TWI660094B - Washing machine - Google Patents

Abstract

In order to provide a washing machine, it is possible to suppress an increase in the size of the fluid balancer, and to increase the washing capacity, reduce vibration, and improve dehydration performance. A washing machine includes an outer tank that stores water, an inner tank that is rotatably provided in the outer tank as a washing and dewatering tank, a motor that rotates the inner tank, and is divided into a plurality of layers and the The fluid balancer in which a liquid is sealed in an internal space is characterized in that the outer layer of the fluid balancer has a convex portion protruding downward with respect to the axial length of the inner layer, and the convex portion is close to the rotation axis. The outer wall of one side is inclined.

Description

washing machine

[0001] The present invention relates to a washing machine.

[0002] An upright washing machine is provided with a vibration-proof support for an outer tank for storing water in a housing, and an inner tank serving as a washing and dewatering tank is rotatably supported by a motor in the outer tank. In the dehydration step, the inner tub is rotated at a high speed to perform dehydration of the laundry stored in the inner tub. At this time, if the laundry in the inner tank is biased, it will become unbalanced and cause the outer tank to vibrate, and this vibration will be transmitted to the casing, causing the casing to vibrate or generate noise. Therefore, a safety switch provided in the housing and a vibration sensor provided in the outer groove are used to detect the vibration of the outer groove, and it is controlled to stop the rotation of the inner groove when excessive vibration occurs. In addition, in order to suppress vibration, a fluid balancer is provided near the opening of the inner tank of the washing machine. The fluid balancer is a ring that seals the liquid inside. The effect of the fluid balancer is to make the enclosed liquid lean to the opposite side of the imbalance when the water is dehydrated at high speed to offset the imbalance. By extending the internal space enclosed by the liquid in the axial direction, the effect of counterbalance can be improved. In the radial direction, instead of becoming a large space, it has a multilayer structure. Even when the vibration is small, a large Imbalance offset effect. [0003] In recent years, although the washing capacity of washing machines tends to increase, under the current situation of floor space of residential buildings, the increase in the size of home appliances is still difficult for consumers to accept. However, when the washing capacity is increased by increasing the diameter of the inner tank, the outer tank surrounding the inner tank and the fluid balancer also becomes large, but the gap between the casing and the outer tank is caused because the body cannot be enlarged. cut back. In this way, when the outer tank is vibrated, the outer tank and the casing may dry out and generate strange sounds, which is a factor that hinders the increase in the diameter of the inner tank, that is, increases the washing capacity. Or, if the fluid balance is miniaturized to increase the volume of the inner tank capable of storing clothes, the vibration reduction effect is reduced. Therefore, in order to increase the washing capacity, it is necessary to prevent an increase in the size of the fluid balancer and ensure a vibration reduction effect. [0004] Therefore, the washing machine described in Patent Document 1 has a fluid balancer having a two-layer structure, and the axial length of the internal space of the radially outer layer is longer than the axial direction of the internal space of the radially inner layer. Longer. [0005] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2009-28146

