JP2003164690A - Drum type washing machine - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a washing machine which prevents close as connecting between a door and bellows and enables the door open with a small force by a door moving means, to prevent the failure of the opening of the door. <P>SOLUTION: In the drum type washing machine which has the bellows 25 water sealing by touching the back of the door 17, which is placed in a water tank 19 with an arranged drum 23 in the inside and opens/closes an input port 13b in the front, and the door moving means for open operating the door 17 with release operating a door lock mechanism holding the door 17 in a closing state, the surface of the bellows 25 is coated with a low friction material. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2003,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a drum-type washing machine for storing laundry in a drum that rotates around a horizontal axis for washing.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in this type of drum type washing machine, a water tub 2 having a horizontal axis cylindrical shape is appropriately elastically supported inside a casing 1 forming an outer shell as shown in FIG. Device 3
Is elastically supported via. A drum 4 rotatable around the horizontal axis is provided inside the water tank 2, and the drum 4 is rotationally driven by a motor 5 mounted on the rear surface of the water tank 2.

A laundry (not shown) is provided on the front surface of the casing 1 so as to face the front opening portions of the drum 4 and the water tank 2.
An input port 6 for taking in and out is formed, and
A door 7 for opening and closing the input port 6 is rotatably attached. Therefore, a bellows 8 for sealing water between the front opening of the water tank 2 and the charging port 6 is provided so that washing water stored in the water tank 2 and scattered water splashes do not leak to the outside of the water tank 2. There is. The end portion of the bellows 8 that extends toward the inlet 6 contacts the back surface of the door 7 when the door 7 is closed, and does not leak from the inlet 6 to the outside of the machine.

However, this type of drum type washing machine is usually provided with a so-called door lock mechanism (not shown) for holding the door 7 in the closed state when the door 7 is closed,
Thus, the door 7 is prevented from being opened carelessly, and the bellows 8 is maintained in a watertight and strong contact state on the back surface of the door 7. Therefore, when opening the door 7, a handle (not shown) is attached to the door 7.
When the door lock mechanism is provided, the door lock mechanism can be opened and rotated after the door lock mechanism is released in cooperation with the handle. Moreover, the bellows 8 is made of synthetic rubber having a high flexibility in addition to the above water sealing function, and also has the function of following the vibration from the elastically supported water tank 2 and reducing the vibration transmission to the housing 1 side. .

[0005]

According to the above construction, when the washing machine is used, the bellows 8 is excellent in the original water-sealing action and vibration resistance and can carry out a smooth washing operation without any problems. However, if the inlet 6 is closed with the door 7 and is left unused for a long time, the contact portion between the door 7 and the bellows 8 is adhered as if it is adsorbed and easily opened. Unusual phenomenon occurs. However, conventionally, in the case where the door 7 is provided with the handle as described above, even if the above-described adhesion phenomenon occurs, it can be easily separated by forcibly opening the door 7 with the handle. When the door 7 was directly opened by hand, it could be used without any problem.

However, this type of horizontal-axis type washing machine has a structure in which the loading port 6 is provided at the front (side), and therefore, compared with a general vertical washing machine having a loading port on the upper surface. However, since the posture in which the door 7 is opened or the laundry is thrown in becomes large, it has been recently improved to improve the operability and usability of the door 7. Is provided with a door open button (not shown), and by pressing the open button, the door lock mechanism is released in conjunction with this and the door 7
A so-called door lock releasing means is provided for urging the door in a slightly opening direction by utilizing a spring force or the like. According to this, the user can open the door 7 in a standing posture, and can easily operate in a comfortable posture.

However, the urging force of the door lock releasing means in the opening direction of the door 7 is smaller than that when the door 7 is directly pulled by hand, and therefore, the close contact as if the bellows 8 is joined as described above. When a phenomenon occurs, the door lock release means has a problem that it is difficult to open and rotate the door 7.

In addition, the above-described contact phenomenon between the door 7 and the bellows 8 ensures the water-sealing performance at the contact portion thereof, so that both of them are more likely to appear as they are finished with high precision and the contact degree is increased, and therefore, by the way. In many cases, a glass member is used to form a window that allows the inside of the door 7 to be seen through, and the bellows 8 has a problem that the bellows 8 more easily adheres to the glass surface.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and therefore an object of the present invention is to prevent the adhesion phenomenon at the contact portion between the door and the bellows or to improve the opening means of the door to open the door. The purpose is to eliminate defects and improve the operability of the door, and to provide a drum-type washing machine with good usability.

[0010]

In order to achieve the above object, a drum type washing machine according to the present invention comprises, as a first means, a casing forming an outer shell, and a water tank elastically supported inside the casing. A drum disposed inside the water tank so as to be rotatable about the horizontal axis; a charging port provided on the front surface of the casing so as to face the water tank and the front of the drum; and a rotation port for opening and closing the charging port. A movably provided door, a bellows that seals the space between the input port and the water tank and contacts the back surface of the door, a door lock mechanism that holds the input port closed by the door, A lock release means provided on the housing for releasing the door lock mechanism to open the door, and a door opening biasing means for opening the door according to the release of the door lock mechanism by the lock release means. In the above, On the surface of the Rose, and wherein the coated low friction material (the first aspect of the present invention).

