KR101150090B1 - Heater combining structure of washing machine, and combining method of the same - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a washing machine, and more particularly, to a heater coupling structure and a coupling method of the washing machine that can increase the coupling reliability of the reservoir and the heater coupled thereto.

Heater coupling structure of the washing machine according to the invention the heater; Reservoir; Sealing member; And a snap fit formed to a predetermined length corresponding to the degree of compression of the sealing member.

According to the heater coupling structure and the coupling method of the washing machine according to the present invention, there is an advantage that can prevent the crack is generated in the heater coupling portion of the reservoir.

Heaters, Snap Fits, Sealing Elements, Compression

Description

Heater combining structure of washing machine, and combining method of the same}

1 is a plan view showing the bottom of the reservoir is equipped with a heater according to the spirit of the present invention.

Figure 2 is a rear perspective view of the reservoir equipped with the heater shown in FIG.

Figure 3 is a vertical cross-sectional view showing a heater coupling structure of the washing machine according to the present invention.

4 to 6 are views showing a heater coupling method of the washing machine according to the present invention.

<Explanation of symbols for the main parts of the drawings>

190: reservoir 191: heater insertion hole

192: insertion hole forming portion 200: heater

202: sealing case 206: pressing plate

300: sealing member 304: snap fit insertion hole

310: snap fit

The present invention relates to a washing machine, and more particularly, to a heater coupling structure and a coupling method of the washing machine that can increase the coupling reliability of the reservoir and the heater coupled thereto.

In general, a washing machine is provided with a reservoir in an inner space of a cabinet. The reservoir is supported by a damper connected to the upper part of the cabinet, and wash water is stored therein. In addition, the washing tank is rotatably installed in the reservoir. In detail, a plurality of through-holes are formed on the bottom and side of the washing tank, so that the wash water stored in the storage tank freely flows between the washing tank and the storage tank to remove dirt from the laundry.

On the other hand, the bottom surface of the reservoir is installed a heater for heating the wash water to make hot water. Therefore, even if cold water is introduced into the reservoir in winter, when the heater is operated, it is heated to an appropriate temperature for washing, so that it is not necessary to connect the tap with the hot water discharged separately.

The conventional technical contents of the reservoir equipped with the heater functioning as described above are described in detail in Korean Patent Application Publication No. 10-2003-0055973 filed by the present applicant.

Generally, however, the reservoir is a plastic injection which is of low strength compared to the heater and the bolt. Therefore, as the stress generated as described above is continuously applied to the inside of the reservoir, a crack is generated in the reservoir portion to which the heater is coupled. Then, there is a disadvantage that the product reliability of the washing machine is greatly reduced, such as the leakage of wash water through the crack.

An object of the present invention is to provide a heater coupling structure of a washing machine and a coupling method thereof, by improving a coupling structure for coupling a heater to a reservoir, and preventing the occurrence of cracks in the reservoir.

The heater coupling structure of the washing machine according to the present invention includes a heater capable of heating wash water; A water tank having a heater insertion hole into which the heater is inserted, and an insertion hole forming part forming the heater insertion hole; A sealing member compressed by a predetermined pressure to seal between the heater and the reservoir; And a snap fit formed to a predetermined length corresponding to the degree of compression of the sealing member.

The heater coupling method of the washing machine according to the present invention comprises a water tank having a heater, a heater insertion hole into which the heater is inserted, and an insertion hole forming unit forming the heater insertion hole, and compressed by a predetermined pressure, so that the heater and the water storage tank are compressed. Providing a sealing member for sealing the gap between the sealing member and a snap fit formed to a predetermined length corresponding to the degree of compression of the sealing member; Inserting the heater into the heater insertion hole; Facing the sealing member with the insertion hole forming portion; Compressing the sealing member by applying a predetermined external force; And one end of the snap fit reaching a predetermined portion of at least one of the reservoir and the heater to stop compression of the sealing member.

According to the heater coupling structure and the coupling method of the washing machine according to the present invention, the compression degree of the sealing member can be controlled by the snap fit. Therefore, it is possible to control so that a load of an appropriate degree is applied to the reservoir, and it is possible to prevent the occurrence of a large stress corresponding to the excessive load applied to the reservoir. Therefore, cracks that may occur in the reservoir by the sealing member can be prevented.

In addition, according to the heater coupling structure and the coupling method thereof, the sealing member is in contact with the insertion hole forming portion of the reservoir in three surfaces, it is possible to reliably seal between the heater and the reservoir.