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] [0006] The washing machine contained in Patent Document 1 has a longer axial length of the radially outer layer, which is farther away from the rotation axis, than the inner diameter side and the outer diameter side. When the axial length is the same, the effect of offset can be improved. However, the layer on the outer diameter side extends further down than the layer on the inner diameter side. The side surface on the inner diameter side is oriented substantially vertically, and there is no dehydration hole in this part. Therefore, the clothes on the inner diameter side of the extension part There is a problem that the dehydration becomes worse. [0007] An object of the present invention is to provide a washing machine capable of suppressing an increase in the size of a fluid balancer, and capable of increasing the washing capacity, reducing vibration, and improving dehydration performance. [Technical means to solve the problem] [0008] A washing machine includes an outer tank that stores water, an inner tank that is rotatably provided in the outer tank as a washing and dewatering tank, a motor that drives the inner tank to rotate, And a fluid balancer provided at an upper portion of the inner groove, wherein the fluid balancer has a plurality of flow paths in a radial direction, and an axial length of a flow path on a radial outer peripheral side is longer than a radial position The axial length of the flow path on the inner peripheral side is longer. The lower end of the flow path on the radial outer peripheral side is lower than the lower end of the flow path on the radial inner peripheral side. The flow path system has a convex shape protruding from the lower contour, and a first inclined portion is provided on the inner peripheral surface of the convex shape. [Effects of the Invention] [0009] According to the present invention, it is possible to suppress an increase in the size of the fluid balancer, to increase the internal volume of the inner groove by reducing the axial length on the inner diameter side, and to increase the axial direction on the outer diameter side. The longer length increases the vibration reduction effect of the fluid balancer, and the inner peripheral side of the convex shape of the outer peripheral side is inclined so that the diameter of the lower part becomes larger in the past, so that water can be easily detached from the laundry. Increase, reduce vibration and improve dehydration performance.

