JP3959405B2 - Washing machine door - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an opening / closing door of a washing machine.

  There is known a washing machine having an outer box (side frame) in which a washing tub is installed and a top cover (upper cover) placed and fixed on the outer box (for example, see Patent Document 1). In this washing machine, the top cover has a laundry entrance / exit (laundry entry / exit) communicating with the washing tub, and a recess formed in the front portion leading to the laundry entrance / exit. In addition, it has a laundry lid that is pivotally supported by the top cover and simultaneously opens and closes the laundry entrance and recess, and an operation panel is provided in front of the laundry lid. The laundry lid is composed of two members, a front lid and a rear lid. These two members are rotatably connected to each other at an intermediate fulcrum, and the laundry doorway is opened by bending the mountain fold at the intermediate fulcrum portion. It is a two-fold lid.

JP-A-5-168794 (second page, FIG. 1).

  In the above prior art, by arranging the operation panel on the front lid and forming a recess connected to the laundry entrance at the front, the height on the near side of the laundry tub can be reduced and the laundry can be easily taken out. However, since the mass of the operation panel is added to the front lid, the mass of the front lid increases, and the operation force required when opening the laundry lid also increases. Further, when closing the washing lid, the washing lid closes vigorously by its own weight, which causes a problem that the impact is increased.

  In the following description, “lid” is described as “door”.

  An object of the present invention is to provide a washing machine with good lid operability even when an operation panel is provided on a door that covers the doorway of the laundry.

In order to achieve the above object, a washing machine of the present invention includes a housing provided with a washing tub, a top cover that forms an upper surface of the housing, and a laundry outlet is formed, and the outlet. The open / close door includes a front door portion disposed on the front side of the washing machine, a rear door portion disposed on the rear side, an operation switch, and a display element. An operation panel having the front door portion and the rear door portion connected by a rear end portion of the front door portion and a front end portion of the rear door portion, and a rear end portion of the rear door portion. Is pivotally supported on the top panel on the back side of the take-out port, and the front side end of the front door is moved rearwardly in the front- rear direction in the range of the front- rear direction during the opening and closing operation of the door. said top guide portion for guiding and supporting the vertically has a curved portion that descends toward the front from Provided bar, a means for assisting the opening and closing force of the door at least one of the connecting portion between the rear door portion and the side end portion or the front door portion after the rear door portion, the distal end of the front door section Ru an elastic support means for urging the direction of the force into contact with the curved portion with respect to the engaging portion engaged with the guide portion proximate opening the door.

  At this time, it is preferable to provide a torsion spring that applies torque in a direction to open the front and rear doors at a pivot point on the connection side of the rear door with the top cover.

  Moreover, it is good to provide the torsion spring which provides the torque to the direction which mutually attracts the inner side of a front-and-back door to the intermediate fulcrum where the said front door part and the said rear door part were connected.

  Further, when the front door portion and the rear door portion are connected to each other at the intermediate fulcrum, the front door portion and the rear door portion are opened in the same direction by opening the opposing surfaces of the front door portion and the rear door portion. It is good to provide the load torque addition means which provides load torque between a part and the said rear door part.

  In addition, when an engaging portion that is provided in the vicinity of the front end of the front door portion and engages with the guide portion is closest to the pivot point of the rear door portion and the top cover, a wedge-shaped contact is made with the engaging portion. It is good to provide a contact part in the said guide part.

According to the present invention, the front end of the open / close door is prevented from jumping up by guiding the front end of the open / close door with the guide, and the rear end of the rear door or the front door and the rear door Since the opening / closing force of the opening / closing door is assisted to at least one of the connecting portions, the heavy opening / closing door can be opened / closed with good operability by providing an operation panel.
By providing the elastic support means for urging the force in the direction of opening the opening / closing door, the speed at the time of closing the door can be reduced, the impact at the time of closing the door can be reduced, and the door can be closed softly. Further, since the opening force of the operator who pulls up the handle is reduced when the door is opened, the door can be opened easily even when the mass of the front and rear doors is large.

