KR101604708B1 - Washing machine with unbalance reducing device - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a body for forming an appearance for the above purpose; A tub installed inside the main body; And a drum rotatably installed in the tub, wherein the drum is provided with a viscous variable fluid to remove the eccentricity of the washing machine. The viscous variable fluid is electrically controlled to solidify a specific part, thereby reducing eccentricity of the drum. The eccentric reduction device may be installed along the circumferential direction at the front end and the rear end of the drum.

Washing machine, eccentricity, eccentricity reduction device, MR fluid, ER fluid

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention [0001] The present invention relates to a washing machine having an eccentric reduction device,

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention [0001] The present invention relates to a washing machine, and more particularly, to an eccentricity reducing device for a washing machine that uses a fluid capable of controlling viscosity to reduce eccentricity of a washing machine to prevent excessive vibration and noise generated in high- .

2. Description of the Related Art Generally, a washing machine is an apparatus for washing laundry by repeatedly performing operations such as washing and rinsing. A conventional washing machine includes a main body that forms an appearance, a storage tank that is installed inside the main body and stores water, And a rotating tank. The laundry and the washing water are put into the rotary tub together with the detergent, and the rotary tub is rotated to apply a physical impact to the laundry to wash the laundry.

However, if the level of the washing machine is not precisely leveled during the installation, severe vibrations and noises are generated when the inner rotary tub is rotated in the process of washing or dewatering, and if the vibration is excessive, And may cause malfunctions, which may have an important influence on the life of the washing machine. In particular, the vibration and noise are seriously problematic due to the eccentricity of the laundry when the washing machine rotates at high speed in the dewatering stroke.

The problem of the eccentricity of the laundry in the process of dehydration of the washing machine can be considered as follows. When the laundry is not uniformly distributed throughout the drum during the dehydration process, the drum rotates at a high speed, If the drum rotates at a high speed while the laundry is rotated by the rotation, the center of gravity of the drum and the center of rotation due to eccentricity of the laundry may not coincide with each other, causing vibration and noise. If this phenomenon is repeated, the parts including the drum, the rotating shaft, and the driving motor may fail or shorten the life span.

 In particular, a drum type washing machine has a structure in which a drum containing laundry is arranged horizontally, so that the laundry is rotated at a high speed in the state where the laundry is collected at the bottom of the drum by gravity during the dehydration run, So that the possibility of vibration and noise is very high. Therefore, the washing machine usually uses the ball balance as a balancer for maintaining the dynamic balance of the drum.

However, since the viscous oil used in the ball balancer is sensitive to external temperature, the performance may vary depending on the temperature, and in particular, it is difficult to produce a gap between the inner wall of the ball balance racer and the steel ball at an appropriate level There was a problem of.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a means for reducing vibration and noise of a washing machine by reducing eccentricity of a drum during a dewatering operation of a washing machine, So that the eccentricity of the washing machine drum can be reduced.

The present invention relates to a body for forming an appearance for the above purpose; A tub installed inside the main body; And a drum rotatably installed in the tub, wherein the drum is provided with a viscous variable fluid to remove the eccentricity of the washing machine.

The viscous variable fluid is electrically controlled to solidify a specific part, thereby reducing eccentricity of the drum.

The eccentricity reduction device may be installed along the circumference of the drum, and may be installed along the circumferential direction at the front end and the rear end of the drum.

The eccentricity reduction device may further include: a circular guide member having an inner hollow and an annular pipe shape having both ends connected to each other; And a viscous variable fluid provided inside the circular guide member, and a viscous variable fluid and air are mixed and sealed in the circular guide member.

In addition, the eccentric reduction device provides the washing machine installed along the axial direction of the drum around the drum.

Wherein the eccentricity reduction device comprises: a pipe-shaped linear guide member having a hollow inside and sealed at both ends; And a viscous variable fluid provided inside the linear guide member, and the viscous variable fluid and air are mixed in the inside of the linear guide member and sealed.

Further, the viscous variable fluid mounted on the drum of the washing machine according to the present invention is a MR fluid or an ER fluid.

According to the present invention, an eccentric reduction device for reducing the eccentricity of the washing machine drum is used for controlling the viscosity, so that an advantageous effect of more effectively removing the eccentricity generated at the time of high-speed rotation of the drum can be obtained.

