JPH08299684A - Fitting structure for front panel of washing machine - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To facilitate the positioning when a front panel is fitted to the front face of an outer box, reduce the number of screwing positions, easily fit the front panel, and improve workability. CONSTITUTION: A top cover is provided on an outer box 2 installed on a bottom frame 1, and a front panel 7 is removably fitted at the front opening section of the outer box 2 of a washing machine. A hook flange 8 protruded at the upper section of the front panel 7 is insert.ed into a recess formed on the top cover, support members 11 protruded on both the right and left sides of the back face of the front panel 7 are inserted into hook holes 17 formed on both the right and left side peripheral edges 2a of the front face of the outer box 2, and the lower section of the front panel 7 is fixed to the bottom frame 1.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a mounting structure for a front panel of a washing machine.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a fully automatic one-tub type washing machine has an outer frame structure in which an outer box body, a rear panel and a side panel are integrally formed of a material such as a synthetic resin, and the front opening is at the front. The panel is removably attached, the top cover, lid and operation panel are installed in the upper opening, and the bottom frame is attached to the bottom of the outer box body.

As a means for attaching the front panel to the open portion of the front surface, for example, a plurality of screw holes are formed in the side peripheral portion of the front surface of the outer box body and the front panel, and the front panel is fixed with screws. ing.

[0004]

In the fixing method by screwing, it is difficult to position the front panel on the front surface of the outer box, and the front panel is manually pressed against the front surface of the outer box during the fixing work. Since it had to be supported by another means and there were a plurality of fixing points with screws, the workability of fixing was not good.

The object of the present invention is to eliminate the disadvantages of the conventional example, to easily position the front panel when mounting it on the front surface of the outer box, to reduce the number of screwing points, and to easily mount and wash with good workability. It is to provide a mounting structure for a front panel of a machine.

[0006]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention firstly provides a top cover on the upper surface of the outer box,
In a washing machine in which the front panel is removably attached to the front open part of the outer box, the locking flange protruding from the upper part of the front panel is inserted into the recess formed in the top cover, and it is projected on the left and right rear surfaces of the front panel. The gist of the invention is to insert the supporting member into the locking holes formed in the left and right peripheral edges of the front surface of the outer box to fix the lower part of the front panel to the outer box.

Secondly, a locking projection formed by a rising flange is projected from the lower end of the front panel, and the locking projection is locked in a locking hole formed in the bottom frame of the lower part of the outer box. It is what

Thirdly, the lower part of the front panel is screwed to the left and right peripheral edges of the front surface of the outer box, and the locking points by the locking projections at the lower end of the front panel and the locking holes in the bottom frame are screwed. The idea is to place it between the stop points.

Fourthly, a mounting hole for the supporting member is formed in the front panel, and the supporting member has a rectangular main body, and the peripheral edge of the mounting hole is clamped from the main body from both front and rear sides. The gist of the present invention is to form the projecting piece and to form the locking holes formed in the left and right edges of the front surface of the outer box as square holes.

Fifth, the supporting member is formed with a ridge for positioning at the place where the sandwiching piece is formed, while the mounting hole of the supporting member formed on the front panel has a wide portion and a narrow portion. The gist of the present invention is that the above-mentioned vertically long square hole is provided, and a notch into which the positioning projection is fitted is formed in the narrow portion.

Sixthly, the gist of the present invention is that a control unit box is arranged at the side peripheral edge of the front opening of the outer box.

[0012]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the engaging flanges projecting from the upper portion of the front panel are inserted into the recesses formed in the top cover, and the supporting members projecting from the left and right rear surfaces of the front panel are provided. The front panel can be positioned on the front of the outer box and can be temporarily fixed with a single touch by a simple operation that simply inserts it into the locking holes formed on the left and right edges of the front of the outer box. Workability is good because the lower part of the box can be fixed to the outer box.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, in addition to the above action, a locking projection formed by a rising flange formed at the lower end of the front panel is formed at the bottom frame of the lower part of the outer box. The bottom edge of the front panel can also be locked to the bottom frame with one touch by inserting into the bottom frame.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, in addition to the above operation, the lower part of the front panel is screwed to the peripheral edges of the left and right sides of the front surface of the outer box, so that the front panel is finally opened. Can be fixed. In this case, since there are two screw fixing points on the left and right sides of the lower part of the front panel, the work of fixing the screws can be reduced. Further, between the screwed points, there are locking points formed by the locking projections and the locking holes in the bottom frame, so that the front panel can be prevented from rising during this time.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, the main body of the support member is formed in a rectangular cross section, and the engaging hole into which the support member is inserted is formed in a square hole, so that the displacement at the time of mounting is prevented. The support member can be attached to the front panel only by sandwiching the sandwiching piece on the periphery of the mounting hole.
The support member can be easily attached.