[0011] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail using drawings. [Embodiment 1] [0012] FIG. 1 is an external perspective view of the washing machine 100, FIG. 2 is a right side sectional view of the washing machine 100, and FIG. 3 is an enlarged view of part A of FIG. 2 showing the internal structure of the fluid balancer of the washing machine 100. As shown in FIG. 1, the washing machine 100 is provided with a casing 1 having a contour, an upper cover 2 is provided on the upper portion of the casing 1, and a base 3 is provided on the lower portion of the casing 1. The base 3 is provided with 4 feet, of which the one facing the right front of the washing machine body is a height-adjustable adjusting foot 3a, and the other three are fixed feet 3b whose height cannot be adjusted. When the washing machine is installed, the height of the adjusting leg 3a is adjusted to suppress the inclination and shaking of the main body. The upper cover 2 is provided with an outer cover 2b so as to cover the clothes insertion opening 2a. An operation panel 7 is provided on the front side of the upper cover 2. The operation panel 7 includes a power switch 4, an operation switch 5, and a display 6. The operation panel 7 is electrically connected to a control device 14 provided on the back surface of the casing 1. [0013] Inside the casing 1, four of the outer grooves 10 for storing water are elastically supported by the casing 1 through a boom. An air well 21a is provided on the back of the outer tank 10, and the internal pressure is transmitted to the water level sensor 21 through the hose 21b, thereby detecting the water level of the water stored in the outer tank 10. A safety switch 31 is provided at a corner in front of the housing 1, and when the outer tank 10 is vibrated during dehydration, it has a structure that is detectable when the vibration is shifted more than a predetermined value. [0014] An inner tank 8 for storing laundry is provided inside the outer tank 10. The inner groove 8 has a plurality of small through-holes 8a for passing water and ventilation on its outer peripheral wall, and a plurality of through-holes 8b for passing water and ventilation on its bottom wall. The fluid balancer 9 rotatably supports the rotating blades 11 inside the bottom. [0015] A motor 13 is provided outside the bottom of the outer groove 10, and by controlling the clutch mechanism 12, the rotation of the inner groove 8 and the rotating blade 11 can be operated as follows. One of the actions is to repeatedly rotate the rotating blades 11 in a locked state where the inner tank 8 is stationary or a freely rotatable state, and is mainly used for stirring clothes. The other operation is an operation that rotates the inner tank 8 and the rotating blade 11 in the same direction integrally, and is mainly used for dehydration. [0016] A groove cover 23 is provided on the upper surface of the outer tank 10. The groove cover 23 is provided with a clothes inlet 23a, a warm air outlet 23b, and a water supply inlet 25a that communicate with the upper and lower surfaces. In addition, an inner cover 24 is provided in the groove cover 23 so as to cover the clothes insertion opening 23a, and it can be opened and closed freely by a hinge 24a. The inner lid 24 is opened by pulling the handle 24b upward to release the lock, and locked by pushing the handle 24b downward. [0017] A drying duct 10c is provided on the rear side of the outer tank 10. The drying duct 10c is connected to the drying unit 19 through the bellows 10d. The drying unit 19 includes a heater 19b as a heat source of the blower fan 19a, and a temperature sensor 19c. The drying unit 19 is connected to the warm air blowing outlet 23b provided in the tank cover 23 through the bellows 23c. The fan 19a circulates the air whose temperature has been raised by the heater 19b, thereby drying the clothes. In addition, the housing 1 is provided with a water supply solenoid valve 25 connected to the water supply port 2c, and can supply water to the inner tank 8 and the drying duct 10c. A drain port 10 b for draining water is provided at a lower portion of the outer tank 10, and is connected to a drain hose 24 through a drain valve 15. [0018] The fluid balancer 9 provided in the upper part of the inner tank 8 is formed in a ring shape from a synthetic resin or the like, and has several flow paths inside. Liquid is enclosed in this flow path, and has the effect of reducing vibration when vibration occurs during dehydration. Specifically, in the case where vibration occurs due to the bias (hereinafter referred to as imbalance) of the clothes during dehydration, the vibration is performed at a rotation speed higher than the resonance rotation speed in a direction that is 180 degrees out of phase from the imbalance direction. At this time, the liquid in the fluid balancer 9 will lean in the direction of vibration. That is, the phase is shifted by 180 degrees relative to the imbalance, so that the imbalance can be cancelled and the vibration can be reduced. [0019] FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing the internal structure of the fluid balancer in an enlarged and detailed manner as shown in part A of FIG. 2. The fluid balancer 9 includes a balance ring housing 9a, a balance ring cover 9b, and a fluid 9c. The gimbal housing 9a is a resin molded product, and is obtained by injection molding using PP (polypropylene) containing reinforced glass fibers, for example. The gimbal casing 9a is a ring-shaped member with an upper opening. The gimbal housing 9a is provided with a partition wall so that the interior is divided into three parts, and the partition wall is divided into three annular flow paths 26a, 26b, and 26c. In addition, a fluid 9c is enclosed in each of the flow paths 26a, 26b, and 26c. In order to reduce the size of the fluid balancer 9, the fluid 9c uses a salt water or the like having a large specific gravity. [0020] The balance ring housing 9a has a structure having a long axial length on the outer diameter side, and the height of the flow path 26c becomes higher than the flow paths 26a and 26b. The effect of the fluid balancer 9 that offsets the imbalance becomes larger as the center of gravity of the liquid is further away from the rotation axis. Therefore, of the three flow paths, the out-of-balance effect of the outer flow path 26c is the highest. In addition, a reduction in the volume of the inner groove 8 can be suppressed compared to a case in which the inner diameter side is extended. [0021] The gimbal casing 9a has an inner peripheral surface 27 on the inner diameter side. The gimbal casing 9a has a high height only on the outer diameter side and is formed into a convex downward shape. Therefore, the inner peripheral surface 27 is divided into the first inner surface. The peripheral surface 27a and the second inner peripheral surface 27b. In addition, the bottom surface 28 of the gimbal housing 9a is similarly divided into a first bottom surface 28a and a second bottom surface 28b. The first inner peripheral surface 27a is inclined so that the inner diameter becomes larger as it goes downward. [0022] Next, the state of the