Textiles: fluid treating apparatus – Machines – Combined
Reexamination Certificate
2000-09-29
2002-11-05
Coe, Philip (Department: 1746)
Textiles: fluid treating apparatus
Machines
Combined
Reexamination Certificate
active
06474112
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a drum type washing machine, and more particularly, to a device for attenuating vibration of a drum type washing machine.
2. Background of the Related Art
In general, the washing machine removes dirts and contaminants stuck on laundry by chemical decomposition and mechanical impact. Of washing machines, the drum type washing machine has an increasing demand because the drum type washing machine, not only permits to reduce a total height in comparison to a pulsator type washing machine in which an inner tub, a washing tub, is rotated in an upright position, but also permits to increase a washing capacity, and causes almost no problem of laundry entangling. A system of a related art drum washing machine will be explained with reference to
FIGS. 1 and 2
.
The related art drum washing machine is provided with a body
10
, an outer tub
11
supported by dampers
41
and springs
40
in the body, and a cylindrical inner tub
12
rotatably mounted in the outer tub. The inner tub receives a driving force from a driving part for washing the laundry. The driving part has a pulley
33
around an inner tub shaft
34
, a motor
30
mounted on one side of a lower part of the outer tub, and a belt
32
connected between the pulley and the motor for transmission of a power generated at the motor to the inner tub shaft. Though not shown, there is a driving part system in which a power generated by a rotor(not shown) and a stator(not shown) is transmitted to an inner tub shaft
34
directly, and other driving part system in which the power is transmitted to the inner tub shaft in a variety of methods.
The operation of the related art drum washing machine will be explained. Upon introducing the laundry into the inner tub
12
and starting washing, the washing proceeds from washing cycle→rinsing cycle→spinning cycle in succession until all the preset cycles are completed. That is, when the washing is started, a water supply device is put into operation, to supply washing water through a water passage
20
, until the supplied water fills up to an appropriate level when the water supply is stopped and the driving part makes reverse and regular direction rotation, repeatedly. The reverse and regular direction rotation of the driving part is involved in speed reduction by speed reducing means, and applied to the inner tub
12
. Then, the washing of the laundry is made both by impact caused by water circulation occurred as the inner tub is rotated in reverse and regular rotation directions and decomposition by detergent. Upon completion of the washing cycle, a rinsing cycle is carried out in the same process as the washing cycle, and upon completion of the rinsing cycle, the process proceeds to the spinning cycle right away. Upon starting the spinning cycle, the water filled in the inner tub
12
is drained completely through a drain hose
54
by a drain pump
31
. In this instance, as the driving power of the driving part is transmitted to the inner tub
12
as it is without speed reduction, a centrifugal force caused by high speed rotation of the inner tub
12
extracts water contained in the laundry, to dehydrate the laundry. However, the drum washing machine, a horizontal type of washing machine, is very sensitive to vibration compared to the pulsator type washing machine, an upright type of washing machine, in the spinning cycle, because the drum washing machine, a horizontal type washing machine, having the inner tub
12
disposed in a horizontal position, and the drain pump
31
and the motor
30
mounted on a rear surface of the outer tub, to make a front portion of the outer tub relatively less heavy, may cause heavy vibration. And, the outer tub
11
disposed in a front portion of the body receives a vibration of the inner tub caused by eccentricity of an inner tub rotation coming from unbalanced settling of the laundry in the inner tub
12
during spinning
12
directly, to draw a large ellipse as the outer tub
11
rotates. That is, if a vibration is occurred when the inner tub
12
carries out the washing and the spinning as the inner tub
12
rotates, and the vibration is transmitted to the outer tub
11
directly without attenuation, there is cases when the vibration is matched with a natural vibration of the outer tub, to cause a resonance. Eventually, as shown in
FIGS. 2A and 2B
, the following vibration attenuator is used for reducing such a vibration.
The first vibration attenuator has pairs of dampers
41
each pair on left and right sides of the body
10
connected between lower portions of an outer circumference of the outer tub
1
1
and lower portions of the body
10
, for attenuating vertical vibration among vibrations occurred at the inner tub
2
rotates.
The second vibration attenuator has a plurality of holding springs
40
connected between an upper portion of the outer circumference of the outer tub
11
and an upper surface of the body
10
, for restoring displacement absorbed by the damper
41
caused by the vibration coming from rotation of the inner tub
12
.
The third vibration attenuator has weights for increasing weight of the outer tub
11
to reduce a natural frequency of the outer tub itself, to match the natural frequency of the outer tub
11
with a frequency occurred at the inner tub
12
at an initial stage of the spinning cycle when the rotation speed is low. Accordingly, at starting of rotation of the inner tub
12
in the spinning, the frequencies are the same already, and there is no chance when the natural frequency of the outer tub
11
becomes the same with the frequency of the inner tub
12
during the spinning, to prevent the resonance in advance. That is, weights
42
of cast iron or concrete are provided to an upper surface and a lower surface of the outer tub, not only for increasing the weight of the outer tub
11
, but also balancing weight of the motor
30
and drain pump
31
mounted on the outer tub.
However, the third attenuator has the following problems.
The cast iron or concrete used for attenuation of the vibration increases a production cost, as well as weight which causes a problem in transportation of the drum type washing machine.
And, reinforcement design for other related components for the increased weight causes an increase of the production cost.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Accordingly, the present invention is directed to a device for attenuating vibration of a drum type washing machine that substantially obviates one or more of the problems due to limitations and disadvantages of the related art.
An object of the present invention is to provide a device for attenuating vibration of a drum type washing machine, which can reduce a transportation weight of the drum type washing machine and save a production cost.
Additional features and advantages of the invention will be set forth in the description which follows, and in part will be apparent from the description, or may be learned by practice of the invention. The objectives and other advantages of the invention will be realized and attained by the structure particularly pointed out in the written description and claims hereof as well as the appended drawings.
To achieve these and other advantages and in accordance with the purpose of the present invention, as embodied and broadly described, the device for attenuating vibration of a drum type washing machine includes a balance chamber provided to an outer tub for temporary storage of extracted water in spinning for serving as a weight for attenuating vibration of the outer tub, means for supplying the extracted water to the balance chamber in the spinning, and means for draining the extracted water from the balance chamber to outside of the washing machine on completion of the spinning.
The means for supplying the extracted water includes an extracted water flow passage for supplying water in the outer tub to the balance chamber on the same time with draining to outside of the washing machine, and an extracted water pump connected
Han Dae Yeong
Hong Kyung Seop
Jeon Si-Moon
LandOfFree
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