JP2001276486A - Washing machine - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a washing machine allowing correct positioning and fixing of a front panel to an outer frame. SOLUTION: A front cover 6 made of a synthetic resin is provided with a first engagement part 6e comprising outwardly projecting locking pawls formed at the ends of two arms extending in parallel, and a bottom base 4 is provided with a first engagement hole 4c opened by a width equal to the horizontal distance between the two arms. The engagement part is engaged in the engagement hole whereby the front cover 6 forming a front cover component 10 in connection with the front panel 5 is fixed to the bottom base 4.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an outer frame structure of a washing machine.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a conventional household washing machine, it is necessary to move the washing machine or change the direction of the main body when performing maintenance or repair of internal equipment or installation of a drainage joint just below the main body. However, due to the housing situation in Japan, the place where the washing machine can be installed is narrow, and once installed, it is difficult to move the washing machine. In particular, recent washing machines are often equipped with a dryer or installed on a waterproof pan, which makes it more difficult to move the washing machine in a narrow place.

[0003] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. Hei 8-299684 discloses a washing machine in which an opening is provided on the front surface of an outer frame constituting a main body, and the opening is covered by a front panel. With this washing machine, you can work inside from the front opening of the outer frame just by removing the front panel at the time of maintenance or repair,
Work becomes easier.

[0004]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The above-mentioned Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 8-299 is disclosed.
FIG. 7 shows a cross section of the washing machine disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 684. To fix the front panel 24 to the outer frame 21 in this washing machine, the front panel 24 is fixed to the outer frame 21, the upper plate 22 fixed to the upper portion of the outer frame 21, and the bottom fixed to the lower portion of the outer frame 21. Stand 2
3 and then securely fixed with screws 31.

That is, a locking flange 25 provided at the upper end of the front panel 24 as a temporary fixing is inserted into the groove 26 of the upper plate 22 from below, and a support portion 27 projecting rearward from both left and right sides of the outer frame 21. It is inserted into the locking holes 28 on both left and right sides. A locking projection 29 provided at the lower end of the front panel 24 is inserted into the locking hole 30 of the base 23 from below.

However, in this temporary fixing, the front panel 2
The support member 27 is inserted and slid into the long holes 4 so that the screw holes of the screws 31 provided on the outer frame 21 and the front panel 24 are aligned with each other. It was stable, and there was a risk that the screw holes would shift. Therefore, in that case, when screwing, the front panel 24 must be supported by hand to allow the screw holes to communicate with each other.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and has as its object to provide a washing machine capable of accurately fixing the front panel to the outer frame by simple assembly.

[0008]

In order to achieve the above object, a washing machine according to the present invention has a box-shaped outer frame having an opening at an upper surface and a front surface, and has an elasticity fixed to a bottom surface of the outer frame. A bottom plate made of a material having the same, a top plate fixed to the upper surface of the outer frame, a front panel covering the front upper portion of the outer frame, a front cover made of an elastic material, and a front cover below the front panel. Connecting means for connecting to form a front panel assembly.

That is, in the above-mentioned washing machine, first, the front panel and the front cover are assembled into a front panel assembly by connecting means.
The front panel assembly is fixed to the outer frame, the base, and the top plate by fixing means and screwed. In this fixing means, when the first engaging portion is inserted into the first engaging hole, the locking claw protruding to the outside of each arm portion is attached to the periphery of the first engaging hole having a width smaller than the distance between both ends thereof. Pressed.

[0010] Thus, the arm integrally formed with the front cover or the bottom base made of an elastic material is curved,
The locking claw can pass through the first engagement hole. When the locking claw passes through the first engagement hole, the bending of the arm is released, and the locking claw is locked to the periphery of the first engagement hole.

In the above structure, the connecting means is formed by forming a locking claw projecting from the tip of the arm, and the second engaging part is formed integrally with the upper surface of the front cover;
And a second engagement hole opened on the lower surface of the front panel.

