JP2690189B2 - Automatic washing machine - Google Patents

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to an automatic washing machine used at home.

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, this type of automatic washing machine has a structure as shown in FIGS. That is, the speed reducer 2 is fixed to the lower part of the outer tub 1 for receiving water at the time of dehydration, and the speed reducer 2 is connected to the motor 3 fixed to the lower part of the outer tub 1 by a belt. The drive shaft of the speed reducer 2 has a double structure, and a dehydration tub 4 located inside the outer tub 1 and also serving as a washing tub is fixed to the outer shaft. A stirring blade 5 located inside the dehydration tank 4 is fixed to the inner shaft. Outer tank 1
Are vibration-isolated from the washing machine body 7 via the suspension 6. The suspension 6 is, as shown in FIG.
The hanging rod 8, the cylindrical spring retainer 9, the spiral spring 10 and the flexible spring supporting disk 11, and the spring supporting disk 11 attached to the spring supporting disk 11 are reduced in diameter when the temperature becomes higher than the transformation temperature. A shape memory alloy ring 12 that reduces the outer circumference of the plate 11 so that the friction with the cylindrical spring retainer 9 becomes small, and the spring support disk 11 slides on the inner periphery of the lower end of the cylindrical spring retainer 9. It is movably fitted. The outer tank 1 is placed on the spring retainer 9. With the above configuration, water supply, washing, drainage, and centrifugal dehydration are automatically performed.

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION Problems to be Solved by the Invention Generally, in an automatic washing machine, when the spin-drying tub 4 is rotated and centrifugally dehydrated, a large vibration is generated due to an imbalance caused by a deviation of clothes. In particular, the vibration amplitude becomes maximum at startup and when passing through the resonance point. In order to suppress this resonance vibration, the spring retainer 9 and the spring supporting disk 11 are frictionally slid to dampen the vibration. When this friction damping amount is increased, the amplitude of the resonance point is reduced, but the vibration and the washing machine body 7 are easily transmitted, and noise such as vibration noise and sliding noise is increased. Conversely, when the friction attenuation is small, the noise is small, but the amplitude at the resonance point is large. Therefore, in the above-mentioned conventional example, sufficient damping is obtained by friction between the spring retainer 9 and the spring supporting disk 11 until the dehydration tub 4 starts rotating and passes the resonance point in the dehydration process, and then the rotation is performed. After the number passes through the resonance point, the shape memory alloy ring 12 is heated due to frictional heat and the memorized shape, that is, the ring diameter becomes smaller, the flexible spring supporting disk 11 is contracted, and the frictional force is reduced. The noise is suppressed to a low level as a structure that reduces the noise. However, in the structure described above, the shape memory alloy ring 12
Since the frictional heat is used for the operation of, the operation becomes unstable and there is a problem that the durability of the spring retainer 9 and the spring supporting disk 11 is deteriorated.

Therefore, the present invention solves the above-mentioned conventional problems, and reliably reduces the friction between the spring retainer and the spring support plate during steady dehydration to reduce the noise generated from sliding noise and vibration distortion, and The primary purpose is to obtain an automatic washing machine with improved performance. Secondly, the damping force at the time of dehydration start is made sufficiently large to reduce the vibration amplitude at the resonance point, and when the steady vibration is reached, the damping force is automatically made small so that the vibration is hard to be transmitted to the washing machine body. The aim is to obtain an automatic washing machine that reduces noise. Thirdly, the damping force at the time of dehydration start-up is made sufficiently large to reduce the vibration amplitude at the resonance point, and the damping force is automatically eliminated when steady vibration occurs, and it is difficult to transmit the vibration to the washing machine body. The aim is to get an automatic washing machine that minimizes noise by.

Means for Solving the Problems A first invention for achieving the above-mentioned first object is to wash an outer tub located outside a dehydration tub which also serves as a washing tub and receiving water during dehydration through a suspension. While elastically supporting from the machine body, each suspension, a suspension rod, a spring support plate attached to the lower end of the suspension rod, a cylindrical spring retainer that is inserted into the suspension rod and covers the spring support plate, A compression spring interposed between the spring support plate and the spring retainer, the inner wall of the spring retainer is formed straight, and the spring support plate is formed into a bag shape to have flexibility. The hanging bar is an automatic washing machine in which a pipe is provided so that air flows from the upper part of the spring support plate to the inside of the spring support plate.

