EP2377985A2 - Wäschebehandlungsanwendung mit kraftabschwächenden Füßen - Google Patents

Wäschebehandlungsanwendung mit kraftabschwächenden Füßen Download PDF

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Publication number
EP2377985A2
EP2377985A2 EP11155871A EP11155871A EP2377985A2 EP 2377985 A2 EP2377985 A2 EP 2377985A2 EP 11155871 A EP11155871 A EP 11155871A EP 11155871 A EP11155871 A EP 11155871A EP 2377985 A2 EP2377985 A2 EP 2377985A2
Authority
EP
European Patent Office
Prior art keywords
laundry treating
cabinet
foot
feet
treating appliance
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Withdrawn
Application number
EP11155871A
Other languages
English (en)
French (fr)
Other versions
EP2377985A3 (de
Inventor
Donald R Miller
Brenner M Sharp
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
Whirlpool Corp
Original Assignee
Whirlpool Corp
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Whirlpool Corp filed Critical Whirlpool Corp
Publication of EP2377985A2 publication Critical patent/EP2377985A2/de
Publication of EP2377985A3 publication Critical patent/EP2377985A3/de
Withdrawn legal-status Critical Current

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Classifications

    • D—TEXTILES; PAPER
    • D06—TREATMENT OF TEXTILES OR THE LIKE; LAUNDERING; FLEXIBLE MATERIALS NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • D06F—LAUNDERING, DRYING, IRONING, PRESSING OR FOLDING TEXTILE ARTICLES
    • D06F39/00—Details of washing machines not specific to a single type of machines covered by groups D06F9/00 - D06F27/00 
    • D06F39/12—Casings; Tubs
    • D06F39/125—Supporting arrangements for the casing, e.g. rollers or legs