Further, according to the heater coupling structure and the coupling method thereof, the contact area between the sealing member and the reservoir is increased by the three-sided contact as described above, and the load applied from the sealing member to the reservoir is distributed to the increased contact area as described above. Accordingly, the load per unit area, i.e. the pressure, applied to the reservoir is reduced. Therefore, the stress generated in the reservoir in response to the pressure is reduced. Therefore, while reducing the stress generated in the reservoir to a small value, it is possible to reliably seal between the heater and the reservoir, so that cracks that may occur in the reservoir by the sealing member can be prevented.

Hereinafter, specific embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. However, the spirit of the present invention is not limited to the embodiments presented, and other embodiments included within the scope of other inventive inventions or the scope of the present invention can be easily made by adding, changing, or deleting other elements. I can suggest

1 is a plan view showing a bottom of a reservoir equipped with a heater according to the spirit of the present invention, Figure 2 is a rear perspective view of the reservoir equipped with a heater shown in FIG.

1 and 2 together, the reservoir 190 of the washing machine according to the present invention has a cylindrical shape having a predetermined diameter and height.

In detail, the reservoir 190 is formed with a damper insertion groove 110 for coupling one end of the damper to the side. In addition, a through hole for penetrating the washing shaft 150 is formed in the center portion. And, one side of the bottom surface of the reservoir 190 includes a heater seating recess 120 recessed in a predetermined depth and shape in order to allow the heater 200 to be seated.

In addition, the bottom surface of the heater seating groove 120, the drain port 140 for draining the wash water, and at least one heater cover fastening boss 130 protruding to a predetermined height on the edge of the heater seating groove 120. Included.

In addition, a thermostat 122 for detecting whether the heater 200 is overheated is mounted at one side of the heater seating groove 120, and the heater is fixed at an upper side of the thermostat 122. The clamp 121 is mounted.

In addition, a heater insertion hole 191 for inserting the heater 200 is formed in the bottom surface of the reservoir 190. In detail, the heater insertion hole 191 is formed to be embedded in a predetermined depth at the bottom of the reservoir 190 to prevent penetration of moisture or wash water into the terminal portion of the heater 200. .

In addition, the heater 200 accommodated in the heater seating groove 120 is formed having a predetermined diameter and length, the heater pipe 201 is bent a plurality of times at a predetermined position and are formed at both ends of the heater pipe. , And a power connection part 203 electrically connected to the heater pipe 201 to apply power.

In addition, the heater 200 is a sealing member 300 is inserted through the power connection 203. And, before the sealing member 300 is inserted, the pressing plate 206 for pressing the sealing member 300 is inserted first. In addition, the rear side of the sealing member 300 is recessed to a predetermined depth so that the sealing member 300 is seated, and a sealing case 202 is inserted to prevent the wash water from leaking from the heater insertion hole 191. . Here, the sealing case 202 is strongly adhered to the outer wall of the reservoir 190 by a fastening member which will be described later.

Meanwhile, the pressing plate 206 and the sealing case 202 are tightly tightened by the assembly bolt 205 and the assembly nut 204 passing through the central portion of the pressing plate 206. In detail, as the assembly nut 204 threaded to the outer circumferential surface of the assembly bolt 205 is tightened, the sealing member 300 receives a strong compressive force between the pressing plate 206 and the sealing case 202. do. Here, the sealing member 300 is a material having a predetermined elastic force and flexibility is used, preferably a rubber material may be used.

In more detail, the sealing member 300 is the same shape or slightly smaller than the heater insertion hole 191, it is easily inserted into the heater insertion hole 191. However, the thickness of the sealing member 300 is formed thicker than the thickness of the reservoir (190).

Here, when the sealing member 300 is subjected to the compressive force by the assembly bolt 205 and the assembly nut 204, the upper portion of the sealing member 300 is extended to the inner peripheral surface of the reservoir 190 as shown. . Then, the area of the sealing member 300 is wider than the area of the heater insertion hole 191. Therefore, the sealing member 300 is spread sideways by the compressive force, thereby completely sealing the heater insertion hole 191, the washing water leakage to the heater insertion hole 191 is eliminated.

Meanwhile, as described above, the heater pipe 201 of the heater 200 is a conductor having a predetermined diameter and length, and is bent and formed a plurality of times. Here, the length and the number of bending of the heater pipe 201 may be bent a suitable number of times according to the length of the heater pipe 201 required.

On the other hand, according to the present invention, the degree of compression of the sealing member 300 can be controlled by a snap fit (310 in Figure 3), while reducing the stress in the reservoir 190, the heater 200 and the Seal between the reservoir (190). Then, a crack that may be generated due to the coupling of the heater 200 in the reservoir 190 may be prevented. This will be described later.

