CN110699906A

CN110699906A - Damping device and top-opening type clothes treatment equipment

Info

Publication number: CN110699906A
Application number: CN201810742669.6A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 赵志强; 许升; 吕艳芬; 刘凯
Original assignee: Qingdao Haier Washing Machine Co Ltd
Current assignee: Qingdao Haier Washing Machine Co Ltd
Priority date: 2018-07-09
Filing date: 2018-07-09
Publication date: 2020-01-17

Abstract

The invention belongs to the technical field of household appliances, and particularly provides a damping device and a top-opening type clothes treatment device. The invention aims to solve the problem that an upper cover of the conventional pulsator washing machine is easy to collide with a disc seat to generate noise when being closed under the condition of a small opening angle. To this end, the damping device of the present invention comprises a gear and a damper; the damper comprises a damping cylinder and a damping rod connected with the damping cylinder in a damping mode, and a rack matched with the gear is arranged on the damping rod. The top-opening type clothes treating apparatus of the present invention includes a cabinet and an upper cover pivotally connected to the cabinet by a rotating shaft. The gear is coaxially fixed with the rotating shaft, and the damping cylinder is fixedly connected with the box body. The damping device can play a damping role when the damping device is closed under the condition that the upper cover is opened at a small angle, so that the descending speed of the upper cover is hindered, and the upper cover is prevented from colliding with the disk seat to generate noise.

Description

Damping device and top-opening type clothes treatment equipment

Technical Field

The invention belongs to the technical field of household appliances, and particularly provides a damping device and a top-opening type clothes treatment device.

Background

The existing pulsator washing machine mainly comprises a box body, an outer barrel fixedly arranged in the box body, an inner barrel rotatably arranged in the outer barrel, a pulsator arranged at the bottom of the inner barrel, a tray seat arranged at the top of the box body and an upper cover pivotally arranged on the tray seat. In order to avoid noise generated by collision between the upper cover and the tray seat due to too fast self-weight drop or injury of the user's hand when the upper cover is closed, a damper is usually arranged between the tray seat and the upper cover. Under the action of the damper, the upper cover can be slowly closed.

However, when the upper cover is closed under the condition of a small opening angle, the damper does not work, the upper cover still collides with the disk seat to generate noise, and the use experience of a user is influenced.

Accordingly, there is a need in the art for a new damping device 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 problem that the upper cover of the conventional pulsator washing machine is likely to collide with the tray when closed under the condition of a small opening angle to generate noise, the present invention provides a damping device, which includes a pivoting member and a damper, wherein a plurality of teeth are arranged on the pivoting member along the circumferential direction; the damper comprises a damping cylinder and a damping rod in damping connection with the damping cylinder, wherein a rack is arranged on the damping cylinder or the damping rod, and the rack can be meshed with a plurality of teeth on the pivoting component.

In a preferred technical solution of the above damping device, a piston is disposed at one end of the damping rod away from the rack, and the piston is slidably disposed in the damping cylinder along an axial direction.

In a preferred technical solution of the above damping device, a damping fluid is disposed in the damping cylinder, and the damping fluid is used for blocking the movement of the piston.

In a preferred embodiment of the damping device, an annular gap is formed between the piston and the damping cylinder to allow the damping fluid to pass through; and/or the piston is provided with a through hole allowing the damping fluid to pass through along the axial direction.

In a preferred technical solution of the above damping device, the damper further includes a damping fin disposed in a circumferential direction of the piston, and the damping fin can abut against an inner wall of the damping cylinder, so as to block movement of the piston.

In a preferred embodiment of the above damping device, the damper further includes a spring disposed between the piston and the damping cylinder, and the spring is configured to resist movement of the piston toward the spring.

In a preferred embodiment of the above damping device, the pivot member is a gear; and/or the rack is provided on the damping rod.

In a preferred technical solution of the above damping device, the damping device further includes a mounting seat for fixing the damper to a target object.

In addition, the invention also provides a top-opening type clothes treatment device which comprises the damping device in any one of the preferable technical scheme of the damping device.

In a preferred embodiment of the above-mentioned top-opening laundry treating apparatus, the top-opening laundry treating apparatus includes a box body and an upper cover pivotally connected to the box body via a rotating shaft, the pivoting member is coaxially and fixedly connected to or integrally formed with the rotating shaft, and the damping cylinder is fixedly connected to or integrally formed with the box body.

