JP2000271392A - Front panel attaching structure for washing machine - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a front panel attaching structure for a washing machine by which a front panel is easily separated from an outer box even in the case that a machine screw for fixing the front panel to the outer box is rusted or the head of the machine screw is crushed in separating and disassembling the front panel from the outer box, a bottom frame fixed to the front surface of the same outer box is easily separated and disassembled as well at the time of disassembling the front panel and the workability of separation and disassem bly is improved as a result. SOLUTION: In the washing machine where the opening of an outer box is closed by attaching the front panel by a fixture such as the machine screw to the flange part of the outer box for which the opening is provided on the front surface and the flange part is projectingly provided from the left and right side edges of the opening, and where a water tank is hung freely swingably inside the outer box and a spinning tub provided with a rotary blade on its bottom part is disposed freely rotatably inside the water tank, slits 11 as easily breakable weak parts are formed around an attaching hole 9 provided on the front panel 6.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates to a structure for attaching a front panel to an outer box of a washing machine.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art For example, in a one-tank type fully automatic washing machine, as shown in FIG. 5, a water tank is swingably supported in an outer box 1 via a vibration isolator (not shown). Inside, a washing and dewatering tub 2 provided with a rotary wing 3 at the bottom is rotatably disposed, and a top cover 5 having a lid 4 at an opening at the upper part of the outer box 1 and the washing and dewatering tub 2 is provided. The front panel 6 is attached to the front opening of the outer box 1, and the bottom frame 7 is attached to the bottom opening of the outer box 1.

The front panel 6 is attached to the outer box 1 by providing mounting holes in the front panel 6 and a flange protruding from the left and right side edges of the front opening of the outer box 1. A fastener such as a screw is inserted into the mounting hole and fixed from the front side of the front panel 6. In this case, the mounting hole formed in the front panel 6 is formed in a concave portion, and after fixing with screws, the concave portion is covered with the cap 8.

Further, the structure in which the bottom frame 7 is attached to the outer box 1 is such that a mounting hole is provided in a flange portion protruding above the bottom frame 7, while a mounting hole is also provided in the flange portion of the outer box 1. The two mounting holes are aligned and fixed with screws or the like. The outer frame 7 is fixed to the outer box 1 before the front panel 6 is mounted on the outer box 1.

In recent years, it has been desired to reuse materials for the purpose of reducing waste and effectively using materials. In such a washing machine as well, the materials of the washing machine to be discarded are recycled. It is thought that.

In order to reuse the materials, the washing machine is disassembled into parts to some extent, and parts containing valuables and harmful substances are separated and disassembled. It is crushed and classified for each material. By the way, a method of crushing the entire washing machine in a product state, selecting materials to be reused, and separating and separating the materials by type can be considered, but it is difficult with current technology, and crushing is performed. Manual disassembly is required before the process.

In a washing machine, a top cover 5 and a bottom frame 7 are provided.
Is a synthetic resin such as plastic, which is a valuable resource that can be reused. Also, electrical components such as a motor for driving a washing machine are reusable components if they have not reached the end of their useful life. Therefore, when the washing machine is disassembled, it is necessary to first remove the front panel 6 from the outer box 1 and further separate the top cover 5 and the bottom frame 7 from the outer box 1.

[0008] In the disassembly, the cap 8 attached to the front of the front panel 6 is removed to remove the front panel 6.
The front panel 6 is separated from the front surface of the outer box 1 by loosening the two screws on the left and right that fix the top cover 5 to the outer box 1, and the screws fixing the top cover 5 to the outer box 1 are removed. As a result, the top cover 5 comes off the outer box 1 and the bottom frame 7
For the front side, the front panel 6 is separated from the outer case 1 after separating the front panel 6 from the outer case 1, and further, the screws fixing the bottom frame 7 to the outer case 1 are removed.

[0009]

The operation of separating the front panel 6 from the outer box 1 is to remove screws. However, during use of the washing machine, the washing water is transmitted along the surface of the outer box 1 and the cap 8 is removed. In some cases, the screw may penetrate into the fixing portion of the screw through the gap, and the screw may be rusted. Further, if the screw cannot be removed at one time, the head of the screw may be crushed and the screw may not be removed, and the workability of separating and disassembling the front panel 6 may be reduced.

Further, the separation of the bottom frame 7 is performed in a separate process separate from the separation of the front panel 6 even though the bottom frame 7 is fixed on the front side of the outer box 1 similarly to the front panel 5. In this case, the number of work steps increased, and the efficiency of separation and disassembly was not good.

An object of the present invention is to solve the inconvenience of the prior art, and when separating and disassembling the front panel from the outer box, the screw fixing the front panel to the outer box rusts or the head of the screw is crushed. Even in such a case, the front panel can be easily separated from the outer box, and the bottom frame fixed to the front of the same outer box can be easily separated and disassembled when disassembling the front panel, thereby improving the workability of the disassembly and disassembly. An object of the present invention is to provide a front panel mounting structure for a washing machine.

