JP2014124403A - Drum washing machine - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a drum washing machine which efficiently reduces an imbalance of laundry.SOLUTION: The drum washing machine comprises: a bottomed cylindrical drum 3 having an opening 3a at a front face side; a water tank 2 for accommodating the drum 3 therein; driving means 4 for rotatively driving the drum 3; a first annular balancer 30 provided at the opening 3a of the drum 3; and a second annular balancer 31 provided at a back face side of the drum 3. The first balancer 30 has a first annular guide member 17 and rolling bodies 8 accommodated in an inner part of the first guide member 17. The second balancer 31 has a second annular guide member 32 and a fluid accommodated in an inner part of the second guide member 32. Accordingly, the drum washing machine can efficiently reduce an imbalance of laundry.

Description

  The present invention relates to a drum type washing machine provided with a balancer.

  In general, in a dewatering process of a drum-type washing machine having a horizontal or inclined rotating shaft, the laundry is often in a non-uniform state, that is, an unbalanced state in the drum. As a result, a biased force is applied to the rotating shaft during dehydration, and vibration is generated. The amplitude of vibration increases in proportion to the square of the rotational speed of the rotating drum. Such vibrations cause problems such as the washing machine itself moving, and the fact that the noise is so intense that it becomes impossible to drive at a certain rotational speed or higher.

  In order to reduce vibration due to laundry unbalance, a fluid balancer system using a fluid is used. In the fluid balancer, about half of salt water is enclosed in a race portion in which a hollow tube is circularly rounded at an end peripheral portion on the inlet side where laundry is put in a drum in consideration of prevention of tap water or freezing. This ball balancer is a balance device that utilizes a dynamic phenomenon in which fluid automatically moves to a position opposite to the unbalanced position by natural providence against unbalance caused by the eccentric load of the laundry (for example, a patent) Reference 1).

  On the other hand, in recent years, a ball balancer system using a metal ball (hereinafter referred to as a ball) has been proposed as a new balancer system. The ball balancer includes a plurality of balls that can move in the rotation direction (circumferential direction) in an annular race portion attached to the drum. In addition, a liquid such as silicone oil having viscosity in the same race is sealed to limit the friction between the ball and the race portion. Similar to the fluid balancer, this ball balancer absorbs the unbalance by exhibiting the characteristic of automatically moving to the position opposite to the unbalance position against the unbalance caused by the eccentric load.

  Here, the superiority of the ball balancer over the fluid balancer will be described. The ball balancer is different from the fluid balancer as described above in that the ball is housed inside the race, and the metal ball is clearly higher in specific gravity than the liquid, and even if the same amount is housed inside the race. Since the ball is heavy, that is, the maximum amount of unbalance during dehydration is overwhelmingly larger for the ball than for liquid, so the drum using the ball balancer will be unbalanced even if the fabric bias is large during dehydration. It is difficult to do.

  The ball balancer includes a single ball balancer configuration in which the ball balancer is disposed only on the front side where the laundry is put into the drum, and a double ball balancer in which the ball balancer is disposed at two locations on both ends of the drum cylinder. Actually, most drum-type washing machines using a ball balancer have a double ball balancer configuration.

  The principle is the same for a single ball balancer and a double ball balancer. That is, both ball balancers have a mechanism in which a plurality of balls change their positions and automatically correct the unbalance corresponding to the unbalance amount of the laundry that changes over time in the dehydration process. For example, see Patent Document 2).

  In Patent Document 2, when a double ball balancer configuration is adopted, the same ball balancer is arranged at two locations on both ends of the drum cylinder.

Moreover, about the rotation support structure of a drum, the rotating shaft of the electric motor (motor) which is a drive means is being firmly fixed to the bottom plate of the water tank via the bearing.