A second invention for achieving the second object is to provide a bottom plate covering the opening of the spring retainer, and to allow air to flow from the lower part of the spring support plate to the inside of the spring support plate at the lower end of the suspension rod. The automatic washing machine is provided with a through hole and a valve provided in the lower part of the pipeline in the suspension rod and in the upper part of the through hole.

A third invention for achieving the third object is to provide a bottom plate for covering the opening of the spring retainer, and to allow air to flow from the lower part of the spring support plate to the inside of the spring support plate at the lower end of the suspension rod. An automatic washing machine is provided in which a through hole is provided, the outlet of the conduit and the outlet of the through hole are formed in a hemispherical shape, and a spherical valve is mounted thereon.

Action The first invention acts as follows. By forming the inner wall of the spring retainer straight to reduce the friction between the spring support plate and the spring retainer, the friction between the spring support plate and the spring retainer is reduced in the sliding range, and the friction noise is reduced. Resonance vibration at the time of dehydration start is guided into the spring support plate formed in a bag shape, the air flow generated when the spring support plate slides in the spring retainer is guided by using the pipeline provided in the suspension rod, Damped by expanding the spring support plate to increase friction with the spring restraints. After passing through the resonance point, the vibration amplitude and the sliding amount of the spring supporting plate are reduced, and the amount of air to be moved thereby is also reduced. As a result, the damper force is reduced and the amount of vibration transmitted to the main body of the washing machine is reduced. Further, since the friction between the spring support plate and the spring retainer during the steady dehydration is reduced, the durability of the spring support plate and the spring retainer can be improved.

A second invention is to provide a closed structure by providing a bottom plate that covers the opening of the spring retainer, and a through hole is provided at the lower end of the suspension rod so that air flows from the lower part of the spring support plate to the inside of the spring support plate. When a valve is provided in the lower part of the pipeline in the suspension rod and in the upper part of the through hole so that the valve in the through hole closes when the spring support plate slides upwards, the air above the spring support plate is in the spring support plate. Flowing into the spring support plate, the spring support plate expands, the friction with the spring retainer increases, and the damper force also increases. When the spring support plate slides downward, the valve in the conduit closes, the air at the bottom of the spring support plate flows into the spring support plate, and the damper force is the same as when the spring support plate slides upward. It is increased and a sufficient damping force is obtained. After passing through the resonance point, the vibration amplitude and the sliding amount of the spring supporting plate are reduced, and the amount of air to be moved is also reduced. As a result, the damper force is reduced and the amount of vibration transmitted to the washing machine main body is reduced.

A third invention provides a closed structure by providing a bottom plate that covers the opening of the spring retainer, and a through hole is provided at the lower end of the suspension rod so that air flows from the lower part of the spring support plate to the inside of the spring support plate. The outlet of the pipe and the outlet of the through hole are formed in a hemispherical shape,
A spherical valve was placed there. During the period in which the vibration amplitude is large and the cycle is long until the dehydration tank starts rotating and passes through the resonance point after entering the dehydration process, the spherical valve stably abuts the hemispherical conduit outlet and the through hole outlet and functions as a valve. When the spring support plate slides upward, the spherical valve comes into contact with the through hole outlet to close the valve, and the air above the spring support plate flows into the spring support plate,
The spring support plate expands, the friction with the spring retainer increases, and the damper force also increases. When the spring support plate slides downward, the spherical valve comes into contact with the conduit outlet and closes the valve, the air under the spring support plate flows into the spring support plate, and the spring support plate slides upward. As with the case, the damper force increases and sufficient damping force can be obtained. After passing through the resonance point, at steady rotation, the vibration amplitude becomes small and the cycle becomes short.Therefore, the spherical valve does not vibrate, and the hemispherical conduit outlet and the through hole outlet are not reliably contacted. Since it does not function as, the damper effect is lost, it becomes difficult to transmit vibration to the main body of the washing machine, and noise can be suppressed to a low level.

