JP2005065835A - Drum type washing machine - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent the decline of a cleaning performance due to the localization of laundry at the back part of a rotary tub at the time of inclining the rotary tub to be raised at the front. <P>SOLUTION: The rotary tub 4 is arranged such that its center axis O is inclined at about 15 degrees to a horizontal axis. The rear half part 13b of the peripheral wall part 13 of the rotary tub 4 is constituted so as to gradually increase a diameter from the rear part to the front part and the front half part 13c is constituted so as to slightly reduce the diameter from the rear part to the front part. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a drum type washing machine provided with a rotating tub inclined upward.

The drum-type washing machine is configured to wash the laundry by rotating the rotating tub so that the laundry containing the washing liquid in the rotating tub is displaced in the vertical direction. For this reason, vibration and noise are likely to occur during the washing operation, and it is necessary to provide a weight of about 100 kg or to lower the position of the rotating tub.
In the configuration in which the weight is provided, the weight of the entire washing machine becomes very large, and thus labor is required for transportation and installation work. In addition, it may be necessary to reinforce the installation location in a wooden house. On the other hand, when the position of the rotating tub is lowered, the position of the laundry input port is also lowered, and there is a problem that it is difficult to put in and out the laundry.

Therefore, a drum-type washing machine is provided in which the position of the laundry input port is increased by inclining forward so that the front portion of the rotating tub is higher than the rear portion. However, if the rotating tub is tilted forward, the laundry tends to be unevenly distributed in the inner part of the rotating tub. As described above, when the laundry is unevenly distributed in the inner part of the rotating tub, the laundry cannot be efficiently stirred, so that sufficient cleaning performance cannot be obtained.
JP 2002-279679 A

  That is, if the rotating tub is tilted forward in order to increase the position of the laundry input port, there is a problem that the laundry is biased to the back of the rotating tub and the cleaning performance is deteriorated.

In order to prevent the laundry from being unevenly distributed in the inner part of the rotating tub even when the rotating tub is inclined forward, the present invention has a peripheral wall portion of the rotating tub whose rear half has a diameter from the rear to the front. The main feature is that it is composed of a non-cylindrical rotating body that gradually increases toward the center.
In this case, the non-cylindrical portion of the rotating tank is not limited to the latter half of the rotating tank in a strict sense. That is, the latter half of the peripheral wall portion includes a case in which the length dimension in the front-rear direction is less than or equal to half of the entire length of the peripheral wall portion.

Further, in the present invention, the height position of the lowermost portion in the front portion of the rear half portion of the peripheral wall portion of the rotating tank is substantially the same as the height position of the lowermost portion in the rear portion of the latter half portion or the height of the lowermost portion in the rear portion. It is configured to be lower than the position.
On the other hand, another feature of the present invention is that the front half portion of the peripheral wall portion of the rotating tub is configured to be substantially cylindrical or so that the diameter gradually decreases from the rear toward the front.

Another feature of the present invention is that the rear end plate of the rotating tub is configured to bulge toward the rear in the axial direction. Further, the front end plate of the rotating tub is configured to bulge toward the front in the axial direction.
In the drum-type washing machine having the above-described configuration, the water tub is inclined forward and at substantially the same inclination angle as the rotating tub, and the shape thereof is similar to the shape of the rotating tub. preferable.
Moreover, it is good to provide the motor which directly drives a rotation tank in the rear surface part of the said water tank.

  According to the present invention having the above-described configuration, the difference between the height position other than the back portion of the rotating tub and the height position of the back portion becomes small, and the relative height position of the back portion of the rotating tub increases. Accordingly, it is possible to prevent the laundry from being unevenly distributed in the inner part of the rotating tub. In addition, since the diameter of the rear half of the peripheral wall portion is configured to gradually increase from the rear toward the front, the laundry located in the inner portion of the rotating tub is caused by the centrifugal force generated with the rotation of the rotating tub. Move to the near side. On the other hand, the laundry moved to the near side is lifted in the direction perpendicular to the rotation axis by the rotation of the rotating tub, and then dropped in the vertical direction. That is, the laundry in the rotating tub is repeatedly agitated and moved sufficiently from the back to the front and then back to the back, so that the washing performance of the laundry is improved.

