JPH0747073B2 - Bearing seal device for washing machine - Google Patents

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a washing machine having a drive unit for rotationally driving a pulsator or the like by decelerating rotation from a motor, and particularly to a bearing for axially supporting a shaft of the drive unit. The present invention relates to a bearing seal device.

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, the drive unit of this type of washing machine has a structure shown in FIG.

That is, a gear case 4 having a gear 2 which is a reduction gear is built in the housing case 1, and the gear case 4 is provided.
The input shaft 3 which is directly connected to the lower part of the shaft is rotatably supported by a bearing 5 which is press-fitted into a step portion 8 formed below the housing case 1.

A pulley 6 is attached below the shaft 3, and an output shaft 7 is directly connected above the gear case 4. Then, the rotation of the pulley 6 is transmitted and reduced to transmit the rotation to the output shaft 7.

Further, the upper flat surface portion 9 of the step portion 8 was provided with a drain hole 10 for letting out dew condensation water generated in the housing case 1.

The seal member 13 is attached to the bearing 5.
The seal member 13 is attached in close contact with the inner circumference of the outer ring of the bearing 5, and seals against water from the outer circumference. The inner circumference of the seal member 13 has a structure in which the inner ring of the bearing 5 rotates, so that it was not possible to closely contact and seal.

Further, as shown in FIG. 5, an iron plate 11 is provided to prevent the condensed water from flowing from the upper flat surface portion 9 to the bearing 5 in the step portion 8. That is, the iron plate 11 is provided on the upper flat surface portion 9 inward of the water drain hole 10 so as to extend above the rivet 12.
Was crimped by.

Problems to be Solved by the Invention However, in the conventional configuration shown in FIG. 4, the dew condensation water generated in the housing case 1 flows out through the drain hole 10,
The water cannot be completely removed only by the water drain hole 10, and since the bearing 5 is located below the upper flat surface portion 9, dew condensation water flows down to the seal member 13 of the bearing 5 and There was a problem that water intruded into the inside of the bearing 5 from the circumference and the bearing 5 rusted and produced an abnormal sound.

Further, in the configuration shown in FIG. 5, since the iron plate 11 is provided,
Although dew condensation water can be prevented from entering the bearing 5,
A rivet 12 for processing and mounting the iron plate 11 is required, and the increase in the number of work steps associated therewith causes a serious problem in mass productivity.

Further, in order to prevent water from entering the bearing 5 side, it is conceivable to install the bearing 5 above the upper flat surface portion 9, but since the housing case 1 is molded by drawing an iron plate, The corners of the upper flat surface portion 9 and the step portion 8 cannot be formed at right angles, and in addition to the fact that the bearing 5 has a small thickness, in order to perform the press-fitting securely, the corner portion of the iron plate should be below the corner portion. Part of
It is impossible to install the bearing 5 above the upper flat surface portion 9.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In view of the above problems, it is an object of the present invention to prevent water from entering a bearing and reduce the number of parts to reduce man-hours and improve mass productivity.

Means for Solving the Problems In order to solve the above problems, the present invention forms a stepped portion below a housing case containing a gear that decelerates the rotation of an input shaft and outputs it to an output shaft. The outer ring of the bearing that rotatably supports the input shaft is fixed to the portion, and a seal member that is in contact with the outer ring is provided on the upper surface of the bearing, and the seal member is provided above the upper flat portion of the step portion. The protrusion is provided, and the drainage hole is formed in a part of the upper flat surface portion of the step portion.

Action According to the above configuration, by providing the protrusion on the seal member of the bearing and projecting the protrusion from the upper flat surface portion of the step portion, even if the condensed water flows down on the bearing seal member, there is a protrusion, The seal member cannot penetrate in the inner peripheral direction, and is discharged from the water draining hole of the upper flat surface or evaporated as it is, and the inside of the bearing does not rust, and the bearing operates smoothly.