According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, in addition to the above-mentioned action, in order to mount the supporting member in the mounting hole, the supporting member is inserted into the wide portion of the mounting hole formed in the longitudinal direction. When the support member is slid to the narrow portion from the state, the positioning protrusion formed on the support member engages with the notch formed in the narrow portion, and the support member is fixed to the mounting hole.

According to the sixth aspect of the present invention, in addition to the above operation, the front panel is attached to the front surface of the outer box by arranging the control unit box on the side peripheral edge of the front opening portion. Therefore, when repairing or maintaining the control unit box, you can remove the front panel and workability is good. The front panel is easy to attach and detach because there are few screw fastening points and only the attaching and detaching of the engaging member to the engaging hole or recess is required.

[0018]

Embodiments of the present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view showing an embodiment of a mounting structure of a front panel of a washing machine of the present invention. Explaining from the overall structure of the outer frame structure of the washing machine, as shown in FIG. A top cover 4 having a lid 3 is provided in an opening on the upper surface of the outer box 2 installed in the outer box 2, a rear electrical component panel 5 is attached to a rear portion of the top cover 4, and a front electrical component panel 6 is attached to a front portion of the outer box. The front panel 7 is detachably covered with a front panel 7. In this embodiment, the bottom frame 1 and the outer case 2 are shown separately, but the bottom frame 1 may be formed integrally with the lower part of the outer case 2.

In the washing machine having such a structure, the upper part of the front panel 7 is bent 90 degrees inward as a structure for fixing the upper part of the front panel 7 to the top cover 4 as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. Projecting the start-up flange,
This rising flange is used as a locking flange 8, while the top cover 4 has a recess 9 into which the locking flange 8 is inserted.
Are formed on the lower part of the front surface.

As a constitution for fixing the front panel 7 to the main body of the outer box 2, as shown in FIGS. 1, 3 and 6, both right and left sides of the front panel 7 are bent inward to form a flange 7a. A mounting pin, which is a support member 11, is mounted in the mounting hole 10 formed in the flange 7a.

As shown in FIG. 5, the mounting hole 10 is formed in a vertically long shape, the lower portion is formed in the wide portion 10a, and the upper portion is formed in the narrow portion 10b. 11
The notches 12 for positioning are formed at three locations on the upper side and the left and right side portions. The width of the wide portion 10a is the same as or slightly wider than the width of the support member 11, and the transition from the wide portion 10a to the narrow portion 10b is tapered.
And In this embodiment, the lower part is the wide part 1
In FIG. 0a, the upper portion is formed in the narrow portion 10b. However, it is needless to say that the relationship may be reversed, that is, the lower portion may be formed in the narrow portion and the upper portion may be formed in the wide portion. .

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the support member 11 has a main body portion 11a formed in a rectangular tube shape having a rectangular cross section, a pyramidal tip, and a base end portion on the outside of each side of the base end portion. The sandwiching piece 13a is projected away from the end face of the portion, and the positioning projection 13b is projected between the sandwiching piece 13a and the end face of the base end portion.

Further, at the corner portion of the base end portion, another sandwiching piece 14 is provided so as to project outward on the same surface as the end face of the base end portion.
As a result, the sandwiching pieces 13a and the sandwiching pieces 14 are alternately projected at the base end portion. The facing distance between the sandwiching piece 13a and the sandwiching piece 14 is determined by the flange 7a of the front panel 7.
It is formed so as to have the same thickness.

The support member 11 and the mounting hole 10 are provided at two positions in the vertical direction, as shown in the figure. And
The support member 1 is provided on the left and right side peripheral edges 2a of the front open portion of the outer box 2.
The engaging hole 17 into which 1 is inserted is formed.

As a structure for fixing the lower portion of the front panel 7 to the bottom frame 1, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 7, the lower end of the front panel 7 is bent inward, and a leading edge is formed by a rising flange. The stop projection 15 is projected. Although the two locking protrusions 15 are shown in the drawing, the number is not limited to this, and may be appropriately selected depending on the lateral dimension and the like.

