KR20090006659A - Washing machine - Google Patents

Abstract

A washing machine is provided to increase efficiency of washing whereby a top height of a first opening connected to a circulation path is lower than the top height of a second opening connected to a drainage path. A washing machine comprises a pump(20) including a circulation path circulating washing water in the tub and a drainage path draining off the washing water, and a pump case(21) including a first opening part(45) connected to the circulation path and a second opening part(55) connected to the drainage path. The pump includes a circulation pump part connected to a first opening part and the circulation path, and a drainage pump part connected to a second opening part and the drainage path. The first opening part includes a bubble blocking part(46) capable of preventing bubbles flowing into the tub. The circulation pump part includes a circulation pump chamber(41), having a circulation impeller(42), installed in the pump case and a circulation motor(43) rotating the circulation impeller.

Description

Washing machine {WASHING MACHINE}

1 is a cross-sectional view showing the configuration of a washing machine according to the present invention.

2 is a perspective view of a washing machine pump according to the present invention.

3 is a cross-sectional view taken along line III-III ′ of FIG. 2.

4 is a cross-sectional view taken along line IV-IV 'of FIG. 3.

Explanation of symbols on the main parts of the drawings

10: body, 11: tank,

15: door, 20: pump,

21: pump case, 22: filter chamber,

24: connector, 26: air exhaust pipe,

30: filter, 40: circulation pump section,

41: circulation pump chamber, 42: circulation impeller,

43: circulation motor, 45: first opening,

46: bubble blocking unit, 47: exit 1,

48: washing water circulation pipe, 50: drain pump,

51: drain pump chamber, 52: drain impeller,

53: drain motor, 55: second opening,

57: exit 2, 58: drain pipe.

The present invention relates to a washing machine, and more particularly to a washing machine having a pump for drainage and circulation of wash water.

A washing machine used indoors, such as a drum washing machine, is provided with a pump for forcibly discharging washing water in a tank. In addition, such a washing machine increases the washing effect by forcibly circulating the washing water of the tank in the washing process.

Republic of Korea Patent Publication No. 10-441095 discloses a washing machine having such functions. The washing machine has a pump capable of draining the wash water and circulating the wash water.

The pump has a circulation pump part and a drain pump part provided to be substantially symmetrical on both sides of the pump case. The circulation pump part is a type including a circulation impeller and a circulation motor for rotating the same, and the drain pump part is a shape including a drain impeller and a drain motor for rotating it. This is to increase the washing effect by the circulation of the washing water in the tank by the operation of the circulation pump unit in the washing process. In addition, the drainage of the wash water is made by the operation of the drain pump. The pump case has openings formed at both sides thereof so that the washing water flowing from the water tank flows toward the circulation pump portion or toward the drainage pump portion. Each opening is provided at approximately the same height.

However, such a washing machine has a problem in that bubbles present in the pump case may be introduced into the water tank through the circulation path of the circulation pump in the process of draining the washing water.

Foam may be present in the wash water inside the pump case when the washing operation is terminated and drained. However, since the heights of the openings (openings for circulation or drainage) formed at both sides of the pump case are similar, bubbles existing in the pump case could be introduced into the tank through the opening of the circulation pump part in the drainage process. If foam is introduced into the water tank after the washing is finished, the laundry may be contaminated by the foam.

The present invention is to solve this problem, it is an object of the present invention to provide a washing machine to prevent the phenomenon that the foam inside the pump case is introduced into the water tank through the circulation path when performing the drainage.

Washing machine according to the present invention for achieving the above object includes a pump having a circulation path for circulating the wash water of the tank, and a drain path for draining the wash water of the tank, the pump and the circulation path and And a pump case having a first opening communicating with the second opening and a second opening communicating with the drainage path, wherein the first opening has a height of an upper end lower than an upper end of the second opening.

The pump may further include a circulation pump part associated with the first opening and the circulation path, and a drain pump part associated with the second opening and the drain path.

The circulation pump unit may include a circulation pump chamber provided in the pump case so as to communicate with the first opening, a circulation impeller installed in the circulation pump chamber, and a circulation motor for rotating the circulation impeller.

The drain pump part may include a drain pump chamber provided in the pump case, a drain impeller installed in the drain pump chamber, and a circulation motor for rotating the drain impeller so as to communicate with the second opening.

