KR20100044153A - Clothes washing machine having balancer - Google Patents

Abstract

It provides a washing machine having a balancer configured to be strengthened in strength to improve durability and to be quickly and easily installed in a rotating tub. The balancer includes a first housing and a second housing which are fused to each other to form a closed inner space, and the first housing is provided with a support for reinforcing the strength of the balancer. An annular recess corresponding to the balancer is formed in the rotating tub so that the balancer is coupled to the rotating tub. The support protrudes outwardly from the pair of mutually facing walls of the first housing to a length that abuts against the wall of the recess to guide the balancer in position in the recess with the strength reinforcement of the balancer. . The support portion may be formed continuously in a horizontal direction in a pair of wall surfaces of the first housing, or may be formed in a plurality and disposed at regular intervals in a vertical direction in the pair of wall surfaces of the first housing.

Description

Washing Machine Having Balancer

The present invention relates to a washing machine having a balancer, and more particularly, to a washing machine having a balancer configured to be strengthened in strength to improve durability and to be quickly and easily installed in a rotating tub.

In general, a washing machine rotates a rotating tub containing laundry with a driving motor to wash the laundry. In the washing process, the rotating tub rotates at a low speed in the forward and reverse directions, and in the dehydration process, the rotating tub rotates at a high speed in the forward direction.

During the dehydration process, the rotating tub rotates at a high speed while the laundry is not evenly distributed in all areas of the rotating tub, but is concentrated in a specific part, or the rotating tub rotates at a high speed while the laundry is pushed to one side by the rapid rotation of the rotating tub early in the dehydration process. If the center of gravity of the rotating tub and the center of rotation do not coincide with each other, it causes vibration and noise, and if this phenomenon is repeated, components including the rotating tub, the rotating shaft, and the driving motor may fail or shorten the lifespan.

In particular, the drum type washing machine has a structure in which the rotating tub in which the laundry is placed is horizontally arranged so that the laundry rotates at high speed in the state where the laundry is collected at the bottom of the rotating tub by gravity during dehydration, so that the center of gravity and the center of rotation do not coincide with each other. As a result, the possibility of vibration and noise is very high.

Therefore, a vertical shaft type washing machine including a drum type washing machine installed vertically is generally provided with a balancer for maintaining a dynamic balance of the rotating tank.

An example of a washing machine having such a balancer is Korean Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 1999-0038279. The ball balancer of the conventional washing machine has a racer installed in the upper and lower portions of the rotating tub to maintain a dynamic balance when the rotating tub rotates at a high speed, and a ball and a viscous oil made of steel material disposed freely in the racer. It is provided. The racer is formed by fusion of the annular upper plate and the lower plate.

Therefore, when the rotating tub rotates, the steel balls compensate for this when the rotating tub rotates without maintaining a dynamic balance due to the unbalanced eccentric structure of the rotating tub itself and the uneven distribution of laundry in the rotating tub. The dynamic balance can be maintained.

However, the ball balancer of the conventional washing machine as described above has a structure in which the upper plate and the lower plate of the plastic material made by injection molding are fused to each other, and a plurality of steel balls are disposed therein to perform a circular motion. As the ball is continuously subjected to the centrifugal force generated when the circular motion, the wall surface of the balancer is deformed to shorten the lifespan.

In addition, the ball balancer of the conventional washing machine as described above does not have a means for guiding the installation in the correct position in the rotating tub has a disadvantage in that it takes a long time to assemble the ball balancer in the rotating tub.

The present invention is to solve the above-mentioned problems of the prior art, an object of the present invention is to provide a washing machine having a balancer configured to be strengthened in strength and improved durability, it can be quickly and easily installed in the rotating tub.

The present invention according to one aspect for achieving this object is a washing machine comprising a rotating tank and at least one ball balancer, the ball balancer is at least for reinforcing the strength of the ball balancer A first housing having an annular shape having one support portion, a second housing having an annular shape and fused with the first housing to form an inner space, and a plurality of first housings disposed between the first housing and the second housing; It characterized in that it comprises a ball.

The first housing includes a pair of opposing wall surfaces and a connecting wall surface formed between the pair of opposing wall surfaces, and the at least one support portion includes at least one of the opposing pair of wall surfaces of the first housing. Protrude outwards.