According to this structure, by coating the bellows with a low-friction material such as Teflon (registered trademark) (PTFE), the surface has a low friction coefficient to enhance the slidability, and the bellows is pressed against the door for a long time. Even if it is left unattended, it is possible to prevent it from being in a close contact state like a joint, and it is possible to open the door with a relatively weak force by the door opening urging means accompanying the unlocking of the door lock releasing means. Therefore, it is possible to improve the original operability of opening the door using the door lock releasing means, and it is possible to deal with it without weakening the degree of contact between the door and the bellows. It is possible to provide a drum-type washing machine that is easy to use by eliminating the problem.

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the drum type washing machine of the present invention comprises, as a second means, a casing forming an outer shell, a water tank elastically supported inside the casing, and this water tank. A drum that is rotatably arranged around the horizontal axis inside the
An inlet provided on the front surface of the casing facing the front of the water tank and the drum, a door rotatably provided to open and close the inlet, and a water seal between the inlet and the water tank. And a bellows that comes into contact with the back surface of the door, a door lock mechanism that holds the insertion opening closed by the door, and a lock release that unlocks the door lock mechanism that is provided in the housing and enables the door to be opened. Means and a door opening urging means for opening the door when the door lock mechanism is released by the lock releasing means, wherein the door is formed by using a glass member capable of seeing through the inside. The bellows is in contact with the glass member, and at least one of the contact portions has a surface roughness of 5 μm or more (invention of claim 2).

According to this structure, water leakage from the door in this type of washing machine can be reliably prevented, and the glass member of the door and the bellows can be prevented from adhering to each other in a joined state, so that the door can be unlocked. It is possible to provide a drum type washing machine which is easy to use based on the operability of the door by eliminating the door opening defect using the accompanying door opening urging means.

Further, in order to achieve the above object, the drum type washing machine of the present invention comprises, as a third means, a casing forming an outer shell, a water tank elastically supported inside the casing, and the water tank. A drum that is rotatably arranged around the horizontal axis inside the
An inlet provided on the front surface of the casing facing the front of the water tank and the drum, a door rotatably provided to open and close the inlet, and a water seal between the inlet and the water tank. And a bellows that comes into contact with the back surface of the door, a door lock mechanism that holds the insertion opening closed by the door, and a lock release that unlocks the door lock mechanism that is provided in the housing and enables the door to be opened. Means and a door opening urging means for opening the door when the door lock mechanism is released by the lock releasing means, wherein the door is formed by using a glass member capable of seeing through the inside. The bellows is in contact with the glass member, and talc powder is applied to the contact portion (invention of claim 3).

According to such a configuration, talc
Has excellent slidability, such as being pulverized and used as an anti-friction material. By applying this to a bellows, the adhesion phenomenon can be suppressed, and even a relatively small urging force by the door opening urging means Can be released smoothly,
As a result, the same operational effect as the invention of claim 2 can be expected.

Further, in order to achieve the above object, the drum type washing machine of the present invention comprises, as a fourth means, a casing forming an outer shell, and a water tank elastically supported inside the casing.
A drum disposed inside the water tank so as to be rotatable about the horizontal axis, a charging port provided on the front surface of the casing facing the water tank and the front of the drum, and rotatable to open and close the charging port. A door, a bellows that seals the space between the input port and the water tank and contacts the back surface of the door, a door lock mechanism that holds the input port closed by the door, and the housing. Provided with a lock releasing means for releasing the door lock mechanism to open the door, and a door opening biasing means for opening the door when the door lock mechanism is released by the lock releasing means. In the door lock mechanism, the door-side hook lever is provided so as to be disengageable from the housing-side engaging member, and the door-lock releasing means disengages the hook lever in the engaged state in the disengaging direction. An engagement releasing member for moving the movement,
The engagement releasing member is provided with a pushing rib for pushing the hook lever in the door opening direction when the lock is released (the invention of claim 4).

According to this structure, the push-out rib for pushing out the hook lever in the door opening direction is utilized by utilizing the fact that the hook lever engaged with the engaging member is rotationally moved in the releasing direction. The door opening urging means can contribute to the opening of the door together with the door opening urging means.The door opening urging means has a simple structure with a small urging force, or the door and the bellows are in close contact with each other. Even if it tends to be difficult to release the door, a large biasing force can be applied in the initial stage of opening the door, so that the door opening using the door opening biasing means can be more effectively performed when the lock is released. It is possible to provide a drum-type washing machine that is easy to use with improved operability.

In order to achieve the above object, the drum type washing machine of the present invention is, as a fifth means, a housing forming an outer shell, a water tank elastically supported inside the housing, and this water tank. A drum rotatably arranged around a horizontal axis inside the container, an inlet provided on the front of the casing facing the front of the water tank and the drum, and rotatably provided to open and close the inlet. Provided on the housing, a door, a bellows that seals the space between the inlet and the water tank and contacts the back surface of the door, a door lock mechanism that holds the inlet in the closed state by the door. A lock release means for releasing the door lock mechanism to open the door, and a door opening urging means for opening the door according to the release of the door lock mechanism by the lock release means, Door opening Means, said response time in the unlocked by the door lock release means, characterized by being constructed from extruded solenoid device said door in the opening direction (the invention of claim 5).