Definitions

  • a laundry treating appliance may be used to treat laundry according to a pre-determined cycle of operation.
  • a laundry treating appliance may include a drum defining a treating chamber and mounted for rotation inside a cabinet.
  • the drum of the laundry treating appliance may generate vibrations during rotation, especially when the laundry creates an imbalance within the drum, which may be caused by unevenly distributed laundry inside the drum.
  • Feet are provided on the cabinet to provide for leveling the cabinet relative to the surface on which the cabinet rests.
  • the feet provide a path for the vibrations to pass from the laundry treating appliance to the surface.
  • a foot is normally placed at each corner of the cabinet.
  • the invention relates to a laundry treating appliance having a cabinet; a rotatable drum that may be suspended within the interior defining the laundry treating chamber; a first pair of relatively non-compliant feet extending from the cabinet and supporting the cabinet on the floor; and a second pair of relatively compliant feet extending from the cabinet and supporting the cabinet on the floor.
  • Figure 1 is a perspective view of a laundry treating appliance in the form of a laundry washing machine according to a first embodiment of the invention.
  • Figure 2 is a bottom partial perspective view of the laundry treating appliance of Figure 1 .
  • Figure 3 is a front perspective view of the laundry treating appliance of Figure 1 and illustrating an alternative position showing one possible motion of the laundry treating appliance in response to the vibrations generated from an out-of-balance condition during the operation of the laundry treating appliance having laundry inside the drum.
  • Figure 4 is a front view of a representative foot of Figure 1 .
  • Figure 5 is front view of a first pair of relatively non-compliant feet of Figure 1 according to one embodiment of the invention.
  • Figure 6 is a front view of a second pair of relatively compliant feet of Figure 1 according to one embodiment of the invention
  • Figure 7 is a plot of the acceleration forces in g's versus spin speed of the laundry treating appliance incorporating the feet of Figures 5 and 6 , with a comparison of a laundry treating appliance with two pairs of non-compliant feet.
  • Figure 8 is a schematic view of a laundry treating appliance according to a second embodiment of the invention.
  • FIG 1 is a perspective view of a laundry treating appliance 10 according to a first embodiment of the invention.
  • the laundry treating appliance 10 may be a vertical axis laundry washing machine 12, although the laundry treating appliance 10 may be other machines, non-limiting examples of which include a horizontal axis laundry washing machine, a laundry dryer, a fabric freshener, and a non-aqueous laundry system.
  • the "vertical axis" washing machine refers to a laundry washing machine having a rotatable drum that rotates about a generally vertical axis relative to a surface that supports the washing machine.
  • the rotational axis need not be perfectly vertical to the surface.
  • the drum may rotate about an axis inclined relative to the vertical axis, with fifteen degrees of inclination being one example of the inclination.
  • the horizontal axis washing machine refers to a washing machine having a rotatable drum that rotates about a generally horizontal axis relative to a surface that supports the washing machine.
  • the drum may rotate about the axis inclined relative to the horizontal axis, with fifteen degrees of inclination being one example of the inclination.
  • the washing machine described herein may share many features of a traditional automatic laundry washing machine, which will not be described in detail except as necessary for a complete understanding of the invention.
  • the laundry treating appliance 10 in the form of a vertical axis washing machine 12 may include a cabinet 14, a door 16, a first pair of relatively non-compliant feet 18, a second pair of relatively compliant feet 20, a suspension system 22, and a user interface 24.
  • the cabinet 14 may define an interior 26 and may include a top wall 28, a front wall 30, a pair of side walls 32, and a rear wall 34.
  • a chassis 38 or frame may be provided on which the various walls may be mounted to define four corners of the machine 40.
  • the front wall 30 may help define a front 29 of the laundry treating appliance 10.
  • the front 29 is the side where a user may be typically positioned to operate the laundry treating appliance 10.
  • the rear wall 34 may help define a back 35 of the laundry treating appliance 10.
  • the back 33 is the side where tubing for a water inlet and a drain (not shown) are located.
  • the door 16 may be hingedly mounted to the top wall 28 and may be configured to be selectively movable to provide access to the interior 26.
  • a tub 35 may be located within the interior 26 and a rotatable drum 36 may be mounted within and rotatable relative to the tub 35.
  • the suspension system 22 may operably couple the tub 35 and the cabinet 14 such that some of the vibrations generated from the rotatable drum 36 are dampened.
  • the drum 36 may define a treating chamber 42 for receiving laundry items to be treated.
  • the drum 36 may include a plurality of perforations (not shown), such that liquid may flow between the tub 35 and the drum 36 through the perforations.
  • An agitator 43 may be mounted within and rotatable relative to and/or with the drum 36.
  • the agitator 43 may have a lower circular base or skirt portion 44, a central shaft 45 extending upwardly from the base 44, and at least one vane or blade 48 spaced around and extending radially from the central shaft 45.
