JP2014140401A - Washing machine - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a washing machine allowing liquid infiltrating through from a hinge mechanism of a lid to be discharged without wetting a lead wire and the like.SOLUTION: A housing is configured by a box-like outer case and a top cover for covering its upper surface. The top cover includes: an input port of laundry; and a lid rotatable by a hinge mechanism for opening/closing the input port. The hinge mechanism has a support shaft part integrally formed on a surface of the top cover for supporting the lid in a rotatable manner. At a lower portion of the support shaft part in the top cover, there is a hole part for punching, and also a water receiving cover is provided. The water receiving cover has a configuration in which a discharge port is provided adjacent to a wall surface of the housing.

Description

  Embodiments described herein relate generally to a washing machine for washing clothes and the like.

  Conventionally, an upper part of a casing that generally forms the outer shell of a washing machine is provided with a top cover provided with an input port for putting in and out laundry such as an operation panel and clothes, and a lid for opening and closing the input port. Yes. The lid is rotatably mounted by a hinge mechanism provided on the top cover. In this case, as a part of the hinge mechanism on the top cover side, for example, a support shaft portion that rotatably supports the lid is formed integrally with the top cover made of synthetic resin. In this integral molding, the hinge mechanism portion is vertically cut in order to efficiently mold with a simple mold structure, but an undercut configuration is used to project the support shaft portion on the top cover. Therefore, a punching hole is formed below the support shaft portion.

  For this reason, when a liquid such as water or liquid detergent is accidentally spilled on the surface of the top cover, the liquid easily enters the inside from the hole of the hinge mechanism portion. Therefore, it is considered that the liquid that enters and drops is predicted so that the internal electrical components and lead wires do not directly touch the liquid. However, for that purpose, it becomes a cause of problems such as an increase in manufacturing cost and a decrease in workability, such as a wiring bypassing the lead wire and a restriction on the arrangement configuration of the electrical components.

  As a countermeasure, for example, a water receiving cover for receiving the liquid is provided for the liquid that has entered the inside of the washing machine casing from the outside, and the liquid is dropped from the hole of the water receiving cover so as to be outside the machine or in the washing tub. There is known a configuration derived from (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

  However, in the configuration in which the liquid is dropped from the hole, there is a risk of falling on a plurality of lead wires or electrical components arranged below, or for that purpose, wiring of lead wires or electrical components installed below He had troublesome circumstances such as struggling with the location.

JP 2012-10865 A

  Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a washing machine in which liquid entering from a hinge mechanism portion of a lid can be discharged without wetting a lead wire or the like.

  According to the washing machine of the present embodiment, the casing that forms the outer shell is composed of a box-shaped outer box and a top cover that covers the top surface of the box. A lid that can be rotated by a hinge mechanism to open and close the mouth is provided. The hinge mechanism has a support shaft portion integrally formed on the surface of the top cover so as to rotatably support the lid. A lower part of the top cover in the top cover has a hole for punching and a water receiving cover. The water receiving cover is provided with a drain outlet adjacent to the wall surface of the housing (invention of claim 1).

The longitudinal cross-sectional view cut | disconnected and shown along the AA line of FIG. 2 which shows 1st Embodiment The expansion perspective view of the hinge mechanism part which shows 1st Embodiment A longitudinal side view showing a schematic configuration of the whole washing machine to which the first embodiment is applied The top view of the top cover of the state which removed the cover which shows 1st Embodiment The enlarged view of the part shown with the code | symbol B in FIG. 4 which shows 1st Embodiment. The back view of the top cover for demonstrating the important point which shows 1st Embodiment

Hereinafter, the first embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 6.
Among them, as shown in FIG. 3 which shows a schematic configuration of the entire washing machine, the casing 1 forming the outer casing of the washing machine is attached so as to mainly cover the box-shaped outer box 2 and the upper surface of the outer box 2. The top cover 3 is made up of. The top cover 3 includes an operation panel 4 on the front side of the front cover 3b corresponding to the space zone X inside the front cover, various switches such as various operation courses that are not shown in the drawing, and the like. A display unit is provided, and the overall operation of the washing machine can be controlled by a control device (not shown) that receives an operation signal from the operation panel 4. On the other hand, the rear cover 3c corresponding to the space zone Y inside the rear includes an electric water supply valve 5, a water supply pump 16 using bath water (see FIG. 4), a water level sensor for detecting a water level (not shown), and the like.