According to such a structure, since the urging means for opening the door is utilized by utilizing the mechanical energy of the solenoid, the stable urging force can be controlled electrically and the operation can be electrically released. Sometimes it is possible to control the opening of the door in good timing.

[0020]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION (First Embodiment) A first embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. First, FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 are a partially cutaway side view and a front view, respectively, showing a schematic configuration of the entire drum type washing machine, and a casing 11 forming an outer shell, as shown in FIG. It is composed of an outer box 12 in the shape of a rectangular frame, and a front plate 13 and a rear plate 14 that are mounted and fixed with the outer box 12 sandwiched therebetween.

Among them, as shown in FIG. 2, the front panel 13 is provided with an operation panel 15 for selectively setting a washing course and the like, and a door open button 16 (details will be described later) on the right side thereof. At the same time, as shown in FIG. 2, in particular, a rectangular recess 13a is formed at a substantially central portion, and a circular insertion port 13b for taking in and out laundry (not shown) is formed at a substantially center thereof. A door 17 that opens and closes the inlet 13b from the front is rotatably attached by, for example, one (or two) hinge member 18.
It opens and closes in the so-called lateral direction. Although a specific configuration of the door 17 will be described later, the door 17 has a rectangular shape that is housed in the recess 13a and is substantially flush with the surface of the front plate 13, and has a see-through window 27 formed in the center thereof so that the inside can be seen through. is doing.

A water tank 19 is elastically supported inside the housing 11 via an elastic support device 20 (only one is shown in FIG. 1) having a pair of two water tanks. This aquarium 19
Has a horizontal axis cylindrical shape, and an annular water tank cover 19a is attached and fixed to the front opening side, and is guided to the outside of the machine via a drain valve 21 at the lowest part of the inner part on the opposite side. A drain hose 22 is connected to the drainage hose, and a water supply valve (not shown) is connected to the upper part of the drainage hose 22 to supply tap water as washing water for storage.

Inside such a water tank 19, a drum 23 rotatable around the horizontal axis is arranged. This drum 2
Specifically, 3 is supported in a slightly inclined state toward the front and functions as a tank commonly used for washing operation and dewatering operation. A large number of through holes 23a are formed in the peripheral wall and the inner peripheral surface of the body portion is A plurality of baffles 23b for scraping laundry are provided, and an annular drum cover 23c is attached and fixed to the front opening side, and the charging port 13b is passed through the water tank cover 19a.
It is placed opposite.

However, the drum 23 corresponds to the water tank 1
It is rotationally driven by a motor 24 mounted on the back surface of the device 9. The motor 24 is, for example, an outer rotor type, and an inner stator (not shown) is attached and fixed to the water tank 19 side, and a rotating shaft 24 directly connected to the outer rotor 24a is provided.
b through the rear wall of the water tank 19 in a watertight manner,
The motor 24 is connected to the center of the back surface of the motor and is controlled at a rotational speed according to the washing and dehydrating operations.

As shown in FIG. 1, a bellows 25, which is rich in flexibility and has a generally cylindrical shape, is water-tightly connected between the water tank 19 and the charging port 13b of the front plate 13. While preventing water from leaking out of the water tank 19,
The back surface of the closed door 17 is also watertightly contacted, so that water does not leak out of the machine through the inlet 13b. Thus, FIG. 3 shows a specific configuration including the attachment means for the door 17 and the bellows 25. First, referring to the door 17, this forms the see-through window 27 as described above. That is, an opaque rectangular frame-shaped inner frame 17 is formed around the inner periphery of the rectangular frame-shaped outer frame 17a made of transparent resin.
b is provided, and a circular hole 17 is formed substantially at the center of the inner frame 17b.
forming c.

Further, a transparent glass member 26 made of, for example, heat-resistant glass is attached and fixed through the back plate 17d so as to face the hole 17c, and the glass member 26 forms a circular dish container-shaped rear ( It has a shape that bulges inward. Therefore, the door 17 having such a structure has a transparent outer frame 17
The inside of the drum 23 can be seen through a and the glass member 26, and a see-through range corresponding to the shape of the circular hole 17c is formed so as to function as a so-called substantial see-through window 27.

On the other hand, the bellows 25 is made of a material capable of coping with vibration from the elastically supported water tank 19 and having excellent chemical resistance such as detergent solution. For example, an ethylene / propylene synthetic rubber ( The mounting base portion 25a, which is one end thereof, is fitted in the front end portion of the aquarium cover 19a, and the other end is provided with a bellows portion 2 in the middle.
5b is extended to the charging port 13b and has a ring-shaped standing portion 25c that comes into contact with the glass member 26. After closing the charging port 13b with water, the tip 25d is fixed to the outer box 12. Attached member 12a and presser plate 12b
It is a watertight structure that is sandwiched and fixed by. In particular, at least the surface of the standing portion 25c, which is in contact with the glass member 26, which is the surface of the bellows 25 in this embodiment, is coated with Teflon (PTFE), which is a low friction material (indicated by symbol P in the figure).

The door open button 16 shown in FIG. 2 will now be described. This is also an operating means for opening the door 17, but the door lock mechanism 28 shown in FIG. Lock release means 29 for releasing the closed lock state (shown by the middle two-dot chain line)
Are configured. That is, first, the former door lock mechanism 28
The hook lever 30 is rotatably provided on the door 17 side, and the engaging member is provided on the housing 11 (shown by a chain double-dashed line in the figure) side that engages and disengages with the hook lever 30. 31 and the door 17 has the inlet 13
When b is closed, the closed state is locked and held.

