EP3508645A1

EP3508645A1 - Laundry treating device

Info

Publication number: EP3508645A1
Application number: EP16914781.6A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Mingchao SUN; Zhixia Song
Original assignee: Wuxi Little Swan Co Ltd
Current assignee: Wuxi Little Swan Electric Co Ltd
Priority date: 2016-08-31
Filing date: 2016-09-29
Publication date: 2019-07-10
Anticipated expiration: 2036-09-29
Also published as: CN107794695A; EP3508645B1; WO2018040218A1; EP3508645A4

Abstract

Disclosed is a laundry treating device (100), comprising a laundry treating chamber. The laundry treating chamber is provided with a touchable region. A user opens, in a pull-out manner, the laundry treating chamber by touching the touchable region.

Description

FIELD

The present disclosure relates to a technical field of washing apparatuses, and more particularly to a laundry treating device.

BACKGROUND

A base and material box of a washing apparatus in the related art are commonly structured as a drawer, and users usually open the drawer in a pull-out manner. In the pull-out process, a phenomenon such as unsmooth pulling and unstable operation usually exist. If the users manually draw or push the base or the material box with too much force, the base or the material will be damaged and shortened in service life; and if the users draw or push the base or the material box with too small force, a phenomenon of untight closing of the base or the material box will be caused. In addition, the base and material box has relatively low automation degree and cannot be opened or closed automatically according to users' requirements, which are convenient to use and has a bad user experience.

SUMMARY

The present disclosure aims to solve one of the above-mentioned technical problems to at least some extent.
Thus, the present disclosure provides a laundry treating device, which has a simple structure, high degree of automation, stable operation, reliable use and great user experience.
The laundry treating device according to embodiments of the present disclosure includes a laundry treating chamber, and the laundry treating chamber is provided with a touchable region, and users can open the laundry treating chamber in a pull-out manner by touching the touchable region.
With the laundry treating device according to embodiments of the present disclosure, by providing the touchable region in a machine body, users can open the laundry treating chamber in the pull-out manner by touching the touchable region. The laundry treating device has a simple structure, high degree of automation, stable operation, reliable use and great user experience.
In addition, the laundry treating chamber according to embodiments of the present disclosure can further have the following additional technical features.
According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, a touch sensor is provided in the touchable region.
According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, the laundry treating device includes: a machine body, the laundry treating chamber being arranged in the machine body; a movable member movably disposed in the machine body so as to open and close the laundry treating chamber and provided with the touchable region, the touching sensor being provided in the touchable region and having a sensing area configured for sensing a capacitance value; a driving member connected to the movable member so as to drive the movable member to move; a recognition unit connected to the touch sensor so as to recognize a change of the capacitance value of the touch sensor; a controller connected to the recognition unit and the driving member and controlling the driving member to operate according to the capacitance value recognized by the recognition unit.
According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, a base is provided in the machine body, the laundry treating chamber is defined in the base, and the movable member is a drawer drawably arranged in the laundry treating chamber.
According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, the laundry treating chamber is provided with a guiding rail matched with the drawer, the driving member is a guiding-rail electric motor disposed to the guiding rail, and the guiding-rail electric motor is connected with the drawer so as to drive the drawer to move on the guiding rail.
According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, the recognition unit is configured as a main board disposed in a front panel of the movable member.
According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, the laundry treating device is a washing machine, a drying machine, or a washing and drying machine.
Additional aspects and advantages of embodiments of present disclosure will be given in part in the following descriptions, become apparent in part from the following descriptions, or be learned from the practice of the embodiments of the present disclosure.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Fig. 1 is a schematic view of a laundry treating device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.
Fig. 2 is a component assembly view of a base of a laundry treating device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.
Fig. 3 is another component assembly view of a base of a laundry treating device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.
Fig. 4 is a sectional view of a base of a laundry treating device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Reference numerals:

