KR101654916B1

KR101654916B1 - Device of door hinge for washing machine

Info

Publication number: KR101654916B1
Application number: KR1020160031033A
Authority: KR
Inventors: 변용근
Original assignee: 주식회사 이피텍
Priority date: 2016-03-15
Filing date: 2016-03-15
Publication date: 2016-09-06

Abstract

The present invention relates to a hinge device for a door of a washing machine, capable of stabilizing opening and closing movements of a door of a washing machine and opening and closing speeds. The hinge device for a door of a washing machine includes: a housing (10) fixed to one among a washing machine main body or the door and having multiple guide protrusions (11) on an inlet, wherein an injection hole (12) in which oil is injected is formed on the rear side of the housing (10); a spring (20) inserted into the housing (10); an oil damper (30) elastically supported by the spring (20) and having a first oil flow path (30a) passing through the inside and a second oil flow path (30b) formed on the outer side; a lower cam (40) attached to a front end of the oil damper (30) and having a guide groove (41) guided by the guide protrusion (11) on the side, wherein the lower cam (40) also has a first cam (45) having a slope on the upper part; an upper cam (50) having a second cam (55) in the lower part and an insertion protrusion (51) formed on the upper part, wherein the second cam (55) is connected to the first cam (45); a main O-ring (60) attached to the inner circumference of the housing (10) while being connected to the insertion protrusion (51), wherein the main O-ring (60) prevents an O-ring charged in the housing (10) from flowing to the outside; a hinge shaft (70) connected to the upper cam (50) not to be rotated, wherein the hinge shaft (70) is fixed to the other one among the washing machine main body or the door; and a bush cover (80) supporting the hinge shaft (70) in order for the hinge shaft to penetrate the bush cover, wherein the bush cover (80) is connected to the inlet of the housing (10) and enables the hinge shaft (70) to smoothly rotate.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention [0001] The present invention relates to a hinge device for a door of a washing machine,

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a hinge device for rotatably connecting a door to a main body of a washing machine, and more particularly to a hinge device for a door of a washing machine which can be opened slowly when the door is opened will be

Generally, the door provided on the main body of the washing machine is connected by a hinge device so as to close smoothly and slowly when the main body of the washing machine is closed. Prior art for such a hinge device Patent Application No. 10-2010-50281 discloses a hinge device for a washing machine door.

1 is an exploded perspective view of a hinge device of a conventional washing machine door.

The hinge device of the conventional washing machine door is fixed to the main body of the washing machine, and includes a housing 1 having a vertical groove 1a on the inside thereof; A first spring (2) inserted into the interior of the housing (1); A second spring (3) inserted into the inside of the first spring (2); A protrusion 4a which is slidably engaged with the vertical groove 1a is formed on the side of the first and second springs 2 and 3 so as to be engaged with the housing 1, A lower cam 4 on which a cam 4b is formed; An upper cam 5 which is engaged with the housing 1 and has an engaging projection 5a formed on an upper side and a second cam 5b cammed on the lower side of the first cam 4b; A hinge shaft 6 formed with a coupling groove 6a to be engaged with the coupling protrusion 5a in a state of being engaged with the housing 1 and connected to the door of the washing machine; A cover (7) having a hinge shaft (6) penetrated therethrough and coupled to the housing (1); And a bush 8 installed between the cover 7 and the hinge shaft 6 to allow the hinge shaft 6 to rotate smoothly.

When the hinge shaft 6 is rotated according to the opening and closing operation of the door of the washing machine, the upper cam 5 is rotated together with the upper and lower springs 2 and 3 So that the upper cam 5 is not suddenly rotated so that the washing machine door is not closed rapidly.

However, in the case of the hinge device, the force for preventing the door from being suddenly closed is made by the resilient force of the first and second springs 2 and 3 and the cam engagement structure of the upper and lower cams 4 and 5, When the first and second springs 2 and 3 are repeatedly opened and closed, the opening and closing of the door is not smoothly performed. Further, the opening and closing speed of the door is changed as the force of the spring is not constant .

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a hinge device for a door of a washing machine that can open and close a door of a washing machine even when time passes.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a hinge device for a door of a washing machine door which can be opened and closed smoothly.