The rotating tub includes an annular recess formed to accommodate the ball balancer, and the ball balancer is fitted into the recess and coupled to the rotating tub.

The support projecting outwardly from at least one of the opposing wall surfaces of the first housing contacts the wall surface of the recess such that the ball balancer is retained in the recess.

The at least one support portion includes a plurality of vertical supports disposed on the outer wall surface of the first housing to contact the wall surface of the recess.

The support portion includes support ribs formed continuously in a circumferential direction on at least one of the pair of wall surfaces of the first housing.

The support part may be provided in plural and disposed to be spaced apart from each other along a circumferential direction on at least one wall surface of the pair of wall surfaces of the first housing.

Each of the plurality of supports protrudes substantially the same height from the first housing.

The rotating tub includes the body, a front member coupled to the whole of the body, and a rear member coupled to the rear of the body, the washing machine is a drum type washing machine, and the recess is provided in the front member. The ball balancer is coupled to the recess of the front member.

The first housing is formed of an injection molding having an open side surface and a rectangular cross section of three sides, and the second housing is formed of an injection molding to cover the opening side of the first housing.

The ball balancer is mounted to the wall surface of the recess by a plurality of screws.

The recess includes a first recess provided in the front of the rotary tub, and a second recess provided in the rear of the rotary tub, wherein the at least one ball balancer includes: a first ball balancer mounted to the first recess; And a second ball balancer mounted to the second recess.

The at least one support part of the first housing includes an outer support part protruding from an outer circumferential surface of the first housing.

The outer support portion protrudes from the outer wall surface of the first housing so as to prevent deformation of the ball balancer due to centrifugal force when the rotating tub rotates, and contacts the wall surface of the recess of the rotating tub receiving the ball balancer.

The at least one support part of the first housing includes an outer support part protruding from an outer circumferential surface of the first housing and an inner support part protruding from an inner circumferential surface of the first housing.

In addition, the present invention according to another aspect includes a water tank, a cylindrical body, a front member coupled to the open all of the body and partitions an opening through which laundry is entered, and a rear member closing the rear of the body. A rotating tank rotatably mounted in the tank, and a balancer provided inside the closed annular shape and mounted on the front edge of the front member to reduce the unbalance of the rotating tank, wherein the balancer And a support part protruding from the outer circumferential surface and supported by the front member to prevent the balancer from being deformed by a force applied radially outwardly of the balancer by the centrifugal force during rotation.

The balancer includes a first housing forming an accommodation portion and a second housing closing the accommodation portion, wherein the support portion protrudes in a radially outward direction of the first housing.

The rim of the front member is provided with an annular recess recessed rearward to accommodate the first housing, and the support portion is supported on the outer diameter portion of the recess.

The balancer is screwed to the front surface of the front member at a position where no contact with the laundry in the rotary tank is made.

As described in detail above, the washing machine according to the present invention has a structure of high strength because the balancer has a support portion protruding outward from the wall surface, so that the washing machine is strong to the wall surface of the balancer by a plurality of balls that are circular in the balancer. Even if the centrifugal force is applied, the wall surface of the balancer is not deformed, so that a plurality of balls can be smoothly moved without generating vibration and noise, and the durability of the balancer is improved, thereby extending the life.

In addition, the washing machine according to the present invention has an effect that the assembly time of the balancer can be shortened because the balancer has a structure that can be quickly positioned in the correct position in the recess of the rotating tub by the support.

1 is a cross-sectional view showing a schematic structure of a drum washing machine according to the present invention.
Figure 2 is a perspective view showing that the balancer according to the present invention is separated from the rotating tank.
3 is a perspective view of a balancer according to the first embodiment of the present invention.
4 is an enlarged view of a portion 'A' of FIG. 1 to show a cross-sectional structure of a balancer according to a first embodiment of the present invention.
5 is a perspective view of a balancer according to a second embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 6 is a view corresponding to FIG. 4, showing a cross-sectional structure of a balancer according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

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

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

As shown in FIG. 1, the washing machine according to the present invention includes a housing 1 forming an external appearance, a water tank 2 installed inside the housing 1 and containing wash water, and an inside of the water tank 2. It is rotatably disposed and has a rotating tub (10) to put the laundry into the laundry and a door (4) hinged to the open front of the housing (1).

