Textiles: fluid treating apparatus – Machines – Combined
Reexamination Certificate
1999-03-19
2001-09-11
Coe, Philip R. (Department: 1746)
Textiles: fluid treating apparatus
Machines
Combined
C068S024000, C068S173000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06286344
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates, in general, to washing machines used for washing clothes, sheets, etc. and, more particularly, to a washing machine with a tilted tub assembly, the tub assembly being tilted at a predetermined angle suitable for improving washing effect of the washing machine while reducing the deviation of the washing effect, and being convenient to users while putting or taking laundry into or out of the tub assembly.
2. Description of the Prior Art
As well known to those skilled in the art, washing machines are electric equipment used for washing laundry, such as clothes, sheets, etc. When laundry is continuously immersed in water, mixed with detergent, for a lengthy period of time without adding any mechanical action to the laundry, dirt of the laundry may be removed due to a chemical reaction of the detergent. However, a lengthy period of time is needed until dirt completely is removed. Therefore, in order to quickly wash laundry, it is necessary to add a mechanical action, such as friction and vibration, to the laundry by forcibly whirling detergent water with the laundry immersed in the water. Washing machines are for washing laundry while adding such a mechanical action to the laundry in detergent water.
FIG. 1
is a side sectional view, showing the construction of a typical washing machine. As shown in the drawing, the typical washing machine comprises a housing
10
and a washing tub assembly
20
. The tub assembly
20
is installed inside the housing
10
and performs a washing operation. Four damper hangers
30
support the tub assembly
20
in the housing
10
while suspending the assembly
20
in said housing
10
and performing a damper function. The washing machine also has a drive motor
40
which rotates both a pulsator
25
and an inner tub
23
of the tub assembly
20
.
The tub assembly
20
comprises two tubs: an outer tub
21
and an inner tub
23
. The outer tub
21
has four regularly spaced brackets
22
at its lower portion, thus being caught by the lower ends of the four damper hangers
30
at the brackets
22
. The tub
21
is thus held in the housing
10
. On the other hand, the inner tub
23
, densely perforated on its sidewall, is concentrically positioned inside the outer tub
21
with a pulsator
25
being interiorly integrated with the bottom of the inner tub
23
. The above pulsator
25
is for improving washing effect of the machine.
The drive motor
40
is provided with both a clutch unit and a planetary gear mechanism, thus controlling a rotating action of the inner tub
23
integrated with the pulsator
25
.
The four damper hangers
30
are caught by housing brackets
11
, formed on the upper portion of the housing
10
, at their top ends. The lower ends of the hangers
30
are individually caught by a tub bracket
22
, formed on the lower portion of the outer tub
21
, through a damper unit
35
. The damper unit
35
comprises a hollow damper case
37
, which is held by the tub bracket
22
at the upper portion and receives a coil spring
36
, with a flanged lower end of the hanger
30
being stopped by the lower end of the spring
36
within the case
37
.
Therefore, the tub assembly
20
is suspended within the housing
10
by the damper hangers
30
.
The above washing machine is operated as follows.
Laundry, such as clothes, sheets, etc., is put into the perforated inner tub
23
of the tub assembly
20
prior to starting the washing machine. When the machine is started, water is supplied from a pipe line into the tub assembly
20
until the water reaches a predetermined level. Of course, the water level is determined in accordance with the volume of laundry. Thereafter, the drive motor
40
is started, thus rotating the inner tub
23
along with the pulsator
25
. That is, a washing process is started.
When a preset time has passed after the motor
40
is started, the motor
40
is stopped. A drain valve
27
, provided at a drain pipe
28
extending outwardly from the bottom of the tub assembly
20
, is opened, thus discharging laundry wastewater from the tub assembly
20
through the drain pipe
28
.
After the detergent water is completely discharged from the tub assembly
20
, new water is supplied into the tub assembly
20
until the water reaches a predetermined level. A rinsing process is, thereafter, started. Such a rinsing process is performed twice or three times in each washing operation of the machine. In each of the rinsing processes, the washing machine performs the same operation as that of each washing process. However, in each rinsing process, the working time of the drive motor
40
is shorter than that of each washing process.
After the preset washing and rinsing processes are completely ended, the perforated inner tub
23
is rotated at a high speed so as to start a water-drainage process where the water soaked laundry is somewhat drained of water. In such a water-drainage process, the water-saturated laundry is centrifugally drained of water. The water, thereafter, passes from the inner tub
23
into the outer tub
21
through the perforations of the inner tub
23
due to a high speed rotating action of the inner tub
23
. The water is, thereafter, discharged from the outer tub
21
into the outside of the housing
10
through the drain pipe
28
.
However, the above washing machine is problematic in that the tub assembly
20
is always vertically held in the housing
10
while being suspended by the hangers
30
. Such a vertical position of the tub assembly
20
forces insufficiently tall users to stand on their toes while putting or taking laundry into or out of the tub assemblies
20
in the case of large-scaled washing machines. This is inconvenient to such users.
In addition, the vertically positioned tub assembly
20
is also designed to be repeatedly rotated in opposite directions during a washing operation of a machine. When a secondary water current, formed by the pulsator
25
, moves from the pulsator
25
to the upper portion of the assembly
20
, the secondary water current fails to effectively move along the sidewall of the tub assembly
20
, but moves to a position around the central axis of the tub assembly
20
. This regrettably causes the laundry to be entangled together during a washing operation. Another problem experienced in the typical washing machines resides in that the secondary water current fails to have a complex and active flow, but has a simple and weak flow. Such a simple and weak flow of the secondary water current is not suitable for uniformly washing the laundry. This reduces the washing effect of the washing machines.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Accordingly, the present invention has been made keeping in mind the above problems occurring in the prior art, and an object of the present invention is to provide a washing machine, of which the tub assembly is tilted at a predetermined angle suitable for improving washing effect of the washing machine and being convenient to users while putting or taking laundry into or out of the tub assembly.
In order to accomplish the above object, the present invention provides a washing machine, comprising: an upright housing, a washing tub assembly installed inside the housing, and a tub holding means for elastically holding the tub assembly inside the housing while stably tilting the tub assembly at a predetermined angle relative to the perpendicular of the housing.
REFERENCES:
patent: 491642 (1974-01-01), None
patent: 5117373 (1976-02-01), None
patent: 29694 (1988-02-01), None
patent: 3280992 (1991-12-01), None
patent: 7178287 (1995-07-01), None
Jeon Si-Moon
Kim Dong Won
Kim Kyung Hwan
Kwon Oh Hun
Lee Tae Hee
Coe Philip R.
LG Electronics Inc.
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