fully automatic washing machine 1 of the present embodiment, excluding the cabinet 10 and the vibration isolator 130.

Referring to fig. 1 and 2, the fully automatic washing machine 1 includes a rectangular parallelepiped housing 10 forming an external appearance. A circular opening 11 is formed in the center of the top surface of the housing 10. Further, feet 12 are provided at four corners of the bottom surface of the housing 10.

In the casing 10, the tub 20 is rotatably disposed about a vertical rotation axis R1 slightly inclined forward with respect to the vertical direction. In the outer tub 20, the spherical inner tub 30 is disposed rotatably about a horizontal rotation axis R2 slightly inclined forward with respect to the horizontal direction. The inner tub 30 contains laundry therein. The inner tub 30 is a washing and dehydrating tub for washing and dehydrating laundry. The vertical rotation axis R1 is orthogonal to the horizontal rotation axis R2. The inclination angle of the vertical rotation axis R1 with respect to the vertical direction and the inclination angle of the horizontal rotation axis R2 with respect to the horizontal direction are set to, for example, about 10 degrees to 20 degrees. The vertical rotation axis R1 corresponds to a first rotation axis of the present invention, and the horizontal rotation axis R2 corresponds to a second rotation axis of the present invention.

The inner barrel 30 includes a barrel body 31 and an inner lid 32. The tub main body 31 is made of a metal material having excellent corrosion resistance, such as stainless steel. The tub main body 31 is formed with a plurality of dewatering holes 33. Further, the tub main body 31 is provided with a circular inner inlet 34, and the inner inlet 34 is opened and closed by the inner lid 32. The inner lid 32 is formed of, for example, resin, and has a convexly curved shape. A finger-grippable grip portion (not shown) is formed at the center of the inner lid 32. The inner barrel 30 has a spherical shape as a whole when the inner inlet 34 is closed by the inner lid 32, and the inner inlet 34 of the barrel body 31 is partially flat.

A first inner tub shaft 35 is mounted to one side of the inner tub 30, i.e., the rear side in the state of fig. 2, with screws or the like. Further, a second inner barrel shaft 36 is attached to the other side of the inner barrel 30, i.e., the front side in the state of fig. 2, with a screw or the like on the opposite side of the center of the inner barrel 30 from the first inner barrel shaft 35. The first inner tub shaft 35 and the second inner tub shaft 36 constitute a transverse rotation axis R2.

The outer tub 20 is formed of, for example, a resin material, and has a spherical shape covering the inner tub 30 to more than half. The outer tub 20 has a circular outer inlet 21 formed therein so that an upper portion thereof is horizontally cut. The tub 20 has a first bearing interface 22 and a second bearing interface 23 formed in circular shapes at positions facing each other across the center thereof.

The outer tub 20 is constructed by combining an upper outer tub member 20a and a lower outer tub member 20 b. The dividing plane S of the upper and lower

outer tub members

20a and 20b passes through the center portion of the outer tub 20 and does not contact the first and second bearing

interfaces

22 and 23. That is, the tub 20 is divided obliquely with respect to the horizontal rotation axis R2 from a position above the second bearing interface 23 to a position below the first bearing interface 22. Thus, the upper outer tub member 20a is formed with a first bearing interface 22, and the lower outer tub member 20b is formed with a second bearing interface 23.

A first bearing portion 41 is mounted to the first bearing mount 22 of the upper outer tub member 20 a. The first bearing unit 41 includes a cylindrical bearing housing 41a and a rolling bearing 41b accommodated in the bearing housing 41a, and is fixed to the outer tub 20 by screws or the like while inserting the first bearing attachment port 22 from the outside. Further, a second bearing portion 42 is attached to the second bearing mount interface 23 of the lower outer tub member 20 b. The second bearing portion 42 includes a cylindrical bearing housing 42a and a rolling bearing 42b accommodated in the bearing housing 42a, is inserted into the second bearing mount 23 from the outside, and is fixed to the tub 20 by screws or the like.

The inner tub 30 is accommodated in the outer tub 20 when the outer tub 20 is assembled by a combination of the upper and lower

outer tub members

20a and 20 b. At this time, the first inner tub shaft 35 and the second inner tub shaft 36 are inserted into the first bearing portion 41 and the second bearing portion 42, respectively. The first inner tub shaft 35 is rotatably supported by the first bearing portion 41, and the second inner tub shaft 36 is rotatably supported by the second bearing portion 42.