Among them, the hook lever 30 is the door 17
Free end side to open (the side opposite to the hinge member 18 shown in FIG. 2)
The hook portion 30 at the tip of the hook portion 30
A is attached so as to project from the rear surface of the door 17, and is biased by a tension coil spring 32 so as to always rotate in the direction of arrow A in the figure. Is maintained at a predetermined position substantially similar to.

On the other hand, the hook portion 3 of the hook lever 30
The engaging member 31 that engages and disengages with the 0a is provided inside the front plate 13 that is the housing 11, has an elongated box shape as a whole, and has an engaging opening 31a at a position facing the hook portion 30a. An inclined engaging piece 31b is provided on one side of the engaging port 31a so as to be engaged with the hook portion 30a. Therefore, as will be described in detail later, the door 17 is closed and the hook portion 3 of the hook lever 30 is closed.
When 0a is engaged with the engagement piece 31b of the engagement member 31, the engagement state is held by the urging force of the tension coil spring 32,
It functions as a so-called lock-holding door lock mechanism 28.

In contrast to such a door lock mechanism 28 that locks and holds the door 17 in the closed state, the lock releasing means 29 having the door open button 16 described above engages the hook lever 30 and the engaging member 31. There is a means to forcibly cancel. That is, as also shown in FIG. 4, the door open button 16 has a push button configuration that automatically returns, and a lever member 33 that interlocks with the pressing operation of the door open button 16 is provided and the lever member 33 is rotated. It is connected to transmit the dynamic displacement to the control wire 35 via the tension coil spring 34.

However, the other end of the control wire 35 is introduced inside the engagement member 31 of the door lock mechanism 28, and the engagement release is slidably accommodated in the box-shaped engagement member 31. It is connected to the member 36. When the control wire 35 is pulled in the direction of the arrow B based on the operation of the door open button 16, the engagement release member 36 has an opening recess 36a that faces the engagement opening 31a. As shown, the hook portion 30a is sized to be accommodated.

The control wire 35 is the outer wire 35a and the inner wire 35 as is generally known.
In this configuration, the inner wire 35b is actually displaced to obtain a necessary operation amount (stroke). Further, in order to restrict the movement of the engagement releasing member 36 pulled by the control wire 35 in the arrow B direction, a stopper 31c is provided on the sliding surface of the engaging member 31 so as to project.

Therefore, the recess 3 of the disengagement member 36.
6a is capable of reciprocating by sliding from the illustrated solid line position to the upper two-dot chain line position in the state where the hook part 30a is accommodated, and the engagement state between the hook part 30a and the engaging piece 31b is indicated at the solid line position. When it can be locked and moved to the position indicated by the chain double-dashed line (the direction of arrow B), the hook portion 30a is moved in the same direction against the tension coil spring 32 and the like (the direction of the opposite arrow A) to engage the engagement piece 31b. The arrangement is such that the engagement is released.

Further, there is provided a door opening urging means for slightly opening the door 17 according to the releasing operation of the lock releasing means 29. In this embodiment, for example, as shown by a broken line in FIG. 2, a torsion coil spring 37 pivotally supported by the hinge member 18 is provided, one end of which is supported on the housing 11 side and the other end is supported on the door 17 side. When the door 17 is in a closed state, it constitutes a so-called door opening urging means for accumulating the elastic force of the torsion coil spring 37 to urge the door 17 to open to a predetermined position. is there. It should be noted that such a door opening urging means may open the door 17 in response to the unlocking of the door 17 described above, and therefore, for example, is interlocked with the movement of the engagement releasing member 36 in the unlocking direction. Therefore, various means such as a pin mechanism for pushing out the door 17 from the back surface thereof can be adopted.

Next, the operation of the drum type washing machine having the above structure will be described. First, regarding the original washing function, as generally known with reference to Fig. 1, "washing" and "rinsing" are well known.
-The "dewatering" process is automatically executed, and the washing water (tap water) is used in the "washing" and "rinsing" processes.
Is supplied to the inside of the water tank 19, the drum 23 is rotated at a low speed, and the washing operation (not shown) is carried out by a stirring motion in which the laundry is scraped up by the baffle 23b and dropped, while the drum 23 is rotated at a high speed in the "dewatering" step. Centrifugal dehydration is performed on laundry.

However, during the "washing" or "dehydration" operation, the agitated or dehydrated water droplets are scattered not only in the water tank 19 but also in the space closed by the door 17 through the front opening. It becomes soaked with water. However, the bellows 25 in which the mounting base portion 25a is fitted and attached to the end portion of the water tank cover 19a of the water tank 19 is watertight to the glass member 26 which is the back surface of the door 17 in which the extended standing portion 25c is closed. Since they are in contact with each other, the water that has entered is surely sealed by the bellows 25 and the door 17, and
No water leaks out of the water tank 19 from 3b. In addition, since the bellows 25 is made of a highly flexible material and has the bellows portion 25b formed in the middle portion thereof, it can follow or absorb the amplitude of the vibration caused by the rotational driving of the drum 23. It has excellent durability and is also effective in preventing vibration transmission to the housing 11 side.

