CN114753112A - Drain valve assembly and washing machine - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention belongs to the technical field of washing machines and discloses a drain valve assembly and a washing machine, wherein the drain valve assembly comprises a valve plug and a driving component for driving the valve plug to move; the centrifugal sliding block slides under the action of centrifugal force, and the reversing transmission mechanism drives the valve plug to move; the sliding direction of the centrifugal slider is different from the moving direction of the valve plug. The drainage valve component of the invention enables the centrifugal slider and the valve plug to move along different directions by arranging the reversing transmission mechanism, and when the drainage valve component is applied to a washing machine to realize centrifugal drainage, the installation position of the drainage valve component is more flexible, meanwhile, the installation space can be saved, and the expansion of an inner barrel of the washing machine is facilitated.

Description

Drain valve assembly and washing machine

Technical Field

The invention belongs to the technical field of washing machines, and particularly relates to a drain valve assembly and a washing machine.

Background

Most of the existing washing machines include an outer tub and an inner tub disposed inside the outer tub, and a plurality of dewatering holes are formed on a tub wall of the inner tub to communicate the inner tub and the outer tub with each other. When the washing machine works, the outer barrel is used for containing washing water, the inner barrel is used for containing clothes to be washed, the washing water can exist between the inner barrel and the outer barrel, but the washing water cannot be utilized, and the waste of the washing water is caused. Moreover, as the operation time of the washing machine increases, dirt and lint contained in the washing water are retained in a space between the inner tub and the outer tub, and are difficult to clean, resulting in generation of bacteria and bad smell throughout the year. In order to solve the problem, the prior art provides a washing machine without dewatering holes on an inner barrel, so that the inner barrel can independently contain washing water in the washing process, and meanwhile, the drainage of the inner barrel without holes cannot be realized by the existing drainage mode.

Chinese patent application No. 201610767640.4 discloses a washing machine without water between an inner tub and an outer tub, comprising: an outer tub; the inner barrel is rotatably arranged in the outer barrel; in the washing/rinsing process, the inner barrel is filled with water, and no water exists between the inner barrel and the outer barrel; a drain hole is formed in the bottom of the inner barrel, and a drain sealing device is arranged on the outer wall of the bottom of the inner barrel corresponding to the drain hole; the drainage sealing device keeps the drainage hole closed during washing/rinsing, and opens the drainage hole under the action of centrifugal force during dewatering.

However, in the above scheme, the valve plug slides along the radial direction of the inner barrel to open/close the water discharge hole, and the sealing effect is not ideal under the influence of water pressure. Meanwhile, due to the limitation of the rotation speed of the pulsator washing machine, the centrifugal force provided by the centrifugal block is limited, and the drainage hole may not be opened by the drainage sealing device. The drainage sealing device is additionally arranged below the inner barrel, so that the space at the bottom of the inner barrel is occupied, and the expansion of the inner barrel is not facilitated. If the installation position of the drainage sealing device in the above scheme is changed, the valve plug and the centrifugal block synchronously slide along the radial direction of the inner barrel, and the valve plug and the centrifugal block can only be arranged on the barrel wall of the inner barrel, that is, the drainage hole is arranged on the barrel wall, so that the drainage efficiency is reduced compared with the scheme that the drainage hole is arranged at the bottom of the barrel.

In view of the above, the present invention is particularly proposed.

Disclosure of Invention

The invention aims to overcome the defects of the prior art and provides a drain valve assembly and a washing machine.

In order to solve the technical problems, the invention adopts the technical scheme that:

a drain valve assembly comprises a valve plug and a driving component for driving the valve plug to move, wherein the driving component comprises a centrifugal slider and a reversing transmission mechanism, and the reversing transmission mechanism is respectively connected with the centrifugal slider and the valve plug; the centrifugal slider slides under the action of centrifugal force, and the reversing transmission mechanism drives the valve plug to move; the sliding direction of the centrifugal slider is different from the moving direction of the valve plug.

Furthermore, the sliding path of the centrifugal slider and the movement path of the valve plug are coplanar, the reversing transmission mechanism comprises a reversing rod, the first end of the reversing rod is hinged with the valve plug, and the second end of the reversing rod can move in the same direction as the centrifugal slider under the driving of the centrifugal slider;

The reversing rod swings in a plane formed by a sliding path of the centrifugal slider and a moving path of the valve plug, and drives the valve plug to move in a direction forming a certain angle with the action direction of centrifugal force.

Furthermore, the centrifugal slider is provided with a connecting part, and the second end of the reversing rod is hinged with the connecting part of the centrifugal slider; the centrifugal slider slides under the centrifugal force effect, drives the second end of switching-over pole and the equidirectional motion of centrifugal slider, and the first end of switching-over pole swings around the second end in order to drive the motion of valve plug.

