JP7345085B2 - washing machine - Google Patents

Description

The present disclosure relates to washing machines.

Patent Document 1 discloses a washing machine equipped with a hook structure that locks a drainage hose and the like. This washing machine has a hook structure that is provided on the drain hose side and is formed in a hook shape, and is provided on the side of the outer shell of the washing machine that protrudes outward and has an engagement hole formed therein. and a hook receiving part. The hook receiving portion engages with the hook portion in the engagement hole to lock the drain hose to the outer shell.

Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 7-80188

The present disclosure provides a washing machine that can reduce the cost of resin molding using a mold.

A washing machine according to the present disclosure includes an outer shell, a water tank formed to be able to store water and supported inside the outer shell, and a drainage path for draining water stored in the water tank, and the drainage path includes: A drainage hose for draining water to the outside of the outer shell is provided, and a hook receiving part is provided on a side surface of the outer shell to detachably engage a hook part provided on the drainage hose, and the hook receiving part is formed into a substantially annular shape protruding outward, the base portion of the hook receiving portion is formed with an opening in the vertical direction , and the outer shell has an upper portion in which a laundry inlet for throwing laundry into the inside is formed. The hook receiving portion is a separate part from the upper frame and is provided on a side surface of the upper frame.
A formed panel is attached and a portion of the upper frame is inserted inside the root portion .

The washing machine according to the present disclosure can reduce the cost of resin molding using a mold.

Vertical cross-sectional view of the washing machine in Embodiment 1 (a) An exploded perspective view of the upper rear side of the washing machine, (b) A partial enlarged view of the upper rear side of the washing machine. External perspective view of the upper rear side of the washing machine External perspective view of the upper rear side of a conventional washing machine (a) Schematic diagram of a mold for resin molding the panel of a conventional washing machine, (b) Schematic diagram of the mold in cross section DD (a) Schematic diagram of a mold for resin molding the washing machine panel in Embodiment 1, (b) Schematic diagram of the mold in the CC cross section

Hereinafter, embodiments will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. However, more detailed explanation than necessary may be omitted. For example, detailed explanations of well-known matters or redundant explanations of substantially the same configurations may be omitted. This is to avoid making the following description unnecessarily redundant and to facilitate understanding by those skilled in the art.

The accompanying drawings and the following description are provided to enable those skilled in the art to fully understand the present disclosure, and are not intended to limit the subject matter recited in the claims.

(Embodiment 1)
Embodiments will be described below using FIGS. 1 to 6.

[1-1. composition]
[1-1-1. Washing machine configuration]
As shown in FIG. 1 , the outer shell of the washing machine 100 includes an outer frame 1 , an upper frame 16 , a lid 17 , and a lower frame 4 . The upper frame 16 and the lower frame 4 are fixed to the outer frame 1. The lid 17 is arranged so as to cover the clothing input port 16a of the upper frame 16, and is installed so as to be openable and closable. A washing and dehydrating tank 5 is installed inside the outer frame 1, and a part of it can be seen from the clothes input port 16a with the lid 17 open. An operation display section 2 is provided on the rear side of the upper frame 16. The user operates the operation display section 2 to set operating conditions for the washing machine 100 while checking the information displayed on the operation display section 2.

Next, the internal structures of the outer frame 1 and the upper frame body 16 will be explained. The outer frame 1 holds the water tank 3 therein in a suspended state with support rods 6. The water tank 3 is a tank for storing washing water so that it does not leak to the outside. The water accumulated inside the water tank 3 is discharged to the outside of the washing machine 100 from the drain hose 13 when the drain valve 12 is opened.

Inside the water tank 3, a washing and dehydrating tank 5 is rotatably held. A large number of dehydration holes 5a are opened around the washing/dehydration tank 5. Thereby, in the dewatering process, by rotating the washing/dehydrating tub 5 while opening the drain valve 12, the washing water can be discharged to the outside of the washing/dehydrating tub 5, and the clothes inside can be dehydrated.

A fluid balancer 7 is fixed to the upper part of the washing and dewatering tank 5. The fluid balancer 7 is, for example, a hollow annular body with a square cross section. The hollow annular body of the fluid balancer 7 contains, for example, salt water. Thereby, the rotational wobbling of the washing and dehydrating tank 5 during dehydration can be alleviated.

A pulsator 8 is provided at the bottom of the washing and dehydrating tank 5. The pulsator 8 is provided with blades 8a at the top. As the pulsator 8 rotates, the upper blades 8a of the pulsator 8 generate a water flow in the water accumulated in the water tank 3.

A motor 9 and a transmission 11 are held at the bottom of the water tank 3. The motor 9 selectively rotates in a forward rotation direction or a reverse rotation direction. The V-belt 10 transmits the driving force of the motor 9 to the transmission 11. The transmission 11 rotates the pulsator 8 independently or simultaneously rotates the pulsator 8 and the washing/dehydration tank 5 using the driving force transmitted from the motor 9. That is, the motor 9 selectively drives the pulsator 8 in the forward rotation direction or the reverse rotation direction.