The outer inlet 21 of the outer tub 20 is openably and closably covered with an outer cover 50 formed of, for example, a resin material. The cover 50 is exposed above the housing 10 through the opening 11. The outer inlet 21 corresponds to an inlet of the present invention, and the outer lid 50 corresponds to an outer tub lid of the present invention. The outer lid 50 and the outer tub 20 are coupled by a parallel link mechanism portion 60. The parallel link mechanism portion 60 corresponds to a coupling mechanism portion of the present invention. The detailed structure of the parallel link mechanism portion 60 will be described later.

The inner tub 30 is rotatably driven by the inner tub motor 70. The inner tub motor 70 is, for example, an outer rotor type motor, and includes a rotor 71 and a stator 72. The rotor 71 is fixed to a distal end portion of the first tub shaft 35 protruding outward of the tub 20, and the stator 72 is fixed to an outer surface of the first bearing portion 41.

A disk-shaped shaft mounting portion 24 is formed at the center of the bottom of the outer tub 20, and a drain opening 25 is formed at the side surface of the shaft mounting portion 24. An attachment plate 80 having a predetermined shape is fixed to the shaft attachment portion 24, and the tub shaft 90 is fixed to the shaft attachment portion 24 via the attachment plate 80. The outer tub shaft 90 constitutes a longitudinal rotation axis R1. Further, a drain device 100 for draining water from the inside of the outer tub 20 is fixed to the mounting plate 80. The drain device 100 includes a drain pipe 101 connected to the drain port 25 and a drain valve 102 provided in the drain pipe 101. A drain hose, not shown, is connected to the drain pipe 101.

The tub shaft 90 is rotatably supported by a tub bearing portion 110. The tub bearing portion 110 includes a bearing housing 111; an upper rolling bearing 112 and a lower rolling bearing 113 disposed in the bearing housing 111 at a predetermined interval in the vertical direction. The tub bearing 110 is mounted on a square-plate-shaped tub mounting plate 120 disposed at the bottom of the casing 10. The tub mounting plate 120 is elastically supported by vibration isolators 130 installed at four corners thereof.

The outer tub 20 is rotationally driven by a tub motor 140. The tub motor 140 is, for example, an outer rotor type motor, and includes a rotor 141 and a stator 142. The rotor 141 is fixed to a distal end portion of the tub shaft 90 protruding downward from the tub bearing 110, and the stator 142 is fixed to a lower portion of the tub bearing 110.

Next, the opening and closing structure of the outer cover 50 in the parallel link mechanism portion 60 will be described.

Fig. 3 (a) is a view showing the upper part of the outer tub 20 in the state where the outer cover 50 of the present embodiment is closed, and fig. 3 (b) is a view showing the upper part of the outer tub 20 in the state where the outer cover 50 of the present embodiment is opened. Fig. 4 (a) is a perspective view of the link mechanism portion 200 of the present embodiment, and fig. 4 (b) is an exploded perspective view of the link mechanism portion 200 of the present embodiment. Fig. 5 (a) and (b) are views for explaining the operation of the link mechanism portion 200 of the present embodiment, and are a side view and a top view of the link mechanism portion 200, respectively.

A grip 51 that a user holds when opening and closing the outer lid 50 is formed at the center of the outer lid 50. Four suction plates 52 made of a magnet such as iron are attached to the back side at intervals of substantially 90 ° at the peripheral edge of the outer cover 50. Magnets 26 are attached to the opening edge of the outer inlet 21 of the outer tub 20 at positions corresponding to the respective adsorption plates 52 when the outer lid 50 is closed. The attraction plate 52 is attracted to the magnet 26 by magnetic force, thereby maintaining the closed state of the outer lid 50 with respect to the outer inlet 21.

The parallel link mechanism portion 60 is composed of three link mechanism portions 200 arranged in parallel at an interval of substantially 120 ° between the outer lid 50 and the outer tub 20.

As shown in fig. 4 (a) and (b), each link mechanism unit 200 is composed of a first link 210, a second link 220, a third link 230, a fourth link 240, a first kinematic pair (joint)250, a second kinematic pair 260, and a third kinematic pair 270. These first link 210, second link 220, third link 230, fourth link 240, first kinematic pair 250, second kinematic pair 260, and third kinematic pair 270 may be formed of any material among metals or resins as long as the strength thereof is appropriate.

The first link 210 and the second link 220 are coupled by a first kinematic pair 250. The first kinematic pair 250 includes a rotation shaft 251 provided to the first link 210 and a shaft hole 252 provided to the second link 220 and into which the rotation shaft 251 is inserted. A bearing may be interposed between the rotary shaft 251 and the shaft hole 252.

