JP7299786B2 - Washing machine and processing agent tank - Google Patents

Description

Embodiments of the present invention relate to washing machines and treatment agent tanks.

In recent years, in order to meet the user's demand for improved convenience, laundry processing agents such as detergent and softener are stored in advance in a tank for automatic charging multiple times, and the necessary amount is stored during the washing operation. A configuration has been developed in which water is automatically put into a water tank from a tank (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

JP 2019-37722 A

By the way, in the washing machine described above, the user sometimes attaches and detaches the tank when replenishing the automatic feeding tank with laundry processing agent or cleaning the tank. Here, in the tank housing portion of the washing machine, a clearance is necessary formed between the tank housing portion and the tank, or a clearance for allowing the user's fingers to enter the grip portion serving as the handle of the tank. However, there is a possibility that foreign matter may enter through the gap.
That is, in this type of washing machine, the tank is designed to be attached and detached, but when attaching and detaching, fingers are inserted into the tank accommodating portion (inside the outer box of the washing machine), and foreign objects are accidentally dropped inside. There are inherent problems that must be solved because situations and other factors are also conceivable.

Therefore, the present embodiment provides a washing machine and a processing agent tank that can ensure safety when the tank is attached and detached, and can prevent problems such as the intrusion of foreign matter into the tank housing portion. do.

A washing machine according to the present embodiment includes an outer box, a water tank provided inside the outer box, and a device for automatically injecting a predetermined amount of laundry treatment agent into the water tank during washing operation. an automatic loading device having a processing agent tank capable of storing a batch of laundry processing agent; a driving means driven to automatically input the predetermined amount of the laundry processing agent in the processing agent tank; a tank housing portion having an opening formed in the upper surface of the outer box and having a housing space for detachably housing the processing agent tank using the opening as an open surface ; The tank housing portion has a hand-held portion on which a user's finger can be hooked from the opening. , the handle portion is arranged so as to serve as a handle when inserting a finger into the gap from the opening to remove the processing agent tank, and the handle portion is located on the rear side of the finger insertion direction from the handle portion or the handle. An intrusion prevention portion for preventing at least fingers from entering is arranged on the lower side of the portion.

The side view which shows roughly the internal structure of the washing machine in this embodiment. Perspective view showing an example of arrangement of the processing agent tank in the upper part of the outer box The perspective view which shows an automatic injection device with a water supply route. same plan view Same left side view A plan view showing a state in which the water supply path around the automatic feeding device is covered with a cover member and the processing agent tank is removed. Cross-sectional view of the tank housing part along line VII-VII in Fig. 6 Sectional view showing a state in which the processing agent tank is housed in the tank housing part. Perspective view showing the appearance of the processing agent tank Perspective view seen from above showing an enlarged view of the vicinity of the handle of the processing agent tank A perspective view from below showing an enlarged view of the vicinity of the handle portion of the processing agent tank.

Hereinafter, the washing machine and the processing agent tank of this embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings. A washing machine 1 shown in FIG. 1 is an example of a washing machine capable of executing predetermined processes on clothes, which are laundry, in this case, at least washing operations including washing, rinsing, and spin-drying. Further, as shown in a schematic diagram of FIG. 1, the washing machine 1 is a so-called horizontal drum type washing machine in which the rotation center axis 5a of the rotating tub extends in a horizontal direction or in a direction inclined with respect to the horizontal direction. machine.

In the washing machine 1, an outer case 2 forming an outer shell thereof has a rectangular box shape. The front portion 2a of the outer box 2 is formed in a slightly downwardly inclined shape, and the front portion 2a is provided with a door 3 for opening and closing a laundry entrance (not shown). For convenience of explanation, FIG. 2 shows only the upper surface portion 2b and the left side surface portion 2c of the outer casing 2. As shown in FIG.
Inside the outer box 2, the rotating tank and a water tank 5 (only FIG. 1 is shown) for accommodating the rotating tank are provided. Although illustration is omitted, the rotating tub is a bottomed cylindrical drum capable of accommodating the laundry inside, and the inner peripheral surface thereof is provided with a well-known baffle for raking up the laundry. It is The water tank 5 is a bottomed cylindrical tank capable of storing water.

The washing machine 1 includes a water supply device 6 including a water supply path for supplying water into the water tub 5, and a drainage device (not shown) including a drainage path for draining the water in the water tub 5 to the outside of the machine. there is The water supply device 6 includes a water supply valve unit 21 and the like, which will be described later, in the middle of a water supply path extending from a water source (not shown) such as tap water to the water tank 5 . Further, the drainage device has a configuration in which a drainage valve or the like is provided in the middle of the drainage path extending from the bottom of the water tank 5 to the outside of the machine.

