JP2007319704A - Washing machine - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a washing machine with a self-sucking water pump, which has reduced self-suction time, good pump performance in a steady operation, and excellent electrical insulation property. <P>SOLUTION: The washing machine includes a washing tub including a stirring blade, a top cover disposed above the washing tub, and a bathtub water-sucking pump positioned above the washing tub and sucking bathtub water through a suction hose, wherein the bathtub water sucked from a water intake is delivered from a delivery port through a suction chamber, a runner chamber, and air-water separation chamber to enable the bathtub water sucked from the water intake to flow around a wall forming a motor chamber. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a water absorption pump, and more particularly to a structure of a self-priming water absorption pump, and more particularly to a water absorption pump built in a washing machine.

  Various structures have been conventionally employed for self-priming water absorption pumps.

  In addition, as a prior art in which a water absorption pump for supplying bath water or the like is built in the washing machine and the remaining hot water in the bathtub is supplied into the washing tub through this pump, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 57-117894 ( Patent Document 1), Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 57-117895 (Patent Document 2), Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 6-23190 (Patent Document 3), and the like.

JP 57-117894 A, JP-A-57-117895, JP-A-6-23190

  When the washing machine has a built-in pump, at the start of operation, the water absorption hose communicating between the pump and the bathtub is filled with air, and a self-priming operation for completely discharging this air is required. The time until the air in the hose completely disappears (self-priming time) and the flow rate characteristic during steady operation have an inversely proportional relationship.

  That is, the self-priming time can be shortened as the amount of water returned from the air / water separation chamber provided on the discharge side of the runner to the suction side of the runner is increased. This will reduce the flow rate characteristics. Therefore, this type of pump is required to have a compact and good storage property in which the self-priming time and the flow rate characteristic are balanced.

  Furthermore, in order to incorporate the bath water absorption pump in the washing machine, it is necessary to make the motor have a hermetically sealed structure in consideration of moisture resistance, so that the temperature rise of the motor becomes a problem. In addition, even if the insulation of the motor is reduced in a high humidity environment, a structure that does not cause an electric shock to the user is required.

  Although a washing machine with a bath water absorption pump that does not require a priming tank is proposed in the above-mentioned Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 6-23190, there is no disclosure of a specific structure.

  An object of the present invention is to provide a washing machine equipped with a water absorption pump that is compact and has good storability.

  The present invention is a washing machine equipped with a bath water suction pump for sucking bath water through a water suction hose, having a suction port to which the water suction hose is connected, and a suction chamber is provided below the suction port. A water supply passage that leads water from the suction port to the suction chamber, the suction chamber is made of the same member as the water supply passage, has a runner chamber that includes a runner, and the member that closes the suction chamber; Has different members, and a passage for communicating the suction chamber with the runner chamber is formed in the different members.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, it can be set as the washing machine provided with the water absorption pump which is compact and has a good storability.

  Hereinafter, the present invention will be described with reference to an embodiment shown in the drawings. In FIG. 1, 1 is a top cover of a washing machine, and 2 is a controller for controlling the operation of the washing machine. The controller 2 is built in front of the top cover 1 and is constituted by a microcomputer having a timer function.

  Reference numeral 3 denotes a membrane switch from which an operator instructs the operation content of the washing machine from the outside.

Reference numeral 4 denotes a lid which opens upward with the fulcrum 5 as an axis and puts laundry into the tub.

  6 is a laundry inlet, 7 is a cover for preventing the laundry from falling between a washing and dewatering tub (hereinafter abbreviated as a washing tub) 8 and the outer tub 9. It has been.

  Reference numeral 10 denotes a dewatering hole formed in the wall surface of the washing tub 8.

  A balance ring 11 is fixed to the upper end of the washing tub 8 to reduce vibration of the washing tub 8 during the dehydrating operation and smoothly rotate the washing tub 8.

  A suspension rod 12 extends downward from the four corners of the outer frame 21 and suspends the outer tub 9 via a spring 13.

  A stirring blade 14 is rotatably installed at the center of the bottom of the washing tub 8 and rotates forward and backward in a short cycle during washing and rinsing.

  A motor 15 drives the agitating blade 14 and the washing tub 8. The power of the motor 15 is supplied to the agitating blade 14 during washing and rinsing through the motor pulley 16, belt 17, driven pulley 18 and the crate / decelerator 19 and dewatered. Sometimes the washing tub 8 and the stirring blade 14 are driven together.