In order to achieve the above object, a hinge device of a washing machine door according to the present invention is fixed to any one of a washing machine body and a door, and has a plurality of guide projections (11) formed at its inlet side, A housing 10 in which an injection hole 12 to be injected is formed; A spring (20) interposed within the housing (10); An oil damper (30) resiliently supported by the spring (20) and having a first oil passage (30a) passing through the inside thereof and a second oil passage (30b) formed on the outside thereof; A lower cam having a guide groove 41 guided by the guide protrusion 11 on a side surface thereof and having a first cam 45 having an inclined surface formed on an upper side thereof, 40); An upper cam (50) formed with a second cam (55) which is cam-engaged with the first cam (45) on the lower side and a fitting jaw (51) on the upper side; A main O-ring 60 which is in close contact with an inner circumferential surface of the housing 10 in a state of being coupled to the fitting jaw 51 and prevents o-rings filled in the housing 10 from flowing out to the outside; A hinge shaft (70) unrotatably coupled to the upper cam (50), the hinge shaft being fixed to the other one of the washing machine body or the door; And a bush cover (80) for supporting the hinge shaft (70) so that the hinge shaft (70) smoothly rotates and is coupled to an inlet of the housing (10) The oil damper (30) includes a damper body (31) elastically supported by the spring (20); A damper pin (32) coupled to the damper body (31) to form a first oil passage (30a) passing through the damper body (31); And a check o-ring (33) coupled to an outer circumferential surface of the damper body (31) and forming a second oil passage (30b) along an outer circumferential surface of the damper body (31) The damper body 31 includes a coupling hole 31a passing through the damper body 31 and a hook groove 31b having an inner diameter larger than the coupling hole 31a formed at one side thereof and a ring groove 31c formed in an annular shape on the outer peripheral surface thereof, , And a plurality of first groove lines (31d) connected to the spring (20) side in the shape of being recessed from the inner circumferential surface of the groove (31c); The damper pin 32 includes a pin body 32a which is engaged with the coupling hole 31a and a pin body 32a which is formed on one side of the pin body 32a and which is engaged with the latching groove 31b, And a second groove line 32c formed on an outer circumferential surface of the pin body 32a and an outer circumferential surface of the hooking end 32b so that the first oil passage 30a ); The check o-ring 33 is coupled to a groove 31c of the damper body 31 to form the second oil passage 30b on the outer peripheral surface of the damper body 31, And the second groove line 32c formed in the damper pin 32 has a zigzag shape.

In the present invention, the housing (10) comprises: a first space (a1) having an inlet-side inner circumferential surface having a first inside diameter (D1); A second space a2 having an inner circumferential surface defined by the guide protrusion 11 and having a second inner diameter D2; And a third space a3 communicating with the injection hole 12 and having the spring 20 therein and having an inner circumferential surface having a third inner diameter D3.

In the present invention, in the housing 10, the second inner diameter D2 of the second space a2 is equal to the third inner diameter D3 of the third space a3; The first inner diameter D1 of the first space a1 is larger than the second and third inner diameters D2 and D3.

delete

According to the present invention, by employing the oil damper in which the first and second oil passages are formed, a constant damping force can be applied between the lower cam and the upper cam. Thus, even if time passes, So that the washing machine door can be closed smoothly and opened quickly and lightly.

Therefore, the damping force applied when the hinge shaft rotates can be varied by varying the viscosity of the oil filled after the hinge assembly of the present invention is completed, As a result, it can be applied to a relatively heavy door or a light door.

1 is an exploded perspective view of a hinge device of a conventional washing machine door,
2 is an exploded perspective view of a hinge apparatus of a washing machine door according to the present invention,
3 is an exploded perspective view of the hinge device of FIG. 2,
Fig. 4 is an assembled perspective view of the hinge device of Figs. 2 and 3,
Fig. 5 is a side cross-sectional view of the housing of Figs. 2 and 3,
Figs. 6A and 6B are exploded perspective views showing the oil damper of Figs. 2 and 3,
FIGS. 7A and 7B are assembly perspective views of the oil damper of FIGS. 6A and 6B,
8 is a cross-sectional view for explaining the operation when the door is closed to the washing machine body in the hinge apparatus of Fig. 4;
Fig. 9 is a sectional view for explaining an operation when the door is opened from the washing machine body in the hinge apparatus of Fig. 8; Fig.