An operation display panel 14 having an operation display section 2, a water supply valve 19, and a water supply channel 18 are attached to the upper frame 16. The water supply valve 19 allows or shuts off the supply water by electromagnetically opening and closing the valve. The water supply channel 18 guides water supplied from the water supply valve 19 into the water tank 3.

[1-1-2. Hook structure]
As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2(a), a back panel 21 is attached to the upper back side of the upper frame 16. As shown in FIGS. The back panel 21 and the upper frame 16 are configured such that their outer surfaces are flush with each other when the back panel 21 is attached to the upper frame 16. An operation display panel 14 having an operation display section 2 is attached to the upper surface of the back panel 21, and the operation display section 2 presents information about the washing machine 100 to the user.

As shown in FIG. 1, the drain hose 13 has a hook-shaped hook portion 20 formed near its end. The hook portion 20 fixes the drain hose 13 to the outer shell by being engaged with a hook portion 22, which will be described later.

As shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B, the hook portion 22 integrally molded with the back panel 21 is formed in a U-shape that protrudes toward the back side of the washing machine 100. The hook part 22 has a hook hole 23 formed inside the U-shape, and the hook part 20 is hooked and locked in the hook hole 23.

An opening 25 is provided inside the base portion 24 of the hook 22, and the opening 25 is cut out from the upper end of the hook 22 to the lower end of the back panel 21.

A bridging rib 28 is formed below the hook 22 so as to bridge the opening 25. The bridging rib 28 ensures strength around the hook portion 22 and the opening 25.

An insertion portion 27 extending upward is formed at the upper end of the back side of the upper frame 16 at a position corresponding to the opening 25 of the back panel 21 . As shown in FIG. 3, the insertion portion 27 completely covers the opening 25 when the back panel 21 is attached to the upper frame 16, and prevents the inside of the upper frame 16 from being viewed from the outside.

As described above, the hook portion 22 and the hook portion 20 constitute a hook structure that locks a drainage hose or the like to the outer shell of the washing machine 100.

Note that the back panel 21 has a structure that changes depending on the specifications of the washing machine 100. For example, the specifications shown in FIG. 2(a) are for a model that does not include a bath pump, so the rear panel 21 is , a semicircular cover portion 29 is provided.

In the case of a model equipped with a bath pump, by replacing some of the molds, the semicircular cover part 29 is eliminated, an upper semicircular notch (not shown) is provided, and the back surface of the upper frame 16 is removed. A circular opening (not shown) is formed with the lower semicircular notch 26 provided at the upper end of the side, and a part of the bath pump is brought out from the back through the circular opening, and a hose for the bath pump is inserted. can be configured to connect. In this case, the back panel 21 can have a convex shape such as letters for displaying "Bath Pump" near the circular opening on the back side.

[1-2. Manufacturing of hook structure]
Since the back panel 21 has convex shapes such as letters on the back side as described above, it is resin-molded using a mold that is divided into two parts in the front and back direction.

At the time the inventors came up with the present disclosure, the conventional panel 45 was configured in a shape that did not have an opening inside the base portion of the conventional hook receiving part 46, as shown in FIG. .

Therefore, as shown in FIGS. 5(a) and 5(b), the mold for molding the conventional panel 45 includes a mold 41 for molding the front side of the conventional panel 45, and a mold 41 for molding the back side of the conventional panel 45. It consisted of a mold 42 for molding, and a mold 43 for molding the hole of the conventional hook receiving part 46, which is approximately annular.

When molding the conventional panel 45 with resin, the mold 41 for molding the front side of the conventional panel 45 moves forward, as shown by the arrows in FIGS. 5(a) and 5(b). The mold 42 for molding the back side is moved rearward.

At this time, the mold 43 that molds the hole of the conventional hook receiving part 46 is interlocked with the movement of the mold 41 that molds the front side of the conventional panel 45 and the mold 42 that molds the back side of the conventional panel 45. and must be moved vertically to create a sliding configuration. In this way, the structure of the conventional panel 45 has the problem that the mold configuration required for molding is complicated, which increases the manufacturing cost of the mold, and that the mold structure is more expensive than a simple mold configuration. The problem was that it was easy to break down.

As shown in FIGS. 6(a) and 6(b), the mold for molding the back panel 21 in this embodiment includes a mold 31 for molding the front side of the back panel 21, and a mold 31 for molding the front side of the back panel 21. It is composed of a mold 32 for molding.

Since the back panel 21 in this embodiment is configured so that the inside of the base portion 24 is notched, the mold 32 that molds the back side of the back panel 21 is the mold that molds the front side of the back panel 21. 31, the hook portion 22 and the hook hole 23 can be formed. Moreover, since the bridging rib 28 is formed below the hook part 22, there is a gap between the mold 31 for molding the front side of the back panel 21 and the mold 32 for molding the back side of the back panel 21. Can be molded.