Next, the water supply device 6 will be described with reference to FIGS. 2 to 6 as well. The water supply device 6 supplies water from a hose connection port 7a (see FIGS. 2 and 3) connected to an external water source (not shown) to a connection port 7b (see two-dot chain lines in FIGS. 3 and 5) at the top of the water tank 5. A water injection case 10 is provided in the middle of the path 7. - 特許庁As shown in FIGS. 3 and 5, the water injection case 10 has a rectangular box shape elongated in the longitudinal direction of the washing machine 1 and has a water injection case body portion 11 and a tank housing portion 12 . The water injection case main body 11 and the tank housing part 12 are both made of synthetic resin, for example, and the case main body 11 and the tank housing part 12 are integrally formed.

In the water injection case 10, a water injection case main body portion 11 constituting a main body portion has a substantially rectangular container shape. The bottom of the water injection case main body 11 is inclined from the front side to the rear side as shown in FIG. ing. The tank housing portion 12 is provided integrally with the upper portion of the water injection case main body portion 11 near the rear.

Inside the water injection case main body 11, a manual injection case 14 is accommodated so as to be positioned on the front end side thereof. The manual charging case 14 is configured as a so-called drawer-type manual charging section that is housed inside the water pouring case main body 11 so as to be retractable in the front-rear direction.

As shown in the plan view of FIG. 6 , a detergent input portion 15 and a softener input portion 16 are arranged side by side inside the manual input case 14 . In this case, the laundry treatment agent such as detergent is manually put into the detergent put-in portion 15 located on the left front side in the manual put-in case 14 by the user. On the other hand, a laundry treatment agent such as a softener is manually introduced by the user into a softener introduction section 16 positioned on the front right side of the manual introduction case 14 .

The tank housing portion 12 has a substantially rectangular box shape with an open top side. A pair of tanks, for example, a detergent tank 17 and a softener tank 18, are detachably accommodated inside the tank accommodating portion 12 as a plurality of treatment agent tanks. In this case, as illustrated in FIG. 2, both the detergent tank 17 and the softener tank 18 are attached to and detached from the tank accommodating portion 12 from above through an opening 2d formed in the upper surface portion 2b of the outer box 2. be.
That is, the water supply device 6 is disposed on the upper left side inside the outer casing 2, and the manual feeding case 14 faces the opening (see FIGS. 1 and 2) of the front surface portion 2a of the outer casing 2. faces the opening 2d of the upper surface portion 2b of the outer casing 2. As shown in FIG. The opening 2 d of the upper surface portion 2 b has a rectangular shape corresponding to the size of the tank accommodating portion 12 . A support shaft 8a is provided at the rear edge of the opening 2d to open and close a rectangular lid body 8 fitted to the opening 2d. As a result, the lid body 8 rotates between an open position in which the tank accommodating portion 12 is opened and a closed position in which the tank accommodating portion 12 is closed and becomes flush with the upper surface portion 2b.
Although detailed illustration is omitted, when one or both of the detergent tank 17 and the softener tank 18 are not properly accommodated in a predetermined position in the tank housing portion 12, the lid body 8 abuts on at least one of them and is in the closed position. It cannot be rotated to the upper surface portion 2b and does not become flush with the upper surface portion 2b (the upper surface of the washing machine 1 is not flat). Therefore, whether or not the two tanks 17 and 18 have been accommodated in the proper positions within the tank accommodating portion 12 can be easily grasped from the cover body 8 . The regular positions of the two tanks 17 and 18 in the tank accommodating portion 12 will be described later in detail (see FIG. 8).

The detergent tank 17 stores detergent as a laundry treatment agent for washing the laundry in the water tank 5 . The detergent tank 17 is a processing agent tank in the shape of a slightly narrow rectangular container having a size and shape capable of storing detergent for multiple operations. Detergent can be replenished into the detergent tank 17 by opening a replenishment port (a replenishment window 17w described later and shown in FIG. 3, etc.) provided in the upper portion of the tank 17 .

The softener tank 18 also stores a softener as a laundry treatment agent for softening the laundry in the water tank 5 . The softening agent tank 18 is a processing agent tank in the shape of a slightly narrow rectangular container having a size and shape capable of storing softening agent for a plurality of times of operation. The softener can be replenished into the softener tank 18 by opening a replenishment port (replenishment window 18w) provided at the top of the tank 18 .
The detergent tank 17 and the softener tank 18 are accommodated in the tank accommodating portion 12 along the front-rear direction of the washing machine 1 and are accommodated side by side in the left-right direction. The detergent tank 17 and the softener tank 18 are both made of synthetic resin, for example. Further, the detergent tank 17 and the softener tank 18 are provided with grip portions 35 and 36 (see FIG. 3, etc.) that can be put on by the user's fingers when the tanks 17 and 18 are attached and detached. The configuration of the tanks 17, 18 including the hooks 35, 36 will be described later in detail.

