Drum appliances with balancing devices

Abstract: There is disclosed a drum washing machine including a housing (10), a tub (20) suspended within the housing, a spin basket (30) rotatably mounted in a horizontal direction inside of the tub, a motor (40) rotating the spin basket, and balancing devices (50). The respective balancing devices have annular groove-shaped chambers (51a,51b) provided to both sides of the spin basket and a plurality of balls (52a,52b) movable within the chambers. The chambers contain a predetermined amount of liquid to allow the balls to freely move along the chambers. Each of the chambers is formed by joining the spin basket's side panel on which a first annular groove is formed inward to a plate member on which a second groove is formed corresponding to the first groove. The chamber may be formed by the combination of a first annular groove formed on a secondary plate member instead of the spin basket's side panel and the second groove on the plate member in order to prevent the parts where the plate member and the side panel are welded together from being exposed to the inside of the spin basket.

Description: FIELD OF THE INVENTION The invention relates to appliances with rotary drums having balancing devices for counteracting imbalances produced by rotation of the product being treated in the drum. For example, these appliances include washing machines, tumble dryers and spin dryers. As a particular example, the invention relates to a drum washing machine with a horizontally or vertically mounted spin basket, having balancing devices realised as a plurality of balls respectively seated in chambers formed on one or both sides of its spin basket. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION A conventional drum washing machine, which performs a washing/hydro-extracting task with the rotation of its spin basket, has balancers that prevent the spin basket from producing abnormal vibrations due to laundry not being evenly arranged therein. There are two types of balancing devices: a counterweight balancer that reduces the vibration by means of a counterweight having a predetermined weight, and a liquid balancer which is provided to a washing machine's spin basket in order to oppose an imbalance of laundry and restrain the generation of vibration. FIG. 7 schematically illustrates a conventional drum washing machine with counterweights. The drum washing machine includes a housing 1, a tub 2 held by suspension arms in the housing 1, and a spin basket 3 rotatably provided in the tub 2. An electric motor 8, installed below the tub 3, rotates the tub 3 about a shaft (not illustrated) horizontally installed therein, thereby performing a washing/hydro-extracting task. Counterweights 4a and 4b, each of predetermined weight, are attached to the tub 2 to prevent the production of vibration during the washing/hydro-extracting operation. The counterweight 4a attached to the front of the tub 2 is 11.4kg, and the counterweight 4b provided to the top of the tub 2 is 12.2kg. These counterweights 4a and 4b are made from cast iron and are joined to the tub 2 by bolts 4c. The above-described conventional drum washing machine has the following disadvantages: First, the conventional balancer using the counterweights only lowers the amplitude of vibrations generated during operation rather than eliminating them entirely. Second, since these counterweights are quiet heavy, it is difficult to install them on the tub and the overall weight of the washing machine is increased, resulting in difficult construction and transport. Third, the bolts which fasten the counterweights to the tub, over long periods of use, loosen due to corrosion or fatigue, resulting in noise, and, in the worst case, the possibility of damage to the balancer and the washing machine as well. To solve the aforementioned problems, a liquid balancer directly installed in a washing machine's spin basket was proposed in EP Publication No. EP 0 390 343 A2. FIG. 8 depicts a conventional drum washing machine employing such a liquid balancer. The drum washing machine of FIG. 8 includes a housing 1, a tub 2 held by suspension arms in the housing 1, an spin basket 3 rotatably installed within the tub 2, and an electric motor 8 installed below the tub 2 to rotate the spin basket 3. The tub 2 serves as a water tub, and the spin basket 3 is disposed within the tub 2 parallel to the ground rather than upright. One end 5a of a horizontally-supported shaft 5 is joined to the back of the spin basket 3. The other end 5b of the shaft 5 extends to the outside of the tub 2, and is connected to the motor 8 through a drive belt 6 so that the motor 8 can rotate the spin basket 3. The washing operation of such a drum washing machine is carried out by suds created by the rotation of the spin basket 3. After the washing and rinsing of the clothes, excess water is removed from the clothes by centrifugal force created by the spin basket 3 turning at high speeds