JP3492830B2 - Washing machine - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a washing machine, and more particularly to a washing machine equipped with a circulation pump for collecting lint.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 7-29985 discloses an example of a washing machine equipped with a circulation pump for collecting lint. There, as shown in FIG. 8, a water tank 2 is suspended in an outer box 1 by a plurality of hanging rods 4, and a washing / dewatering tank 3 having a dehydration hole in a peripheral wall is arranged in the water tank 2. A pulsator 5 is provided in the dehydration tank 3.

A washing motor 6 is fixed below the water tank 2, and a drive shaft of the motor 6 is provided with a V-belt B and a mechanism section 7 including a clutch mechanism and a speed reduction mechanism for switching between washing and dehydration. Then, it is transmission-coupled to the pulsator 5 and the washing and dehydrating tub 3 which are coaxially located.

The drain valve 17 and the circulation pump 18 fixed to the outer case 1 are connected to the drain port 70 at the bottom of the water tank 2 by a flexible hose 71, and the washing water is circulated by the circulation pump 18 through the circulation hose 19. Water is supplied to the yarn waste collecting device 20 in the upper surface plate 8 and circulates from the water supply port 14 to the washing and dehydrating tub 3.
The opening / closing of the drain valve 17 is performed by the drive motor M1.
It is drained from the drain hose 22 connected to 7. On the other hand, switching between washing and dehydration is performed by another motor M2.

FIG. 9 shows details of the drain valve 17 and the circulation pump 18. At the time of water supply, the drain valve 17 is closed by the valve body 24, so that the water flowing from the flexible hose 71 into the connection port 73 is discharged from the substantially circular suction port 75 at the center of the pump case 74 of the circulation pump 18, Water is sent to the circulation hose 19 by the centrifugal force of the impeller 31 that rotates coaxially with the suction port 75.

The gap between the impeller 31 and the pump case 74 in the axial direction is narrow and is normally set to 2 to 3 mm.
A discharge port is provided at a position substantially the same in diameter as the axial height d _{1 of 1} . At the time of drainage, the pulling rod 26 of the drainage valve 17 is pulled by the drive motor M1 to operate the valve body 24. In the figure, 76 indicates a pump motor.

[0007]

However, in the conventional washing machine described above, since the circulation pump 18 is arranged in the outer box 1, it is necessary to connect the circulation pump 18 and the water tank 2 with the hose 71. Since the water tank 2 vibrates, the hose 71 needs to have flexibility, which increases the number of parts and the number of assembling steps, resulting in high cost.

Two motors, that is, a drive motor M2 for switching between washing and dehydration and a drive motor M1 for driving the drain valve are required, which also leads to an increase in the number of parts and the number of assembling steps.
High cost. Since the suction port 75 and the pump case 74 are coaxial with each other and the outer shape of the pump case 74 is larger than the suction port 75, water remains in the pump case 74 even after the drainage is completed.
Since the motor is locked during freezing, there is a safety problem and there is the problem that operation cannot be performed until the residual water is thawed.

When the yarn waste flows into the circulation pump 18 together with water on the blades of the impeller 31 of the circulation pump 18, the yarn waste is caught by the impeller 31 or accumulated between the impeller 31 and the inner surface of the pump case 74. As a result, there is a problem in that the motor gradually grows, and eventually the impeller 31 and the inner surface of the pump case 74 are clogged with each other to cause a motor lock.

The object of the present invention is to solve the above problems, and the number of parts and the number of assembling steps can be reduced by devising the arrangement and mounting method of the circulation pump. To provide the machine. An object of the present invention is to provide a washing machine that can solve the problems of motor lock and clogging of lint by devising drainage and water reduction means.

[0011]

[0012]

[0013]

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION The present invention is provided in an outer box.
A washing and dehydration tank with a pulsator is installed in the aquarium
The drain valve and the upper part of the outer box from the bottom of the water tank
Into the washing and dewatering tank through the thread waste collecting device
A scent in a washing machine equipped with a circulation pump that circulates washing water.
The inner bottom surface of the circulation pump case is located on the same plane as or above the drain valve and the bottom surface of the water passage to the drain valve, and the inner shape of the suction port of the circulation pump is a part of a substantially circular shape. Is formed in a substantially keyhole shape extending to the bottom of the case of the circulation pump. In this case, in addition to the circulation pump being arranged at the bottom of the water tank, it can be similarly applied to the case where the circulation pump is arranged in the outer box.

[0014]

The pump motor is arranged such that the motor coil is located above, and the support plate made of stainless steel plate covers a part or the whole of the upper part of the motor coil.