  Further, the top cover 3 is integrally formed of a synthetic resin as a whole, and an insertion port 7 through which laundry such as clothes is taken in and out is opened at a substantially central portion thereof. A rectangular lid 8 that opens and closes the charging port 7 from the upper surface is provided. Here, a two-fold type lid 8 is shown. The rear end of the lid 8 is attached to the top cover 3 so as to be rotatable in the direction indicated by the arrow through a hinge mechanism 9 (details will be described later), and the inlet 7 is opened as shown by a two-dot chain line in the figure. It is possible.

  As described above, the washing tub 6 is supported in an anti-vibration manner via the elastic support device 10 inside the housing 1 whose upper surface is covered with the top cover 3. The washing tub 6 is composed of an outer tub 11 and an inner tub 12 in this embodiment. Of these, the outer tub 11 has a bottomed cylindrical shape in which the elastic support device 10 is connected to the outer wall and the upper surface is opened, and has a substantially non-porous shape, that is, a structure capable of storing water. An annular tank cover 11a projecting in a bowl shape toward the inside is provided at the upper opening end, and the drainage port 13 formed at the bottom of the lower part is drained via an electric drainage valve 14. A hose 15 is connected.

  On the other hand, the inner tank 12 has a cylindrical shape that is rotatably provided in the outer tank 11 and has a large number of through holes 12a in almost the entire peripheral side wall, and a balance ring 17 is provided at the upper opening end thereof. A stirring body 18 is rotatably provided on the inner bottom surface of the inner tank 12. A motor 19 is attached to the outer bottom of the outer tub 11. The motor 19 is composed of, for example, an outer rotor type brushless motor, and rotationally drives the inner tub 12 or the agitator 18 via a clutch mechanism (not shown).

  Here, details of the hinge mechanism 9 will be described with reference to FIGS. 2, 4, and 5. 2 is an enlarged perspective view of the hinge mechanism 9 portion, FIG. 4 is a plan view (top view) of the top cover 3 with the lid 8 removed, and FIG. 5 is a portion indicated by reference numeral B in FIG. It is an enlarged view. 3 that the rear end of the lid 8 is rotatably supported by the hinge mechanism 9, the lid 8 is positioned on the rear end side of the lid 8 in FIG. It shows that the hinge mechanism 9 is provided in two places on the left and right, and the hinge mechanism 9 is formed in a symmetrical structure at a left-right symmetrical position. Therefore, in the following explanation, we will specifically describe the configuration of one of the nine hinge mechanisms on the right side, for example.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the hinge mechanism 9 includes an arm portion 20 that protrudes upward from the surface that is the upper surface of the top cover 3, and a support shaft portion 21 that is formed at the tip of the arm portion 20. The support shaft portion 21 has an integral configuration and extends in a substantially cylindrical shape in the left-right direction. The support shaft portion 21 is formed in a state of protruding rearward except for a part connected to the arm portion 20, and the left end portion of the support shaft portion 21 shown in FIG. It is formed in a form protruding from the portion 20.

  The lid 8 is rotatably mounted on the support shaft portion 21 of the hinge mechanism 9. Specifically, the cylindrical portion at the left end portion of the support shaft portion 21 is rotatably fitted (inserted) into a cylindrical shaft hole 8a (see FIG. 3) formed at the rear end portion of the lid 8. The In this case, the support shaft portion 21 is fitted using the elastic deformation on the lid 8 side, and the fitting position thereof is a locking portion 21a (FIG. 5) protruding radially toward the left end side of the support shaft portion 21. 2)), the position is regulated by the end surface of the shaft hole 8a on the lid 8 side contacting.

  By the way, the hinge mechanism 9 having the above configuration is efficiently integrally formed by punching in the vertical direction together with peripheral components such as the insertion port 7 of the top cover 3. In this mold forming, in order to mold the support shaft portion 21 protruding from the arm portion 20 of the hinge mechanism 9, the lower portion of the support shaft portion 21 has an undercut configuration. The hole portion 22 is formed. The hole portion 22 has a rectangular shape that opens larger than the corresponding area of the protruding support shaft portion 21 (see FIGS. 2 and 5). However, the opening shape of the hole 22 is not limited to a rectangular shape, and can be set to an appropriate shape as long as it has a size that functions for die cutting.

