JP7530799B2 - washing machine - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a washing machine that has a lid on the top surface of the washing machine body.

In so-called vertical washing machines, the laundry inlet is provided on the top surface of the washing machine body, and a lid covering the laundry inlet is also provided on the top surface of the washing machine body. The lid of a washing machine is an important element in terms of the design of the washing machine, and the handle part on the lid in particular has a large impact on the design. Patent Document 1 discloses a configuration in which a handle part that protrudes upward is provided on the front side of the lid in order to ensure good design of the lid.

JP 2018-102753 A

The handle portion of the lid in Patent Document 1 is said to improve the design, particularly when the washing machine is viewed from above. However, when the washing machine is viewed from the front, the handle portion is seen as protruding from the top surface of the washing machine, impairing the design.

The present invention was made in consideration of the above problems, and aims to provide a washing machine with improved design by making the handle on the lid less noticeable.

To solve the above problem, the washing machine of the present invention is a washing machine having a lid on the top surface of the washing machine body, and is characterized in that, as a handle structure for opening the lid, recesses are formed on the upper edges of both sides of the top panel of the washing machine, allowing the user to insert their fingers under the lid.

According to the above configuration, by providing the handle structure (i.e., the recess) for opening the lid on the side of the washing machine, it is not necessary to form a handle portion at the front end portion of the lid. Therefore, when the lid is closed, the handle structure is less visible to the user not only when the washing machine is viewed from above, but also when viewed from the front, improving the design of the washing machine.

The recess in the washing machine can be configured so that its longitudinal direction is the front-to-rear direction of the washing machine, and that it is deeply recessed inward in the left-to-right direction at the front side of the washing machine.

According to the above configuration, the recess is formed with the longitudinal direction being the front-to-rear direction of the washing machine, making it easy for the user to insert a finger into the recess even when the recess is difficult to see. Furthermore, if the inserted finger hits a shallow part of the recess, the user can further guide the finger toward the front along the recess, thereby guiding the user's finger to a deeper part on the front side of the recess. This allows the user to open the lid with their finger deep in the lid, improving usability for the user.

In addition, in the washing machine, when the recess is viewed from the side of the washing machine, the front end of the recess can be configured to have a shape that slopes upward toward the front.

With the above configuration, when a user tries to open the lid, if the user inserts a finger into the recess and pulls it toward the user along the recess, the finger will eventually rise up along the slope of the front end of the recess, which can then lead to the action of opening the lid.

In addition, in the above-mentioned washing machine, the lid can be configured to have a reinforcing rib formed along the outer periphery of the back surface, and a protrusion formed along the front-to-rear direction of the washing machine at a location on the back surface opposite the recess.

With the above configuration, when a user opens the lid, not only the reinforcing rib but also the protrusion comes into contact with the user's finger. This distributes the load of the lid on the user's finger to the reinforcing rib and the protrusion, preventing the reinforcing rib from digging into the finger.

The washing machine of the present invention has a handle structure for opening the lid that is provided on the side of the washing machine, which eliminates the need to form a handle at the front end of the lid, making the handle structure less visible to the user when the lid is closed, thus improving the design of the washing machine.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a washing machine, showing one embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a top view of the washing machine of FIG. 1 . FIG. 4 is a plan view of the vicinity of the recess with the lid open. FIG. 4 is a side view of the vicinity of the recess with the lid closed. FIG. FIG. 2 is a rear view of the washing machine with the lid open. This is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA in FIG. 6. This is a cross-sectional view taken along line B-B of FIG.

[First embodiment]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a washing machine 10 according to the present embodiment. Fig. 2 is a top view of the washing machine 10.

As shown in FIG. 1, the washing machine 10 has a washing machine body 11 and a lid 12 that covers the top surface of the washing machine body 11. The lid 12 is connected to the washing machine body 11 via a hinge 13 on the rear side of the washing machine 10, and can be opened and closed by rotating the front end side of the lid 12 in the vertical direction. A glass plate 121 is used for the lid 12 to enhance the design of the washing machine 10. For this reason, the lid 12 is composed of the glass plate 121 and a lid frame 122 that holds the outer periphery of the glass plate 121. Specifically, the lid frame 122 has a substantially rectangular opening 122a, and the glass plate 121 is attached to the periphery of the opening 122a on the upper surface side of the lid frame 122 with double-sided tape or the like. As a result, the lid 12 can have a glass surface on almost the entire upper surface side.

The external housing of the washing machine main body 11 is divided into an upper panel 111 and a lower housing 112. The upper panel 111 has an opening that penetrates in the vertical direction and serves as the laundry removal opening 113. An operation panel 114 is attached to the upper surface of the upper panel 111 in front of the laundry removal opening 113, and is configured so that when the lid 12 is closed, the upper surface of the lid 12 and the upper surface of the operation panel 114 are flush with each other. This gives the lid 12 and the operation panel 114 a unified design, enhancing the design of the washing machine 10.