Hereinafter, the configuration and operation according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the following description, well-known functions or constructions are not described in detail for the sake of clarity and conciseness.

1 and 2, a drum washing machine 100 driven according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a main body 5 forming an outer appearance; A tub 3 installed in the main body 5 to store washing water; A drum (9) rotatably installed in the tub (3) and into which laundry is introduced; Washing motors (7, 8) for rotating the drum (9); A rotary shaft 17 for transmitting the rotational force of the washing motor 7 or 8 to the drum 9; A bearing 11 for supporting the rotary shaft 17; A detergent supply device (30) for supplying water mixed with detergent to the tub (3); A water supply device (20) composed of a plurality of valves for supplying or blocking water to the detergent supply device (30); A drain pump 40 for pumping water stored in the tub 3 to the outside; And a control panel (70) for receiving an operation command of the user and controlling the operation of the entire washing machine. A door 1 is installed at the front of the main body 5 and a gasket 2 is installed between the door 1 and the tub 3.

A latching spring 4 for supporting the tub 3 is provided between the inside of the upper surface of the main body 5 and the upper side of the outer circumferential surface of the tub 3 and the inside of the lower surface of the main body 5, And a friction damper 10 for damping the vibration of the tub 3 is provided between the lower side. The drum 9 is provided with a plurality of lifters 9a for lifting and lowering laundry.

The eccentric abatement device is mounted on the drum 9 of the washing machine according to an embodiment of the present invention, which can reduce the eccentricity of laundry when the laundry is rotated in a high-speed spinning cycle. The eccentricity reduction device 200 is a first eccentricity reduction device 200 installed along the axial direction of the drum around the drum 9. The first eccentric reduction device 200 is a pipe-shaped linear guide member whose inside is hollow and both ends are sealed. Referring to FIG. 3, the first eccentric reduction device 200 includes a viscous variable fluid 210 and an air 220 mixed therein. The viscous variable fluid is a fluid whose viscosity varies according to external conditions, Is an MR fluid or an ER fluid.

MR fluid (Magnetorheological Fluid) is a fluid with the effect of increasing the resistance of the fluid flow when the magnetic field load changes. In other words, MR fluid is a fluid in which paramagnetic particles are dispersed in a solvent of a low permeability. When a magnetic field is unloaded, the particles move freely, but when a magnetic field is loaded, particles are charged to form a chain structure The viscosity is increased and the solidification behavior is shown.

ER fluid (Electrorheological Fluid) is a suspension in which fine particles having high polarity are dispersed in an insulative fluid, and refers to a fluid whose rheological characteristics change when a strong electric field is applied from the outside. In other words, the ER fluid forms a chain-like structure by aligning the particles in the direction of the electric field by an electric field externally applied, and the viscosity of the fluid changes greatly according to the magnitude of the electric field.

That is, the MR fluid or the ER fluid is a fluid having a viscosity close to that of the fluid due to the change of the viscosity of the fluid when it is applied with magnetism or electricity. By adding such a device for applying magnetism or electricity to the fluid to change the viscosity, It is possible to eliminate the eccentricity.

In FIG. 3, the first eccentric reduction device 200 is formed by air-mixing a MR fluid or an ER fluid (hereinafter referred to as a "viscous variable fluid") and sealing it in an inner hollow pipe. The ratio of the viscous variable fluid 210 accommodated in the first eccentric reduction device to the air 220 may be appropriately changed according to circumstances such as capacity and shape of the washing machine. 3 (A) shows a first eccentric abatement device in an initial state in which no magnetic force or electric power is externally applied at all, and the viscous variable fluid 210 has a uniform distribution. In FIG. 3 (B), a magnetic or electric force acts on the right arrow. At this point, the fluid starts to solidify as the viscosity of the fluid increases. As the fluid solidifies in the arrow, . Referring to FIG. 3C, when viscous fluid of the viscous variable fluid is increased by application of a magnetic force or an electric force and solidification is completed, most of the viscous variable fluid 210 is concentrated to the right, It is distributed.

