EP2961878A1

EP2961878A1 - Washing machine water jet nozzle

Info

Publication number: EP2961878A1
Application number: EP13706547.0A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Ufuk UGUS; Irfan Celik; Ilkan Erdem
Original assignee: Arcelik AS
Current assignee: Arcelik AS
Priority date: 2013-02-28
Filing date: 2013-02-28
Publication date: 2016-01-06
Anticipated expiration: 2033-02-28
Also published as: EP2961878B1; WO2014131450A1

Abstract

The present invention pertains to a washing machine (1) comprising a rotary drum (3) in which cloth items are placeable and accessible via a front door (6), a water tub (2) in which the rotary drum (3) is rotatable, a motor (7) providing said rotary drum (3) to be driven by means of a pulley mechanism (10), the latter disposed outside said tub (2). The washing machine of the present invention further comprises a pump (4) along a circulation pipe (5) drawing wash water stored in the water tub (2) and delivering pressured water to a front door nozzle (11) via a nozzle water conduit (9), said front door nozzle (11) being arranged to jet wash water to inner surface of said front door (6).

Description

WASHING MACHINE WATER JET NOZZLE

The present invention relates to a washing machine having an improved water jet nozzle.
Washing machines are generally classified as a top loading type washing machine or a front loading type washing machine. It is well-known that a front loading type washing machine contains a tub in a cabinet for receiving washing water and a drum rotatably mounted in the tub. Typically, wash water is received in the tub, and cloth items to be washed are placed in the drum. Cloth items are then lifted and dropped by lifters while the drum is rotated so that washing and rinsing process is carried out.
The washing machine of the above type further incorporates a pump unit for circulating washing water in the lower part of the tub, said pump unit conveying washing water to an upper part of the tub such that a more effcient washing angle can be obtained by means of a nozzle whereby water jets from said upper part of the tub are delivered.
It is to be noted 20 % of total household water consumption originate from washing machines. To address this phenomenon, manufacturers design and implement various arrangements in need of improving water consumption performance of such machines. Water jet nozzles are used in this regard as they provide more localized wash water targeting cloth items in a more accurate manner. As modern washing programs more and more utilize less wash water, there are times it can be mistaken that the washing machine is malfunctioning as no water flow is observed from outside the door. The present invention ensures that a certain amount of water flow is noticeable on the inner surface of the front door such that users can monitor and confirm by themselves proper functioning of the machine.
Moreover and more importantly, it is to be noted that the inner surface of the front door is susceptible to buildup of detergent deposits, which is not desired as such deposits cause stains and/or bad odors. To this end, the arrangement according to the present invention overcomes such inconveniences by means of a structurally improved water jet nozzle in a simple and efficient manner.
In the prior art, a washing machine (1’) comprising a rotary drum (3’) rotated around the horizontal axis and wherein the laundry is placed. A water tub (2’) in which the rotary drum (3’) rotates is provided such that a motor (7’) drives a rotary drum (3’) by means of a pulley mechanism (10’) disposed outside the water tub (2’). The latter transmits rotational movement of the motor (7’) to the rotary drum (3’). The washing machine (1’) conventionally further comprises a discharge pump that discharges the wash water at the end of the washing process; a discharge conduit conveys the wash water accordingly. On the other hand, a pump (4’) placed along a circulation pipe (5’) conventionally draws wash water stored in the water tub (2’) and pressurizes the wash water flowing in a nozzle water conduit (9’) for conveying it into the rotary drum (3’). This mechanism allows the wash water stored in the water tub (2’) to run through the nozzle water conduit (9’) and to circulate to the water tub (2’). In this regard, a motor is drivingly coupled to the pump (4’) which delivers pressured water to a spray nozzle (8’) via the nozzle water conduit (9’). A bellows (7’) is disposed between the rotary drum (3’) and the washing machine (1’) body such that one end of the bellows (12) is connected to the water tub (2’). A conventional drum-type washing machine jets the wash water from a front door (6’) side toward the inner part of the rotary drum (3’) through said spray nozzle (8’) placed above the rotary drum (3’) at the front door (6) side.
The present invention provides a washing machine with a structurally improved water jet nozzle, which is provided by the characterizing features as defined in Claim 1.
Primary object of the present invention is to provide a washing machine with a structurally improved water jet nozzle, said nozzle eliminating buildup of detergent deposits on the front door inner surface of the washing machine.
The present invention proposes a front loading washing machine with a drum in which cloth items are placeable and a water tub in which the rotary drum is rotatable. A motor conventionally provides that the drum is driven by means of a pulley mechanism disposed outside the tub.
A pump is provided in a circulation pipe, which draws wash water stored in the water tub. Pressured water is supplied to a spray nozzle through a nozzle water conduit. In this way, the spray nozzle produce water jets targeting cloth items in the drum. Preferably, a second nozzle, namely a front door nozzle is arranged to target inner surface of the front door to eliminate deposit buildup thereon.
The front door nozzle has a nozzle aperture at the lower end of the front door nozzle such that a directional flow control means for example a rib fixed on the internal base or produced as a single part of the front door nozzle directs wash water onto the door. A small aperture areal is obtained in between a radial wall element and the directional flow control means such that water’s flow rate is increased by reduction of the sectional area of the small aperture.
