JPS633635B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a washing machine in which a gear mechanism for transmitting rotation of a washing shaft to a pulsator is disposed at the inner bottom of a washing tub for both washing and dehydration.

Conventionally, for example, a pulsator has been placed eccentrically at the inner bottom of a rotating tank in order to improve the washing effect.
A dehydrating/washing machine has been proposed in which the pulsator is rotationally driven by a washing shaft via a gear mechanism. However, in such a configuration, the gear mechanism is submerged in the washing water, making it impossible to lubricate the gear mechanism with oil, and furthermore, foreign matter such as sand and mud contained in the washing water may get caught in the gear mechanism. However, this type of washing machine has not yet been put into practical use because of the problem that the washing machine tends to lock up and cause abnormal wear of the gears.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to achieve oil lubrication of a gear mechanism and prevention of foreign matter from entering the gear mechanism.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a washing machine that can solve problems in practical use.

An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. 1 to 4.

First, in Figure 1, which shows an outline of the overall configuration,
Reference numeral 1 denotes, for example, an outer box of a washing machine that also serves as a dehydrator and has a water receiving tank 2 installed therein. Reference numeral 3 denotes a rotating tank that serves as both a washing tank and a dehydration tank, which is installed in the water receiving tank 2, and has a tapered shape that widens slightly as it goes upward.
It has a non-porous shape with a drainage gap 5 formed between it and a balance ring 4 attached to the upper opening, so that washing water can be directly stored inside. Next, in FIG. 2 showing the support structure etc. of the rotating tank 3, 6
Reference numeral denotes a housing of a drive device (not shown) disposed below the water receiving tank 2, which is supported within the outer box 1 via a hanging rod of an elastic suspension mechanism (not shown). 7
is a casing attached to the upper end of the housing 6,
Reference numeral 8 denotes a hollow dewatering shaft rotatably inserted and supported within the housing 6, and a cylindrical shaft 9 for connection is press-fitted into the upper end of the dehydrating shaft 8 so as to project from the casing 7. Both 10 and 11 are sealing members that keep the space between the casing 7 and the cylinder shaft 9 watertight. Reference numeral 12 denotes a washing shaft, which is rotatably inserted and supported within the dewatering shaft 8, and whose upper end portion passes through the cylindrical shaft 9 and projects upward. Although not shown, the washing shaft 12 and the dewatering shaft 8 are connected to a motor via a clutch mechanism, and the rotational force of the motor is selectively transmitted by the action of the clutch mechanism. On the other hand, reference numeral 13 denotes a circular recess formed at the bottom of the rotary tank 3 by a required amount of eccentricity from the center. Large diameter opening 1
4 is formed. Reference numeral 15 denotes a reinforcing bottom plate fixed to the outer bottom of the rotary tank 3, which is inserted into a fitting hole 16 formed approximately in the center so that the upper end of the cylindrical shaft 9 is inserted into the cylindrical shaft 9.
The rotary tank 3 is thereby directly connected to the dewatering shaft 8.

Now, 17 is a sealed case arranged in the recess 13, and this is made up of a lid side case 18 and a bottom side case 19. At approximately the center of both the lid side and bottom side cases 18 and 19, there is a receiving cylinder part 20, respectively. and a receiving recess 21 are formed, and a through hole 22 is formed in the bottom case 19 at a predetermined distance from the receiving recess 21, and a fitting cylinder portion 23 is directed downward so as to surround this through hole 22. It is installed protrudingly. The bottom case 19 of the sealed case 18 has a fitting cylinder portion 23 fitted to the upper end of the cylinder shaft 9 via a packing 24. Note that this gasket 24 is formed to integrally seal not only between the fitting cylinder part 23 and the cylinder shaft 9, but also between the washing shaft 12 and the cylinder shaft 9 (see Fig. 3). . Reference numeral 25 denotes a drive gear, which is screwed to the upper end of the washing shaft 12 that passes through the through hole 22 of the bottom case 19 and projects upward. 26 directly meshes with the drive gear 25 and together with the gear mechanism 27.
This internal gear is formed by integrally connecting the boss portion 26a and tooth portion 26b with an end plate portion 26c serving as a connecting portion, and the pivot 28 is connected to the boss portion 26.
It is integrally attached to a by insert molding. The internal gear 26 has an upper end and a lower end of the pivot 28 on both the cases 18 and 18, respectively, on the lid side and the bottom side.
It is rotatably supported by the receiving cylinder part 20 and the receiving recessed part 21 of No. 19 via bearings 29 and 30. Numeral 31 is lubricating oil sealed in the sealed case 17, 32 is a gasket that seals between the cases 18 and 19 on the lid side and the bottom side, and 33 is a screw that fixes the sealed case 17. 34 is a pivot 28 on the upper surface of the lid side case 18.
A sealing member 35 provided to seal between the airtight case 17 and the airtight case 17 is a pulsator screwed to the pivot shaft 28 projecting upward from the sealed case 17. 36 is a plurality of reinforcing ribs formed on the internal gear 26;
This is formed radially from the boss part 26a to the end plate part 26c, and the lower end part is immersed in the lubricating oil 31 sealed in the sealed case 17, so that the internal gear 26
It also serves as a stirring protrusion that stirs the lubricating oil as it rotates.