Furthermore, in an initial state, an included angle between a connecting line of the first end and the second end of the reversing rod and the centrifugal force acting direction is smaller than 90 degrees; the centrifugal slider slides under the action of centrifugal force, and the line of first end and second end and the contained angle between the centrifugal force action direction increase gradually, drive the valve plug to the direction motion of keeping away from centrifugal slider slip path.

Furthermore, the first end of the reversing rod is higher than the second end of the reversing rod, the centrifugal slider horizontally slides under the action of centrifugal force, and the reversing rod swings upwards under the driving of the centrifugal slider to push the valve plug to move upwards;

or, the first end of reversing lever is less than the second end setting, centrifugal slider horizontal slip under the centrifugal force effect, and the reversing lever is swung downwards under the centrifugal slider drives, pulls the valve plug downstream.

Furthermore, the valve plug comprises a sealing cover and a supporting rod, one end of the supporting rod is fixedly connected with the sealing cover, and the other end of the supporting rod is hinged with the reversing rod;

preferably, one end of the support rod, which is hinged with the reversing rod, is provided with an open mounting groove, the mounting groove is arranged in a penetrating manner along the swinging direction of the reversing rod, and the first end of the reversing rod is inserted into the mounting groove and is hinged with the support rod;

preferably, the valve plug is driven by the centrifugal sliding block to move downwards along with the sliding of centrifugal force, and the connecting part of the centrifugal sliding block penetrates through the mounting groove and is hinged with the reversing rod.

Furthermore, the drain valve assembly also comprises a mounting seat, the mounting seat comprises a guide part with a hollow slideway, one end of the supporting rod is arranged in the hollow sliding of the guide part in a sliding way, and the other end of the supporting rod extends out of the guide part and is connected with the sealing cover;

preferably, the valve plug is driven by the centrifugal slider to move upwards along with the sliding of centrifugal force, and the lower end of the guide part is provided with an avoidance groove which is arranged in a penetrating manner along the swinging direction of the reversing rod;

or, the valve plug moves downwards under the drive of the centrifugal slider sliding along with the centrifugal force, and the upper end of the guide part is provided with an avoiding groove which is arranged in a penetrating way along the swinging direction of the reversing rod.

Further, the drain valve assembly further comprises a guide track on which the centrifugal slider is slidably disposed;

preferably, the guide rail is provided with a guide groove extending along the centrifugal force action direction, the centrifugal slider is provided with a mounting part corresponding to the guide groove, and the mounting part is slidably inserted into the guide groove;

preferably, a first limiting part is arranged on the centrifugal slider, a second limiting part is arranged on the guide track, and the first limiting part and the second limiting part are arranged at intervals relatively; the centrifugal slide block slides under the action of centrifugal force, and the first limiting part gradually approaches to the second limiting part.

Furthermore, an elastic piece is further installed on the guide track and used for providing a reset force opposite to the centrifugal force direction for the centrifugal slide block;

preferably, the guide rail comprises a guide rod arranged along the action direction of the centrifugal force, the centrifugal slider is provided with a positioning hole, and the guide rod is slidably inserted into the positioning hole; the elastic part is a spring sleeved on the guide rod, and two ends of the spring respectively abut against the surfaces of the centrifugal slide block and the guide track;

Preferably, one end of the guide rod is fixedly arranged on the surface of the second limiting part facing the first limiting part, and the other end of the guide rod is suspended; the positioning hole is arranged on the first limiting part in a penetrating manner, and the suspended end of the guide rod penetrates through the positioning hole; the spring sleeve is arranged on the guide rod, and two ends of the spring sleeve are respectively abutted against the first limiting part and the second limiting part.

The invention also aims to provide a washing machine, which comprises an inner barrel, wherein the bottom of the inner barrel is provided with a water outlet, and the washing machine also comprises the water outlet valve component;

in the washing/rinsing process, the valve plug plugs the water outlet, so that the inner barrel can independently contain water;

in the drainage process, the centrifugal slide block slides from inside to outside along the radial direction of the inner barrel under the action of centrifugal force, and the valve plug is driven by the reversing transmission mechanism to move along the direction parallel to the central axis of the inner barrel so as to open the drainage outlet.

After the technical scheme is adopted, compared with the prior art, the invention has the following beneficial effects.

The drainage valve component of the invention enables the centrifugal slider and the valve plug to move along different directions by arranging the reversing transmission mechanism, and when the drainage valve component is applied to the washing machine to realize centrifugal drainage, the installation position of the drainage valve component is more flexible, meanwhile, the installation space can be saved, and the expansion of an inner barrel of the washing machine is facilitated.

The drainage valve component realizes the transmission of the movement of the centrifugal slider and the valve plug in different directions by arranging the reversing rod, has a simple structure and is easy to realize. The reversing rod is hinged in the mounting groove at one end of the supporting rod, so that the action of the reversing rod on the supporting rod acts on the central axis of the supporting rod, and the supporting rod is prevented from receiving eccentric action force and further influencing the movement of the valve plug.