  • the central shaft 45 may be operably coupled with a bottom 46 of the drum 36.
  • a variety of other designs for the agitator 43 may also be used without affecting the scope of the invention.
  • the drum 36 and/or the agitator 43 may be driven by an electrical motor 47 operably connected to the drum 36 and/or the agitator 43.
  • the user interface 24 may include a parameter selector 54 that may be one or more knobs, switches, displays, and the like, which a user may select to operate the laundry treating appliance 10.
  • a controller 56 may be operably coupled with the parameter selector 54 to selectively operate a pre-determined cycle of operations set by the user through the parameter selector 54.
  • the first pair of relatively non-compliant feet 18 and the second pair of relatively compliant feet 20 may be extended from the cabinet 14 to support the cabinet 14 on a floor 50.
  • Figure 2 illustrates that a first pair of corners 58 may be located near the front 60 of the cabinet 14 and that a second pair of corners 62 may be located near the back 64 of the cabinet 14.
  • the first pair of relatively non-compliant feet 18 and the second pair of relatively compliant feet 20 may be coupled with the first pair of corners 58 and the second pair of corners 62 of the cabinet 14 respectively. That is, the first pair of relatively non-compliant feet 18 may be extended from the first pair of corners 58 and the second pair of relatively compliant feet 20 may be extended from the second pair of corners 62 to support the cabinet 14 on the floor 50.
  • Figure 3 illustrates the laundry treating appliance of Figure 1 and as well as an alternative position (shown in phantom) showing one possible motion of the laundry treating appliance in response to the vibrations generated from an out-of-balance condition during an operation of the laundry treating appliance, such as during a spin or extraction phase of the cycle of operation, having laundry inside the drum.
  • the laundry 68 may become unevenly distributed within the drum 36 and may pile up in some regions inside the drum 36.
  • the effect of an unevenly distributed load may be noticeable, and may generate severe vibrations.
  • the unevenly distributed load may cause an out of balanced condition so great that the drum 36 may bottom out its suspension and/or contact a portion of the cabinet 14, which may be very undesirable as the severe vibrations may from time to time make a loud noise.
  • the out-of balanced load or unevenly distributed load in the drum 36 may generate an oscillating force in the form of vibrations, which act on the cabinet 14, the first and the second pairs of feet 18 and 20 ( Figure 2 ), and ultimately the floor 50. If the magnitude of the oscillating force is great enough, the cabinet 14 may pivot about a pivot line 70 in the laundry treating appliance 10. This may result in a side-to-side rocking motion as illustrated in phantom in Figure 3 . The higher the rotational speed of the drum 36 inside the cabinet 14, the greater the magnitude of the oscillating force may result. Thus, the higher rotational speed of the drum 36 results is an increased likelihood that the laundry treating appliance 10 will begin a side-to-side rocking motion.
  • the cabinet vibrations (A) may be measured using an accelerometer that may be attached to the upper part of the laundry treating appliance 10 while the drum 36 rotates at a pre-determined spin speed for a pre-determined time, and may be represented by g's of acceleration.
  • Both the first pair of relatively non-compliant feet 18 and the second pair of relatively compliant feet 20 may include a representative foot 72 as illustrated in Figure 4 .
  • the foot 72 may comprise a stem 74 and a pad 76.
  • the stem 74 may be coupled with the cabinet 14 by connecting members 78.
  • the pad 76 may be operably coupled with the stem 74 to support the cabinet 14 on the floor 50.
  • the connecting members 78 may include at least one of a washer 80 and a nut 82.
  • the stem 74 may be threaded such that when it is coupled with one of the mating connecting members 78 the levelness and the height of the laundry treating appliance 10 may be adjusted relative to the floor 50 on which the laundry treating appliance 10 is positioned.
  • the acceleration due to gravity g (m/s 2 ) in equation (1) is defined to be 9.807 m/ 2 .
  • the stiffness K (N/mm) is an inherent mechanical property of the foot that measures the resistance offered by an elastic body to any deformation such as bending, stretching or compression.
  • the physical meaning of the weight-per-foot-normalized stiffness NK (1/mm) is the reciprocal of the amount of deformation that each foot would experience if the total weight M (Kg) of the laundry treating appliance 10 is supported by the foot.
  • the weight-per-foot-normalized stiffness of 0.2 (1/mm) may be construed to mean that one foot may deform by 5 mm if one foot supports the entire weight of the laundry treating appliance 10.
  • the weight-per-foot-normalized stiffness would be the value that is normalized with respect to the weight and the number of feet of the laundry treating appliance 10.
  • the pad 76 may be formed of a resilient material such as rubber, polymer, or a rubber-polymer composite. Further, the pad 76 may be made of two or more resilient materials in the form of a stacked or a randomly mixed composite. Depending on the weight-per-foot-normalized foot stiffness required for the foot 72, materials other than a resilient material may be used for pad 76.
  • Figure 5 illustrates the first pair of relatively non-compliant feet 18 including non-compliant feet 84.