In the water supply device 6, the detergent tank 17 and the softener tank 18 constitute an automatic input device 19 together with pumps 23 and 24 that are driven to input the laundry treatment agents in the tanks 17 and 18 into the water tank 5, respectively. do.
Here, the detergent metering pump 23 shown in FIGS. 4 to 6 and the like is a pump 23 configured to suck and deliver liquid by driving a piston by an actuator such as a motor or solenoid. The detergent metering pump 23 sucks a predetermined amount of detergent from the detergent tank 17 , in this case, the amount used for one operation, and delivers the sucked detergent into the automatic feeding path 25 .

Similarly, the softener metering pump 24 is a pump 24 configured to suck and deliver liquid by driving a piston with a motor, solenoid, or the like. The softener metering pump 24 sucks the amount of softener to be used for one operation from the softener tank 18 and delivers the sucked softener into the automatic input path 25 .
Both the detergent metering pump 23 and the softener metering pump 24 are driven and controlled by a control device (not shown) that controls the washing machine 1 as a whole.

The automatic injection path 25 is connected to the detergent metering pump 23 and the softener metering pump 24 via a connection member 25' on the base end side 25a shown in FIG. It is connected to the. In this case, the automatic injection path 25 is composed of the hose member shown in FIG. be.

As a result, a predetermined amount of detergent drawn from the detergent tank 17 by the detergent metering pump 23 or a predetermined amount of softener drawn from the softener tank 18 by the softener metering pump 24 is transferred to the connection member 25 . ' and the automatic injection path 25 in order, and then automatically injected into the water tank 5 from the water injection case 10 through the water supply hose 13 .

The water supply device 6 further includes a water injection path section 20, a water supply valve unit 21, a bath water pump 22, etc., in addition to the automatic supply device 19 and the automatic supply path 25 described above.
As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 , the water injection path section 20 integrally includes a plurality of paths such as a main water injection path 31 , a softer water injection path 32 , and a bath water injection path 33 . The main water injection route 31, the softer water injection route 32, and the bath water injection route 33 are all manual injection routes, and constitute water injection routes for supplying water to the manual injection case 14 in the water injection case 10. .

The main water injection path 31 is a water injection path for pouring water such as tap water supplied from the hose connection port 7a into the detergent input portion 15 in the manual input case 14 . The softener water injection path 32 is a water injection path for pouring water supplied from the hose connection port 7a into the softener injection portion 16 in the manual injection case 14 . The bath water injection path 33 is a water injection path for pouring bath water supplied from a water source outside the washing machine 1 such as a bathtub into the detergent injection portion 15 in the manual injection case 14 .

The water supply valve unit 21 is composed of, for example, a liquid on-off valve that can be electromagnetically opened and closed. Although detailed illustration is omitted, the water supply valve unit 21 integrally includes, for example, four water supply valves 21a to 21d (see FIGS. 4 and 5).

The tip of the water supply valve 21a is connected to the base end side of the main water injection route 31, and the water supplied from the hose connection port 7a is introduced into the main water injection route 31 by opening the water supply valve 21a. The main water injection path 31 extends to guide the introduced water to the upper front left portion of the water injection case body portion 11 . That is, as shown in FIGS. 3, 4, and 6, the tip of the main water injection path 31 is located above the detergent introduction portion 15 of the manual injection case 14 housed in the water injection case main body portion 11. The bottom wall has a plurality of water injection holes 31a (see FIG. 4) for supplying water introduced into the water injection path 31 from above to the detergent input portion 15. As shown in FIG.

The tip of the water supply valve 21b is connected to the base end side of the softer water injection path 32, and the water supplied from the hose connection port 7a is introduced into the softer water injection path 32 by opening the water supply valve 21b. The softer water injection path 32 extends to guide the introduced water to the front right portion of the upper portion of the water injection case main body portion 11 . That is, as shown in FIGS. 3, 4, and 6, the tip of softer water injection path 32 is located above softener injection portion 16 of manual injection case 14 housed in water injection case body portion 11. The bottom wall has a plurality of water injection holes 32a (see FIG. 4) for supplying water introduced into the water injection path 32 from above to the softener charging portion 16. As shown in FIG.