  In the above description, the structure of the right hinge mechanism 9 and the structure of the punching hole 22 useful for integrally forming the hinge mechanism 9 are described. The hinge mechanism 9 and the hole portion 22 arranged in FIG. 5 have substantially the same configuration as the symmetrical arrangement with the right hinge mechanism 9 and the hole portion 22, and therefore the same portions are denoted by the same reference numerals and description thereof is omitted.

  Thus, the lid 8 that is rotatably supported by the left and right hinge mechanisms 9, 9 is provided with a gap 32 between the rear end side and the top cover 3 as shown in FIG. The rotating operation can be performed smoothly. The gap 32 communicates with the hole 22 in the lower part of the hinge mechanism 9.

  Next, with reference to FIGS. 1 and 6, the configuration on the back surface side of the top cover 3 corresponding to the right hinge mechanism 9 and the punching hole 22 will be described. FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line AA shown in FIG. 2, and is therefore a cross-sectional view corresponding to the right hinge mechanism 9 as viewed from above. FIG. 6 shows a schematic configuration viewed from the back side of the top cover 3 in order to explain the main points.

  First, as shown in FIG. 1, the water receiving cover 23 is attached and fixed so as to cover the punching hole 22 through the top cover 3 from below. The water receiving cover 23 is integrally formed of a synthetic resin and has a bottomed container shape in which the upper surface and the right side surface in the drawing are continuously opened. It is mounted and fixed by appropriate mounting means such as engaging using the elasticity of the resin shaped article.

  The upper surface opening part 23a of the water receiving cover 23 described above has an opening shape large enough to cover the entire opening of the hole part 22 (see FIG. 6), and both side ends of the opening part 23b on the right side surface are As shown in FIG. 1, the top cover 3 is attached and fixed in a closed state in contact with the inner wall surface 3 a of the top cover 3. Specifically, a drain outlet 24 is provided in the inner bottom portion of the water receiving cover 23 in the vicinity of the inner wall surface 3a at a position reaching both side ends of the opening portion 23b on the right side surface.

  In the present embodiment, the drain port 24 is inclined downwardly as it approaches the inner wall surface 3a of the top cover 3, and is formed continuously from the inclined portion 25 and close to the inner wall surface 3a. A long tongue-shaped gap 27 is formed between the guide portion 26 and the inner wall surface 3a.

  Therefore, in the present embodiment, both end portions of the open portion 23b on the right side surface of the water receiving cover 23 in contact with the inner wall surface 3a are positioned so that the drain port 24 is close to the inner wall surface 3a of the top cover 3. It functions as a guide rib 33 (see FIGS. 1 and 6) effective for forming the gap 27 in a narrow path.

  On the other hand, the left hinge mechanism 9 shown in FIG. 4 is also provided with a water receiving cover 28 so as to cover the hole 22 from below, and the left water receiving cover 28 is also provided with the right water receiving cover described above. 23, the size (outer shape) and shape (see FIG. 6) are different from each other, but are substantially the same as the water receiving cover 23, such as being provided with a drain port 29 adjacent to the left inner wall surface 3a. Therefore, the detailed description is omitted. The sizes and shapes of the water receiving covers 23 and 28 are appropriately set in consideration of the structure on the back side of the top cover 3 and mounting parts (electrical components described later). It is not restrained by the rectangular shape as shown in FIG.

  As described above, the water receiving covers 23 and 28 disposed at the two left and right positions cover the left and right hole portions 22 from below as shown in FIG. The configuration is isolated from the lines 30 and 31. That is, the details will be described later in the description of the action, but the liquid that has entered through the hole 22 is received by the water receiving covers 23 and 28 and guided to the drains 24 and 29, so that the lead wires 30 and 31 can be guided. It can be a water-isolated configuration.

  As for the lead wires 30 and 31, for example, various operation switches corresponding to the operation panel 4 described above are provided in the front cover portion 3b in front of the top cover 3 in FIG. And a display unit (both not shown) and the like, while the water supply valve 5 and the water supply pump 16 (see FIG. 4) are provided in the rear cover portion 3c (a space zone indicated by symbol Y in the figure) behind the top cover 3. ), And a water level sensor for detecting a washing water level (not shown) are arranged, and there are many lead wires for wiring between these electrical components. Furthermore, the interior of the housing 1 is arranged in the vertical direction even in the electrical equipment such as the motor 19, the drain valve 14, and a control device (not shown) for controlling the overall washing operation. Lead wires are wired.