  In this configuration, when the same laundry, for example, a bath towel in the wet state is placed near the drum bottom plate and an unbalance that occurs when placed near the drum slot, the same laundry is placed. The eccentric load generated theoretically is the same because only the change is made, and the vibration width (swinging) of the drum due to unbalance is considered to be the same everywhere on the drum. However, in reality, the rotating shaft absorbs part of the generated unbalance, so even if the same fabric bias occurs, the unbalance is small near the bottom surface and large near the drum slot.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 9-187597 JP 2012-122576 A

  Even when the same laundry is biased, if the position is near the drum slot, the drum vibration due to unbalance (running) is large, and if it occurs near the drum bottom, it is directly connected to the bottom. Since the rotating shaft absorbs part of the vibration, the vibration width is small. However, in the conventional configuration, the weight and number of balls constituting the double ball balancer are optimized so as to suppress the maximum unbalanced vibration width generated in the vicinity of the drum slot, and this is simply performed at both ends of the drum cylinder. In particular, the ball balancer attached to the bottom plate 3b side has an excessive restraining force against the unbalance generated, and a ball that is not used for restraining the unbalancing at the time of dehydration start or stop ( The metal sound generated when the rolling elements collide with each other has a problem of generating new noise.

  The present invention solves the above-described conventional problems, and provides a drum type washing machine capable of efficiently suppressing unbalance according to the position of unbalance generated by the eccentric load of the laundry accommodated in the drum. The purpose is to do.

  In order to solve the above-described conventional problems, a drum-type washing machine according to the present invention includes a bottomed cylindrical rotatable drum having an opening on the front side, a water tank that accommodates the drum, and a rotary drive for the drum. Driving means, an annular first balancer provided in the opening of the drum, and an annular second balancer provided on the back side of the drum, the first balancer comprising: An annular first guide member and a rolling element housed in the first guide member, and the second balancer includes an annular second guide member and the second guide member. And a fluid contained in the inside.

  As a result, if the position of the unbalance caused by the eccentric load of the laundry is in the vicinity of the drum insertion port, the drum's vibration width (swing) due to the unbalance seems to be large, but it is attached in the vicinity of the input port. A large ball balancer exerts great imbalance suppression power. On the other hand, if an imbalance occurs near the bottom of the drum, the rotation axis directly connected to the bottom absorbs part of the vibration, so the vibration width is small, so even a fluid balancer attached near the bottom is sufficiently unbalanced. Can be suppressed.

The drum type washing machine of the present invention can efficiently suppress unbalance by arranging a ball balancer and a fluid balancer according to the position of unbalance generated by the eccentric load of the laundry accommodated in the drum. .

Sectional drawing of the principal part of the drum type washing machine in Embodiment 1 of this invention Schematic of a ball balancer and a liquid balancer in Embodiment 1 of the present invention Schematic of the ball balancer according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention Schematic sectional view of a conventional drum-type washing machine Schematic diagram of a conventional double ball balancer for a drum-type washing machine

  The drum-type washing machine of the present invention includes a bottomed cylindrical rotatable drum having an opening on the front side, a water tank that houses the drum, a driving unit that rotationally drives the drum, and the opening of the drum. A ring-shaped first balancer provided in the section, and a ring-shaped second balancer provided on the back side of the drum, wherein the first balancer includes a ring-shaped first guide member, A rolling element accommodated in the first guide member, and the second balancer has an annular second guide member and a fluid accommodated in the second guide member. Is.

  As a result, if the position of the unbalance caused by the eccentric load of the laundry is in the vicinity of the drum insertion port, the drum's vibration width (swing) due to the unbalance seems to be large, but it is attached in the vicinity of the input port. The ball balancer can exert a large unbalance suppression force. On the other hand, if an imbalance occurs near the bottom of the drum, the rotation axis directly connected to the bottom absorbs part of the vibration, so the vibration width is small, so even a fluid balancer attached near the bottom is sufficiently unbalanced. Can be suppressed.

  In the above configuration, the rolling element may be one or a plurality of steel balls.