Hereinafter, a hinge apparatus of a washing machine door according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the hinge device of the washing machine door according to the present invention, FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of the hinge device of FIG. 2, and FIG. 4 is an assembled perspective view of the hinge device of FIGS. 2 and 3 . 5 is a side cross-sectional view showing the housing of Figs. 2 and 3 in an excerpted manner.

As shown in the figure, the hinge device 100 of the washing machine door according to the present invention is fixed to any one of the washing machine main body and the door, and has a plurality of guide projections, in this embodiment, four guide projections 11, A housing 10 in which an injection hole 12 through which oil is injected is formed on the rear side; A spring (20) interposed within the housing (10); An oil damper 30 elastically supported by a spring 20 and having a first oil passage 30a passing through the inside thereof and a second oil passage 30b formed outside thereof; A lower cam 40 having a guide groove 41 guided by the guide protrusion 11 on a side surface thereof and having a first cam 45 having an inclined surface formed on the upper side thereof and being in close contact with the tip of the oil damper 30, and; An upper cam 50 formed with a second cam 55 which is cam-engaged with the first cam 45 on the lower side and a fitting jaw 51 formed on the upper side; A main o-ring 60 which is in close contact with an inner circumferential surface of the housing 10 in a state of being coupled to the fitting jaw 51 and prevents o-rings filled in the housing 10 from flowing out to the outside; A hinge shaft (70) unrotatably coupled to the upper cam (50), the hinge shaft being fixed to the other one of the washing machine body or the door; And a bush cover 80 that supports the hinge shaft 70 so as to penetrate the hinge shaft 70 and is coupled to an inlet of the housing 10 so that the hinge shaft 70 can rotate smoothly.

In this embodiment, the housing 10 of the hinge device 100 is fixed to the main body of the washing machine, and the hinge shaft 70 is installed on the door of the washing machine.

5, the housing 10 includes a first space al having an inlet-side inner peripheral surface having a first inner diameter D1; A second space a2 having an inner circumferential surface formed by the guide protrusion 11 and having a second inner diameter D2; And an inner circumferential surface communicating with the injection hole 12 and having a spring 20 therein is constituted by a third space a3 having a third inner diameter D3. At this time, the second inner diameter D2 of the second space a2 is equal to the third inner diameter D3 of the third space a3, and the first inner diameter D1 of the first space a1 is equal to Is larger than the second and third inner diameters (D2) (D3).

The injection hole 12 is an opening for filling oil into the housing 10. The injection hole 12 is provided with a caulking screw 13 and an O-ring 14.

As shown in Figs. 2 and 3, the lower cam 40 has a guide groove 41 which is guided by the guide protrusion 11 of the housing on the side surface thereof. When the lower cam 40 is fitted to the housing 10, the guide groove 41 formed on the side surface thereof is caught by the first guide projection 11 formed in the second space a2, (40) is movable forward relative to the housing (10) but is assembled without rotation.

2 and 3, when the upper cam 50 is engaged with the inside of the housing 10, the second cam 55 formed on the lower side is engaged with the upper cam 50 formed on the upper side of the lower cam 40 1 cam (45). On the upper side of the upper cam 50, a rectangular engaging groove 52 is formed in which the rectangular engaging projection 72 of the hinge shaft 72, which will be described later, is engaged in a non-rotated manner.

2 and 3, the main O-ring 60 is coupled to the fitting jaw 51 of the upper cam 50 and is brought into close contact with the inner circumferential surface of the first space a1 of the housing 10. The main O-ring 60 prevents the O-ring filled in the housing 10 from flowing out to the outside through the bush cover 80.

The hinge shaft 70 is non-rotatably coupled to the upper cam 50. To this end, the hinge shaft 70 is provided at its rear side with a rectangular coupling (not shown) engaging with the rectangular engagement groove 52 of the upper cam 50, The projections 72 are formed.

The bush cover 80 is realized by assembling the bush 81 through which the hinge shaft 70 penetrates to the cover 82. Since such a bush cover 80 is a general construction in the art, the detailed description will be omitted.

FIGS. 6A and 6B are exploded perspective views illustrating the oil damper of FIGS. 2 and 3, and FIGS. 7A and 7B are assembly views of the oil damper of FIGS. 6A and 6B.

