KR20080081808A - Cloth treating apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

A washing machine is provided to reduce assembly time by integrally forming a front cover and a control panel unit and assembling the front cover with the control panel unit first. A washing machine(100) comprises a cabinet(110), a drum(150), and a front cover(120). The front cover has a door opening(130) for putting clothing into the drum and at least one panel opening(140) for installing a control panel unit(170). At least one side surface of the front cover is extended from the front surface thereof.

Description

Cloth treating apparatus

The present invention relates to a laundry treatment apparatus, and more particularly, to a laundry treatment apparatus that can be manufactured more easily.

In general, the clothes treating apparatus refers to a washing machine, a dryer, a dry washing machine, etc., which may wash or dry clothes to be treated.

1 shows a method of manufacturing a general drum type washing machine 10, in particular, a method in which the control panel 6 is mounted on the front cover 2. Specifically, a tub (not shown) is installed between the side walls 4, and the front cover 2 is mounted to the side walls 4 to form a front surface. Subsequently, the control panel 6 is installed in the recess 3 formed in the upper portion of the front cover 2. That is, in the conventional washing machine, the front cover 2 is installed first, and the control panel 6 is separately installed. On the other hand, the detergent box 7 is installed to be withdrawn through the opening 8 formed in the control panel (6).

However, in the related art, since the control panel 6 is installed separately from the front cover 2, the assembly process increases in assembling a clothes treating apparatus such as a washing machine. That is, it involves a problem in the process of assembling the front cover 2 and the control panel 6, respectively.

In addition, in the conventional clothing treatment apparatus is usually made of the front cover by steel (steel), after the molding to the appropriate shape, the coating work to prevent corrosion is made. Therefore, there was a need to perform painting work after forming with iron.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a clothes processing apparatus which can be easily manufactured by reducing the number of processes when manufacturing a clothes processing apparatus.

The object of the present invention as described above, the cabinet; A drum rotatably installed inside the cabinet to accommodate clothes; And a cover formed with at least one panel opening for mounting a door opening and a control panel unit through which clothes can be put into the drum.

Here, the cover is a front; And at least one side surface formed continuously from the front surface.

The cover may be partitioned into a panel area in which the panel opening is formed and a door area in which the door opening is formed, and the side of the panel area and the side of the door area are formed to be continuous with each other.

On the other hand, the cover may further include a pair of side surfaces which are formed continuously on both sides of the front surface.

In addition, the cover may further include an upper surface formed continuously on the front surface in the upper portion of the front surface, the upper surface and the side surface is preferably formed to be continuous with each other. Furthermore, the side and top surfaces may further include side flange portions and top flange portions, respectively, and each flange portion is preferably formed intermittently.

The control panel unit may be detachably fixed to the side flange portion and the upper flange portion.

The control panel unit may include a mounting plate detachably fixed to the side flange portion and the upper flange portion; And at least one selection unit mounted to the mounting plate and operable outside the cover through the at least one panel opening.

On the other hand, the cover may further include a detergent box opening for mounting a detergent box, the detergent box is mounted on the mounting plate is preferably possible to withdraw through the detergent box opening.

On the other hand, in the laundry treatment apparatus according to the present invention, the cover may further include a lower surface which is formed continuously from the front surface at the lower portion of the front surface, and the lower surface is preferably formed to be continuous with each other. Furthermore, the side and bottom surfaces may further include side flange portions and bottom flange portions, and the flanges may be formed intermittently.

Meanwhile, in the laundry treatment apparatus according to the present invention, the cover may further include an upper surface and a lower surface which are continuously formed at the front surface, and the upper and lower surfaces are preferably formed to be continuous with each other with the side surface. Further, the upper surface, the side surface and the lower surface may further include an upper flange portion, a side flange portion and a lower flange portion, respectively, wherein each flange is preferably formed intermittently.

Meanwhile, the control panel unit may be detachably fixed to the upper flange portion and the side flange portion.

The control panel unit may further include a mounting plate detachably fixed to the side flange portion and the upper flange portion; And at least one selection unit mounted to the mounting plate and operable outside the cover through the at least one panel opening.

