Housing for an electric apparatus with lead wires and a die apparatus for molding the same

An electric washing machine is provided with a housing with a plurality of lead wires connected to electrical equipment. A panel of the housing is formed of synthetic resin and a plurality of retaining portions are integrally formed with the panel and formed of synthetic resin. The retaining portions are arranged at intervals at the panel so as to hold the lead wires therein.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
The present invention relates to a housing for an electric apparatus with 
lead wires and a die apparatus for molding the housing. 
In an electric apparatus, such as an electric washing machine, electrical 
equipment including a changeover switch, timers, etc. is attached to the 
panel of a control box. The electrical equipment is electrically 
inter-connected by means of a number of lead wires. These lead wires are 
previously bundled by means of a tape so as not to come apart or become 
tangled. The respective terminals of the lead wires bundled in this manner 
are coupled to the terminals of their corresponding electrical equipment 
before the equipment is mounted on the control panel. After the connected 
electrical equipment is attached to the control panel, the bundle of lead 
wires is attached to hooks protruding from the back of the control panel. 
However, in the prior art housing for the electric washing machine of such 
a construction, because the electrical equipment is inter-connected by 
lead wires, as mentioned before, it is very difficult to automatically 
attach the electrical equipment to the control panel using an automatic 
assembling machine, so that the assembly work cannot be automated. 
Moreover, it is quite troublesome to tape the bundle of lead wires or to 
manually engage the taped bundle of lead wires with the hooks. Thus, the 
apparatus of this type exhibits a very low assembling efficiency. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
The present invention was created in consideration of these circumstances, 
and a first object of the invention is to provide a housing for an 
electric apparatus with lead wires enabling automatic assembly of 
electrical equipment thereon by means of an assembling machine and 
obviating the necessity of lead wire taping and fixing operations, thereby 
rationalizing the assembly work. A second object of the invention is to 
provide a die apparatus very simple in construction and capable of molding 
the housing to attain the first object. 
According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a 
housing for an electric apparatus with at least one lead wire connected to 
electrical equipment, which comprises a main body including a portion 
formed of synthetic resin, and a plurality of retaining portions 
integrally formed with the portion and formed of synthetic resin and 
arranged at intervals at the portion so as to hold the lead wire therein. 
According to another aspect of the invention, there is provided a die 
apparatus which comprises first and second dies facing each other and 
including first and second surfaces, respectively, which face each other 
with a space therebetween when the first and second dies are joined 
together, the space between the first and second surfaces defining a main 
cavity for forming the main body of the housing, third and fourth surfaces 
defining a space to house the lead wire, the third and fourth surfaces 
being isolated from the first and second surfaces, respectively, and a 
plurality of sets of fifth and sixth surfaces arranged at intervals on the 
third and fourth surfaces so as to be able to face one another, each set 
of fifth and sixth surfaces defining an auxiliary cavity for forming a 
retaining portion to surround those portions of the lead wire which face 
the fifth and sixth surfaces, the auxiliary cavity being connected with 
the main cavity, the third surface having depressions to house the end 
portions of the lead wire, and the depressions being isolated from the 
main and auxiliary cavities.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
Referring now to the accompanying drawings of FIGS. 1 to 6, a housing 
according to one embodiment of the present invention will be described in 
detail as applied to an electric washing machine. 
In FIG. 1, numeral 10 designates an electric washing machine of a 
double-tank type as an electric apparatus. The electric washing machine 10 
has a case 12 in which a washing tank 14 and a drying tank 16 are 
arranged. A pulsator 18 is rotatably mounted on an eccentric portion of 
the bottom face of the washing tank 14. The drying tank 16 includes a 
fixed water reservoir 20 and a rotary tub 22 rotatably housed in the water 
reservoir 20. Fixed to the bottom portion of the case 12 are a first motor 
24 for rotating the pulsator 18 and a second motor 26 for rotating the 
rotary tub 22. The washing tank 14 and the water reservoir 20 are 
connected individually with drain pipes (not shown) each having a valve. 
Water in the washing tank 14 or the water reservoir 20 is discharged to 
the outside when its corresponding valve is opened. 