  A washing machine according to the present invention includes a housing provided with a washing tub inside, a top cover on which an upper surface of the housing is formed, a laundry outlet being formed, and an opening / closing door that covers the outlet in an openable / closable manner. In the washing machine, the open / close door includes a front door portion arranged on the front side of the washing machine, a rear door portion arranged on the back side, and an operation panel having an operation switch and a display element, The front door portion and the rear door portion are connected to each other by a rear end portion of the front door portion and a front end portion of the rear door portion, and the rear end portion of the rear door portion is located behind the outlet. The top cover is supported by the top panel so that the front end of the front door is pivotally supported and supported in the vertical direction in the front-rear direction where the front door moves during the opening and closing operation of the door. Provided at the rear end of the rear door or the connecting portion between the front door and the rear door. Providing means for assisting the opening and closing force of the door while the Kutomo.

  At this time, a torsion spring that applies torque in a direction to open the front and rear doors is provided at a rotation fulcrum of the rear door connected to the top cover.

  In addition, a torsion spring is provided at an intermediate fulcrum where the front door portion and the rear door portion are connected to apply torque in a direction in which the inner sides of the front and rear doors are attracted to each other.

  Further, a curved portion that descends from the rear side toward the front side is provided in the vicinity of the front end portion of the guide portion, and the curved portion with respect to the engaging portion that is provided near the front end of the front door portion and engages with the guide portion. Elastic support means for urging the force in the direction to open the opening and closing door by contacting with each other.

  Further, when the front door portion and the rear door portion are connected to each other at the intermediate fulcrum, the front door portion and the rear door portion are opened in the same direction by opening the opposing surfaces of the front door portion and the rear door portion. Load torque adding means for applying load torque between the portion and the rear door portion.

  In addition, when an engaging portion that is provided in the vicinity of the front end of the front door portion and engages with the guide portion is closest to the pivot point of the rear door portion and the top cover, a wedge-shaped contact is made with the engaging portion. A contact portion is provided in the guide portion.

  Examples will be described in detail below.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the appearance of the washing machine of the present embodiment. The casing mainly includes an outer frame 1a that forms a side portion of the casing and an upper portion of the casing. A top cover 1b (hereinafter referred to as an upper surface cover) attached so as to cover the upper opening and a lower cover 1c that mainly constitutes the lower part of the housing are provided.

  The top cover 1b is composed of a front door 2 provided on the front side of the washing machine and a rear door 3 provided on the rear side of the washing machine, and the laundry is taken in and out as shown in FIGS. For this purpose, an opening / closing door that covers the laundry input port formed in the upper surface cover 1b and that can be opened and closed is attached.

  On the upper surface of the front door 2, there are provided an operation means 6 such as a switch for instructing operation such as washing, dehydration and drying, and a display means 7 for displaying an operation state, remaining time, etc. to the user by a liquid crystal or a light emitting diode. The operation panel 100 is provided. A handle 5 is provided at the center in the vicinity of the rear door 3 of the front door 2 for manually placing the door.

  A power switch 12 for turning on / off the power and a door opening / closing switch 13 for instructing opening / closing of the door are provided on the front side (user side) of the top cover 1b. A drainage hose 80 for draining is provided on the side of the washing machine.

  Moreover, as shown in FIG.2 and FIG.3, the washing | cleaning dehydration mechanism 10 comprised by the some tank is provided inside the outer frame 1a. Although not shown, the washing / dehydrating mechanism 10 includes an outer tub serving as a water receiving tub, and a washing tub (also referred to as a washing / dehydrating tub or inner tub) 10a for storing laundry inside the outer tub. A rotating body serving as an actuator for applying mechanical force to the laundry is disposed inside the washing tub.

  An outer tub cover 10b is attached to the upper part of the outer tub so as to cover the washing tub 10a. The outer tub cover 10b is formed with a laundry input port for taking in and out the laundry, and an inner door 10c is provided to cover the input port so as to be opened and closed. In this embodiment, the washing / drying machine having a drying function is taken as an example, and thus the inner door 10c is provided. However, in the washing machine having no drying function, the inner door 10c is not normally provided. In FIG. 3, the inner door 10c is opened and the inner door 10c is removed (broken line).

  The upper surface cover 1b accommodates a water supply electromagnetic valve for supplying water to the washing tub 10a, a pump for pumping bath water, and the like in the rear portion corresponding to the rear side of the laundry input port, but these are not shown.

  As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, a recess 20 is formed in the top cover 1b so that the open / close doors 2 and 3 are fitted. As a result, the upper surfaces of the open / close doors 2 and 3 have substantially the same height as the portions surrounding the open / close doors 2 and 3 of the upper surface cover 1b to which the open / close doors 2 and 3 are attached. In addition, a laundry input port is formed in the recess 20. A guide rail 21 which is a groove-shaped guide means is provided on the inner side surface rising from the recess.