100: laundry treating device;
10: movable member; 11: front panel; 12: rear panel;
20: touch sensor;
30: machined body; 31: base; 311: supporting stand; 32: laundry treating chamber; 321: guiding rail;
40: driving member; 41: transmission device;
50: recognition unit.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The embodiments of the present disclosure are described in detail below, and the examples of the embodiments are illustrated in the drawings, in which the same or similar reference numerals are used to refer to the same or similar elements or elements having the same or similar functions. The embodiments described below with reference to the drawings are illustrative and intended to explain the disclosure and cannot be construed to limit the present disclosure.
A laundry treating device 100 according to embodiments of the present disclosure includes a laundry treating chamber 32. The laundry treating chamber 32 is provided with a touchable region. The laundry treating chamber 32 is opened in a pull-out manner by a user touching the touchable region. Specifically, a touch sensor 20 is provided in the touchable region and the laundry treating chamber 32 is opened and closed by the user touching the touch sensor 20.
Thus, with the laundry treating device 100 according to embodiments of the present disclosure, by providing the touchable region in a machine body 30, users can open the laundry treating chamber 32 in the pull-out manner by touching the touchable region. The laundry treating device has a simple structure, high degree of automation, stable operation, reliable use and great user experience.
The laundry treating device 100 according to embodiments of the present disclosure is specifically described below with reference to Fig. 1 to Fig. 4.
The laundry treating device 100 according to embodiments of the present disclosure includes the machine body 30, a movable member 10, a driving member 40, the touch sensor 20, a recognition unit 50 and a controller (not illustrated).
Specifically, the laundry treating chamber 32 is provided in the machine body 30. The movable member 10 is movably disposed in the machine body 30 so as to open and close the laundry treating chamber 32. The driving member 40 is connected to the movable member 10 so as to drive the movable member 10 to move. The movable member 20 is provided with the touchable region and the touch sensor 20 is provided in the touchable region. The touch sensor 20 has a sensing area for sensing a capacitance value. The recognition unit 50 is connected with the touch sensor 20 so as to recognize a change of the capacitance value of the touch sensor 20. The controller is connected with the recognition unit 50 and the driving member 40 and controls the driving member 40 to operate according to the change of the capacitance value of the touch sensor 20 recognized by the recognition unit 50.
In other words, the laundry treating device 100 mainly includes the machine body 30, the movable member 10, the driving member 40, the touch sensor 20, the recognition unit 50 and the controller. The machine body 30 extends along a vertical direction (an up-and-down direction as illustrated in Fig. 1) and substantially forms to be a rectangular parallelepiped structure. The laundry treating chamber 32 is provided in the machine body 30 and can be used for accommodating laundry. As the laundry treating chamber, the laundry treating chamber 32 can also be used for accommodating a washing machine feed box or work as an accommodating space for other storage. The movable member 10 is movably mounted to the machine body 30 and connected to the driving member 40, and when the movable member 10 moves in a direction away from the machine body 30, the laundry treating chamber 32 in the machine body 30 is opened, and when the movable member 10 moves in a direction adjacent to the machine body 30, the laundry treating chamber 32 in the machine body 30 is closed.
Further, the touch sensor 20 is arranged at a front end surface of the machine body 30, and the recognition unit 50 is arranged adjacent to the touch sensor 20 and connected to the touch sensor 20. For example, as illustrated in Fig. 1 and Fig. 4, in the present embodiment, the touch sensor 20 is arranged at a front end surface of a front panel 11 of the machine body 30, the recognition unit 50 is arranged adjacent to the touch sensor 20 and at a rear end surface of the front panel 11 of the machine body 30, the touch sensor 20 is connected to the recognition unit 50, so that a conductive wire connection distance between the touch sensor 20 and the recognition unit 50 is shortened, wiring is simplified, and a structure is enabled to be more compact. It should be noted that specific installation positions of the touch sensor 20 and the recognition unit 50 can be changed adaptively according to actual design requirements, so as to facilitate capturing of motion paths of the users and guarantee the structural simplification.
In addition, the machine body 30 is further provided with the controller connected with both of the recognition unit 50 and the driving member 40. The recognition unit 50 can recognize the change of the capacitance value of the touch sensor 20 and transmit signals to the controller. The controller controls the driving member 40 to drive the movable member to act according to the capacitance value recognized by the recognition unit 50.
Specifically, when the movable member 10 is in a closed state, the capacitance value of the sensing area of the touch sensor 20 is changed by a body touch from the users. The touch sensor 20 senses the change of the capacitance value and transits the value to the recognition unit 50, which is transmitted to the controller after recognition and calculation. The controller sends an instruction to the driving member 40 after corresponding operations are matched and the driving member 40 starts to operate and drives the movable member 10 to move and open the laundry treating chamber 32. After using the laundry treating chamber 32, the users touch the sensing area of the touch sensor 20 again, the touch sensor 20 senses the change of the capacitance value and transits the value to the recognition unit 50, which is transmitted to the controller after recognition and calculation. The controller sends an instruction to the driving member 40 after corresponding operations are matched and the driving member 40 starts to operate and drives the movable member 10 to close the laundry treating chamber 32, thus the operation is finished once.
Thus, the laundry treating device 100 according to embodiments of the present disclosure, by arranging the touch sensor 20 to the machine body 30 and connecting the touch sensor 20 with the recognition unit 50, the recognition unit 50 is used for recognizing the change of the capacitance value sensed by the touch sensor 20, then the driving member 40 is controlled to drive the movable member 10 to move by means of the controller according to recognition signals from the recognition unit 50, thus realizing automatic opening and closing of the laundry treating chamber 32, so that automation degree of the laundry treating device 100 is increased, stability during the opening or the closing of the laundry treating chamber 32 is guaranteed, and comfortability and reliability when used by the users are improved. The laundry treating device 100 has a simple structure, high degree of automation, stable operation, reliable use and great user experience.
In some specific embodiments of the present disclosure, a base 31 is provided in the machine body 30, and the laundry treating chamber 32 is defined in the base 31. The movable member 10 is a drawer drawably arranged in the laundry treating chamber 32.