In this case, it is possible to reduce the vertical dimension of the rotating tub by configuring the front half of the peripheral wall portion of the rotating tub so as to have a substantially cylindrical shape or a diameter gradually decreasing from the rear toward the front. .
In addition, the water tank is inclined upwardly at substantially the same inclination angle as the rotating tank, and the space between the rotating tank and the water tank is configured by making the shape similar to the shape of the rotating tank. The amount of water required for washing the laundry can be reduced.

  The best drum type washing machine for carrying out the present invention is shown in FIG. FIG. 1 is a diagram schematically showing an embodiment of a drum type washing machine 1 constructed according to the present invention. The drum type washing machine 1 includes a substantially rectangular box-shaped outer box 2, a water tank 3 that is disposed in the outer box 2 in a state of being inclined upward, and a water tank 3 that is inclined in a state of being upwardly inclined. The rotating tank 4 is provided. Each of the water tank 3 and the rotating tank 4 is configured such that a central axis (indicated by a one-dot chain line O in FIG. 1) is inclined by about 15 ° with respect to a horizontal axis.

A circular laundry doorway 5 and a door 6 for opening and closing the doorway 5 are provided on the front surface of the outer box 1.
The water tank 3 includes a peripheral wall portion 7, a front end plate 8 and a rear end plate 9 positioned before and after the peripheral wall portion 7, and is fixed to the bottom surface of the outer box 2 via a damper 10. An opening 11 connected to the entrance / exit 5 is formed in the center of the front end plate 8 by, for example, a rubber bellows (not shown). A bearing housing 12 having a bearing (not shown) inside is fixed to the rear surface of the rear end plate 9 of the water tank 3.

  The rotating tub 4 includes a peripheral wall portion 13, a front end plate 14 and a rear end plate 15 positioned in front of and behind the peripheral wall portion 13, and an opening portion 16 facing the opening portion 11 at the center of the front end plate 14. Is formed. A large number of water passage holes (not shown) are formed in the peripheral wall portion 13. A baffle (not shown) is provided on the inner surface of the peripheral wall portion 13. A rotary tank shaft 17 is fixed to the rear surface of the rear end plate 15. The rotary tank shaft 17 penetrates the rear end plate 9 and the bearing housing 12 of the water tank 3 and is rotatably supported by the bearing.

An outer rotor type motor 18 is disposed at the rear of the bearing housing 12. The stator 19 of the motor 18 is fixed to the rear surface portion of the bearing housing 12, and the rotor 20 is fixed to the rear end portion of the rotating tub shaft 17 that penetrates the bearing housing 12. With the above configuration, the rotating tub 4 is directly driven to rotate by the motor 18.
Next, the shapes of the rotating tank 4 and the water tank 3 will be described. In the present embodiment, the rotating tub 4 and the water tub 3 are configured to be substantially similar. Therefore, the shape of the rotating tank 4 will be described here, and the description of the shape of the water tank 3 will be omitted.

  The front end plate 14 of the rotating tub 4 is formed in a taper shape that is slightly inclined forward from the peripheral edge (connection portion with the peripheral wall 13) toward the peripheral edge of the opening 16, and toward the front in the axial direction. Bulges. In this case, the inclination angle of the front end plate 14 with respect to the central axis O is set to about 75 °. With such a configuration, the lower portion of the front end plate 14 extends in a substantially vertical direction.