  An intermediate fulcrum 4 portion between the front door 2 and the rear door 3 has a cylindrical shape and is configured to include auxiliary springs and friction means described later, and an angle formed between the front door 2 and the rear door 3. Can be opened and closed around the central axis of the cylinder. The auxiliary spring and the friction means constitute an assist force generating means for opening and closing the doors 2 and 3.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the rear door 3 is pivotally supported around a rotation fulcrum 9, and a rotary guide roller 8 is provided in the vicinity of the front end of the front door 2. It is slidably fitted along a rail 21 provided in the slidably supported.

  With the configuration as described above, when the door shown in FIG. 1 is closed and the handle 5 is lifted with a hand, the door is lifted at the intermediate fulcrum 4 as shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 3, the front door 2 and the rear door 3 are in a fully open state, with the front surfaces 2 and the rear doors 3 having their surfaces facing outwards.

  In FIG. 2, 37 is an auxiliary spring, which will be described later, 22 is an assist arm which forms part of an opening / closing auxiliary means, which will be described later, 23 is formed on a part of the rail 21 surface, and the tip of the assist arm protrudes on the rail surface. And a slit for moving along the curved surface portion of the rail.

  Next, the tip curved surface shape of the guide rail 21 will be described with reference to FIGS.

  4 and 5 are cross-sectional views illustrating the shape of the guide rail 21. FIG. In FIG. 4, the guide rail 21 is arranged along the outer shape of the washing machine as a straight line with an inclined upper surface and an arc shape connected with the straight line at the front surface. On the other hand, the guide rail 21 in FIG. 5 has a shape in which the position of the guide roller 8 is linearly connected when the door is fully open and when it is fully closed.

  In FIG. 4, since the guide roller 8 provided in the vicinity of the front end of the front door 2 is configured to move along the guide rail 21, the trajectory through which the front door front end portion 2A passes during opening and closing of the door is indicated by a one-dot chain line. The locus 26A is obtained. Therefore, since the upper surface of the washing tub 10 of the washing machine can be used as a mounting range of the built-in equipment 27 within a range where it does not interfere with the locus 26, there is little waste of space. In the configuration of the present embodiment, the front door 2 is composed of a flat surface portion and a tip R portion made of a cylindrical curved surface, so that the thickness of the front door 2 is made of a cylindrical curved surface as compared with a configuration made of a flat plate. The thickness is increased by an amount corresponding to the tip R portion. Further, when opening the door, the front door front end 2A must rise along the cylindrical curved surface R portion at the beginning of opening, so that the opening force becomes heavy. Further, when closing the door, the position of the front door 2 is rapidly lowered after the guide roller 8 moves from the straight portion to the cylindrical curved surface R portion. When the door is completely closed, the door closes with a shocking force, and an impact sound is generated. When an impact occurs, the operation panel 100 provided on the front door 2 receives the impact. The operation panel 100 has a display element such as a liquid crystal or a light emitting diode, and an electronic circuit for driving the display element, and it is not preferable to apply an impact from the viewpoint of reliability.

  On the other hand, when the rail 21 is linear as shown in FIG. 5, the trajectory through which the front door front end 2A passes is as shown in 26B. Since the locus 26B is at a lower position than 26A, the mounting space for the built-in equipment 27 is reduced, which is disadvantageous. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 4, the guide rail 21 is desirably provided in a form along the outer shape of the apparatus.

  In the present embodiment, the curved surface shape of the front surface of the apparatus is described as a cylindrical shape, but is not limited to a cylindrical shape, and for example, a plurality of cylindrical curved surfaces may be continuous.

  In this embodiment, a support spring is provided on the intermediate hinge or the root hinge. Hereinafter, the support spring of the hinge portion will be described with reference to FIGS.

  As described above, since the operation panel 100 is provided on the front door 2, the mass of the door increases, so that the door shown in FIG. 6 is pulled upward by placing the hand on the handle 5 from the fully closed state. Therefore, the opening force Fo required for this is larger than that of a washing machine door that does not include the operation panel 100.

  This opening force will be described with reference to the graph of FIG.

