JP5773805B2 - Washing machine - Google Patents

Description

  Embodiments described herein relate generally to a washing machine.

  Conventionally, in a washing machine, especially a drum-type washing machine, a water tank exists inside the outer box, and a drum that is a rotating tank is accommodated inside the water tank, and this drum is driven to rotate by a motor outside the water tank. It has come to be. The water tank is elastically supported by a suspension on the bottom plate of the outer box, and the suspension is provided with a damper that attenuates the vibration of the water tank accompanying the rotational vibration of the drum. This type of damper usually has a constant damping force, but recently there has been an idea to use a variable damping force, which uses a magnetorheological fluid (MR fluid) as the working fluid. It is considered to be.

  A magnetorheological fluid is, for example, a material in which ferromagnetic particles such as iron and carbonyl iron are dispersed in oil, and when a magnetic force is applied, the ferromagnetic particles form a chain cluster, resulting in a viscosity. As a result, for example, by increasing the viscosity of the magnetorheological fluid and increasing the damping force of the damper in the rotational speed range where the resonance of the water tank appears at the start of the dehydration process, the occurrence of the water tank resonance is increased. By avoiding this, the dehydration rotation start-up performance is improved, and in the steady dehydration process (high-speed rotation) after that, the viscosity of the magnetorheological fluid is lowered to reduce the damping force, so that the vibration of the water tank is transmitted to the outer box. In addition, it is possible to prevent the vibration from being transmitted to the floor surface of the house where the washing machine is installed (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

JP 2010-184068 A

  The damper described in Patent Document 1 that uses a magnetorheological fluid as a working fluid contains a coil and a yoke that induces a magnetic field generated by the coil inside the cylinder, and the coil and the yoke are connected to a rod. Is inserted into the cylinder through a small gap between the coil and the yoke, and the gap between the rod, the coil and the yoke is filled with a magnetorheological fluid, and the coil is generated. A magnetic field is applied to the magnetorheological fluid via the yoke by the magnetic field.

  A housing that houses a bearing that supports one end of the rod is housed inside the cylinder. Although not described in Patent Document 1, a groove is formed in the entire circumference of the outer peripheral portion of the housing, and the cylinder is squeezed from the outside at several portions corresponding to the groove, thereby The housing is positioned and fixed inside, and the positioning of the yoke, coil, and magnetorheological fluid is fixed.

  However, in this case, the groove of the housing accommodated in the cylinder cannot be visually recognized from the outside of the cylinder, and therefore, the cylinder may be caulked at a portion shifted from the groove of the housing. . If the cylinder is caulked at the part that is displaced from the groove in the housing, the positioning and fixing strength of the housing inside the cylinder will be insufficient, especially in long-term use, there will be rattling of parts due to fatigue, and in the worst case the housing May come out of the fixed position of the cylinder, and the yoke may slide on the rod, which may cause problems such as the yoke sticking to the rod.

  In view of the above, a washing machine is provided in which a bearing that supports one end of a rod of a damper that uses a magnetorheological fluid as a working fluid is housed, and a housing that is housed inside a cylinder can be reliably positioned and fixed.

The washing machine of the present embodiment includes a damper that attenuates vibrations of the water tank that houses the rotating tub . The damper includes a cylinder having a protruding portion formed on the inner peripheral portion in the circumferential direction, and a coil housed inside the cylinder, is accommodated inside the cylinder, a yoke for inducing a magnetic field the coil generates When, for supporting a rod which is inserted into said cylinder through said yoke resides a small gap between the magneto-rheological fluid filled in the front SL gap, one end of the rod and the yoke A housing that contains a bearing and is accommodated inside the cylinder and is positioned in the axial direction of the cylinder by the protrusion, and a bearing that supports the other end of the rod is accommodated and contained inside the cylinder. A case in which the cylinder is fixed by caulking, and a cap that covers the caulking portion of the cylinder. In the washing machine, a spring seat is attached to the rod, and a suspension is elastically supported by the spring interposed between the spring seat and the cap. Alternatively, in the washing machine, the cap has a hole in the center, the protrusion of the case protrudes outside the cap through the hole, and a spring is fitted on the protrusion to elastically support the water tank. The suspension is composed.

