JPS6237580Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed description of the invention] (a) Industrial application field The present invention relates to an overflow level adjustment device for a washing machine.

(b) Prior art The prior art is shown in FIGS. 10 to 13. In the same figure, 100 is a machine frame, 101 is a washing tub, 102
105 is a control box consisting of a plate 103 and a case 104 arranged at the upper rear part;
is an overflow chamber recessed inside the washing tub 101;
106 is a strainer plate made entirely of a perforated plate that partitions this room from the inside of the tank, 107 is a drain port formed at the inner bottom of the overflow chamber 105, and 108 is an operating rod (not shown) that opens and closes this drain port 107. The cylindrical valve 109 is a bellows-shaped overflow pipe that communicates with the inside of the valve 108 at its upper portion and communicates with the drain port 107 regardless of whether the valve is opened or closed.

The plate 103 has a pair of vertically elongated slits 110, 110 for die cutting in a part of the front surface, and a pair of support pieces 111, 111 are formed in the rear part (inside the box), and a thin slit is formed between the slits. Recess the width in the vertical direction and conversely attach the support piece 11 to the rear side.
1 and 111, and uneven surfaces 113 and 113 are formed on both sides of the sandwiching protrusion 112.
is formed vertically. In addition, the holding protrusion 112
A vertically elongated operation hole 114 passing through the inside and outside is formed in the center.

Therefore, from behind the plate 103, the leaf spring 11
The plate surface of No. 5 is placed against the protrusion 112, the tongue pieces 116, 116 are placed against the uneven surfaces 113, 113, respectively, and a sliding body 117 is inserted between the plate spring 115 and the support pieces 111, 111. Then, from the rear, the knob shaft 11
8 to the through hole 11 of the sliding body 117 and the leaf spring 115
9, 120 and the operation hole 114 to project forward. The knob shaft 118 is screwed to the leaf spring 115, and a knob 121 is attached to the front projecting end.
On the other hand, a lever 122 is provided protruding from the rear of the sliding body 117, and connects the upper part of the link 123 in a hanging state. The lower part of the link 123 is inserted through a guide hole 124 formed on the bottom surface of the case 104 and is located in the overflow chamber 105, where it is pivotally supported by a hard connecting line 125 connected to the overflow pipe 109.
Note that 126 is a decorative aluminum plate that hides the vertically long slits 110, 110 and recesses on the front surface of the plate 103.

Thus, when the knob 121 is moved up and down, the knob shaft 118 is moved along the operation hole 114, and the sliding body 117, leaf spring 115, and lever 122 are moved up and down. When the leaf spring 115 slides on the uneven surfaces 113, 113, the knob 12
This gives a sense of separation between operations compared to 1. Also,
The lever 122 moves the link 123 up and down, and expands and contracts the overflow pipe 109 via the connecting line 125.
Therefore, the overflow pipe 109 expands and contracts to adjust the washing water level in the washing tub 101, that is, the overflow height.

As shown in FIG. 13, earlier washing machines had a knob 12 on the strainer plate 106 in the washing tub 101.
1 is provided, and by moving this knob 121 downward, the overflow pipe 1 inside the strainer plate 106 is opened.
09 was being operated up and down.

In this prior art, when the knob 121 is moved up and down to move the overflow pipe 109 up and down, the set washing water level and the overflow water level almost match. That is, the relative positional relationship between the washing water level and the overflowing water level does not change at all water levels. Therefore, if the overflow level is significantly lowered compared to the washing water level, it is possible to suppress the rise in the water level around the tank when washing at a high water level and prevent water from flowing out of the tank. When washing clothes at water level, the overflowing water level is also low where a stronger water flow occurs, so a relatively large amount of water overflows. As a result, the amount of water decreases rapidly, resulting in significant damage to the laundry.

(c) Purpose of the invention The present invention is intended to suppress the decrease in water volume especially when the washing water level is set to a low level, thereby reducing damage to laundry during washing at a low water level.

(d) Structure of the invention The invention connects the knob and the overflow pipe through a link and a connecting member, and when the knob is moved down, the link rotates at a pivot point to absorb the amount of descent of the knob.
This is the amount by which the overflow pipe descends compared to the amount the knob descends. That is, when the knob is moved downward, the actual overflow level is automatically set to be somewhat higher than it appears, thereby suppressing a decrease in the amount of water.