  • the first pair of relatively non-compliant feet 18 may be defined as feet having a weigh-per-foot-normalized stiffness value greater than or equal to 1.04 (1/mm). More specifically, the relatively non-compliant feet 84 may be defined as feet having the weight-per-foot-normalized stiffness values ranging from 1.04 to 1.56 (1/mm).
  • Figure 5 includes arrows 85; the length of the arrow 85 represents the magnitude of the deformation of non-compliant feet 84 in the vertical direction.
  • Figure 6 illustrates the second pair of relatively compliant feet 20 including compliant feet 86.
  • the second pair of relatively compliant feet 20 may be defined as feet having a weight-per-foot-normalized stiffness value less than or equal to 0.71 (1/mm). More specifically, the relatively compliant feet 86 may be defined as feet having the weight-per-foot-normalized stiffness values ranging from 0.16 to 0.71 (1/mm), with a round range of 0.10 to 0.70.
  • Figure 6 includes arrows 87; the length of the arrow 87 represents the magnitude of the deformation of the compliant feet 86 in the vertical direction. Thus, as illustrated, the magnitude of the deformation in the vertical direction for the non-compliant foot 84 is smaller than the vertical deformation for the compliant foot 86.
  • the first pair of relatively non-compliant feet 18 located near front 60 of the cabinet 14 may have a weight-per-foot-normalized stiffness at least 2.0 times greater than the weight-per-foot-normalized stiffness of the second pair of relatively compliant feet 20 located near back 64 of the cabinet 14. This may effectively suppress the vibrations and possible corresponding side-to-side rocking movement of the laundry treating appliance 10.
  • the second pair of relatively compliant feet 20 located near the back 64 of the cabinet 14 may isolate the laundry treating appliance 10 from the floor 50 to suppress the vibrations during high speed spinning phase (for example, above 700 rpm).
  • the first pair of relatively non-compliant feet 18 located near the front 60 of the cabinet 14 may control the side-to-side rocking movement of the laundry treating appliance 10 during any intermediate rinse spins speeds (for example, 350-550 rpm).
  • Figure 7 is a plot of the acceleration forces in g's versus spin speed of the laundry treating appliance 10 incorporating the first pair of relatively non-compliant feet 18 and the second pair of relatively compliant feet 20 during a spinning cycle in the laundry treating appliance 10. Further, a comparison of a laundry treating appliance with two pairs of non-compliant feet is also presented for comparison purposes.
  • the spin speed i.e., the x-axis
  • the g's of acceleration i.e., the y-axis
  • the g's of acceleration for the laundry treating appliance 10 having the first pair of relatively non-compliant feet and the second pair of relatively compliant feet is substantially suppressed compared to the laundry treating appliance having two first pairs of relatively non-compliant feet at a full spin speed region (approximately > 700 rpm).
  • the g's of acceleration for the laundry treating appliance 10 having the first pair and the second pair of feet at the intermediate spin phase range was further suppressed by adapting a newly proposed intermediate spin speed around 400 rpm, instead of using a previous intermediate spin speed of 450 rpm.
  • Figure 7 clearly illustrates that the first pair of relatively non-compliant feet near the front of the cabinet and the second pair of relatively compliant feet near the back of the cabinet may significantly suppress the vibrations and the side-to-side rocking movements.
  • Figure 8 is a schematic view of a laundry treating appliance 90 according to a second embodiment of the invention. While the first embodiment was described in terms of compliant feet, the embodiment of Figure 8 illustrates that this concept may be thought of in terms as the feet having a damping system that provides the compliance.
  • first and second pairs of feet 94, 96 extend from a cabinet 92 of an appliance 90.
  • Each of the first and second pairs of feet 94, 96 comprise a first and second damping systems 95, 97, respectively, on which are provided pads 99.
  • each foot 94 of the first damping system 95 may include a first damper 100 having a damping coefficient C f and a first spring 102 having a stiffness K f , where the first damper 100 and the first spring 102 may be arranged in parallel to each other.
  • the first pair of feet 94 may be provided along a front side 104 of the laundry treating appliance 90 at opposite corners of the cabinet 92.
  • each foot 96 of the second damping system 97 may include a second damper 106 having a damping coefficient C r and a second spring 108 having a stiffness K r , where the second damper 106 and the second spring 108 may be arranged in parallel to each other.
  • the second pair of feet 96 may be provided along a rear side 110 of the laundry treating appliance 90 at opposite corners of the cabinet 92.
  • the second embodiment of the invention may be thought of as a broader or more generalized form of the first embodiment of the invention, in which the non-compliant and compliant feet of the first embodiment are modeled as the first and second damping systems, respectively.
  • the first dampening system may have similar properties as those disclosed above the non-compliant feet and the second dampening system may have similar properties as those disclosed above for the compliant feet.
  • dampening systems may be formed by single elongated feet that extend, partially or fully, along opposite sides of the cabinet 92 of the laundry treating appliance 90.
  • the relationship of the dampening coefficients and stiffnesses of each dampening system may follow equation (2).