The second link 220 and the third link 230 are coupled by a second kinematic pair 260. The third link 230 is composed of two rods 231. The second kinematic pair 260 is a so-called ball joint including a spherical ball head (ring ball)261 formed at an end of each rod 231 of the third link 230 and two ball seats 262 provided to the second link 220 and in spherical contact with each ball head 261.

The third link 230 and the fourth link 240 are coupled by a third kinematic pair 270. The third kinematic pair 270 is a so-called ball joint, similar to the second kinematic pair 260, and includes a spherical ball head 271 formed at an end of each rod 231 of the third link 230 and two ball seats 272 provided in the fourth link 240 and in spherical contact with the respective ball heads 271.

As shown by an arrow a in fig. 5 (a), the second link 220 is rotatable about the rotation shaft 251 with respect to the first link 210. As shown by arrow B in fig. 5 (a), the third link 230 is rotatable relative to the second link 220 in the in-plane direction perpendicular to the arrangement direction of the two levers 231. Further, as shown by an arrow G in fig. 5 (b), the third link 230 is also rotatable relative to the second link 220 in the in-plane direction parallel to the arrangement direction of the two levers 231. Here, since the third link 230 is composed of the two rods 231, the fourth link 240 cannot rotate relative to the third link 230 in a direction other than the arrow C in fig. 5 (a).

However, as indicated by an arrow D in fig. 5 (a) and an arrow E, F in fig. 5 (b), the fourth link 240 can move in parallel in any three-dimensional direction. This means that since the fourth link 240 moves integrally with the outer cover 50, the outer cover 50 can also move in parallel in any three-dimensional direction.

The first link 210 of the link mechanism portion 200 is fixed to the outer tub 20 by a screw or the like, and the fourth link 240 is fixed to the outer cover 50 by a screw or the like. The first link 210 may be integrally formed with the outer tub 20, and the fourth link 240 may be integrally formed with the outer cover 50.

When putting laundry into the inner tub 30 of the outer tub 20, the user grips the grip portion 51 and moves the outer cover 50 around the outer inlet 21 in order to open the outer inlet 21. At this time, since the outer lid 50 is coupled to the outer tub 20 by the parallel link mechanism portion 60, the user can move the outer lid 50 in any direction of 360 ° around the outer inlet 21 and can open the outer lid 50 in any direction.

The parallel link mechanism portion 60 includes three link mechanism portions 200 arranged so as to have a movable area in which at least half or more, and preferably all, of the outer inlet port 21 is open when the outer lid 50 is open to the maximum.

When the laundry is completely introduced into the outer tub 20, the user resets the opened outer lid 50 and closes the outer introduction port 21. At this time, the outer lid 50 is returned to the same position as before being opened.

In the full automatic washing machine 1, washing operations in various operation modes are performed. In the washing operation, a washing process, an intermediate dehydration process, a rinsing process, and a final dehydration process are sequentially performed.

In the washing process and the rinsing process, the water is stored in the outer tub 20 to a predetermined level. The predetermined water level is a position where the inner tub 30 is immersed in water, and may be set to a position lower than the center position of the inner tub 30, i.e., the position of the horizontal rotation axis R2. In the washing process, the water accumulated contains a detergent.

In a state where water is stored in the tub 20, the tub motor 140 is driven to rotate in one direction, the tub 20 rotates in one direction about the vertical rotation axis R1, and the inner tub 30 rotates integrally with the tub 20. The inner tub motor 70 is driven to rotate alternately in the forward direction and the reverse direction, and the inner tub 30 rotates alternately in the forward direction and the reverse direction about the horizontal rotation axis R2, differently from the operation of the outer tub 20.

A water flow is generated in the outer tub 20 by the rotation of the outer tub 20. In the outer tub 20 in which the water flow is generated, the inner tub 30 is rotated in the horizontal direction and the inner tub 30 is rotated in the vertical direction in the reverse direction, so that the laundry agitated in the inner tub 30 is moved in a complicated manner. Thus, the water flow generated in the outer tub 20 and the complex motion of the laundry supplement each other, and the laundry is well washed or rinsed.

Further, when the inner tub 30 is spherical, since the circumferential surface in the direction of the horizontal rotation axis R2 is also arc-shaped, the laundry located at both end portions in the inner tub 30 is easily positioned higher than the water surface, and the laundry at both end portions is hardly immersed in the water. However, in the present embodiment, since the outer tub 20 rotates laterally, the water on the outer peripheral side rises by the centrifugal force, and the laundry on both end portions is easily soaked.