during the hydro-extracting process so that they contain only enough moisture for ironing. A balancer is provided to the front of the spin basket 3 so as to prevent vibration from being produced during the high-speed rotation. The balancer is realized as an annular passageway 7 and a liquid, commonly a saline solution, of given quantity contained therein. The passageway 7 turns about the center of rotation S-S' rather than the geometric center of the spin basket 3 due to the laundry being gathered on one spot in the spin basket 3. The liquid housed in the passageway 7 is moved to oppose an imbalance resultant of the centrifugal force from the geometric center O-O' of the spin basket 3 and that of its center of rotation S-S'. In such a conventional drum washing machine, however, the liquid used to counteract the imbalance and decrease the vibration amplitude of the spin basket cannot eliminate the vibration completely. Consequently, the spin basket rotates eccentric from the geometric center thereby creating abnormal vibrations, causing the washing machine's components such as bearings to wear out prematurely and the deterioration of the durability of the washing machine. Additionally, when the magnitude of the spin baskets unbalance exceeds the critical point of counterbalance, the liquid balancer is incapable of dynamically balancing the spin basket. In order to compensate for such an imbalance sufficiently, the liquid balancer must be of great bulk. However, it is not easy to install such a heavy liquid balancer on the washing machine. It is known from FR-A-1213067 to provide an appliance having a rotatably mounted drum for receiving a load of laundry, the drum including counterbalance means arranged to move within a chamber relative to the drum and concentric therewith, during rotation of the drum, towards a counterbalancing position in response to an imbalance in a load therein. Reference is also directed to DE 1118739 and US 2984094 which illustrate an appliance according to the precharacterising part of claim 1. An appliance according to the present invention is characterised by features recited in the characterising part of claim 1. In the preferred embodiment, the chambers contain liquid with a prescribed viscosity in addition to the counterbalance balls. Preferably, at least one chamber is provided on each end of the drum. In one embodiment, two chambers preferably of a different size are concentrically arranged on each end of the drum, the cover plate fixed to each end having two grooves therein corresponding to the grooves provided in the drum. Conveniently, the diameter of the balls in the radially inner chamber is smaller than the diameter of the balls in the radially outer chamber. In another preferred embodiment, a second cover plate is interposed between the cover plate and the drum, said second cover plate having a second groove which locates within the groove provided in the drum. Embodiments of the present invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a side-sectional view of a drum washing machine with balancing devices using balls in accordance with the present invention; FIGS. 2A and 2B each depicte a chamber coupling structure in accordance with the first preferred embodiment of the present invention, and are enlarged views of "A" of FIG. 1; FIG. 3 depicts a chamber coupling structure in accordance with the second preferred embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 4 depicts a chamber coupling structure in accordance with the third preferred embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 5 depicts a chamber coupling structure in accordance with the fourth preferred embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 6 depicts chambers each formed with a predetermined depth and having curved corners in accordance with the present invention; FIG. 7 schematically illustrates a conventional drum washing machine with counterweights for counteracting an imbalance in a spin basket: and FIG. 8 depicts a conventional drum washing machine employing a liquid balancer. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Reference will now be made in detail to the preferred embodiments of the present invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 is a side-sectional view of a drum washing machine with a balancing device using balls in accordance with the present invention. The drum washing machine of FIG. 1 includes a housing 10, a tub 20 held in the housing 10, an spin basket 30 rotatably installed within the tub 20, and an electric motor 40, which rotates the spin basket 30, installed below the tub 20 to rotate the spin basket 30. The housing 10 is a quadrangular case, and the tub 20 is cylindrical in shape and horizontally held by four buffer springs 12 arranged on four sides in the housing 10. The spin basket 30, also of cylindrical shape, is horizontally disposed within the tub 20. Each of the buffer springs 12 has an upper end connected to the housing 