The washing machine 10 is characterized in that the handle structure used by the user when opening the lid 12 is provided on the side of the washing machine 10, rather than on the front side of the washing machine 10 (the front side of the lid 12). Specifically, the washing machine 10 has recesses 111a formed on the upper edges of both sides of the top panel 111. This allows the user to insert their fingers into the recesses 111a and hook their fingers on the underside of the lid 12 to lift the lid 12 when opening the lid 12.

In this way, in the washing machine 10 according to the first embodiment, by providing a handle structure (i.e., the recess 111a) for opening the lid 12 on the side of the washing machine 10, it is not necessary to form a handle portion at the front end portion of the lid 12. Therefore, when the lid 12 is closed, it is possible to form the rear edge portion of the operation panel 114 and the front edge portion of the lid 12 so that they are substantially the same shape. In addition, when the lid 12 is closed, the recess 111a is less visible to the user not only when the washing machine 10 is viewed from above but also when viewed from the front, which improves the design of the washing machine 10. In addition, in the washing machine 10 according to the first embodiment, by eliminating the need to form a handle portion at the front end portion of the lid 12, it is also easy to make the lid 12 thinner and lighter.

In the washing machine 10 according to the first embodiment, the laundry outlet 113 may be devised to have the following shape. For example, as shown in FIG. 2, the laundry outlet 113 may have an inclined surface 113c between the lower edge 113a and the upper edge 113b, and the inclined surface 113c may have a more gentle inclination at both front ends (i.e., both front corners) of the inclined surface 113c than at the front center of the laundry outlet 113. That is, the laundry outlet 113 has a gentle inclination at a portion along the line segment L1 in FIG. 2.

In this way, by making both front ends of the inclined surface 113c at a gentle incline in the laundry removal opening 113, when a user tries to remove heavy laundry, the laundry can be removed even more easily by removing it from a diagonal direction in front of the washing machine 10. In addition, when removing laundry from a diagonal direction in front of the washing machine 10, it can be removed without interfering with the operation panel 114. This also prevents the washing machine 10 from malfunctioning due to accidentally touching the operation panel 114 when removing laundry.

The washing machine 10 has a wide inclined surface 113c at both ends of the front side of the laundry removal opening 113, which encourages the user to remove laundry from the front of the washing machine 10 at an angle. In addition, the handle structure of the lid 12 is provided on the side of the washing machine 10 rather than on the front side of the washing machine 10 (the front side of the lid 12), so that the user's approach to the washing machine 10 can be directed toward the side of the washing machine 10. In other words, the user can open the lid 12 of the washing machine 10 and remove laundry from the washing machine 10 from the side of the washing machine 10, which allows for a consistent approach to the user's actions on the washing machine 10.

Second Embodiment
It is important that the handle structure of a washing machine not only ensures good design but also improves ease of use for the user. In the second embodiment, the configuration for improving ease of use for the user in the handle structure of washing machine 10 will be described with reference to Figs. 3 and 4. Fig. 3 is a plan view of the vicinity of recess 111a with lid 12 open. Fig. 4 is a side view of the vicinity of recess 111a with lid 12 closed.

When viewed from above, as shown in FIG. 3, recess 111a is relatively long with the longitudinal direction being the front-to-rear direction of washing machine 10, but is particularly recessed inwardly in the left-to-right direction on the near side (front side). Recess 111a is shaped like this for the following reasons.

As described above, when the lid 12 is closed, the recess 111a provided on the side of the washing machine 10 is difficult for the user to see. In this case, if the length of the recess 111a is short in the front-to-rear direction of the washing machine 10, it is difficult for the user to recognize the position of the recess 111a when opening the lid 12, and it becomes difficult for the user to insert a finger into the recess 111a. For this reason, the washing machine 10 is designed to make the recess 111a relatively long in the front-to-rear direction, so that the user can easily insert a finger into the recess 111a even when the recess 111a is difficult to see.

When opening the lid 12, the user inserts a finger into the recess 111a and places the finger on the underside of the lid 12 to open the lid 12. To improve usability for the user, it is preferable that the finger is placed to a certain degree of depth on the lid 12. In other words, it is preferable that the recess 111a is formed to have a certain degree of depth on the inside in the left-right direction.

However, if the laundry outlet 113 is formed with a large area on the top panel 111 of the washing machine 10, the area surrounding the laundry outlet 113 will be narrowed accordingly. If the area surrounding the laundry outlet 113 is narrowed, it will also be difficult to form the recess 111a deep overall. On the other hand, there is a front corner of the laundry outlet 113 on the front side of the washing machine 10, and this front corner is formed in an R shape. Therefore, it is easy to secure space in the surrounding area on the outside in the left and right direction of the laundry outlet 113 on the front side of the washing machine 10. Therefore, the recess 111a can be shaped so that it is deeply recessed inward in the left and right direction on the front side.