The tip of the water supply valve 21c is connected to the connection member 25' (see FIG. 5) connected to the detergent metering pump 23 and the softener metering pump 24. As shown in FIG. By opening the water supply valve 21c, water supplied from the hose connection port 7a is introduced into the connection member 25'. Further, the detergent delivered into the connection member 25' by the detergent metering pump 23 or the softener delivered into the connection member 25' by the softener metering pump 24 is supplied by the water supply valve 21c (or (along with the water) is introduced into the water injection case 10 via the automatic injection path 25 . Thus, the detergent or softener introduced into the water injection case 10 is supplied into the water tank 5 via the water supply hose 13 together with the water supplied from the water supply valve 21c.

The tip of the water supply valve 21d is connected to the duct, for example, as a water supply valve for supplying wash water for washing a duct (not shown) of the washing machine 1 .

The tip of the bath water pump 22 is connected to the base end of the bath water injection path 33. By driving the pump 22, the bath water is sucked, and the sucked bath water is supplied to the bath water injection path 33. introduced within. The bath water injection path 33 extends to the front side of the upper portion of the water injection case body portion 11 . In this case, the tip of the bath water injection path 33 is located behind the tip of the main water injection path 31 and the tip of the softer water injection path 32, as shown in FIG. 4, and extends linearly in the horizontal direction. It has a plurality of water injection holes 33a in its bottom wall.

Next, the configurations of the tank housing portion 12, the detergent tank 17, and the softener tank 18 will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 6 to 10 as well. Since the detergent tank 17 and the softener tank 18 are paired left and right as described above and have substantially the same configuration, the detergent tank 17 is referred to as the "tank 17" and the softener tank 18 is referred to as the "tank 17". 18", and the detergent tank 17 will be mainly described.

Here, FIG. 6 shows a plan view of the water supply device 6 in a state in which the water injection paths 31 to 33 are covered with a cover member 20' and both tanks 17 and 18 are removed from the tank housing portion 12, and FIG. 6 represents a cross-sectional view along VII-VII of FIG. 8 to 11 show cross-sectional views of the vicinity of the tank 17 and perspective views of the tank 17. FIG.

First, as shown in FIGS. 6 to 8, the tank housing portion 12 integrally has a bottom wall 12a, a front wall 12b, a rear wall 12c, a left wall 12d and a right wall 12e as a peripheral wall 12S. , forming a substantially rectangular box-shaped accommodation space as a whole. The opening 2d of the tank housing portion 12 is positioned, for example, at the center in the front-rear direction on the left end side of the upper surface portion 2b of the outer casing 2 (see FIG. 2), and the tanks 17 and 18 can be accommodated through the opening 2d. It is possible.

As shown in FIG. 8, the opening 2d of the tank accommodating portion 12 abuts on the upper ends of the tanks 17 and 18, and is recessed downward to slightly narrow the opening 2d as a guide when the tanks 17 and 18 are mounted. A guide opening 2d' is provided.
As shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, the bottom wall 12a of the tank accommodating portion 12 is provided with a step 40a that lowers the water supply hose 13 side, ie, the left side, and a step 40b that abuts on the lower portions of the tanks 17 and 18. (See FIGS. 7 and 8). The tanks 17 and 18 are connected to the suction ports (not shown) of the pumps 23 and 24 in a state of being housed in the tank housing portion 12 at the proper position (see FIG. 8), and are connected to the stepped portion 40b. is positioned in the vertical direction in contact with the opening 2d and positioned below the opening 2d. Therefore, if both tanks 17 and 18 are accommodated in their proper positions, the lid body 8 can be rotated to the closed position.

Here, in the space 42 near the front wall 12b in the tank housing portion 12 indicated by reference numeral "42" in FIG. Residual water is discharged to That is, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 7, a residual water discharge portion 41 having a discharge hole 41a is provided in the middle of the bath water injection path 33, and the water discharged from the discharge hole 41a is stored in a tank. A guide channel 41 b is provided to guide the inside of the portion 12 . As a result, when water remains in the bath water injection path 33 while the bath water pump 22 is stopped, the remaining water is discharged from the discharge hole 41a of the residual water discharge section 41 through the guide flow path 41b into the tank housing section. 12 can be discharged. Therefore, the water discharged from the residual water discharge portion 41 flows through the space 42 below the handle portions 35, 36 of the tanks 17, 18 in the tank housing portion 12 (Figs. 8).

As shown in FIG. 9, the detergent tank 17 includes a tank main body 17m, a cover 17t covering the top surface of the tank main body 17m, and the replenishment window 17w provided in the cover 17t. The tank main body 17m integrally has a bottom wall 17a, a front wall 17b, a rear wall 17c, a left wall 17d and a right wall 17e as a peripheral wall 17S, and is shaped like a slightly narrow rectangular container (or rectangular parallelepiped).