A control box 28 as the housing according to one embodiment of the 
invention is attached to the rear portion of the top face of the case 12 
by means of screws (not shown). The control box 28 is set on the casing 12 
after it is mounted with various electrical equipment. The control box 28 
has a base member (not shown) and a front panel 32 connected to the base 
and provided with a frame 30 surrounding the front panel 32. The front 
panel 32 is formed of synthetic resin. An opening 34 (described in detail 
later) is formed in the lower portion of the front panel 32, extending 
horizontally. 
The front panel 32 is mounted with first and second timers 36 and 38 and a 
changeover switch 40 as electrical equipment. The first timer 36 serves to 
set the drive time of the first motor 24, that is, to control the washing 
and rinsing operations. The second timer 38 serves to set the drive time 
of the second motor 26, that is, to control the drying operation. The 
changeover switch 40 is provided for controlling the speed of the first 
motor 24, that is, to control the strength of the water streams in the 
washing tank 14. As shown in FIG. 2, the first and second timers 36 and 38 
and the changeover switch 40 are provided with female terminal groups 36A, 
38A and 40A, respectively, for signal input and output. 
The front panel 32 is integrally connected with a plurality of lead wires 
42. The lead wires 42 are provided for electrically connecting the first 
timer 36 with the changeover switch 40 in the control box 28, and for 
connecting the first and second timers 36 and 38 with the first and second 
motors 24 and 26, respectively. The lead wires 42 have four terminal 
groups 42A, 42B, 42C and 42D, and the individual terminals of the terminal 
groups 42A to 42D are fitted with male terminals (not shown). The male 
terminals of the first terminal group 42A are connected individually to 
the female terminal group 36A of the first timer 36, while those of the 
second terminal group 42B are connected individually to the female 
terminal group 38A of the second timer 38. The male terminals of the third 
terminal group 42C are connected individually to the female terminal group 
40A of the changeover switch 40. The male terminals of the fourth terminal 
group 42D are connected to a female terminal group (not shown) at one end 
of another lead wire group 44 mentioned later. The other end of the second 
lead wire group 44 diverges into a plurality of groups, as shown in FIG. 
1. One of these groups is connected to the first motor 24, while another 
is connected to the second motor 26. 
The first to fourth terminal groups 42A, 42B, 42C and 42D are respectively 
provided with connector housings 46A, 46B, 46C and 46D open at the front 
end so as to surround their corresponding male terminals. A connector 
housing 48 is fitted on one end of the second lead wire group 44 so as to 
surround the female terminals thereat. 
The lead wires 42 extend inside the opening 34 substantially along the 
extending direction thereof. The lead wires 42 are retained integrally on 
the front panel 32 by means of retaining portions 50A, 50B, and 50C which 
are formed integrally with the front panel 32 by molding in positions to 
divide the opening 34 into four substantially equal parts along the 
extending direction thereof. In other words, the lead wires 42 are fixed 
to the front panel 32 at three equally-spaced positions. The opening 34 is 
divided into four opening portions 34A, 34B, 34C and 34D by the retaining 
portions 50A, 50B and 50C. A decoration panel is provided to hide the 
opening portions 34A-34D from the front and its back surface can be seen 
in the opening portions 34A-34D, shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. 
The first opening portion 34A is wide enough to shelter the second 
connector housing 46B at the molding. The second opening portion 34B is 
continuous with a fifth opening portion 34E to shelter the fourth 
connector housing 46D at the molding. The third opening portion 34C is 
continuous with a sixth opening portion 34F to shelter the third connector 
housing 46C at the molding. The fourth opening portion 34D is wide enough 
to shelter the fourth connector housing 46D at the molding. 
A plurality of engaging clicks 30A to engage the base (not shown) protrude 
downward from the bottom face of the frame 30 of the control box 28. 
Engaging slots (not shown) to receive the individual engaging clicks 30A 
are formed at the front portion of the base. The front panel 32 is mounted 
on the base through the engagement of the engaging slots and the engaging 
clicks 30A. 
Referring now to FIGS. 3 to 6, there will be described a molding die 
apparatus 52 for molding the control box 28 of the aforementioned 
construction. 
The molding die apparatus 52 comprises first and second dies 54 and 56. 