In the upper part of the water tank 2, a water supply pipe 5 for supplying washing water and detergent to the water tank 2 and a detergent supply device 6 are disposed, and in the lower part of the water tank 2, when the washing operation of the laundry is completed, the water tank ( A drain pipe 7 for discharging the wash water contained in 2) to the outside of the housing 1 is installed.

The rear side of the rotating tank 10 is disposed so that the rotating shaft 8 extends through the rear side of the water tank 2, and a drive motor 9 to which the rotating shaft 8 is coupled to the outer side of the rear water tank 2 is installed. Accordingly, when the driving motor 9 is operated, the rotating shaft 8 rotates to rotate the rotating tub 10 together.

A plurality of dehydration holes (10a) is formed on the circumferential surface of the rotary tub 10, during the washing stroke water contained in the water tank (2) flows into the interior of the rotary tub (10) and is washed by water in which detergent is dissolved This can be done, and during the dehydration stroke, the water can be drained out of the housing 1 through the drain pipe 7.

A plurality of lifters 10b are disposed in the rotation tank 10 in the longitudinal direction, so that the laundry soaked with water is rotated upward from the bottom of the rotation bath 10 as the rotation bath 10 rotates at a low speed during the washing stroke. It is pulled up and dropped back to the bottom of the rotating tub 10 so that the laundry can be washed effectively.

Therefore, in the washing stroke, the rotating shaft 8 rotates in a reverse direction from the forward direction by the driving motor 9 to wash the laundry by rotating the rotating tub 10 at low speed. The laundry is dehydrated by rotating the rotary tub 10 at high speed while rotating in the direction.

When the rotating tub 10 rotates at a high speed in the dehydration process, the rotating tub 10 itself is not made to have a center of gravity and the same center of rotation, or laundry is not evenly distributed in the rotary tub 10 so that the laundry is placed in a specific area. In this case, the rotating tub 10 may not maintain a dynamic balance.

The first and second embodiments of the present invention are provided at the front and rear ends of the rotating tub 10 to prevent the dynamic unbalance so that the rotating tub 10 can be rotated at a high speed while the rotation center and the center of gravity are matched. According to the balancer 20, 20a (only the balancer 20 of the first embodiment is shown in Figs. 1 and 2), the structure of the balancer 20, 20a of the present invention is shown in Figs. It demonstrates with reference to 6.

Figure 2 is a perspective view showing that the balancer according to the present invention is separated from the rotating tank.

As shown in FIG. 2, the rotating tub 10 has a cylindrical body 11 in which the whole and the rear part are opened and the dehydration hole 10a and the lifter 10b are provided, and in the entire opened part of the body 11. Coupled to the front member 12 provided with an opening 14 for allowing laundry to be introduced into or taken out of the body 11, and coupled to the open rear portion of the body 11 and rotating the tub 10. It comprises a rear member 13 to which a rotating shaft 8 (see FIG. 1) for rotation is coupled.

In the rim of the front member 12 is provided with an annular recess 15 formed in an approximately 'c' shape and open toward the front so that the balancer 20 is accommodated. Similarly, the rim is provided with an annular recess 15 (not shown) that is open toward the rear to accommodate the balancer 20.

The front member 12 and the rear member 13 are respectively fitted to the front and rear edges of the body 11 to be screwed or otherwise coupled.

The balancer 20 is installed in the recesses 15 of the front member 12 and the rear member 13, the balancer 20 is formed in a toroidal shape and a ball of a plurality of metallic materials having a balancing function therein ( 21) and a viscous fluid (not shown) is provided to adjust the moving speed of the plurality of balls (21).

Next, the structure of the balancers 20 and 20a according to the first and second embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 3 to 6.

3 is a perspective view of a balancer according to a first embodiment of the present invention, Figure 4 is an enlarged view of the 'A' portion of Figure 1 to show the cross-sectional structure of the balancer according to the first embodiment of the present invention. .

3 and 4, the balancer 20 according to the first embodiment of the present invention has a first housing 30 having an annular shape and fused to each other to form a sealed inner space 23; The second housing 40 is provided.