(E) Embodiment In Figures 1 to 9, 1 is a two-tub washing machine in which a washing tub 3 and a dewatering tank 4 are arranged side by side in a machine frame 2, and a control box 5 is installed at the upper rear part. It is arranged horizontally. The control box 5 (hereinafter referred to as the box) consists of a control case 6 (hereinafter referred to as the case) that constitutes the bottom, rear, both sides, and the lower part of the front, and most of the top and inclined front, and the case 6 has a claw or the like. It consists of a control plate 7 (hereinafter simply referred to as plate) that is removably attached, and various electrical components (not shown) are mounted inside.

Reference numeral 8 denotes an overflow chamber recessed in the right rear corner of the washing tub 3, the front opening of which is closed by a porous strainer plate 9. The strainer board 9 has a scale and characters high, medium, and low on its surface, and also serves as a washing water level display board. The overflow chamber 8 has a drain port 10 formed at its inner bottom, has an upper portion facing the lower surface of the case 6, and communicates with the inside of the box 5 through a guide hole 11 formed on the lower surface of the case 6.

Reference numeral 12 denotes a cylindrical valve that opens and closes around the drain port 10 in the overflow chamber 8 and is always biased in the closing direction.The valve 12 has wing pieces 13, 13 protruding from the outer periphery, and a valve on the upper outer periphery. A constricted portion 14 is provided. Reference numeral 15 denotes a bellows-shaped, ie, telescopic, overflow pipe connected and communicated with the upper part of the valve 12, and has a constricted part 16 on the outer periphery of the upper part.

Reference numerals 17 and 17 denote guide grooves that are continuously formed vertically on the inner surface of the overflow chamber 8, into which the wing pieces 13 and 13 are inserted and supported so as to be vertically movable. Reference numeral 18 denotes a guide groove that is continuously formed vertically and separately from the guide grooves 17, 17.
9 is supported internally so that it can move up and down. This operating rod 19 holds the constricted portion 14 of the valve 12 with a holding ring, and allows the valve 12 to move up and down.

Reference numeral 20 indicates two side plates 21 and 21 which sandwich the upper outer periphery of the overflow pipe 15 and are fitted into the guide grooves 17 and 17 so as to be vertically movable, respectively, and the upper part of the both side plates (at a position 30 mm or more higher than the upper end of the overflow pipe). Connecting plate 22 that bridges and somewhat bulges toward the front opening of the overflow room.
and a holding ring 23 that bridges the lower portions of both side plates and holds about 3/4 of the outer circumference of the constricted portion 16 of the overflow pipe 15. The holding ring 23 has a tongue piece 24 at one end, and the tongue piece 2 is used during cleaning etc.
By pressing 4 with your finger, the constriction part 16 expands.
The overflow pipe 15 can be easily removed by releasing the holding force of the overflow pipe 15.

Here, the connecting plate 22 has an engagement hole 26 formed in the lower part thereof, into which the bent portion of the lower end of the hard connecting line 25 is engaged. Then, U-shaped guide groove pieces 27, 27 are protrudingly provided directly above and above the engagement hole 26, and the guide groove pieces 27, 27 have a direction in which the connecting line 25 enters the hole 26, respectively. A pair of upper and lower elastic pieces 28, 28 are formed that elastically abut in the left and right directions.

Reference numeral 29 denotes a recess formed in a portion of the front surface of the plate 7 corresponding to the overflow chamber 8, and a vertically elongated moving hole 30 is formed on the right side of the inner bottom surface of the recess, which communicates with the inside of the box 5. The recess 29 has a stepped portion 31 formed on the opening periphery, and mounting holes 32 are formed at the top, left and right, and in the middle of this stepped portion, and at the bottom, an insertion hole is formed above the stepped portion. 33 is formed.
Further, vertically long vertical walls 34, 34 are formed to partition the left and right stepped portions 31 from the inside.

