JPH0329435B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a safety device for a washing machine that can automatically turn off the power and stop operation if abnormal vibration occurs during spinning of a washing and washing tub. .

This type of safety device detects the displacement of the tub when it spins in an unbalanced state due to unbalanced clothing, and turns off the power. The user opens the lid above the spin-drying/washing tub, corrects the unevenness of the clothes in the spin-drying/washing tub, and then closes the lid. In this case, by opening and closing the lid, the safety device must be automatically reset and energized again. Further, during normal dehydration operation, it is necessary to stop the dehydration operation when the lid is opened to ensure safety.

The present invention provides a safety device that requires a relatively complicated operation as described above, but has an extremely simple structure that also functions to cut off and turn on electricity by opening and closing the lid. Examples will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

In the figure, reference numeral 1 denotes an outer frame of the washing machine, and inside thereof, a water tank 4 is suspended and supported in a vibration-proof manner by a plurality of support rods 3 via a cushioning material 2 such as a vibration-proof spring. Inside the water tank 4, there is a pulsator 5 for stirring clothes at the inner bottom.
A dewatering/washing tub 6 in which dehydrating and washing tubs 6 are rotatably arranged is arranged to be rotatable for dehydrating. In addition, on the outer bottom of tank 4,
The drive motor 7, bearing box 8, etc. are fixed. A substantially donut-shaped aquarium cover 9 is provided on the upper edge of the aquarium 4.
This has functions such as reinforcing the upper edge of the aquarium and preventing water droplets from scattering.

Reference numeral 10 designates an upper tank portion disposed above the outer frame 1, and a lid 11 is provided approximately in the center thereof so as to be freely openable and closable via a shaft support 11A.
has been established. Reference numeral 12 denotes a rear panel section of the upper tank section 10, which includes a time switch (not shown),
Electrical control parts such as a changeover switch 13 and a water supply solenoid valve (not shown) are provided, as well as a safety device 14 according to the present invention.

The safety device 14 has three functions as described above. That is, the first operation is to stop the drive motor 7 when the lid 11 is opened during the dewatering operation. The second problem was that the clothes were extremely uneven in the spin-drying/washing tub 6.
In order to prevent the occurrence of abnormal vibrations caused by dewatering operation in a so-called unbalanced state, the vibration of the water tank 4 or the water tank cover 9 is detected and the drive of the drive motor 7 is stopped. It is an action. Third, when the user opens the lid 11 when the safety device 14 is activated, corrects the unevenness of the clothes in the spin-drying/washing tub 6, and closes the lid 11. , it is an operation to automatically reset again.

Hereinafter, the configuration of the safety device 14 will be explained in detail based on FIG. 2. A retainer 16, which is made of an insulating material such as a synthetic resin, is close to the operation protrusion 15 protruding from the rear of the lid 11 and engages and disengages when the lid 11 is opened and closed. The freely pivoted switch lever 18 rotates around the pivot supporting protrusion 19 of the switch base plate 17 when the locking element 16 is pressed upward by the closing operation of the lid 11. In the figure, it is designed to rotate clockwise.

The switch lever 18 is made of steel wire, and has a coil portion 20 having a rounded shaft portion loosely fitted into the protrusion portion 19 of the switch base plate 17 described above. The switch board 17 is made of thin steel plate,
In FIG. 2, the cross section in the direction perpendicular to the plane of the paper is formed into a substantially U-shape. A switch 21 connected to the switch lever 18 and the power source of the drive motor 7 is arranged inside this switch board 17.

The switch 21 has fixed contacts 23 on a switch base 22 made of a synthetic resin material having electrical insulation properties.
a fixed side contact piece 24 fixed to the tip thereof, a button 25 made of a synthetic resin material at the tip portion, and the fixed contact 2
The movable side contact piece 26A to which the movable contact 26 corresponding to No. 3 is fixed is integrally fixed. Button 25
By pressing the movable contact 26 upward, the movable contact 26 comes into contact with the fixed contact 23 and becomes electrically conductive, so that the drive motor 7 can be driven.

In the switch lever 18, the aforementioned retainer 1
A safety lever 27 made of a thin steel plate or the like is engaged near the substantially central portion of the coil portion 20 and the coil portion 20 . This safety lever 27 has two bent parts 28 at its lower part.
It is bent into a substantially L-shape at A and 28B, and the lower end 29 is located outside the upper edge of the aquarium 4 and the aquarium cover 9. The substantially horizontal portion 30 between the bent portions 28A and 28B is slightly inclined and positioned at the upper end periphery of the aquarium cover 9 with a predetermined dimensional interval therebetween.

