JP2005348943A - Washing machine - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To improve washing performance and dehydration performance by providing tub projecting parts on the inner surface of a washing and spin-drying tub. <P>SOLUTION: On the inner surface of the trunk wall part 15b of the washing and spin-drying tub 15 in which washing and spin-drying are carried out, the plurality of tub projecting part 18 are formed. The tub projecting parts 18 are constituted by forming circular-arc projecting parts on the middle of the trunk wall part 15b, tilting the projecting parts forward in the rotating direction (indicated by an arrow R) of the tub 15, and forming vertical projecting parts extending linearly and nearly in a vertical direction in connection with the lower end of the circular-arc projecting part. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a washing machine including a washing / dehydrating tub that performs washing and dehydration.

  Conventionally, as is well known, this kind of washing machine is provided with a washing / dehydrating tub rotatably in a water tub capable of storing water, and has a number of dewatering holes in the peripheral wall of the washing / dehydrating tub, The stirrer is rotatably provided. And the tank convex part is provided in the inner surface of the said washing and dewatering tank, and it is set as the structure in order to aim at the improvement of washing | cleaning performance or dewatering performance. As a general shape of this tank convex part, there exists what provided the convex part extended in the orthogonal | vertical direction linearly on the inner surface of a washing and dewatering tank. In this case, when the laundry hits the convex portion, mechanical force is applied, and an improvement in cleaning performance can be expected. However, it cannot be said that the centrifugal dehydration action during the dehydration operation and the effect of improving the so-called dehydration performance that improves the air flow generated at that time contribute sufficiently.

Therefore, in recent years, a spiral convex portion is formed over the entire inner surface of the washing and dewatering tank, and mechanical force effective for washing is given to the laundry during the washing operation using the convex portion, while at the time of the dehydrating operation, A proposal has been made to improve the cleaning performance and dewatering performance (see, for example, Patent Document 1), assuming that the air flow generated at that time can be efficiently moved from the dewatering hole.
JP 2002-172296 A

However, it seems that the spiral convex portion causes an air flow in the vertical direction during the dehydration operation and the air movement through the dehydration holes is improved, and an improvement in the dehydration performance can be expected. In some cases, sufficient mechanical force could not be applied to the laundry, and it was not possible to sufficiently contribute to the improvement of the cleaning power.
In order to solve the above problems, an object of the present invention is to provide a washing machine that can be expected to improve both the washing performance and the dewatering performance by devising the shape of the tank convex portion.

  In order to achieve the above object, a washing machine of the present invention comprises a washing / dehydrating tub for storing laundry, and a tub protruding portion is provided on the inner surface of the body wall of the washing / dehydrating tub. The main part is characterized in that a plurality of arc-shaped convex portions are provided in the middle of the trunk wall portion, and the arc-shaped convex portions are inclined forward in the rotation direction of the washing and dewatering tub. is there.

  According to the above-described means, the arcuate convex portion of the arc-shaped convex portion during the washing operation gives an effective mechanical force to the laundry, and during the dehydrating operation, the arc-shaped convex portion accompanies the rotation of the washing / dehydrating tub. Air can be efficiently taken into the tub in the upper half of the part that leans forward, and in the lower half, the washing force can be transmitted to the laundry to reinforce the washing power. It is possible to provide a washing machine that can be expected to improve the dewatering performance without spreading evenly throughout the entire laundry.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment in which the washing machine of the present invention is applied to a washing machine with a drying function will be described with reference to FIGS. First, a description will be given based on a longitudinal sectional view showing the overall configuration of the washing machine shown in FIG. 1. A main body 1 forming an outer shell of the washing machine is composed of a rectangular box-shaped outer box 2 and a top attached to the upper surface. And a cover 3. Among them, the outer casing 2 is provided with a bottomed cylindrical water tank 4 having an upper surface opened through an elastic support mechanism 5 in a form in which both upper and lower surfaces are opened.

  This water tank 4 has a drain hose 8 connected to a drain port 6 at the bottom via a drain valve 7 and constitutes a substantially non-porous tank body capable of storing water. A disk-shaped tank cover 9 is airtightly attached to the upper surface of the water tank 4 so as to close the opening. The tank cover 9 has a water tank 4 with a sealed structure as much as possible, and an inner lid 9a that can be opened and closed is provided at a substantially central portion thereof to allow the laundry to be taken in and out. Further, a hollow air passage 10 extending in the vertical direction adjacent to the outside of the water tank 4 is formed integrally with the water tank 4, for example.