Before being mounted with the electrical equipment, the control box 28, 
with the lead wires 42 integrally provided, is molded by the first and 
second dies 54 and 56. 
The first and second dies 54 and 56 have first and second surfaces 60 and 
62, respectively, which, when joined together, define a main cavity 58 for 
forming the frame 30 and the front panel 32 of the control box 28. As 
shown in FIGS. 4 and 6, the first and second dies 54 and 56 have first and 
second contact faces 64 and 66, respectively, for dividing the main cavity 
58 at its lower portion to define the opening 34. The first die 54 has a 
hollow 68 which opens in the contact face 64 to house the lead wires 42. 
As shown in FIGS. 3 and 6, the first and second dies 54 and 56 are 
provided, respectively, with third surfaces 72A, 72B and 72C and fourth 
surfaces 74A, 74B and 74C to define auxiliary cavities 70A, 70B and 70C 
for forming the retaining portions 50A, 50B and 50C. The auxiliary 
cavities 70A, 70B and 70C are connected to the main cavity 58. Therefore, 
the wires 42, which are set so as to pass through the auxiliary cavities 
70 at the time of molding, are molded integrally with the front panel 32 
at the retaining portions 50A, 50B and 50C. 
As shown in FIG. 5, the first die 54 has a first depression 76A for 
defining the fifth opening portion 34E. The first depression 76A is formed 
in that portion of the contact face 64 which lies between the first and 
second auxiliary cavities 70A and 70B. The second die 56 has a second 
depression 76B for defining the sixth opening portion 34F. The second 
depression 76B is formed in that portion of the contact face 66 which lies 
between the second and third auxiliary cavities 70B and 70C. The first and 
second depressions 76A and 76B are both isolated from the main cavity 58, 
so that molding resin is prevented from flowing into the depressions 76A 
and 76B to seal the same. At the time of molding, the first depression 76A 
shelters the fourth terminal group 42D of the lead wires 42 and the fourth 
connector housing 46D enclosing the same, thereby preventing them from 
being sealed by the resin. Moreover, the second depression 76B shelters 
the third terminal group 42C of the lead wires 42 and the third connector 
housing 46C enclosing the same, thereby preventing them from being sealed 
by the resin. 
The manner of assembling the electric washing machine 10 of the 
aforementioned construction will now be described. 
First, the front panel 32 of the control box 28, previously fitted with the 
lead wires 42 in an integral manner, is formed by the molding die 
apparatus 52, and the first and second timers 36 and 38 and the changeover 
switch 40 as the electrical equipment are individually attached to the 
front panel 32. As they are connected with no lead wires, this electrical 
equipment can be handled as individual units, and can therefore be 
assembled automatically by means of an automatic assembling apparatus. 
Thereafter, the male terminals of the first, second and third terminal 
groups 42A, 42B and 42C of the lead wires 42 are connected to the female 
terminal groups 36A, 38A and 40A of the first and second timers 36 and 38 
and the changeover switch 40, respectively. In this operation, the lead 
wires 42 are integrally fixed at intervals to the front panel 32 by means 
of the retaining portions 50A, 50B and 50C, so that they will never come 
apart or move in the control box 28 to lower the operating efficiency of 
the washing machine. Thus, it is quite unnecessary to bundle the lead 
wires 42 by means of a tape after they are connected to the terminals or 
to fix the bundled lead wires 42 to the control box 28. According to this 
one embodiment, therefore, the electrical equipment can be mounted 
automatically, and the wires 42 can be fixed to the control box 28 in 
advance. This leads to a substantial improvement of assembling efficiency. 
The front panel 32 thus mounted with the electrical equipment is attached 
to the base through the engagement between the engaging clicks 30A and the 
engaging slots, thus forming the control box 28. Then the control box 28 
is fixed to the case 12 by screws. Thereafter, the male terminals of the 
fourth terminal group 42D of the lead wires 42 are connected to the female 
terminals at the one end of the second lead wire group 44. This connection 
causes the electrical equipment and the motors 24 and 26 to be connected, 
and the drive of the motors 24 and 26 is controlled by the equipment. 