The drain valve assembly of the present invention restricts the movement of the support rod in the horizontal direction by the guide portion of the mount, thereby effectively converting the horizontal movement of the centrifugal slider into the movement of the valve plug in the vertical direction by the reversing lever. The arrangement of the avoiding groove reserves a space for the swinging of the reversing rod, so that the supporting rod, the reversing rod and the guide part can be effectively matched, and the valve plug can move up and down under the driving of the centrifugal slider.

The drainage valve component guides the sliding of the centrifugal slide block by arranging the guide rail, and the second limiting part on the guide rail is matched with the first limiting part on the centrifugal slide block, so that the centrifugal slide block is prevented from falling off from the guide rail when sliding under the action of centrifugal force. The elastic piece on the guide rail can push the centrifugal slider to move in the reverse direction after the centrifugal force disappears, and then drives the valve plug to move, and the automatic reset of the drainage valve component is realized.

In the washing machine, the valve plug seals the water outlet to form a closed inner barrel in the washing/rinsing process, so that the condition that dirt and thread scraps are remained due to water stored between the inner barrel and the outer barrel is avoided. The centrifugal slider is converted into the movement of the valve plug along the direction parallel to the central axis of the inner barrel by the radial sliding of the inner barrel through the reversing transmission mechanism, so that the water outlet is arranged on the barrel bottom of the inner barrel, and the water drainage efficiency is favorably improved.

The following describes embodiments of the present invention in further detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Drawings

The accompanying drawings, which are included to provide a further understanding of the invention, are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate embodiments of the invention and together with the description serve to explain the invention without limiting the invention to the right. It is obvious that the drawings in the following description are only some embodiments, and that for a person skilled in the art, other drawings can be derived from them without inventive effort. In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a schematic view of a drain valve assembly for plugging a drain opening according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a schematic view of a drain valve assembly opening the drain port in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention;

Fig. 3 is a schematic structural view illustrating the drain valve assembly mounted at the bottom of the inner barrel according to a first embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged schematic view of the invention at A in FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a sectional view of the bottom of the inner barrel in a state that the drainage port is blocked according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 6 is an enlarged schematic view of the invention at B of FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is a sectional view of the bottom of the inner barrel with the water outlet opened according to the first embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 8 is an enlarged view of the invention at C of FIG. 7;

FIG. 9 is a schematic structural view of another perspective of the drain valve assembly of an embodiment of the present invention after installation;

FIG. 10 is an enlarged schematic view of FIG. 9 at D in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 11 is a schematic view of a second embodiment of the invention showing a drain valve assembly blocking the drain opening;

fig. 12 is a schematic view of the drain valve assembly opening the drain port according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

In the figure: 100. an inner barrel; 101. a water outlet; 110. a barrel bottom; 200. a valve plug; 201. a sealing cover; 202. a support bar; 203. a gasket; 300. a centrifugal slider; 301. avoiding the mouth; 302. an installation part; 303. a first limiting part; 304. a connecting portion; 305. a connecting seat; 306. a centrifuge section; 401. a reversing lever; 4011. a first end; 4012. a second end; 402. a connecting pin; 500. a mounting seat; 501. a fixed part; 502. a guide portion; 503. an avoidance groove; 600. a guide rail; 601. a guide bar; 602. a spring; 603. a guide groove; 604. a second limiting part; 700. a water collection device; 800. an inner barrel flange.

It should be noted that the drawings and the description are not intended to limit the scope of the inventive concept in any way, but rather to illustrate it for those skilled in the art by reference to specific embodiments.

Detailed Description

In order to make the objects, technical solutions and advantages of the embodiments of the present invention clearer, the technical solutions in the embodiments will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the drawings in the embodiments of the present invention, and the following embodiments are used for illustrating the present invention and are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention.

In the description of the present invention, it should be noted that the terms "upper", "lower", "left", "right", "vertical", "inner", "outer", etc. indicate orientations or positional relationships based on orientations or positional relationships shown in the drawings only for the convenience of description of the present invention and simplification of description, but do not indicate or imply that the device or element referred to must have a specific orientation, be constructed and operated in a specific orientation, and thus, should not be construed as limiting the present invention.

In the description of the present invention, it should be noted that, unless otherwise explicitly specified or limited, the terms "mounted" and "connected" are to be construed broadly, e.g., as being fixed or detachable or integrally connected; may be directly connected or indirectly connected through an intermediate. The specific meanings of the above terms in the present invention can be understood in a specific case to those of ordinary skill in the art.

Example one

As shown in fig. 1 to 10, the drain valve assembly according to the present embodiment includes a valve plug 200 and a driving unit for driving the valve plug 200 to move, and the driving unit includes a centrifugal slider 300 and a reversing gear mechanism connected to the centrifugal slider 300 and the valve plug 200, respectively. The centrifugal slider 300 slides under the action of centrifugal force, and drives the valve plug 200 to move through the reversing transmission mechanism. Wherein the sliding direction of the centrifugal slider 300 is different from the moving direction of the plug 200.