Embodiment An embodiment of the first invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. In FIG. 1, a speed reducer 14 is fixed to the lower part of an outer tub 13 for receiving water at the time of dehydration.
14 is connected by a belt to a motor 15 fixed to the lower part of the outer tub 13. The drive shaft of the speed reducer 14 has a double structure, and a dehydration tub 16 also serving as a washing tub is fixed to the outer shaft. The outer tub 13 is located outside the dehydration tub 16. A stirring blade 17 located inside the dehydration tank 16 is fixed to the shaft inside the drive shaft. The outer tub 13 is elastically supported by a washing machine body 19 via a suspension 18 for vibration isolation. As shown in FIG. 2, the suspension 18 includes a suspension rod 20, a spring support plate 21 attached to the lower end of the suspension rod 20, and a cylindrical spring inserted through the suspension rod 20 and covering the spring support plate 21. It has a presser 22, and a compression spring 23 interposed between the spring support plate 21 and the spring presser 22,
The inner wall of the spring retainer 22 has a relationship that the upper and lower diameters are D = D1 in the sliding range of the spring support plate 21. In other words, this inner wall is formed straight and has a cylindrical shape. Therefore, the friction with the spring support plate 21 is extremely small. Further, the spring support plate 21 is formed in a bag shape and has flexibility. At the lower end of the suspension bar 20, the upper part of the spring support plate 21 to the inside 21 of the spring support plate 21
A pipe line 24 through which air flows to a is provided.

Hereinafter, the operation of this embodiment will be described. During the centrifugal dehydration process in which the dehydration tank 16 rotates, the outer tub 13 and the dehydration tank 16 violently vibrate when an imbalance occurs due to deviation of clothes or the like. Especially at startup, the amplitude becomes maximum when passing through the resonance point. The anti-vibration mechanism of this embodiment compresses the air above the spring support plate 21 when the outer tub 13 tries to move downward so that the outer tub 13 and the like do not contact the washing machine body 19 at this peak. Through the conduit 24 inside the spring support plate
Entering 21a, the outer pressure of the spring support plate 21 increases due to the air pressure, the friction with the spring retainer 22 increases, the damper force increases, the movement is suppressed, and the vibration is damped.
During steady rotation after passing through the resonance point, the vibration amplitude is reduced and the sliding amount of the spring support plate 21 is also reduced, so the damper force generated is also reduced, and the vibration is less likely to be transmitted to the washing machine body 19 and noise is reduced. To be done.

As described above, according to the automatic washing machine of the first embodiment of the present invention, since the inner wall of the spring retainer 22 is formed straight, the friction between the spring retainer 22 and the spring support plate 21 is reduced, so that the dehydration constant Noise due to constant friction noise is reduced. Since the friction is small, the durability of the spring retainer 22 and the spring support plate 21 is improved. In addition, the spring support plate 21 is formed in a bag shape so as to have flexibility, and at the lower end of the hanging rod 20, a pipe line 24 for flowing the air above the spring support plate 21 into the inside 21a of the spring support plate 21 is provided. When the outer tank 13 moves downward, the inside 21 of the spring support plate 21
Air flows into a, and the air pressure increases the outer diameter of the spring support plate 21.
By increasing the friction with and generating the damper force, a large damper force is generated when the amplitude before passing through the resonance point is large and the sliding amount of the spring support plate 21 is large, and the Vibration can be reduced and abnormal vibration can be prevented. Vibration amplitude and spring support plate at steady rotation
Since the sliding amount of 21 is also reduced, the damper force is also reduced, and vibrations are less likely to be transmitted to the washing machine body 19 to reduce noise.

Next, an embodiment of the second invention will be described with reference to FIG. The same parts as those in FIGS. 1 and 2 are designated by the same reference numerals. In the figure, 25 is a bottom plate that covers the opening of the spring retainer 22, 26 is a through hole provided in the bottom of the suspension rod 20,
A through hole valve 27 is provided on the upper part. Reference numeral 28 is a conduit valve provided below the conduit 24. 29 is a packing provided between the opening of the spring retainer 22 and the bottom plate 25.
The airtightness of 25 is improved.

Hereinafter, the operation of the present embodiment will be described. When the outer tub 13 is about to move downward, the air above the spring support plate 21 is compressed and passes through the pipe line 24 to open the pipe line valve 28 to open the inside 21 of the spring support plate 21.
Enter a. Since the through-hole valve 27 is closed, the outer diameter of the spring support plate 21 is increased by the air pressure, the friction with the spring retainer 22 is increased, the damper force is increased, the movement is suppressed, and the vibration is damped. There is. When the outer tank 13 moves upward,
The air below the spring support plate 21 is compressed, passes through the through hole 26, opens the through hole valve 27, and enters the inside 21a of the spring support plate 21. Since the conduit valve 28 is closed, the outer diameter of the spring support plate 21 is increased by the air pressure, the friction with the spring retainer 22 is increased, the damper force is increased, the movement is suppressed, and the vibration is damped. There is. During steady rotation after passing through the resonance point, the vibration amplitude is reduced and the sliding amount of the spring support plate 21 is also reduced, so the damper force generated is also reduced, and the vibration is less likely to be transmitted to the washing machine body 19 and noise is reduced. To be done.