  The horizontal axis in FIG. 10 is the opening angle of the rear door shown as φ in FIG. 7, and the vertical axis is the opening force Fo in the handle portion 5. When the opening force Fo is applied and the door starts to be opened, the front door 2 and the rear door 3 are bent into a "<" shape, resulting in a form as shown by a broken line 2'3'4 'in FIG. The guide roller 8 is drawn toward the rear door fulcrum 9 and is moved along the guide rail 21 by being pressed by the guide rail 21. For this reason, even if a support spring is provided in the hinge portion, the front end 2 </ b> A of the front lid 2 does not jump away from the guide rail 21. Since the guide roller 8 moves along the tip R portion of the upper cover, the center of gravity of the door suddenly rises, and the front door 2 is provided with the operation panel 100. It becomes larger and takes the maximum value Max. Since the guide roller 8 moves from the tip R portion of the upper cover to the linear portion along the substantially flat portion of the upper surface, the door opening force gradually decreases after passing through the point A in FIG. The CG reaches 0 at the position B where the rotational moment generated around the fulcrum of the rear door 3 due to its own weight W disappears from the front of the hinge 9 of the rear door. The door then reaches the fully open position C. The relationship between the door opening angle and the force is represented as a curve F1.

  In order to reduce the maximum value Fmax of the opening force at F1, in the present invention, torsion springs 37 and 47 are provided on one or both of the rear door fulcrum 9 and the intermediate fulcrum 4.

  Each of the torsion springs 37 and 47 generates the maximum torque when the door is closed as shown in FIG. 6, and is in a free state where no load is applied when the door is fully opened as shown in FIG. With such a configuration, when the door shown in FIG. 6 is closed, a maximum torsional moment Tc is generated, and the direction is a force in the direction of opening the front and rear doors. The opening force Fo can be reduced. The degree of reduction of the opening force depends on the magnitude of the torque Tc generated by the torsion spring, and is maximum at the fully closed position and substantially zero at the position B. Therefore, the opening force F when the torsion spring is provided is reduced by the torque Tc applied by the torsion springs 37 and 47, as shown in F2 of FIG. When the torque applied by the torsion springs 37 and 47 is further increased, the opening force F further decreases and becomes F3. However, in this case, the opening force Fmin in the fully closed state of the door approaches 0. Such a phenomenon occurs. When closing the door, instead of closing the door at once, close it slowly by hand from the fully open position, when it is completely closed as shown by the broken line in FIG. When Fmin is very small (for example, 100 g to 200 g), the resistance force due to the frictional force generated in each part of the door and Fmin are balanced, and as a result, as shown by broken lines 2′3′4 ′ in FIG. The closing operation stops with a slight floating, and it cannot be completely closed. In such a case, it can be determined that the additional torque Tc by the torsion springs 37 and 47 is excessive. In order to avoid such a state, the opening force Fmin at the beginning of opening has a lower limit value, for example, about 500 gf is necessary. Such a state is shown as F2 in FIG.

  That is, there is an upper limit value for the additional torque by the torsion spring, and if more torque is applied, the door may not close. Therefore, there is a limit to the effect of reducing the opening force due to the additional torque, and the maximum value of the opening force at that time is F2max in FIG. 10 and cannot be reduced any further.

  The operation when the door is closed will be described. When the door is closed from the fully open state in this state, the front door is moved from the state of FIG. 9 through FIGS. 8 and 7 depending on the mass of the front and rear doors including the operation panel. The guide roller 8 provided in 2 advances along the guide rail 21 while accelerating in the direction of the arrow CL. Therefore, even when the door is fully closed as shown in FIG. 6, the guide roller 8 continues to advance in the direction of closing the door. Therefore, when the door is fully closed, the guide roller 8 or the front and rear doors While colliding with the upper cover, an impact sound is generated, and there is a risk that a finger is caught between the upper cover and the front and rear doors.

  Next, another means for reducing the F2max (tip spring support) will be described.

  As described above, it has been found that the reduction of the maximum value F2max of the door opening force is limited only by providing the torsion springs 37 and 47 at the rear door fulcrum 9 or the intermediate fulcrum 4. From FIG. 10, the opening force is large until the front surface R portion is completed from the position of Cl where the door is fully closed, that is, to the point A, and the door is particularly heavy for the operator.

  Hereinafter, the means for reducing the opening force Fo when the guide roller 8 is in the range of the tip end R will be described with reference to FIGS. In FIG. 6, the assist lever 22 is supported so as to be rotatable around a rotation center 24, and one end of the assist lever 22 protrudes from the surface of the guide rail 21 into the guide groove through a slit 23 formed in the guide rail 21. The tip of 22 is configured to abut from the downstream side of the guide roller 8. The assist arm 22 is configured to be able to rotate within the open range of the slit 23, and the slit 23 is provided in the R-shaped range of the tip of the washing machine, that is, the range of R shown in FIG.

