RU2546425C2 - Sealing sleeve for washing machine - Google Patents

Abstract

FIELD: textiles, paper.

SUBSTANCE: invention relates to a sealing sleeve (1) for a washing machine, which is made substantially in the form of a hollow cylinder and is designed to encompass the perimeter of the loading and unloading opening (2) of the washing machine and fixing with its first end (3) on the front wall (4) of the washing machine housing. At that the loading and unloading opening (2) can be closed by the pivoting door (16) in the form of a glass port, and in the region of the first end (3) on the inner shell of the sealing sleeve (1) a lip-shaped seal (19) is provided, which, when the door is closed (16) adjoins sealingly to the outer surface (21) of its shell. The sealing sleeve (1) with its second end (5) can be fixed to the tank (6) for washing solution and has the first part (22) directed radially inwardly, which adjoins to the second part (23) extending substantially in the axial direction of the sealing sleeve (1) and in the direction of its second end (5). Jamming of laundry between the lip-shaped seal (19) and the outer surface (21) of the door shell (16) is prevented by the fact that both parts (22 and 23) of the lip-shaped seal (19) are arranged so that in the closed position of the door (16) the region of the first part (22) adjoins flatly to the outer surface (21) of its shell, while the second part (23) extends at an angle relative to the first part (22) and extends to the inner surface (24) of the shell of the sealing sleeve (1) and towards its second end (5).

EFFECT: improvement of functionality.

5 cl, 2 dwg

Description

Technical field

The invention relates to a sealing cuff for a washing machine, made essentially in the form of a hollow cylinder and intended to cover the perimeter of the loading and unloading opening of the washing machine with the possibility of fixing its first tip indirectly or directly on the front wall of the housing of the washing machine. The loading and unloading hole can be closed using a pivoting door in the form of a porthole, moreover, a lip-shaped (lip) seal is provided in the area of the first extremity on the inner shell of the sealing cuff, which, when the door is closed, is tightly adjacent to its outer side surface (shell), and the sealing cuff its second tip can be fixed on the tank for washing solution. In this case, the lip-shaped seal has a first radially inwardly directed portion to which at least one second portion adjoins, which extends essentially in the axial direction of the sealing lip and in the direction of its second extremity.

Washing machines, which are mainly performed in the form of front-loading machines, i.e. in which the laundry is loaded into the washing drum, or, accordingly, the centrifuge drum (washing and spinning drum) from the front side and then can also be removed from there, equipped for this purpose with a special loading and unloading hole located in the front wall of their housing, from which a sealing collar extends in the direction of the washing drum / centrifuge drum. This sealing cuff is made mainly in the form of a hollow cylinder, and also has bellows-shaped sections in order to compensate for the movements of the washing solution tank connected to it at the other end, and covers the distance between the loading opening and the opening provided in the washing solution tank. At the same time, the sealing lip is fixed in the region of the edge of the hole provided in the tank for the washing solution, and the lip at this second extremity also has a sealing lamella that interacts with the edge of the loading hole of the washing and spin drum. The lamella serves to ensure that the laundry, when loading the washing machine or during the washing or spinning process, cannot get from the drum or from the inside of the sealing collar into the tank for the washing solution. The loading opening located on the front side is closed during washing or pressing by a pivoting door in the form of a porthole, which is usually made of glass and in most cases has an outer contour in the shape of a truncated cone. When closing this door, the outer contour with a truncated cone with its small diameter enters the sealing collar, and the lip-shaped seal extending from the sealing collar seals tightly against the outer shell of the truncated cone door.

State of the art

A sealing collar of the type indicated above is already known from patent document DE 102006017954 B4. In this case, the front casing of the washing machine is provided with a flange on its edge surrounding the loading opening, which covers the sealing cuff with a thickening of the corresponding shape. At this first end, the sealing lip has a lip-shaped seal located at an angle of about 100 ° relative to the cylindrical surface of the shell. When closing the porthole with an outer contour with a truncated cone, it pushes the sealing lip towards the second end of the sealing cuff, and the sealing lip tightly fits around the perimeter of the surface of the door shell. Due to the execution of this seal between the sealing lip and the outer circumferential surface of the door, it often happens that, in particular, small items of laundry during rotation of the linen drum move into the lip-shaped area and are clamped there between this seal and the surface of the door shell. On the one hand, these items of linen no longer stretch properly, but on the other hand, they do not go through the next spin cycle and therefore remain wetter than other sheets. In addition, large items of laundry can also get under the lip-shaped seal and, being stuck there, get damaged, as they will be twisted and wound due to the rotational movement of the loaded drum of the washing machine. In addition, quite often a problem arises due to the fact that the sealing lip is damaged by stuck items of linen and thus can no longer perform its sealing function.

From the patent document DE 102006054103 B3, a sealing cuff of the washing machine is also known, which is fixed with its first tip on the front wall of the washing machine casing and attached to the washing solution tank with the second. In addition, at its first extremity, the sealing lip is equipped with a lip-shaped seal which is adjacent to the outer surface of the shell of the porthole in its closed state. In this case, the lip-shaped seal has a first radially inwardly directed portion to which at least one second portion adjoins, this second portion extending substantially in the axial direction of the sealing lip and in the direction of its second extremity.