Specifically, as illustrated in Fig. 1 and Fig. 2, the machine body 30 extends along the vertical direction (the up-and-down direction as illustrated in Fig. 1). The base 31 is arranged at a lower end of the machine body 30 and four supporting stands 311 evenly distributed are arranged at a lower end of the base 31 so as to support the machine body 30. The base 31 substantially forms to be the rectangular parallelepiped structure and defines therein the laundry treating chamber 32 used for accommodating the movable member 10. The movable member 10 forms to be a drawer structure, the movable member 10 in the drawer structure is drawably arranged in the laundry treating chamber 32 along a length direction (a front-and-rear direction as illustrated in Fig. 1) of the rectangular parallelepiped base 31. The accommodating space is formed in the movable member 10. When the driving member 40 drives the movable member 10 to move forwards along the length direction of the base 31, the accommodating space in the movable member 10 is opened; and when the driving member 40 drives the movable member 10 to move backwards along the length direction of the base 31, the accommodating space in the movable member 10 is closed.
The laundry treating chamber 32 is provided with a guiding rail 321 matched with the drawer, the driving member 40 is a guiding-rail electric motor disposed to the guiding rail 321, and the guiding-rail electric motor is connected with the drawer so as to drive the drawer to move on the guiding rail 321.
Referring to Fig. 3 and Fig. 4, a left side wall surface of the movable member 10 (i.e. the drawer) is provided with a sliding rail, the guiding rail 321 is arranged at a corresponding position adjacent to a left side wall surface of the laundry treating chamber 32, and the sliding rail of the movable member 10 and the guiding rail 321 of the laundry treating chamber 32 match. The driving member 40 is the guiding-rail electric motor, the guiding-rail electric motor is disposed at an outer side wall of the guiding rail 321. The guiding-rail electric motor drives the pushing-in and pulling-out of the drawer by means of a transmission device 41, and the drawer device can be prevented from being engaged during the operation by making use of a self-locking function of the sliding rail.
Optionally, the drawer has the front panel 11 and the touch sensor 20 is disposed into 11.
As illustrated in Fig. 2 and Fig. 3, a rear panel 12 is fixedly connected to a front end of the drawer, and the front panel 11 is indirectly connected to the front end of the drawer by means of the rear panel 12. A section of the front panel 11 is substantially forms to be a rectangular plate, a height of the front panel 11 along the vertical direction (the up-and-down direction as illustrated in Fig. 2) is equal to a height of a longitudinal section of the base 31 along the vertical direction, so that when the driving member 40 pushed the drawer in along the front-and-rear direction, the front panel 11 can tightly enclose the laundry treating chamber 32 of the base 31.
In addition, the touch sensor 20 is arranged at a central position in the front panel 11, so that it is convenient for the touch sensor 20 to sense sensing actions of users.
The recognition unit 50 is configured as a main board disposed in the front panel 11.
Referring to Fig. 4, the recognition unit 50 is formed to be a rectangular main board, disposed between the front panel 11 and the rear panel 12 of the drawer, and connected to the touch sensor 20 in the front panel 11, so that the conductive wire connection distance between the touch sensor 20 and the recognition unit 50 is shortened, wiring is simplified, and the structure is enabled to be more compact.
Optionally, the base 31 is disposed at a bottom of the machine body 30. As illustrated in Fig. 1 and Fig. 2, the machine body 30 extends along the vertical direction (the up-and-down direction as illustrated in Fig. 1). The base 31 is arranged at the lower end of the machine body 30 and four supporting stands 311 evenly distributed are arranged at the lower end of the base 31 so as to support the machine body 30.
Optionally, the laundry treating device 100 is the washing machine, a drying machine, or a washing and drying machine. Thus, the automation degree of the washing machine, the drying machine and the washing and drying machine can be improved, the stability during the opening or the closing of the laundry treating chamber 32 is guaranteed, and comfortability and reliability when used by the users are improved.
Other configurations and operations of the laundry treating device 100 according to embodiments of the present disclosure are known to those skilled in the art, which will not be described in detail here.
In the specification, it is to be understood that terms such as "central," "longitudinal," "lateral," "length," "width," "thickness," "upper," "lower," "front," "rear," "left," "right," "vertical," "horizontal," "top," "bottom," "inner," "outer," "clockwise," and "counterclockwise" should be construed to refer to the orientation as then described or as shown in the drawings under discussion. These relative terms are for convenience of description and do not require that the present disclosure be constructed or operated in a particular orientation, thus cannot be construed to limit the present disclosure.
In addition, terms such as "first" and "second" are used herein for purposes of description and are not intended to indicate or imply relative importance or significance or to imply the number of indicated technical features. Thus, the feature defined with "first" and "second" may comprise one or more of this feature. In the description of the present disclosure, "a plurality of' means two or more than two, unless specified otherwise.
In the present disclosure, unless specified or limited otherwise, the terms "mounted," "connected," "coupled," "fixed" and the like are used broadly, and may be, for example, fixed connections, detachable connections, or integral connections; may also be mechanical or electrical connections; may also be direct connections or indirect connections via intervening structures; may also be inner communications of two elements, which can be understood by those skilled in the art according to specific situations.
In the present disclosure, unless specified or limited otherwise, a structure in which a first feature is "on" or "below" a second feature may include an embodiment in which the first feature is in direct contact with the second feature, and may also include an embodiment in which the first feature and the second feature are not in direct contact with each other, but are contacted via an additional feature formed therebetween. Furthermore, a first feature "on," "above," or "on top of' a second feature may include an embodiment in which the first feature is right or obliquely "on," "above," or "on top of' the second feature, or just means that the first feature is at a height higher than that of the second feature; while a first feature "below," "under," or "on bottom of' a second feature may include an embodiment in which the first feature is right or obliquely "below," "under," or "on bottom of' the second feature, or just means that the first feature is at a height lower than that of the second feature.
Reference throughout this specification to "an embodiment," "some embodiments," "an example," "a specific example," or "some examples" means that a particular feature, structure, material, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment or example is included in at least one embodiment or example of the present disclosure. Thus, the appearances of the phrases in various places throughout this specification are not necessarily referring to the same embodiment or example of the present disclosure. Furthermore, the particular features, structures, materials, or characteristics may be combined in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments or examples.
Although explanatory embodiments have been shown and described, it would be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the above embodiments are illustrative and cannot be construed to limit the present disclosure, and changes, alternatives, and modifications can be made in the embodiments by those skilled in the art without departing from spirit, principles and scope of the present disclosure.