The cover 17t of the detergent tank 17 constitutes the upper wall of the tank main body 17m, and a replenishment port 50 is formed in the front half thereof by cutting it. A support shaft 50a (see FIGS. 8 and 9) is provided at the rear edge of the replenishment port 50 to open and close the replenishment window 17w that fits the replenishment port 50. As shown in FIG.

In the tank main body 17m of the detergent tank 17, the portion that protrudes rearward from the lower side of the rear wall 17c abuts the rear wall 12c of the tank housing portion 12 (see FIG. 8), and the suction port (see FIG. 8) of the detergent metering pump 23. not shown). A portion of the tank main body 17m that protrudes forward from the upper end of the front wall 17b serves as a handhold portion 35 on which a user's fingers can be put.

The softener tank 18 has substantially the same size and shape as the detergent tank 17 (see the reference numerals in parentheses in FIG. 9). , these dimensions h2, w2, d2 are configured to substantially match the dimensions h1, w1, d1 of the detergent tank 17 shown in FIG. 9 (h2=h1, w2=w1, d2= d1). In addition, the depth dimension d1 shall mean the front-back direction length including the connection part 17f and the handle part 35 in the tank 17 of the same figure.

That is, the softener tank 18 (see the symbols in parentheses in FIG. 9) includes a tank body 18m, a cover 18t covering it, and the replenishment window 18w. The tank body 18m integrally has a bottom wall 18a, a front wall 18b, a rear wall 18c, a left wall 18d and a right wall 18e as a peripheral wall 18S. The cover 18t is provided with a support shaft 51a for the supply window 18w for opening and closing the supply port 51. As shown in FIG. In the tank main body 18m, a connecting portion 18f connected to an inlet (not shown) of the softener metering pump 24 is provided on the lower side of the rear wall 18c, and a handle portion 36 is provided on the upper end of the front wall 18b. are provided integrally.

On the other hand, in the tank housing portion 12, the height dimension from the locking portion 40b of the bottom wall 12a to the opening 2d is H (see FIG. 8), and the width dimension from the left wall 12d to the right wall 12e is W (see FIG. 6). ), and when the depth dimension from the front wall 12b to the rear wall 12c is D (see FIG. 6), the dimensions H, W, and D are the height dimensions of the tanks 17 and 18 (h1=h2). , the width dimension (w1+w2) and the depth dimension (d1=d2) (that is, dimensions that can accommodate the tanks 17 and 18) are set (H≧h1=h2, W≧w1+w2, D≧ d1=d2).

Therefore, as shown in FIG. 8, when the tanks 17 and 18 are housed in the tank housing portion 12, the front wall 12b of the tank housing portion 12 and the front walls 17b and 18b of the tanks 17 and 18 are separated by hand. A gap G corresponding to the length of the hooks 35 and 36 in the front-rear direction is generated. In other words, in the tank accommodating portion 12, between the peripheral wall 12S and the peripheral walls 17S, 18S of the tanks 17, 18, the finger is inserted from the opening 2d to the front side where the handle portions 35, 36 are located. A gap G (gap) is provided for the handle portions 35 and 36 so that the tanks 17 and 18 can be removed.

As shown in an enlarged view of FIG. 10, the handle 35 of the detergent tank 17 has a square shape or a frame shape formed by the front wall 17b and the handle 35 when viewed from above the tank 17. there is The handle portion 35 is positioned at the upper end portion of the front wall 17b of the detergent tank 17 and extends in the width direction, that is, in the horizontal direction, and the left and right connecting portions connecting the front wall 17b and the left and right ends of the main portion 35a. 35b and 35c are integrated.

Specifically, the lateral dimension L1 of the outer surface of the handle portion 35 in FIG. For example, 59.5 mm) or set to substantially the same value as w1 (L1≦w1). The longitudinal dimension L2 of the outer surface of the handle portion 35, that is, the dimension L2 from the front wall 17b of the tank 17 to the front surface of the main body portion 35a is set to a value slightly smaller than the gap G (for example, 20.0 mm) or substantially the same value as G. (L2≤G).

10, that is, the dimension L1a from the inner surface of the left connecting portion 35b to the inner surface of the right connecting portion 35c is determined by adding a predetermined thickness to the connecting portions 35b and 35c in relation to L1. It is set to a value (for example, 55.5 mm) that allows the user to hold and insert a finger. The dimension L2a in the front-rear direction of the inner surface of the handle portion 35, that is, the dimension L2a from the front wall 17b of the tank 17 to the rear surface of the main body portion 35a has a predetermined thickness in relation to the above-mentioned L2, and the finger can be inserted into the main body portion 35a. is set to a reasonable value (eg 15.5mm). As a result, the user can insert his/her finger into the handle portion 35 from above, and can put his or her finger on the main portion 35a as a handle from the inside.