The tub 20 may be alternately rotated in the forward direction and the reverse direction by reversely rotating the tub motor 140 in the forward and reverse directions. Further, the rotation speed of the tub motor 140, i.e., the tub 20 may be changed to change the speed of the water flow in the tub 20.

In the intermediate dehydration process and the final dehydration process, after the water is drained from the outer tub 20, the inner tub 30 is vertically rotated at a high speed in one direction in a state where the outer tub 20 is stopped. The laundry is dehydrated by the centrifugal force generated from the inner tub 30.

In the fully automatic washing machine 1 of the present embodiment, not only the inner tub 30 but also the outer tub 20 are rotated, but the position at which the outer tub 20 is stopped is not determined. However, the outer lid 50 may be opened in any direction of 360 ° around the outer inlet 21 no matter where the outer tub 20 is stopped, so that the user can open the outer lid 50 in a proper direction without affecting the laundry input into the outer tub 20. Therefore, the laundry can be smoothly thrown in and out.

While the embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, and various modifications other than those described above may be made to the embodiments of the present invention.

For example, in the above embodiment, the outer lid 50 and the outer tub 20 are connected by the parallel link mechanism portion 60, so that the outer lid 50 can be opened in any direction of 360 ° around the outer inlet 21. However, the outer cover 50 may be opened in at least four directions around the front side, the rear side, the right side, and the left side with respect to the outer inlet port 21, and if such opening of the outer cover 50 is realized, a coupling mechanism portion other than the parallel link mechanism portion 60 may be used.

In the above embodiment, the second and third

kinematic pairs

260 and 270 of the link mechanism portion 200 are so-called ball joints. However, the second kinematic pair 260 and the third kinematic pair 270 may also be so-called universal joints.

Further, in the above embodiment, the outer tub 20 rotates about the vertical rotation axis R1 inclined with respect to the vertical direction, and the inner tub 30 rotates about the horizontal rotation axis R2 inclined with respect to the horizontal direction. However, the outer tub 20 may be configured to rotate about a vertical rotation axis in the vertical direction. Similarly, the inner tub 30 may be configured to rotate about a horizontal rotation axis in the horizontal direction.

Further, in the above embodiment, the outer rotor type motor is used for the outer tub motor 140 and the inner tub motor 70, but an inner rotor type motor may be used.

Further, although the fully automatic washing machine 1 is illustrated in the above embodiment, the present invention may be applied to a fully automatic washing and drying all-in-one machine having a drying function in addition to a washing function.

The embodiments of the present invention can be modified in various ways as appropriate within the scope of the technical idea presented in the claims.

Description of reference numerals

1: full automatic washing machines (washing machines); 10: a housing; 20: an outer tub; 21: an outer inlet port (inlet port); 30: an inner barrel; 50: an outer lid (outer can lid); 60: a parallel link mechanism section (connection mechanism section); r1: a longitudinal rotation axis (first rotation axis); r2: a transverse rotation axis (second rotation axis).

Claims

1. A washing machine is characterized by comprising:

a tub which is rotatably disposed in the casing around a first rotation shaft inclined with respect to a vertical direction and stores water;

an inner tub which is disposed in the outer tub so as to be rotatable about a second rotation axis inclined with respect to a horizontal direction and which accommodates laundry;

an input port formed at the upper part of the outer barrel for inputting the washings;

an outer barrel cover covering the input port; and

a coupling mechanism portion that couples the outer tub cover and the outer tub so that the outer tub cover is opened in at least four directions of a front side, a rear side, a right side, and a left side with respect to the inlet, the coupling mechanism portion including a parallel link mechanism portion that couples the outer tub cover and the outer tub so that the outer tub cover is opened in any direction of 360 ° around with respect to the inlet;

the parallel link mechanism part is composed of three link mechanism parts which are arranged between the outer barrel cover and the outer barrel in parallel at intervals of approximately 120 degrees, each link mechanism part is composed of a first link, a second link, a third link, a fourth link, a first kinematic pair, a second kinematic pair and a third kinematic pair, the first link and the second link are connected through the first kinematic pair, the first kinematic pair comprises a rotating shaft arranged on the first link and a shaft hole arranged on the second link and used for inserting the rotating shaft, the second link and the third link are connected through the second kinematic pair, the third link and the fourth link are connected through the third kinematic pair, and the second kinematic pair and the third kinematic pair are of a ball joint structure.