The first housing 30 consists of a first wall surface 31 and a second wall surface 32 facing each other, and a third wall surface 33 which connects end portions of the first and second wall surfaces 31 and 32. A cross-section is formed in a substantially 'c' shape, and the second housing 40 has a shape in which both edges are bent toward the first housing 30 to be thermally fused to both edges 34 of the first housing 30. To be combined by way.

Both edges 34 of the first housing 30 protrude outward from the first and second wall surfaces 31 and 32 of the first housing 30 for thermal fusion, and the second housing 40 Is formed to a size that covers the edge 34 of the first housing (30).

With this structure, when the balancer 20 is fitted into the recess 15 provided in the front member 12 of the rotating tub 10, the first protrusion protrudes outward from the first and second wall surfaces 31 and 32. And the first and second wall surfaces 31 and 32 are arranged away from the wall surface of the recess 15 by the edges of the second housings 30 and 40. In addition, since the first and second wall surfaces 31 and 32 are formed to be relatively thin, the first and second wall surfaces 31 and 32 are formed by a plurality of balls 21 which are moved for balancing in the inner space 23 of the balancer 20. And when the centrifugal force is applied to the second wall surfaces 31 and 32, the first and second wall surfaces 31 and 32 are deformed and spread outward.

In this way, the plurality of balls 21 are circularly moved inside the balancer 20 so that the first and the second balls 21 are driven by the centrifugal force acting on the first wall 31 and the second wall 32 of the first housing 30. 2 In order to prevent deformation of the wall surfaces 31 and 32, the first housing 30 is provided with support parts 60: 60a and 60b according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

The support portion 60 protrudes from the first and second wall surfaces 31 and 32 facing each other of the first housing 30 and is formed continuously along the circumferential direction of the outer surface of the first housing 30 as a whole. Shape.

The support part 60 includes an outer support part 60a protruding radially outward from the first wall surface 31, and an inner support part 60b protruding radially inwardly from the second wall surface 32.

The length of the support 60 is such that the support 60 extends from the first housing 30 and abuts against the wall of the recess 15, and thus the first wall 31 and the second wall 32. In addition to the increased strength, the balancer 20 has an additional function of guiding the balancer 20 to be positioned in the recess 15.

In this case, when the plurality of balls 21 are circularly moved in the first housing 30, the centrifugal force acts in a direction away from the center of rotation. Thus, in FIG. 4, the centrifugal force is stronger on the first wall 31. Will work. Therefore, it may have a structure such that only the outer support portion 60a is formed outside the first wall surface 31.

When the balancer 20 according to the first embodiment of the present invention is fitted to the recess 15 of the rotating tub 10 after the first housing 30 and the second housing 40 are fused and joined to each other, The support 60 is placed in the correct position as it moves along the wall surface of the recess 15, and finally is screwed (not shown) or otherwise coupled to the front member 12 of the rotating tub 10. It will be fixed.

Although not shown in detail, the balancer 20 is installed on the rear member 13 of the rotating tub 10 in the same manner as described above.

5 and 6 show a balancer according to a second embodiment of the present invention as a diagram corresponding to FIGS. 3 and 4, respectively.

The balancer 20a according to the second embodiment of the present invention includes a balancer 20 according to the first embodiment of the present invention shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 except for the structures of the supporting parts 70: 70a and 70b. The same is true for the second embodiment of the present invention, and only the structure of the support portion 70 will be described in detail.

As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the support part 70 according to the second embodiment of the present invention is formed in plural and the first and second wall surfaces 31 and 32 facing each other of the first housing 30 are provided. In the vertical direction to be arranged at regular intervals from each other.

The support part 70 includes an outer support part 70a protruding radially outward from the first wall surface 31, and an inner support part 70b protruding radially inward from the second wall surface 32.

The length of the support portion 70 is such that the length of the support portion 60 extends from the first housing 30 to abut on the wall surface of the recess 15, similarly to the support portion 60 of the first embodiment. The second wall 32 has an additional function of guiding the balancer 20a to be positioned in the recess 15 as well as further increasing strength.

Since the installation structure and function of the balancer 20a according to the second embodiment are the same as the balancer 20 according to the first embodiment, further description thereof will be omitted.

In the embodiment of the present invention has been described as the balancer is installed in the washing machine of the drum type, it is obvious that the rotating tub can also be applied to a vertical washing machine having a vertically arranged structure.