laundry during the spin-drying operation will be described using FIG. 4 and FIG. 5. FIG. 4 shows a conventionally constructed fluid balancer, and FIG. 5 shows a fluid balancer 9 according to an embodiment of the present invention. When the spin-drying operation is started, the laundry is stored in the lower part due to gravity. When the rotation speed of the inner tank 8 gradually increases, the clothes are gradually moved to the outside by the generated centrifugal force to fit the inner tank 8. At this time, when the amount of laundry to be dehydrated is small, the laundry is attached to the inner tank 8 at a position lower than the fluid balancer 9. Because the inner tank 8 is provided with a through hole 8a for water passage, water discharged from the laundry enters the outer tank 10 through the through hole 8a, thereby dehydrating the laundry. [0023] On the other hand, when there is a large amount of laundry, as shown in FIG. 4, the laundry 29a, 29b will rise to a position in contact with the first bottom surface 28a and the second bottom surface 28b of the gimbal casing 9a. Because there is no through hole in the gimbal housing 9a, as shown in FIG. 4, when the first inner peripheral surface 27a is not inclined, water detached from the clothes moves in the direction of the arrow. However, because the direction of the arrow is orthogonal to the centrifugal force and no force to promote movement is applied, the laundry becomes less likely to be dehydrated, resulting in a decrease in the dehydration rate. On the other hand, in the case where the fluid balancer 9 of the present invention has a sloped portion like the first inner peripheral surface 27a, the water detached from the clothes will be directed toward the arrow by the centrifugal force along the slope of the first inner peripheral surface 27a It flows in the direction and leaves from the through hole 8 a of the inner groove 8 to the outer groove 10. As described above, by declination of the first inner peripheral surface 27a, the dehydration of the laundry can be promoted and the dehydration rate can be improved. [0024] In addition, in this embodiment, although the reclining portion is provided in a straight line like the first inner peripheral surface 27a, an arc-shaped inclined portion may be provided in the first inner peripheral surface 27c as shown in FIG. 6. By forming an arc shape, dehydration performance can be improved compared with the structure which does not have an inclined part of a conventional structure. However, the portion shown in FIG. 3 is capable of further improving the dehydration rate because the portion having an inclination angle becomes smaller and a portion that is not easily dehydrated is generated. [Embodiment 2] [0025] In the washing machine of this embodiment, the inner peripheral surface of the fluid balancer 30 is different from that of the washing machine described in Embodiment 1, and descriptions thereof are omitted because they are the same in structure. FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view showing the internal structure of the fluid balancer 30 of this embodiment. As shown in FIG. 7, the fluid balancer 30 is the same as the first embodiment, and includes a balance ring housing 30 a, a balance ring cover 30 b, and a balancer liquid 30 c. The inner peripheral surface 31 of the gimbal housing 30a is divided into a first inner peripheral surface 31a and a second inner peripheral surface 31b, and not only the first inner peripheral surface 31a but also the second inner peripheral surface 31b has an inclined portion. If there is a large amount of laundry during the spin-drying operation, the laundry may be located at the same height as the fluid balancer 30. If the spin-drying operation is performed in this state, as the rotation speed increases, the clothes are gradually moved toward the outer diameter side by centrifugal force. Here, as shown in FIG. 3, when the second inner peripheral surface 27b is not inclined, the clothing moved to the outer diameter side moves upward and downward. The clothing moved upward may enter between the tank cover 23 and the fluid balancer 9. [0026] Then, like the fluid balancer 30 of the washing machine of this embodiment, the second inner peripheral surface 31b is provided with an inclined portion so that the inner diameter becomes larger as it goes downward, and the clothes moved to the outer diameter side by centrifugal force , It will move downward along the inclined surface, so that the entry of clothes between the tank cover 23 and the fluid balancer 30 can be effectively suppressed. Furthermore, the clothes moved downward along the inclined surface are lowered to the height of the first inner peripheral surface 31a, and dewatered at this position. Since the first inner peripheral surface 31a has a slanted portion, dehydration can be performed more efficiently than in a case where there is no slanted portion. [0027] The larger the inclination angle of the first inner peripheral surface 31a, that is, the larger the first inclination angle 32a, the more the dehydration can be promoted. On the other hand, the inclination angle of the second inner peripheral surface 31b, that is, the second inclination angle 32b, is intended to pull the clothing attached to the inner side of the inner peripheral surface 31b into the inner groove 8 to form the inner peripheral surface. Although it is important that the upper part of 31b widens the lower part, it is not necessary to increase the second tilt angle 32b. Furthermore, the larger the second inclination angle 32b is, the smaller the flow paths 33a and 33b are, and the purpose of the fluid balancer 30, that is, the vibration reduction effect is reduced, which is not desirable. Therefore, by making the first inclination angle 32a larger than the second inclination angle 32b, it is possible to prevent laundry from entering between the fluid balancer 30 and the tank cover 23, and to suppress the vibration and efficiently perform the dehydration of the laundry. [Embodiment 3] [0028] In the washing machine of this embodiment, the flow path on the outer diameter side of the fluid balancer 40 is different from that of the washing machine described in Embodiment 2. The other structures are the same, and descriptions thereof are omitted. FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view showing the internal structure of the fluid balancer 40 of this embodiment. The fluid balancer 40 of this embodiment is configured such that, among the flow paths 41a, 41b, and 41c of the balance ring housing 40a, the lower inner peripheral side of the outer flow path 41c has an inclined portion that is inclined similarly to the first inner peripheral surface 42a. 41d. [0029] With such a structure, the thickness of the outer wall on the inner peripheral side of the lower portion of the flow path 41c can be made uniform, and the decrease in strength due to a local decrease in the thickness of the plate can be suppressed. Furthermore, it is possible to prevent an increase in the volume of the inner groove 8 in order to prevent an unnecessary increase in the thickness of the plate to ensure the strength.