Embodiment An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3. 1 to 3, 1 is a housing case, 2 is a gear, 3 is an input shaft, 4 is a gear case, 5
Is a bearing, 6 is a pulley, 7 is an output shaft, 8 is a step portion, 9 is an upper flat surface portion of the step portion 8, 10 is a drain hole, and 13 is a sealing member. The configuration is the same, the same reference numerals are given to the portions, and the description will be omitted. In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2, a protrusion 14 protruding upward from the upper plane of the step portion 8 is provided above the conventional seal member 13.
Is formed. Further, the output shaft is connected to a washing / dehydrating tank 16 provided in a water receiving tank 17 and a pulsator 15 provided at an inner bottom portion thereof.

In the above structure, dew condensation water is generated on the inner wall of the housing case 1 forming the drive unit of the washing machine, which is often installed in a place with high humidity such as a bathroom, and drops as water drops along the inner wall surface. . At this time, some drops below the water drain hole 10 and some do not drop below the water drain hole 10. Those that do not drip flow along the inclination of the installation surface and the inclined surface of the housing case 1, and flow down onto the bearing 5. However, since there is the protrusion 14 of the seal member 13 provided on the upper surface of the bearing 5, it cannot penetrate in the inner circumferential direction and gradually evaporates. If a large amount of condensed water is generated here, as shown in FIG. 1, water is accumulated between the projection 14 of the seal member 13 and the upper flat surface portion 9 due to surface tension, but the condensed water is further condensed. Even if it occurs, it simply flows backward, and the water flows from the outer peripheral direction of the bearing 5 toward the upper flat surface portion 9 (the direction of the arrow) and drops from the water drain hole 10. In addition,
The bearing has a sealing function on the inside of the outer ring of the bearing so as not to intrude water from the outer ring.

In FIG. 1, the flow of dew condensation water is shown by arrows.

Moreover, by inclining the protrusion 14 in the outer peripheral direction,
Intrusion of water can be prevented more reliably.

EFFECTS OF THE INVENTION As is apparent from the above embodiments, according to the present invention, by providing the protrusion on the seal member on the upper surface of the bearing, it is possible to prevent the dew condensation water from entering the inside of the bearing and allow the bearing to operate smoothly. It is something to do. Further, conventionally, grease was applied to the seal member of the bearing to prevent water from invading double, but the present invention does not require application of grease, the material and man-hours are reduced, and the iron plate is attached. In that case, punching the iron plate with a press, and manufacturing where the iron plate is deformed and the drive part cannot be assembled properly and sounds are generated by hitting the gear case, and it is difficult to align with the center of the shaft and does not match the rivet hole It is possible to eliminate the difficulty in terms of manufacturing, further reduce the number of steps, reduce the number of parts of the rivet and the iron plate, reduce the cost, and improve the mass productivity.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a vertical sectional view of a drive unit of a washing machine according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is an external perspective view of the bearing, FIG. 3 is a vertical sectional view of the drive unit, and FIG. FIG. 5 is a vertical cross-sectional view of a drive unit, and FIG. 5 is a vertical cross-sectional view of another conventional drive unit. 1 ... housing case, 2 ... gear, 3 ... input shaft, 5 ... bearing, 8 ... step, 9 ... upper plane, 13 ... seal member, 14 ... projection.

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (72) Inventor Masaaki Inoue 1006 Kadoma, Kadoma City, Osaka Prefecture Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. (56) Reference JP 60-193498 (JP, A) JP 57-39799 (JP, B2)

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. An outer ring of a bearing, wherein a step portion is formed below a housing case containing a gear for decelerating the rotation of an input shaft and outputting to the output shaft, and the step portion rotatably supports the input shaft. And a seal member in contact with the outer ring is provided on the upper surface of the bearing, and a projection protruding upward from the upper flat surface portion of the step portion is provided on the seal member. Bearing seal device for washing machines with a drain hole formed in part. 2. The bearing seal device for a washing machine according to claim 1, wherein the protrusion is inclined in the outer peripheral direction.