The main portion 35a of the handle portion 35 has a belt shape extending in the horizontal direction with a predetermined vertical dimension, and the left and right connecting portions 35b and 35c are wide on the base end side (on the front wall 17b side of the tank 17). is formed to be In this case, as shown in FIGS. 10 and 11, the lower edge 35be of the left connecting portion 35b and the lower edge 35ce of the right connecting portion 35c are inclined at a predetermined angle .theta.

The detergent tank 17 is provided with an intrusion preventing portion 37 for preventing at least fingers from entering the detergent tank 17 at a position deeper than the handhold portion 35 in the finger insertion direction, that is, at a position below the handhold portion 35. It is Here, FIG. 11 is an enlarged perspective view of the vicinity of the handle portion 35 and the intrusion prevention portion 37 as viewed from below the tank 17 .
The intrusion prevention portion 37 is formed between a lower edge portion 35be of the left connecting portion 35b of the handle portion 35 and a lower edge portion 35ce of the right connecting portion 35c. That is, it extends in the direction of narrowing the gap G.

Specifically, the projection dimension L3 of the intrusion prevention portion 37 along the lower edges 35be and 35ce from the front wall 17b of the tank 17 is set to 16.9 mm, for example. In this case, the length of protrusion of the intrusion prevention portion 37 in the front-rear direction is determined by the dimension L3×Sinθ, and the intrusion prevention portion 37 closes more than half of the gap G (dimension L3×Sinθ≧0.5G). . A narrow rectangular opening 52 is formed at the tip of the intrusion prevention portion 37 on the lower side of the handle portion 35 . It is assumed that the dimension L0 of the opening 52 is set to a dimension (for example, about 6 to 7 mm) that fingers cannot pass through.

The intrusion prevention portion 37 has a plate shape as shown in FIG. 11, and its plate thickness is set to be substantially the same as the thickness of the main portion 35a or the connecting portions 35b and 35c. The intrusion prevention portion 37 is inclined downward along the lower edges 35be and 35ce toward the rear. Therefore, the upper surface of the intrusion prevention portion 37 is formed as an inclined surface capable of receiving the liquid that has passed through the gap G from the opening 2d and moving it toward the front wall 17b of the tank 17 (see FIG. 8).

The intrusion prevention portion 37 is provided with a pair of left and right through holes 37a and 37b penetrating in the plate thickness direction. One through-hole 37a is positioned at the lower left corner, which is the proximal side of the left connecting portion 35b, and the other through-hole 37b is positioned at the lower right corner, which is the proximal side of the right connecting portion 35c. In this case, the dimension L4 shown in FIG. 11 is set to 45.5 mm, for example, the dimension L4a of each of the through holes 37a and 37b is set to 5 mm, and the dimension L4b is set to 6.4 mm, for example. Therefore, the liquid received on the upper surface of the intrusion prevention portion 37 can flow downward through the through holes 37a and 37b, while fingers do not enter the through holes 37a and 37b.

The handle portion 36 of the softener tank 18 (refer to the symbols in parentheses in FIG. 11 and FIG. 4) has the same dimensions and shape as the handle portion 35 described above. An intrusion prevention portion 38 that is the same as the intrusion prevention portion 37 described above is provided on the lower side of the portion 36, and a description thereof will be omitted.

Next, the action of the above configuration will be described.
When the user removes the detergent tank 17 when, for example, replenishing the detergent tank 17 with detergent or cleaning the detergent tank 17, the user first opens the cover 8 of the upper surface 2b of the outer box 2 and removes the upper surface of the tank housing part 12. to open the opening 2d. Next, the user puts his/her fingers into the gap G (that is, inside the handle portion 36) on the front side of the tank housing portion 12 through the opening 2d, puts his or her fingers on the handle portion 36 from the inside, and pulls up the detergent tank 17. .

Here, unlike the present embodiment, if it is assumed that there is no intrusion prevention portion 37, when the finger is inserted too far into the grip portion 36, the finger will be caught between the grip portion 36 and the tank housing portion 12. There is a risk of being caught between the peripheral wall 12S and the like. Further, the tank housing portion 12 communicates with the inside of the water injection case main body portion 11 (inside the outer box 2), and when the detergent tank 17 is attached (removed) as described above, or without the detergent tank 17 being removed, the tank housing portion 12 can be opened. Even when the detergent is replenished by opening the replenishment window 17w on the front side, there is a risk that foreign matter may be accidentally dropped from the gap G, especially on the front side.