  As shown in the figure, the air passage 10 communicates with the lower part of the water tank 4, has an upper end that extends upward, and has a partition wall 11 that also serves as a peripheral wall of the water tank 4. It has a form that bulges outward from the peripheral wall. Note that the communication port 12 in the lower part of the water tank 4 is preferably positioned as low as possible and communicates with it, but at least higher than the drain port 6 at the bottom of the water tank 4.

  Thus, the upper end opening of the air passage 10 extends to a position substantially the same height as the upper end portion of the water tank 4, and the ventilation guide 13 is connected to the opening end portion. The ventilation guide 13 functions to change the direction of the exhaust gas from the opening directed directly above the ventilation path 10 to the rear upper surface side of the tank cover 9 and to direct the front end opening inward of the main body 1. A filter 14 is attached to the part. Further, a notch portion 11 a that is partly cut out is formed at the upper end portion of the partition wall 11, and a path that communicates with the air passage 10 is formed at the upper end portion of the water tank 4 by an assembly configuration with the tank cover 9. Yes. This is because foaming due to detergent becomes active in the washing operation and the like, and bubbles that have entered from the lower part into the air passage 10 rise and eventually leak out of the tank through the air guide 13. This is a route for returning to the upper part of the water tank 4.

  Inside the water tank 4 as described above, a washing and dewatering tank 15 is provided so as to be rotatable around the vertical axis. The washing and dewatering tub 15 has a bottomed cylindrical shape with an upper surface opened as in the case of the water tub 4. However, the bowl-shaped bottom wall portion 15a and the cylindrical trunk wall portion 15b have water passage holes and A plurality of openings 16 and dewatering holes 17 each functioning as a ventilation hole are provided. Moreover, although the details will be described later, a plurality of tank convex portions 18 are formed on the body wall portion 15b so as to protrude over the entire inner circumference. A balance ring 19 is attached to the upper surface opening of the washing and dewatering tub 15, and a large-diameter stirring body 20 is rotatably provided on the inner bottom. The stirring body 20 has a plurality of through-holes 20a penetrating in the vertical direction at positions avoiding radial stirring convex portions 21 (details will be described later) formed on the upper surface.

  However, a driving mechanism 22 that rotationally drives the washing / dehydrating tub 15 and the stirring body 20 is provided on the outer bottom of the water tub 4. The drive mechanism 22 includes, for example, an outer rotor type motor and a clutch that selectively transmits the rotation of the motor to the washing / dehydrating tub 15 and the stirring body 20. Accordingly, operation control is basically performed through this drive mechanism 22 so that only the stirring body 20 is rotated during the easy washing process, and the washing and dewatering tub 15 is rotated together with the stirring body 20 during the dehydration and drying processes.

  On the other hand, the configuration of the top cover 3 will be described. An insertion port 3a for taking in and out the laundry is formed at a substantially central portion, and an outer lid 23 is rotatably attached to open and close the opening 3a. The outer lid 23 has, for example, a two-fold configuration, and has a plurality of cutout portions 23 a on the peripheral side portion thereof, and a gap is formed between the outer lid 23 in the closed state and the surface of the top cover 3. The so-called air permeability inside and outside the main body 1 is ensured. And the warm air production | generation unit 24, the water supply apparatus which is not shown in figure, etc. are arrange | positioned at the rear part which the top cover 3 protruded.

  The hot air generating unit 24 includes a blower 25 and a heater 26, and the blower 25 includes a casing 28 having an inlet 27 on the rear surface, a fan 29 a accommodated in the casing 28, and a casing 28. The fan motor 29b is provided on the outer surface of the front portion and rotationally drives the fan 29a. The heater 26 is formed of, for example, a PTC heater, and is provided at the front end portion in the casing 28 and is located downstream of the blower 25.