  Here, in the washing machine according to the present embodiment, the outer shape is a part of a cylindrical shape, and the guide rail 21 has a circular shape since it has a shape along the outer shape. If it is configured to rotate about the rotation center 24, the tip of the assist arm 22 is configured to move along the guide rail 21, which is convenient. Here, the position of the rotation center 24 of the assist arm 22 may not be completely coincident with the rotation center of the tip R portion of the washing machine. What is necessary is just to contact | abut to the guide roller 8. FIG.

  A part of the assist arm 22 forms a spring hook 25 that hangs a spring 27, and the spring 27 is stretched between a boss 26 fixed to the web cover and the spring hook 25, and an arrow CW around the rotation fulcrum 24. Rotational torque in the direction is generated.

  When the door is closed as shown in FIG. 6, the force applied from the assist arm 22 to the guide roller 8 is maximum, and the guide rail 21 shown in FIG. In this position, the force Fcl applied from the assist arm 22 to the guide roller 8 is minimized.

  In the state where the door shown in FIG. 6 is closed, the guide roller 8, the intermediate fulcrum 4 and the hinge 9 of the rear door are substantially in a straight line, so even when a force Fcl is applied to the tip of the guide roller 8, Since the moment generated around the intermediate fulcrum 4 or the hinge 9 of the rear door is small, even if a force Fcl is applied to the guide roller 8, the front door 2 and the rear door 3 are connected to the broken lines 2 ', 3 in FIG. It doesn't float like '4'.

  With such a configuration, a force Fcl can always be applied in the tangential direction of the guide rail 21 from the tip of the assist lever to the guide roller 8 in the range of the door opening amount from FIG. 6 to FIG. The direction of this force is the direction in which the door is decelerated and braked through the guide roller 8 when the door is closed, so the speed when closing the door is reduced to reduce the impact when the door is closed and the door is softened. Has the effect of closing. Furthermore, since the opening force of the operator pulling up the handle is reduced when the door is opened, there is an effect that the door can be opened easily even when the mass of the front and rear doors is large.

  In the present embodiment, an example in which a tension spring is used as the spring 27 is shown. However, the present invention is not limited to the tension spring, and a torsion spring 30 is wound around the rotation fulcrum 24 of the assist arm 22 as shown in FIG. Rotate and hook one end on the assist arm 22 and the other end 30a on a fixing portion of the top cover, for example, a boss, etc., and apply a moment in the direction of arrow CW to the assist arm 22 to guide from the tip of the assist arm 22 The structure which applies force Fa to the roller 8 may be sufficient. Alternatively, as shown in FIG. 12, one end of the torsion spring 31 may be extended and passed between the slits 23 so that the tip of the torsion spring 31 directly contacts the guide roller 8. With the configuration of FIG. 12, the same effect can be obtained even if the assist arm 22 is omitted, and the configuration can be simplified.

  Next, means for further reducing the impact when closing the door (brake at the tip) will be described with reference to FIGS. In FIG. 13, one end of the piston 33 protrudes from the housing 34, and the piston 33 is configured to be able to enter and exit linearly from the housing 34. For example, high-viscosity silicon oil is sealed in the housing 34, and when the piston 33 moves in the direction of the arrow 35, viscosity resistance is generated due to the viscosity of the silicon oil. The piston 33 that has moved in the direction of the arrow 35 is configured to be returned to its original position by the return spring 34. The tip of the piston 33 is disposed so as to contact the assist arm 22, and when the front door 2 is gradually closed and the assist arm 22 reaches the position 22 b shown by a broken line, the piston 33 is moved by the assist arm 22. Moves in the direction of arrow 35, and the piston 33 continues to move until the front door 2 is closed and the assist arm 22 reaches the 22c position. During this time, the assist arm 22 receives a force in the direction of arrow 36 due to viscous resistance from the piston 33, so that the closing speed of the front door 2 is reduced and the impact when the front door 2 is completely closed can be reduced and softly closed. It is a possible configuration.

