AU635450B2

AU635450B2 - Casing of washing machine

Info

Publication number: AU635450B2
Application number: AU85614/91A
Authority: AU
Inventors: Tetsuo Ishikawa; Seishiro Kawamoto; Hiroya Murakami; Tamotsu Shikamori; Hikoya Umehara
Original assignee: Hitachi Ltd
Current assignee: Hitachi Ltd
Priority date: 1990-10-05
Filing date: 1991-10-03
Publication date: 1993-03-18
Anticipated expiration: 2011-10-03
Also published as: KR100187972B1; JPH04144595A; AU8561491A; KR920008258A; JP2886963B2

Description

635450

AUSTRALIA

PATENTS ACT 1990 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION NAME OF APPLICANT(S): Hitachi, Ltd.

*s 8 ADDRESS FOR SERVICE: DAVIES COLLISON Patent Attorneys 1 Little Collins Street, Melbourne, 3000.

INVENTION TITLE: Casing of washing machine The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing it known to me/us:be..

8* 88r888 8 8 88 8 8 -la- BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a structure of a casing of a washing machine and a method of connecting components of the casing.

A conventional full automatic washing machine is made of paint-coated steel plates. Corner plates and upper and lower connecting plates are connected to a shell by drive rivets, and a plastic base member and the shell are connected by screwfasteners.

The rivet fastening requires a large number of rivets, and the cost is accordingly high. Besides, the rivet fastening involves a problem that much attention must be paid of operations such as automatic supply of rivets and caulking to ensure the operations.

The plastic base member is screw-fastening to the shell, and such screwfastening involves a problem that it is difficult to automatize.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 2 In accordance with the present invention there is provided a casing of a washing machine comprising a shell made of a steel plate, a top cover attached to the top of said shell, and a base member secured to the bottom of said shell by seaming operation, said shell is shaped to have an opening in the back surface, both side end portions of which remain unworked, an upper connecting plate and a lower connecting plate which extend over the end portions of the shell on both sides of said opening, said upper and lower connecting plates being connected to said shell by seaming operation in such a manner as to bend both end portions of each of said upper and lower connecting plates and said end portions of the shell on both sides of said opening so that they engage with each other.

1Preferably, the casing further comprises a corner plate made of a steel plate 9301 15,p:\oper\dh,85614.speI -2provided in each upper corner of said shell, respective portions of said shell and the corner plates being seamed together by bending so as to engage with each other.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS Fig. 1 is a perspective view of an outer appearance of a washing machine according to one embodiment of the present invention; Fig. 2 is a perspective view of a shell of the washing machine shown in Fig.

1; Fig. 3 is a view illustrative of a connecting condition of the shell shown in Fig.

2 with an upper connecting plate; Fig. 4 is a view illustrative of a fastening condition of a corner plate to the shell; Figs. 5A and 5B are views showing a seaming portion in a state before seaming and in a state after seaming, respectively, in detail; Fig. 6 is a view illustrative of a seaming structure of a lower corner portion of the shell; Figs. 7A and 7B are views illustrative of fastening conditions of the shell and a base member after fastening and before fastening, respectively, in detail; Figs. 8A and 8B show a seaming structure of a ee 0 e* 930115,p:\opcr\dh,85614.spe,2 1 corner plate according to another embodiment, which are an overall perspective view and an enlarged view of a seaming portion, respectively; and Fig. 9 is a view illustrative of a shell configuration in the vicinity of a corner plate according to a further embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Embodiments of the present invention will be hereinafter described with reference to Figs. 1 to 9.

0* 10 Fig. 1 is a perspective view of an outer appearance of a o washing machine, showing a casing of the washing machine S0e which comprises a shell 1 made of a steel plate, a plastic top cover 2 attached on the top of the shell 1, and a plastic base member 3 attached to the bottom of the shell 15 i.

Referring to Fig. 2, the shell 1 is formed to 0* have an opening 7 in the back surface both side end portions of which remain unworked, and an upper connecting plate 5 made of a ste 1 plate is extended over the end portions of the sneil 1 on both sides of the opening 7.