  20 is a leg provided at the lower part of the outer frame 21, 22 is a drainage hole provided at the bottom of the outer tub 9, and a drainage electromagnetic valve 23 that opens and closes by a command from the controller 2 and drainage downstream of the drainage hole 22. Hose 24.

  Reference numeral 25 denotes a back panel in which a bath water absorption pump 26, a water supply electromagnetic valve 31, and the like which will be described later are housed.

  26 is a bath water absorption pump in which a casing is molded with a synthetic resin containing an antibacterial agent, and is built in the back panel portion of the top cover 1.

  27 is a bath water absorption hose containing an antibacterial agent, and its connecting end is detachably attached to a bath water absorption port 26 a provided on the upper surface of the pump 26 via an O-ring 28.

  FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the internal structure of the back panel 25 with the back panel 25 removed, and reference numeral 1a shows a common water inlet and bath water supply inlet provided in the top cover 1 for supplying tap water into the washing tub. The tap water injection port / bath water intake port is filled with a softener from the tap water injection port / bath water absorption port 1a.

  26 b is a discharge pipe of the pump, 29 is a lid switch, 30 is a hose connected to a tap water faucet, and 31 is a water supply electromagnetic valve for supplying tap water into the washing tub 8. A part of the water discharged from the discharge port 31 a of the water supply electromagnetic valve 31 hits the wall of the priming water supply port 33 as shown in FIG. 3 and is guided to the steam / water separation chamber of the pump 26 via the priming water hose 34. It has become.

  FIG. 4 shows the internal structure of the bath water suction pump 26, 26 a being a water inlet formed integrally with the casing cover 41, to which the hose 27 is connected.

  The casing cover 41 is integrally formed with a suction chamber 41d for accommodating the check valve 46 and a partition wall 41c.

  The casing 40 is integrally provided with a cylindrical portion 40m that holds the motor 43, a pump runner chamber, which will be described later, a chamber that houses a mechanical seal 48 and a coupling 45, a part of a steam / water separation chamber, and a cooling water channel 40e. Yes.

  Further, the casing 40 is provided with water drain holes 40f for draining water leaked from the mechanical seal, coupling 45 and steam vent holes 40g, 40h for discharging steam generated around the motor 43.

  A partition plate 44 having a suction port is sandwiched and fixed between the casing 40 and the casing cover 41.

  A runner shaft 49 is connected to the motor shaft 43a via a coupling 45 made of an insulating material. An annular protrusion is formed in the coupling 45 at its substantially central portion, and this protrusion prevents water leaking from the seal 48 from moving in the motor direction along the shaft.

  47 is a packing that seals the joint surface of the casing 40 and the casing cover 41.

  FIG. 5 is a front view showing a state in which the casing cover 41 and the partition plate 44 are removed. The upper volute 40a1 and the lower volute 40a2 formed integrally with the casing 40 constitute a runner chamber, and the runner 42 is provided there. .

  Reference numerals 40b1 and 40b2 denote separation walls protruding in the direction of the runner from the middle of the upper volute and the lower volute, respectively, and return water holes 40c1 communicating with the inside and outside of the volute at positions close to the separation walls 40b1 and 40b2 in the rotation direction of the runner 40c2 is provided.

  The upper end of the lower volute 40a2 extends outward in the horizontal direction to form a bubble prevention rib 40d.

  An annular protrusion 42a is formed so as to surround the suction port of the runner 42 and protrude from the flat portion 42b of the runner. In FIG. 4, the gap m between the protrusion 42a and the partition plate 44 is 1 to 3 mm. The gap with the partition plate 44 is set to 0.6 to 1.2 mm.

  When the runner 42 rotates in the P direction, the water pressurized by the runner 42 is discharged along the upper volute and the lower volute to the discharge chamber 40i and reaches the steam-water separation chamber 40k formed in the upper portion of the discharge chamber.

  As shown in FIG. 6, a discharge port 41a to which the discharge hose 26b is connected and a priming port 41b to which the priming hose 34 is connected communicate with the steam / water separation chamber 40k.

  When the tip of the water supply hose 27 is inserted into the bathtub, the power switch of the washing machine is turned “ON”, and the bath water course start button is pressed, the water supply electromagnetic valve 31 is energized for 15 seconds to supply tap water.