Accordingly, when the second engaging portion is inserted into the second engaging hole, the locking claw protruding outside each arm portion has a peripheral edge of the second engaging hole narrower than the distance between both ends thereof. Pressed. As a result, the arm formed integrally with the front cover made of the elastic material is curved, and the locking claw can pass through the second engagement hole. When the locking claw passes through the second engagement hole, the bending of the arm is released, and the locking claw is locked on the periphery of the second engagement hole.

[0013] The washing machine having the above-mentioned structure is provided with a locking means comprising an L-shaped projection projecting from the front panel and an insertion hole formed in the outer frame, and the projection is fitted into the insertion hole. And locked to the periphery. When the protrusion is in close contact with the periphery of the locked insertion hole, the left and right ends of the front panel do not rattle in the front-rear direction.

Further, in the washing machine having the above structure, the first locking projection extends upward from the upper end of the front panel, and a groove is formed on the bottom surface of the upper plate so that the first locking projection can be fitted therein. Have been.
Due to the locking between the first locking projection and the groove, the upper part of the front panel does not protrude to the front.

A second locking projection extends downward from the lower end of the front panel, and a recess is formed in the upper surface of the front cover. The second locking projection inserted into the recess from above. A threaded hole is formed in the inner surface of the concave portion where the second locking projection piece is in close contact with the second locking projection, and is fixed to the outer frame or the front surface of the base with screws. Accordingly, the front panel and the front cover are positioned and fixed securely to the outer frame or the bottom base by the locking between the second locking projection and the concave portion.

Further, the front surface of the concave portion is opened so as to be screwed from the front and is provided with a lid. Therefore, when this lid is closed, the screw head is hidden when viewed from the front.

The arm of the first engaging portion is an elongated flat plate, and its cross section is a rectangle which is long in the vertical direction. Therefore, the front panel assembly is supported by the base on the side having a small area of the arm.

[0018]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a front part of the washing machine of the present embodiment. Reference numeral 1 denotes a box made of a painted steel plate, an outer frame having a front surface and an upper surface opened, 2 an upper plate fixed to the upper surface of the outer frame 1, 3 a lid attached to the upper plate 2, 4; Outer frame 1 made of synthetic resin such as P., ABS
It is a base fixed to the bottom of the.

Reference numeral 5 denotes a front panel made of a steel plate and covering the front surface of the outer frame 1, and 6 denotes a front cover made of a synthetic resin such as PP or ABS and attached to the front surface of the base 4.
The front panel 5 and the front cover 6 are connected to form a front panel assembly 10.

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the washing machine, showing a state in which an upper plate 2 (not shown) has been removed from the outer frame 1. Reference numeral 7 denotes a reinforcing steel plate, which is fixed to the upper portion of the front surface 1a of the outer frame 1 by rivets or caulking. The lower side of the reinforcing steel plate 7 is an opening 1b for performing maintenance and repair of the internal device. Further, a plurality of elongated rectangular insertion holes 1c are formed on both left and right sides of the front surface 1a as locking means.

A plurality of screw holes 4b are formed on the left and right sides of the front surface 4a of the bottom base 4. Further, a first engagement hole 4c is formed in the vicinity thereof as fixing means.

The front panel 5, which is a rectangular frame, has its upper end and lower end bent approximately 90 # toward the back, respectively.
An upper surface 5a and a lower surface 5b are formed. Further, both ends are formed in a U-shape, and the end thereof forms a flange 5c parallel to the front surface 1a of the outer frame 1. A first locking projection 5d extends upward from an end of the upper surface 5a of the front panel 5. In addition, a protrusion 5e cut and raised in an L-shape and protruding to the rear side is provided on an end side of each of the left and right flanges 5c as locking means.

On the lower surface 5b, a plurality of second engagement holes 5f are formed on both left and right sides as connection means, and a second locking projection 5g extending downward is provided outside the engagement hole 5f. A screw hole 5h for screwing to the base 4 is formed in each second locking projection 5g.