Reference numeral 35 designates a box-shaped operation panel with an open bottom surface, which has a recessed portion having an H-shaped front cross section in the center, and a vertically elongated operation hole 36 spaced l from the movement hole 30 in the center of this recessed portion. A large insertion port 37 is continuously formed above the operation hole 36. Reference numeral 38 denotes an uneven wall vertically vertically provided between the right side wall of the operation panel 35 and the concave right side wall, and forms continuous unevenness in the vertical direction on the inner surface. 39...
40 is a claw piece formed in the upper center of the outer surface of the left and right side walls.
is an insertion piece formed at the center of the outer surface of the lower wall.
Note that the left and right side walls of the recess constitute guide walls 41, 41.

Reference numeral 42 is a plate-shaped sliding body whose front cross-sectional shape is approximately U-shaped, and has a lever 43 protruding from the lower right side, and a knob shaft 14 having a smaller diameter than the width of the operating hole 36 protruding from the center of the upper surface. A knob mounting portion 45 is provided at the upper end of the knob shaft 44 and is larger than the width of the operation hole 36 and smaller than the insertion hole 37. Both side walls of this sliding body 42 are left and right guide walls 46, 46.
It consists of Reference numeral 47 denotes a U-shaped support wall erected on the right side of the upper surface of the sliding body 42 at a distance from the inner surface of the right guide wall 46, and a curved plate-shaped spring 48
is installed so that the spring protrusion protrudes within the interval.

Here, the operation panel 35 and the sliding body 42 are finally fixed in the recess 29, but before that, they are combined with each other, so the procedure will be explained. The knob mounting portion 45 is aligned with the insertion opening 37 from below and inserted. At the same time, the left guide wall 46 of the sliding body 42
on the outer surface of the left guide wall 41 of the operation panel 35, the uneven wall 38 within the interval of the sliding body 42, the right guide wall 46 of the sliding body 42 on the outer surface of the uneven wall 38, and the support wall 4.
7 are arranged on the outer surface of the right guide wall 41 of the operation panel 35, respectively. The protrusion of the spring 48 presses against the unevenness of the uneven wall 38. When the mounting portion 45 protruding from the insertion port 37 is pressed down, the sliding body 42 moves downward along each guide wall 41, 41, 46, 46, support wall 47, and uneven wall 38. And the mounting part 45
They are connected in the front-rear direction by the force of the spring.

The operation panel 35 and sliding body 42 that have been combined in advance in this manner are assembled in the recess 29 by first inserting the insertion pieces 40 into the insertion holes 33, and then inserting the claw pieces 39 into the mounting holes 32.
It is engaged and fixed by strongly pressing inside from above. At this time, the operation panel 35
It bends left and right around the center to help engagement. In addition, the inner surface and upper and lower walls of the operation panel 35 are placed on the vertical walls 34, 34 and the upper and lower stepped sections 31, and a gap is created between the sliding body 42 and the inner bottom surface of the recess 29, so that the sliding Don't create resistance. The surface of the operation panel 35 and the upper surface on the side of the plate 7 are substantially flush with each other. The lever 43 passes through the moving hole 30 and projects into the box 5.

The upper part of 49 is a larger knob than the insertion hole 37,
It is fitted into the mounting part 45 along the fitting guide, and the engaging hole 50 is engaged with the hook 51 of the mounting part 45 and stopped.

Reference numeral 52 denotes a short link whose upper end is pivotally supported by the protruding end of the lever 43, and whose lower end pivotally supports the upper end of the connecting line 25 extending substantially vertically. Note that the guide hole 11 is provided on a line perpendicular to the connecting line 25.

53 is a wash timer knob, 54 is a dehydration timer knob, 55 is a valve operating knob for moving the operating rod 19 up and down, and 56 is a water supply port. Further, a decorative plate (not shown) is appropriately attached to the front surface of the plate 7. Furthermore, the operation hole 36 of the operation panel 35
On the side (on the concave surface), high, medium, and low indications are provided either directly or by a decorative plate.