The directional flow control means is shaped as a right trapezoid extending radially on the circular-form internal base. The adjacent right angles of the trapezoid lie at the radially remote end from the center of the internal base. The inclined side of the same receives wash water at first hand. The nozzle aperture may also have a second portion for spraying water over cloth items.
Accompanying drawings are given solely for the purpose of exemplifying a washing machine with an improved water jet nozzle whose advantages over prior art were outlined above and will be explained in brief hereinafter.
The drawings are not meant to delimit the scope of protection as identified in the claims nor should they be referred to alone in an effort to interpret the scope identified in the claims without recourse to the technical disclosure in the description of the present invention.
Fig. 1 demonstrates a side cut-away view of a washing machine according to the prior art.
Fig. 2 demonstrates a side cut-away view of a washing machine according to the present invention.
Fig. 3 demonstrates a front view of a washing machine according to the present invention.
Fig. 4 demonstrates a perspective view of a washing machine front part with a front door nozzle according to the present invention.
Fig. 5a, 5b and 5c respectively demonstrate side, front and perspective views of a front door water jet nozzle according to the present invention. Fig. 5d demonstrates a bottom cut-away view of a water jet nozzle according to the present invention.
The following numerals are used in the detailed description:
Washing machine (1)
Water tub (2)
Rotary drum (3)
Pump (4)
Circulation pipe (5)
Front door (6)
Motor (7)
Spray nozzle (8)
Nozzle water conduit (9)
Pulley mechanism (10)
Front door nozzle (11)
Bellows (12)
Nozzle body (13)
Nozzle aperture (14)
Directional flow control means (15)
Nozzle internal base (16)
Radial wall element (17)
Inclined surface (18)
Small aperture area (19)
Drum targeting opening (20)
The present invention proposes a washing machine designated generally by the numeral 1.
The present invention relates to a washing machine (1) comprising a rotary drum (3) rotated around the horizontal axis and wherein the laundry is placed. A water tub (2) in which the rotary drum (3) rotates is provided such that a motor (7) drives a rotary drum (3) by means of a pulley mechanism (10) disposed outside the water tub (2). The latter transmits rotational movement of the motor (7) to the rotary drum (3).
The washing machine (1) further comprises a discharge pump that discharges the wash water at the end of the washing process; a discharge conduit conveys the wash water accordingly. On the other hand, a pump (4) placed along a circulation pipe (5) conventionally draws wash water stored in the water tub (2) and pressurizes the wash water flowing in a nozzle water conduit (9) for conveying it into the rotary drum (3). This mechanism allows the wash water stored in the water tub (2) to run through the nozzle water conduit (9) and to circulate to the water tub (2). In this regard, a motor is drivingly coupled to the pump (4) which delivers pressured water into the rotary drum (3) via said nozzle water conduit (9). A bellows (7) is disposed between the rotary drum (3) and the washing machine (1) body such that one end of the bellows (12) is connected to the water tub (2).
According to the present invention, a front door nozzle (11), is provided to spray water over the inner surface of the front door (6) in order for eliminating deposit buildup thereon and also for providing a visually observable indication of working status of the washing machine (1). The front door nozzle (11) receives pressurized wash water also from said nozzle water conduit (9).
In an embodiment of the present invention, the washing machine (1) comprising a spray nozzle (8) providing to flush the wash water from a front door (6) side toward the inner part of the rotary drum (3) placed above the rotary drum (3) at the front door (6) side with said front door nozzle (11) (Fig.2).
Alternatively the front door nozzle (11) may be employed to fulfill both functions, i.e. which targets both cloth items and the inner surface of the front door (6) at once, as will be explained hereinafter.
In an embodiment of the present invention, the front door nozzle (11) may preferably be installed within the bellows (12) so as to be oriented perpendicular to the base of the washing machine (1). Alternatively, the front door nozzle (11) may be located at any suitable location where the inner surface of the front door (6) can be targeted.
The front door nozzle (11) as such has a tubular body (13) in fluid communication with the nozzle water conduit (9) and a nozzle aperture (14) disposed at the lower end of said nozzle body (13). Said nozzle aperture (14) has a directional flow control means (15) in the form of an upright wall element that is formed on the internal base (16) for diverting water flow to the front door (6). The front door nozzle’s (11) ultimate location relative to the front door (6) is determined considering the direction of effect of said directional flow control means (15).
Pressurized water reaching the nozzle aperture (14) through the nozzle body (13) is directed towards the front door (6) by means of a small opening area (19) formed between the directional flow control means (15) and a radial wall element (17). This small opening area (19) provides an increased flow rate with more accurate targeting due to the narrowed flow pathway.
The wash water running down to the nozzle aperture (14) therefore leaves the front door nozzle (11) to hit the front door (6) through the small opening area (19) sweeping through an arc of less than 60 degrees. The internal base (16) of the front door nozzle (11) is preferably circular.
Said directional flow control means (15) has an inclined surface (18) at which water strikes the same such that this inclined surface (18) with respect to the internal base (16) helps avoiding blockage of water flow in a smoother manner. The directional flow control means (15) is preferably designed in the form of a right trapezoid with its oblique side extending near the center of the internal base (16).
The nozzle aperture (14) according to the present invention has a second portion, that is, a drum targeting opening (20) outside the small opening area (19) between said directional flow control means (15) and said radial wall element (17). This drum targeting opening (20) can be designed to lie adjacent to said small opening area (19) or can be separated therefrom by a solid block such that the two openings (19, 20) are arranged in radially opposite directions.