In this regard, in the intrusion prevention portion 37 of the present embodiment, even if the finger hits the intrusion prevention portion 37 at the back side of the finger insertion direction in the handle portion 36, the finger cannot be further intruded. Therefore, fingers are not pinched as described above. Further, even if a foreign object falls into the gap G, it is possible to prevent the foreign object from entering the water injection case main body portion 11 by the intrusion prevention portion 37 . Furthermore, even if a liquid such as detergent is spilled into the gap G as a foreign object, the liquid is temporarily received by the entry prevention portion 37 and flows toward the corner through holes 37a and 37b due to the inclination of the entry prevention portion 37. . Then, the liquid flows down the front wall 17b side of the tank 17 through the through holes 37a and 37b, and flows into the water tank 5 via the water supply hose 13. As shown in FIG.

As shown in FIGS. 4, 7, etc., residual water in the bath water injection path 33 can be discharged to the tank housing part 12 by a residual water discharge part 41 provided in the middle of the bath water injection path 33. , and the inside of the water injection path 33 can be sanitarily maintained. In addition, the residual water discharged from the residual water discharge portion 41 flows through the portion of the tank housing portion 12 that does not face the lower surfaces of the tanks 17 and 18, in this case, the space (gap G) below the handle portions 35 and 36. It passes through and flows to the water supply hose 13 side. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the bottom surfaces of the tanks 17 and 18 from getting wet due to residual water in the tank housing portion 12 . In addition, residual water can be efficiently discharged without remaining between the tank housing portion 12 and the tanks 17 and 18, and dew condensation on the peripheral wall 12S of the tank housing portion 12 and the rear surface of the lid 8 can be suppressed. can be done.

As described above, in the tanks 17 and 18 for the washing machine 1 of the present embodiment, the user's fingers can be hung from the opening 2d of the tank accommodating portion 12, and the peripheral wall 12S of the tank accommodating portion 12 and the tank 17, Handle parts 35, 36 positioned in a gap G between the peripheral walls 17S, 18S of the tank 18 and arranged to serve as handles when the tanks 17, 18 are removed by inserting fingers into the gap G from the opening 2d. and an intrusion prevention portion 37, which is arranged so as to be on the back side in the finger insertion direction or below the finger-inserting portions 35 and 36 in the gap G, to prevent at least fingers from entering. 38 and .

According to this, even if the finger hits the intrusion prevention part 37 at the back side of the finger insertion direction or the lower side of the handgrip parts 35 and 36 than the handgrip part 36 in the gap G, the intrusion prevention part 37 , further intrusion of fingers can be prevented, and further, it is possible to prevent a situation in which a finger enters too far into the tank and is caught between the handle portion 36 and the peripheral wall 12S of the tank housing portion 12.例文帳に追加can. In addition, even if a foreign object is carelessly dropped into the gap G, it is possible to prevent the foreign object from entering deeper (lower) than the intrusion prevention portion 37 .

Since the intrusion prevention portions 37 and 38 extend in the direction of narrowing the gap G, narrowing the gap G can enhance the effect of preventing the intrusion of fingers and the like.
In addition, since the intrusion prevention portions 37 and 38 are formed so as to block more than half of the gap G, more than half of the foreign matter dropped into the gap G from the opening 2d is blocked by the intrusion prevention portions 37 and 38. It is possible to prevent it, or it can be of a size that makes it easy to prevent entry of fingers.

The intrusion prevention portions 37 and 38 have inclined surfaces capable of receiving the liquid that has passed through the gap G from the opening 2d and moving it to one side. According to this configuration, it is possible to receive the liquid, and in some cases solid foreign matter, by the inclined surfaces of the intrusion prevention portions 37 and 38 and move them toward one side, and the intrusion prevention portions 37 and 38 have the effect of preventing the intrusion of the foreign matter and the like. can raise.

Since the intrusion prevention portions 37 and 38 have through holes 37a and 37b, respectively, the liquid that has passed through the gap G can flow down through the through holes 37a and 37b of the intrusion prevention portions 37 and 38, for example. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the liquid or the like from accumulating in the intrusion prevention portions 37 and 38 .

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications and extensions can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention.
The intrusion prevention portions 37 and 38 are provided integrally with the front walls 17b and 18b of the tanks 17 and 18, but are not limited to this, and are provided with the front wall 12b of the tank housing portion 12, for example. You may do so.