On the other hand, the rising portion 1 is provided on the upper front surface of the bottom frame 1.
A is formed, and a locking hole 16 that penetrates vertically is provided at a position corresponding to the locking projection 15 on the front surface of the rising portion 1a. A portion of the locking hole 16 on the front panel 7 mounting side is formed to be elastically deformable in thickness.

Further, screw holes 18a, are formed at the corresponding positions of the lower portion of the side peripheral edge 2a of the outer box 2 and the lower left and right portions of the front panel 7.
18b is provided, and a screw 19 to be inserted into the screw holes 18a and 18b is separately prepared. In this case, it is preferable that the formation portion of the locking projection 15 is located between the formation portions of the screw holes 18b as shown in the figure.

Further, as shown in FIG. 8, a control unit box 20 is attached to the side peripheral edge 2a of the outer box 2. The control unit box 20 has an upper portion formed with an opening, and accommodates a power supply voltage board of 100V or the like having a transformer, a capacitor, a heat radiating plate, etc. installed therein, and is mounted on the front electrical component panel 6. Separated from the voltage board.

Next, a method of attaching the front panel 7 to the front open portion of the outer box 2 will be described. First, the support member 11 is attached to the attachment hole 10 in advance. In this mounting method, the main body 11a of the support member 11 is inserted from the tip into the wide portion 10a below the mounting hole 10, and from this state, the support member 11 is slid to the narrow portion 10b above.

As a result, the front-side sandwiching piece 14 provided on the support member 11 contacts the front surface of the flange 7a, and the other rear-side sandwiching piece 13a contacts the rear surface of the flange 7a to sandwich the same. The flange 7a is sandwiched from the front and rear sides by the piece 14 and the sandwiching piece 13a, and the protrusion 13b is engaged with the notch 12 to fix the support member 11 to the narrow portion 10b of the mounting hole 10. To be done.

Then, the front panel 7 is applied to the front open portion of the outer box 2, and the upper engaging flange 8 is attached to the top cover 4.
The support member 11 is inserted from below into the recess 9 formed in the above, and further the support member 11 is inserted from the front into the locking holes 17 formed in the left and right side peripheral edges 2a of the front opening of the outer box 2.

In this state, the upper portion and the side portion of the front panel 7 are temporarily fixed, and the lower locking projection 15 is located in front of the locking hole 16 formed in the bottom frame 1. Therefore, when the locking projection 16 is strongly pressed toward the locking hole 16 by utilizing the elasticity of the locking hole 16, the front surface side of the locking hole 16 is elastically deformed and the locking projection 15 is locked. 16 is forcibly inserted and locked.

After that, the screw 19 is screwed into the screw holes 18a and 18b.
Is inserted, the lower part of the front panel 7 is fixed to the outer box 2, and the attachment of the front panel 7 is completed. In this state, there are only two screw-fastened points, but since the locking projection 15 is fitted and locked in the locking hole 16 during this time, the front panel 7 does not rise.

When repairing or maintaining the control unit box 20 attached to the side peripheral edge 2a of the outer box 2, the screw 19 can be removed, the front panel 7 can be pulled toward the front, and then pulled downward to easily remove it from the outer box 2. Can be removed.

[0035]

As described above, according to the mounting structure of the front panel of the washing machine of the present invention, firstly, the locking flange protruding from the upper portion of the front panel is inserted into the recess formed in the top cover, The front panel can be positioned on the front of the outer box at the same time by simply inserting the supporting members protruding on the left and right sides of the panel into the locking holes formed on the left and right edges of the front of the outer box. It can be temporarily fixed with one touch, and in this state, the lower part of the front panel can be fixed to the outer box,
Good workability.

Secondly, the lower end of the front panel is also bottomed by inserting the locking projection formed by the rising flange formed at the lower end of the front panel into the locking hole formed at the bottom frame of the lower part of the outer box. Can be locked to the frame with one touch.

Thirdly, the front panel can be finally fixed to the open portion by screwing the lower portion of the front panel to the left and right peripheral edges of the front surface of the outer box. In this case, since there are two screw fixing points on the left and right sides of the lower part of the front panel, the work of fixing the screws can be reduced. Further, between the screwing points, there are locking points by the locking projections and the locking holes in the bottom frame, so that the front panel can be prevented from rising during this time.