Claims

A laundry treating device, comprising a laundry treating chamber, the laundry treating chamber being provided with a touchable region, the laundry treating chamber being configured to be opened in a pull-out manner by a user touching the touchable region.
The laundry treating device according to claim 1, wherein a touch sensor is provided in the touchable region.
The laundry treating device according to claim 1, comprising:
a machine body provided with the laundry treating chamber therein;

a movable member movably disposed to the machine body so as to open and close the laundry treating chamber and provided with the touchable region, wherein a touching sensor is provided in the touchable region and has a sensing area configured for sensing a capacitance value;

a driving member connected to the movable member so as to drive the movable member to move;

a recognition unit connected to the touch sensor so as to recognize a change of the capacitance value of the touch sensor;

a controller connected to the recognition unit and the driving member and configured to control the driving member to operate according to the capacitance value recognized by the recognition unit.
The laundry treating device according to claim 3, wherein a base is provided in the machine body, the laundry treating chamber is defined in the base, and the movable member is a drawer drawably arranged in the laundry treating chamber.
The laundry treating device according to claim 4, wherein the laundry treating chamber is provided with a guiding rail matched with the drawer, the driving member is configured as a guiding-rail electric motor disposed to the guiding rail, and the guiding-rail electric motor is connected to the drawer so as to drive the drawer to move on the guiding rail.
The laundry treating device according to claim 3, wherein the recognition unit is configured as a main board disposed in a front panel of the movable member.
The laundry treating device according to claim 1, wherein the laundry treating device is a washing machine, a drying machine, or a washing and drying machine.