10 and a lower end connected to the top of the tub 20. A pair of shock absorbers 13 are installed between the lower part of the tub 20 and the housing 10. Openings 11, 21 and 32a are formed on the front of the housing 10, a predetermined spot of the tub 20 corresponding to that of the housing 10, and a corresponding spot of the spin basket 30, respectively. A door (not illustrated) is disposed on the front of the housing 10 that opens and closes the entrance to the tub 20 and the spin basket 30. The spin basket 30 consists of a cylindrically-shaped body 31, and side panels 32 and 33 each constituting the front and back of the body 31. A plurality of holes 31a are uniformly distributed in the body 31 so that water can flow freely between the spin basket 30 and the tub 20 A plurality of lifters 31b are provided to the body 31 and designed to protrude inward in the form of a "V", spaced 60° from each other. These lifters 31 b raise and drop laundry during washing. A horizontally-supported shaft 41 has one end 41 a connected to the side panel 33 that forms the back of the spin basket 30, and the other end 41 b extending to the rear of the tub 20 and connected to a first pulley 42. A belt 44 is provided between the first pulley 42 and a second pulley 43 that is connected to the motor 40's shaft 40a so that the rotating force of the motor 40 is transmitted to the spin basket 30. As described above, the shaft 41 is horizontally supported by a pair of bearings 46a and 46b placed in a bearing housing 45. A supporting member 47 has an outer end diverged in three directions and extends to the side panel 33's edge to be joined to the side panel 33 of the spin basket 30 so that the one end 41a of the shaft 41 is connected to the center of the supporting member 47. The spin basket 30 includes a pair of balancing devices 50 each provided to the both side panels 32 and 33 so as to remove the vibration and imbalance created during rotation. The balancing devices 50 are oppositely disposed respective to each other thereby offsetting movement created during rotation and enhancing the balancing characteristics. The balancing devices 50 are realized as annular chambers 51a and 51b that are formed on inner and outer parts of the side panels 32 and 33, and spherical balls 52a and 52b that are seated in the chambers 51a and 51b, respectively, and move along the corresponding chambers to oppose an imbalance in the spin basket 30. The chambers 51a and 51b contain a liquid of a predetermined viscosity, such as an oil, in order to facilitate the movement of the balls 52a and 52b and to enhance the balancing characteristics. In other words, when there is an imbalance in the spin basket 30, the balls 52a and 52b and the liquid relocate to a predetermined position to oppose the imbalance. If the magnitude of the imbalance does not exceed a predetermined critical point of counterbalance of the balancing devices, the balls 52a and 52b move close to each other to make the vibration amplitude zero so the liquid does not flow. If the magnitude of the imbalance still exceeds the critical point of counterbalance, after the balls have moved into their counterbalancing position, the liquid is then also moved to oppose the imbalance, thereby countering the unbalanced state of the basket 30. Each of the balancing devices 50 includes at least one chamber and a plurality of the balls seated therein. The inner and outer chambers 51 a and 51 b are concentric to the axis and radially spaced from each other by a predetermined distance. They are sealed by welding. The balls 52a in the inner chambers 51a are designed to be smaller than the balls 52b in the outer chambers 51b so that there is a difference between the balancing effects of the inner and outer chambers 51a and 51 b to thereby ensuring more delicate counterbalancing action. The balancing effect is in proportion to the centrifugal force (F = MRW 2 ), and the control effect of the inner balancing device is designed to be smaller than that of the outer one by reducing the mass of the balls 52a seated in the inner chambers 51a so that the overall control technique is more sophisticated. The coupling structure of the chambers 51a and 51 b will be more fully described as follows. As described above, the balancing devices 50 provided to the both side panels 32 and 33 are formed symmetrically, and the structure of the chambers 51a and 51 b on the side panel 32 will be described by way of example. The inner chambers 51a and the outer chambers 51b of different size have essentially the same construction, and the inner chambers 5la are now described as an example. FIGS. 2A and 2B are enlarged views of "A" of FIG. 1, and each depict the coupling structure of the chambers 51 a and 51 b. The chamber 51 a is constituted of the combination of a first groove 32b formed inward on the side panel 32 of the spin basket 30 and a second groove 53a formed outward corresponding to the first groove 32b. More specifically, the