Next, the operation of the door lock mechanism 28 and the lock release mechanism 29 which are interlocked with the opening and closing of the door 17 will be described below mainly with reference to FIG. First, the hook lever 30 of the door lock mechanism 28 is pulled by the tension coil spring 32 when the door 17 is opened, and is indicated by the arrow A.
It is located at a position rotated by a predetermined angle in the direction (a state substantially similar to the state shown by the solid line in FIG. 4). From this state, door 1
When the door 7 is closed, the door 17 is housed in the recess 13a having the insertion opening 13b, the outer surface of which is substantially flush with the front plate 13, and the door lock mechanism 28 causes the door 1 to operate.
Lock and hold 7 closed.

That is, the hook portion 30a of the hook lever 30 protruding from the door 17 has the engaging opening 31a of the engaging member 31.
It is instantly inserted from the
After the tip end of the similar inclined hook lever 30 comes into contact with b, the hook lever 30 is resisted against the tension coil spring 32.
Is rotated in the opposite arrow A direction. However, when the hook portion 30a reaching the recess 36a of the engagement releasing member 36 gets over the engagement piece 31b as shown by the chain double-dashed line in FIG. 4, it is urged by the tension coil spring 32 in the direction of arrow A. When the engagement release member 36 slides in the direction opposite to the arrow B and engages with the engagement piece 31b, the twisting coil spring 37, which is the door opening biasing means, acts against the opening biasing force. However, the above-mentioned engaged state is maintained.

Therefore, the door 17 is locked and held in the closed state by the door lock mechanism 28, and the bulging glass member 26 on the back side of the door 17 is fixed to the bellows 25.
Contacting under pressure, and particularly effectively contacting the standing portion 25c that stands up in a ring shape as a whole, to enhance the water sealing effect. Then, the door 17 is locked and held in the closed state, and the washing operation is smoothly executed based on the state where the space communicating with the water tank 19 is water-sealed by the bellows 25.

On the other hand, when the operation is completed or the door 17 is opened as needed, the door open button 16 constituting the unlocking means is pressed. As a result, the lever member 33 is rotated as shown in FIG.
5 is pulled in the direction of arrow B, and the engagement releasing member 36 is slid in the same direction and moved until it comes into contact with the stopper 31c. Then, the hook portion 30 which is housed in the recess 36a of the engagement releasing member 36 and is in the engaged state with the engaging piece 31b.
When a is pivotally moved in the direction opposite to the arrow A, and the recess 36a reaches a position (shown by a chain double-dashed line) facing the engagement opening 31a, the hook portion 30a forcibly engages with the engagement piece 31b. Be disengaged.

When the engaged state of the hook portion 30a is released, the door 17 is always biased by the door opening biasing means (twisting coil spring 37), and further, the hook lever 30 is pushed. The urging force of the tension coil spring 32 and the restoring force of the bellows 25 in the compressed state to the free state released from the compressed state are also added, and the door 17 is quickly opened to a predetermined position. Therefore, the slightly opened door 17 can be easily fully opened by putting a hand on it. In this case, the sliding movement of the engagement releasing member 36 is caused by the engagement opening 3 as described above.
1b and the recess 36a are regulated so as to coincide with each other (stopper 31c), but an operation amount (stroke) more than necessary can be absorbed by the extension of the tension coil spring 34, which facilitates the design and manufacture.

Incidentally, the hook lever 30 (hook portion 30a) in which the door 17 is locked in the closed state as described above,
The engagement state with the engagement member 31 (engagement piece 31b) cannot be released unless the engagement release member 36 is slid so that the engagement member (lock) is not inadvertently released during operation. It is easily possible to provide a means for restraining the movement of the solenoid 36 so as to prevent the movement of the door 36 by, for example, providing a solenoid responsive to the start of driving, and in such a case, accidentally opening the door 17 during driving. Can be prevented and the safety can be further improved.

By the way, as described above, in the drum type washing machine, the water tank 19 and the charging port 13b, which are open to the front side, are opened.
In the bellows 25 provided to prevent water leakage from the inside, care must be taken to obtain a reliable water and wind effect especially for the door 17 that is opened and closed. Therefore, the bellows 25, which comes into contact with the back surface of the door 17 when the insertion opening 13b of the door 17 is closed, is designed and manufactured so as to come into sufficient contact in consideration of the free movement (deflection) of the door 17, that is, the glass member 26. Makes the water-sealing effect more reliable by, for example, closely contacting the standing portions 25c with strong pressure and finishing the contact surfaces with each other with high precision.

However, when the washing machine is not used (stored) for a long time, the door 17 is closed as described above, and the bellows 25 is left in a strongly adhered state for a long time. Of course, since the door lock mechanism 28 is held in the locked state, the door 17 and the bellows 25 are in close contact with each other as if they were joined, and the phenomenon that they cannot be easily separated occurs. That is, even if the door open button 16 is operated by the unlocking means 29, the door 17 is not opened to a predetermined position by the urging force of the torsion coil spring 37, which is the door opening urging means based on this, and therefore the door is not opened. This leads to a problem that 17 is an opening failure.