In the above solution, by providing the reversing transmission mechanism, the centrifugal slider 300 and the valve plug 200 can move in different directions, for example, the centrifugal slider 300 slides horizontally under the action of centrifugal force to drive the valve plug 200 to move in a vertical direction. The drain valve assembly of the present embodiment may be applied to a washing machine for centrifugal drainage, as shown in fig. 1 and 2, when the centrifugal slider 300 horizontally slides in a radial direction of the inner tub 100, the valve plug 200 vertically moves in a direction parallel to a central axis of the inner tub 100 to open/close the drain port 101, so that the drain port 101 may be provided on the bottom 110 of the inner tub 100, and drainage efficiency is higher. Meanwhile, compared with the scheme that a communication pipeline is led out of the bottom of the inner barrel 100 and a sealing plug body and a centrifugal block are installed in the prior art, the installation space is saved, and the expansion of the inner barrel 100 of the washing machine is facilitated.

In a further aspect of this embodiment, the sliding path of the centrifugal slider 300 is coplanar with the movement path of the valve plug 200, the reversing mechanism includes a reversing rod 401, a first end 4011 of the reversing rod 401 is hinged to the valve plug 200, and a second end 4012 can move in the same direction as the centrifugal slider 300 under the driving of the centrifugal slider 300.

The reversing lever 401 swings in a plane formed by the sliding path of the centrifugal slider 300 and the movement path of the valve plug 200, and drives the valve plug 200 to move in a direction forming a certain angle with the action direction of the centrifugal force.

Further, the centrifugal slider 300 has a connection portion 304, and the second end 4012 of the reversing lever 401 is hinged with the connection portion 304 of the centrifugal slider 300. The centrifugal slider 300 slides under the action of centrifugal force, the second end 4012 of the reversing rod 401 is driven to move in the same direction as the centrifugal slider 300, and the first end 4011 of the reversing rod 401 swings around the second end 4012 to drive the valve plug 200 to move.

In this embodiment, the centrifugal slider 300 further comprises a centrifugal portion 306, and the mass of the centrifugal slider 300 is mainly concentrated on the centrifugal portion 306 to provide the centrifugal force for driving the centrifugal slider 300 to slide. The eccentric portion 306 is spaced apart from the valve plug 200 in a horizontal direction, and the connecting portion 304 is a rod-shaped structure extending outward from a side of the eccentric portion 306 adjacent to the valve plug 200 so as to be hinged to the reversing lever 401. Under the action of centrifugal force, the centrifugal part 306 horizontally slides in the direction away from the valve plug 200, and the valve plug 200 is driven to vertically move by the reversing rod 401. Furthermore, when the drain valve assembly of the present embodiment is installed on the inner tub 100 of the washing machine, the centrifugal part 306 may be closer to the outer circumference of the inner tub 100, so as to have a larger rotation radius, and under the condition that the mass of the centrifugal part 306 is constant, because the rotation radius is larger, a larger centrifugal force may be provided at the same rotation speed, thereby avoiding the condition that the centrifugal slider 300 cannot drive the valve plug 200 to move.

Specifically, the left end of the connecting portion 304 is provided with a connecting seat 305, the connecting seat 305 is provided with a first pin hole, the second end 4012 of the reversing rod 401 is provided with a second pin hole, a connecting pin 402 is rotatably inserted into the first pin hole and the second pin hole, and the connecting portion 304 is connected with the reversing rod 401.

In a further aspect of this embodiment, in an initial state, an included angle between a connecting line between the first end 4011 and the second end 4012 of the reversing lever 401 and a centrifugal force acting direction is smaller than 90 degrees. The centrifugal slider 300 slides under the action of centrifugal force, and the included angle between the connecting line of the first end 4011 and the second end 4012 and the direction of the action of centrifugal force is gradually increased to drive the valve plug 200 to move towards the direction far away from the sliding path of the centrifugal slider 300.

In the above scheme, the reversing rod 401 may be a straight rod or a curved rod with a certain radian, and the purpose of reversing transmission can be achieved.

Further, the first end 4011 of the reversing rod 401 is higher than the second end 4012, the centrifugal slider 300 horizontally slides under the action of centrifugal force, and the reversing rod 401 swings upwards under the driving of the centrifugal slider 300 to push the valve plug 200 to move upwards.

In the above-mentioned solution, the centrifugal slider 300 slides under the centrifugal force to drive the valve plug 200 to move upwards, that is, when the drain valve assembly is applied to a washing machine, the valve plug 200 moves upwards to open the drain opening 101, and moves downwards to close the drain opening 101.