  When the operator opens the door, the assist arm 22 is rotated clockwise in the drawing so as to be always in contact with the guide roller 8 by the torsion spring 30 and is separated from the piston 33, so that the piston 33 is restored by the return spring 34. It will become resistance when the door is closed next. In the present embodiment, the housing 32 has been described as being filled with silicon oil. However, the present invention is not limited to silicon oil, and may be oil such as wax, and further, air enters and exits the housing. It may be.

  In FIG. 14, a frictional resistance is generated instead of the viscous resistance described in FIG. Reference numeral 38 denotes an elastic body provided with a frictional resistor 39 on the inside and press-contacts each other, and the assist arm 22 is moved to an arrow 35 as shown in the arrow A (a) to (b) of FIG. When approaching between two elastic bodies in the direction, the assist arm 22 is configured to receive a frictional force in a direction that hinders the movement of the assist arm 22 from the frictional resistor 39 by a reaction force F22 generated by the deformation of the elastic body 38. 14C, when the front door 2 is gradually closed and the assist arm 22 reaches the position 22b shown by the broken line, the assist arm 22 is moved as shown in FIG. Thus, the assist arm 22 receives the frictional resistance force in the direction of the arrow 36 from the frictional resistor 39 until the front door 2 is closed and the assist arm 22 reaches the 22c position. The closing speed of the front door 2 is reduced so that the impact when the front door 2 is completely closed can be reduced and the front door 2 can be closed softly.

  A brake or a damper may be provided on the intermediate hinge 4. Hereinafter, this brake or damper will be described.

  As shown in FIG. 9, when the door is suddenly closed in the direction of the arrow CL from the fully opened state, the guide rail 21 forms a slope with a lower front side, so the door gradually accelerates. When the guide roller 8 is closed to the state shown in FIG. 11, the guide roller 8 comes into contact with the assist arm 22 to rotate the assist arm 22, and the force generated by the spring 27 or the torsion springs 30, 31 is applied to the guide roller 8. It can be decelerated. Further, as described in the fourth embodiment, the door can be softly closed by applying a frictional force or a damping force in the direction of decelerating the door to the assist arm 22 only in the vicinity of the fully closed state. it can. However, if the above-described frictional force or damping force is excessively applied, the following problems occur. That is, as described in the second embodiment, when the door is closed, the door is not closed at once, but is slowly closed by hand from the fully open position, and as shown in the broken line in FIG. When the hand is released, the frictional resistance or damping force balances with the opening force Fmin when the door is fully closed, so that the closing operation stops with the door slightly lifted. , Will not close completely. Since such a phenomenon occurs, there is an upper limit for the force in the case where the frictional resistance or damping force described in FIGS. 13 to 14 is applied only in the vicinity of the door when it is fully closed, It cannot be added.

  Next, a description will be given of a configuration that prevents the door from being stopped halfway when closing the door as described above and that can be softly closed even when the door is closed from a fully open state. FIG. 15 is a perspective view showing an example of the configuration of the intermediate fulcrum 4 provided between the front door 2 and the rear door 3. In this embodiment, the intermediate fulcrum 4 is divided into three in the longitudinal direction, the first unit 4a and the third unit 4c are provided integrally with the rear door 3, and the second unit 4b is the front unit. It is provided integrally with the door 2. The first unit, the second unit 4b, and the third unit 4c are rotatably supported with respect to each other, and serve as rotational fulcrums for the front door 2 and the rear door 3.

  The resistance adding means 40 is provided in the intermediate fulcrum, the flange 44 is provided to rotate integrally with the second unit 4b, and the resistance generating means 41 is provided to rotate integrally with the first unit 4a. Therefore, when the front door 2 and the rear door 3 rotate relative to each other, the flange 44 and the resistance generating means 41 are configured to rotate relative to each other.

Next, an embodiment of the resistance adding means 40 will be described with reference to FIGS. In FIG. 16, the flange 44 supports the shaft 46 via a one-way clutch 45 that rotates freely in only one direction and locks so as not to rotate in the opposite direction.
In FIG. 16, the resistance generating means 41 is controlled to rotate with respect to the rotating plate 48 and the shaft 46 that rotate integrally with the first unit 4a, and the friction plates 49a and 49b and the friction plate 49b sandwiching the rotating plate 48 from both sides. On the other hand, a spring 51 for applying a pressure via a spacer 50 and a spring stopper 52 are provided. With this configuration, when the shaft 46 rotates, the friction plate 49 rotates together with the shaft 46, and the rotation plate 48 is sandwiched and pressed by the friction plate 49 from both sides by the pressure of the spring 51. Since the plate 48 rotates while rubbing each other, a predetermined rotational torque proportional to the mutual friction coefficient and the pressure by the spring 51 can be generated between the shaft 46 and the rotary plate 48. Here, since the one-way clutch 45 that engages only in a predetermined rotational direction is provided between the shaft 46 and the flange 44, the flange 44 and the rotating plate 48 are idled when rotating in one direction. When rotating in the reverse direction, a predetermined rotational torque can be applied.