The longitudinal cross-sectional view of the suspension single-piece | unit containing a damper which shows one Embodiment Longitudinal side view showing the entire washing machine with a partial break

Hereinafter, an embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings.
First, FIG. 2 shows the overall structure of the drum type washing machine, and the outer box 1 is an outer shell. The outer box 1 has a rectangular parallelepiped shape. A laundry doorway 2 is formed on the front side (right side in FIG. 2) of the outer box 1 and on the upper side of the basket, and a door 3 that opens and closes the laundry doorway 2 is formed in the outer box. 1 is pivotally supported. In addition, an operation panel 4 is provided at the upper part of the front surface of the outer box 1, and a control device 5 for operation control is provided on the back side (inside the outer box 1).

A water tank 6 is disposed inside the outer box 1. This water tank 6 has a horizontal cylindrical shape whose axial direction is front and rear (right and left in FIG. 2), and is placed on the bottom plate portion 1a in the outer box 1 by a pair of left and right (only one shown) suspensions 7 in front. It is elastically supported in a rising slope. Details of the suspension 7 will be described later.
A motor 8 is attached to the back of the water tank 6. In this case, the motor 8 is composed of, for example, a direct current brushless motor, and is an outer rotor type. A rotating shaft (not shown) attached to the center of the rotor 8 a is connected to the inside of the water tank 6 via the bearing housing 9. Is inserted.

  A drum 10 is disposed inside the water tank 6. This drum 10 also has a horizontal cylindrical shape in which the axial direction is front and rear, and by attaching it to the tip of the rotating shaft of the motor 8 at the center of the rear part, the drum 10 is concentric with the water tank 6 and rises forward. I support it. As a result, the drum 10 is rotated by the motor 8, and therefore the drum 10 is a rotating tank, and the motor 8 functions as a rotating tank driving device that rotates the drum 10. .

  A large number of small holes 11 are formed in the circumferential side portion (body portion) of the drum 10 over the entire area. The drum 10 and the water tub 6 both have openings 12 and 13 on the front surface, and the opening 13 of the water tub 6 and the laundry entrance / exit 2 are connected by an annular bellows 14. . As a result, the laundry entrance / exit 2 is connected to the inside of the drum 10 via the bellows 14, the opening 13 of the water tub 6, and the opening 12 of the drum 10.

  A drain hose 16 connected to the outside of the outer box 1 is connected to the rear part of the bottom, which is the lowest part of the water tank 6, via a drain valve 15. A drying unit 17 is disposed above and in front of the back of the water tank 6. The drying unit 17 includes a dehumidifier 18, a blower 19, and a heater 20. The air is sucked and dehumidified in the drum 10, and then heated and circulated back into the drum 10. As a result, the laundry is dried.

  Here, details of the suspension 7 will be described. As shown in FIG. 1, the suspension 21 includes a cylinder 22 made of a magnetic material and a rod 23 also made of a magnetic material, as shown in FIG. Among these, the cylinder 22 has a cylindrical shape, and has a mounting portion 24 at the lower end portion. The mounting portion 24 is mainly attached to the bottom plate portion 1a of the outer box 1 as shown in FIG. 25, cushions 26 and 27, and nut 28.

  On the other hand, the rod 23 has a circular bar shape, and the upper end is attached to the front and rear intermediate portions on the left and right sides of the water tank 6 mainly by the mounting plate 29, the cushions 30, 31 and the nut 32. ing.

  Inside the cylinder 22, as shown in FIG. 1, a convex portion 33 is formed at one location near the lower end portion, a projecting portion 34 is provided at the peripheral portion of the upper and lower intermediate portions above it, and further at one location immediately above it. A convex portion 35 is formed. Among these, the convex part 33 and the convex part 35 are formed by pushing each corresponding part of the cylinder 22 inward from the outside in the radial direction and half-cutting it.