Landscapes

  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Textile Engineering (AREA)
  • Main Body Construction Of Washing Machines And Laundry Dryers (AREA)
  • Accessory Of Washing/Drying Machine, Commercial Washing/Drying Machine, Other Washing/Drying Machine (AREA)
  • Vibration Prevention Devices (AREA)
EP11155871.4A 2010-04-13 2011-02-24 Wäschebehandlungsanwendung mit kraftabschwächenden Füßen Withdrawn EP2377985A3 (de)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
US32368410P 2010-04-13 2010-04-13
US12/846,889 US20110247374A1 (en) 2010-04-13 2010-07-30 Laundry treating appliance with force damping feet

Publications (2)

Publication Number Publication Date
EP2377985A2 true EP2377985A2 (de) 2011-10-19
EP2377985A3 EP2377985A3 (de) 2013-06-12

Family

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Family Applications (2)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
EP11155872.2A Withdrawn EP2377986A3 (de) 2010-04-13 2011-02-24 Wäschebehandlungsanwendung mit kraftabschwächenden Füßen
EP11155871.4A Withdrawn EP2377985A3 (de) 2010-04-13 2011-02-24 Wäschebehandlungsanwendung mit kraftabschwächenden Füßen

Family Applications Before (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
EP11155872.2A Withdrawn EP2377986A3 (de) 2010-04-13 2011-02-24 Wäschebehandlungsanwendung mit kraftabschwächenden Füßen

Country Status (3)

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US (1) US20110247374A1 (de)
EP (2) EP2377986A3 (de)
BR (1) BRPI1101319A2 (de)

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USD751366S1 (en) * 2014-02-26 2016-03-15 Whirlpool Corporation Knob and bezel
USD750951S1 (en) * 2014-02-26 2016-03-08 Whirlpool Corporation Knob and bezel
USD806512S1 (en) 2016-12-22 2018-01-02 Whirlpool Corporation Knob
USD808243S1 (en) 2016-12-28 2018-01-23 Whirlpool Corporation Knob
USD824237S1 (en) 2016-12-28 2018-07-31 Whirlpool Corporation Knob
CN108278449B (zh) * 2017-01-06 2021-01-26 青岛海尔洗衣机有限公司 一种家用电器用底脚及家用电器
CN108278451B (zh) * 2017-01-06 2020-06-30 青岛胶南海尔洗衣机有限公司 一种家用电器用底脚及家用电器
CN108626527B (zh) * 2017-03-22 2021-04-20 青岛胶南海尔洗衣机有限公司 一种家用电器用底脚及家用电器
CN108625122B (zh) * 2017-03-23 2021-03-26 青岛胶南海尔洗衣机有限公司 一种家用电器用底脚及家用电器
CN108626532B (zh) * 2017-03-23 2021-03-30 青岛胶南海尔洗衣机有限公司 一种家用电器用底脚及家用电器

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KR20070049406A (ko) * 2005-11-08 2007-05-11 삼성전자주식회사 드럼 세탁기
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Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
EP2377986A3 (de) 2013-06-12
EP2377986A2 (de) 2011-10-19
EP2377985A3 (de) 2013-06-12
BRPI1101319A2 (pt) 2012-08-21
US20110247374A1 (en) 2011-10-13

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