JPH0142718B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a washing and dehydrating machine that has an improved bearing structure for a rotary tub serving as a washing and dehydrating tub.

In conventional dehydrating/washing machines, a bearing tube as a shaft support is fixed to the bottom of a water tank that is elastically suspended from an outer box, and a cylindrical dehydration shaft is rotatably attached to this bearing tube via a ball bearing. It has a structure in which a rotating tub serving as a washing tub and a dehydrating tub is supported at the upper end of this spindle. With this type of structure, the parts of the bearing cylinder are heavy, and other parts such as the water tank and rotating tank are made of plastic to make them lighter. The structure tends to have a long distance from the center of gravity of the vibration system in the vertical direction, which causes large vibrations, and the rolling noise of the balls caused by the ball bearings is large, resulting in large noise. Additionally, a seal is installed at the upper end of the bearing cylinder to prevent water from flowing from the rotating tank, but if water leaks from this seal, water will leak into the ball bearing even if the ball bearing is sufficiently greased. This has the disadvantage that it penetrates into the interior, significantly shortening the life of the ball bearing.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned circumstances, and its purpose is to provide a dehydrating and washing machine that can significantly reduce vibration and noise, and can sufficiently prevent shortening of life due to water leakage. be.

A first embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2. Reference numeral 1 denotes an outer box, inside which a water tank 3 is elastically suspended via an elastic suspension mechanism 2, and a mechanical part 6 consisting of a shaft support part 4, a motor 5, etc. is fixed to the bottom of this water tank 3. There is. Reference numeral 7 indicates a plastic rotating tank as a washing and dehydrating tank which is rotatably arranged in the water receiving tank 3, and 8 is a stirring blade. The bearing structure of the washing shaft 10 which is supported and has the stirring blade 8 attached to its upper end will be described in detail with reference to FIG. 2. That is, reference numerals 11 and 11 denote thin-walled annular plain bearings, which are made of, for example, porous sintered metal impregnated with oil.
The lower sliding bearing 11 is fitted into the large diameter portions 4, 4a provided at both the upper and lower ends of the upper sliding bearing 11, and the lower end surface of the upper sliding bearing 11 is brought into contact with the stepped portion at the lower end of the upper larger diameter portion 4a. The upper end surface of the dehydration shaft 9 is rotatably supported by these slide bearings 11, 11. Reference numerals 12 and 12 denote oil-immersed zones that are in contact with the respective end faces of these slide bearings 11 and 11 and are interposed between the outer circumference of the dehydration shaft 9 and the inner circumference of the shaft support portion 4, and the oil stored in this zone is It is supplied to the sliding bearings 11,11. Reference numeral 13 denotes a connector forming a part of the dehydration shaft 9 which is press-fitted to the upper end of the dehydration shaft 9. A water receiving tank is fixed to the flange portion 13a formed at the upper end of this connector, and the lower end edge of this connector is attached to the dehydration shaft 9. 9, which constitutes the stepped portion of the slide bearing 11 disposed above.
It is slidably abutted on the upper end 11a of. Therefore, the thrust load acting on the dewatering shaft 9 is supported by the sliding bearing 11 disposed above. Further, the washing shaft 10 is rotatably supported by a sliding bearing 14 fitted into the inner circumference of the dewatering shaft 9. 15 and 16 are seals, respectively, and the connector 1
between the inner circumferential surface of No. 3 and the washing shaft 10 and the connector 13
It is mounted between the outer peripheral part of the shaft support part 4 and the inner peripheral part of the upper end of the shaft support part 4.