On the other hand, the projecting portion 34 is formed in the circumferential direction on the inner peripheral portion of the corresponding portion of the cylinder 22, and in particular, the groove 36 is formed on the entire circumference of the cylinder 22 from outside to inside. Thus, it is formed by projecting inward of the cylinder 22. In this case, the groove 36 is formed by rolling caulking that rotates both the cylinder 22 and the groove forming mold, and has a V-shaped cross section, but may have another shape such as a U-shaped cross section. is there.
In addition, a U-shaped notch 37 is formed at one location on the upper end of the cylinder 22 from the open end of the cylinder 22 downward in the axial direction.

  On the other hand, a magnetic field unit 38 is fitted to the rod 23. The magnetic field unit 38 includes a ring-shaped intermediate yoke 39, upper and lower bobbins 42 and 43 disposed above and below O-rings 40 and 41, and upper and lower bobbins 42 and 43 respectively wound in advance. The upper and lower yokes 48 and 49 disposed above and below the coils 44 and 45 and the upper and lower bobbins 42 and 43 via O-rings 46 and 47, and the lead wire 50 disposed on the outer side from the lower coil 45 to the upper coil 44. The bushing 51 covering the lead-out portion of the lead wire 50 is provided, and these are integrated by covering them with a mold resin 52 and solidifying the resin 52.

  The intermediate yoke 39 and the upper and lower yokes 48, 49 are made of a magnetic material, and the yokes 39, 48, 49 are further provided with grooves 53, 54, 55 for spreading the mold resin 52 over them. , 56 are formed. Further, the lead wire 50 is for energizing both the upper and lower coils 44 and 45, and specifically, energizes both the coils 44 and 45 in series.

A minute gap 57 exists between the intermediate yoke 39 and the upper and lower bobbins 42 and 43 and the upper and lower yokes 48 and 49 and the rod 23 in the magnetic field unit 38. The upper and lower bobbins 42 and 43 and the upper and lower yokes 48 and 49 are penetrated with a small gap 57 between them.
In addition, upper and lower oil seals 58 and 59 are tightly fitted to the upper portion of the upper yoke 48 and the lower portion of the lower yoke 49, which are the upper and lower portions of the magnetic field unit 38, and the rod 23 has both the oil seals 58 and 59. The gap 57 described above is filled with a magnetorheological fluid (MR fluid) 60.

  As described above, the magnetorheological fluid 60 is, for example, a dispersion of ferromagnetic particles such as iron and carbonyl iron in oil. When a magnetic force is applied, the ferromagnetic particles form chain clusters. Doing so increases the viscosity. The upper and lower oil seals 58 and 59 function to suppress leakage of the magnetorheological fluid 60 from the magnetic field unit 38.

  Positioned further above and below the upper and lower oil seals 58 and 59, the rod 23 is fitted with a case 63 containing the second upper oil seal 61 and the upper bearing 62, and a housing 65 containing the lower bearing 64. doing. In this case, the bearings 62 and 64 are both made of sintered oil-impregnated metal, the lower bearing 64 is one end (lower end) side of the magnetic field unit 38 of the rod 23, and the upper bearing 62 is other than the magnetic field unit 38 of the rod 23. It functions to support the end (upper end) side so as to be movable in the axial direction (vertical direction).

The lower yoke 49 is previously formed with a protrusion 66 that protrudes downward. Correspondingly, a recess 67 is formed in the housing 65, and these are engaged to engage with each other. 49, the housing 65 is prevented from rotating. A concave portion 68 corresponding to the convex portion 35 of the cylinder 22 is also formed in the housing 65.
A stop ring 69 is attached to the lower end of the rod 23 to prevent the rod 23 from coming off.

  After the configuration as described above, the housing 65, the magnetic field unit 38, and the case 63 together with the rod 23 are inserted into the cylinder 22 from above, and the housing 65 is brought into contact with the protruding portion 34 of the cylinder 22. Thereby, the housing 65 is positioned in the axial direction of the cylinder 22, and the magnetic field unit 38 and the case 63 are also positioned in the axial direction of the cylinder 22.