On the other hand, the cover may further include a detergent box opening for mounting a detergent box, the detergent box is mounted on the mounting plate is preferably possible to withdraw through the detergent box opening.

In addition, in the laundry treatment apparatus according to the present invention, the front surface of the cover may be integrally formed with a recess formed in the door opening. Furthermore, it is preferable to further include a connection portion extending inwardly by a predetermined length along the inner circumferential surface of the door opening and connected to the gasket.

On the other hand, in the laundry treatment apparatus according to the present invention, the cover is preferably made of stainless steel.

As described above, the clothes treating apparatus according to the present invention can significantly reduce the time and cost required to assemble the clothes treating apparatus by reducing the number of assembling processes.

Moreover, according to this invention, the cover of a clothing processing apparatus can be manufactured easily by the material which has the color and gloss peculiar to a metal.

Hereinafter, with reference to the accompanying drawings will be described in detail a preferred embodiment of the present invention. Meanwhile, in the present specification, the washing machine is mainly described as an example of a washing machine, but this is merely an example, and it is obvious that the washing machine may be applied to a dryer, a dry washing machine, or the like.

Figure 2 is a perspective view showing the appearance of the washing machine 100 as a laundry treatment apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. Referring to Figure 2, the washing machine 100 according to the present invention is a cabinet (110) to form an appearance, a drum (not shown) and a cabinet (110) rotatably installed inside the cabinet (110) for receiving an object. It includes a front cover 120 to form the front.

Here, the cabinet 110 is formed so that the front surface is opened to cover the front surface opened by the front cover 120, or the front surface of the cabinet 110 is not opened and a front portion (not shown) is formed The front cover may be configured to be mounted on the front surface of the front portion. Hereinafter, the front surface of the cabinet 110 is formed in an open state and will be described based on the configuration covering the front surface opened by the front cover 120.

The cabinet 110 forms an exterior of the washing machine 100, and includes a drum 150 for receiving a laundry object therein and a tub (not shown) rotatably installed in the drum 150. On the other hand, the front part of the cabinet 110 is opened and covered by the front cover 120 to be described later, the top is covered by the top cover 160.

The front cover 120 is mounted to cover the open front of the cabinet 110. Specifically, the front cover 120 according to the present invention is formed with a door opening portion 130 and a control panel unit 140 to which the laundry object, that is, clothing can be put, at least one panel opening 140 may be mounted. do. That is, in the front cover 120 of the present invention, the door opening 130 and the panel opening 140 are all formed in one front cover.

As such, when both the door opening 130 and the panel opening 140 are formed in one front cover 120, unlike the conventional washing machine, it is possible to combine the process of assembling the front cover and the control panel in one process. Become. That is, the control panel unit 170 is mounted on the front cover 120 in advance, and then the front cover 120 on which the control panel unit 170 is mounted can be mounted on the washing machine. Accordingly, when assembling the washing machine, the inconvenience of mounting the front cover 120 and the control panel unit 170, respectively, can be alleviated, and furthermore, the control panel unit 170 is mounted on the front cover 120 in advance. It is possible to easily assemble the operator by forming a module.

3 is a front perspective view showing only the front cover 120 in FIG. 2, and FIG. 4 is a rear perspective view of FIG. 3.

Referring to FIG. 3, the front cover 120 according to the present invention includes a front surface 125 and at least one side surface 126 which is continuously formed at the front surface 125.

As described above, the front surface 125 has a door opening 130 on which the door (see FIG. 2, 122) is rotatably mounted and a panel opening 140 on which the control panel unit 170 is mounted. As shown in FIG. 3, the panel opening 140 is preferably formed at the upper portion of the door opening 130, but is not limited thereto. The panel opening 140 may be formed at the lower portion of the door opening 130. It is possible.

On the other hand, the door opening 130 is preferably formed in the recess 124 formed on the front surface (125). That is, the door opening 130 may be formed directly along the front surface 125, but the recess 124 is formed on the front surface 125, and the door opening 130 is formed at the center of the recess 124. It is desirable to be. This is because the recess 124 forms a space for receiving the door 122 rotatably mounted to the door opening 130. Therefore, when the door 122 is closed, the door 122 is accommodated in the recess 124 and does not protrude forward of the front surface 125.