second groove 53a is formed on a secondary plate member 53, and the plate member 53 is joined to the side panel 32 of the spin basket 30 by the use of small bolts 70. Nuts 72 then screw onto the bolts with bolt heads 71 facing the inside of the spin basket 30. On both sides of the chamber 51 a are formed bent portions 32c and 53b. Packing material 90 is inserted between the bent portions 32c and 53b and compressed to a seal so as to eliminate leakage of the oil in the chambers 51a. FIG. 3 depicts a chamber coupling structure in accordance with a second preferred embodiment of the present invention. A chamber 51 a is constituted of the combination of a first groove 32b formed inward on the side panel 32 of the spin basket 30 and a second groove 53a formed outward corresponding to the first groove 32b. The second groove 53a is formed on a secondary plate member 53, and the plate member 53 is joined to the side panel 32 of the spin basket 30 by the use of rivets 80. The rivets 80 are pressed from the outside of the spin basket 30 to fasten the panel 32 and side panel 32 together. On both sides of the chamber 51a are formed bent portions 32c and 53b. Packing material 90 is inserted between the bent portions 32c and 53b and compressed to a seal so as to eliminate fluid leakage. FIG. 4 depicts a chamber coupling structure in accordance with a third preferred embodiment of the present invention. A chamber 51 a is constituted of the combination of a first groove 32b formed inward on the side panel 32 of the spin basket 30 and a second groove 53a formed outward corresponding to the first groove 32b. The second groove 53a is formed on a secondary plate member 53, and the plate member 53 is joined to the side panel 32 of the spin basket 30 by welding. FIG. 5 depicts a chamber coupling structure in accordance with a fourth preferred embodiment of the present invention. A chamber 51 a is constituted of the combination of a first plate member 54 with a first annular groove 54a formed inward thereon and a second plate member 55 with a second annular groove 55a formed outward thereon corresponding to the first groove 54a. The first plate member 54 is connected to the second plate member 55 by welding, and a bolt 60 that adheres closely to the outer surface of a lifter 31b is used to fasten the members 54 and 55 to the side panel 32. Accordingly, the parts where the members 54 and 55 are joined together by welding are not exposed to the inside of the spin basket 30, thereby eliminating corrosion and oxidization on those joints, and making the inside of the spin basket 30 smooth. The bolt 60 is disposed on the outer surface of the lifter 31 b, and its bolt head 62 adheres to the outside of one balancing device 50 located at the rear. A nut 61 screws onto the bolt 60 in front of the other balancing device 50 placed on the front so that the front and rear balancing devices 50 can join together, with the spin basket 30 between. The bolt 60 is fastened between the inner chamber 51a and the outer chamber 51b (refer to FIG. 1). To create the inner chamber 51a, a third groove 32d is formed on a portion of the side panel 32 corresponding to the first groove 54a of the first plate member 54 in order to accommodate the first groove 54a, and the combination of the first and second plate members 54 and 55 is designed to lie flush with the side panel 32. Referring now to FIG. 6, the internal structure of the chambers is fully described as follows. The contact points between the plate member 53 and the side panel 32, which form the chambers 51a and 51 b, do not lie in the plane created by the centers of the balls 52a and 52b. This is so because the first groove 32b's depth h 2 is different from the depth h 1 of the second groove 53a, allowing the balls 52a and 52b to freely move along the chambers. In other words, the first groove 32b and the second groove 53a are designed to respectively have different depths h 2 and h 1 , and the depth h 1 of the second groove 53a is larger than each radius "r" of the balls 52a and 52b. Also, the depth h 1 of the second groove 53a is larger than 1/2 of the overall depth "h" of the chambers 51a and 51b. Each corner of the inner chamber 51 a and outer chamber 51 b is designed to be rounded to form curved portions R 1 and R 2 . The curvature of the curved portion R 1 is different from that of the curved portion R 2 so that the balls 52a and 52b move along the respective inner and outer chambers 51 a and 51b at the same speed. In other words, should the difference in curvature not exist, the relatively small and light ball 52a would move through the inner chamber 51 a faster than the ball 52b in the outer chamber 51 b. The curved portions R 1 of the inner chamber 51 a being more curved than those of the outer chamber 51b ensures that the balls 52a and 52b move along the corresponding inner and outer chambers 51 a and 51 b at the same speed. The following description relates to the operation of the drum washing