At that time, the housing 65 first stops the rotation by engaging the recess 67 with the projection 66 of the lower yoke 49, and the recess 68 of the housing 65 is engaged with the projection 35 of the cylinder 22. As a result, the housing 65, the magnetic field unit 38, and the case 63 are prevented from rotating around the cylinder 22, and at the same time, the position of the bush 51 portion (leading portion of the lead wire 50) of the magnetic field unit 38 is the position of the notch 37 of the cylinder 22. After that, the bush 51 is inserted into the cutout portion 37. After that, the upper open end portion of the cylinder 22 in which the case 63 is accommodated is caulked from the outside in the radial direction. 63 is fastened and fixed by its open end of the cylinder 22.

  Then, a cap 70 covering the caulking portion (open end portion) of the cylinder 22 is press-fitted. Accordingly, the case 63, the magnetic field unit 38, and the housing 65 are prevented from being detached, and the bush 51 inserted into the notched portion 37 of the cylinder 22 is prevented from coming off, and thus the damper 21 is configured. The convex portion 33 of the cylinder 22 is for attaching a holder (not shown) for anchoring the middle portion of the lead wire 50.

  The cap 70 has a hole 71 at the center, whereas the case 63 has a protrusion 63a that accommodates the upper bearing 62 and protrudes upward at the center. As the cap 70 is press-fitted into the portion, the protrusion 63a penetrates the hole 71 and protrudes out of the cap 70, and a spring 72 is fitted on the protrusion. The spring 72 is a compression coil spring.

  Further, a spring seat 73 is mounted on the rod 23 at a position a predetermined distance above the damper 21, and the spring 72 is interposed between the spring seat 73 and the cap 70, and thus the suspension 7 is mounted. The water tank 6 is elastically supported on the bottom plate part 1a of the outer box 1 by attaching the suspension 7 to the bottom plate part 1a of the outer box 1 and the water tank 6.

Next, operational effects of the washing machine having the above-described configuration will be described.
In the washing machine configured as described above, the water tub 6 vibrates mainly in the vertical direction as the drum 10 is folded during washing, dehydration or drying. In response to the vertical vibration of the water tank 6, in the suspension 7, the rod 23 of the damper 21 attached to the water tank 6 expands and contracts the spring 72, while the cap 70, the upper bearing 62, the upper oil seals 61 and 58, and the upper yoke. 48, through the upper bobbin 42 (upper coil 44), the intermediate yoke 39, the lower bobbin 43 (lower coil 45), the lower yoke 49, the lower oil seal 59, and the lower bearing 64, in the cylinder 22 in the vertical direction (axial direction). ).

Thus, when the rod 23 reciprocates in the vertical direction through each of the above components, the magnetorheological fluid 60 filled in the gap 57 between the rod 23 and the upper and lower yokes 48 and 49 and the intermediate yoke 39 has its viscosity. A damping force is applied to the suspension 7 by the frictional resistance, and the amplitude of the water tank 6 is attenuated.
At this time, particularly, when the water tank 6 resonates, the upper and lower coils 44 and 45 of the damper 21 are energized (direct current) via the lead wires 50. Then, a magnetic field is generated by both the coils 44 and 45, and a magnetic force is applied to the magnetorheological fluid 60, thereby increasing the viscosity of the magnetorheological fluid 60.

  More specifically, when the coils 44 and 45 are energized, a magnetic circuit of the rod 23 -the magnetic viscous fluid 60 -the upper yoke 48 -the cylinder 22 -the intermediate yoke 39 -the magnetic viscous fluid 60 -the rod 23 is generated, and the rod The magnetic circuit of 23-magnetoviscous fluid 60-intermediate yoke 39-cylinder 22-lower yoke 49-magnetoviscous fluid 60-rod 23 is generated, and the viscosity of the magnetorheological fluid 60 at the location where the magnetic flux passes is increased. In particular, the viscosity of each magnetorheological fluid 60 between the rod 23 having a high magnetic flux density and the upper yoke 48, between the intermediate yoke 39 and the rod 23, and between the lower yoke 49 and the rod 23 is increased, and the frictional resistance is reduced. To increase.