On the other hand, according to this embodiment, the bellows 2
On the surface of No. 5, at least the surface of the standing portion 25c on the side in contact with the glass member 26 is coated with Teflon coating (P) of a low friction material, so that the bellows 25 becomes a surface layer having a low friction coefficient and is left for a long time. However, the door 17 can be opened by operating the door open button 16 without exhibiting a close contact phenomenon such as the door 17 and the bellows 25 being joined.

Therefore, the user operates the door open button 16 in the standing posture to operate the door lock mechanism 28.
It is possible to unlock the door and securely open the door 17. In this case, the bellows 25 can be dealt with without weakening the degree of contact with the door 17, so that the water sealing effect is not deteriorated, and the biasing force of the torsion coil spring 37, which is the door opening biasing means, is also compared. Since the required opening operation can be performed with a relatively weak force, sudden opening of the door 17 can be prevented, which is effective for safety.

As described above, this embodiment has the following effects. That is, in the present configuration, the door 1 that seals water between the input port 13b on the front surface of the housing 11 and the water tank 19 in which the drum 23 is arranged and opens and closes the input port 13b.
7, a door opening urging means for opening the door 17 in accordance with a release operation of a door lock mechanism 28 for holding the door 17 in a closed state. In a drum type washing machine having a torsion coil spring 37), the surface of the bellows 25 is coated with Teflon (PTFE) which is a low friction material (P).

As a result, the surface of the bellows 25 can be made to have a low coefficient of friction to improve the sliding property, and even if the bellows 25 is left pressed against the door 17 for a long period of time, the bellows 25 does not come into a close contact state like a joint and the door is unlocked. The door 17 can be opened even with a relatively weak force by the door opening biasing means associated with the unlocking of the means 29 or a slight opening displacement. Therefore, it is possible to improve the original operability of opening the door using the door lock releasing means 29, and further, it is possible to deal with it without weakening the degree of contact between the door 17 and the bellows 25, without lowering the original water sealing effect. It is possible to provide a drum-type washing machine that is easy to use by eliminating the defective opening of the door 17.

The door lock mechanism 2 shown in the above embodiment is used.
8, the unlocking means 29, the door opening urging means and the like can be modified in various ways. For example, as described above, the restraining means prevents the door lock mechanism 28 from being easily released during operation. May be added, or the door opening urging means may be provided with an extruding mechanism for slightly opening and displacing the door 17 in conjunction with the release operation by the lock releasing means 29.
In place of the push button method, various methods such as a rotating method and a lever shape may be considered.

In particular, in this embodiment, the surface of the bellows 25 is coated with Teflon (P), so that the door 1
Although the separation from 7 can be performed smoothly, in place of this, it can be developed as follows, although not shown. For example, the surface roughness of the contact portion between the bellows and the glass member of the door is set to 5 μm or more. in this case,
The surface roughness of at least one of them should be 5 μm or more, and this also does not impair the water-sealing effect between the door and the bellows and causes the door to come into close contact with each other as if they were joined, resulting in poor opening. It is possible to solve the problem of, and improve the operability of opening the door, and expect improved usability.

Alternatively, talc powder may be applied to the contact portion of the bellows door with the glass member. In such a case, talc is finely pulverized and used as an anti-friction material and has excellent sliding properties, and it is possible to prevent the adhesion phenomenon of the bellows, which causes poor opening of the door, and the same effects as above can be expected. Compared to the above-mentioned embodiment, FIGS.
In the third embodiment, the same parts as those in the first embodiment are designated by the same reference numerals and the description thereof will be omitted. Only different parts will be described below.

(Second Embodiment) First, FIG. 5 shows a second embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 5 (a) shows a state in which the hook lever 30 is engaged and locked. The same figure (b) shows the state where the lock of the hook lever 30 is released. This is the lock release means 29,
Extruding ribs 38 having a function of pushing out the door 17 in the opening direction
The configuration is the same as that of the above embodiment.
That is, in the disengagement member 36 slidably provided in the engagement member 31, the extrusion rib 38 made of a hard rubber material is formed in the recess 36a at a position facing the tip of the hook portion 30a. More specifically, the surface has an arcuate shape along the sliding direction of the engagement releasing member 36, and the hook lever 30 has an opposite arrow A as shown in FIG.
The contact degree of the tip end portion of the hook portion 30a increases with the movement (rotation) in the lock release direction.

Therefore, in the above structure, the door 17 in FIG.
First, the door open button (not shown) is operated to pull the control wire 35 (inner wire 35b) in the direction of arrow B shown in FIG. 3A, and the engagement release member 36 slides in the same direction. Let As a result, the hook portion 3 housed in the recess 36a
0a is also moved in the opposite arrow A direction (arrow B direction) against the tension coil spring 32, and the operation up to this point is the same as in the first embodiment.

Then, while the hook lever 30 is disengaged from the engaging piece 31b as shown in FIG. 7B and is released, that is, the lock is released, the tip portion of the hook portion 30a gradually forms the pushing rib 38. At the position where the contact degree is increased and finally the lock is completely released as shown in FIG. 7 (b), the hook lever 30 is moved by the arrow S by the dimension S as compared with the case where the extrusion rib 38 is not provided (shown by the chain double-dashed line). It acts to push in the C direction. Therefore, the door 17 can be opened to a predetermined position by the door opening urging means (not shown), but at this time, the hook lever 30 pushes out by a pushing amount corresponding to the dimension S (direction of arrow C).
In addition, since the disengagement member 36 is generated at the moment when the disengagement member 36 moves, its pushing action is given in the initial opening of the door 17, and a larger opening operation force is required in the initial opening of the door 17, so that the door 17 is quickly opened. It is convenient to do.