Specifically, as shown in fig. 1 to 8, when the drain valve assembly is mounted on the inner tub 100, the valve plug 200 closes the drain opening 101 from the inside of the inner tub 100 from the top to the bottom. The centrifugal slider 300 is installed below the bottom 110 of the inner tub 100, and when water is drained, the centrifugal slider 300 slides outward along the radial direction of the inner tub 100 under the action of centrifugal force, and the connection portion 304 drives the second end 4012 of the reversing rod 401 to move outward synchronously. The first end 4011 of the reversing rod 401 is further driven by the centrifugal slider 300 to move upward, so as to lift the valve plug 200 from the drain opening 101, and open the drain opening 101 for draining.

In a further scheme of this embodiment, the valve plug 200 includes a sealing cover 201 and a supporting rod 202, an upper end of the supporting rod 202 is fixedly connected to the sealing cover 201, and a lower end is hinged to the reversing rod 401.

Preferably, the lower end of the support rod 202 has an open mounting groove, the mounting groove is arranged to run through along the swing direction of the reversing rod 401, and the first end 4011 of the reversing rod 401 is inserted into the mounting groove to be hinged to the support rod 202.

In the above scheme, the mounting groove is through the setting through the central axis of bracing piece 202, makes the pin joint of reversing lever 401 and bracing piece 202 be located the central axis of bracing piece 202, and then makes the effort that reversing lever 401 applyed to bracing piece 202 can act on the central axis of bracing piece 202, has avoided bracing piece 202 to receive eccentric effort, brings the hindrance for the vertical motion of valve plug 200.

In a preferred embodiment of this embodiment, a sealing gasket 203 is fixedly disposed on the lower side of the periphery of the sealing cover 201, and when the valve plug 200 closes the drain opening 101, the sealing gasket 203 is in sealing fit with the periphery of the drain opening 101, so as to achieve a better sealing effect. Meanwhile, because the valve plug 200 blocks the water outlet 101 from the inner barrel 100, when the inner barrel 100 contains water, the water pressure at the bottom of the inner barrel 100 acts on the sealing cover 201, and auxiliary sealing force can be provided, so that the sealing effect is improved.

In a further scheme of this embodiment, the drain valve assembly further includes a mounting seat 500, the mounting seat 500 includes a guide portion 502 having a hollow slide way, a lower end of the support rod 202 is slidably disposed in the hollow slide way of the guide portion 502, and the other end extends out of the guide portion 502 to be connected with the sealing cover 201. The hollow slide extends in a vertical direction.

In the above-described aspect, the guide portion 502 is provided to limit the movement of the support rod 202 in the horizontal direction, so that the horizontal movement of the centrifugal slider 300 can be effectively converted into the movement of the valve plug 200 in the vertical direction by the reversing rod 401, thereby opening the drain port 101 for draining.

In this embodiment, the mounting seat 500 further includes a fixing portion 501, and the fixing portion 501 is fixedly connected to the guiding portion 502 for fixedly mounting the mounting seat 500 on the inner tub 100 of the washing machine.

In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the lower end of the guide portion 502 has an escape groove 503 penetrating in the swing direction of the reversing lever 401. The first end 4011 of the reversing lever 401 is hinged to the lower end of the support bar 202 inside the guide 502, and the lower half of the reversing lever 401 extends out of the guide 502 through the escape slot 503 when the plug 200 closes the drain 101. The arrangement of the avoiding groove 503 is such that a space is reserved for the swing of the reversing rod 401, so that the support rod 202, the reversing rod 401 and the guide part 502 can be effectively matched to realize the up-and-down movement of the valve plug 200 driven by the centrifugal slider 300.

In a further version of this embodiment, as shown in fig. 9 and 10, the drain valve assembly further comprises a guide track 600, and the centrifugal slider 300 is slidably disposed on the guide track 600.

Specifically, the eccentric portion 306 of the eccentric slider 300 is installed to be engaged with the guide rail 600, and is slidable along the guide rail 600. The guide rail 600 is provided with a guide groove 603 extending in the direction of the centrifugal force, the eccentric portion 306 of the centrifugal slider 300 is provided with a mounting portion 302 corresponding to the guide groove 603, and the mounting portion 302 is slidably inserted into the guide groove 603.

Preferably, the centrifugal slider 300 is provided with a first limiting portion 303, the guide track 600 is provided with a second limiting portion 604, and the first limiting portion 303 and the second limiting portion 604 are arranged at an interval. The centrifugal slider 300 slides under the centrifugal force, and the first position-limiting portion 303 gradually approaches the second position-limiting portion 604.

In the above-mentioned scheme, the guide rail 600 is provided to guide the sliding of the centrifugal slider 300, and meanwhile, when the drain valve assembly is applied to the washing machine, the guide rail 600 is fixedly installed below the inner tub 100, thereby achieving the assembly of the drain valve assembly with the inner tub 100. The second limit part 604 on the guide track 600 cooperates with the first limit part 303 on the centrifugal slider 300 to prevent the centrifugal slider 300 from being separated from the guide track 600 when sliding under the action of centrifugal force.