[0012]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In order to achieve the above object, the present invention firstly provides an outer box having an opening in the front surface and a flange protruding from the left and right side edges of the opening. Attach the front panel with a stopper such as a screw and close the opening, suspend the water tank swingably in this outer box, and freely rotate the washing and dewatering tank provided with rotating blades at the bottom in the water tank. In the disposed washing machine, a fragile portion that is easily broken around the mounting hole provided in the front panel is formed, so that a fastener such as a screw attached to the mounting hole at the time of separating and disassembling the front panel is rusted, Even if the head is crushed and the screw can no longer be loosened, the front panel can be removed from the screw by cutting the front panel with a tool such as nippers at the weak part around the screw, It, can be separated from the outer box.

Second, since the fragile portion is formed by a plurality of slits formed so as to surround the mounting hole, a tool such as a nipper can be easily inserted into the slit. It will be easier.

Thirdly, since the slit is a hole for mounting a cap into which a leg of a cap covering the mounting hole is inserted,
It is not necessary to separately form the mounting hole, the manufacturing process does not increase, and the strength around the mounting hole can be prevented from lowering.

Fourth, the mounting holes are provided at least at two positions on the left and right sides of the front panel, and at least one of the mounting holes is formed in a horizontally long key hole shape. Even if the screw on the side of the hole shape is not removed, if the front panel is slid sideways, the front panel can be separated from the outer box without changing the screw. Therefore, the number of places where screws are removed can be reduced, and the efficiency of dismantling work improves.

Fifth, a mounting hole is provided at a position corresponding to the mounting hole formed on the front panel in the bottom frame on which the outer box is placed, and the front panel, the outer box, and the bottom frame are shared by screws or the like. If you remove one screw at each of the left and right parts by fastening together with the stopper, not only the front panel,
The bottom frame can also be separated from the outer box at the same time, eliminating the work of removing only the bottom frame, and improving the workability of separation and dismantling.

[0017]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a front view of a main part showing an embodiment of a front panel mounting structure of a washing machine according to the present invention. FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the same, and the entire structure of the washing machine is as already described with reference to FIG. A detailed description of the above will be omitted.

A washing machine in which the front panel mounting structure of the present invention is embodied also swings a water tub in the outer box 1 via a vibration isolator and rotates to the bottom in the water tub in the same manner as before. The washing and spin-drying tub 2 provided with the wings 3 is rotatably arranged. A top cover 5 having a lid 4 is attached to the upper opening of the outer box 1 and the washing and spin-drying tub 2. A front panel 6 is attached to the front opening, and the outer box 1 is placed on a bottom frame 7.

As shown in FIG. 2, the front panel 6 is fixed to a flange portion 1b protruding from the left and right peripheral portions of the front opening 1a of the outer box 1. The front panel 6 has mounting holes 9 formed therein. The mounting holes 10 are respectively formed in the flange portions 1b corresponding to. A plurality of (four in the illustrated example) slits 11 are formed around the mounting hole 9 around the mounting hole 9 of the front panel 6 as a fragile portion that can be easily broken. The mounting hole 9 is provided in a circular recess 12 formed in the front panel 6.

As shown in FIG. 2, the bottom frame 7 has a flange portion 7a protruding forward from the upper portion on the front side, and U-shaped flanges 7b are further protrudingly provided at left and right portions of the upper portion of the flange portion 7a. The back side of the flange 7b is used as a contact portion with the flange portion 1b of the outer box 1, and a screw mounting hole 13 is provided here by a boss stand. This mounting hole 13 is provided with the mounting holes 9 and 1.
It is provided at a location corresponding to 0. In the figure, reference numeral 14 denotes a screw.

When the outer box 1 is placed on the outer frame 7 as described above and the front panel 6 is applied to the front opening 1b of the outer box 1, the flange 7b is located at the front of the flange 1b. Since the mounting holes 10, 9, 13 formed in the outer box 1 and the front panel 6 and the bottom frame 7 respectively match, if screws 14 are inserted here, the bottom frame 7 and the front panel 6 will be in the outer box 1. Fixed. Then, the cap 8 is put on the recess 12 to which the screw 14 is attached, and the leg 8 a of the cap 8 is inserted into the slit 11 formed in the recess 12, so that the cap 8 is fixed to the front panel 6 and covers the screw 14.

In this case, the slit 11 is shared with the mounting hole of the leg 8a of the cap 8.

In order to separate the front panel 6 from the outer box 1 when the washing machine is separated and disassembled, the end of the cap 8 is hooked with a claw and removed from the recess 12 to expose the screw 14. The slit 1 formed around the screw 14
A tool such as a nipper is inserted into 1, and the area around the mounting hole 9 of the screw 14 is cut from the slit 11. Thereby, the front panel 6 can be separated from the screw 14 without removing the screw 14. Therefore, screw 14 is rusty,
The front panel 6 can be separated from the outer box 1 even when the head is crushed during removal.

When the screws 14 can be removed, the screws 4 can be removed one by one at the left and right portions, so that not only the front panel 6 but also the bottom frame 7 can be separated from the outer box 1 at the same time. Good nature.