The front cover 6 is a frame having an upper surface 6a, a front surface 6b, and a lower surface (not shown). The upper surface 6a has a plurality of upwardly extending second engaging portions 6c formed as connecting means. I have. Further, a concave portion 6d is formed near each second engaging portion 6c, and a front surface 6d is further formed near the concave portion 6d.
A first engaging portion 6e extending in the depth direction from the back side of b is provided as fixing means.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged view of the front cover 6. The recess 6d is recessed so that the upper surface 6a and the front surface 6b are open.
g is provided. Further, ribs 6h are formed on both left and right side surfaces in the concave portion 6d, and grooves 6i are formed on the front side of each rib 6h. The front surface 6b of the opened concave portion 6d can be covered with a rectangular lid 6j integrated with the lower surface of the front cover 6, and the closed lid 6j is fitted into the groove 6i and fixed.

In order to assemble the front panel 5 and the front cover 6 into a front panel assembly 10, the second locking projection 5 g at the lower end of the front panel 5 is replaced with a rib 6 h in a recess 6 d of the front cover 6 in FIG. (See FIG. 3) and the back surface 6f (see FIG. 3), and the second engaging portion 6c of the front cover 6 serving as the connecting means is fitted into the second engaging hole 5f of the front panel 5. I do. By fitting the second locking projection 5g and the recess 6d, the front cover 6 is positioned with respect to the front panel 5 in the front-rear and left-right directions, and the screw holes 5h of the front cover 5 and the screw holes 6g of the front cover 6 are formed. Communicate.

The connecting means will be described with reference to FIG.
FIG. 4 is an explanatory view of a cross section of the connecting means as viewed from the front.
As shown in FIG. 4A, the second engaging portion 6c of the connecting means is formed integrally with the front cover 6, and is provided with a locking claw portion 6m protruding from the tip of the arm portion 6k. is there.

As shown in FIG. 2B, the second engagement hole 5f of the front panel 5 is opened by the same width as the distance in the width direction of the arm 6k, and the locking claw 6m is fitted therein. To narrow.
When the locking claw 6m is inserted into the second engagement hole 5f from the tip, the arm 6k made of synthetic resin can be elastically deformed, so that the slope of the locking claw 6m is in the second engagement position. The arm 6k is bent inward by being pushed by the periphery of the hole 5f. Thereby, the locking claw portion 6m can pass through the second engagement hole 5f.

When the second engagement hole 5f passes over the locking claw 6m, the arm 6k is fitted into the second engagement hole 5f, and the bending of the arm 6k is eliminated. At this time, the lower surface 5b of the front panel 5
The locking claw 6m is locked on the upper side, and the second engaging portion 6c does not fall out of the second engaging hole 5f. Therefore, the front panel 5 and the front cover 6 are integrated as a front panel assembly 10. Further, the front cover 6 does not rattle in the left-right direction with respect to the front panel 5 due to this engagement.

Next, the fixing of the front panel assembly 10 to the outer frame 1 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 5 is a side view of a cross section of the upper portion of the washing machine. As shown in FIG. 1A, a groove 2b is formed in a bottom surface 2a of the upper plate 2.

The front end of the first locking projection 5d at the upper end of the front panel 5 is applied to the groove 2b, and the projection 5e of the front panel 5 serving as the locking means is inserted into the corresponding insertion hole 1c of the outer frame 1.
Insert into At this time, since the front panel 5 is in a state in which the upper part is slightly inclined to the rear side, the tip of the L-shaped projection 5e is set to the C-plane when facing the front side, so that the projection 5e is formed.
Is easily inserted into the insertion hole 1c.