  FIG. 17 shows the configuration of another embodiment. A difference from the configuration of FIG. 16 is that the resistance generating means 41 is provided with a rotor 54 inside a housing 53 configured not to rotate in the first unit 4a, instead of a friction plate and a rotating plate. For example, by sealing silicon oil having a high viscosity in the gap 55, only a viscous resistance is generated. When the flange 44 and the housing 53 are rotated in one direction, they are idled and rotated in the opposite direction. Sometimes a predetermined rotational torque can be applied.

  Since the resistance adding means 40 having the above-described configuration is provided between the first unit 4a and the second unit 4b, when the front door 2 and the rear door 3 are rotated around the intermediate fulcrum 4, one direction Since the clutch 45 is provided, rotational torque is applied only in the direction of the arrow CL2, that is, when the front door 2 and the rear door 3 are opened to close the door of the washing machine, and in the direction of the opposite arrow OP2, that is, the front door 2 When the rear door 3 is closed and the door of the washing machine is opened, it can be configured to idle.

  When the door shown in FIG. 9 is closed from the fully open state to the fully closed state shown in FIG. 6 through the states shown in FIGS. 8 and 7, the resistance adding means 40 provided in the intermediate fulcrum 4 is used. Since the load torque is always generated, the speed at which the door operates along the guide rail 21 when the door is closed can be reduced as compared with the case where the resistance adding means 40 is not provided. Therefore, the state shown in FIG. 7, that is, the speed of the guide roller 8 in the direction of the arrow CL when the guide roller 8 provided on the front door 2 comes into contact with the assist lever 22 can be reduced. The operation of the door until reaching the fully closed state is substantially the same as when the hand is released from the stationary state at the position of FIG. Since it is sufficiently decelerated after it reaches the tip R, it is possible to reduce the impact when the door is completely closed, and to close the door quietly and softly.

  Since the load torque applied by the resistance adding means 40 at this time may be about 1/5 of the torsion torque applied by the torsion spring 37 or 47, the load torque by the resistance adding means 40 is too strong and the door is shown in FIG. 2 ′, 3 ′, and 4 ′ shown by broken lines in FIG. Further, in FIG. 16 or FIG. 17, the resistance adding means 40 has been described as including the one-way clutch 45, but since the applied load torque is small, the configuration in which the one-way clutch 45 is omitted is slightly The door opening force Fo only increases, and the configuration is simplified.

  Next, the wedge-shaped part of the hinge root will be described.

  18 to 20 are partial views showing the vicinity of the root hinge 9 of the rear door 3, and show a state where the door is fully opened. In the washing machine of the present invention, since the operation panel 100 is provided on the front door 2, when the operator instructs an operation such as washing or drying, the front door 2 is pushed with a finger. When the front and rear doors are fully opened, the position of the guide roller 8 on the front door 2 is in the vicinity of the rotation fulcrum 9 of the rear door 3, so that the rigidity of the operation panel 100 is insufficient and the front door 2 is pushed with a finger. In this case, the door is easily displaced backward by the reaction force of the finger. 18-19, when the operator pushes the operation panel 100 with a finger in the direction of the arrow Fsw, the front door 2 and the rear door 3 rotate around the fulcrum 9 of the rear door in the clockwise direction shown in the figure. In an attempt to move the guide roller 8 upward, that is, in the direction of the arrow F8, the upper surface of the guide rail 21 is pushed up and deformed as shown as 21T in FIG. For this reason, the front and rear doors fall backward, so the operator feels that the door has low rigidity and feels unstable.

  In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 20, when the front door 2 is fully open, the guide roller 8 and the guide rail 21 abut on the surface closest to the rotation fulcrum 9 of the rear door 3 on the guide roller 8 side. For example, since the inclined surface 60 is inclined as ε = 30 ° to = 45 ° as the inclination angle ε, and the inclined surface 60 is provided integrally with the bottom surface 21b of the guide rail 21, the guide roller 8 is provided in front. When the door 2 is fully opened, the position is determined in contact with the sharp wedge shape formed by the inclined surface 60 and the guide rail bottom surface 21b, and both the inclined surface 60 and the guide rail bottom surface 21b are the same. Therefore, the deformation when the operator presses the operation panel 100 with a finger with the door fully opened is preferable, and the rigidity is increased.