It can be understood by those skilled in the art that in the preferred embodiment of the present invention, by providing a plurality of teeth on the pivoting member along the circumferential direction and by providing a rack on the damping cylinder or the damping rod, the pivoting member can drive the rack to slide along the length direction thereof when rotating, so that the damping rod performs damping motion relative to the damping cylinder, and the pivoting member is blocked from rotating. Therefore, when the damping device is applied to the top-opening type clothes treatment equipment, the upper cover of the top-opening type clothes treatment equipment can be slowly closed, and noise caused by collision with the box body is avoided. Further, the damping rod can be driven to move relative to the damping cylinder no matter whether the pivoting angle of the pivoting component is large or small, so that the damping device can play a damping role when the upper cover is closed under the condition that the upper cover is opened at a small angle, and the descending speed of the upper cover is hindered.

Specifically, in one possible embodiment of the present invention, the top-loading clothes treatment apparatus is a pulsator washing machine, and the pulsator washing machine includes a cabinet, a tray disposed on the top of the cabinet, a shaft seat disposed on the tray, an upper cover, and a rotating shaft fixedly connected to the upper cover. The rotating shaft is rotatably mounted on the shaft seat, and therefore the upper cover is in pivot connection with the disk seat. Further, the pivoting member is a gear, and the rack is provided on the damping lever. The gear and the rotating shaft are coaxially and fixedly connected or integrally manufactured, the damping cylinder is fixed on the disc seat, and the rack on the damping rod is meshed with the gear. When the upper cover is closed, the gear is driven to rotate, and the rotating gear drives the damping rod to move through the rack. Because the damping connection between the damping rod and the damping cylinder can obstruct the movement of the damping rod, the damper can limit the descending speed of the upper cover and prevent the upper cover from colliding with the disk seat to generate noise.

The damping connection according to the present invention is a connection that allows the damping rod to slide in the axial direction relative to the damping cylinder and can prevent the damping rod from sliding relative to the damping cylinder.

Drawings

Preferred embodiments of the present invention are described below with reference to the accompanying drawings in conjunction with a pulsator washing machine, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a front view of a pulsator washing machine of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged view of portion A of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a partial cross-sectional view taken along line B-B of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a side view of the damping device of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a front view of the damping device of the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a rear view of the damping device of the present invention;

FIG. 7 is a sectional view in the direction C-C in FIG. 5 (first embodiment);

fig. 8 is a sectional view in the direction C-C in fig. 5 (second embodiment).

List of reference numerals:

1. a box body; 2. a tray seat; 21. a shaft seat; 3. an upper cover; 31. a rotating shaft; 311. a gear; 4. a damper; 41. a damping cylinder; 42. a damping lever; 421. a rack; 422. a piston; 43. damping fluid; 44. a damping fin; 45. a spring; 5. a mounting seat; 51. mounting holes; 52. a flange; 53. and a positioning strip.

Detailed Description

It should be understood by those skilled in the art that the embodiments of the present invention 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 the top-loading type laundry treating apparatus of the present invention is described in the embodiments of the present invention by taking a pulsator washing machine as an example, the top-loading type laundry treating apparatus of the present invention may also be a top-loading type drum washing machine, a top-loading type washing and drying machine, a top-loading type clothes dryer, or the like. Those skilled in the art can make modifications as needed to suit a particular application, and such modified embodiments will still fall within the scope of the present invention.

It should be noted that in the description of the present invention, the terms "center", "upper", "lower", "left", "right", "vertical", "horizontal", "inner", "outer", etc. indicating the directions or positional relationships 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 and operated in a specific orientation, and thus, should not be construed as limiting the present invention. Furthermore, the terms "mounted," "connected," and "connected" are to be construed broadly and may, for example, be fixedly connected, detachably connected, or integrally 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.