In addition, the door opening 130 is connected to a gasket (see FIG. 2 and 134) to prevent the washing water inside the drum 150 and the tub (not shown) from leaking into the cabinet (see FIG. 2 and 110). A connecting portion 132 to which the gasket 134 is connected is extended along the inner circumferential surface of the door opening 130.

Meanwhile, at least one side surface 126 is continuously formed on the front surface 125, and preferably, a pair of side surfaces 126 are formed on both sides of the front surface 125, respectively. In the present specification, the front surface and the side are formed to be 'continuous' means that formed in one member, the connection between the front and side by a method such as welding does not correspond to the 'continuous' of the present specification. That is, the term "continuous" in the present invention means that formed in one member, without a "seam" formed by welding or the like.

Meanwhile, as shown in FIG. 3, when the panel opening 140 is formed on the door opening 130, the front surface 125 includes the panel region 141 in which the panel opening 140 is formed, and the door opening 130. It is possible to divide into the formed door area 131. That is, it is possible to divide the upper portion into the panel region 41 and the lower portion into the door region 131 with the center portions of the panel opening 140 and the door opening 130 as a boundary. In this case, it is preferable that side surfaces 126 extend on the front surfaces of the panel region 141 and the door region 131, and the side surfaces 126 are formed to be continuous with each other. That is, the side surfaces 126 which are formed continuously on the front surface 125 in the panel region 141 and the door region 131 are formed to be continuous with each other.

In addition, the front surface 125 of the front cover 120 according to the present invention further includes an upper surface 127 and a lower surface (not shown) which are continuously formed. Although only one of the upper surface 127 and the lower surface may be formed on the front surface, preferably, both the upper surface 127 and the lower surface are formed on the front surface 125, and are particularly formed continuously.

In this case, as shown in FIG. 4, the upper surface 127, the side surface 126, and the lower surface flange 227, the side flange portion 226, and the lower surface flange portion 228 may be formed. Can be. Each of the flanges 226, 227, and 228 is a component for mounting the front cover 120 to the cabinet 110, and further includes a control panel unit 170 to be described later.

The upper flange portion 227 and the lower flange portion 228 are formed to extend from the upper surface 127 and the lower surface (not shown), respectively, and are not continuously formed with the side flange portion 226. That is, as shown in FIG. 4, the upper surface 127, the side surface 126, and the lower surface (not shown) are all formed in succession with each other, but in the upper surface 127, the side surface 126, and the lower surface (not shown). The upper flange portion 227, the side flange portion 226, and the lower flange portion 228, which are each extended, are intermittently formed without being connected to each other.

The upper surface 127, the side surface 126, and the lower surface (not shown) are exposed to the exterior of the washing machine 100, so that the upper surface 127, the side surface 126, and the lower surface (not shown) are continuously formed with each other, but the flanges 226, 227, and 228 are each cabinet. It is because it does not need to be formed continuously because it is located inside of 110 and does not look outside.

In addition, at each flange portion 226, 227, 228, one or more fastening holes 230 for connecting to the cabinet 110 and for mounting the control panel unit 170 are formed.

On the other hand, the above configuration can be similarly applied to the case in which any one of the upper surface 127 and the lower surface (not shown) is formed continuously in the front surface (125). That is, when only the upper surface 127 is formed continuously in the front surface 125, the upper surface 127 and the side surface 126 are formed in succession between each other, but is formed extending from the upper surface 127 and the side surface 126, respectively The flange portions 227 and 226 are preferably formed intermittently without being continuous with each other. This may be similarly applied to the case where only the bottom surface (not shown) is continuously formed on the front surface 125, and thus, a detailed description thereof will be omitted.

The front cover 125 according to the present invention is mounted to the control panel unit 170 to form a module (module). That is, by assembling the front cover 120 on which the control panel unit 170 is mounted first, it is possible for workers to assemble the washing machine more easily.