A bellows-shaped air supply duct 30 is connected to the front end of the casing 28, and the other end is connected to a vent (not shown) at the rear of the tank cover 9. Air or cold air (outside air) can be supplied into the water tank 4 and the washing and dewatering tank 15.
Further, an operation panel 31 is provided on the upper surface of the front portion of the top cover 3 and includes a start switch (not shown), operation keys for setting various operation courses, and the like as is well known. Is provided with a control device 32 for operation control.

  In addition, 33 shown in FIG. 1 is a filter device at the time of taking in external air, and a plurality of dashed arrows schematically show the flow of air flow (including warm air) during dehydration operation and drying operation, In general, outside air is taken into the casing 28 of the hot air generating unit 25 and then supplied to the water tank 4 and the washing and dewatering tank 15 through the air supply duct 30. Then, after contributing to the dehydration and drying of the laundry not shown in the figure, the air enters the ventilation path 10 through the communication port 12 at the bottom of the water tank 4, rises and is discharged out of the tank from the ventilation guide 13, and further the outer lid 23. The air is exhausted out of the main body 1 through the notch 23 a and the lower surface opening of the outer box 2.

  Here, the specific shape and installation conditions of the tank protrusion 18 will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. First, FIG. 2 shows the arrangement configuration related to the tank convex portion 18 and the agitator 20, and shows an enlarged specific configuration of each, and FIG. 2 (a) is a partial view of the trunk wall portion 15b. FIG. 4B is a plan view of the stirring body 20. However, the tank convex portion 18 is located at a so-called middle position located approximately in the middle of the body wall portion 15b in the height direction, and in the direction in which the washing and dewatering tank 15 rotates during dehydration and drying operations (indicated by an arrow R in the figure). They are arranged side by side at a predetermined pitch P in a form that tilts forward.

  The tank convex portion 18 shown in the present embodiment has an arc-shaped convex portion 18a whose upper half is inclined forward, and a lower half portion connected to the lower end portion of the arc-shaped convex portion 18a, which is linear and substantially vertical. However, in this embodiment, the boundary portion between the arc-shaped convex portion 18a and the vertical convex portion 18b is smoothly and continuously arcuately formed. Note that the tip of the arcuate convex portion 18a that is inclined forward in the upper half is formed in a sharp acute angle shape. And the cross-sectional shape of such a tank convex part 18 is shown in FIG. This is shown by cutting along the line AA in FIG. 2 (a). The side surface on the rotational direction side indicated by the arrow R is a steep slope 34 having a rising angle α1. In contrast, the rising angle α2 is made small so that the opposite side surface forms a gentle slope 35.

  On the other hand, the stirring convex portion 21 formed on the upper surface of the stirring body 20 shown in FIG. 2B has a mountain shape in cross section and is provided in a radial shape (not shown), and its outer end portion in the circumferential direction is indicated by an arrow R. The shape is bent in the opposite direction to the rotation direction shown, and is bent in the direction opposite to the forward tilt direction of the so-called tank convex portion 18. As shown in the figure, a plurality of radially arranged ribs 36 project from the inner surface of the bottom wall portion 15a, which is the outer periphery of the stirring member 20.

  Further, in FIG. 2A, the dewatering hole 17 formed in the body wall portion 15b will be described. This is at least an arc-shaped inner side so as to follow the tank convex portion 18 at a position avoiding the tank convex portion 18. And the opening area of the dewatering holes 17 in the upper region S1 and the lower region S2 with the center line X in the vertical direction of the body wall portion 15b as a boundary is substantially equal. For example, in the figure, the same 18 dewatering holes 17 are provided in each of the upper and lower regions S1 and S2 between the pitches P of the tank projections 18.

  Next, the operation of the washing machine configured as described above will be described. First, as is well known in the washing and rinsing operation in the washing process, water is supplied to the water tank 4 and the washing and dewatering tank 15 to a predetermined water level, and then the agitator 20 is driven to rotate forward and backward to wash laundry not shown. However, for example, the laundry that moves with the water flow in the washing operation comes into contact with the tank convex portion 18 protruding on the inner surface and receives a mechanical action, and the tank convex portion 18 contributes to the improvement of the cleaning power.