As described above, according to the automatic washing machine of the embodiment of the second invention, the bottom plate 25 is provided in the opening of the spring retainer 22 to form a closed structure, and the air below the spring support plate 21 is provided at the bottom of the hanging rod 20. Is provided with a through hole 26 for flowing into the inside 21a of the spring support plate 21, a conduit valve 28 is provided in the lower part of the conduit 24, and a through hole valve 27 is provided in the upper part of the through hole 26, and the outer tank 13 is Spring support plate when moving downward
When the air above the 21 moves upward, the spring support plate 21
The air at the bottom of the spring support plate 21 is made to flow into the inside 21a of the spring support plate 21, and the air pressure increases the outer diameter of the spring support plate 21 to increase the friction with the spring retainer 22 and generate a bidirectional damper force. By doing so, when the amplitude before passing through the resonance point is large and the sliding amount of the spring support plate 21 is large, a sufficiently large damper force is generated, vibration at the time of dehydration start is minimized, and abnormal vibration is prevented. be able to. At steady rotation, the vibration amplitude and the sliding amount of the spring support plate 21 become small, so that the damper force also becomes small and the vibration is less likely to be transmitted to the washing machine main body 19 to reduce noise.

An embodiment of the third invention will be described with reference to FIG. The same parts as those in FIGS. 1, 2, and 3 are designated by the same reference numerals. In the figure, 25 is a bottom plate that covers the opening of the spring retainer 22, 26 is a through hole provided in the bottom of the suspension rod 20, and the outlet 26a is formed in a hemispherical shape. Outlet 2 of pipeline 24
4a is also formed in a hemispherical shape. Reference numeral 30 is a spherical valve that contacts the outlets 24a and 26a. 29 is a packing provided between the opening of the spring retainer 22 and the bottom plate 25, which enhances the airtightness of the spring retainer 22 and the bottom plate 25.

Hereinafter, the operation of the present embodiment will be described. During a period in which the vibration amplitude until the dehydration tub 16 starts rotating and passes through the resonance point during the dehydration step is large and the cycle is long, the spherical valve 30 contacts the outlet 26a when the outer tub 13 moves downward. When the outer tub 13 moves upward by contacting and closing the through hole 26, it abuts the outlet 24a and closes the conduit 24, and bidirectionally causes air to flow through the inside 21a of the spring support plate 21 to generate a damper force. The vibration is suppressed. After passing through the resonance point, when the rotation becomes steady, the vibration amplitude becomes small and the cycle becomes short, so the spherical valve 30 also vibrates independently of the air flow, and it does not come into contact with the outlets 24a, 26a reliably, and functions as a valve. Without it, the damper force is not generated, it becomes difficult to transmit the vibration to the main body 19 of the washing machine, and the noise can be suppressed to be small.

As described above, according to the automatic washing machine of the third embodiment of the present invention, the bottom plate 25 is provided in the opening of the spring retainer 22 to form a hermetically sealed structure, and the bottom portion of the suspension rod 20 is provided with the air below the spring support plate 21. Through hole 26 for flowing into the inside 21a of the spring support plate 21, the outlet 24a of the pipeline 24, the outlet 26a of the through hole 26 is formed into a hemispherical shape, respectively, using the spherical valve 30, the outer tank 13 When moving downward, the air above the spring support plate 21 is moved upward, and when moving upward, the air below the spring support plate 21 is moved inside the spring support plate 21.
21a, and the air pressure increases the outer diameter of the spring support plate 21 to increase the friction with the spring retainer 22 so that a damper force is generated in both directions. When the cycle is long, the amplitude is large, and the sliding amount of the spring support plate 21 is large, a sufficiently large damper force is generated to minimize vibration at the time of dehydration start,
Abnormal vibration can be prevented. When the rotation speed is short and the rotation is steady, the spherical valve 30 does not function and a damper force is not generated, and the vibration is less likely to be transmitted to the washing machine body 19 to reduce noise.