Further, the safety lever 27 has a substantially vertical portion 31 that is formed by bending the lid 11 side of the switch board 17 downward.
It has an opening 33 which can be slid up and down while the lower end thereof is engaged with a substantially T-shaped locking part 32 bent toward the lid 11 side.

In addition, the upper end of the safety lever 27 is connected to the switch 2.
A long hole 34A through which the switch lever 18 described above is inserted is formed at the bent portion, and a projecting piece 34B that is pressed by the switch lever 18 is formed at the end. This projecting piece 34B is located below the button 25, and the switch lever 1
8 is pushed up by the operation protrusion 15,
Move the button 25 upward via the protrusion 34B,
The contacts 26 and 23 are brought into contact with each other.

Between the switch board 17 and the safety lever 27,
A compression spring 35 is interposed as a pressing spring material. This compression spring 35 is inserted between a burring hole-shaped projection 36 integrally formed on the bottom surface of the switch board 17 and a locking cylinder portion 37 integrally formed upward on the horizontal portion 30 of the safety lever 27. By doing so, the safety lever 27 is biased in the clockwise direction of rotation about the locking portion 32 of the switch board 17, and the switch board 1
It works to press downward against 7.

The upper opening of the switch board 17 is covered with a thin plate-like cover 38 which is fitted and fixed onto a projection 39 formed on the side wall of the switch board 17.

The above is an outline of the configuration of the safety device 14, and its operation will be explained below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 2 shows a state in which the lid 11 is opened, and the contacts 23 and 26 are separated from each other.

FIG. 3 shows the lid 11 in a closed state. That is,
The operation protrusion 15 on the lid 11 allows the switch lever 1 to be
8 has its retainer 16 pushed upward,
button 2 via the protrusion 34B of the safety lever 27.
5 is pressed upward, and the contacts 23 and 26 are brought into contact with each other by bending and deforming the movable contact piece 26A. At this time, the safety lever 27 is pressed by the protrusion 40 formed on the surface of the substantially vertical part 31 of the switch board 17 on the lid 11 side, and the opening 33 is pressed by the locking part of the switch board 17. 32 and move upward. This movement is caused by the compression spring 3
This is done against the pressure of 5.

FIG. 4 shows a case where the unbalance of the clothes in the spin-drying/washing tub 6 is extremely large and the whirling of the water tub 4 exceeds a predetermined value. When the lower end 29 of the safety lever 27 is pressed by the aquarium cover 9, the safety lever 27 rotates counterclockwise in FIG.
This is done against the pressing force of the compression spring 35. Therefore, the protrusion 34B at the upper end of the safety lever 27
slides on the upper surface of the switch lever 18 and moves to the left in FIG.
The upper end tongue piece 41 provided at the upper part comes off from the lower surface of the button 25, so that the contacts 23 and 26 are separated from each other, thereby functioning as a safety device.

Next, the state shown in FIG. 5 will be explained. The state shown in FIG. 5 shows the state after the operation shown in FIG. 4 has occurred, that is, after the safety device has been activated. The contacts 23 and 26 are separated from each other, and the lid 11 is in a closed state. Since the pressing force no longer acts on the lower end 29 of the safety lever 27, the safety lever 27 is again pressed against the locking portion 3 of the switch board 17 by the pressing force of the compression spring 35.
A return rotation is made in the clockwise direction with rotation center at 2.
At this time, button 25 has already moved, so
The upper tongue piece 41 of the safety lever 27 falls into a recess 42 formed in the button 25 and fits loosely therein. FIG. 5 shows the state after the safety lever 17 has been rotated as described above.

Next, the operation of resetting the state shown in FIG. 5 to the normal usage state shown in FIG. 2 will be explained.

When the lid 11 is in the open state in FIG. 5, that is, in the state shown by the dotted line, the safety lever 27 slides downward through the opening 33 relative to the locking portion 32 due to the pressing force of the compression spring 35. Safety lever 2
The upper end tongue piece 41 of 7 moves downward and presses the button 25.
While sliding on the inclined surface 43 formed on the lower surface of the recess 42, the button 25 is returned to the lower part of the button 25 again with a slight counterclockwise rotation and reset. The reset state is as shown in FIG. 2, and when the lid 11 is closed from the state shown in FIG. 2, the contacts 23 and 26 come into contact again as shown in FIG. 3, allowing operation.