In this embodiment, the centrifugal part 306 is a horizontally disposed plate-shaped structure, two guide rails 600 are provided, and the centrifugal part 306 is slidably mounted between the two guide rails 600. For the pulsator washing machine, due to the limitation of the highest rotation speed that can be achieved, in order to provide enough centrifugal force to open the water outlet 101 through the centrifugal slider 300, the mass of the centrifugal part 306 needs to be increased, that is, the volume of the centrifugal part 306 needs to be increased. By designing the center part 306 into a plate-shaped structure, the center part can be mounted below the bottom 110 of the barrel without occupying too much space below the inner barrel 100, and the whole structure is compact and occupies little space.

Preferably, the side of the centrifugal portion 306 adjacent to the connecting portion 304 has a concave bypass opening 301, and the bypass opening 301 has an arc-shaped edge with a radius larger than that of the water outlet 101. The arrangement of the avoiding opening 301 ensures that the centrifugal part 306 does not shield the space below the water outlet 101 when the water outlet 101 is opened, and the water discharging process is smoother. On the other hand, in order to achieve better matching with the valve plug 200, the barrel bottom 110 is convexly arranged below the inner barrel 100 at the periphery of the water outlet 101, and the avoidance port 301 is arranged to achieve avoidance of the centrifugal slider 300 to the bulge of the barrel bottom 110 at the water outlet 101.

In a further aspect of this embodiment, an elastic member is further installed on the guide track 600, and the elastic member is used for providing a reset force to the centrifugal slider 300 in a direction opposite to the centrifugal force.

Preferably, the guide rail 600 includes a guide rod 601 disposed along the centrifugal force acting direction, and the centrifugal slider 300 is provided with a positioning hole in which the guide rod 601 is slidably inserted. The elastic member is a spring 602 sleeved on the guide rod 601, and two ends of the spring 602 respectively abut against the surfaces of the centrifugal slider 300 and the guide rail 600.

Specifically, one end of the guide rod 601 is fixedly disposed on the surface of the second position-limiting portion 604 facing the first position-limiting portion 303, and the other end is suspended. The positioning hole is arranged on the first limiting portion 303 in a penetrating mode, and the suspended end of the guide rod 601 penetrates through the positioning hole. The spring 602 is sleeved on the guide rod 601, and two ends of the spring are respectively abutted against the first limiting portion 303 and the second limiting portion 604.

In the above scheme, the spring 602 can push the centrifugal slider 300 to move reversely after the centrifugal force disappears, and then the reversing rod 401 drives the valve plug 200 to move downwards, so that the automatic resetting of the drain valve assembly is realized. When the drain valve assembly is applied to a washing machine, the drain opening 101 can be automatically sealed when the rotating speed of the inner barrel 100 is reduced and the centrifugal force is lower than a certain magnitude.

The embodiment also provides a washing machine, which comprises an inner barrel 100, wherein a water outlet 101 is formed at the bottom 110 of the inner barrel 100. The washing machine also comprises the drain valve assembly.

In the washing/rinsing process, the valve plug 200 blocks the water outlet 101, so that the inner barrel 100 can independently contain water;

during the draining process, the centrifugal slider 300 slides from inside to outside along the radial direction of the inner tub 100 under the action of centrifugal force, and the valve plug 200 is driven by the reversing transmission mechanism to move in a direction parallel to the central axis of the inner tub 100 to open the drain opening 101.

In this embodiment, the inner tub 100 has no dewatering holes at least in the area lower than the highest water level of the washing machine on the tub wall, and the drain opening 101 is blocked by the valve plug 200 to form a closed inner tub 100 during the washing/rinsing process, so that the inner tub 100 can independently contain water during the washing/rinsing process. The washing machine may be provided with no outer tub, but the water collecting device 700 is provided below the inner tub 100, and the height of the upper edge of the water collecting device 700 is lower than the height of the tub opening of the inner tub 100, thereby expanding the volume of the inner tub 100.

Specifically, the drain valve assembly is installed in cooperation with the bottom 110 of the inner barrel 100, the fixing portion 501 of the mounting seat 500 is fixedly connected with the bottom 110, the guide rail 600 is fixedly connected with the bottom 110, the sealing cover 201 of the valve plug 200 is arranged inside the inner barrel 100, and the support rod 202 penetrates through the drain port 101 and is inserted into the guide portion 502 to be hinged to the reversing rod 401.

In another scheme of this embodiment, the bottom 110 of the inner barrel 100 is fixedly connected to an inner barrel flange 800, the inner barrel flange 800 and the inner barrel 100 are coaxially disposed, and the drain valve assembly may also be mounted on the inner barrel flange 800. Specifically, the fixing portion 501 is fixedly connected to the tub bottom 110, so as to fixedly mount the mounting seat 500 and the inner tub flange 800. The edge of the inner barrel flange 800 is provided with an inward concave mounting hole, the two guide rails 600 are arranged in parallel and respectively fixedly mounted at two sides of the mounting hole, and the centrifugal slider 300 is arranged between the two guide rails 600. The inner tub flange 800 and the drain valve assembly are installed as one on the inner tub 100 of the washing machine, and the structure is more compact.