When a user attempts to open the lid 12, the user first inserts a finger into the recess 111a at an appropriate location near the front of the lid 12. At this time, even if the recess 111a is difficult for the user to see, it is easy to insert a finger into the recess 111a if the recess 111a is formed relatively long in the front-to-rear direction. Furthermore, if the inserted finger hits a shallow part of the recess 111a, the user can further pull the finger toward the user while guiding it along the recess 111a. In this way, the recess 111a can guide the user's finger to a deeper part on the front side. If the user's finger is guided to a deep part on the front side of the recess 111a, the user can open the lid 12 with the finger deeply hooked on the lid 12, improving usability for the user.

In addition, when a user places their fingers on the lid 12 at a deep part on the front side of the recess 111a, the ring finger and middle finger get in the way and make it difficult for the little finger to be placed there, so the user is inevitably likely to hold the lid 12 with their ring finger or middle finger. In other words, this prevents the user from trying to open the lid 12 by placing their little finger, which is difficult to apply force to, and also prevents the user's fingers from slipping while opening the lid 12. Furthermore, since the position where the user's fingers place their fingers on the lid 12 (i.e., the point of force) is on the front side away from the hinge 13 (i.e., the fulcrum), the lid 12 can be opened with less force.

When the recess 111a is viewed from the side, as shown in FIG. 4, the front end of the recess 111a has a shape with a slope that rises upward toward the front. When the user attempts to open the lid 12, if the user inserts a finger into the recess 111a and pulls it toward the user along the recess 111a, the finger will eventually rise up along the slope of the front end of the recess 111a, which can then lead to the action of opening the lid 12.

As shown in FIG. 3 and FIG. 4, in the recess 111a, it is preferable that the region that is deeply recessed inward in the left-right direction and the region where the inclined front end is formed overlap at least partially, and it is more preferable that the region that is deeply recessed inward in the left-right direction overlaps with the rear end where the inclined front end is formed. When a user tries to open the lid 12 and pulls a finger inserted into the recess 111a toward the user along the recess 111a, the finger rises up along the inclination of the front end of the recess 111a and tries to lift the lid 12, but at that time, the weight of the lid 12 is suddenly applied to the finger, so the user unconsciously tries to insert the finger inside the lid 12 to support the weight of the lid 12. At this time, the recess 111a that guides the finger is recessed inward in the left-right direction, so that the user's movement to insert the finger inside the lid 12 is not hindered, and the user can open the lid 12 without feeling any discomfort or anxiety.

Third Embodiment
In the third embodiment, the configuration of the lid 12 for improving the ease of use for the user in the handle structure of the washing machine 10 will be described with reference to Fig. 5. Fig. 5 is a rear view of the lid 12.

As described above, the lid 12 is composed of a glass plate 121 and a lid frame 122 that holds the outer periphery of the glass plate 121. The lid frame 122 is made of resin, and on the back surface of the lid frame 122, as shown in FIG. 5, reinforcing ribs 122b are provided along the outer periphery to increase the strength of the lid 12. In addition, a protrusion 122c is formed along the front-to-rear direction of the washing machine 10 (the front-to-rear direction is the longitudinal direction) at a location facing the recess 111a on the back surface of the lid frame 122. It is preferable that the lower surface of the protrusion 122c is formed at the same height (or approximately the same height) as the lower end of the reinforcing rib 122b.

The protrusions 122c have the function of dispersing the load on the user's fingers when the user opens the lid 12. In other words, if there were no protrusions 122c on the back surface of the lid 12, when the user opens the lid 12, only the reinforcing ribs 122b would come into contact with the user's fingers, and the load of the lid 12 would be applied via the reinforcing ribs 122b. Since the lid 12 that uses the glass plate 121 is relatively heavy, if the load of the lid 12 is applied to the user's fingers via the reinforcing ribs 122b, the reinforcing ribs 122b may dig into the fingers, causing pain to the user.

In contrast, if the convex portion 122c is formed on the back surface of the lid 12, when the user opens the lid 12, not only the reinforcing rib 122b but also the convex portion 122c abuts against the user's finger. This distributes the load of the lid 12 on the user's finger to the reinforcing rib 122b and the convex portion 122c, and the reinforcing rib 122b is prevented from digging into the finger. In other words, it is possible to prevent the user from feeling pain when opening the lid 12. In addition, it is preferable that the convex portion 122c has a width that does not dig into the user's finger. Specifically, it is preferable that the convex portion 122c has a width that allows the inner edge of the convex portion 122c to go further inward than the inner edge of the concave portion 111a when the washing machine 10 is viewed from above.