  Thereby, even if it is a small quantity compared with the liquid, it becomes possible to produce sufficient unbalance suppression force.

  In the above configuration, the first balancer may be filled with a fluid having viscosity.

  Thus, by sealing a liquid such as silicon oil having a certain viscosity, for example, inside the balancer, it becomes possible to limit friction between the ball and the guide member and prevent mutual wear.

  In the above configuration, the fluid filled in the first balancer may be different from the fluid filled in the second balancer.

  Thereby, the 2nd balancer can set the optimal fluid for suppressing imbalance as a fluid balancer.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In addition, this plan is not limited by this embodiment.

(Embodiment 1)
1 is a cross-sectional view showing a schematic structure of a drum-type washing machine according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. Inside the drum type washing machine 1, a bottomed cylindrical water tank 2 is accommodated. A bottomed cylindrical drum 3 is accommodated in the water tank 2. On the side where the laundry of the drum-type washing machine 1 is loaded (hereinafter referred to as the front side), an opening 3 a that communicates with the drum 3 through the opening 2 a of the water tank 2 is provided. The drum 3 is disposed such that a rotation shaft 35 that rotates and supports the drum 3 is inclined downward from the front side toward the back side. The water tank 2 is inclined and arranged along the drum 3 with the opening 2a as the front side. By inclining the rotation shaft 35, the opening on the front side of the water tub 2 can be arranged on the upper side, and the laundry in the drum 3 can be taken out without taking a posture of bending greatly. Compared with the case where the rotating shaft 35 is in the horizontal direction, the water supplied into the water tank 2 is accumulated on the back side, and a deep water storage state can be obtained even with a small amount of water. That is, it becomes easy for the laundry to hydrate with a small amount of water supply. The water tank 2 is supported by a spring 10 and a damper 5. In addition, if the ease of taking out the laundry and the amount of water supply are not taken into consideration, the rotating shaft 35 may be horizontal.

  A baffle 16 that can lift and drop the laundry 13 is provided inside the drum 3. When the drum 3 is driven to rotate, the laundry lifted by the baffle 16 is struck against the water surface from the top of the drum 3 and is washed by tapping (mechanical force). Further, the drum 3 is provided with a plurality of through holes 15. Water can be passed from the water tank 2 into the drum 3 through the through holes 15.

  Further, a door 7 for opening and closing the opening 2 a of the water tank 2 is provided on the front side of the drum type washing machine 1. The opening 2a of the water tank 2 is fitted with a tubular sealing material at its mouth edge. The front side of the sealing material abuts on the back side of the door 7 to seal the water tank 2, and even if the opening 2 a of the water tank 2 that swings up and down, left and right, and back and forth moves, the sealing material is deformed and moved to the back side of the door 7. Sealing is maintained because of pressing.

  FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of the ball balancer and the liquid balancer in the first embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of the ball balancer 30 of the drum type washing machine 1 in the first embodiment of the present invention.

  An annular ball balancer 30 (first balancer) is disposed in the opening 3 a on the front side of the drum 3. An annular fluid balancer 31 (second balancer) is disposed on the back side of the drum 3. The ball balancer 30 is disposed on the front side of the drum 3 and has a first annular container 17 (first guide member) that is hollow inside, and a ball that is accommodated in the first annular container 17 and is movable. 8 (rolling element) and a viscous fluid 18 stored in the first annular container 17. The ball 8 is made of a metal such as steel. The ring-shaped first annular container 17 is installed so as to coincide with the axis of rotation 35 of the drum 3. In order to control the movement of the ball 8, a viscous fluid (silicon oil) 18 is stored in the first annular container 17. In addition, since the same effect will be acquired if it is another viscous liquid, it is not limited to silicone oil. Any fluid that restricts friction between the ball 8 and the first annular container 17 and prevents the ball 8 and the first annular container 17 from being worn may be used.