The external view at the time of door full closing of the washing machine by the present invention. The external view in the middle of door opening and closing of the washing machine by this invention. The external view at the time of the door full opening of the washing machine by this invention. The figure which shows one Example of the door of the washing machine by this invention. The figure which shows another Example of the door of the washing machine by this invention. The figure which shows an example at the time of full closure of the opening-and-closing door of the washing machine by this invention. The figure which shows an example in the middle of opening and closing of the opening-and-closing door of the washing machine by this invention. The figure which shows another example in the middle of opening and closing of the opening-and-closing door of the washing machine by this invention. The figure which shows an example at the time of fully opening of the opening-and-closing door of the washing machine by this invention. The figure which shows an example of the operating force of the door of the washing machine by this invention. The figure which shows another Example of the opening-and-closing door of the washing machine by this invention. The fragmentary figure which shows another Example of the opening / closing door of the washing machine by this invention. The fragmentary figure which shows the other Example of the opening-and-closing door of the washing machine by this invention. The fragmentary figure which shows the further another Example of the opening-and-closing door of the washing machine by this invention. The figure which shows an example of a structure of the intermediate fulcrum of the opening / closing door of the washing machine by this invention. Sectional drawing which shows an example of a structure of the resistance addition means by this invention. Sectional drawing which shows another example of a structure of the resistance addition means by this invention. The fragmentary figure which shows one form at the time of the door of a washing machine being fully opened. The fragmentary figure which shows one form at the time of the door of a washing machine being fully opened. The fragmentary figure which shows one form at the time of the door of the washing machine by this invention being fully opened.

Explanation of symbols

2 ... Front door, 3 ... Rear door, 4 ... Intermediate fulcrum, 8 ... Guide roller, 21 ... Guide rail, 22 ... Assist arm, 27 ... Spring, 30 ... Torsion spring, 31 ... Torsion spring, 33 ... Piston, 38 ... Elastic body 41. Resistance generating means 37 37 Torsion spring 47 47 Torsion spring

Claims (5)

In a washing machine comprising a housing provided with a washing tub, a top cover on which an upper surface of the housing is formed, a laundry outlet is formed, and an open / close door that covers the outlet in an openable and closable manner.
The open / close door includes a front door portion disposed on the front side of the washing machine, a rear door portion disposed on the back side, and an operation panel having an operation switch and a display element,
The front door part and the rear door part are connected by the rear side end part of the front door part and the front side end part of the rear door part,
The rear end of the rear door is supported on the top panel so as to be rotatable on the back side of the outlet,
A front end portion of the front door portion has a curved portion that descends from the rear side toward the front side in the vicinity of the front end portion in the front- rear direction range in which the front end portion moves during the opening / closing operation of the opening / closing door. A guide is provided on the top cover,
A means for assisting the opening / closing force of the opening / closing door is provided on at least one of the rear end portion of the rear door portion or the connecting portion between the front door portion and the rear door portion ,
An elastic support means is provided in the vicinity of the front end of the front door for biasing the force in the direction of opening the opening / closing door by contacting the engaging portion engaged with the guide portion at the curved portion. Washing machine.   The washing machine according to claim 1, further comprising a torsion spring that applies torque in a direction in which the front and rear doors are opened to a rotation fulcrum of the rear door connected to the top cover.   The washing machine according to claim 1, further comprising a torsion spring that applies torque in a direction in which the inner sides of the front and rear doors are attracted to each other at an intermediate fulcrum where the front door portion and the rear door portion are connected. .   When the front door portion and the rear door portion are connected to an intermediate fulcrum, the front door portion and the rear door portion are operated in the same direction by opening the opposing surfaces of the front door portion and the rear door portion. The washing machine according to claim 1, further comprising load torque adding means for applying a load torque between the rear door portion and the rear door portion.   A wedge-shaped contact that comes into contact with the engaging portion when the engaging portion that is provided in the vicinity of the front end of the front door portion is closest to the rotation fulcrum between the rear door portion and the top cover. The washing machine according to claim 1, wherein a contact portion is provided in the guide portion.

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