In this embodiment configured as described above, by using a sliding bearing in place of the conventionally used ball bearing, it is possible to provide a dehydrating/washing machine that is inexpensive, has low noise and vibration, and has a bearing life that is less affected by the environment. In other words, the reason why ball bearings are used in this type of conventional washing machine for dehydration and dehydration is that they can easily bear the thrust load from the laundry in the rotating tub, and they are also strong because a large load acts on the upper bearing. Previously, a bearing was used at the top, but as a result of this research, the load acting on the bearing has been clarified, and the results show that the lifespan of the conventionally used ball bearings is approximately 1000 hours. It has been found that the bearing has a life several ten times longer than that of the conventional bearing.
It has also become possible to calculate the surface pressure P and sliding speed v necessary for designing the sliding bearings 11, 11. By using oil-impregnated bearings as the sliding bearings 11, 11, oil always seeps out from inside the bearings to the surface, so water leaks from the seal 16 and enters between the shaft support part 4 and the dewatering shaft 9. Even in such a case, water is prevented from penetrating into the sliding bearings 11, 11, and the life span is not shortened due to water penetration. In addition, by providing the sliding bearings 11, 11, there is no rolling noise unlike ball bearings, and the noise can be significantly reduced, and the gap can be set sufficiently small to allow rotation without play, significantly reducing vibration. can.

FIG. 3 shows a second embodiment of the present invention,
The parts that are different from the first embodiment will be described. That is, 17 is a sliding bearing provided in place of the upper sliding bearing 11. A large diameter flange portion 17a is provided at the upper end of the sliding bearing 17, and the lower end surface of the connector 13, which acts as a stepped portion of the dewatering shaft 9, is made of plastic. The washer 18 is configured to slidably abut on the flange portion 14, and with this configuration, the thrust load from the laundry items in the rotating tub 7 can be easily applied to the slide bearing 17. Furthermore, the sliding noise caused by the thrust can be absorbed by the plastic washer 18 to further reduce the noise.

FIG. 4 shows a third embodiment of the present invention, and the differences from the first embodiment will be described.
That is, 19 is the upper end 11a of the upper sliding bearing 11.
This is an annular recess formed on the inner periphery of the shaft support part 4, located on the outer periphery of the shaft support part 4, and a drain hole 20 communicating with the outer periphery of the shaft support part 4 is bored at the bottom of the recess 19. With this configuration, even if water leaks from the seal 16 and enters the shaft support 4, the water can be received by the recess 19 and discharged to the outside from the drain hole 20, thereby reducing the sliding bearing 11. This makes it possible to reliably prevent the lifespan of the product from decreasing.

As is clear from the embodiments described above, the present invention can provide a dehydrating and washing machine that can significantly reduce vibration and noise, can sufficiently prevent a decrease in service life due to water leakage, and can be provided at a low cost.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

1 and 2 show a first embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectional side view, FIG. 2 is an enlarged longitudinal sectional side view of the main part, and FIG. FIG. 4 is an enlarged longitudinal sectional side view of essential parts showing a third embodiment of the present invention. In the drawing, 4 is a shaft support part, 6 is a mechanism part, 7 is a rotating tank, 9 is a dehydration shaft, 11 and 17 are sliding bearings, 1
9 is a recess, and 20 is a drain hole.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A rotating tank made of plastic serving as a washing and dehydrating tank is disposed within a water receiving tank that is elastically suspended from an outer box,
The rotary tank is equipped with stirring blades at the inner bottom of the rotary tank, and the rotary tank is connected to a hollow cylindrical dehydration shaft fixed to the upper end of the rotary tank through a sliding bearing made of a porous sintered alloy impregnated with oil. It is supported on the inner periphery of a hollow cylindrical shaft support fixed to the bottom of the water receiving tank, and a step formed on the dewatering shaft is slidably abutted on the upper end surface of the upper sliding bearing. The lower end surface of the slide bearing is brought into contact with the step formed on the inner periphery of the shaft support part, and the washing shaft with the stirring blade fixed to the upper end is rotated to the inner periphery of the dewatering shaft via the slide bearing. A dehydrating and washing machine characterized by flexible support. 2. The upper sliding bearing has a flange portion at the upper end, and the stepped portion formed on the dewatering shaft is slidably abutted on the upper end surface of the flange portion to receive the thrust load of the rotating tank. A dehydrating and washing machine according to claim 1. 3. The dehydrating and washing machine as set forth in claim 1, wherein the shaft support portion has a recessed portion on the outer periphery of the upper end of the upper sliding bearing, and the recessed portion has a drain hole communicating with the outside.