Thus, when the rod 23 vibrates in the vertical direction through the above-described components, particularly the upper and lower coils 44, 45, the upper yoke 48, the intermediate yoke 39, and the lower yoke 49, the water tank 6 resonates. As the frictional resistance increases, the damping force increases. Thereby, it is difficult to generate vibration in the water tank 6.
In the high-speed rotation region after the rotation speed region in which the resonance of the water tank 6 appears, both the coils 44 and 45 are not energized or are less energized to reduce the damping force of the damper 21, thereby 6 can be prevented from being transmitted to the outer case 1, and further, the vibration can be prevented from being transmitted to the floor of the house where the washing machine is installed.

  Thus, in the washing machine having the above-described configuration, the damper 21 that attenuates the vibration of the water tank 6 that accommodates the drum 10 that is the rotating tub has the rod generated by the magnetic field generated by the upper and lower coils 44 and 45 accommodated inside the cylinder 22. By increasing the viscosity of the magnetorheological fluid 60 by applying a magnetic force to the magnetorheological fluid 60 between the upper and lower yokes 48 and 49 and the intermediate yoke 39, the frictional resistance against reciprocation of the rod 23 is increased. A structure for positioning the housing 65 accommodated in the cylinder 22 by accommodating the lower bearing 64 that supports one end of the rod 23 in the water tank 6 in which the damping force can be increased and vibration can be hardly generated in the water tank 6. As described above, a protruding portion 34 is formed in the circumferential direction on the inner peripheral portion of the cylinder 22, and the housing 65 is positioned in the axial direction of the cylinder 22 by the protruding portion 34.

  By doing so, the cylinder is positioned on the housing, such as a conventional case where the housing is positioned inside the cylinder by caulking the cylinder from the outside in a portion corresponding to the groove formed on the outer peripheral portion of the housing. By caulking at a portion shifted from the groove, there is no problem such as insufficient positioning and fixing strength of the housing inside the cylinder, occurrence of rattling, and detachment of the housing from the fixed position of the cylinder. The positioning and fixing of the housing 65 can be ensured. Therefore, the yokes 49, 39, 48 do not slide on the rod 23, and it is possible to eliminate the possibility of problems such as seizure of the yokes 49, 39, 48 against the rod 23.

  Further, in the washing machine having the above-described configuration, the protruding portion 34 of the cylinder 22 is formed so as to protrude inward of the cylinder 22 by forming a groove 36 from the outside on the entire circumference of the cylinder 22. As a result, the protrusions 34 can be formed with higher accuracy and without tilting than when the protrusions 34 are scattered in the cylinder 22, and thereby the housing 65 can be positioned and fixed in the cylinder 22 with higher accuracy. Further, the projection 34 can be easily formed.

  In addition, the washing machine configured as described above includes a case 63 that accommodates the upper bearing 62 that supports the other end of the rod 23 and is accommodated inside the cylinder 22, and the case 63 is caulked and fixed. To be. As a result, an axial load is applied by which the magnetic field unit 38 and the housing 65 are pushed from the case 63 to the projecting portion 34 side of the cylinder 22, and the housing 65 is positioned and fixed, and further, the magnetic field unit 38 and the case 63 are positioned and fixed. Can be strong. Further, in this case, it may be considered that the axial position of the housing 65 slightly varies depending on the protruding width of the protruding portion 34 inside the cylinder 22, but this is fixed by the case 63 caulking the cylinder 22. Therefore, the housing 65 can be positioned without hindrance.

  In addition, the washing machine having the above configuration includes the cap 70 that covers the caulking portion of the cylinder 22. As a result, even when fatigue due to long-term use occurs in the cylinder 22 to which the case 63 is fixed by caulking and the fixing strength is lowered, the cylinder 22 is not loosened by the tightening action of the cap 70, and the case 63 is fixed. As a result, the fixation from the magnetic field unit 38 to the housing 65 can be kept stronger, and the reliability can be improved. The cap 70 is also effective in preventing the opening of the notch 37 of the cylinder 22 and thus preventing the bush 51 from coming off.