The molding resin for the front panel 32 is poured into the main cavity 58 
and the auxiliary cavities 70A, 70B and 70C while it is melted at a 
relatively high temperature (approx. 200.degree. C.). Accordingly, the 
resin may seemingly melt the covering of the lead wires 42 made of, e.g., 
polyvinyl chloride. According to the present embodiment, however, the 
retaining portions 50A, 50B and 50C can be made relatively narrow, since 
they are so designed that the lead wires 42 are sealed at intervals. 
Therefore, even if the molding resin is hot, the amount of molding resin 
touching the lead wires 42 is small, so that very little heat is 
transferred to them. Thus, the covering of the lead wires 42 will never be 
melted by the molding resin. 
According to the molding die apparatus 52 of this embodiment, the lead 
wires 42 are retained on the contact faces 64 and 66 of the first and 
second dies 54 and 56. Accordingly, the lead wires 42 can be held in the 
substantially central portions of the auxiliary cavities 72A, 72B and 72C, 
while the dies 54 and 56 are made as simple in construction as possible. 
This can be done because the lead wires 42 are retained at a plurality of 
portions of the contact faces 64 and 66 of the dies 54 and 56 at 
relatively narrow intervals so as to be prevented from slackening between 
the retaining portions 50A and 50B and between the retaining portions 50B 
and 50C. Thus, the lead wires 42 can be set taut, so that they can be 
securely retained in the substantially central portions of the auxiliary 
cavities 70A, 70B and 70C. 
It is to be understood that the present invention is not limited to the 
construction of the embodiment described above, and that various changes 
and modifications may be effected therein by one skilled in the art 
without departing from the scope or spirit of the invention. 
Referring now to FIGS. 7 and 8, a second embodiment of the present 
invention will be described. In the description to follow, like reference 
numerals are used to designate like portions included in the foregoing 
embodiment. In this second embodiment, the opening 34 is not formed in the 
front panel 32, and the retaining portions 50A, 50B and 50C are integrally 
attached to the rear end edge of the top face of the frame 30 by means of 
bendable thin portions 78A, 78B and 78C, respectively. As shown in FIG. 7, 
the retaining portions 50A, 50B and 50C protrude upward from the frame 30 
immediately after they are molded. Like those of the first embodiment, the 
retaining portions 50A, 50B and 50C are attached to the top face of the 
frame 30 at intervals. 
In assembling the control box 28 of such construction, the electrical 
equipment including the first timer 36, second timer 38 and changeover 
switch 40 is mounted on the front plane 32, and then the outwardly 
projecting retaining portions 50A, 50B and 50C are bent or turned inward 
around the thin portions 78A, 78B and 78C, respectively, and then the 
front panel 32 is attached to a base 29, as shown in FIG. 8. Thereafter, 
the male terminals of the terminal groups 42A, 42B and 42C of the lead 
wires 42 are connected to the female terminal groups 36A, 38A and 40A. 
The same effect of the first embodiment may be obtained with use of the 
second embodiment constructed in this manner. 
FIG. 9 shows a modification of the molding die apparatus 52. In the molding 
die apparatus of the first embodiment, the auxiliary cavities 70A, 70B and 
70C defining the retaining portions 50A, 50B and 50C, respectively, are 
defined by the depressions 72A, 72B and 72C in the first die 54 and the 
depressions 74A, 74B and 74C in the second die 56, respectively. As shown 
in FIG. 9, however, the depressions 74A, 74B and 74C to define the 
auxiliary cavities 70A, 70B and 70C may be formed only in the second die 
56. In this case, projections 80A, 80B and 80C are formed at those 
portions of the first die 54 which face the depressions 74A, 74B and 74C, 
respectively, so that the lead wires 42 pass through the central portions 
of the depressions 74A, 74B and 74C. The lead wires 42 are pushed out into 
the respective central portions of the depressions 74A, 74B and 74C by the 
projections 80A, 80B and 80C. 
The same effect of the first embodiment may be obtained with use of the 
molding die apparatus 52 constructed in this manner. 
According to the present invention, as described in detail herein, there 
may be provided a housing for an electric apparatus which enables 
automatic assembly of electrical equipment thereon by means of an 
assembling machine and obviates the necessity of lead wire taping and 
fixing operations, thereby rationalizing the assembly work, and also a die 
apparatus which is simple in construction and capable of molding the 
housing.