Disclosure of invention

An object of the present invention is to provide a seal between the aforementioned sealing collar and a door, by which jamming and damage to the laundry, as well as damage to the seal during operation of the washing machine, will be reliably prevented.

This problem is solved by a combination of features of the restrictive part of the independent claim and the distinguishing features indicated therein. The following dependent claims describe, respectively, preferred improved embodiments of the invention.

According to the characterizing part of the independent claim, both sections of the lip seal must be such that, in the closed position of the door, the region of the first section lies flat (plane) against the outer surface of the shell, while the second section, which extends at an angle relative to the first section, extends to the inner shell of the sealing collar and in the direction of its second extremity.

By similarly extending the lip seal according to the invention, diving under the lip lip is prevented. Items of laundry that are pushed out into this zone by a rotating drum for washing and spinning, as well as laundry located in the drum, are caught by the second section extending in the direction of the inner surface of the shell of the sealing collar, and therefore cannot get into the seal area of the lip-shaped seal. In this way, damage to both the laundry and the lip-shaped seal can be avoided. Since the laundry items that are captured by the second portion of the lip-shaped seal do not get stuck, they again fall back into the drum for washing and spinning, i.e. continue to participate in the washing process and in the subsequent spinning process. The second portion extending in the axial direction may also have a V-shape in longitudinal section of the lip seal, with one lamella extending in the direction of the inner surface of the shell of the sealing collar and the other lamella in the direction of the outer surface of the shell of the door.

A particular advantage for sealing the sealing collar relative to the door and for catching the laundry falling into this region is achieved if the second section has a curved shape. As a result, the penetration of laundry into the sealing area is effectively prevented. The second section of the lip-shaped seal, made generally highly elastic, can be deformed to trap and divert the laundry and, at the same time, rotate in the region in which it passes at an angle relative to the first section. Advantageously, the second portion of the lip seal may be softer in comparison with the first portion.

A further improvement of the invention provides that the lip-shaped seal has substantially the same thickness in the region of the flat fit of its first portion and throughout its second portion. As a result, a lip-shaped seal can be made in the production of a sealing lip by a simple injection molding method. As an alternative to this, it is also possible to perform a second lip-shaped portion with a thinner wall than the first portion, in order to make this region extremely flexible and thereby improve the collection or, accordingly, removal of the laundry.

And, finally, the inner shell of the sealing collar, directed radially inward to the first section and passing to the inner shell of the second section should form an annular hollow space (cavity). In combination with the elastic design of the second section, good prerequisites are provided to prevent the laundry from getting stuck and guiding them instead into the washing process and subsequent spinning.

The invention is not limited to this combination of features according to the independent claims and the dependent claims. In addition, there are possibilities for a combination of the individual features given in the claims, the following description of embodiments or directly in the drawing. The reference in the claims to the drawing using the symbols should not limit the scope of legal protection of the claims.

Other preferred embodiments of the invention are explained below with reference to the drawings.

Brief Description of the Drawings

Figure 1 shows a longitudinal section through a local view of the washing machine, which passes through the upper region of the porthole and sealing cuff.

Figure 2 shows an enlarged image of the sealing lip shown essentially in Figure 1 in the region of its lip-shaped seal adjacent to the outer surface of the door shell.

The implementation of the invention

1, the reference numeral 1 denotes a substantially hollow cylinder-shaped sealing collar that spans a loading-unloading hole 2 in a radial direction. In this case, the sealing collar 1 is fixed on its first tip 3 on the front wall 4 of the washing machine body, and on the second tip 5 - on the tank 6 for the washing solution. For this purpose, the front wall 4 of the housing has a flange 7, which is covered by the first bulge passing around the perimeter 8. In the adjacent area, the sealing collar 1 has a cylindrical design, then turning into a bellows 9.

Due to this bellows 9, the sealing collar 1 is flexible in order to compensate for the movements of the washing solution tank 6 relative to the front wall 4 of the housing that occur during washing or spinning with large volumes of laundry. And finally, at the second end 5 of the sealing collar 1, a second thickening 11 is provided, by means of which the sealing collar 1 is fixed on the adjacent edges 10 and 12 of the washing solution tank 6.

Inside the tank 6 for the washing solution is placed a drum 13 rotating during the washing or spinning process, which during the spinning process functions as a centrifuge drum and is loaded from the front side. From the second bulge 11 in the longitudinal direction of the entire structure, a sealing lamella 14 passes, which reaches the edge 15 with the bent edge of the washing drum 13. This prevents small items of laundry located inside the washing drum 13 or inside the area surrounded by the sealing cuff in outside the washing drum 13, the zone of the tank 6 for the washing solution.