During the washing/rinsing process, the inner tub 100 is in a free state, and the valve plug 200 blocks the drain hole 101. During drainage, the inner barrel 100 is controlled to rotate at a certain rotation speed, so that sufficient centrifugal force is generated to enable the centrifugal slider 300 to slide, the centrifugal slider 300 slides outwards along the radial direction of the inner barrel 100 under the action of the centrifugal force, the reversing rod 401 is driven to swing, and the valve plug 200 is driven to move to open the drainage outlet 2, so that the drainage function is realized.

In the washing machine of the embodiment, the inner tub 100 can independently contain water in the washing/rinsing process, the water drainage function of the inner tub 100 is realized through the water drainage valve assembly mounted at the bottom 110 of the inner tub 100, the water drainage of the inner tub 100 is completed by adopting a pure mechanical structure, a driving motor which is independently arranged for realizing the water drainage of the inner tub 100 in the prior art is omitted, the cost is reduced, meanwhile, the inner tub 100 does not need to be positioned before the water drainage, and the control is simpler. The centrifugal slider 300 moves along the radial direction of the inner barrel 100 under the action of centrifugal force, and the valve plug 200 can be driven to move along the vertical direction through the arrangement of the reversing transmission mechanism, so that the drain hole 101 formed on the barrel bottom 110 is directly opened/closed, the sealing effect is good, and the installation space is saved.

Example two

As shown in fig. 11 and 12, the present embodiment is different from the first embodiment in that: the first end 4011 of switching-over pole 401 is less than the setting of second end 4012, and centrifugal slider 300 horizontal slip under the centrifugal force effect, and switching-over pole 401 is swung downwards under centrifugal slider 300 drives, pulls valve plug 200 downstream.

In the above-mentioned solution, when the drain valve assembly is installed on the washing machine, the valve plug 200 is located below the bottom 110 of the inner tub 100, and closes the drain opening 101 from the bottom to the top of the outer tub 100. When water is contained in the inner barrel 100, the water pressure at the bottom of the inner barrel 100 acts on the sealing cover 201, and in the process that the centrifugal slider 300 drives the valve plug 200 to open the water outlet 101, the water pressure at the bottom of the inner barrel 100 can assist in pushing the valve plug 200 to open the water outlet 101, so that the centrifugal force required by pulling the valve plug 200 is reduced, and the conditions that the rotating speed of the pulsator washing machine is low and the water outlet 101 cannot be opened are avoided.

In the further scheme of this embodiment, the lower extreme of bracing piece 202 has open mounting groove, the mounting groove link up the setting along the swing direction of reversing bar 401, and reversing bar 401's first end 4011 inserts the mounting groove is articulated with bracing piece 202. The connecting part of the centrifugal slider 300 is hinged with the second end 4012 of the reversing rod 401 by penetrating through the mounting groove.

When the valve plug 200 blocks the drain hole 101, the upper half of the reversing lever 401 extends out of the mounting groove. Centrifugal slider 300 drives reversing rod 401 and swings, and then drives valve plug 200 and open when outlet 101, and reversing rod 401's first end 4011 swings downwards, makes reversing rod 401's most entering in the mounting groove.

Further, in this embodiment, the upper end of the guide portion of the mounting seat has an avoiding groove penetrating in the swing direction of the reversing lever 401. The first end 4011 of the reversing lever 401 is hinged to the lower end of the support bar 202 inside the guide, and the upper half of the reversing lever 401 extends out of the guide through the escape slot when the valve plug 200 blocks the drain opening 101.

Because the swing direction of the reversing rod 401 in this embodiment is different from that in the above-mentioned embodiment, the arrangement position of the groove is further adjusted, so that a space is reserved for the swing of the reversing rod 401, the supporting rod 202, the reversing rod 401 and the guide portion can be effectively matched, and the valve plug 200 can move up and down under the driving of the centrifugal slider 300.

Although the present invention has been described with reference to a preferred embodiment, it should be understood that various changes, substitutions and alterations can be made herein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.

Claims (10)

1. A drain valve assembly comprises a valve plug and a driving component for driving the valve plug to move, and is characterized in that the driving component comprises a centrifugal slider and a reversing transmission mechanism, and the reversing transmission mechanism is respectively connected with the centrifugal slider and the valve plug; the centrifugal slider slides under the action of centrifugal force, and the reversing transmission mechanism drives the valve plug to move; the sliding direction of the centrifugal slider is different from the moving direction of the valve plug.