As shown in fig. 1, the pulsator washing machine of the present invention mainly comprises a cabinet 1, an outer tub (not shown), an inner tub (not shown), a pulsator (not shown), a tray base 2, and an upper cover 3. Wherein, the outer barrel is fixedly arranged in the box body 1, the inner barrel is rotatably arranged in the outer barrel, and the wave wheel is arranged at the bottom of the inner barrel. The tray 2 is fixedly provided on the top of the cabinet 1, and the upper cover 3 is pivotally provided on the tray 2. In addition, the inner barrel can be omitted by the technical personnel in the field according to the requirement, so that the rotary drum washing machine does not have the spin-drying function.

As shown in fig. 2, a shaft seat 21 is arranged on the disk seat 2; the upper cover 3 is provided with a rotating shaft 31, and the rotating shaft 31 is fixedly connected with the upper cover 3 or integrally formed. In an assembled state of the pulsator washing machine, the rotation shaft 31 is rotatably mounted to the shaft seat 21, and thus the pivotal connection of the upper cover 3 to the tray seat 2 is accomplished.

Further, the pulsator washing machine of the present invention further includes a damping device for blocking the opening and/or closing of the upper cover 3, particularly, the closing of the upper cover 3. The damping device can avoid noise caused by too fast descending and collision with the disk seat 2 when the upper cover 3 is closed, and even clamp the hands of a user.

As shown in fig. 2 to 7, in the first embodiment of the present invention, the damping device of the present invention mainly includes a gear 311, a damper 4, and a mount 5. Wherein the gear 311 is formed on the rotating shaft 31, or a person skilled in the art may arrange a separate gear 311 as needed and then fixedly connect the gear 311 and the rotating shaft 31 together coaxially. Further, the damper 4 mainly includes a damper cylinder 41 and a damper rod 42 connected to the damper cylinder 41 in a damping manner. The damper cylinder 41 is fixed to the target disk base 2 by the mount 5. The damping rod 42 is provided with a rack 421, and the rack 421 is engaged with the gear 311.

It should be noted that the damping connection between the damper cylinder 41 and the damper rod 42 means that the damper rod 42 inserted into the damper cylinder 41 is slidable in the axial direction relative to the damper cylinder 41. When the damper rod 42 slides, a force that resists the sliding of the damper rod 42, that is, a damping force is formed between the damper cylinder 41 and the damper rod 42. In other words, the connection between the damper cylinder 41 and the damper rod 42 is provided to allow and be able to hinder the damper rod 42 from sliding relative to the damper cylinder 41 in the axial direction.

As shown in fig. 3, when the upper cover 3 is closed, the upper cover 3 drives the gear 311 to rotate in the clockwise direction in fig. 3. The rotating gear 311 drives the rack 421 to move downward and thus moves the damping lever 42 downward. During the downward movement of the damping rod 42, the damping connection between the damping cylinder 41 and the damping rod 42 hinders the downward movement of the damping rod 42, thereby hindering the rotation of the gear 311 and thus reducing the speed at which the upper cover 3 is closed. When the upper cover 3 is opened, the upper cover 3 drives the gear 311 to rotate counterclockwise in fig. 3. The rotating gear 311 drives the rack 421 to move upward and thus moves the damping lever 42 upward. During the upward movement of the damping rod 42, the damping connection between the damping cylinder 41 and the damping rod 42 hinders the upward movement of the damping rod 42, thereby hindering the rotation of the gear 311 and thus reducing the speed at which the upper cover 3 is opened.

As shown in fig. 3 to 7, the mounting seat 5 of the present invention is provided with a mounting hole 51, a flange 52 and a positioning bar 53.

As shown in fig. 3 and 7, at the time of installation, mount 5 is first positioned to pan 2 by positioning bar 53, and then a bolt (such as the bolt shown in fig. 3) is fastened to pan 2 after passing through mounting hole 51, and thus mount 5 is fixed to pan 2.

As shown in fig. 7, further, the damper cylinder 41 of the damper 4 is inserted into a mounting position (a groove as shown in fig. 7) on the mount 5. When the damper cylinder 41 is inserted into position, the flange 52 on the mount 5 snaps into the groove on the damper cylinder 41 and thereby secures the damper 4 to the mount 5.

Furthermore, the damper 4 can be fixed to the mounting base 5 by any feasible connection means, such as welding, screwing, etc., as required by those skilled in the art; or the damping cylinder 41 may be integrally formed with the mounting seat 51 as desired by those skilled in the art.