In the above circulation pump, the gap formed between the axial end face of the impeller and the inner face of the pump case facing the impeller is set to be larger than the diameter of the discharge port provided on one side of the gap. . In this case, in addition to the circulation pump being arranged at the bottom of the water tank, it can be similarly applied to the case where the circulation pump is arranged in the outer box.

After the operation of the circulation pump is finished, the circulation pump is operated again for a certain period of time, and at the same time as the pump is stopped or after a certain period of time, the drain valve driving means is operated and at the same time the pulsator is rotated in a certain direction for a certain period of time. Equipped with means for draining or reducing water. In this case, in addition to the circulation pump being arranged at the bottom of the water tank, it can be similarly applied to the case where the circulation pump is arranged in the outer box. The circulation pump, drainage valve driving means, and drainage or water reduction means for operating the pulsator are provided every time a predetermined time elapses.

[0018]

[0019]

The inner bottom surface of the circulation pump case is located on the same plane as or above the drain valve and the bottom surface of the water passage to the drain valve, and the inner shape of the suction port of the circulation pump is substantially circular. By forming the part into a substantially keyhole shape that extends to the bottom of the case of the circulation pump, all the water in the pump case can be drained, and problems such as motor lock due to freezing can be solved.

[0021]

By arranging the coil of the bear removal type motor as the circulation pump so as to be directed upward, it is possible to prevent splashing water from the upper part of the washing machine and splashing water droplets from the bottom surface of the washing machine from adhering to the motor coil. Further, even if the motor coil is ignited, it is possible to prevent the fire from spreading to the resin water tank.

By setting the gap formed between the axial end face of the impeller of the circulation pump and the inner face of the pump case facing the impeller, the gap is set to be larger than the diameter of the discharge port provided on one side of the gap. Since the thread waste mixed in the wash water is sent without contacting the impeller, the thread waste is not caught on the impeller. Moreover, even if a large lint flows in, the suction port size is generally set larger than the discharge port size,
It is possible to feed water even if the yarn waste is smaller than the discharge port diameter.

When a large and long lint flows in and remains in the pump case, when the circulation pump is drained or reduced in water after the operation ends, the circulation pump is operated again for a certain period of time to sink to the bottom of the pump case. By pulling the waste thread once toward the center of the impeller and rotating the pulsator simultaneously with the stop of the circulation pump operation or after a lapse of a certain time, the waste thread can be sucked toward the drain port of the water tank by the pump action of the pulsator. Also, by operating the drain valve driving means at the same time as the rotation of the pulsator or after a lapse of a certain time, the drain valve is opened, so that the lint that has been attracted to the drain side of the water tank is discharged from the drain valve together with the water in the water tank. It

When the lint remains in the pump case, the lint that is generated from the cloth during washing gradually grows and becomes large by operating the circulation pump with the lint as the core, and the size of the lint is reduced. When the diameter is larger than the suction port diameter, the circulation pump, the drain valve driving means, and the pulsator are clogged in the suction port even if the operation is performed as described above. By operating the pulsator, such thread waste can be discharged.

[0026]

1 is a vertical sectional view showing an embodiment of a washing machine according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a vertical sectional view of an essential part thereof, and FIG. 3 is a plan view of the essential part thereof. In FIG. 1, a water tank 2 is suspended by a suspension rod 4 in an outer box 1. A washing / dehydrating tank 3 having a pulsator 5 is provided in the center of the water tank 2. Aquarium 2
A washing motor 6 is provided below the washing machine 6. The driving shaft of the washing machine 6 is connected to the washing shaft of the pulsator 5 and the dewatering shaft of the washing / dehydrating tub 3 through the V-belt B and the mechanism portion 7. is there.

The mechanical section 7 has a speed reducing mechanism, and a washing process in which the pulsator 5 is rotated for washing.
It has a clutch mechanism for switching to a dehydration process in which the washing / dehydrating tub 3 is rotated to perform dehydration. A top plate 8 having an inlet for laundry is arranged on the upper part of the outer box 1, and the inlet is opened and closed by a lid 9. In addition, in the figure, 10 is a balancer fixed to the upper part of the washing / dehydrating tub 3, 11 is a control circuit, 12 is a water supply valve, and a water supply hose 13 provides a water supply port 14
Water is supplied to the washing and dehydrating tub 3 via the.

2 and 3, the washing / dehydrating tub 3 is a non-perforated wall, and a drain port 15 is provided at the center of the bottom.
5, the water passage 23 and the drain valve 17 are connected to the drain port 2a of the water tank 2 through the drain path 16 formed in the water tank 2.
The drain valve 17 has a rubber bellows-shaped valve body 24 arranged in a valve cylinder 28, a pull rod 26 arranged inside the valve body 24, and a compression spring 25 arranged inside the pull rod 26. The water pumped by the circulation pump 18 from the drain valve 17 via the L-shaped joint 27 passes through the circulation hose 19 to the discharge port 2 thereof.
1 is discharged to the yarn waste collecting device 20 and circulates from the water supply port 14 to the washing and dehydrating tub 3.