Next, the setting operation of the washing water level or overflow water level will be explained. Setting is done by moving the knob 49 downward, but when it is at the top, the link 52 and the connecting line 25 are pulled up, so the overflow pipe 15 is also at the top, which is the high water level. The overflow pipe 15 is in a state where it is not expanding or contracting at this high water level.
From here, lower the knob 49 as appropriate and set it to medium or low. At this time, the left and right guide walls 46 hold the uneven wall 38 and the left guide wall 41 from both sides, and the support wall 47 slides while holding the right guide wall 41. 48 and the guide wall 46, the state of pressure contact between the spring 48 and the uneven wall 38 is maintained almost constant, and a stable separation feeling can be given to the user. Then, the spring 48 fits into the recess of the uneven wall 38, suppresses the repulsive force (force in the upward direction) of the contracted overflow pipe 15, and maintains the set position of the knob 49.

In order to secure the set position against such repulsive force, the degree of protrusion of the unevenness of the uneven wall 38 may be gradually increased as it approaches the lower part of the wall, as shown in FIG. That is, a>b in the figure. As a result, when the overflow pipe 15 contracts the most and the repulsive force is maximum (low water level), the spring 48 fits into the deepest recess and is supported by the protrusions on both sides, providing the maximum deterrent force and holding force. Demonstrate.

When the knob 49 is pressed down from a high position to a middle position, the link 52 lowers the connecting line 25 and lowers the overflow pipe 15. That is, knob 4
9 and the amount of descent of the overflow pipe 15 almost match. But from medium to low, link 52
falls down little by little, reducing the amount of descent of the overflow pipe 15 relative to the amount of depression of the knob 49. Therefore, even if the washing water level is set to a low water level, the upper end of the overflow pipe 15, that is, the overflow level, is located, for example, 5 to 15 mm above the low water level indicated on the strainer plate 9. When washing is carried out by supplying water to the low water level of the strainer plate 9, swirling water flow (including reversal) occurs very violently due to the low water volume, causing a lot of water to scatter, and also causing the water level to rise on the inside of the tank. big. Therefore, the strainer plate 9
If the low water level display and the overflow level at the top of the overflow pipe 15 match perfectly, even splashed water will overflow during washing, causing serious damage to the laundry as the water volume rapidly decreases. Sometimes. In this embodiment, the washing water level and the overflowing water level are approximately the same at high and medium levels. When the knob 49 is pushed down to a low water level, the overflow level is automatically set above the actual washing water level displayed. Alternatively, a low water level display of the washing water level on the strainer plate 9 is provided in advance below the actual overflow level. Therefore, it is a safe setting for laundry.

The overflow pipe 15 contracts and exerts a repulsive force when the water level is low, but since the direction of this force is to move the overflow level upward, it is possible to reliably accommodate more than a predetermined amount of washing water. . Further, the repulsive force is not large because it is transmitted to the sliding body 42 via the short link 52 and the connecting line 25 comes into contact with the guide hole 11. Therefore, the sliding body 4
The holding force of No. 2 (due to the spring 48 and the uneven wall 38) may be small.

(f) Effects of the invention The present invention can provide an extremely useful washing machine that can reduce damage to laundry during low water level washing and can also wash small quantities.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a washing machine incorporating the device of the present invention, Fig. 2 is a side sectional view, Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the inside of the overflow chamber, Fig. 4 is an enlarged perspective view of the main parts, and Fig. 5 The figure is an exploded perspective view of the top surface of the plate, Figure 6 is a cross-sectional perspective view of the operation panel and sliding body installed, and Figure 7 is a cross-sectional view of the plate installed in the recess. Figure 8 is a cross-sectional view showing how the knob is installed, Figure 9 is a perspective view showing another embodiment, Figure 10 is a side sectional view of the conventional example, and Figure 11 is a similar view of the main parts from the rear. FIG. 12 is a cross-sectional view, and FIG. 13 is a perspective view of another conventional washing machine. 5... Control box, 11... Guide hole, 15... Overflow pipe, 25... Connecting line (connecting member), 49... Knob, 52... Link.

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] The control box is provided with a knob that moves up and down in accordance with the display of the washing water level, and a link is pivotally supported on this knob, and a connecting member is connected to the overflow pipe that moves up and down to change the overflow level. The connecting member and the link are pivotally supported within a control box, and when the knob is moved down, the amount of descent of the overflow pipe is reduced by the link than the amount of descent of the knob. Overflow water level adjustment device for washing machines.