In addition, the washing machine shown in FIG. 1 has a window 16 in the form of a porthole, which, which is not shown separately, is mounted on one side of the front wall 4 of the housing with a hinge and can be locked on its opposite side relative to the front wall 4 buildings. The door 16 is mainly made of transparent glass. In this case, the door 16 has a truncated cone-shaped shell 17 and a round bottom 18. At the first end 3 of the sealing collar 1, as can be seen in FIG. 1, a lip-shaped seal 19 is provided. This lip-shaped seal 19 extends essentially from the first thickening 8 in the radial direction inward and in the closed position of the door 16 hermetically adjoins a flat annular region of contact 20 to the outer surface 21 of the shell of the door 16.

From this first portion 22 of the lip seal 19, a second portion 23 extends at an angle relative to the first portion 22. In addition, this second portion 23 is bent so that it extends toward the inner surface 24 of the shell of the sealing collar 1 and then runs parallel to it . Due to such a lip-shaped seal 19, it forms an annular cavity relative to the inner surface 24 of the shell of the sealing collar 1.

The design of the sealing lip 1 in the region of its first extremity 3 and thereby the shape of the lip-shaped seal 19 are clearly shown in FIG. As can be seen in FIG. 2, the same conventions are used to refer to the corresponding elements as in FIG. 1.

The lip-shaped seal 19 shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, as already described above, has a second section 23 of curved shape, and this second section 23 ends near the inner surface 24 of the shell of the sealing collar 1. In this position, the lip-shaped seal 19 is deformed by the door 16 condition. However, if the door 16 is open, then the first portion 22 of the lip seal 19 extends essentially in a radial direction or obliquely, and the second portion 23 of the lip seal 19 is located at some distance from the inner surface 24 of the shell of the sealing collar 1. Its function is a lip seal 19, of course, it must be performed when the door 16 is closed, in which, on the one hand, a seal is provided on the inner region of the sealing collar 1 and, at the same time, on the inner cavity of the washing drum 13 and the tank 6 d I wash solution.

To this end, the lip-shaped seal 19, with its adjoining area 20, is hermetically adjacent to the outer surface 21 of the glass door shell. If the lip-shaped seal ended at this point, the items of laundry might get stuck between the seating area 20 and the outer surface 21 of the shell during washing, they would no longer participate in the washing process and would be damaged, and, ultimately, would break the tightness the door 16 provided by the lip-shaped seal 19. According to the invention, the lip-shaped seal is provided with a second portion 23 extending from the first portion 22, which, due to its contour, prevents laundry from entering the sealing region, those. in the area 20 of the fit. As a consequence, such problems can be very effectively eliminated by executing the lip-shaped seal 16 according to the invention. Corresponding shielding of the actual lip seal region 16, i.e. its flat area 20 of the fit, leads to the fact that items of linen no longer fall into this area. These benefits can be achieved using structurally simple tools suitable for use in mass production.

LIST OF CONVENTIONS

1 Sealing cuff

2 loading and unloading hole

3 First tip of element 1

4 body wall

5 Second tip of element 1

6 Tank for washing solution

7 Flanging element 4

8 The first thickening

9 Bellows

10 Circular edge of element 6

11 Second thickening

12 Circular edge of element 6

13 washing drum

14 Sealing lamella

15 Edged edge

16 doors

17 Shell

18 bottom

19 Lip seal

20 Area of contact (element 19 to element 21)

21 The outer surface of the element 17

22 The first section of the element 19

23 The second section of the element 19

24 The inner surface of the shell element 1

25 annular cavity

Claims (5)

1. Sealing cuff (1) for the washing machine, which is made essentially in the form of a hollow cylinder and is designed to cover the perimeter of the loading and unloading hole (2) of the washing machine and fix it with its first tip (3) on the front wall (4) the housing of the washing machine, and the loading and unloading hole (2) is made with the possibility of closing it by a pivoting door (16) in the form of a porthole, moreover, a lip-shaped seal is provided in the region of the first tip (3) on the inner shell of the sealing collar (1) e (19), which, when the door (16) is closed, is hermetically adjacent to the outer surface (21) of its shell, the sealing sleeve (1) being made with the possibility of fixing on its second tip (5) on the tank (6) for the washing solution, and the lip-shaped seal (19) has a first radially inwardly directed portion (22) to which at least a second portion (23) adjoins, extending substantially in the axial direction of the sealing collar (1) and in the direction of its second extremity ( 5), characterized in that both sections (22, 23) of the lip-shaped seal (19) made so that in the closed position of the door (16), the region of the first section (22) is flat against the outer surface (21) of its shell, and the second section (23) moves away at an angle relative to the first section (22) and extends to the inner surface (24) ) the shell of the sealing collar (1) and in the direction of its second tip (5). 2. Sealing cuff according to claim 1, characterized in that the second section (23) in cross section has a curved shape. 3. Sealing cuff according to claim 1, characterized in that the lip-shaped seal (19) in the region (20) of the flat fit of its first portion (22) and throughout its second portion (23) has essentially the same thickness . 4. The sealing collar according to claim 1, characterized in that the inner surface (24) of the shell of the sealing collar (1) directed radially inward to the first section (22) and passing to the inner surface (24) of the shell of the second section (23) form an annular cavity (25). 5. Sealing cuff according to claim 1, characterized in that the second section (23) is made softer in comparison with the first section (22).

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