  The fluid balancer 31 provided on the back side of the drum 3 has a second annular container 32 (second guide member) whose inside is hollow. The shape of the ball balancer 30 is different from that of the first annular container 17. Further, the second annular container 32 of the fluid balancer 31 may be filled with tap water, but about half of the salt water is filled in consideration of prevention of freezing in winter.

  A driving means (motor) 4 for rotationally driving the drum 3 is attached to the inside of the drum type washing machine 1 and below the water tub 2. The rotational drive of the motor 4 is transmitted via the belt 23 to a drum pulley 24 provided on the same shaft as the rotational shaft 35 of the drum 3. Thereby, the drum 3 is rotationally driven by the rotation of the motor 4.

  The operation of the drum type washing machine configured as described above will be described below. For comparison, a conventional double ball balancer will be described first.

  FIG. 4 is a sectional view of a main part of a conventional drum type washing machine of this type, and FIG. 5 is a schematic view of a double ball balancer of the conventional drum type washing machine. Ball balancers 30a and 30b having the same configuration are provided on the peripheral portions of both end faces (the front side end and the back side end) of the drum 3. In this figure, the case where the same laundry 13 (for example, one bath towel) is wet in the vicinity of the bottom plate 3b of the drum 3 is compared with the unbalance that occurs when the same laundry 13 is placed on the front side of the drum 3. Since only the position where the same laundry is placed is changed, the eccentric load generated theoretically is the same, and the vibration width (swinging) of the drum 3 due to unbalance is considered to be the same everywhere on the drum. However, since the rotating shaft 35 actually absorbs a part of the generated unbalance, the unbalance is small near the bottom plate 3b and large near the front side of the drum 3 even if the same fabric bias occurs.

  In addition, the position of the ball 8 at this time will be supplemented. Since the ball balancer 30a on the front side has a large unbalance of the drum 3, the ball 8 automatically gathers at a position facing the unbalanced position as shown by a double arrow to try to cancel the unbalance. On the other hand, the ball balancer 30b on the back side has a small unbalance of the drum 3, that is, an unbalance amount that is too small for the ball 8 to suppress. For this reason, some of the balls 8 try to approach the position of the unbalanced position so as to cancel the unbalance, but many of the balls 8 are automatically diffused and try to balance each other. That is, even if a ball balancer configured using metal balls or silicon oil that is more expensive than a fluid balancer is arranged on the back side, the effect is small. To make matters worse, in the process in which most of the balls 8 described above are automatically diffused, not all the balls 8 are diffused at once, but the balls 8 are gradually diffused depending on the natural providence. Repeated irregular ball movements such as gathering at a concentrated position. For this reason, since the balls 8 made of metal often collide with each other, a unique metal sound is generated. Although the viscous fluid (silicon oil) 18 inside the annular container 17 is not shown in this figure, an appropriate amount is always present between the ball 8 and the first annular container 17.

  On the other hand, the drum type washing machine of the present invention will be described below. In a drum-type washing machine 1 in which a ball balancer 30 is disposed on the front side of the drum 3 and a fluid balancer 31 is disposed on the back side, the same laundry 13, for example, a bath towel is placed in the vicinity of the bottom plate 3 b of the drum 3. And the unbalance generated when the drum 3 is in the vicinity of the opening 3a of the drum 3. At this time, it is difficult for one bath towel to stick evenly to the inside of the drum 3, and an unbalanced state occurs.

  The case where the same laundry 13 is wet in the vicinity of the drum bottom plate 3b and in the case of the vicinity of the opening 3a of the drum 3 is theoretically generated because only the position where the same laundry is placed is changed. The eccentric load should be the same. Therefore, the vibration width (swinging) of the drum 3 due to unbalance should be the same everywhere on the drum 3.