[1-3. Effects, etc.]
The washing machine 100 according to the present embodiment includes an outer shell, a water tank 3 formed to be able to store water and supported inside the outer shell, and a drainage path for draining water stored in the water tank 3. The drainage path includes a drain hose 13 that drains water to the outside of the outer shell, and a hook portion 22 that removably engages a hook portion 20 provided on the drain hose 13 is provided on the side surface of the outer shell. The hook portion 22 is formed into a substantially annular shape that projects outward, and an opening 25 is formed in the vertical direction inside the root portion 24 of the hook portion 22 .

Accordingly, when molding the hook portion 22 by resin molding, the hook portion 22 can be molded using a mold that is divided into two parts in the front-rear direction, so there is no need to provide a special structure to the mold.

Therefore, the cost of resin molding using a mold can be reduced.

As in this embodiment, an insertion portion 27, which is a separate component, may be inserted inside the root portion 24 so as to cover the opening 25.

This can prevent the interior of the washing machine from being visually recognized through the opening 25.

Therefore, the appearance quality of the washing machine can be maintained while reducing the cost of resin molding using a mold.

As in the present embodiment, the outer shell includes an upper frame body 16 in which a laundry inlet 16a is formed into which laundry is thrown, and the upper frame body 16 is formed on the back side of the upper frame body 16. A rear panel 21, which is a separate part and has a hook 22 formed therein, is attached, and an insertion section 27, which is a part of the upper frame 16, may be inserted into the opening 25 of the hook 22. .

Thereby, since the insertion part 27 is inserted into the opening 25 when attaching the back panel 21 to the upper frame 16, it is possible to easily realize the hook part 22 in which the opening 25 of the base part 24 is covered.

(Other embodiments)
As described above, the embodiments have been described as examples of the technology disclosed in this application. However, the technology in the present disclosure is not limited to this, and can also be applied to embodiments in which changes, replacements, additions, omissions, etc. are made. Furthermore, it is also possible to create a new embodiment by combining the components described in the above embodiments.

In the first embodiment, a vertical washing machine has been described as an example of a washing machine. The washing machine is not limited to a vertical type washing machine as long as it is provided with a drainage hose, and may be a drum type washing machine or a two-tub type washing machine.

In the first embodiment, the hook portion 22 has been described as an example of the hook receiving portion. Since the hook receiving part may have a substantially annular shape, it is not limited to the hook part 22 formed in a U-shape, but may be a curved shape or a hook shape with a portion cut away.

In the first embodiment, the hook portion 22 provided on the back side of the washing machine 100 has been described as an example of the hook receiving portion. Since the hook receiving part may be formed on the side surface of the outer shell, it is not limited to the back side of the washing machine, and may be arranged on the side of the washing machine. Note that even when the hook receiving portion is disposed on the side of the washing machine, the hook receiving portion is formed to be outwardly convex and open vertically at the base portion.

Note that the above-described embodiments are for illustrating the technology of the present disclosure, and therefore various changes, substitutions, additions, omissions, etc. can be made within the scope of the claims or equivalents thereof.

The present disclosure is applicable to a washing machine equipped with a hook portion for hanging a drain hose or the like. Specifically, the present disclosure is applicable to vertical washing machines, drum washing machines, two-tub washing machines, and the like.

1 Outer frame 2 Operation display section 3 Water tank 4 Lower frame body 5 Washing/dehydration tank 6 Support rod 7 Fluid balancer 8 Pulsator 9 Motor 10 Belt 11 Transmission 12 Drain valve 13 Drain hose 14 Operation display panel 16 Upper frame body 17 Lid 18 Water supply channel 19 Water supply valve 20 Hook part 21 Rear panel 22 Hook part 23 Hook hole 24 Root part 25 Opening part 26 Lower semicircular notch 27 Insertion part 28 Bridge rib 29 Semicircular cover part 31 The front side of the back panel 21 Mold for molding 32 Mold for molding the back side of the back panel 21 41 Mold for molding the front side of the conventional panel 45 42 Mold for molding the back side of the conventional panel 45 43 Mold for molding the back side of the conventional panel 46 Mold for forming holes 45 Conventional panel 46 Conventional hook receiver

Claims (2)

The outer shell and
a water tank formed to be able to store water and supported inside the outer shell;
a drainage path for draining water stored in the water tank,
The drainage path includes a drainage hose that drains water to the outside of the outer shell,
A hook receiving part is provided on a side surface of the outer shell, and the hook receiving part is detachably engaged with a hook part provided on the drainage hose.
The hook receiving portion is formed in a substantially annular shape projecting outward,
The inner side of the root portion of the hook receiving portion is formed with an opening in the vertical direction ,
The outer shell includes an upper frame in which a laundry input port is formed, into which laundry is input.
A panel, which is a separate part from the upper frame and has the hook receiving portion formed thereon, is attached to a side surface of the upper frame;
A part of the upper frame is inserted inside the base portion ,
washing machine. A separate component is inserted inside the base portion so as to cover the opening.
A washing machine according to claim 1.

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