The oil damper (30) includes a damper body (31) elastically supported by a spring (20); A damper pin (32) coupled to the damper body (31) to form a first oil passage (30a) passing through the damper body (31); And a check o-ring 33 coupled to the outer circumferential surface of the damper body 31 to form a second oil passage 30b along the outer circumferential surface of the damper body 31. That is, the oil damper 30 includes a damper body 31 elastically supported by the spring 20, a damper pin 32 coupled to the damper body 31, The first oil passage 30a passing through the damper body 31 and the check oil passage 33 connecting to the first oil passage 30a along the outer peripheral surface of the damper body 31, And the second oil passage 30b, which is not linearly connected, can be formed. Accordingly, the first and second oil passages 30a and 30b, which are connected in a non-linear manner, can increase the fluid pressure when the oil passes through the first and second oil passages 30a and 30b.
The damper body 31 includes a coupling hole 31a penetrating therethrough, a damper groove 31b formed on one side of the damper body 31 and having an inner diameter larger than that of the coupling hole 31a, a ring groove 31c formed in an annular shape on the outer peripheral surface, And a plurality of first groove lines 31d communicating with the groove 31c and connected to the spring 20 side.

delete

The damper pin 32 includes a pin body 32a which is engaged with the engaging hole 31a and a pin body 32a which is formed on one side of the pin body 32a and which is engaged with the engaging groove 31b, And a second groove line 32c formed in a zigzag shape along the outer peripheral surface of the pin body 32a and the outer peripheral surface of the stepped portion 32b.

The check o-ring 33 is coupled to the groove 31c of the damper body 31. The check o-ring is slightly separated from the groove 31c when it is engaged with the groove 31c.

With the above structure, when the pin body 32a is inserted into the coupling hole 31a and the coupling end 32b is engaged with the coupling groove 31b, the second groove line 32c of the damper pin and the damper body The first oil passage 30a having a zigzag passage is formed by the coupling hole 31a. When the check o-ring 33 is engaged with the groove 31c, the second oil passage 30b is formed by the check o-ring 33 and the first groove line 31d of the damper body.
At this time, the damping force of the oil passing through the first oil passage 30a can be varied by varying the width or the number of zigzags of the second groove line 32c formed in the damper pin 32. [

Next, the operation of the hinge apparatus of the washing machine door will be described.

8 is a cross-sectional view for explaining the operation when the door is closed to the washing machine body in the hinge device of Fig. 4;

As the hinge shaft 70 coupled to the door is rotated, the upper cam 50 is rotated so that the second cam 55 is moved to the lower side of the cam- And presses the first cam 45 of the cam 40 obliquely. Then, the lower cam 40 is pressed toward the spring 20. At this time, the check o-ring 33 of the oil damper closes the second oil passage 30b as it is in close contact with the inner circumferential surface of the third space a3 of the housing. The oil in the third space a3 on the side of the spring 20 then exits through the first oil passage 30a into the second space a2. At this time, the first oil passage 30a has a zigzag passage Therefore, the oil slowly comes out of the first oil passage 30a. Thus, the hinge shaft 70, which is engaged with the upper cam 50 cammed with the lower cam 40, is slowly rotated so that the door smoothly and slowly closes.

9 is a cross-sectional view for explaining an operation when the door is opened from the washing machine body in the hinge apparatus of Fig. 8;

As shown in the figure, when the washing machine door is opened in the closed state, the upper cam 50 is rotated in the opposite direction by the hinge shaft 70 coupled to the door, The first cam 45 is instantaneously separated and the lower cam 40 is moved toward the upper cam 50 by the elastic force of the spring 20. [ In this process, the oil in the second space a2 flows into the third space a3 through the first oil passage 30a having a zigzag passage. At this time, the check o-ring 33 of the oil damper flows into the third space a3 a3) to the second space a2, the second oil passage 30b is opened and the oil in the second satin passage a2 instantaneously escapes, and the door opens quickly.

As described above, according to the hinge apparatus of the washing machine door of the present invention, by employing the oil damper 30 in which the first and second oil passages 30a and 30b are formed, The damping force can be applied. Accordingly, even if the time passes, the opening / closing operation of the washing machine door can be made constant as well as the opening and closing speed can be made constant, and furthermore, the washing machine door can be closed smoothly and quickly and lightly.