When the front panel 5 is lifted after the protrusion 5e is inserted into the insertion hole 1c, as shown in FIG.
The first locking projection 5d is inserted into the groove 2b, and the projection 5e is locked to the outer frame 1. At the same time as the front panel 5 is lifted, the lower part of the front panel assembly 10 is pressed in the direction of the outer frame 1 so that the first engaging portion 6e (see FIG. First engagement hole 4c (see FIG. 2)
To fit.

The fixing means will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 6 is a view of a cross section of the base 4 and the front cover 6 as viewed from above. The first engagement portion 6e and the engagement hole 4c are
It has the same configuration as the second engagement portion 6c and the engagement hole 5f shown in FIG. That is, when the locking claw 6n is inserted into the first engagement hole 6e from the tip, the arm 6p made of synthetic resin can be elastically deformed. 4
The arm 6p is bent inward by being pushed by the peripheral edge of c.

As a result, the locking claw 6n can pass through the first engagement hole 4c, and the arm 6p is inserted into the first engagement hole 4c.
Are fitted and the bending is eliminated. At this time, the locking claw 6n is locked on the back side of the front surface 4a of the bottom base 4, and the first engaging portion 6e does not fall out of the first engaging hole 4c. The fixing means also prevents the front panel assembly 10 integrated with the front cover 4 from rattling in the left-right direction.

In this manner, the front panel assembly 10 is not displaced in the left, right, up and down directions by the fitting of the first locking projection 5d and the groove 2b, the locking means, and the fixing means. , The top plate 2 and the base 4.

In particular, in FIG. 5B, the first locking projection 5
When d is brought into close contact with the side surface on the near side in the groove 2 b, the front surface 5 i does not float on the front side of the upper surface plate 2 above the front panel 5. Further, when the protruding portion 5e is brought into close contact with the front surface 1a of the outer frame 1, the front panel 5 does not float on the left and right sides from the outer frame 1 and does not play back and forth.

The front panel assembly 10 includes the first engagement portion 6
The first engaging portion 6e is supported by the base 4 at the point e. In view of this, the first engaging portion 6e is configured such that the small side surface of the elongated flat plate-shaped arm portion 6g (see FIG. 6) faces vertically, and the first engaging portion 6e is supported by the bottom base 4 on the small side surface. Have been. Therefore, even if a load is applied, the strength is good, and the front panel assembly 10 does not fall off.

The front panel assembly 10 is divided into an outer frame 1, an upper plate 2,
And by fixing it to the base 4 without displacement, the screw hole 5h (see FIG. 2) of the second locking projection 5g, the front cover 6
The screw hole 6g of the concave portion 6d (see FIG. 2) and the screw hole 4b of the base 4 (see FIG. 2) communicate with each other as shown in FIG. In particular, by providing the first engaging portion 6e and the arm portion 6g in the same part and in the vicinity, the arm portion 6g, the projecting portion 5e and the screw hole 4b are provided.
Can be significantly improved.

Therefore, the operator screws the front panel assembly 10 to the base 4 with the screw 8 while releasing the hand from the front panel assembly 10. Then, the lid 6j is closed and fitted into the groove 6i of the recess 6d. Thereby, the screw head of the screw 8 is hidden, and the washing machine has a preferable appearance as shown in FIG.

Although the front panel assembly 10 is screwed to the bottom 4 in this embodiment, it may be screwed to the outer frame 1.

The recess 6d of the front cover 6 and the second locking projection 5g of the front panel 5, the first engagement portion 6e and the engagement hole 4c are provided two by two, but are not limited thereto.

[0042]

As described above, in the washing machine of the present invention, the front panel made of an elastic material is connected to the front panel to form a front panel assembly, and the front panel assembly is formed by utilizing the elastic force. A fixing means is provided on the front cover so that the fixing means can be fixed to the bottom base without displacement. Accordingly, since the front panel assembly does not shift, the screw holes provided in each member communicate with each other, and the screwing operation can be easily performed. Also,
This fixing means completes the engagement simply by pushing the front panel assembly in the direction of the outer frame, so that the assembly is simple.