On the other hand, when the door 17 is closed from the open state and held in the locked state, the same procedure as in the first embodiment may be performed. However, in the present embodiment, when the door 17 is closed, the hook lever 30 moves in the direction of the counter arrow C in FIG. 2B, is inserted from the engagement opening 31a and reaches the inside of the recess 36a, and the tip end is pushed to the pushing rib 38. Abut. However, since the extrusion rib 38 is made of hard rubber and has some elasticity, and the surface has an arc shape, the door 1
7, the hook portion 30a is guided and rotated together with the engagement releasing member 36 in the direction of arrow A in FIG. 7A to securely engage with the engagement piece 31b, and lock-hold in this state. To be done.

As described above, by providing the pushing ribs 38 having the function of pushing the door 17 in the opening direction at the initial stage of opening the door 17, in addition to the opening bias by the door opening biasing means, the door 17 and the door 17 are illustrated. It is possible to quickly and surely open the contact portion with the bellows, which can further improve the operability of opening the door 17, and can of course provide a convenient drum type washing machine without affecting the water sealing action of the bellows.

(Third Embodiment) Next, FIGS. 6 and 7 show a third embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 6 is a side view showing a schematic structure of a main part of a drum type washing machine. FIG. 7 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the relevant part. The present embodiment is different from the door opening urging means disclosed in the first embodiment, and the other is common. That is, the structure of the door 17 itself that opens and closes the inlet 41b and the structure of the bellows 25 and the like that are watertightly provided between the door 17 and the water tank 19 are the same as those in the first embodiment, but the door 17 is attached in the opening direction. As a means of energizing,
The difference is that a solenoid device 39 described later is adopted.

Specifically, first, as shown in FIG.
A rectangular recess 41a having the input port 41b is formed in the front plate 41 forming 0, and the door 17 is closed and housed in the recess 41a. Then, this recess 41a
The above-mentioned solenoid device 39 is disposed inside the.
The installation site is provided, for example, on the side opposite to the site where the door 17 is rotatably supported when viewed from the front of the door 17, that is, on the so-called free end side, and facing the back surface of the door 17. .

FIG. 7 shows a specific configuration of the solenoid device 39. A box-shaped solenoid case 42 is fixed to the back surface of the recess 41a, and a coil 43 and a movable iron core constituting a solenoid are provided in the case 42. A front end portion 45a, which is made of a non-magnetic resin or hard rubber, integrally connects and fixes a large-diameter push rod 45 to the front end of the iron core 44. However, the compression coil spring 47 is wound around the rear end of the iron core 44 so as to protrude from the rear end of the normal (non-energized) coil case 46, and the head 45a of the push-out rod 45 is attached to the front end of the coil case 46. By being abutted against the surface, the iron core 44 is held at a predetermined position deviated from the center of the coil 43 by a predetermined dimension, and the operating stroke at the time of energization is determined. Further, the head portion 45a of the push-out rod 45 faces the through hole 48 formed in the recess 41a of the front plate 41,
It faces the back plate 17d of the door 17.

According to the above construction, when the door 17 is opened, when the door open button (not shown) is operated to release the locked state by the door lock mechanism, the solenoid device 39 is instantly energized. By this energization, the iron core 44 resists the urging force of the compression coil spring 47, and
3, the push-out rod 45 is projected from the through hole 48 and abuts against the back plate 17d of the door 17. As a result, the door 17 is pushed forward and is opened to a predetermined position, and then the user manually fully opens the door.

The pushing force of the push-out rod 45 for opening the door 17 is electrically and mechanically (for example, iron core stroke).
The push rod 45 can be easily adjusted, and since the push rod 45 energizes the solenoid device 39 instantaneously (or is temporarily performed), once the push rod has been pushed out, the push rod 45 is compressed together with the iron core 44 into a compression coil. The spring 47 restores the original normal state and does not hinder the closing of the next door 17.

As described above, in this embodiment, since the solenoid device 39 is used as the door opening urging means, the electric energy is mechanical energy and the urging force is stable, and the operation can be electrically controlled. By providing the switch circuit that responds to the operation of the unlocking means including the door lock mechanism and the door open button, the opening control of the door 17 can be performed in good timing. still,
The present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above and shown in the drawings, but may be implemented by appropriately changing it within a range not departing from the gist of the present invention, for example, a washing and drying machine having a drying function.

[0064]

As is clear from the above description, in the drum type washing machine of the present invention, the bellows provided in the water tank having the drum inside is brought into contact with the back surface of the door which opens and closes the front inlet. In the drum type washing machine having a door opening urging means for opening the door 17 when the door lock mechanism for holding the door in the closed state is released, The surface is coated with a low-friction material.