As described above, according to the first aspect of the present invention, the inner wall of the spring retainer is molded straight to reduce the friction between the spring support plate and the spring retainer, and the spring support plate is formed into a bag shape to provide flexibility. The air passage is provided in the lower end of the suspension rod to send air into the spring support plate to increase the outer diameter of the spring support plate and temporarily increase the friction with the spring retainer. Since the damper force is generated only when moving, a large damper force is generated when the sliding amount of the spring support plate is large, and the vibration at the dehydration start is small, and the sliding amount of the spring support plate is small. During steady rotation, the damper force is small, and vibrations are less likely to be transmitted to the main body of the washing machine, and noise can be reduced. Further, during steady rotation, the friction between the spring support plate and the spring retainer is reduced in the sliding range, and the friction noise is reduced. Therefore, the durability of the spring support plate and the spring retainer can be increased.

According to the second invention, a bottom plate is provided in the opening of the spring retainer to form a closed structure, and a through hole is provided in the bottom of the suspension rod to allow air in the lower part of the spring support plate to flow into the spring support plate, and the lower part of the pipeline. By installing a valve above the through hole, air is sent into the spring support plate in both directions when the outer tub moves greatly up and down when starting dehydration, and as a result, the damper force is increased and vibration at startup is significantly increased. Can be dampened. During steady rotation after passing through the resonance point, the amplitude of vibration is small and the sliding amount of the spring support plate is also reduced. As a result, the damper force is reduced, making it difficult for the vibration to be transmitted to the washing machine body, and noise during steady rotation is also generated. It becomes smaller.

According to the third aspect of the invention, a bottom plate is provided in the opening of the spring retainer to form a closed structure, and a through hole is provided in the bottom of the suspension rod to allow air under the spring support plate to flow inside the spring support plate, and to penetrate the pipeline. When the outlet of the hole is formed in a hemispherical shape and a spherical valve is provided, when the cycle of dehydration start is long and the amplitude is large, the spherical valve functions and air is sent into the spring support plate in both directions, resulting in The damping force is increased, and the vibration at startup can be greatly damped. During steady rotation after passing through the resonance point, the cycle of vibration is short, the spherical valve vibrates and does not reliably come into contact with the outlet of the pipeline or through hole, the valve function is lost and the damper force does not occur as a result, Vibration is less likely to be transmitted to the main body of the washing machine, and noise during steady rotation is also reduced.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view of an automatic washing machine showing an embodiment of the first invention, FIG. 2 is a sectional view of the same suspension, and FIG. 3 is a sectional view of a suspension showing an embodiment of the second invention. Fourth
FIG. 5 is a sectional view of a suspension showing an embodiment of the third invention, FIG. 5 is a sectional view of a conventional automatic washing machine, and FIG. 6 is a sectional view showing the suspension. 13 …… Outer tank, 16 …… Dehydration tank, 18 …… Suspension, 19
...... Washing machine body, 20 ...... Suspension bar, 21 ...... Spring support plate, 22
...... Spring retainer, 23 ...... Compression spring, 24 ...... Pipe line, 24a, 26a
...... Outlet, 25 …… bottom plate, 26 …… through hole, 27 …… through hole valve, 28 …… pipe valve, 30 …… spherical valve.

Claims (3)

(57) [Claims] 1. Located outside a dehydration tub that also doubles as a washing tub,
An outer tub that receives water during dehydration is elastically supported from the washing machine body via a suspension, and the suspension is inserted into the suspension rod, a spring support plate attached to the lower end of the suspension rod, and the suspension rod. It has a cylindrical spring retainer that covers the spring support plate, and a compression spring interposed between the spring support plate and the spring retainer, and the inner wall of the spring retainer is formed straight and the spring support plate is provided. An automatic washing machine having a bag-like shape and having flexibility, and a pipe line provided in the hanging bar so that air flows from the upper portion of the spring supporting plate to the inside of the spring supporting plate. 2. A bottom plate for covering the opening of the spring retainer is provided, and a lower end of the suspension rod is provided with a through hole for allowing air to flow from the lower portion of the spring support plate to the inside of the spring support plate. The automatic washing machine according to claim 1, wherein a conduit valve is provided at a lower portion of the passage and a through hole valve is provided at an upper portion of the through hole. 3. A bottom plate for covering the opening of the spring retainer is provided, and a through hole is provided at the lower end of the suspension rod so that air flows from the lower part of the spring support plate to the inside of the spring support plate. 2. The automatic washing machine according to claim 1, wherein the outlet of the through hole is formed in a hemispherical shape, and a spherical valve is mounted thereon.