  Further, in the washing machine configured as described above, the cap 70 has the hole 71 at the center, the protrusion 63a of the case 63 protrudes outside the cap 70 through the hole 71, and the spring 72 is fitted into the protrusion. Thus, a suspension 7 that elastically supports the water tank 6 is formed. Thereby, the centering of the spring 72 can be easily and accurately performed using the case 63.

  In the washing machine configured as described above, the spring 23 is mounted on the rod 23, and the spring 7 is interposed between the spring seat 73 and the cap 70 to form the suspension 7. As a result, even if the cap 70 is fatigued due to long-term use and rattling occurs, the cap 70 can be pressed by the spring 72 of the suspension 7 that elastically supports the water tank 6. The fixing of 70, and hence the fixing from the case 63 to the magnetic field unit 38 and the housing 65 can be made stronger, and the reliability can be improved.

  The washing machine described above is not limited only to the above embodiment, and the washing machine as a whole is not limited to the drum type, and is also a vertical washing machine having a water tank and a rotating tank in the vertical axis shape. It can be applied in the same manner and does not have to have a drying function. Further, there may be only one set of coil and bobbin, and one yoke may be arranged directly above and below the coil and bobbin. For example, the coil and bobbin may be appropriately modified within the scope of the present invention. .

  In addition, although several embodiments of the present invention have been described, these embodiments are presented as examples and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention. These 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 drawing, 6 is a water tank, 10 is a drum (rotary tank), 21 is a damper, 22 is a cylinder, 23 is a rod, 34 is a protrusion, 36 is a groove, 39 is an intermediate yoke, 44 is an upper coil, and 45 is a lower coil. 48 is an upper yoke, 49 is a lower yoke, 57 is a gap, 60 is a magnetorheological fluid, 62 is an upper bearing, 63 is a case, 63a is a protrusion, 64 is a lower bearing, 65 is a housing, 70 is a cap, and 71 is A hole, 72 is a spring, and 73 is a spring seat.

Claims (3)

Equipped with a damper to attenuate the vibration of the water tank containing the rotating tank ,
The damper is
A cylinder having a protrusion formed in the circumferential direction on the inner periphery ;
A coil housed inside the cylinder,
A yoke that is housed inside the cylinder and that induces a magnetic field generated by the coil;
A rod which is inserted into said cylinder through said yoke resides a small gap between the yoke,
A magneto-rheological fluid filled in the front Stories gap,
A housing that accommodates a bearing that supports one end of the rod, is accommodated inside the cylinder, and is positioned in the axial direction of the cylinder by the protrusion ;
A case that accommodates a bearing that supports the other end of the rod and is accommodated inside the cylinder and is fixed by caulking the cylinder;
A cap that covers the caulked portion of the cylinder;
A washing machine in which a spring seat is mounted on the rod, and a suspension is elastically supported by the spring interposed between the spring seat and the cap . Equipped with a damper to attenuate the vibration of the water tank containing the rotating tank,
The damper is
A cylinder having a protrusion formed in the circumferential direction on the inner periphery;
A coil housed inside the cylinder;
A yoke that is housed inside the cylinder and that induces a magnetic field generated by the coil;
A rod inserted into the cylinder through the yoke with a minute gap between the yoke and
A magnetorheological fluid filled in the gap;
A housing that accommodates a bearing that supports one end of the rod, is accommodated inside the cylinder, and is positioned in the axial direction of the cylinder by the protrusion;
A case that accommodates a bearing that supports the other end of the rod and is accommodated inside the cylinder and is fixed by caulking the cylinder;
A cap that covers the caulked portion of the cylinder;
The cap has a hole in the center, the protrusion of the case protrudes out of the cap through the hole, and a suspension that elastically supports the water tank is formed by fitting a spring on the protrusion. washing machine it is. The washing machine according to claim 1 or 2 , wherein the protruding portion is formed so as to protrude inward of the cylinder by forming a groove from outside on the entire circumference of the cylinder .

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