2 shows a configuration in which a plurality of the first eccentric reduction devices 200 are attached along the axial direction of the drum on the outer circumferential surface of the drum. The first eccentric reduction device 200 may be attached to the inner circumferential surface of the drum or may be attached to the outer circumferential surface of the drum. When the laundry is eccentrically located at the front of the drum, the first eccentric reducer 200 applies magnetic or electric force from the rear of the drum to the first eccentric reducer 200, The viscous variable fluid 210 of the drum 210 is concentrated and distributed on the rear side of the drum, so that the eccentricity of the drum can be eliminated. If the laundry is located on the rear side of the drum when dewatering, the first eccentric reducing device 200 applies a magnetic force or an electric force from the front side of the drum to move the viscous variable fluid 210 of the first eccentric reducing member 200 toward the front side of the drum By concentrating and distributing it, the eccentricity of the drum can be solved. That is, there is provided a sensor (not shown) for detecting the position of the laundry placed in the drum during the dehydration process, and the micom of the washing machine receives a signal from the sensor as an input signal to determine the position of the laundry, So that the eccentricity of the drum in the forward and backward directions can be eliminated. Further, by detecting the degree of eccentricity and adjusting the magnitude of the magnetic force or the electric force in proportion to the amount of eccentricity, the viscous variable fluid may be solidified as necessary for eccentricity resolution.

4 and 5, there is shown a second eccentric reduction device 300 capable of eliminating eccentricity along the circumferential direction of the washing machine drum. The second eccentric reducer 300 operates on a principle similar to that of the first eccentric reducer 200 described above. However, the second eccentric reducer 300 has a round pipe shape and both ends are sealed and sealed together. A viscous variable fluid and air are mixed. The second eccentric reduction device is disposed so as to surround the outer periphery of the drum along the circumferential direction of the drum, and is disposed on the circumferential surface of the front or rear side of the drum or simultaneously disposed on the front and back sides of the drum.

Hereinafter, the operation principle of the second eccentric reduction device 300 will be described. When the washing machine is in the dewatering process, the laundry is positioned at a specific position in the circumferential direction of the drum. For example, in the beginning of dehydration, the laundry will be mostly located on the underside of the drum due to gravity. At this time, when a magnetic force or an electric force is applied to the second eccentric reduction device 300 in a direction opposite to the position of the laundry, the circumferential eccentricity of the drum can be eliminated.

Referring to FIG. 6, there is shown a washing machine including both the first eccentric reducer 200 and the second eccentric reducer 300, which can solve both the eccentricity in the front-back direction and the circumferential direction in the drum do.

As described above, the washing machine according to the present invention can more effectively remove the eccentricity generated during the high-speed rotation of the drum in the dewatering process by using the eccentric abrasion device having a fluid capable of controlling viscosity, Vibration and noise can be prevented.

1 is a perspective view of a washing machine according to an embodiment of the present invention,

2 is a longitudinal sectional view of the washing machine of FIG. 1,

3 is a cross-sectional view of a first eccentric reduction device according to an embodiment of the present invention,

4 is a longitudinal sectional view of a washing machine according to another embodiment of the present invention,

5 is a perspective view of a second eccentric reduction device according to another embodiment of the present invention,

6 is a longitudinal sectional view of a washing machine according to another embodiment of the present invention.

Claims (9)

A drum rotatably installed in the main body; And And at least one eccentric reducing device coupled to the drum to correct an eccentric amount of the drum and to extend in a direction parallel to the rotation axis of the drum, Wherein the eccentric reduction device comprises: A guide member having a closed space therein; And When an electric signal or a magnetic signal is applied to a position for supplementing a load concentrated on one side of the drum, the electric signal or the magnetic signal flows toward the position where the electric signal or the magnetic signal is applied in the closed space, Wherein the viscous variable fluid comprises a viscous fluid. The method according to claim 1, Wherein the eccentric reduction device is disposed along a circumferential direction around the drum. The method according to claim 1, Wherein the eccentric reduction device is disposed along the circumferential direction at a front end and a rear end of the drum. 4. The method according to claim 2 or 3, Wherein the guide member is hollow and has an annular pipe shape having both ends connected to each other. 5. The method of claim 4, Wherein the viscous variable fluid and air are mixed and sealed inside the guide member. The method according to claim 1, Wherein the eccentric reduction device is disposed along the axial direction of the drum around the drum. The method according to claim 6, Wherein the guide member is in the form of a straight pipe having hollow inside and both ends sealed. 8. The method of claim 7, Wherein the viscous variable fluid and air are mixed and sealed inside the guide member. The method according to claim 1, Wherein the viscous variable fluid is an MR fluid or an ER fluid.

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