As a result, the surface of the bellows can be made to have a low coefficient of friction to enhance the sliding property, and even if the bellows is left in a compressed state for a long time due to the door being closed, the bellows will not be brought into a tightly adhered state like a joint, and accordingly, by hand Even if the door opening and urging means has a relatively small force as compared with pulling and opening, the door can be reliably opened. In this way, it is possible to deal with the door opening failure and to deal with it without weakening the degree of contact between the door and the bellows, so that the original water-sealing effect will not be deteriorated, etc. It is possible to provide a good drum type washing machine.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a partially cutaway side view showing a schematic configuration of an entire drum type washing machine according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

[Figure 2] Front view

FIG. 3 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the main part of FIG.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged view showing a configuration of a door lock mechanism and a lock release means.

FIG. 5 is an enlarged view of the different operation states (a) and (b) of the door lock mechanism portion showing the second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a partially cutaway side view showing a schematic configuration of a main part of a drum type washing machine according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

7 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the main part of FIG.

FIG. 8 is a schematic configuration diagram of a drum type washing machine showing a conventional example.

[Explanation of symbols]

11, 40 are housings, 13 and 41 are front plates, 13a and 41
a is a depression, 13b and 41b are inlets, 16 is a door open button (lock releasing means), 17 is a door, 19 is a water tank, 23 is a drum, 25 is a bellows, 26 is a glass member, 28 is a door lock mechanism, 29 is unlocking means, 3
0 is a hook lever, 30a is a hook portion, 31 is an engaging member, 31a is an engaging hole, 31b is an engaging piece, 35 is a control wire, 36 is an engaging member, 36a is a recess, 37
Is a torsion coil spring (door opening biasing means), 38 is an extrusion rib, 39 is a solenoid device, 43 is a coil, 44 is an iron core, and 45 is an extrusion rod.

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A housing forming an outer shell, a water tank elastically supported inside the housing, a drum rotatably arranged around a horizontal axis inside the water tank, and the water tank and the front of the drum. An inlet provided opposite to the front surface of the housing, a door rotatably provided to open and close the inlet, and a water seal between the inlet and the water tank, and a back surface of the door. Bellows that come into contact with each other, a door lock mechanism that holds the insertion port closed by the door, a lock release unit that is provided in the housing and that opens the door by releasing the door lock mechanism, and the lock release unit. And a door opening urging means for opening the door when the door lock mechanism is released by the above method, wherein the surface of the bellows is coated with a low friction material. 2. A housing forming an outer shell, a water tank elastically supported inside the housing, a drum rotatably disposed inside the water tank about a horizontal axis, and the water tank and the front of the drum. An inlet provided opposite to the front surface of the housing, a door rotatably provided to open and close the inlet, and a water seal between the inlet and the water tank, and a back surface of the door. Bellows that come into contact with each other, a door lock mechanism that holds the insertion port closed by the door, a lock release unit that is provided in the housing and that opens the door by releasing the door lock mechanism, and the lock release unit. A door opening urging means for opening the door when the door lock mechanism is released by the door opening mechanism, wherein the door is formed by using a glass member capable of seeing through the inside, and the bellows is the glass member. Contact with Rutotomoni, drum type washing machine is characterized in that not less than 5μm at least one of the surface roughness of the contact portion. 3. A casing forming an outer shell, a water tank elastically supported inside the casing, a drum rotatably arranged around the horizontal axis inside the water tank, and the water tank and the front of the drum. An inlet provided opposite to the front surface of the housing, a door rotatably provided to open and close the inlet, and a water seal between the inlet and the water tank, and a back surface of the door. Bellows that come into contact with each other, a door lock mechanism that holds the insertion port closed by the door, a lock release unit that is provided in the housing and that opens the door by releasing the door lock mechanism, and the lock release unit. A door opening urging means for opening the door when the door lock mechanism is released by the door opening mechanism, wherein the door is formed by using a glass member capable of seeing through the inside, and the bellows is the glass member. Contact with Rutotomoni, drum type washing machine, characterized in that coated with talc powder to the contact portion. 4. A casing forming an outer shell, a water tank elastically supported inside the casing, a drum rotatably disposed inside the water tank about a horizontal axis, and the water tank and the front of the drum. An inlet provided opposite to the front surface of the housing, a door rotatably provided to open and close the inlet, and a water seal between the inlet and the water tank, and a back surface of the door. Bellows that come into contact with each other, a door lock mechanism that holds the insertion port closed by the door, a lock release unit that is provided in the housing and that opens the door by releasing the door lock mechanism, and the lock release unit. And a door opening urging means for opening the door when the door locking mechanism is released by the door locking mechanism, wherein the door locking mechanism enables the hook lever on the door side to be disengaged from the engaging member on the housing side. Provided configuration Both this engagement member, a drum type washing machine, characterized in that the hook lever when the lock is released by the door lock release means is provided extruding extruded ribs in the door opening direction. 5. A casing forming an outer shell, a water tank elastically supported inside the casing, a drum rotatably arranged around a horizontal axis inside the water tank, and the water tank and the front of the drum. An inlet provided opposite to the front surface of the housing, a door rotatably provided to open and close the inlet, and a water seal between the inlet and the water tank, and a back surface of the door. Bellows that come into contact with each other, a door lock mechanism that holds the insertion port closed by the door, a lock release unit that is provided in the housing and that opens the door by releasing the door lock mechanism, and the lock release unit. A door opening urging means for opening the door when the door lock mechanism is released by the door opening urging means. Open up Drum type washing machine, characterized in that consisted extruding solenoid device countercurrent.