A corner plate 4 is connected to each upper corner portion of the shell 1 to thereby form a support section for a suspension rod which sustains a washing tub. At each lower corner portion 6 of the shell 1, tongue-like mating pieces extending from two adjacent sides are coupled one above the other and securely fastened.

3 1 The shell 1 shown in Fig. 1 is formed by press working of a steel plate both surfaces of which are paint-coated, and the outer surface of the shell 1 is the finished surface of the coating treatment. As for the upper connecting plate 5 shown in Fig. 2, the upper connecting plate 5 and the shell 1 are connected by seaming, as shown in Fig. 3, in such a manner that end portions of the upper connecting plate 5 on both sides are 6:06 bent and engaged with the end portions of the shell 1 on 0 both sides of the opening 7 which are similarly bent.

Fig. 4 illustrates a condition of the corner plate 4 when it is connected to one of the upper corner a portions of the shell 1 by seaming.

A method of connecting the corner plate 4 to the shell 1 will be explained with reference to Figs. 5A and -sees: S The corner plate 4 is made of a steel plate whose thickness is larger than that of the shell i, as S shown in Fig. 5A. The shell 1 is about 0.65 mm thick, and 20 the corner plate 4 is about 1.2 mm thick. A vertical wall 8 is integrally formed on the periphery of the corner plate 4, and an upper end portion 9 of the vertical wall 8 is curled and bent downwardly so as to serve as an engaging portion on the side of the corner plate 4. A flange 10 is integrally formed with the top of the shell i, and an end portion 11 of the shell 1 is defined by bending the flange 10 vertically. After the vertical wall 8 of the corner plate 4 is brought into contcct with the 4 1 end portion 11, the upper end portion 9 of the vertical wall 8 is further bent downwardly over the end portion 11. Then, the upper end portion 9, the end portion 11 and the vertical wall 8 are bent together downwardly, as shown in Fig. Referring to Fig. 6, a lower end portion of the shell 1 is bent inwardly to form a flange 12 on the bottom of the shell 1. At each lower corner portion of the shell 0:00 1, there are formed tong-like mating pieces 13 extending -foe..

10 from two adjacent sides of the flange 12, and these two tongue-like mating pieces 13 are coupled one above the other and securely fastened by half-blanking spot caulking

S..

14.

Fig. 7A shows a joint portion 15 between the shell 1 and the plastic base member 3 attached to the 6 bottom of the shell 1. As shown in Fig. 7B, the lower end portion of the shell 1 is bent inwardly to form the flange 12 on the bottom of the shell 1, and the joint portion is shaped by curling and bending a free end portion 16 of 20 the flange 12 downwardly. Then, the joint portion 15 is bent and fastened on a rib 17 of the base member 3 so as to hold it tightly.

When manufacturing the casing from coated steel plates, seaming is employed for connecting the shell 1 and the upper connecting plate 5, as shown in Fig. 3, and for connecting the shell 1 and each of the corner plates 4, as shown in Figs. 5A and 5B. In this method, such components can be connected by utilizing parts of the respective 5 1 components, and consequently, additional fastener means are unnecessary. Further, the components are connected by parts of the respective components so that there can be also obtained a sufficient effect in the rigidity and strength of the casing.

Moreover, with the fastening/coupling method shown in Fig. 6, enough rigidity and strength of the shell 1 can be obtained, and the plastic base member 3 is stably coo• attached to the bottom of the shell 1 with reliability.

10 Figs. 8A and 8B illustrate a second embodiment of a fastening portion of a corner plate 4 made of a steel plate which is provided on each upper corner portion of the shell 1. A flange 18 is integrally formed with the top of the shell 1 by bending an upper end portion of the 15 shell 1 inwardly to extend is substantially horizontally.

o A flange-side engaging portion 19 is formed on the inner end of the flange 18. The flange-side engaging portion 19 *see ex-ends upwardly from the inner end of the flange 18 substantially vertically. A free end portion of this engaging portion 19 is curled outwardly and bent downwardly. A vertical wall 20 is formed on the periphery of the corner plate 4, and an engaging portion 21 on the side of the corner plate 4 is formed on the upper end of the vertical wall 20 by bending an upper end portion of the vertical wall 20 downwardly in the outward direction and further bending its distal end portion until it becomes substantially vertical. Then, the vertical wall 20 of the corner plate 4 and the flange-side engaging portion 19 on 6 1 the upper end of the shell 1 are engaged with each other, and both the engaging portions 19, 21 are fastened and connected by seaming.