FIG. 6 shows an exploded view of the safety device 14, and the structure of the safety device 14 will be explained in more detail with reference to FIG.

The safety lever 27 is made of a thin steel plate, and at its upper end, a portion thereof is bent downward, and a projecting piece 3 is formed.
4B is integrally formed as a contact portion with the switch lever 18, and an upper end tongue piece 41 consisting of an end near the protruding piece 34B is used as a part for pressing the button 25. Further, the switch board 17 is made of a thin steel plate, and has a substantially T-shaped locking portion 32 integrally formed at the tip of a substantially vertical portion 31 thereof. The tip of this locking portion 32 constitutes a support piece 32A, and the width dimension A of the support piece 32A is larger than the width dimension B in the horizontal direction of the opening 33 of the safety lever 27 and larger than the dimension C in the vertical direction. Also set it to a smaller value.

Therefore, the safety lever 27 is connected to the switch board 17.
To assemble the locking portion 32 to its support piece 32A,
It is inserted into the opening 33 so that the direction of the width dimension A corresponds to the direction of the dimension C of the opening 33, and it is further rotated by 90 degrees to prevent it from coming off due to the relationship A>B.

On the other hand, the compression spring 35
It is only necessary to install the safety lever 27 so that it is interposed between the lower bottom surface of the safety lever 7 and the substantially horizontal portion 30 of the safety lever 27.

In this way, the safety lever 27 can move up and down in accordance with the vertical rotation of the switch lever 18 due to opening and closing of the lid 11, and can further rotate around the locking portion 32.

Conventionally, this type of safety device requires a biasing body that biases the movement in the vertical direction, a biasing body that biases the rotation direction, etc., and a separate biasing body that biases the button 25 of the switch 21. The number of parts tends to be relatively large, such as requiring a lever, and the machining becomes complicated.

However, according to the present invention, the complicated movement of the safety lever can be easily performed with a relatively simple structure, and the original purpose can be achieved by biasing with a single spring member. , the safety lever can be reliably pivoted to the switch board without coming off.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Figure 1 is a vertical cross-sectional view of a general dehydrating and washing machine.
Fig. 2 is a sectional view of the safety device according to the embodiment of the present invention, Fig. 3 is a sectional view for explaining the operation of the safety device when the lid is closed, and Fig. 4 is the operation when unbalance of clothing is detected. 5 is a sectional view showing the reset state, and FIG. 6 is an exploded perspective view of the safety device. 1... Outer frame, 4... Water tank, 6... Dehydration/washing tub, 7... Drive motor, 11... Lid, 15...
Operation protrusion, 17...Switch board, 18...Switch lever, 21...Switch, 26A...Movable side contact piece, 27...Safety lever, 30...Substantially horizontal part, 32...Locking part, 33 ...Opening, 34B...
... Projection piece, 35 ... Compression spring (spring material), 4
1... Upper tongue piece.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1 A water tank with a hanging anti-vibration support in an outer frame and a dehydration/washing tub rotatably arranged inside, a lid that can open and close the upper opening of this water tank, and a drive motor linked to the opening and closing of this lid. A switch that connects and disconnects power to the switch, a switch board to which the switch is attached, a switch lever that is rotatably supported on the switch board and rotates in conjunction with opening and closing of the lid, and a switch lever that rotates in conjunction with opening and closing of the lid. The safety lever is provided with a safety lever that is displaced and operates the movable side contact piece of the switch, and a spring material interposed between the switch board and the safety lever, the safety lever is made of a thin steel plate, and the upper end thereof has a spring member interposed between the switch board and the safety lever. forming a protrusion that receives the rotational force of the switch lever and moves the safety lever itself upward;
The movable side contact piece of the switch is configured to be pressed in the closing direction by the end near the protrusion when the safety lever moves upward, and the switch base plate is made of a thin steel plate, and is approximately T that is inserted into the opening provided in the safety lever and is rotatably supported.
A locking part in the shape of a letter is provided, the lower end of the safety lever is bent into a substantially L shape so that the substantially horizontal part is located on the bottom side of the switch board, and a locking part is provided between the switch board and the substantially horizontal part. A safety device for a dehydrating and washing machine that includes the spring material.