In detail, the control panel unit 170 is mounted to the mounting plate 172 and the mounting plate 172 to be detachably fixed to the flanges 227 and 226 and is exposed to the outside through one or more panel openings 140. One or more selectors 174 to be included.

Here, the mounting plate 172 is preferably detachably connected to the upper flange portion 227 and the side flange portion 226. To this end, a plurality of fastening holes 230 are formed in the upper flange portion 227 and the side flange portion 226, and the mounting plate 172 is mounted by a fastening member such as a bolt 178. Although not shown in the drawing, when the panel opening 140 is formed at the lower portion of the door opening 130, the mounting plate 172 may be connected to the side flange portion 226 and the bottom flange portion 228.

On the other hand, the mounting plate 172 is mounted with one or more selector 174. Here, the selection unit 174 is detachably installed to the mounting plate 172. For example, the selection unit 174 may be installed on the mounting plate 172 by a fixing unit such as a hook (not shown), or may be selected by a bolt (not shown) or the like. In the present invention, a specific configuration in which the selection unit 174 is connected to the mounting plate 172 is not limited. On the other hand, the selection unit 174 is exposed to the outside through one or more panel openings 140 formed on the front surface 125, the user controls the function of the washing machine 100 by operating the exposed selection unit 174. .

That is, although not shown in the figure, the user selects a washing course by operating a selection button or the like provided in the selecting unit 174, or according to the selected washing course, the amount of washing water, washing time, rinsing number and time, dehydration The number of times and the time, and when the steam is injected, it is possible to adjust the steam injection time, the injection amount and the like. Here, the selection button provided in the selection unit 174 is one example, but is not limited thereto and may be implemented in various ways.

Meanwhile, in addition to the panel opening 140 and the door opening 130, a detergent box opening 182 to which a detergent box (see FIG. 1, 180) is mounted is further formed on the front surface 125 of the front cover 120 according to the present invention. Can be. The position where the detergent box opening 182 is formed is not limited, but is preferably formed at one side of the panel opening 140 on the front surface 125. In this case, the detergent box 180 is installed in the opening 176 of the mounting plate 172 to be withdrawn through the detergent box opening 182. Since the detergent box 180 is provided with a detergent, a softener, and wash water, the detailed description is omitted because it is similar to a general washing machine.

3 and 4, reference numeral 192 denotes a service hole. The service hole 192 is formed under the front surface 125 and is covered by the service hole cover (see FIG. 1, 190). In the case where maintenance and repair of the washing machine is necessary while using the washing machine, the serviceman can easily perform the maintenance and repair work of the washing machine through the service hole 192. That is, the serviceman may remove the cover 190 of the service hole 192 and maintain and repair the components inside the washing machine through the service hole 192.

On the other hand, the front cover 120 according to the present invention having the configuration as described above is preferably made of a material having a gloss and color unique to the metal, in particular, it is preferably made of a stainless material.

That is, since the washing machine 100 is in frequent contact with water, the front cover 120 is preferably made of a stainless steel that has a metallic color and is not easily corroded in an unpainted state.

In addition, in order to increase the processability of the front cover 120 made through the drawing, the properties of the various stainless steels were investigated by selecting materials of the STS 300 series. 5 is a table showing the properties of the STS 300 series stainless steel, the properties of the STS 300 series stainless steel, such as STS 304, STS 304L, STS 304J1, 316L.

On the other hand, because the stainless steel is hard work hardening, by drawing the STS 300 series stainless steel to make a specimen as shown in Figure 6 and to investigate the degree of spring back to them to make a graph as shown in Figure 7, The spring back of 304J1 stainless steel was found to be small in the tested STS 300 series stainless steels and was selected as the preferred example.

1 is a perspective view showing an assembly process of a conventional clothes treatment apparatus;

2 is a front perspective view of the clothes treating apparatus according to the present invention;

Figure 3 is a front perspective view of the front cover in Figure 2,

4 is a rear perspective view of FIG. 3;

5 is a table showing the physical properties of STS 300 series stainless steel,

6 is a perspective view of a specimen made of stainless steel, and

7 is a graph showing the degree of springback for the specimens of FIG.