  For this reason, as a background situation, it is not easy to make the lead wires 30 and 31 separate from the left and right hole portions 22. Even if the lead wires 30 and 31 can be routed around the hole 22, wasteful lead wire materials are required, and the wiring work becomes troublesome and causes an increase in cost.

Next, the operation of the washing machine having the above configuration will be described.
In the washing machine including the washing tub 6 of the present embodiment, as is well known, a washing operation in which the washing by the stirring body 18, the rinsing process, and the dehydration process for rotationally driving the inner tub 12 are automatically performed is executed. In the washing process, for example, a powder detergent or liquid detergent, and further a bleaching agent are put into the washing tub 6, and in the rinsing process, a soft finish is put in and the laundry such as clothes is washed.

  Since the above-described washing operation is frequently performed in a general household every day, it is assumed that the user accidentally spills liquid such as water or liquid detergent on the top cover 3 which is the upper surface of the washing machine. In this case, there is a gap between the lid 8 and the top cover 3 even when the lid 8 is closed, and particularly on the rear end side where the lid 8 is pivotally supported so as to be pivotable, as shown in FIG. Thus, a relatively large gap 32 is formed between the top cover 3 and the top cover 3. For this reason, the liquid flows into the hole 22 through the gap 32. Here, the hole 22 below the right hinge mechanism 9 whose details are shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 will be described below.

  The liquid that has entered the hole 22 is received by the water receiving cover 23 through the path in the direction of the arrow shown in FIG. In this embodiment, the drain port 24 is in a state in which the guide rib 33 is in contact with the inner wall surface 3 a of the top cover 3, the inclined portion 25 is lowered toward the inner wall surface 3 a, and the inner wall surface 3 a is adjacent to the inclined portion 25. Therefore, a long path gap 27 is formed between the guide part 26 and the inner wall surface 3a, and the liquid is discharged through the gap 27. .

  In this case, the liquid is given directivity along the inner wall surface 3a through the guide portion 26 and the gap 27, and thus the liquid discharged from the drain port 24 flows down along the inner wall surface 3a. In addition, since the periphery of the opening of the drain port 24 is formed in a closed state by the guide rib 33 that contacts the inner wall surface 3a, the spread of the liquid discharged from the drain port 24 in the lateral direction can be suppressed.

  In addition, since the top cover 3 is formed by die cutting in the vertical direction, the inner wall surface 3a has a draft that expands (expands) outward as it goes downward as shown in FIG. Even in such a case, the liquid can be maintained in a tendency to flow down along the wall surface without immediately falling from the drain port 24 in the vertical direction.

  Therefore, the liquid is discharged without falling on other lead wires and electrical components in the housing 1 including the lead wire 30 in a state of being isolated from the liquid that has entered the hole portion 22 by the water receiving cover 23. Moreover, since it gently flows down along the inner wall surface 3a, it does not scatter to the surroundings due to the impact or the like of liquid dropping (dropping). For this reason, in addition to the lead wires 30 and 31 in the top cover 3, a large number of lead wires and electrical components in the housing 1 are designed to be arranged at proper original positions.

  According to the washing machine of the present embodiment described above, the hinge mechanism 9 is formed in the configuration having the hinge mechanism 9 integrally formed on the surface of the top cover 3 so as to rotatably support the lid 8. The water receiving covers 23 and 28 are provided on the back side of the top cover 3 so as to be opposed to the die-cutting hole 22 that is generated when the top cover 3 is intruded. 28, a drain outlet 24 is provided in the vicinity of the inner wall surface 3a of the top cover 3 which is the wall surface of the casing 1, and the liquid discharged from the drain outlet 24 flows down along the inner wall surface 3a of the casing 1. It was set as the structure to do.

  As a result, the liquid that has entered from the hole 22 does not wet many lead wires and electrical components, so that the degree of design freedom for wiring processing and the like can be increased, and improvement in workability can be expected. Moreover, since the liquid flows down along the inner wall surface 3a, it does not drip into the washing tub 6 and wets the laundry carelessly and does not contaminate it, and the discharged liquid scatters around to lead wires and electrical components. It is also effective in that it is possible to avoid a problem that falls on the device.