  The rear end plate 15 of the rotating tub 4 is configured to bulge toward the rear portion in the axial direction, and is empty with a central flat surface portion 15a and a peripheral portion 15b. The bearing housing 12 is fixed to a portion of the rear end plate 9 of the water tank 3 corresponding to the central closed end portion 15a. Further, the peripheral portion 15b is formed in a tapered shape. The inclination angle of the peripheral portion 15 b with respect to the central axis O is smaller than the inclination angle of the front end plate 14.

  The peripheral wall 13 of the rotating tub 4 is configured to have a maximum diameter in a portion slightly closer to the front than the center in the axial direction. Hereinafter, the portion having the maximum diameter is referred to as a maximum diameter portion 13a. A portion of the peripheral wall portion 13 on the rear side of the maximum diameter portion 13a (hereinafter, the rear half portion 13b) is configured such that the diameter gradually increases from the rear toward the front (that is, the maximum diameter portion 13a). The portion on the front side of the maximum diameter portion 13a (hereinafter referred to as the front half portion 13c) is formed in a substantially cylindrical shape whose diameter slightly decreases from the rear (maximum diameter portion 13a) to the front. With such a configuration, the entire peripheral wall portion 13 of the rotating tub 4 becomes a non-cylindrical rotating body.

In this case, the inclination angle of the latter half portion 13b with respect to the central axis O is set to about 15 °, and the lowermost portion of the latter half portion 13b extends substantially horizontally. For this reason, the water depth in the latter half 13b when water is stored in the water tank 3 is substantially the same before and after. In FIG. 1, an example of the water level in the rotating tub 4 is indicated by a two-dot broken line L.
When the washing operation is performed in the drum type washing machine 1 having the above-described configuration, first, the door 6 is opened and the laundry is put into the rotating tub 4 from the laundry entrance 5. At this time, since the position of the laundry input port 5 is increased by inclining the rotating tub 4 upward, the worker can put in and out the laundry relatively easily.

When the laundry is put into the rotating tub 4 and the door 6 is closed and the start of the washing operation is instructed, the drum type washing machine 1 causes the motor 18, a water supply device (not shown), a drain valve, etc. according to a predetermined control program. Is driven, and a washing process, a rinsing process, and a dehydrating process are sequentially performed.
In the washing process and the rinsing process, the rotating tank 4 is driven to rotate at a low speed by the motor 18. As a result, the laundry in the rotating tub 4 is lifted upward by the baffle and then dropped. At this time, since the rear half 13b of the rotating tub 4 is configured to gradually increase in diameter from the rear toward the front, the laundry is not unevenly distributed in the inner portion of the rotating tub 4. In addition, the laundry positioned in the back of the rotating tub 4 is moved to the near side by the centrifugal force generated with the rotation of the rotating tub 4, while the laundry moved to the near side is moved by the rotation of the rotating tub 4. After being lifted in the direction perpendicular to the central axis O, it falls in the vertical direction. In other words, the laundry in the rotating tub 4 repeats the circulation of moving from the back to the front and moving to the back again. For this reason, the laundry can be sufficiently stirred, and the washing performance of the laundry is improved.

  In addition, the lowermost part 13b of the rotating tub 4 is configured to be substantially horizontal at the lowermost part. Therefore, even when the rotating tub 4 is inclined forward and upward, the laundry is not unevenly distributed in the back of the rotating tub 4 and exists mainly in the rear half 13b. In addition, since there is no difference in the water depth of the rear half 13b of the rotary tub 4 in the front-rear direction, the laundry located in the rear half 13b in the rotary tub 4 is in a state of being evenly immersed in water. For this reason, the laundry can be washed evenly. In particular, the rear half portion 13b of the rotary tank 4 is configured to have a larger axial length than the front half portion 13c. Therefore, it is possible to sufficiently secure a space that contributes to washing because the laundry exists in the rotating tub 4.