Claims (31)

Cabinet; A drum rotatably installed inside the cabinet to accommodate clothes; And And a front cover formed with at least one panel opening for mounting a door opening and a control panel unit into which the clothes can be introduced into the drum. The method of claim 1, The front cover is the front; And at least one side surface formed continuously from the front surface. The method of claim 2, The front cover is divided into a panel region having a panel opening and a door region having a door opening, and the side surface of the panel region and the side of the door region are formed in succession to each other. The method of claim 2 or 3, The front cover is a clothes processing apparatus, characterized in that it has a pair of side surfaces which are formed continuously on both sides of the front surface. The method of claim 2 or 3, The front cover is a clothes processing apparatus, characterized in that further comprising an upper surface formed continuously on the front of the front of the front. The method of claim 5, The upper surface and the side is a clothing processing apparatus, characterized in that formed in succession to each other. The method of claim 6, The side surface and the upper surface is further provided with a side flange portion and an upper flange portion, respectively, wherein each of the flange portion is intermittently formed clothes processing apparatus. The method of claim 7, wherein And the control panel unit is detachably fixed to the side flange portion and the upper flange portion. The method of claim 8, The control panel unit, A mounting plate detachably fixed to the side flange portion and the upper flange portion; And And at least one selection unit mounted to the mounting plate and operable outside the front cover through the at least one panel opening. The method of claim 9, The front cover further comprises a detergent box opening to which a detergent box is mounted, wherein the detergent box is mounted on the mounting plate and can be withdrawn through the detergent box opening. The method according to claim 2 or 3, The front cover further comprises a lower surface of the front surface is formed continuously from the front surface. The method of claim 11, The lower surface of the laundry treatment apparatus, characterized in that formed in succession with the side. The method of claim 12, The side and bottom surfaces are further provided with a side flange portion and a bottom flange portion, respectively, wherein each of the flange portion is intermittently formed clothes processing apparatus. The method of claim 2 or 3, The front cover is a clothes processing apparatus further comprises an upper surface and a lower surface formed continuously from the front surface. The method of claim 14, The upper surface and the lower surface of the laundry treatment apparatus, characterized in that formed in succession with each other. The method of claim 15, The upper surface, the side surface and the lower surface further comprises an upper flange portion, a side flange portion and a lower flange portion, respectively, wherein each of the flange portion is a laundry treatment apparatus characterized in that it is formed intermittently. The method of claim 16, And the control panel unit is detachably fixed to the upper flange portion and the side flange portion. The method of claim 17, The control panel unit, A mounting plate detachably fixed to the side flange portion and the upper flange portion; And And at least one selection unit mounted to the mounting plate and operable outside the front cover through the at least one panel opening. The method of claim 18, The front cover further comprises a detergent box opening to which a detergent box is mounted, wherein the detergent box is mounted on the mounting plate and can be withdrawn through the detergent box opening. The method of claim 2 or 3, Clothing processing apparatus, characterized in that the front of the front cover is formed with a concave portion in which the door opening is formed integrally. The method of claim 20, And a connection part extending inwardly by a predetermined length along an inner circumferential surface of the door opening and connected to a gasket. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, The front cover is a clothes processing apparatus, characterized in that made of stainless steel. The method of claim 4, wherein The front cover is a clothes processing apparatus, characterized in that made of stainless steel. The method of claim 5, The front cover is a clothes processing apparatus, characterized in that made of stainless steel. The method according to claim 6 to 10, The front cover is a clothes processing apparatus, characterized in that made of stainless steel. The method of claim 11, The front cover is a clothes processing apparatus, characterized in that made of stainless steel. The method according to claim 12 or 13, The front cover is a clothes processing apparatus, characterized in that made of stainless steel. The method of claim 14, The front cover is a clothes processing apparatus, characterized in that made of stainless steel. The method according to any one of claims 15 to 19, The front cover is a clothes processing apparatus, characterized in that made of stainless steel. The method of claim 20, The front cover is a clothes processing apparatus, characterized in that made of stainless steel. The method of claim 21, The front cover is a clothes processing apparatus, characterized in that made of stainless steel.

Images