In addition, the washing machine according to the present invention includes a pump having a circulation path for circulating the washing water of the tank, and a pump having a drainage path for draining the washing water of the tank, wherein the pump has a first opening communicating with the circulation path; And a pump case having a second opening communicating with the drainage path, wherein the first opening includes a bubble blocking unit provided at an upper portion to block the discharge of bubbles.

In addition, the foam blocking portion is characterized in that the lower end is lower than the top height of the second opening.

In addition, the washing machine according to the present invention includes a drain pump having a circulation path for circulating the wash water of the tank and a drain path for draining the wash water of the tank, wherein the drain pump communicates with the circulation path. And a pump case having an opening and a second opening communicating with the drainage path, wherein the first opening has a height at an upper end lower than an upper end of the second opening.

Hereinafter, with reference to the accompanying drawings, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail.

As shown in FIG. 1, the washing machine according to the present invention includes a drum type water tank 11 installed inside the main body 10, a drum type washing tank 12 rotatably installed inside the water tank 11, and a washing tank ( 12 is provided with a drive motor 13 mounted on the rear of the tank (11).

An inlet 14 through which laundry can be introduced into the washing tub 12 is formed on the front surface of the main body 10, and a door 15 that can be opened and closed is installed at the inlet 14. The upper part of the water tank 11 is provided with water supply valves 16a and 16b for water supply control, and a detergent supply device 17 for supplying detergent to the water tank 11 in the water supply process.

The lower part of the water tank 11 is provided with a pump 20 (also referred to as "drainage pump") that can circulate the wash water of the water tank 11 or drain the wash water of the water tank 11. As shown in FIG. 2 and FIG. 3, the pump 20 includes a pump case 21, a circulation pump part 40, and a drain pump part 50 provided at both sides of the pump case 21.

The pump case 21 is provided with a cylindrical filter chamber 22 having a front face open and a washing water inlet 23 formed on the rear face. As shown in FIG. 1, the washing water inlet 23 is connected to the lower portion of the water tank 11 by a connecting pipe 24. Therefore, the wash water of the water tank 11 may be introduced into the filter chamber 22 through the connection pipe 24.

As shown in FIG. 2, the filter chamber 22 is provided with a detachable filter 30. The filter 30 is a cylindrical sieve net 31 entering the filter chamber 22 and a stopper 32 coupled to the sieve net 31 and fastened by screwing to the front opening 22a of the filter chamber 22. ). The filter 30 filters foreign substances contained in the wash water flowing into the filter chamber 22. The foreign matter collected in the strainer 31 of the filter 30 can be removed after separating the filter 30 from the filter chamber 22 later.

2 and 3, the circulation pump unit 40 includes a circulation pump chamber 41 formed on one side of the pump case 21, a circulation impeller 42 installed in the circulation pump chamber 41, and a circulation impeller. And a circulation motor 43 for rotating 42. A first opening 45 through which washing water flows is formed between the circulation pump chamber 41 and the filter chamber 22, and a first outlet 47 through which the washing water is discharged is formed in the upper portion of the circulation pump chamber 41. As shown in FIG. 1, the first outlet 47 is connected to a washing water circulation pipe 48 for guiding the washing water toward the inlet of the water tank 11. Washing water circulation operation by the circulation pump unit 40 is made as follows.

When the circulation impeller 42 rotates by the operation of the circulation motor 43, the washing water of the filter chamber 22 flows into the circulation pump chamber 41 through the first opening 45. The wash water in the circulation pump chamber 41 is discharged to the first outlet 47 by the operation of the circulation impeller 42. The wash water discharged to the first outlet 47 is supplied into the water tank 11 again through the wash water circulation pipe 48. That is, a circulation path through which the washing water of the water tank 11 circulates is formed by the connection pipe 24, the filter chamber 22, the circulation pump chamber 41, and the washing water circulation tube 48. When washing is performed, the washing water is circulated through the circulation path to increase the washing effect.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the drain pump part 50 includes a drain pump chamber 51 formed on the opposite side of the circulation pump chamber 41 of the pump case 21 and a drain impeller 52 installed in the drain pump chamber 51. And, and a drain motor 53 for rotating the drain impeller (52). A second opening 55 through which the wash water flows is formed between the drain pump chamber 51 and the filter chamber 22, and a second outlet 57 through which the wash water is discharged is formed above the drain pump chamber 51. As shown in FIG. 1, a drain pipe 58 for guiding the washing water to the outside of the main body 10 is connected to the second outlet 57. The drainage operation by the drain pump 50 is performed as follows.