FIG. 3 shows a plan view of the circulation pump 18 in a semi-cut state, and FIG. 4 is a side view thereof, FIG. 5 is a front view thereof, and FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken along line AA in FIG. Are shown respectively. 3 and 4, the pump case 33 of the circulation pump 18 is the second case 332 having the suction port 30 and the discharge port 40, and the impeller 31 is provided at the center through the packing 47.
And a first case 331 fixed with a bear removal type motor 37 which is a pump motor and a screw 42, and a screw 41 and is watertightly fixed.

A bear removing motor 37 having a fan 36
Are fixed to the first support plate 391 and the second support plate 392 of the stainless steel support plate 39 by screws 42 on both side surfaces of the core. The first support plate 391, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5,
It has a horizontal surface 391a that is bent horizontally above the motor fixing portion and covers the motor coil 43. This horizontal surface 39
1a is in contact with a horizontal surface 392a provided above the motor support portion of the second support plate 392, and an upper insulating washer 45 and a lower insulating washer 46 having a screw 44 are attached to the corresponding contact portions.

The chassis 7a of the mechanism portion 7 is fixed by the screw 44.
The circulation pump 18 is fixed to the. The first support plate 391 is further provided with screws 44 at upper and lower insulating washers 45.
It is fixed to the chassis 7 a of the mechanism section 7 via 6. On the other hand, the contact portion between the first support plate 391 and the second support plate 392 is fixed to the bottom portion of the water tank 2 with the screw 48.

The circulation pump 18 will be described in more detail with reference to FIGS. 3 to 5. In FIG. 5, the suction port 30 of the second case 332 has a substantially elliptical outer side portion that is watertightly connected to the joint 27. The inner shape of the suction port 30 is formed on the inner surface of the second case 332 into a substantially keyhole shape including a circular shape 30b coaxial with the impeller 31 and a substantially oval portion 30a, and the lower end of the substantially oval portion 30a is the second case. It is flush with the inner bottom surface 332a of 332.

As shown in FIG. 6, the outside and inside of the suction port 30 are connected by a smooth inclined surface 32 to form a conical section. Further, as shown in FIG. 2, the inner bottom surface of the water passage 23 of the drain valve 17 and the inner bottom surface of the second case 332 are flush with each other. As shown in FIG. 3, the impeller 31 is fixed to the tip of a motor shaft 35, and the motor shaft 35 is water-sealed by an oil seal 34 arranged in the first case 331. A gap D is formed between the axial tip end surface 31a of the impeller 31 and the inner side surface 332a of the second case 332.
A discharge port 40 is provided on one side of the nozzle, and the gap D is set to be larger than the diameter d of the discharge port 40.

In FIG. 3, the drain valve 17 is provided with a pull rod 2 through a connecting fitting 50 by a wire 52 of a drain motor 51.
The valve element 24 is opened and closed by pushing and pulling the valve element 24 by means of 6. On the other hand, by connecting a switching lever 53 of a clutch mechanism for switching between washing and dehydration of the mechanism portion 7 to the connecting fitting 50, the drainage motor 51 operates to switch between washing and dehydration and open / close the drain valve 17. Are configured to be performed simultaneously.

FIG. 7 shows a control chart of the circulation pump 18. This control chart is intended to discharge lint. The circulation pump 18 is operated in the washing or rinsing process. When the water supply to the predetermined water level is completed, for example, the pulsator 5 rotates in the washing process, and the circulation pump 18 also starts operating. The circulation pump 18 is operated for a predetermined ONt for ₁ second, OF
Ft ₂ second operation, continuous operation, or the like is performed according to the chart of the control circuit 11. Then, when the washing process is completed, the operation of the circulation pump 18 is also stopped.

Next, the circulation pump 18 is operated for t ₄ hours to remove the thread waste that has settled at the bottom of the circulation pump 18 from the impeller 3.
The rotation of 1 pulls the impeller 31 toward the center.
When a spiral pump is used as the circulation pump 18, water is pumped by centrifugal force from the central portion of the impeller 31 toward the outer circumference of the impeller 31, so that large yarn waste is pressured at the central portion of the impeller 31 compared to the outer circumference. Since it is low, it is easy to gather in the center and attracts from the center to the outer periphery, and the thread waste adheres to the center of the impeller 31. At the same time when the circulation pump 18 is turned off or after the lapse of t ₅ hours, the pulsator 5 is rotated in one direction for t ₆ hours. On the other hand, simultaneously with the rotation of the pulsator 5, the drain motor 51, which is the drain valve driving means, is turned on to open the drain valve 17.