  Water discharged from the discharge port 31 a of the electromagnetic valve 31 hits the wall of the priming water supply port 33 and is supplied as priming water from the priming port 41 b of the casing cover 41 into the pump 26 through the priming water hose 34. When 15 seconds have elapsed, the energization of the water supply electromagnetic valve 31 is stopped and the pump 26 is energized. When the motor 43 rotates, the runner 42 rotates in the P direction via the motor shaft 43a, the coupling 45, and the runner shaft 49.

  The suction chamber 41d becomes negative pressure by the rotation of the runner 42, the check valve 46 is opened, the air in the water suction hose 27 connected to the water suction port 26a is sucked, and the mixture of air and water is sent to the discharge chamber 40i. At this time, the air sucked into the runner 42 has a structure in which the air and water are separated in a short time due to the effects of the separation walls 40b1 and 40b2, the return water holes 40c1 and 40c2, and the bubble prevention rib 40d.

  The water discharged from the runner 42 during the self-priming operation is a gas-water mixture containing a large amount of air. However, when the water reaches the discharge chamber 40i, the air flows above the separation chamber 40k due to the difference in specific gravity. As a result, water accumulates below the discharge chamber 40i. Since the pressure on the downstream side of the separation walls 40b1 and 40b2 is reduced by the rotation of the runner, the water in the discharge chamber flows into the inside of the volute through the return water holes 40c1 and 40c2, and flows into the inside of the volute from the return water hole. Passes through the gaps m and n, reaches the suction side of the runner, entrains air together, is pressurized again by the runner, and is discharged into the discharge chamber.

  By repeating such an operation, when the air in the hose 27 is moved to the discharge side of the pump and the inside of the hose is filled with water, the operation moves to a steady water supply operation.

  Since the fluid discharged from the upper volute contains a component in the swirling direction and there is a risk that air may be trapped below the discharge chamber 40i, the upper end of one volute is extended to form the bubble prevention rib 40d. Entrainment is reduced.

  In addition, the self-priming performance improves as the amount of water separated from the air and water separated during the self-priming operation increases, but the pump performance during steady operation decreases. An optimal value exists.

According to the experiment results of the present inventors, preferable performance was obtained when the gap m was set to 1 to 3 mm and the gap n was set to 0.6 to 1.2 mm.
Since the cooling water passage 40e is provided in communication with the steam-water separation chamber 40k, the absorbed bath water circulates through the cooling water passage 40e, cools the motor, and absorbs the noise of the motor.
The rib 44a of the partition plate 44 that separates the suction chamber 41d and the discharge chamber 40i is attached to the air / water separation chamber forming wall 41c of the casing cover 41 in a labyrinth structure.

In the normal operation, the absorbed bath water is sent to the discharge chamber 40i via the runner 42, and the bath water sent to the discharge chamber 40i is in the washing tub 8 via the air / water separation chamber 40k and the discharge hose 26b. To be supplied.
When the water supply is completed, washing and rinsing operations are performed, but this is no different from a conventional washing machine.

It is a whole internal structure explanatory drawing which shows one Example of this invention washing machine. It is the top view which removed the back panel shown by the code | symbol 25 in FIG. 1, and showed the internal structure. It is sectional drawing which follows the XX line of FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing an internal structure of a bath water absorption pump 26. FIG. It is a figure which removes a casing cover partition plate and shows an inside view. It is sectional drawing which follows the YY line | wire of FIG.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Top cover, 8 ... Washing tub (washing and dewatering tub), 25 ... Back panel, 26 ... Bath water absorption pump, 40 ... Casing, 40a1, 40a2 ... Volute, 40b1, 40b2 ... Separation wall, 40c1, 40c2 ... Return Water hole, 40d ... Bubble prevention rib, 40e ... Cooling water passage, 40f ... Water drain hole, 40g ... Steam vent hole, 40k ... Air / water separation chamber, 41 ... Casing cover, 42 ... Runner, 43 ... Motor, 44 ... Partition plate, 45 ... coupling.

Claims (1)

A washing machine equipped with a bath water absorption pump for sucking bath water through a water absorption hose and a water supply solenoid valve for supplying tap water to a washing tub;
The bath water suction pump includes a water suction port to which the water suction hose is connected, a runner chamber provided with a pump runner, a suction chamber communicating with the suction side of the runner chamber, and a check provided in the suction chamber. A valve, a steam / water separation chamber communicating with the discharge side of the runner chamber, a discharge port and a priming water port provided so as to communicate with the steam / water separation chamber, and a pump driving motor for rotationally driving the pump runner Have
A washing machine having a priming water supply path for supplying a part of water discharged from the water supply electromagnetic valve to the priming water outlet.

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