[0030]

1‧‧‧shell

3‧‧‧ base

8‧‧‧ Inner groove

9‧‧‧ fluid balancer

10‧‧‧ Outer trough

11‧‧‧ rotating blade

12‧‧‧ clutch mechanism

13‧‧‧ Motor

27a‧‧‧First inner peripheral surface

27b‧‧‧Second inner peripheral surface

32a‧‧‧First tilt angle

32b‧‧‧Second tilt angle

[0010] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a washing machine according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a right side sectional view showing the internal structure of the washing machine of the present invention. FIG. 3 is an enlarged view of part A of FIG. 2 showing the internal structure of the fluid balancer of the washing machine of the present invention. FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram illustrating the dehydration of clothes of a conventionally constructed fluid balancer. FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram illustrating the dehydration of laundry in the fluid balancer of the washing machine of the present invention. 6 is a sectional view showing another example of the internal structure of the fluid balancer of the washing machine of the present invention. 7 is a right side view showing a partial cross section of a fluid balancer of a washing machine according to an embodiment (Example 2). FIG. 8 is a right side view showing a partial cross section of a fluid balancer of a washing machine according to an embodiment (Example 3).

Claims (5)

A washing machine includes an outer tank that stores water, an inner tank that is rotatably provided in the outer tank as a washing and dewatering tank, a motor that drives the inner tank to rotate, and a fluid provided on the upper part of the inner tank The balancer is characterized in that the fluid balancer has a plurality of flow paths in the radial direction, and the axial length of the flow path on the outer peripheral side in the radial direction is longer than the axial length of the flow path on the inner peripheral side in the radial direction. Longer, the lower end of the flow path located on the radial outer peripheral side is lower than the lower end of the flow path located on the radial inner peripheral side, and the flow path system of 外 located on the radial outer peripheral side has a convexity with respect to the lower profile The convex shape is provided with a first inclined portion on an inner peripheral surface of the convex shape. The washing machine according to claim 1, wherein the second inclined portion is provided on the inner peripheral surface of the flow path on the inner peripheral side in the radial direction. The washing machine according to claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the first inclination angle of the first inclined portion is larger than the second inclination angle of the second inclined portion. The washing machine according to claim 1 or claim 2, wherein a cross section of the first inclined portion is substantially straight. The washing machine according to claim 1 or claim 2, wherein has an inclined portion having a downwardly larger inner diameter at a lower portion of the flow path on the outer peripheral side.