Fig. 9 illustrate a third embodiment of a fastening portion of a corner plate 4 made of a steel plate which is provided on each upper corner portion of the shell 1. An upper end portion of the shell 1 in the vicinity of the corner plate 4 is bent and formed into a flange 22, wMich includes leakage fluid flow guide 10 portions 23 fo. qd thereon in such a manner that they are recessed and included downwardly inwardly. These leakage fluid flow guide portions 23 can prevent flowing-out of rusty water to the outer surface of the shell 1 and generation of icicles from the leakage water on the outer surface of the shell 1.

RAs car \r s~ee Crco^ cioo'e o• ^AcT~r sEing o .Lhe prc'i:t i vnv the respective parts of the components can be used for seaming

S

to fasten the shell with each corner plate, the shell with *:Ss* the upper connecting plate, or the like, and fastener 20 means, for example, rivets, welding, and screw-fasteners are unnecessary, so that there can be obtained high productivity and reliaoility such as rigidity and strength.

Furthermore, fixing of the plastic base member attached to the bottom of the shell and fixing of each lower corner portion of the shell are conducted through seaming, so that there can be obtained high productivity and reliability such as rigidity and strength.

7

Claims

1. A casing oXf a washing machine comprising a shell made of a steel plate, a top cover attached to the top of said shell, and a base member secured to the bottom of said shell by seaming operation, said shell is shaped to have an opening in the back surface, both side end portions of which remain unworked, an upper connecting plate and a lower connecting plate which extend over the end portions of the shell on both sides of said opening, said upper and lower connecting plates being connected to said shell by seaming operation in such a manner as to bend both end portions of each of said upper and lower connecting plates and said end portions of the shell on both sides of said opening so that they engage with each other.

2. A casing of a washing machine according to Claim 1, wherein said upper and lower connecting plates are made of steel plates which are paint-coated.

3. A casing of a washing machine according to any one of Claims 1 to 2, wherein the paint-coated surface of the steel plate is used as the outer surface of said shell.

4. A casing of a washing machine as claimed in any preceding claim, further comprising a corner plate made of a steel plate provided in each upper corner of said shell, respective portions of said sh-ll and the corner plates being seamed together by bending so as to engage with each other.

A casing of a washing machine according to Claim 4, wherein each of said corner plates is made of a steel plate which is paint-coated.

6. A casing of a washing machine according to any one of Claims 1 to 5, wherein an undercoated surface of the steel plate used for forming said shell is used as the inner surface of said shell, while the finished surface thereof is used as the outer 30 surface of said shell.

7. A casing of a washing machine according to Claim 4 or 5, wherein each of 930115,p:\opcr\dh,85614.spe,8 said corner plates is made of a steel plate whose thickness is larger than that of said shell.

8. A casing of a washing machine according to Claim 7, wherein said shell is about 0.65 mm thick, and each of said corner plates is about 1.2 mm thick.

9. A casing of washing machine according to any one of Claims 4, 5, 7 or 8, wherein a support section for a suspension rod which sustains a washing tub is formed !n each of said corner plates.

A casing of a washing machine according to any one of Claims 4, 5, 7 or 8, wherein a vertical wall is formed on the periphery of each of said corner plates.

11. A casing of a washing machine according to any one of Claims 4, 5, 7, 8 or 9, wherein a flange is formed on said shell by bending an upper end portion of said respective portions of said shell inwardly.

12. A casing of a waging machine according to Claim 11, wherein said flange formed on the shell and an end portion of said respective portions of each of said 20 corner plates are seamed by bending ihem so that they engage with each other.