3 is a vertical cross-sectional view showing a heater coupling structure of the washing machine according to the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 3, the heater 200 coupling structure of the washing machine reservoir 100 according to the present invention includes a heater 200 capable of heating wash water inside the reservoir 100, and the heater 200 is inserted therein. It is provided with a reservoir (190). The heater 200 coupling structure includes a sealing member 300 that seals the heater 200 and the reservoir 190. In addition, the coupling structure of the heater 200 is formed to a length corresponding to the degree of compression of the sealing member 300, the snap fit (snap fit) to control the degree of compression of the sealing member 300 ( 310).

The heater 200 includes a sealing case 202 formed at an end portion of a heater pipe that directly contacts the washing water and heats the washing water, and a pressing plate 206 spaced apart from the sealing case 202 at a predetermined interval. . In order to simplify the manufacturing process, the heater 200 may form an assembly with the sealing member 300. The heater 200 is coupled to the sealing case 202, the pressing plate 206, the heater pipe, and the sealing member 300 by separate assembly nuts 204 and assembly bolts 205. Can be a single article.

The reservoir 190 is provided with a heater insertion hole 191 into which the heater 200 is inserted, and an insertion hole forming unit 192 forming the heater insertion hole 191.

The sealing member 300 is a portion having a predetermined deformation part 310 to seal between the heater 200 and the reservoir 190. In the present invention, the sealing member 300 is deformed by being pressed by the coupling force of the assembly nut 204 and the assembly bolt 205. The degree of compression of the sealing member 300 as described above may be controlled according to the length of the snap fit 310. In order to reliably seal between the heater 200 and the reservoir 190, in detail, the insertion hole forming unit 192, the sealing member 300 modified as described above may include the insertion hole forming unit 192. Is preferably in contact with the three surfaces (301, 302, 303).

In addition, the sealing member 300 is formed with a snap fit insertion hole 304 which is a space in which the snap fit 310 can be inserted. In this embodiment, the snap fit 310 reaches the sealing case 202, thereby controlling the degree of compression of the sealing member 300. Therefore, the snap fit insertion hole 304 may have a shape penetrating the sealing member 300 so that the above control can be made reliably.

The snap fit 310 is a portion formed to have a predetermined length corresponding to the degree of compression of the sealing member 300. The snap fit 310 controls the degree of compression of the sealing member 300 while the sealing member 300 is compressed to seal between the heater 200 and the reservoir 190. This will be described later with reference to FIGS. 4 to 6.

In this embodiment, the snap fit 310 is coupled to the press plate 206 of the heater 200. In this structure, when the assembly bolt 205 and the assembly nut 204 are tightened, the snap fit 310 also seals the seal in proportion to the pressing plate 206 approaching the sealing case 202. The case 202 is approached. Thereafter, when the sealing member 300 is sufficiently compressed as required, the snap fit 310 having its length previously formed according to the degree of compression reaches the sealing case 202, and thus the sealing member 300 Perform a stopper function for the compression of the.

Here, the snap fit 310 is presented in a structure coupled to the pressing plate 206 of the heater 200, which is exemplary, and the snap fit 310 is composed of a separate article, or a component of another article It can be presented as.

In addition, the snap fit 310 reaches the sealing case 202, thereby controlling the degree of compression of the seal ring member 300. Accordingly, the snap fit 310 may be formed in plural numbers so that the snap fit 310 may reach the sealing case 202 stably. For the same reason, the snap fit 310 is preferably disposed symmetrically with respect to the center of the sealing member 300.

4 to 6 are views showing a heater coupling method of the washing machine according to the present invention. 4 to 6, a heater coupling method according to the present invention will be described.

First, as shown in FIG. 4, the heater 200, the reservoir 190, the sealing member 300 for sealing the heater 200 and the reservoir 190, and the sealing member 300 A snap fit 310 is provided to be inserted therein. The reservoir 190 has a heater insertion hole 191 into which the heater 200 is inserted and an insertion hole forming portion 192 forming the heater insertion hole 191. In addition, a snap fit insertion hole 304 into which the snap fit 310 may be inserted is formed in the sealing member 300.

Then, the heater 200 is inserted into the heater insertion hole 191 to face the sealing member 300 and the insertion hole forming part 192. At this time, in order to increase the sealing effect between the heater 200 and the reservoir 190 by the sealing member 300, the sealing member 300 is in surface contact with the insertion hole forming portion 192. It is preferable.

Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 5, a predetermined external force is applied to compress the sealing member 300. The pressure applied by tightening the assembly bolt 205 and the assembly nut 204 is transmitted to the sealing member 300 through the pressing plate 206, thereby compressing the sealing member 300. Can be. At this time, the snap fit 310 installed in the pressing plate 206 approaches the sealing case 202 through the snap fit insertion hole 304.