machine with the inventive balancing devices. The washing machine removes soil from the garments by agitation accomplished by the spin basket 30 during washing. During the hydro-extracting action of the washing process, the garments are located on the lower part of the spin basket 30. If the spin basket 30 becomes unbalanced as it rotates at high speeds, the centrifugal force of the spin basket 30 moves the balls 52a and 52b along the chambers 51 a and 51 b to a position which will rebalance the basket 30, thereby eliminating vibrations and eccentric rotation of the spin basket 30. More specifically, once there is an imbalance in the spin basket 30, movable bodies consisting of the balls 51a and 51 b and liquid become situated on the opposite side of the imbalance. When the magnitude of the imbalance remains below a critical point of counterbalance of the balls, the balls 51a and 51 b move close to each other to eliminate the vibration (i.e. to make the geometric center and center of rotation of the spin basket 30 the same). As the vibration amplitude becomes zero, the flow of the liquid within the chambers 51 a and 51 b is minimal. If the magnitude of the imbalance still exceeds the critical point of counterbalance, after the balls have moved into their counterbalancing position, the liquid is then also moved to oppose the imbalance, thereby countering the unbalanced state of the basket 30. As described above, the balls of the present invention make the vibration amplitude zero and counteract an imbalance in the spin basket to thereby eliminate resultant deformation of the spin basket. The inventive balancing devices may prevent unnecessary wear of the components used to support the rotation of the spin basket and noise created by friction. The balancing devices employ the balls and liquid at the same time, and have superior balancing characteristics with reduced bulk. The chambers of the balancing devices are easily formed by bolts and nuts or by welding, and the parts where the plate member and the side panel join together by welding are not exposed to the inside of the spin basket thereby preventing corrosion and oxidization of those joints. Additionally, the jointing portion of each chamber is not aligned with the center of each ball so that the balls are freely movable in the chambers.

Claims: An appliance having an axially rotatably mounted drum (30) for receiving a load of laundry, the drum (30) including a side panel (32,33), counterbalance balls (52a,52b) arranged to movefreely within a chamber (50) relative to the drum (30) and concentric therewith, during rotation of the drum (30), towards a counterbalancing position in response to an imbalance in a load therein, and a cover plate (53) on the side panel of the drum (30), characterised by first and second annular grooves (32b,53a) that are aligned in the axial direction to form said chamber (50) when the cover plate (53) is fixed to the side panel of the drum (30), the first groove (32b) being formed on the side panel (32) inward of the drum and the second groove (53b) being formed on the cover plate (53) outward of the drum. An appliance according to claim 1 wherein the grooves (32b,53a) are of unequal depth. An appliance according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the chamber contains a liquid with a prescribed viscosity in addition to the counterbalance balls (52a,52b). An appliance according to any preceding claim, wherein at least one chamber (50) is provided on each end of the drum (30). An appliance according to claim 4, wherein two chambers (50) are concentrically arranged on each end of the drum (30) with a cover plate (32) fixed thereto and each having two grooves (53a) corresponding to the grooves (32b) provided in the side panel of the drum (30). An appliance according to claim 5, wherein the two chambers (50) on each end are of different sizes. An appliance according to any preceding claim, wherein the diameter of the balls (52a,52b) in the radially inner chamber (50) is smaller than the diameter of the balls (52a,52b) in the radially outer chamber (50). An appliance according to any preceding claim wherein the cover plate (32) is fixed to the drum (30) using bolts (70). An appliance according to any of claims 1 to 8, wherein the cover plate (53) is fixed to the drum (30) using rivets (80). An appliance according to claim 1, wherein a second cover plate (54) is interposed between the cover plate (53) and the drum (30), said second cover plate (54) having a second groove (54a) which locates within the groove (32b) provided in the side panel of the drum (30).

Inventors: JANG SAM YONG, KIM CIN YONG, KIM DE WEON, KIM JIN SOO, LEE GEUM CHAN, JANG, SAM YONG, KIM, CIN YONG, KIM, DE WEON, KIM, JIN SOO, LEE, GEUM CHAN
Applicants: SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS CO LTD, SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS CO., LTD.
Application year: 1996
Main classification: D06F37
IPC codes: D06F37, D06F25