Claims

A washing machine (1) comprising a rotary drum (3) in which cloth items are placeable and accessible via a front door (6), a water tub (2) in which the rotary drum (3) is rotatable, a motor (7) providing said rotary drum (3) to be driven by means of a pulley mechanism (10), the latter disposed outside the tub (2), a pump (4) along a circulation pipe (5) drawing wash water stored in said water tub (2) and delivering pressured water to a front door nozzle (11) via a nozzle water conduit (9), characterized in that said front door nozzle (11) is arranged to jet wash water to inner surface of the front door (6).
A washing machine (1) as in Claim 1, characterized in that the front door nozzle (11) is disposed within a bellows (7) between the rotary drum (3) and the washing machine (1) body so as to be oriented perpendicular to base of the washing machine (1).
A washing machine (1) as in Claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the front door nozzle (11) has a tubular nozzle body (13) in fluid communication with the nozzle water conduit (9) and a nozzle aperture (14) disposed at the one end of said nozzle body (13).
A washing machine (1) as in Claim 3, characterized in that the nozzle aperture (14) has a directional flow control means (15) in the form of an upright wall element that is formed on internal base (16) of the nozzle aperture (14) for diverting water flow to the front door (6).
A washing machine (1) as in Claim 4, characterized in that water reaching the nozzle aperture (14) through the nozzle body (13) is directed towards the front door (6) by means of an opening area (19) formed between the directional flow control means (15) and a radial wall element (17).
A washing machine (1) as in Claim 4 or 5, characterized in that the directional flow control means (15) has an inclined surface (18) at which water strikes the same whereby inclined surface helps avoiding blockage of water flow.
A washing machine (1) as in any of Claims 4 to 6, characterized in that the internal base (16) of the front door nozzle (11) is circular.
A washing machine (1) as in Claim 5 and 7, characterized in that said opening area (19) sweeps through an arc of less than 60 degrees.
A washing machine (1) as in any of Claims to 4, 7 or 8, characterized in that the directional flow control means (15) extends in a radial manner.
A washing machine (1) as in any of Claims to 4 or 8, characterized in that the directional flow control means (15) is designed in the form of a right trapezoid with its oblique side extending near center of the internal base (16).
A washing machine (1) as in any of Claims to 5 or 10, characterized in that the nozzle aperture (14) has a second portion in the form of a drum targeting opening (20) outside the opening area (19).
A washing machine (1) as in Claim 11, characterized in that said drum targeting opening (20) is arranged either adjacent to the opening area (19) or radially opposite to the same.
A washing machine (1) as in Claim 2 and 4, characterized in that the internal base (16) of the nozzle aperture (14) is not in parallel with base of said washing machine (1).
A washing machine (1) as in any of the above Claims, characterized in that a spray nozzle (8) providing to flush the wash water from a front door (6) side toward the inner part of the rotary drum (3) placed above the rotary drum (3) at the front door (6) side with said front door nozzle (11).