The shapes of the intrusion prevention portions 37 and 38, including the through holes 37a and 37b, may be appropriately changed. can be configured to In addition, the surfaces of the intrusion prevention portions 37 and 38 may be subjected to uneven processing to form uneven shapes, or may be subjected to water-repellent processing to form a coating layer.

The opening 52 shown in FIG. 11 may be shifted toward the through holes 37a and 37b (that is, toward the front wall 12b of the tank accommodating portion 12) to omit the through holes 37a and 37b. The opening 52 may be formed narrower so as to form a slit.
The intrusion prevention portions 37 and 38 are provided along the lower sides of the handhold portions 35 and 36, but the intrusion prevention portions are provided further back (downward) than the handhold portions 35 and 36. may

The tanks 17 and 18 may be attached along the horizontal direction of the washing machine 1 in the tank housing portion 12 . Moreover, the shape of the tanks 17 and 18 is not limited to a rectangular parallelepiped shape, and various shapes can be applied. etc. may be different.

Further, the processing agent tanks are not limited to the tanks 17 and 18 that store detergent and softener. Various types of tanks can be used as appropriate as long as they are tanks for storing various laundry processing agents to be subjected to some kind of treatment during the washing operation. The plurality of tanks accommodated in the tank accommodating portion 12 may be tanks that store the same type of processing agent, or the tank accommodating portion 12 may accommodate one tank.

The handle portions 35 and 36 may be provided as handles that can be hooked by the user's fingers from the opening 2d of the tank housing portion 12 according to the shape of the tank. The arrangement, shape, dimensions (numerical values), etc., of the intrusion prevention portions 37 and 38 are not limited to those described above.
Further, each of the above-described embodiments can also be applied to a so-called vertical axis type washing machine in which the rotation center axis of the rotating tub extends in the vertical direction. It can also be applied to washing machines that do not have

It should be noted that this embodiment is presented as an example and is not intended to limit the scope of the invention. These novel embodiments can be implemented in various other forms, and various omissions, replacements, and modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the invention. This embodiment and its modifications are included in the scope and gist of the invention, and are included in the scope of the invention described in the claims and its equivalents.

In the drawing, 1 is a washing machine, 2 is an outer box, 2d is an opening, 5 is a water tank, 12 is a tank housing portion, 17 and 18 are tanks (processing agent tanks), 19 is an automatic feeding device, and 35 and 36 are handles. 37 and 38 are intrusion preventing portions, 37a and 37b are through holes, and G is a gap.

Claims (6)

an outer box;
a water tank provided inside the outer box;
A device for automatically introducing a predetermined amount of laundry treatment agent into the water tank during washing operation, comprising: a treatment agent tank capable of storing the laundry treatment agent for a plurality of washings; an automatic injection device having a driving means driven to automatically inject the predetermined amount of
a tank housing section having an opening formed in the upper surface of the outer box and having a housing space for detachably housing the processing agent tank with the opening serving as an open surface;
The processing agent tank has a hand-holding portion on which a user's finger can be hung from the opening in the tank accommodating portion,
In the tank accommodating portion, a gap between the peripheral wall of the tank accommodating portion and the peripheral wall of the processing agent tank is provided so that the grip portion can insert a finger into the gap from the opening to remove the processing agent tank. A washing machine which is arranged to serve as a handle and has an intrusion prevention part for preventing at least fingers from entering on the back side of the handhold in the finger insertion direction or on the lower side of the handhold. machine. 2. The washing machine according to claim 1, wherein said intrusion prevention part extends in a direction to narrow said gap. 3. The washing machine according to claim 1, wherein said intrusion prevention part is formed so as to block more than half of said gap. 4. The washing machine according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the intrusion prevention part has an inclined surface capable of receiving liquid that has passed through the gap from the opening and moving it to one side. 5. The washing machine according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the intrusion prevention part has a through hole passing therethrough. A processing agent tank which is used in an automatic loading device having a drive means for automatically loading a predetermined amount of laundry processing agent into the water tub of the washing machine during washing operation, and which can store the laundry processing agent for multiple washings. A processing agent tank for a washing machine, which is detachably accommodated in an accommodating space of a tank accommodating portion through an opening formed as an open surface on an upper surface of an outer box of the washing machine,
A user's finger can be hung from the opening in the tank housing portion, and is positioned in the gap between the peripheral wall of the tank housing portion and the peripheral wall of the processing agent tank, and the user's finger can be put into the gap from the opening. a handle arranged to serve as a handle for removing the processing agent tank after inserting it into the processing agent tank;
an intrusion prevention part that is arranged in the gap so as to be on the back side of the finger insertion direction or on the lower side of the finger grip part than the finger grip part, and prevents at least the finger from entering. processing agent tank.

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