WO2016107640A1

WO2016107640A1 - Bellows water discharge system for a laundry washing machine

Info

Publication number: WO2016107640A1
Application number: PCT/EP2014/079401
Authority: WO
Inventors: Talip Caglar
Original assignee: Arcelik Anonim Sirketi
Priority date: 2014-12-30
Filing date: 2014-12-30
Publication date: 2016-07-07

Abstract

The present invention relates to a laundry washing machine (1) comprising an improved bellows structure to discharge water accumulated therein. The present invention particularly relates to a laundry washing machine (1) comprising a rotary drum (5) in which cloth items are placed and accessible via a front door (7), a water tub (4) in which the drum (5) is rotated, a motor providing the drum (5) to be driven by means of a belt-pulley mechanism disposed outside the tub (4) or a direct-drive mechanism and a bellows (6) of a resilient material annularly attached to the tub (4) at a first end thereof and to the front wall of the laundry washing machine (1) at the second end, thereby sealing the front door's (7) opening.

Description

BELLOWS WATER DISCHARGE SYSTEM FOR A LAUNDRY WASHING MACHINE

The present invention relates to a laundry washing machine comprising an improved bellows structure to discharge water accumulated therein.

A laundry washing machine generally comprises a six-sided cabinet with a front side door by which one can put in a laundry to be washed. A bellows in communication with the front access opening of the machine is connected to a tub opening and a drum opening, the drum being rotatably disposed inside the tub, can be accessed through the front access opening. In the present application, the term “laundry washing machine” is intended to comprise both the front loading type laundry washing machine with the drying function or without the drying function.

A laundry washing machine comprises a drum rotatable in the tub such that water and detergent held in a lower part of the tub is used to perform washing of the laundry. Typically, an electric motor rotates the drum by means of a belt-pulley mechanism or a direct-drive mechanism so that forward and reverse rotation of the drum is effected during the washing and/or drying cycles.

In laundry washing machines, water can accumulate on the lower part of the bellows during the washing process takes place and remain there after the process is terminated. It is observed that the accumulated water causes bacterial growth leading to unpleasant odors and associated customer complaints. The bacterial layer formed on the bellows thickening in time may lead to structural damages in the bellows and basically decreases the lifetime of the same and the laundry washing machine. On the other hand, the water accumulated on the bellows may simply result in customer dissatisfaction as a situation causing hygiene concerns and therefore needs to be effectively addressed by discharging the accumulated water.

A prior art publication in the technical field of the present invention may be referred to as US 2009095030, which discloses a drum type washing machine. In the drum type washing machine, a pollutant remaining in a bellows is removed by water ejected from an odor removing hose. Accordingly, it is capable of preventing the pollutant from being rotted and thus causing odor. And, it is capable of preventing the pollutant from feeding mold in the humid washing machine, preventing being smelly in the washing machine due to the mold.

The present invention therefore provides a laundry washing machine with a bellows water discharge system effective in eliminating water accumulation on the bellows surfaces as provided by the characterizing features defined in Claim 1 and any subsequent Claims.

Primary object of the present invention is to provide a bellows water discharge system preventing water accumulation on the bellows surfaces of the laundry washing machine.

The present invention proposes a laundry washing machine with a bellows water discharge system, a vacuum line of which naturally discharges water accumulated on the bellows of the machine, the bellows being disposed in between a tub’s front side and a front door. A drum in the tub, comprising a reinforcing flange in the form of a central hub connected with radial wings at the rear wall of the drum provides that the flange acts as a propeller at the rear side of the drum and creates pressure differences during spin drying operation of the laundry washing machine. The vacuum line extending to the rear wall of the tub in fluid communication with an accumulation region of the bellows therefore naturally drains the accumulated water.

The accumulation region is therefore directly connected with a tub opening at a rear side of the tub through the vacuum line conveying water. Alternatively, the accumulation region can be connected with a discharge receptacle in fluid communication through a discharge line such that the vacuum line provides flow of the accumulated water into the discharge receptacle.

Accompanying drawings are given solely for the purpose of exemplifying a laundry washing machine with a bellows water discharge system, whose advantages over prior art were outlined above and will be explained in brief hereinafter.

The drawings are not meant to delimit the scope of protection as identified in the claims nor should they be referred to alone in an effort to interpret the scope identified in the claims without recourse to the technical disclosure in the description of the present invention.

Figure 1 demonstrates a cross-sectional side view of a laundry washing machine according to the present invention.

Figure 2 demonstrates a cross-sectional side view of a laundry washing machine according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 3 demonstrates another cross-sectional side view of a laundry washing machine according to an alternative embodiment of the present invention.