In addition, since the oil is injected into the housing 10 through the injection hole 12, the viscosity of the oil filled after the assembly of the hinge device of the present invention is changed, so that the damping force applied when the hinge shaft 70 is rotated The force can be varied, and thus, it is applicable to a relatively heavy door or a light door.

While the present invention has been particularly shown and described with reference to exemplary embodiments thereof, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiments, but, on the contrary, is intended to cover various modifications and equivalent arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the appended claims.

100 ... hinge device 10 ... housing
a1, a2, a3 ... first, second and third spaces 11 ... guide projections
12 ... Injection hole 13 ... Caulking screw
14 ... Oil for Coke 20 ... Spring
30 ... oil damper 30a ... first oil passage
30b ... second oil passage 31 ... damper body
31a ... engaging hole 31b ... hanging groove
31c ... a groove 31d ... a first groove line
32 ... damper pin 32a ... pin body
32b ... Girth group 32c ... Second home line
33 ... check o-ring 40 ... lower cam
41 ... Guide groove 45 ... First cam
50 ... upper cam 51 ... fitting jaw
55 ... 2nd cam 60 ... main o-ring
70 ... Hinge shaft 80 ... Bush cover
81 ... Bush 82 ... Cover

Claims

A housing (10) fixed to one of a washing machine body and a door, wherein a plurality of guide protrusions (11) are formed at an inlet side and an injection hole (12) for injecting oil into a rear side is formed;
A spring (20) interposed within the housing (10);
An oil damper (30) resiliently supported by the spring (20) and having a first oil passage (30a) passing through the inside thereof and a second oil passage (30b) formed on the outside thereof;
A lower cam having a guide groove 41 guided by the guide protrusion 11 on a side surface thereof and having a first cam 45 having an inclined surface formed on an upper side thereof, 40);
An upper cam (50) formed with a second cam (55) which is cam-engaged with the first cam (45) on the lower side and a fitting jaw (51) on the upper side;
A main O-ring 60 which is in close contact with an inner circumferential surface of the housing 10 in a state of being coupled to the fitting jaw 51 and prevents o-rings filled in the housing 10 from flowing out to the outside;
A hinge shaft (70) unrotatably coupled to the upper cam (50), the hinge shaft being fixed to the other one of the washing machine body or the door; And
And a bush cover (80) for supporting the hinge shaft (70) so that the hinge shaft (70) smoothly rotates and is coupled to an inlet of the housing (10)
The oil damper (30) includes a damper body (31) elastically supported by the spring (20); A damper pin (32) coupled to the damper body (31) to form a first oil passage (30a) passing through the damper body (31); And a check o-ring (33) coupled to an outer circumferential surface of the damper body (31) and forming a second oil passage (30b) along an outer circumferential surface of the damper body (31)
The damper body 31 includes a coupling hole 31a passing through the damper body 31 and a hook groove 31b having an inner diameter larger than the coupling hole 31a formed at one side thereof and a ring groove 31c formed in an annular shape on the outer peripheral surface thereof, , And a plurality of first groove lines (31d) connected to the spring (20) side in the shape of being recessed from the inner circumferential surface of the groove (31c);
The damper pin 32 includes a pin body 32a which is engaged with the coupling hole 31a and a pin body 32a which is formed on one side of the pin body 32a and which is engaged with the latching groove 31b, And a second groove line 32c formed on an outer circumferential surface of the pin body 32a and an outer circumferential surface of the hooking end 32b so that the first oil passage 30a );
The check o-ring 33 is coupled to a groove 31c of the damper body 31 to form the second oil passage 30b on the outer peripheral surface of the damper body 31,
And the second groove line (32c) formed in the damper pin (32) is formed in a zigzag shape.

The connector according to claim 1, wherein the housing (10)
A first space a1 having an inlet-side inner circumferential surface having a first inside diameter D1;
A second space a2 having an inner circumferential surface defined by the guide protrusion 11 and having a second inner diameter D2;
And a third space (a3) communicating with the injection hole (12) and having the spring (20) embedded therein and having an inner circumferential surface having a third inside diameter (D3), characterized in that the hinge device .

The connector according to claim 2, wherein the housing (10)
The second inner diameter D2 of the second space a2 is equal to the third inner diameter D3 of the third space a3; Wherein a first inner diameter (D1) of the first space (a1) is larger than a second inner diameter (D2) and a third inner diameter (D3) of the hinge.

delete