  Among them, the straight vertical convex portion 18b in the lower half portion of the tank convex portion 18 always abuts on the water flow rotating in either the left or right direction in a substantially orthogonal state, and the trunk wall portion 15b The abutment is located at a position slightly lower than the middle of the stomach and the water flow and the laundry are mainly used. Therefore, the laundry that moves together with the water flow can surely abut to obtain a strong mechanical action. Of course, in the lower part, the agitation protrusion 21 on the upper surface of the large agitator 20 in particular not only generates a washing water flow but also directly contacts the laundry to provide a mechanical action, thereby contributing to an improvement in washing performance. To do.

  Next, a drying process performed after the washing process will be described. In this drying process, for example, the dehydration operation is mainly performed in the initial stage, and then the drying operation is performed thereafter. That is, in the dehydration operation, the washing and dewatering tub 15 is rotated at a high speed together with the agitator 20 (for example, 900 rpm) to perform centrifugal dehydration of the laundry so as to remove moisture as much as possible. At this time, the heater 26 of the hot air generating unit 24 is not energized, and only the blower 25 is energized. This is because there is little effect of heating the laundry in a state of containing a large amount of moisture after washing, and the waste of unnecessary heat energy is suppressed. Therefore, the outside air taken into the casing 28 is shown in FIG. It follows the route in the direction of the dashed arrow.

  This cold air, which is the outside air, is supplied from the air supply duct 30 into the water tank 4 and the washing and dewatering tank 15 and contributes to the drying action by contacting with the laundry, and then the water tank 4 side through the opening 16 and the dewatering holes 17. Move to. In this case, the water tank 4 is maintained in a substantially sealed state by the tank cover 9 in which the inner lid 9a is closed, and with the rotation of the washing and dewatering tank 15, the space between the water tank 4 and the outer water tank 4 is negative. Combined with the action of suctioning air from the upper end opening of the washing and dewatering tub 15, the cold air quickly moves to the water tub 4 side through the dewatering holes 17 and the like, and the air passage from the communication port 12 at the bottom of the water tub 4. 10, rises and is discharged out of the tank from the filter 14 of the ventilation guide 13. Thereafter, it is discharged out of the main body 1 from the cutout portion 23 a of the outer lid 23 in the closed state, or a part is discharged out of the main body 1 from the lower end opening of the outer box 2.

  The water centrifugally dehydrated from the laundry is effectively received especially on the arc-shaped inner surface side of the tank convex portion 18 and is effectively discharged from the dewatering holes 17 provided along the tank convex portion 18. . In addition, since the dewatering holes 17 have the same number of dewatering holes in the upper and lower regions S1 and S2 of the body wall 15b as disclosed in FIG. 2A, the dewatering performance is high. It is effectively dehydrated without being biased at the top and bottom. In particular, the laundry in the washing and dewatering tub 15 is strongly attached to the body wall 15 by receiving a strong centrifugal action, and is therefore effective for a laundry having a donut shape with a hollow central portion. Dehydration is performed.

  In addition, the tank convex part 18 in a present Example can anticipate the effect | action which guides an air flow actively below. That is, as shown in FIG. 1 or FIG. 2 (a), when the washing and dewatering tub 15 rotates in the direction of the arrow R, the arcuate convex portion 18a tilting forward takes in the air by restraining it inside. The straight vertical protrusion 18b in the lower half acts so as to guide it downward. Since a large number of tank protrusions 18 having such an action are arranged in parallel on the middle of the body wall 15b, even if some of them are reduced by the laundry, the tank protrusions 18 effectively work on the whole, and the sectional shape of FIG. As can be seen from the above, the steep slope 35 having a larger rising angle α1 on the rotational direction side indicated by the arrow R is used, so that it functions effectively to receive dehydrated water or introduce air, and an arc-shaped convex portion. Since the tip of 18a has a sharp shape, air can be effectively taken in without causing turbulence or the like.

  The air supplied into the washing / dehydrating tub 15 usually tends to be immediately released through the dehydration hole 17 in the centrifugal direction, but this is suppressed and led downward, especially for the laundry located below. Good contact with cold air improves the dehydration effect of removing moisture from the entire laundry. In particular, it effectively acts on the lower laundry in the vertical washing / dehydrating tub 15 around the vertical axis to suppress dehydration unevenness and improve the overall dewatering efficiency. In this case, the air discharged from the water tank 4 through the air passage 10 is directed to the entire air flow downward because the communication port 12 which is the intake port is located at the lower part of the water tank 4. But useful.