The following numerals are assigned to different parts demonstrated in the drawings:

1) Laundry washing machine

2) Bellows water discharge system

3) Cabinet

4) Tub

5) Drum

6) Bellows

7) Front door

8) Discharge line

9) Discharge receptacle

10) Central pressure region

11) Outer pressure region

12) Accumulation region

13) Drain channel

14) Bellows opening

15) Shaft

16) Vacuum line

17) Tub opening

The present invention relates to a laundry washing machine (1) with the drying function or without the drying function, generally comprising a six-sided cabinet (3) with a front door (7) disposed on the front side of the cabinet (3), a tub (4) being installed in the cabinet (3), a drum (5) rotatably mounted inside the tub (4) and a bellows (6) positioned between the front door (7) and the tub (4).

The laundry washing machine’s (1) drum (5) is rotatable in the tub (4) such that water and detergent held in a lower part of the tub (4) is typically used to perform washing of the laundry whereby dirt and filth attached to the laundry is removed as a result of mechanical interaction of cloth items with each other and with the drum (5) surfaces. Typically, an electric motor rotates the drum (5) by means of a belt-pulley mechanism or a direct-drive mechanism so that forward and reverse rotation of the drum (5) is effected during the washing cycles.

The bellows (6) made of a resilient material is annularly attached to the tub (4) at a first end thereof and to the cabinet’s (3) front wall at the second end, thereby sealing the front door’s (7) opening. The bellows (6) is therefore disposed between the tub (4) and the body of the cabinet (3) with one end thereof being connected to the front door (7) opening and the other end to the tub (4).

The present invention provides a bellows water discharge system (2) for a laundry washing machine (1) comprising a bellows (6), the latter positioned between the tub (4) and the front door (7). The bellows water discharge system (2) communicates with a discharge line (8) so as to ensure removal of accumulated water on the surface of the bellows (6) after the washing process is effectuated.

After the washing process of the laundry washing is terminated, a small quantity of water may remain on an accumulation region (12) of the bellows (6), potentially causing structural damage as well as unpleasant odor due to bacterial growth therein. According to the present invention, discharge of the water accumulated on the bellows (6) is effected by a passive natural system as delineated hereinafter. Accordingly, during the spinning cycles of the laundry washing process, pressure distribution differences, originating from the effect of the drum’s (5) flange (not shown) serving for mechanically reinforcing the drum (5), occur. The flange is embedded on the rear face of the drum (5) in connection with the shaft (15) whereby the drum (5) is securely and fixedly attached to the shaft (15) with a sturdy and durable structure being imparted to the drum (5). During the spinning cycles of the washing machine, the flange functions as a propeller system’s rotary blades, and produces a negative pressure region between the drum (5) and the tub (4) at the rear sides thereof, by which vacuum is generated at outer pressure regions (11) of the drum (5) inside the tub (4) so as to drain the accumulated water from the bellows (6) at the front side of the drum (5).

According to an embodiment of the invention, a discharge line (8) is provided in fluid communication with the accumulation region (12) to be extending therefrom in the direction of a discharge receptacle (9) through the discharge line (8). The discharge line (8) allows water discharge by gravitational force due to its position relative to the drum (5). Therefore, the discharge line (8) in fluid communication with the accumulation region (12) serves for preventing water accumulation on the bellows (6) surface.

Accumulated water directed towards the discharge receptacle (9) through a bellows opening (14) of the bellows (6) is collected in the discharge receptacle (9) to be successively drained through a drain channel (13) of the machine.

In a preferred embodiment, the accumulation region (12) is directly connected with a rear side tub opening (17) of a vacuum line (16) between the bellows (6) and the rear side of the tub (4), through which the vacuum effect provides flow of the accumulated water into the tub (4). The removal of the accumulated water on the bellows (6) is therefore ensured through the vacuum line (16) due to the pressure distribution differences and the resulting vacuum formed at the outer pressure regions (11) at both sides of a central pressure region (10) of the drum (5) during the spinning cycles of the machine. The differences in pressure distribution along the longitudinal axis of the drum (5) enables the vacuum line (16) to draw water such that the outer pressure regions (11) being negatively pressured, and the central pressure region (10) of the drum (5) being positively pressured, provides drainage from the bellows (6).

The two embodiments being combined according to the present invention advantageously provides more efficient discharge of the accumulated water both by gravity and vacuum effect. While the vacuum effect provides flow of the accumulated water in the direction of the vacuum line (16) because a closed circuit is established between the bellows opening (14) and the tub opening (17) due to the vacuum line (16), the discharge receptacle (9) disposed in fluid communication with both the discharge line (8) and the vacuum line (16) in between thereof collects the accumulated water as the water cannot flow through the vacuum line (16) into the tub (4). Therefore, the vacuum line (16) in combination with the discharge receptacle (9) provides an efficient structure for discharging the accumulated water.