With the above operation, the circulation pump 18 is turned off.
Due to this, the thread waste attracted to the center of the impeller 31 separates from the impeller 31 and floats in the pump case 33 and tries to settle. At that time, when the pulsator 5 rotates, the water in the drainage port 15 and the drainage route 16 is drawn toward the pulsator 5 by the pumping action of the back blade 5a of the pulsator 5, so that the floating lint in the circulation pump 18 is sucked in. Mouth 3
Move through 0 into the waterway 23.

When the drain valve 17 is opened at the same time as the pulsator 5, the thread waste in the water passage 23 is discharged from the drain valve 17 to the drain hose 22 together with the water in the dehydration / washing layer 3. Further, by performing the above-described process every time the operation is performed for a predetermined time, the waste can be drained before the yarn waste grows large.

[0039]

[0040]

[0041]

The bottom surface of the pump case of the circulation pump and the bottom surface of the water passage of the drain valve are at the same level, and the suction port is formed into a keyhole shape and extends to the bottom surface of the pump case. There is no residual water, and motor lock etc. due to freezing can be prevented, safety is improved, and stop of circulation function due to freezing can be prevented beforehand.

By making the gap D between the tip end surface of the impeller and the inner surface of the pump case larger than the discharge port diameter d, it is possible to pump thread waste having a size smaller than the discharge port diameter, and the thread waste is fed to the impeller blades. Since it is pressure-fed to the discharge port without coming into contact with it, the thread waste does not get caught on the impeller, and convenience and durability can be improved.

After the operation of the circulation pump is completed and before the next washing step is started, the circulation pump is operated for a certain period of time to draw the lint accumulated in the pump case toward the center of the impeller, and at the same time when the operation is stopped, the pulsator is removed. By rotating and opening the drain valve, the thread waste suspended by stopping the circulation pump is drawn into the drain valve water passage by the pump action of the pulsator and discharged from the drain valve. Therefore, by discharging the thread waste accumulated in the pump case, it is possible to avoid the motor lock due to the thread waste and improve the safety and reliability.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an overall vertical sectional view of an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a vertical cross-sectional view of the circulation pump part.

FIG. 3 is a bottom view of the water tank.

FIG. 4 is a side view of the circulation pump.

FIG. 5 is a front view of the circulation pump of the same.

6 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line AA in FIG.

FIG. 7 is a control chart of a circulation pump.

FIG. 8 is a vertical sectional view of an entire conventional washing machine.

FIG. 9 is a vertical cross-sectional view of a circulation pump of a conventional washing machine.

[Explanation of symbols] 1 outer box 2 aquarium 3 washing and dewatering tank 5 pulsator 7 Mechanism 17 drain valve 18 Circulation pump 20 Yarn waste collection device 30 Suction port 31 Impeller 32 inclined surface 33 pump case 37 pump motor 39 Support plate 40 outlets 43 motor coil 51 drainage motor

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (58) Fields surveyed (Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB name) D06F 39/08 D06F 33/02 D06F 37/40

Claims (2)

(57) [Claims] 1. A washing / dehydrating tank having a pulsator is provided in a water tank provided in an outer box, and a drain valve and a thread waste collecting device provided at an upper part of the outer box are provided from the bottom of the water tank. In a washing machine equipped with a circulation pump for circulating washing water in the washing / dehydrating tub, the inner bottom surface of the case of the circulation pump is flush with the drain valve and the bottom surface of the water passage to the drain valve. Positioned above, the inner shape of the suction port of the circulation pump is formed into a substantially keyhole shape that extends a part of the substantially circular shape to the inner bottom portion of the case of the circulation pump, and after the operation of the circulation pump is completed, a certain time A washing machine equipped with means for draining or reducing water by operating the circulation pump and operating the drain valve driving means at the same time as the pump is stopped or after a lapse of a certain time, and at the same time rotating the pulsator in a certain direction for a certain time. . 2. A washing / dehydrating tub is provided in a water tub arranged in the outer box, and the washing / dehydrating tub is provided from the bottom of the water tub through a thread waste collecting device arranged in the upper part of the outer box. In a washing machine having a circulation pump for circulating wash water, a gap D formed between an axial tip end of an impeller of the circulation pump and an inner surface of a pump case facing the impeller is a side of the gap. The washing / dehydrating tank has a pulsator, and the circulation pump is disposed above the drain valve and the upper part of the outer box from the bottom of the water tank. When the washing water is circulated in the washing / dehydrating tub via, the circulation pump is operated for a certain period of time after the operation of the circulation pump and the pump is stopped at the same time, or after a certain period of time, the driving means of the drain valve is operated. Simultaneously keep the pulsator in a certain direction A washing machine characterized by being provided with means for draining or reducing water by rotating for a period of time.