1: housing 2: countertop
10: rotating tank 11: body
12: front member 13: rear member
15: recess 20,20a: balancer
21: ball 30: first housing
40: second housing 60, 70: support portion

Claims (19)

In the washing machine comprising a rotating tub and at least one ball balancer,
The ball balancer has an annular first housing having at least one support for reinforcing the strength of the ball balancer;
A second housing having an annular shape and fused with the first housing to form an inner space;
Washing machine comprising a plurality of balls disposed between the first housing and the second housing. The method of claim 1, wherein the first housing comprises a pair of opposing wall surface and the connecting wall surface formed between the pair of opposing wall surface,
And the at least one support portion protrudes outward from at least one of the opposing pair of wall surfaces of the first housing. According to claim 2, The rotating tub includes an annular recess formed to accommodate the ball balancer,
The ball balancer is fitted in the recess, characterized in that coupled to the rotating tub. 4. The support of claim 3, wherein the support projecting outwardly from at least one of the opposing wall surfaces of the first housing is in contact with the wall surface of the recess such that the ball balancer is retained in the recess. washer. 5. The washing machine according to claim 4, wherein the at least one support portion includes a plurality of vertical supports disposed on an outer wall surface of the first housing to contact the wall surface of the recess. The washing machine according to claim 2, wherein the support part includes support ribs formed in a continuous line along a circumferential direction on at least one wall surface of the pair of wall surfaces of the first housing. The washing machine according to claim 2, wherein the support part is provided in plural and is spaced apart at a predetermined interval along a circumferential direction on at least one wall surface of the pair of wall surfaces of the first housing. 8. The washing machine of claim 7, wherein each of the plurality of supports protrudes substantially the same height from the first housing. According to claim 3, The rotating tub includes the body, a front member coupled to the whole of the body, a rear member coupled to the rear of the body,
The washing machine is a drum type washing machine,
The recess is provided in the front member, wherein the ball balancer is coupled to the recess of the front member. The washing machine according to claim 1, wherein the first housing is formed of an injection molding having an open side and a quadrangular cross section of three sides, and the second housing is formed of an injection molding to cover the opening side of the first housing. The washing machine according to claim 3, wherein the ball balancer is mounted on a wall surface of the recess by a plurality of screws. 4. The at least one ball balancer of claim 3, wherein the recess includes a first recess provided at a front surface of the rotating tub and a second recess provided at a rear surface of the rotating tub, and the at least one ball balancer is mounted to the first recess. Washing machine comprising a first ball balancer, and a second ball balancer mounted to the second recess. The washing machine according to claim 1, wherein the at least one support part of the first housing includes an outer support part protruding from an outer circumferential surface of the first housing. 15. The wall surface of the recess of the rotary tub of claim 13, wherein the outer support portion protrudes from an outer wall of the first housing to prevent deformation of the ball balancer due to centrifugal force during rotation of the rotary tub. Washing machine, characterized in that in contact with. The washing machine according to claim 1, wherein the at least one support part of the first housing includes an outer support part protruding from an outer circumferential surface of the first housing and an inner support part protruding from an inner circumferential surface of the first housing. Fish tank,
A rotating tub rotatably mounted in the water tank, including a cylindrical body, a front member coupled to the entire open portion of the body and defining an opening through which laundry is entered, and a rear member closing the rear of the body;
It is provided in a closed annular shape inside and includes a ball balancer mounted on the front edge of the front member to reduce the unbalance of the rotating tub,
The ball balancer includes a support part which protrudes from the outer circumferential surface and is supported by the front member to prevent the ball balancer from being deformed by a force applied in a radially outward direction of the ball balancer by the centrifugal force during rotation of the rotary tub. Washing machine characterized in that. 17. The ball balancer of claim 16, wherein the ball balancer comprises a first housing forming a receiving portion and a second housing closing the receiving portion,
The support unit is characterized in that the projecting in the radially outward direction of the first housing. 17. The method of claim 16, wherein the rim of the front member is provided with an annular recess recessed rearward to accommodate the first housing,
Washing machine, characterized in that the support is supported on the outer diameter of the recess. The method of claim 16,
The ball balancer is a washing machine, characterized in that the screwed to the front of the front member in a position that is not in contact with the laundry in the rotating tub.

Images