  Furthermore, in the present embodiment, the circumferential outer end of the stirring convex portion 21 of the stirring body 20 tilts forward in the direction of arrow R, which is the rotational direction of the tank convex portion 18, whereas in the opposite direction of the arrow R. It is in a bent shape. For this reason, a part of the air introduced to the lower side is discharged to the bottom side of the water tank 4 through the through hole 20a of the stirring body 20, but the stirring body 20 is rather suppressed so that the air flow to the bottom side is rather suppressed. It produces an air flow that leads to the outer circumferential direction. However, since the laundry in the washing and dewatering tub 15 has a donut shape in which the central portion is hollow as described above, the air flow from the center toward the side is in contact with the lower laundry. It functions more effectively as a moisture removal action.

  While the supply / exhaust by the outside air is repeatedly performed, when the dehydration operation is performed for a predetermined time and the water from the laundry is sufficiently removed, the heater 26 is energized to generate heat and the outside air is warmed. The cum dewatering tank 15 is controlled to rotate at a low speed (for example, 400 rpm), and the original drying operation by so-called warm air supply is started. In this case, the flow of warm air follows substantially the same path as in the above dehydrating operation, and is brought into contact with the laundry, and the drying action that deprives moisture more effectively with heating proceeds. Even in this drying operation, the laundry receives centrifugal force and moves to the circumferential side, and is in a donut-shaped arrangement, but the warm air that reaches down below sufficiently contributes to the drying action, and then the water tank 4 After being discharged to the side and discharged to the outside of the tank through the air passage 10, it is discharged to the outside of the main body 1.

  In addition, in the drying process including the above-described dehydration operation, for example, in order to improve the drying efficiency, for example, the laundry / dehydration tub 15 is temporarily paused at any time, and only the agitator 20 is rotationally driven during that time. Means such as loosening may be employed. In this case, although it is a low-speed rotation in the drying operation, the laundry is subjected to a centrifugal action and moves to the circumferential side, and is also arranged in a donut shape to promote the drying action in the above manner. When the drying operation using the warm air is performed for a predetermined time, the heater 26 is turned off, and the finishing operation using the cold air (outside air) is performed for a predetermined time. To finish the whole process.

  Further, in the above-described embodiment, the operation course in which the washing process and the drying process are automatically performed has been described. However, even if an operation course in which only the drying process is performed is set, the same operation as the above-described drying operation can be performed without any problem. Needless to say, in the case where intermediate dehydration is performed between washing and rinsing in the washing process, it is needless to say that the same operation as the above-described dehydration operation is performed.

  Moreover, since the tank convex portion 18 effectively acts to introduce air into the washing / dehydrating tub 15 and also obtains an intake action associated with the rotation of the washing / dehydrating tub 15, it is not necessarily forced means such as the blower 25. In the case of performing a dehydration operation or a drying operation in which only the outside air is introduced into the washing and dewatering tank 15 as described above in a washing machine that does not require the warm air generation unit 24, as described above. Each functions effectively.

According to the above embodiment, the following effects can be obtained.
The tank convex portion 18 is provided on the inner surface of the middle of the body wall portion 15b of the washing and dehydrating tank 15, and the tank convex portion 18 is provided with an arc-shaped convex portion 18a that is inclined forward in the rotation direction in a parallel state. Therefore, the air into the washing and dewatering tank 15 can be taken in effectively, and improvement in dewatering performance or drying performance can be expected by contact with the laundry. In this case, since the arc-shaped convex portion 18a is connected to the connecting portion of the vertical convex portion 18b in the lower half portion and smoothly connected in an arc shape, it is advantageous in that air flow can be smoothly introduced.

  In addition, since the tank convex portion 18 shown in the above embodiment is configured by providing a vertical convex portion 18b that extends in a straight line and substantially in the vertical direction in a manner extending to the lower end portion of the arc-shaped convex portion 18a, The vertical protrusion 18a transmits sufficient mechanical force to the laundry during washing to contribute to the improvement of the washing power, while actively deriving air and introducing air by deriving and drying. In addition, it effectively guides downwards, which are difficult to reach normally, and makes good contact with the laundry underneath, and expects efficient and efficient dehydration or drying performance of the entire laundry without causing dehydration or drying unevenness at the top and bottom. it can. Further, the cleaning performance and the dewatering performance can be improved while being relatively small in shape by the arc-shaped convex portion 18a and the linear convex portion 18b. It is also effective in terms of functioning.