Further, the front panel can be fixed so as not to rattle or float forward by fitting the locking means or the first locking projection of the front panel with the groove provided in the upper plate. , Become a washing machine with a favorable appearance.

The front cover is positioned with respect to the front panel by fitting the second locking projection of the front panel with the recess provided in the front cover. Also, by screwing them together, the front panel assembly is securely fixed to the outer frame or the base.

Further, since the screw head of the screw fixing the front panel assembly to the outer frame or the bottom can be hidden by the lid provided on the front cover, the washing machine has a preferable appearance.

Further, the arm portion of the first engaging portion, which is an elongated flat plate, is configured so that its cross section is a rectangle which is long in the up-down direction, so that the front panel assembly can be formed on the side surface having a small area of the arm portion. Supported on a table. Accordingly, sufficient strength can be maintained even when a load is applied to the front panel assembly, and the front panel assembly does not shift.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating a front portion of a washing machine according to an embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a partially exploded perspective view of the washing machine.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged perspective view showing a part of a front cover.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory view showing a connecting means.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory view of a front panel locked by an outer frame and a top plate.

FIG. 6 is a sectional view of the bottom base and the front cover as viewed from above.

FIG. 7 is a sectional view of a conventional washing machine.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 1 outer frame 1c insertion hole 2 top plate 2b groove 4 bottom base 4c first engagement hole 5 front panel 5d first engagement projection 5e projection 5f second engagement hole 5g second engagement projection 5h screw hole 6 Front cover 6c Second engaging portion 6d Recess 6e First engaging portion 6g Screw hole 6j Lid 6k Arm portion of second engaging portion 6m Locking claw portion of second engaging portion 6n Locking of first engaging portion Claw part 6p Arm part of first engagement part

Claims (7)

[Claims] 1. A box-shaped outer frame having an opening on an upper surface and a front surface, a base fixed to the bottom surface of the outer frame and made of an elastic material, and an upper fixed to the upper surface of the outer frame. A front plate, a front panel that covers the front surface of the outer frame, a front cover made of a material having elasticity, connecting means for connecting the front cover to a lower side of the front panel to form a front panel assembly, and the front surface Fixing means for fixing the front cover as a panel assembly to the bottom base, wherein the fixing means has a first engaging portion formed by forming a locking claw portion at the tip of an arm portion; A first engaging hole engaged with an engaging portion, wherein the first engaging portion is integrally provided on one of the front cover and the bottom base of the front panel assembly, and the first engaging portion is provided on the other. A washing machine comprising a hole. A second engaging portion formed integrally with an upper surface of the front cover, wherein the connecting portion has a locking claw portion formed at a tip of an arm portion; The washing machine according to claim 1, comprising a second engagement hole opened on a lower surface. 3. An L-shaped projection protruding from the front panel and an insertion hole formed in the outer frame, wherein the projection fits into the insertion hole and the insertion hole has The washing machine according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising a locking means that is locked to a peripheral edge. 4. An upper end of the front panel has a first upward direction.
The locking projection is extended, and a groove in which the first locking projection is fitted is formed on the bottom surface of the upper surface plate. The washing machine as described. 5. A second locking projection extends downward from a lower end of the front panel, and a concave portion is formed on an upper surface of the front cover, and the second engaging member is inserted into the concave portion from above. A screw hole is formed in the inner surface of the concave portion where the stop protrusion and the second locking protrusion are in close contact with each other, and a screw hole communicating with the stopper is fixed to the front surface of the outer frame or the base with screws. The washing machine according to any one of claims 1 to 4, which performs the washing. 6. The washing machine according to claim 5, wherein a front surface of the concave portion is opened so as to be screwed from a front side and a lid is provided. 7. The washing machine according to claim 1, wherein the arm portion of the first engagement portion is an elongated flat plate, and a cross section of the arm portion is a rectangle that is long in a vertical direction. .