When the drain impeller 52 is rotated by the drain motor 53, the washing water of the filter chamber 51 flows into the drain pump chamber 51 through the second opening 55. The wash water in the drain pump chamber 51 is discharged to the second outlet 57 by the operation of the drain impeller 52. The wash water discharged to the second outlet 57 is guided to the outside of the main body 10 through the drain pipe 58. That is, the drainage path of the wash water is formed by the connection pipe 24, the filter chamber 22, the drain pump chamber 51, and the drain pipe 58. The drainage operation is usually performed after the end of the washing cycle. Of course, if the wash water drainage is required, such as rinsing or dehydrating.

On the other hand, the first opening 45 and the second opening 55 on both sides of the filter chamber 22 are provided at substantially the same height as shown in FIG. And the first opening 45 is provided with a bubble blocking portion 46 for blocking the discharge of the foam on the upper side. As shown in FIG. 4, the bubble blocking part 46 is provided to cover a portion of the upper portion of the first opening 45 in a circular shape so that the top height of the first opening 45 is the upper end of the second opening 55. It is lowered. That is, as shown in FIG. 3, the upper end of the first opening 45 is lower than the upper end of the second opening 55 by a predetermined height h.

In this configuration, when the drainage of the water tank 11 is performed by making the height of the upper end of the first opening 45 lower than the upper end of the second opening 55, the bubbles present in the filter chamber 22 may cause the first opening 45 to be removed. It is to prevent the flow into the circulation path through. That is to prevent the flow of bubbles into the water tank 11 through the circulation path.

Since the air introduced into the filter chamber 22 floats in the water during the draining operation, bubbles existing in the filter chamber 22 are also located on the water surface. When the water level of the filter chamber 22 becomes lower than the upper height of the second opening 55 in the drainage process, the foam is sucked into the drain pump chamber 51 together with the wash water and is discharged to the outside together with the wash water. This is because bubbles cannot flow toward the first opening 45 due to the bubble blocking portion 46 on the upper portion of the first opening 45. That is, even when the water level of the filter chamber 22 is lower than the upper end of the second opening 55 by the drainage operation as shown in the example of FIG. 3, the upper end of the first opening 45 (bubble blocking unit) can be kept locked to the water surface. Therefore, it is possible to prevent bubbles from flowing into the circulation pump chamber 41. As a result, when the drainage operation is performed, it is possible to prevent the bubbles present in the filter chamber 22 from flowing into the water tank 11.

As described above in detail, in the washing machine according to the present invention, since the top height of the first opening communicating with the circulation path is lower than the top of the second opening communicating with the drainage path, the foam existing in the filter chamber of the pump case during the drainage process. This circulation path has an effect that can prevent the phenomenon flowing into the tank.

Claims (7)

A pump having a circulation path for circulating the wash water in the tank and a drain path for draining the wash water in the tank, The pump includes a pump case having a first opening in communication with the circulation path and a second opening in communication with the drainage path, The first opening is a washing machine, characterized in that the height of the upper end is lower than the upper end of the second opening. The method of claim 1, The pump comprises a circulating pump portion associated with the first opening and the circulation path, and a drain pump portion associated with the second opening and the drainage path. The method of claim 2, The circulation pump unit includes a circulation pump chamber provided in the pump case to communicate with the first opening, a circulation impeller installed in the circulation pump chamber, and a circulation motor for rotating the circulation impeller. The method of claim 2, The drain pump unit includes a drain pump chamber provided in the pump case to communicate with the second opening, a drain impeller installed in the drain pump chamber, and a circulation motor for rotating the drain impeller. A pump having a circulation path for circulating the wash water in the tank and a drain path for draining the wash water in the tank, The pump includes a pump case having a first opening in communication with the circulation path and a second opening in communication with the drainage path, The first opening is a washing machine, characterized in that it comprises a foam blocking portion provided at the top to block the discharge of the foam. The method of claim 5, The foam blocking unit washing machine, characterized in that the lower end is lower than the top height of the second opening. A drain pump having a circulation path for circulating the wash water in the tank and a drain path for draining the wash water in the tank, The drain pump includes a pump case having a first opening in communication with the circulation path and a second opening in communication with the drainage path, The first opening is a washing machine, characterized in that the height of the upper end is lower than the upper end of the second opening.

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