  Further, since the tip portion of the arc-shaped convex portion 18a that is inclined forward is sharpened, it is easy to scavenge air without causing turbulent flow, and the cross-sectional shape of the tank convex portion 18 is changed to washing. Since the shape of the inclined surface on the rotational direction side of the cum dewatering tank 15 is raised from the opposite side to the steep slope 34, the mechanical contact with the laundry during the washing operation is improved and the washing performance is improved. During operation, the above-described air flow is reliably taken in and introduced downward, and during dehydration, the centrifugally dehydrated water is received and the centrifugal discharge from the dewatering holes 17 formed along the tank convex portions 18 is efficiently performed. Each performance from the removal of water by dehydration or the like to the drying can be greatly improved.

  In addition, since the stirring body 20 having the stirring convex portion 21 bent in the direction opposite to the forward tilt direction of the arc-shaped convex portion 18a is disposed at the bottom of the washing and dewatering tub 15, the downward direction is provided. The air flow is prevented from becoming too strong, and a large amount of air flow toward the circumferential side can be generated, and this effectively acts on the dehydration and drying of the donut-shaped laundry particularly by centrifugal force. In this case, the dewatering holes 17 formed in the body wall portion 15b of the washing and dewatering tub 15 are arranged so that the dewatering hole areas in the lower region S2 and the upper region S1 of the body wall portion 15b are substantially equal. Therefore, in the vertical direction of the doughnut-shaped laundry, it is possible to expect a good finishing effect by suppressing unevenness of dehydration and drying as much as possible.

It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment and can be variously developed as a specific configuration. However, the entire length of the stirring convex portion may be in the bending direction, or means for discharging the air discharged from the washing / dehydrating tub 15 to the outside of the water tub 4 is also the air passage 10. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and various modifications such as an exhaust means for discharging directly to the outside of the main body 1 can be implemented.
4 to 6 show first to third modified examples of the configuration related to the tank protrusion 18 of the above embodiment, and the same parts as those in the above embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals and described. Will be omitted and only different points will be described below.

(First modification)
First, FIG. 4 is a view corresponding to FIG. 2 showing a first modified example, which has the same arrangement and configuration of the tank projections 18 and the dewatering holes 17 shown in FIG. On the other hand, the agitator 20 shown in FIG. That is, specifically, the stirring convex portion 37 is bent in the opposite direction to the above embodiment, and therefore the bending direction of the circumferential outer end of the stirring convex portion 37 is the same as that of the washing / dehydrating tub 15. The difference is that the tank convex portion 18 is in the same direction as the forward tilt direction.

  According to such a configuration, the air introduced to the lower side during the dehydration or drying operation is facilitated by the agitation convex portion 37 of the agitator 20 and is discharged to the water tank 4 side through the through hole 20a. When it is desired to actively introduce an air flow into the inner lower part of the washing / dehydrating tub 15 as a whole, for example, the forced air blowing means such as the above-described blower 25 is not used, and air is sucked as the washing / dehydrating tub 15 rotates. It is suitable for such a case. In this case, the tank cover 9 can be omitted, and the entire structure can be advantageously provided with a simple structure.

(Second modification)
Next, FIG. 5 is a view equivalent to FIG. 2 (a) showing a second modified example, which is the tank convex portion 38 as shown in the drawing, in that the whole is constituted only by the arc-shaped convex portion 38a. Unlike the embodiment, the remaining washing and dewatering tub 15 is inclined forward in the rotation direction and has a cross-sectional mountain shape. However, the lower half part, which is the rear end part on the opposite side to the forwardly inclined front end part, is provided in an arcuate shape but arranged in a substantially vertical direction. Further, as shown in the drawings, for example, 19 dewatering holes 17 are provided in the modification so that the dewatering hole areas of the upper and lower regions S1 and S2 of the dewatering hole 17 are substantially equal.

  Therefore, according to such a configuration, the arc-shaped lower half is arranged in the vertical direction as much as possible, although the function related to this is slightly reduced in that it does not have the linear and vertical protrusions 18b as described in the above embodiments. Thus, operational effects such as washing, dehydration and drying operations can be expected in substantially the same manner as in the above embodiment.