Then, as shown in FIG. 6, one end of the snap fit 310 reaches a predetermined portion of at least one of the reservoir 190 and the heater 200, thereby compressing the sealing member 300. Stop it. In this embodiment, the snap fit 310 reaches the sealing case 202, thereby stopping the compression of the sealing member 300. Here, the sealing member 300 is in contact with the insertion hole forming portion 192 on the three surfaces (301, 302, 303) by compression.

As described above, when the sealing member 300 is in contact with the insertion hole forming portion 192 on the three surfaces 301, 302, 303, the heater 200 and the reservoir 190 are reliably sealed. At the same time, the contact area between the sealing member 300 and the reservoir 190 is increased so that the load applied from the sealing member 300 to the reservoir 190 is distributed to the increased contact area as described above. Accordingly, the load per unit area applied to the reservoir 190, that is, the pressure is reduced. Therefore, the stress generated in the reservoir 190 in response to the pressure is reduced.

As described above, according to the present invention, while reducing the stress generated in the reservoir 190, in particular the insertion hole forming portion 192 to a small value, the reliability between the heater 200 and the reservoir 190 Can be sealed. Therefore, cracks that may occur in the reservoir 190 may be prevented by the sealing member 300.

In addition, according to the present invention, the degree of compression of the sealing member 300 may be controlled by the snap fit 310. Therefore, it is possible to prevent excessive load from being applied to the reservoir 190 due to excessive compression of the sealing member 300, and to control the load of the appropriate amount to the reservoir 190. Then, a large stress corresponding to an excessive load applied to the reservoir 190 may be prevented from occurring, and cracks that may occur in the reservoir 190 may be prevented by the sealing member 300. .

According to the heater coupling structure and the coupling method of the washing machine according to the present invention having the configuration as described above, the degree of compression of the sealing member can be controlled by the snap fit. Therefore, it is possible to control so that a load of an appropriate degree is applied to the reservoir, and it is possible to prevent the occurrence of a large stress corresponding to the excessive load applied to the reservoir. Therefore, there is an effect that cracks that may occur in the reservoir by the sealing member can be prevented.

In addition, according to the heater coupling structure and the coupling method, the sealing member is in contact with the insertion hole forming portion of the reservoir on three sides, there is an effect that can be reliably sealed between the heater and the reservoir.

Further, according to the heater coupling structure and the coupling method thereof, the contact area between the sealing member and the reservoir is increased by the three-sided contact as described above, and the load applied from the sealing member to the reservoir is distributed to the increased contact area as described above. Accordingly, the load per unit area, i.e. the pressure, applied to the reservoir is reduced. Therefore, the stress generated in the reservoir in response to the pressure is reduced. Therefore, while reducing the stress generated in the reservoir to a small value, it is possible to reliably seal between the heater and the reservoir, there is an effect that the crack that can be generated in the reservoir by the sealing member can be prevented.

Claims (9)

A heater capable of heating wash water; A water tank having a heater insertion hole into which the heater is inserted, and an insertion hole forming part forming the heater insertion hole; A sealing member compressed by a predetermined pressure to seal between the heater and the reservoir; And Heater coupling structure of a washing machine comprising a; snap fit (snap fit) formed to a predetermined length corresponding to the degree of compression of the sealing member. The method of claim 1, The snap fit is a heater coupling structure of the washing machine, characterized in that inserted into the sealing member. The method of claim 1, The sealing member is a heater coupling structure of the washing machine, characterized in that the insertion hole for inserting the snap fit is formed. The method of claim 1, Heater coupling structure of the washing machine, characterized in that the snap fit is made of a plurality. The method of claim 4, wherein The snap fit is a heater coupling structure of the washing machine, characterized in that disposed symmetrically with respect to the center of the sealing member. The method of claim 1, The sealing member is compressed, the heater coupling structure of the washing machine, characterized in that contact with the insertion hole forming portion in three surfaces. The method of claim 1, The snap fit heater coupling structure of the washing machine, characterized in that coupled to one side of the heater. With heater, A reservoir having a heater insertion hole into which the heater is inserted, and an insertion hole forming part forming the heater insertion hole; A sealing member compressed by a predetermined pressure to seal between the heater and the reservoir, Providing a snap fit formed to a predetermined length corresponding to a degree of compression of the sealing member; Inserting the heater into the heater insertion hole; Facing the sealing member with the insertion hole forming portion; Compressing the sealing member by applying a predetermined external force; And And one end of the snap fit reaching a predetermined portion of at least one of the water reservoir and the heater to stop the compression of the sealing member. The method of claim 8, The facing of the sealing member and the insertion hole forming part may include contacting the sealing member and the insertion hole forming part with a heater.

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