2. The drain valve assembly according to claim 1, wherein the sliding path of the centrifugal slider is coplanar with the moving path of the valve plug, the reversing transmission mechanism comprises a reversing rod, a first end of the reversing rod is hinged with the valve plug, and a second end of the reversing rod can move in the same direction as the centrifugal slider under the driving of the centrifugal slider;

the reversing rod swings in a plane formed by a sliding path of the centrifugal slider and a moving path of the valve plug, and drives the valve plug to move along a direction forming a certain angle with the action direction of centrifugal force.

3. The drain valve assembly of claim 2, wherein the centrifugal slider has a connecting portion, and the second end of the reversing lever is hinged to the connecting portion of the centrifugal slider; the centrifugal slider slides under the centrifugal force effect, drives the second end of switching-over pole and the equidirectional motion of centrifugal slider, and the first end of switching-over pole swings around the second end in order to drive the motion of valve plug.

4. The drain valve assembly of claim 3, wherein in the initial state, an included angle between a connecting line of the first end and the second end of the reversing lever and the centrifugal force acting direction is less than 90 degrees; the centrifugal slider slides under the action of centrifugal force, and the line of first end and second end and the contained angle between the centrifugal force action direction increase gradually, drive the valve plug to the direction motion of keeping away from centrifugal slider slip path.

5. The drain valve assembly of claim 4, wherein the first end of the reversing lever is higher than the second end, the centrifugal slider slides horizontally under the action of centrifugal force, and the reversing lever swings upwards under the action of the centrifugal slider to push the valve plug to move upwards;

or, the first end of reversing lever is less than the second end setting, centrifugal slider horizontal slip under the centrifugal force effect, and the reversing lever is swung downwards under the centrifugal slider drives, pulls the valve plug downstream.

6. The drain valve assembly according to any of claims 2-5, wherein the valve plug comprises a sealing cap and a support rod, one end of the support rod is fixedly connected with the sealing cap, and the other end of the support rod is hinged with the reversing rod;

preferably, one end of the support rod hinged with the reversing rod is provided with an open mounting groove, the mounting groove is arranged in a penetrating manner along the swinging direction of the reversing rod, and the first end of the reversing rod is inserted into the mounting groove and hinged with the support rod;

Preferably, the valve plug is driven by the centrifugal sliding block to move downwards along with the sliding of centrifugal force, and the connecting part of the centrifugal sliding block penetrates through the mounting groove and is hinged with the reversing rod.

7. The drain valve assembly of claim 6, further comprising a mounting base, the mounting base comprising a guide having a hollow slide, one end of the support rod slidably disposed within the hollow slide of the guide, the other end extending out of the guide to be coupled to a sealing cover;

preferably, the valve plug is driven by the centrifugal slider to move upwards along with the sliding of centrifugal force, and the lower end of the guide part is provided with an avoidance groove which is arranged in a penetrating manner along the swinging direction of the reversing rod;

or, the valve plug moves down under the gliding drive of centrifugal force at centrifugal slider, the upper end of guide part has the groove of dodging that link up the setting along the swing direction of reversing bar.

8. The drain valve assembly of any of claims 1-7, further comprising a guide track on which the centrifugal slider is slidably disposed;

preferably, the guide rail is provided with a guide groove extending along the action direction of the centrifugal force, the centrifugal slider is provided with a mounting part corresponding to the guide groove, and the mounting part is slidably inserted into the guide groove;

Preferably, a first limiting part is arranged on the centrifugal slider, a second limiting part is arranged on the guide track, and the first limiting part and the second limiting part are arranged at intervals relatively; the centrifugal slide block slides under the action of centrifugal force, and the first limiting part gradually approaches to the second limiting part.

9. The drain valve assembly of claim 8, wherein the guide track further comprises a resilient member mounted thereon for providing a restoring force to the centrifugal slider in a direction opposite to the centrifugal force;

preferably, the guide rail comprises a guide rod arranged along the action direction of the centrifugal force, the centrifugal slider is provided with a positioning hole, and the guide rod is slidably inserted into the positioning hole; the elastic piece is a spring sleeved on the guide rod, and two ends of the spring are respectively abutted against the surfaces of the centrifugal sliding block and the guide rail;

preferably, one end of the guide rod is fixedly arranged on the surface of the second limiting part facing the first limiting part, and the other end of the guide rod is suspended; the positioning hole is arranged on the first limiting part in a penetrating manner, and the suspended end of the guide rod penetrates through the positioning hole; the spring sleeve is arranged on the guide rod, and two ends of the spring sleeve are respectively abutted against the first limiting part and the second limiting part.

10. A washing machine comprising an inner tub, the bottom of which is provided with a water outlet, characterized in that it further comprises a water discharge valve assembly as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 9;

in the washing/rinsing process, the valve plug plugs the water outlet, so that the inner barrel can independently contain water;

in the drainage process, the centrifugal slider slides from inside to outside along the radial direction of the inner barrel under the action of centrifugal force, and the valve plug is driven by the reversing transmission mechanism to move along the direction parallel to the central axis of the inner barrel so as to open the drainage outlet.

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