(Third Modification)
FIG. 6 is a view corresponding to FIG. 2 (a) showing a third modified example, and as shown in the figure, the tank convex portion 39 is inclined forward in the rotation direction of the upper half and linearly inclined. Consists of a convex portion 39a and a vertical convex portion 39b that extends in a substantially vertical direction in a straight line continuous with the lower end portion of the inclined convex portion 39a as the lower half of the convex portion 39a. The rest of the configuration is substantially the same as the above embodiment. Accordingly, the same effects as those in the above embodiment can be achieved, such as improvement in cleaning performance, dewatering performance or drying performance.

The present invention can be implemented with various modifications without being limited to the embodiment described above and shown in the drawings. For example, in the above embodiment, hot air having forced air blowing means such as a blower as a washing machine with a drying function is provided. A generation unit is provided to further improve the dehydration performance or drying performance, but in combination with the introduction of air by the tank convex part, sufficient air is obtained by the intake action accompanying the rotation of the washing and dewatering tank. Since a flow can be obtained, it is needless to say that the present invention can be widely applied to a washing machine that does not necessarily require a blower and does not have a drying function such as a hot air generation unit.
In addition, the present invention can be variously modified and implemented without departing from the gist of the present invention.

The longitudinal cross-sectional view of the whole structure which shows one Example which applied this invention to the washing machine with a drying function Enlarged view showing specific configurations of different related main parts (a) and (b) Sectional drawing cut | disconnected and shown along the AA line in Fig.2 (a) FIG. 2 equivalent view showing a first modification FIG. 2 (a) equivalent view showing a second modification FIG. 2A equivalent view showing a third modification.

Explanation of symbols

  In the drawings, 1 is a main body, 2 is an outer box, 3 is a top cover, 4 is a water tank, 10 is an air passage, 15 is a washing and dewatering tank, 15a is a bottom wall portion, 15b is a trunk wall portion, 17 is a dewatering hole, 18, 38, 39 are tank convex portions, 18 a, 38 a are arc-shaped convex portions (arc-shaped convex portions), 18 b, 39 b are vertical convex portions (vertical convex portions), 20 is a stirring body, 21, 37 Indicates a stirring convex part, and 39a indicates an inclined convex part (inclined convex part).

Claims (7)

A washing and dewatering tub for storing laundry is provided, and a tank convex portion is provided on the inner surface of the body wall of the washing and dehydrating tub.
The tank convex portion is provided with a plurality of arc-shaped convex portions in the middle of the body wall portion, and the arc-shaped convex portions are configured to be inclined forward in the rotation direction of the washing and dewatering tank. Washing machine.   The washing machine according to claim 1, wherein the tank convex portion is provided with a vertical convex portion that is linear and extends in a substantially vertical direction so as to continue to a lower end portion of the arc-shaped convex portion. A washing and dewatering tub for storing laundry is provided, and a tank convex portion is provided on the inner surface of the body wall of the washing and dehydrating tub.
The tank convex portion is provided with a plurality of vertical convex portions extending linearly in a substantially vertical direction in a straight line connecting to a lower end portion of the inclined convex portion on the middle of the trunk wall portion, The washing machine according to claim 1, wherein the inclined convex portion is inclined forward in the rotation direction of the washing / dehydrating tub.   4. A dewatering hole is provided in a body wall portion of the washing and dewatering tub, and the dewatering hole areas in a lower region and an upper region of the body wall portion are disposed substantially equal to each other. The washing machine as described in.   The washing machine according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the tank convex portion has a mountain shape in cross section, and the inclined surface on the rotation direction side of the washing and dewatering tank is a steep slope from the opposite side.   2. A stirrer is provided at a lower portion of the washing and dewatering tub, and the bending direction of the stirring convex portion on the upper surface of the stirrer is set in the same direction as the tank convex portion inclined forward of the washing and dewatering tub. Or the washing machine of 3.   2. A stirrer is provided at a lower portion of the washing and dewatering tub, and the bending direction of the stirring convex portion on the upper surface of the stirrer is opposite to the forwardly projecting tub convex portion of the washing and dewatering tub. Or the washing machine of 3.

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