In the lid 12 shown in FIG. 5, the reinforcing rib 122b and the protrusion 122c are not in contact with each other, and a groove with a small gap (for example, about 3 to 5 mm) is formed between them. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the reinforcing rib 122b and the protrusion 122c may be arranged so that they are in contact with each other, and no gap is formed between them. However, it is preferable that such a groove is formed between the reinforcing rib 122b and the protrusion 122c, because the groove can function as a slip-proofing for the user's fingers when opening the lid 12. In addition, the groove between the reinforcing rib 122b and the protrusion 122c can also be used as an attachment area for attaching the glass plate 121 with double-sided tape on the upper surface side of the lid frame 122.

In addition, a ring-shaped reinforcing protrusion 122d is formed around the opening 122a on the back surface of the lid 12. This reinforcing protrusion 122d not only reinforces the lid 12, but also has the function of preventing water leakage around the glass plate 121.

Fourth Embodiment
In the fourth embodiment, a support structure for lid 12 near hinge 13 will be described. Fig. 6 is a rear view of washing machine 10 with lid 12 open. Fig. 7A is a cross-sectional view taken along line A-A in Fig. 6, and Fig. 7B is a cross-sectional view taken along line B-B in Fig. 6.

When the lid 12 is in the maximum open state, a part of the rear end (hinge side end) of the lid 12 abuts against the top plate 111, so that the lid 12 is held at a predetermined angle. The lid 12 also has abutment points with the top plate 111 at two points on both ends in the left-right direction, more specifically, near the hinge 13 and near the center in the left-right direction. When the lid 12 is opened, the lid 12 first abuts against the top plate 111 at the abutment points near the hinges at both ends in the left-right direction of the lid 12 (see FIG. 7A). However, at this point, the lid 12 does not abut against the top plate 111 at the abutment points near the center of the lid 12, and a small gap is generated between the lid 12 and the top plate 111 (see FIG. 7B). The abutment points near the center abut against the top plate 111 when an external force is applied in the opening direction to the lid 12 in the maximum open state.

In the washing machine 10 according to the fourth embodiment, when the lid 12 is in the maximum open state, the lid 12 can be supported at two contact points at both ends. At this time, by providing the contact points near the hinge 13, it is possible to prevent a large load from being applied to the hinge 13, and to prevent damage to the hinge 13.

In addition, when an external force is applied to the lid 12 in the maximum open state in the opening direction, the lid 12 can also be supported by the contact points near the center where it contacts the top plate 111. This distributes the external force applied to the lid 12 to three contact points, further improving the load-bearing capacity of the lid 12. In addition, since the lid 12 also contacts and applies stress near the center of the top plate 111, the deformation of the top plate 111 due to stress at two points at both ends of the top plate 111 and the deformation due to stress near the center of the top plate 111 are in the same direction. Therefore, when excessive stress is applied to both ends of the top plate 111, deformation or damage of the top plate 111 due to twisting between the both ends and the center can be prevented.

The embodiments disclosed herein are illustrative in all respects and are not intended to be a basis for a restrictive interpretation. Therefore, the technical scope of the present invention is not to be interpreted solely by the above-described embodiments, but is defined based on the claims. Furthermore, all modifications within the scope and meaning equivalent to the claims are included.

10 Washing machine 11 Washing machine body 111 Top panel 111a Recessed portion (handle structure)
112 Lower housing 113 Laundry removal opening 113a Lower edge 113b Upper edge 113c Inclined surface 114 Operation panel 12 Lid 121 Glass plate 122 Lid frame 122a Opening 122b Reinforcing rib 122c Convex portion 122d Reinforcing convex portion 13 Hinge

Claims (3)

A washing machine having a lid on the top surface of a washing machine body,
As a handle structure for opening the lid, a recess is formed in the upper edge of each side of the top panel of the washing machine, allowing a user to insert their fingers under the lid ,
When the recess is viewed from the side of the washing machine, the front end of the recess has a shape that is inclined upward toward the front. A washing machine having a lid on the top surface of a washing machine body,
As a handle structure for opening the lid, a recess is formed in the upper edge of each side of the top panel of the washing machine, allowing a user to insert their fingers under the lid,
The washing machine is characterized in that the lid has a reinforcing rib formed along the outer peripheral edge of the back surface, and a convex portion arranged inside the reinforcing rib on the back surface and formed along the front-to-rear direction of the washing machine at a location opposite the concave portion. The washing machine according to claim 1 or 2 ,
The recess is formed with the front-to-rear direction of the washing machine as its longitudinal direction, and is formed in a shape that deeply recesses inward in the left-to-right direction at the front side of the washing machine.

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