Consequently, the present invention proposes a laundry washing machine (1) comprising a rotary drum (5) in which cloth items are placed and accessible via a front door (7), a water tub (4) in which the rotary drum (5) is rotatable, a motor providing the rotary drum (5) to be driven by means of a belt-pulley mechanism disposed outside the tub (4) or alternatively through a direct-drive mechanism without a belt-pulley mechanism and a bellows (6) of a resilient material annularly attached to the tub (4) at a first end thereof and to the front wall of the laundry washing machine (1) at the second end, thereby sealing the front door’s (7) opening.

In one embodiment of the present invention, the laundry washing machine (1) comprises a bellows water discharge system (2) comprising a vacuum line (16) in fluid communication with a water accumulation region (12) of the bellows (6) through a bellows opening (14) at a first longitudinal side of the tub (4) and in fluid communication with a tub opening (17) of the tub (4) at a second longitudinal side thereof.

In a further embodiment of the present invention, the accumulation region (12) is connected with the tub opening (17) at a rear side of the tub (4) through the vacuum line (16).

In a further embodiment of the present invention, the accumulation region (12) is connected with a discharge receptacle (9) through a discharge line (8), the discharge receptacle (9) being disposed in fluid communication with both the discharge line (8) and the vacuum line (16) in between thereof.

In a further embodiment of the present invention, a closed circuit line is established between the bellows opening (14) and the tub opening (17).

In a further embodiment of the present invention, the discharge line (8) extends from the accumulation region (12) so as to allow water discharge by gravitational force due to its position relative to the drum (5).

In a further embodiment of the present invention, the accumulated water directed towards the discharge receptacle (9) through the bellows opening (14) of the bellows (6) is collected in the discharge receptacle (9) to be successively drained through a drain channel (13) of the laundry washing machine (1).

In a further embodiment of the present invention, a reinforcing flange in the form of a central hub connected with radial wings is embedded on the rear face of the drum (5) in connection with a shaft (15) whereby the drum (5) is securely and fixedly attached to the shaft (15).

The invention advantageously eliminates risks associated with water accumulation on the inner surfaces of the bellows (6) by means of a bellows water discharge system (2). The bellows water discharge system (2) comprising structural components relying on a passive operational principle not requiring active power dissipation as in the case of a pump, yet proves to be effective in addressing mold growth problem. Particularly, the discharge receptacle (9) combined with the vacuum line (16) is advantageously efficient though the vacuum line (16) alone also yields satisfactory results in discharging the accumulated water in amounts acceptable to substantially prolong the lifetime of the bellows (6).

Claims

A laundry washing machine (1) comprising a rotary drum (5) in which cloth items are placed and accessible via a front door (7), a water tub (4) in which the drum (5) is rotated, a motor providing the drum (5) to be driven and a bellows (6) of a resilient material annularly attached to the tub (4) at a first end thereof and to the front wall of the laundry washing machine (1) at the second end, thereby sealing the front door’s (7) opening, characterized in that a bellows water discharge system (2) comprising a vacuum line (16) in fluid communication with a water accumulation region (12) of the bellows (6) through a bellows opening (14) at a first longitudinal side of the tub (4) and in fluid communication with a tub opening (17) of the tub (4) at a second longitudinal side thereof.
A laundry washing machine (1) as in Claim 1, characterized in that a closed circuit line is established between the bellows opening (14) and the tub opening (17).
A laundry washing machine (1) as in Claim 2, characterized in that the accumulation region (12) is connected with the tub opening (17) at a rear side of the tub (4) through the vacuum line (16).
A laundry washing machine (1) as in Claim 3, characterized in that the accumulation region (12) is connected with a discharge receptacle (9) through a discharge line (8), the discharge receptacle (9) being disposed in fluid communication with both the discharge line (8) and the vacuum line (16) in between thereof.
A laundry washing machine (1) as in Claim 4, characterized in that the discharge line (8) extends from the accumulation region (12) so as to allow water discharge by gravitational force due to its position relative to the drum (5).
A laundry washing machine (1) as in Claim 4 or 5, characterized in that the accumulated water directed towards the discharge receptacle (9) through the bellows opening (14) of the bellows (6) is collected in the discharge receptacle (9) to be drained through a drain channel (13) of the laundry washing machine (1).
A laundry washing machine (1) as in any preceding Claims, characterized in that a reinforcing flange in the form of a central hub connected with radial wings is embedded on the rear face of the drum (5) in connection with a shaft (15) whereby the drum (5) is securely and fixedly attached to the shaft (15).