13. A casing of a washing machine as claimed in Claims 4 or 5, wherein a vertical wall is being integrally formed on the periphery of said corner plate, an engaging portion of said respective portions on the side of said corner plate being formed on the upper end of said vertical wall by bending an upper end portion of said vertical wall outwardly to extend it substantially horizontally and further curling and bending a free end portion of it downwardly, a flange being integrally formed with the top of said snell by bending an upper end portion of said shell inwardly to extend it substantially horizontally, an engaging portion of said respective portions on the side of said flange being formed on the inner end of said flange by curling an inner end portion of said flange upwardly and further bending a free end portion of it outwardly to extend it substantially horizontally, connection of said engaging portion 4*e** 4 a j~-4. Ls- 930115,p\oper\dh,85614.spe,9 on the side of the flange and said engaging portion on the side of the corner plate being conducted by engaging said engaging portions with each other and seaming and fastening them.

14. A casing of a washing machine according to Claim 13, wherein said engaging portions of both the corner plate and the flange are formed on two adjacent sides in each upper corner of the frame.

A casing of a washing machine according to any one of Claims 4, 5, 7, 8, 9, 10, 12 and 13, wherein leakage fluid flow guide portions are formeu on an upper edge of the shell in such a manner that they are recessed and inclined downwardly inwardly, and that they are located in the vicinity of each of said corner plates.

16. A casing of a washing machine as claimed in claim 1, further comprising a corner plate made of a steel plate being provided in each upper corner of said shell, a flange being integrally formed with the top of said shell by bending an upper end portion of said shell inwardly to extend it substantially horizontally, an engaging portion on the side of said flange being formed on the inner end of said flange by bending an inner end portion of said flange upwardly to e-tend it substa ',ally 20 vertically and further curling and bending a free end portion of it outwardly, a vertically wall being integrally formed on the periphery of said corner plate, an ngaging portion on the side of said corner plate being formed on the upper .id of said vertical wall by bending an upper end portion of said vertical wall do'w' ~irdly Sin the outward direction to extend it substantially vertically and further bending a free end portion of it upwardly in the inward direction to extend it substantially vertically, connection of said engaging portion on the side of the corner plate and said engaging portion on the side of the flange being conducted by engaging said engaging portions with each other and seaming and fastening them. 30

17. A casing of a washing machine as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein a flange is formed on the bottom of said shell by bending a lower end portion of said shell inwardly, mating pieces extending from two adjacent sides of said flange being 930115,p:\oper\dh,85614.sp,1O 11 formed in each lower corner of said shell, both the mating pieces being coupled one above the other and securely fastened by half-blankir "ot caulking.

18. A casing of a washing machine according to any preceding claim, wherein said base member is formed by press working ot the steel plate which is paint-coated.

19. A casing of a washing machine according to any preceding claim, wherein an outer peripheral lower end portion of said base member is bent roundly.

20. A casing of a washing machine according to Claim 1 or 2, wherein a reinforce groove is formed on each of said upper and lower connecting plates along the longitudinal direction.

21. A casing of a washing machine according to any one of Claims 4 to 16, wherein said top cover is laid over said corner plates.

22. A casing of a washing machine substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the drawings. S I' Dated this 15th day of January, 1993. HITACHI, LTD. By its Patent Attorneys DAVIES COLLISON CAVE 9301 15,p:\operkdh,8614.spe,II ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A casing of a washing machine comprising a shell made of a steel plate, a plastic top cover (2) attached to the top of the shell and a plastic base member secured to the bottom of the shell in which the shell is formed by press working of the steel plate which is paint-coated, so that the shell is shaped to have an opening in the pack surface both side end portions of which remain unworked. An upper connecting plate and a lower connecting plate, made of steel plates, are extended over the end portions of the shell S on both sides of the opening and the upper and lower connecting plates are connected to the shell by seaming operation in such a manner as to bend both end 0 portions of each of the upper and lower connecting plates and the end portions of the shell on both sides of the opening so that they engage with each other. 4%00 L S 01I