Next, the operation of the above configuration will be explained. When the laundry is put into the rotating tub 3 along with the detergent and the timer is set, a water supply valve (not shown) opens and water is supplied into the rotating tub 3. When a predetermined water level is reached, a water level switch (not shown) is activated. Based on this, the water supply valve is closed and the motor is started. The rotation of the motor rotates the washing shaft 12 and the driving gear 25, and together with the internal gear 26, the pulsator 35 is driven to rotate, thereby performing detergent washing. When the internal gear 26 rotates in this manner, the lower end of the rib 36 rotating together with the internal gear 26 agitates the lubricating oil 31 in the sealed case 17 and shakes it outward. As a result, the lubricating oil 31 rises at the peripheral edge inside the sealed case 17, and the teeth of the internal gear 26 and the driving gear 25 become submerged in the lubricating oil 31 (see FIG. 4). The drive gear 25 is also supplied with oil by splashing, and both gears 25 and 26
Oil is evenly attached to the tooth surfaces of both gears 25,
The meshing parts of 26 are now lubricated. When the above-mentioned detergent washing process is completed after a predetermined period of time has elapsed, the process moves on to the draining/dehydration process, and the clutch mechanism switches to rotate the dehydration shaft 8, which causes the rotating tank 3 to rotate.
is rotated at high speed to drain the water inside into the water receiving tank 2 through the drainage gap 5, and dewater the laundry. Thereafter, the rinsing process in which water is stored in the rotary tank 3 again and the pulsator 35 is driven, and the draining/dewatering process are repeated in order to complete the entire process.

In this embodiment, the gear mechanism 27 is liquid-tightly covered by the sealed case 17, and the lubricating oil 31 is sealed in the sealed case 17, and the lubricating oil 31 is applied to the ribs 36.
Since the washing water in the rotary tank 3 enters the gear mechanism 27, foreign substances such as sand and mud contained in the washing water may cause the gear mechanism 27 to lock or cause abnormal wear. It is possible to prevent this from occurring, and at the same time, it is possible to lubricate the gear mechanism 27 with oil, so that it is possible to improve the efficiency of power transmission and reduce noise. Moreover, in this embodiment, the lubricating oil 31 sealed in the sealed case 17 is shaken off by the ribs 36 that rotate together with the internal gear 26 and concentrated on the outer circumferential side, thereby ensuring that it adheres to the tooth surfaces of the driving gear 25 and the internal gear 26. Therefore, the lubricating oil sealed in the sealed case 17 does not completely immerse both gears 25 and 26, but instead penetrates the rib 3.
Even if the amount is enough to soak only the lower end of the gears 25 and 26, it can be applied evenly to the entire tooth surfaces of both gears 25 and 26, thereby ensuring reliable lubrication. Furthermore, especially if the ribs 36 are used as stirring protrusions as in this embodiment, it is advantageous that the ribs 36 can simultaneously reinforce the internal gear 26 and supply the lubricating oil 31.

FIG. 5 shows a different embodiment of the invention,
The difference from the above embodiment is that a recess 37 for an oil reservoir is formed approximately in the center of the bottom case 19 of the sealed case 17.
Further, the lower end of the rib 36 of the internal gear 26 is extended downward to form a stirring protrusion 38 located within the recess 37. With this configuration, when the internal gear 26 rotates, the lubricating oil 31 in the recess 37 is scraped out and scattered by the stirring protrusion 38 that rotates together with the internal gear 26. Reliable lubrication can be achieved with the lubricating oil 31, and since the recess 37 serves as a guide when injecting the lubricating oil 31 into the sealed case 17, the lubricating oil 31 can be injected in just the right amount.

In each of the above embodiments, the stirring protrusion was formed by integral molding with the internal gear 26, but it is also possible to attach a separate part to the rotating part such as the internal gear 26 or the pivot 28. Of course.

As described above, the present invention can prevent foreign matter from entering the gear mechanism and cause locking or abnormal wear of the gear mechanism, and at the same time, can ensure reliable lubrication of the gear mechanism with a small amount of lubricating oil. Thus, it is possible to provide a washing machine that can achieve high power transmission efficiency and low noise.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

1 to 4 show an embodiment of the present invention,
Figure 1 is a partially cutaway side view of the whole, Figure 2 is an enlarged longitudinal sectional view of the main parts, Figure 3 is a longitudinal sectional view of a further enlarged part of the sealed case, and Figure 4 is a longitudinal sectional view of the sealed case. FIG. 5 is a longitudinal sectional view showing another embodiment of the present invention. In the figure, 3 is a rotating tank (washing tank), 12 is a washing shaft,
17 is a sealed case, 25 is a drive gear, 26 is an internal gear, 26a is a boss portion, 26b is a tooth portion, 26c is an end plate portion (connection portion), 27 is a gear mechanism, 31 is a lubricating oil,
35 is a pulsator, 36 is a rib (stirring projection), 3
7 is a recess, and 38 is a stirring protrusion.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. A gear mechanism for transmitting the rotation of a washing shaft to a pulsator is disposed at the inner bottom of a washing tank for both washing and dehydration, wherein the washing tank is provided with an airtight case for storing the gear mechanism. A washing machine, characterized in that a lubricating oil is sealed in the sealed case and a stirring protrusion immersed in the lubricating oil is provided on a rotating portion of the gear mechanism. 2. The stirring protrusion according to claim 1, characterized in that the stirring protrusion is constituted by a radial rib formed from the boss part of the gear of the gear mechanism to the connecting part connecting this and the tooth part. washing machine. 3. The washing machine according to claim 1 or 2, wherein a recess for an oil reservoir is formed in the lower surface of the sealed case, and a stirring protrusion is located within the recess.