In addition, a person skilled in the art can omit the mounting seat 5, make the structure of the damping cylinder 41 into a proper structure, and then fixedly connect the damping cylinder 41 directly to the disk seat 2. As an exemplary one, a mounting hole is directly provided on the damping cylinder 41 and then fastened with the disc holder 2 by a screw passing through the mounting hole. As a second example, an external thread is provided on the outer circumference of the damping cylinder 41, a screw hole is provided on the disc base 2, and the damping cylinder 41 is fastened to the disc base 2 by screwing.

As shown in fig. 7, in the first embodiment of the present invention, the end of the damping rod 42 away from the rack 421 is further provided with a piston 422, and the piston 422 is slidably provided in the damping cylinder 41 in the axial direction. The lower end of the damping rod 42 is fixedly connected or integrally formed with the piston 422 after extending into the damping cylinder 41. As shown in fig. 7, the cavity in the damping cylinder 41 is divided into an upper cavity and a lower cavity by the piston 422, and each cavity is filled with the damping fluid 43, so that the damping connection between the damping cylinder 41 and the piston 422 is realized through the damping fluid 43. The damping fluid 43 is used to damp the movement of the piston 422. Further, in the preferred embodiment of the present embodiment, a seal ring is provided between the upper end of the damping cylinder 41 and the damping rod 42 in the radial direction for preventing the damping fluid 43 in the damping cylinder 41 from leaking.

Although not shown in the drawings, an annular gap capable of allowing the damping fluid 43 to pass is formed between the inner wall of the damping cylinder 41 and the piston 422. When the upper lid 3 is closed, the gear 311 drives the rack 421 and moves the piston 422 downward. The damping fluid 43 in the lower chamber of the damping cylinder 41 is forced to flow through the annular gap to the upper chamber. When the piston 422 moves too fast, the resistance of the damping fluid 43 flowing through the annular gap becomes large, the pressure applied to the damping fluid 43 in the lower chamber becomes large, and the force acting against the piston 422 becomes large to block the movement of the damping rod 42. Similarly, when the upper cover 3 is opened, the gear 311 drives the rack 421 and drives the piston 422 to move upward, and the damping fluid 43 also hinders the damping rod 42 from moving.

It can be understood by those skilled in the art that, in order to make the cross-sectional areas of the cavities on the upper and lower sides of the piston 422 equal, those skilled in the art can set a column structure with the same diameter as the damping rod 42 at the lower end of the piston 422 and make the column structure pass through the bottom of the damping cylinder 41 as required. The situation that the damping fluid 41 does not allow the piston 422 to move when the cross-sectional areas of the cavities on the upper side and the lower side of the piston 422 are not equal is prevented.

In addition, a through hole may be axially formed in the piston 422 by a person skilled in the art as needed, so that the damping fluid 43 flows between the upper and lower chambers in the damping cylinder 41 through the through hole. Preferably, the through hole is two big and two small. Wherein, a one-way valve is also arranged in the through hole with larger diameter. When the upper cover 3 is opened, the check valve is opened, allowing the damping fluid 43 to flow therethrough, so that the user can open the upper cover 3 quickly and easily; when the upper cover 3 is closed, the one-way valve is closed, the damping liquid 43 is not allowed to flow through, and the upper cover 3 is prevented from colliding with the disk seat 2 to generate noise when the descending speed is too high. In addition, one skilled in the art can also arrange the through holes on the piston 422 in any number, for example, three, four, five, etc., as desired.

In addition, one skilled in the art can also arrange a spring at the lower end of the piston 422, and make one end of the spring abut against the piston 422 and make the other end of the spring abut against the inner bottom end of the damping cylinder 41, as required. The spring is used to assist a user in opening the upper cover 3 and can provide a damping force for the closing of the upper cover 3.

It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the damping fluid 43 may be any fluid capable of providing a damping force to the piston 422, such as water, hydraulic oil, water glycol, and the like.

Therefore, in the first embodiment of the present invention, the damping rod 42 is driven to move relative to the damping cylinder 41 regardless of whether the angle of rotation of the gear 311 is large or small, so that the damping device of the present invention can also perform a damping function to damp the speed of lowering the upper lid 2 when the upper lid 3 is closed with a small angle open. The upper cover 3 is prevented from colliding with the disk seat 2 or clamping the hand of the user when descending too fast.