FIG. 3 shows a second embodiment, in which at least one of the mounting holes 9 formed in the left and right portions of the front panel 6 is formed in a horizontally long key shape. Thus, the front panel 6 can be slid in the horizontal direction without removing the screw 14 on the side of the other key-shaped mounting hole 9a by simply removing the screw 14 on the side of the normal circular mounting hole 9. The front panel 6 can be separated from the outer box 1. Therefore,
The number of places where the screws 14 are removed can be reduced, and the efficiency of disassembly and separation work can be improved.

[0026]

As described above, the front panel mounting structure for a washing machine according to the present invention comprises, firstly, an outer box provided with an opening at the front surface and a flange protruding from the left and right side edges of the opening. A front panel is attached to the flange portion with a fastener such as a screw to close the opening, a water tank is slidably suspended in the outer box, and a washing and dewatering tank provided with a rotary wing at the bottom is provided in the water tank. In a rotatably disposed washing machine, a fastener such as a screw attached to the mounting hole when the front panel is separated and disassembled is rusted by forming an easily breakable fragile portion around the mounting hole provided in the front panel. Even if the head of the screw is crushed and the screw can no longer be loosened, the front panel can be cut using a tool such as nippers at the vulnerable part around the screw, leaving the screw intact. You can remove the panel from the screws, thus, it is possible to separate from the outer box of the front panel.

Secondly, since the fragile portion is formed by a plurality of slits formed so as to surround the mounting hole, a tool such as a nipper can be easily inserted into the slit. It will be easier.

Third, since the slit is a hole for mounting a cap into which a leg of a cap for covering the mounting hole is inserted,
It is not necessary to separately form the mounting hole, the manufacturing process does not increase, and the strength around the mounting hole can be prevented from lowering.

Fourth, the mounting holes are provided at least at two positions on the left and right sides of the front panel, and at least one of the mounting holes is formed in a horizontally long key hole shape. Even if the screw on the side of the hole shape is not removed, if the front panel is slid sideways, the front panel can be separated from the outer box without changing the screw. Therefore, the number of places where screws are removed can be reduced, and the efficiency of dismantling work improves.

Fifth, a mounting hole is provided at a position corresponding to the mounting hole formed on the front panel in the bottom frame on which the outer box is placed, and the front panel, the outer box, and the bottom frame are shared by screws or the like. If you remove one screw at each of the left and right parts by fastening together with the stopper, not only the front panel,
The bottom frame can also be separated from the outer box at the same time, eliminating the work of removing only the bottom frame, and improving the workability of separation and dismantling.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front view of a main part showing a first embodiment of a front panel mounting structure of a washing machine of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a main part of the first embodiment of the front panel mounting structure of the washing machine of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a main part of a front panel mounting structure for a washing machine according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional plan view of a main part showing the first and second embodiments of the front panel mounting structure of the washing machine of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the washing machine.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 ... outer box, 1a ... front opening, 1b ...
Flange part, 2… Washing and dewatering tub, 3 …… Rotary wing,
4 lid, 5 top cover, 6 front panel, 7 bottom frame, 7a flange, 7b flange, 8 cap, 8a leg, 9,
9a: mounting hole, 10: mounting hole, 11: slit,
12: recess, 13: mounting hole, 14: screw

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuing on the front page (72) Inventor Yuichi Hasebe 1-1-1 Yamate, Funabashi-shi, Chiba Prefecture Inside Nippon Steel Corporation (72) Inventor Masanobu Yatsu 1-1-1 Yamate, Funabashi-shi, Chiba Japan (72) Inventor Junji Miyoshi 1-1-1 Yamate, Funabashi-shi, Chiba Japan Incorporated Steel Corporation (72) Inventor Kunio Inose 1-1-1, Yamate, Funabashi-shi, Chiba Nihon-ken Incorporated (72) Inventor Takeshi Sugino 1-1-1 Yamate, Funabashi-shi, Chiba F-term (reference) 3B155 AA01 AA06 BB04 CB32 DA03 DA04 JA02 MA01 MA02

Claims (5)

[Claims] A front panel is provided with an opening on a front surface, and a flange is projected from right and left side edges of the opening. A front panel is attached to the flange with a fastener such as a screw to close the opening. In a washing machine in which a water tub is swingably supported in a box and a washing and dewatering tub having a rotating wing at a bottom portion is rotatably arranged in the water tub, the water tub is broken around a mounting hole provided in the front panel. A front panel mounting structure for a washing machine, wherein an easily fragile portion is formed. 2. The front panel mounting structure for a washing machine according to claim 1, wherein the fragile portion is a plurality of slits formed so as to surround the mounting hole. 3. The front panel mounting structure for a washing machine according to claim 2, wherein said slit is a cap mounting hole into which a leg of a cap covering the mounting hole is inserted. 4. The front panel according to claim 1, wherein the mounting holes are provided in at least two places on the left and right sides of the front panel, and at least one of the mounting holes is formed in a horizontally long key hole shape. Washing machine front panel mounting structure. 5. A mounting hole is provided at a position corresponding to a mounting hole formed on a front panel on a bottom frame on which the outer box is mounted, and a stop such as a screw for sharing the front panel, the outer box and the bottom frame is used. The front panel mounting structure of a washing machine according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the front panel mounting structure is fastened together by a tool.