  However, when there is an unbalance near the bottom plate 3b of the drum 3, the generated unbalance is partially absorbed by the rotating shaft 35. For this reason, the imbalance as a whole of the drum 3 is relatively small. On the other hand, when there is an unbalance in the vicinity of the opening 3a of the drum 3, since the absorption of force by the rotating shaft 35 is small, the unbalance of the entire drum 3 is relatively large. That is, the imbalance is small near the bottom plate 3 b of the drum 3 and large near the opening 3 a of the drum 3. The position of the ball 8 at this time will be supplemented. Since the ball balancer 30 arranged on the opening 3a side has a large unbalance of the drum 3, the ball 8 automatically gathers at a position opposite to the unbalance position as shown by a double arrow to cancel the unbalance. And On the other hand, since the unbalance on the back side is small, the fluid balancer 31 arranged on the back side automatically gathers at a position where the internal fluid faces the unbalanced position (also as shown by the double arrows) A small imbalance can be canceled accurately.

  By using different configurations for the front and rear balancers, if the position of the unbalance generated by the eccentric load of the laundry is near the drum slot, the vibration width (swing) of the drum 3 due to the unbalance is considered to be large. However, a large unbalance suppression force can be exerted by the ball balancer 30 attached in the vicinity of the opening 3a. On the other hand, when imbalance occurs in the vicinity of the bottom plate 3b of the drum 3, the rotation shaft 35 directly connected to the bottom plate 3b absorbs part of the vibration, so that the vibration width is small, so that the fluid attached near the bottom surface Even the balancer 31 can sufficiently suppress unbalance. At the same time, by arranging a fluid balancer on the back side of the drum, the ball (metal ball) generated at the time of dehydration start and stop peculiar to the ball balancer does not collide with each other, so there is no metal noise and overall noise is generated. Can be reduced.

  In the above configuration, the ball balancer 30 may be filled with a fluid having a certain viscosity. By sealing a liquid such as silicon oil having a certain viscosity, for example, inside the ball balancer 30, it is possible to limit friction between the ball 8 and the first annular container 17 and prevent mutual wear.

  Furthermore, in the said structure, you may comprise so that the fluid with which the ball balancer 30 is filled may differ from the fluid with which the fluid balancer 31 is filled. The ball balancer 30 is filled to prevent friction between the ball 8 and the first annular container 17. The fluid balancer 31 is filled in order to balance the unbalance. In this way, by setting an optimal fluid at the time of dehydration activation, it is possible to suppress vibration during dehydration with a simple configuration.

  Moreover, in this Embodiment, although the some steel ball was demonstrated as an example as a rolling element, it is not restricted to this. For example, instead of a sphere, an arcuate mass may be movably moved in the annular container.

  The washing machine according to the present invention can efficiently suppress unbalance by arranging the ball balancer and the fluid balancer according to the position of unbalance generated by the eccentric load of the laundry accommodated in the drum. It is useful as a drum-type washing machine and a cleaning device for home use and business use.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Drum type washing machine 2 Water tank 3 Drum 4 Drive means (motor)
5 damper 8 ball (rolling element)
10 spring 13 laundry 16 baffle 17 first annular container (first guide member)
18 Viscous fluid 30 Ball balancer (first balancer)
31 Fluid balancer (second balancer)
32 Second annular container (second guide member)
35 Rotating shaft

Claims (4)

A bottomed cylindrical drum having an opening on the front side;
A water tank containing the drum;
Drive means for rotationally driving the drum;
An annular first balancer provided in the opening of the drum;
An annular second balancer provided on the back side of the drum,
The first balancer includes an annular first guide member and a rolling element housed inside the first guide member;
The second balancer is a drum type washing machine having an annular second guide member and a fluid accommodated in the second guide member. The drum type washing machine according to claim 1, wherein the rolling element is one or a plurality of steel balls. The drum type washing machine according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the first balancer is filled with a fluid having viscosity. The drum-type washing machine according to claim 3, wherein the fluid charged in the first balancer is different from the fluid charged in the second balancer.