On the other hand, in the dehydration step, the rotating tub 4 is rotationally driven by the motor 18 at a high speed. As a result, the laundry in the rotating tub 4 is centrifugally dehydrated. At this time, since the motor 18 is provided on the rear surface of the water tank 3 so as to directly drive the rotating tank 3, the position of the center of gravity of the water tank 3 is lowered. For this reason, the vibration which generate | occur | produces with rotation of the motor 18 can be restrained small.
Moreover, if the diameter of the entire rotating tub 4 is gradually increased from the rear to the front, the diameter of the front of the rotating tub 4 increases, and the rotating tub 4 and thus the outer box 2 are vertically moved. Increase size. In contrast, in the present embodiment, the front half 13c of the rotating tub 4 is formed in a substantially cylindrical shape. Therefore, the drum-type washing machine 1 is not increased in size by tilting the rotary tub 4 upward.

Further, the rear end plate 15 of the rotating tub 4 is configured to bulge toward the rear in the axial direction. Therefore, the angle between the peripheral wall portion 13 of the rotating tub 4 and the rear end plate 15 becomes an obtuse angle, and it is possible to prevent the laundry from being accumulated in this portion.
In addition, the front end plate 14 of the rotating tub 4 is configured to bulge toward the front in the axial direction, and a portion of the front end plate 14 positioned below the opening 16 is configured to be vertical. Thereby, it can prevent that the dimension in the front-back direction of the rotation tank 4 enlarges, enlarging the space in the rotation tank 4. FIG.

  Further, in the present embodiment, the water tank 3 is inclined forward as well as the rotating tank 4 and the shape of the water tank 3 is similar to that of the rotating tank 4. For this reason, the space between the water tub 3 and the rotating tub 4 can be reduced, and the amount of water required for washing the laundry can be reduced.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and for example, the following modifications are possible.
You may comprise a rotating tank in the barrel shape where the trunk | drum expanded. In other words, the front half and the rear half of the rotating tank may be formed of arcuate surfaces that bulge outward.
Moreover, you may comprise the front half part of a rotation tank in the shape of a cylinder.

It is the figure which showed typically embodiment of the drum type washing machine.

Explanation of symbols

In the drawings, 1 is a drum-type washing machine, 2 is an outer box, 3 is a water tub, 4 is a rotating tub, 5 is a laundry inlet, 11 and 16 are openings, 13 is a peripheral wall, 13b is a rear half, and 13c is The front half, 14 is a front end plate, 15 is a rear end plate, and 18 is an outer rotor type motor.

Claims (8)

An outer box having a laundry inlet on the front;
A water tank having an opening disposed inside the outer box and connected to the laundry inlet;
A front end plate that is disposed inside the water tank so as to be inclined upward and has a peripheral wall part, a front end plate provided at a front end part of the peripheral wall part and corresponding to an opening part of the water tank, and a rear end part of the peripheral wall part. In a drum-type washing machine comprising a rotating tub provided with a provided rear end plate,
The drum-type washing machine is characterized in that the peripheral wall portion is composed of a non-cylindrical rotating body in which the diameter of the latter half portion gradually increases from the rear toward the front.   The lowermost height position in the front part of the rear half part of the peripheral wall part is configured to be substantially the same as or lower than the lowermost height position in the rear part of the rear half part. The drum type washing machine according to claim 1.   The drum type washing machine according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the front half of the peripheral wall portion is formed in a substantially cylindrical shape.   The drum type washing machine according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the front half of the peripheral wall is configured such that the diameter gradually decreases from the rear toward the front.   The drum type washing machine according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the rear end plate of the rotating tub is configured to bulge toward the rear in the axial direction.   The drum type washing machine according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the front end plate of the rotating tub is configured to bulge toward the front in the axial direction.   The drum according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the water tank is inclined and inclined upwards at substantially the same inclination angle as the rotating tank, and the shape thereof is similar to the shape of the rotating tank. Type washing machine. The drum type washing machine according to any one of claims 1 to 7, further comprising a motor that is provided on a rear surface portion of the water tank and that directly drives the rotation tank to rotate.

Images