Fourthly, since the main body of the supporting member is formed into a rectangular cross section and the engaging hole into which the supporting member is inserted is formed into a square hole, it is possible to prevent the displacement at the time of mounting, and the supporting member is Since the sandwiching piece can be mounted on the front panel simply by sandwiching the sandwiching piece on the peripheral edge of the mounting hole, the supporting member can be easily mounted.

Fifth, to mount the support member in the mounting hole, insert the support member into the wide portion of the vertically formed mounting hole and slide the support member to the narrow portion from this state. The positioning protrusion formed on the support member engages with the notch formed in the narrow portion, and the support member can be fixed to the mounting hole.

Sixth, on the side edge of the front opening of the outer box,
By arranging the control unit box, the front panel is attached to the front surface, so that the front panel may be removed when the control unit box is repaired or maintained, and workability is good. Further, the front panel can be easily attached and detached because there are few screwing points and only the attaching and detaching of the engaging member to the engaging hole or the concave portion is required.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view showing an embodiment of a front panel mounting structure for a washing machine according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a vertical sectional side view showing an embodiment of the front panel mounting structure of the washing machine of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional plan view of a support member mounting portion of a main part of the front panel mounting structure of the washing machine of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a support member of a main part of the front panel mounting structure of the washing machine of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a front view of a mounting hole of a support member of a main part of the front panel mounting structure of the washing machine of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a partially cutaway front view of a main part of the front panel mounting structure of the washing machine of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a vertical cross-sectional side view of a lower mounting portion that is a main portion of the front panel mounting structure of the washing machine of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is an exploded perspective view showing a state in which a control unit box of the front panel mounting structure of the washing machine of the present invention is attached.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Bottom frame 1a ... Rising part 2 ... Outer box 2a ... Side edge 3 ... Lid 4 ... Top cover 5 ... Rear electrical component panel 6 ... Front electrical component panel 7 ... Front panel 7a ... Flange 8 ... Locking flange 9 ... Recessed portion 10 ... Mounting hole 10a ... Wide portion 10b ... Narrow portion 10c ... Tapered portion 11 ... Support member 11a ... Main body portion 12 ... Notch 13a ... Clamping piece 13b ... Projection ridge 14 ... Clamping piece 15 ... Locking protrusion Piece 16 ... Locking hole 17 ... Locking hole 18a, 18b ... Screw hole 19 ... Screw 20 ... Control unit box

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (72) Taketsugu Sugino 1-1-1 Yamate, Funabashi City, Chiba Nihon Kenketsu Funabashi Manufacturing Co., Ltd.

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A washing machine in which a top cover is provided on an upper surface of an outer box and a front panel is detachably attached to a front opening portion of the outer box, and a locking flange protruding from an upper portion of the front panel is formed on the top cover. Insert the support members that are inserted into the recesses and project from the left and right rear surfaces of the front panel into the locking holes formed on the left and right peripheral edges of the front surface of the outer box, and fix the lower part of the front panel to the outer box. The mounting structure of the front panel of the characteristic washing machine. 2. A locking projection formed by a rising flange is projected from a lower end of the front panel, and the locking projection is locked in a locking hole formed in a bottom frame of a lower portion of the outer box. The mounting structure for a front panel of a washing machine according to claim 1. 3. The lower part of the front panel is screwed to the left and right peripheral edges of the front surface of the outer box, and the locking points by the locking projections at the lower end of the front panel and the locking holes in the bottom frame are the screwing points. It is located between the two.
Mounting structure for the front panel of the washing machine described. 4. A mounting hole for a supporting member is formed in a front panel, the supporting member has a main body having a rectangular cross section, and a clamping piece for clamping the peripheral edge of the mounting hole from both front and rear sides is formed from the main body. The mounting structure for a front panel of a washing machine according to claim 1, wherein the engaging holes formed on the left and right edges of the front surface of the outer box are projecting and formed as square holes. 5. The supporting member is formed with a ridge for positioning at the place where the sandwiching piece is formed, while the mounting hole of the supporting member formed on the front panel has a vertically long portion having a wide portion and a narrow portion. The mounting structure for a front panel of a washing machine according to claim 1 or 4, wherein the rectangular hole is formed as a square hole, and a cutout into which the positioning protrusion is fitted is formed in the narrow portion. 6. The front panel of the washing machine according to claim 1, wherein a control unit box is provided on a side edge of the front open portion of the outer box. Mounting structure.