As shown in fig. 8, in the second embodiment of the present invention, unlike the first embodiment, there is no damping fluid 43. And, the piston 422 is provided with a damper fin 44 in a circumferential direction so that the piston 422 and the damper cylinder 41 are in damping connection through the damper fin 44. Further, the lower end of the piston 422 is provided with a spring 45. One end of the spring 45 abuts on the piston 422, and the other end of the spring 45 abuts on the inner bottom end of the damper cylinder 41. The spring 45 is used to assist the user in opening the upper cover 3 and can provide a damping force for the closing of the upper cover 3.

With continued reference to FIG. 8, the piston 422 is provided with a circumferential groove (not shown) into which the annular damping plate 44 is inserted. When the piston 422 moves, the damper sheet 44 can rub against the inner wall of the damper cylinder 41, and thus hinder the piston 422 from moving. Furthermore, the damping fins 44 may be configured in any other feasible structure, such as block, strip or sheet structures uniformly distributed on the piston 422 along the circumferential direction of the piston 422, as required by those skilled in the art. It should be noted that the damping plate 44 may be made of any feasible material, such as rubber, plastic, damping alloy, etc.

Although not shown in the drawings, in the third embodiment of the present invention, the rack 421 is provided to the damper cylinder 41, unlike the first embodiment. The damper 4 is drivingly connected to the gear 311 via the damper cylinder 41, and is fixedly connected to the disk base 2 via the damper rod 42.

Although not shown in the drawings, in the fourth embodiment of the present invention, unlike the first embodiment, the gear 311 is replaced with a cam, and a plurality of teeth are provided on the cam in the circumferential direction, and the cam is engaged with the rack 421 through the plurality of teeth. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the cam may be provided with teeth in part or in whole in the circumferential direction. When only a partial structure of the cam is provided with teeth in the circumferential direction, a plurality of teeth are engaged with the rack 421 when the upper cover 3 is to be closed, so that the closing time of the upper cover 3 is reduced without pinching both hands of the user. Furthermore, the person skilled in the art may replace the gear 311 with any other feasible pivoting member, such as a ratchet, a helical gear, etc., as desired.

Furthermore, the person skilled in the art can apply the damping device of the present invention to any other feasible equipment, such as refrigerators, freezers, microwave ovens, etc., as desired.

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 damping device, characterized in that the damping device comprises a pivot member and a damper,

a plurality of teeth are arranged on the pivoting component along the circumferential direction;

the damper comprises a damping cylinder and a damping rod in damping connection with the damping cylinder,

a rack is disposed on the damping cylinder or the damping lever and is engageable with a plurality of teeth on the pivot member.

2. The damping device of claim 1, wherein an end of the damping rod distal from the rack is provided with a piston that is axially slidably disposed within the damping cylinder.

3. The damping device of claim 2, wherein the damping cylinder has a damping fluid disposed therein for damping movement of the piston.

4. The damping device according to claim 3, wherein an annular gap allowing the damping fluid to pass therethrough is formed between the piston and the damping cylinder; and/or the piston is provided with a through hole allowing the damping fluid to pass through along the axial direction.

5. The damping device according to claim 2, wherein the damper further comprises a damping fin provided in a circumferential direction of the piston, the damping fin being capable of abutting against an inner wall of the damping cylinder so as to be capable of obstructing the movement of the piston.

6. The damping device of claim 5, wherein the damper further comprises a spring disposed between the piston and the damping cylinder, the spring for resisting movement of the piston toward the spring.

7. A damping device according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterised in that the pivoting member is a gear; and/or the rack is provided on the damping rod.

8. A damping device according to any of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that the damping device further comprises a mount for fixing the damper to a target object.

9. A top-loading laundry treating apparatus, characterized in that the top-loading laundry treating apparatus comprises the damping device of any one of claims 1 to 7.

10. The top-loading laundry treating apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the top-loading laundry treating apparatus includes a cabinet and an upper cover pivotally connected to the cabinet by a rotating shaft, the pivoting member is coaxially and fixedly connected to or integrally formed with the rotating shaft, and the damper cylinder is fixedly connected to or integrally formed with the cabinet.