  In addition, for example, a liquid such as a bleaching agent can adhere to a lead wire or the like for a long time due to its viscosity, thereby avoiding the risk of eroding the insulating film of the lead wire or being easily retained in an electrical connection portion. It is advantageous. In addition, it is good also as a structure which flows down the liquid discharged | emitted from the drain outlet 24 along the outer wall surface of the housing | casing 1, and can anticipate the effect similar to the above.

  More specifically, in the case of one of the water receiving covers 23, the drain outlet 24 is configured to use a gap 27 between the inner wall surface 3 a of the top cover 23 that is the wall surface of the housing 1. This is effective for allowing the liquid discharged from the mouth 24 to flow down along the inner wall surface 3a, and is also effective in providing the water receiving cover 23 with one side open with a simple configuration.

  Further, in this embodiment, the guide ribs 33 which are both end portions of the right side surface of the water receiving cover 23 which are opened are effective not only for forming the drainage port 24 and the gap 27 close to the inner wall surface 3a but also for drainage. Since the periphery of the opening of the mouth 24 is formed in a closed state, an inadvertent spread of the liquid discharged from the drain port 24 in the lateral direction can be suppressed, and the liquid can flow down to a desired position. In the present embodiment, the entire side end of the right side surface of the water receiving cover 23 is in contact with the inner wall surface 3a to form the guide rib 33. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, at least around the drain port 24. By providing the guide rib that comes into contact with the inner wall surface 3a, substantially the same effect as described above can be expected.

  In addition, since the drainage port 24 has a tongue-shaped guide portion 26 that extends downward in the vicinity of the inner wall surface 3a, the directivity of the liquid flowing down along the inner wall surface 3a can be enhanced. This is effective in that the liquid surely flows down along the inner wall surface 3a. This functions effectively to allow the liquid to flow down the inner wall surface 3a without dripping (falling) in the vertical direction even when the inner wall surface 3a is inclined in the direction of expansion for molding. . On the other hand, although the detailed description of the other water receiving cover 28 is omitted, it has the same configuration as the water receiving cover 23, and the same effect can be expected.

  In the present embodiment, the washing tub 6 is described as applied to a washing machine having the inner tub 12 around the vertical axis. However, the present invention is not limited to this, for example, a washing machine having a drum around the horizontal axis, or a drying function. It can be applied to a washing machine equipped (commonly called “washing dryer”), and can be widely used regardless of the type of washing machine.

  In addition, if the bottom portion of the water receiving cover 23 is inclined toward the drain outlet 24, the inclined portion 25 of the drain outlet 24 may not be provided. It can be implemented with various modifications.

  As mentioned above, although one Embodiment of this invention was described, this is shown as an example of embodiment and is not intending limiting the range of invention. The novel embodiments can be implemented in various other forms, and various omissions, replacements, and changes can be made without departing from the scope of the invention. These embodiments and modifications thereof are included in the scope and gist of the invention, and are included in the invention described in the claims and the equivalents thereof.

  In the drawings, 1 is a housing, 2 is an outer box, 3 is a top cover, 3a is an inner wall surface, 5 is a water supply valve, 6 is a washing tub, 7 is an inlet, 8 is a lid, 9 is a hinge mechanism, and 11 is an outer A tank, 12 is an inner tank, 20 is an arm part, 21 is a support shaft part, 22 is a hole part, 23 and 28 are water receiving covers, 27 is a gap, 30 and 31 are lead wires, and 33 is a guide rib.

Claims (3)

In what has a washing tub for washing clothes, etc. inside the casing forming the outer shell,
The housing is composed of a box-shaped outer box and a top cover that is attached so as to cover the upper surface of the outer box, and the top cover has an input port for taking clothes into and out of the washing tub, A lid that can be rotated by a hinge mechanism to open and close the insertion port,
The hinge mechanism has a support shaft portion that is integrally projected on the surface of the top cover so as to rotatably support the lid.
A lower portion of the top shaft portion of the top cover has a hole for punching in the vertical direction when the shaft portion is formed, and a container-shaped water receiving cover is provided, and the water receiving cover is provided with the housing. A washing machine characterized in that a drain outlet is provided close to the wall of the body.   2. The washing machine according to claim 1, wherein the drain outlet of the water receiving cover is formed using a gap between the housing and the wall surface.   The washing machine according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the drain port of the water receiving cover has a tongue-shaped guide portion extending downward near the wall surface of the housing.

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