Closing system in plastic tank for washing machine

Abstract: Closing system in plastic tank for washing machine, being of the kind of those formed by two halves that are obtained from a mould, staying their bases of union open, so that the two halves -(1) and (2)- that define the tank of the washing machine through their union, in relationship to their bases of union, have the means of closing and which coincide among them, so that one of the halves (2) -that forms the washing machine joined the other half (1)- has an axial projections (7) like a tip of harpoon, placed in relationship to the perimeter of its base of union, while the other half (1) that forms the tank of the washing machine has a set of radial cavities (8) like a reversed U that form an orifice (9) of rectangular section.

Description: Object of the invention The following invention consists of a closing system in plastic tank for a washing machine that is of the kind of those which are made up of two halves that are joined by their central perimeters so that the two halves of the tank can be separated. Through the closing system proposed in the present description for its application in the connection of the two halves of a plastic tank for a washing machine, the time spent in such operation and the material cost of the same is considerably reduced, which reduces drastically the total cost of the tank. On the other hand, the system of connection allows the fast and simple separation of both halves and their following connection through conventional screws. In fact, it is about to have a cheap closing system of the two halves for the plastic tank for a washing machine, that allows the separation and following connection of the two halves in those exceptional cases where the tank of the washing machine must be manipulated by the service of technical assistance because of technical reasons. Field of application The closing system that is described in the following description can be applied in the closing of the two halves of a tank for washing machine made of plastic material, so that both halves are obtained from a mould and so that for their manufacture it is not necessary to increase the complexity of the mould because the elements which form the connection are obtained from a mould too, and they do not increase the cost of the mould or the products. In this way, the two halves of the tank form its structure when they are fixed together through their central perimeters, with the insertion of the joint of watertight, so that while the base of one of the halves is open for staying in relation to the door of the washing machine, the base of the other half determines the closed back part that is provided with an axial central orifice that allows the entry of the spindle of a drum. Background of the invention Conventionally the plastic tanks of washing machines are manufactured from a mould and consist of two halves that form the tank of the washing machine where the drum will be placed when they are joined, so that in the manufacturing of the own body of the tank the accessory elements for its holding and for the connection of other elements are determined, so that the connection between the two halves is established in order to form an hermetic body. Thus, the two halves forming the body of the tank are joined through their central perimeters so that the base of one of the halves is open for staying in relationship to the frontal part of the washing machine, and the other half determines the back part of the tank having an axial central orifice that allows the entry of the spindle of the drum which is placed in the tank. For joining the two halves of the tank relative to the open base, it is necessary to form some radial lugs provided with some orifices for the screwing of respective screws which establish the connection. Also, there is a seal placed between both bodies which will guarantee an hermetic closing. In this way, the connection between both halves is established by a set of screws, so that one or several workers must thread the screws. For joining both halves it is necessary to spend much time because there are approximately 17 screws. With this configuration it has to be taken into account the necessity of the use of the cited number of screws, with the cost that it represents and a lot of time that has to be spent in the screwing of all of them. This represents a high cost as a consequence of the added value of the screws that are utilised and the cost of the workers necessary to carry out the operation of closing. In this way, if the tank of the washing machine must be disassembled because of technical motives, its two halves can be separated when all fixing screws are unscrewed and later it can be assembled when the two halves that form the tank stay fixed through the screws of connection. Description of the invention In the present description a closing system in plastic tank for washing machine is described. This tank is formed by two halves obtained from a mould, so that the basis of both halves - those bases that are going to be joined - stay open while the second base of one of the halves of the tank form the frontal part that remains in relationship to the door of the washing machine and the second base of the other half forms the closed back part of the tank provided with an axial central orifice which allows the entry of the spindle of the drum so that the bases of connection of both halves have the means of closing and fixing which coincide. The means of closing of one of the two halves that form the plastic tank are formed by some axial projections like tip of harpoon placed in relationship to the perimeter of its base of connection. On the other hand the means of closing of the other half of the plastic tank of the washing machine are formed by some radial projections projecting from the perimeter of the base of connection, which have the form of an inverted arch and form a rectangular orifice, so that in relationship to their upper internal side they have a projecting prolongation the internal side of which forms a slope of diminishing height and has an end section with a flat form, parallel to the perimeter of the tank. The height of the orifice formed by the radial projections of one of the halves that shape the tank like a inverted arch is bigger than the width of the axial projections of the other half of the tank, with form of tip of harpoon, so that when the said projections intrude in their corresponding orifice they stay with their external flanges bumping into the free extreme of the projection prolongation. Besides this prolongation defines a slopes towards the inside that, in its connection with the projection of a tip of harpoon defines a hollow which allows the insertion of a screw driver or a similar tool in order to make its separation easier because the pressure that is exercised by the seal leads to the easy separation of both halves. With this structure and with the introduction of the tip of the screwdriver or a similar tool, it is allowed to flex and to separate the prolongation of the radial prolongations like an inverted arch and the axial projection in form of tip harpoon of the other half of the tank for causing their liberation because of the pressure exercised by the water tight seal. The described form of closing lets eliminate the conventional screws utilised for the closing of the two halves of the plastic tank that are obtained from a mould. This form of closing represents an importing saving of used material because the closing is carried out when both halves are put face to face and all the axial projections like tip of harpoon of one of the halves of the tank are introduced in the corresponding orifices of the other half of the tank, which also represents a very important saving of time of execution of the set operation. Both savings reduce the cost of industrialization of the tank in a radical way. On the other side, in those exceptional cases where the tank must be disassembled by the service of technical assistance, the new closing is carried out through the conventional screws because the two halves of the tank have some conventional lugs with some orifices for introducing the screws of closing and fixing, so that the anchorage of the axial projection like tip of harpoon in their corresponding lodgings, is accomplished when the screws are threaded. To complement the following description and to help to understand its characteristics, to this description it is enclosed a set of drawings made up of some figures that represent in a illustrative and not limitative way the most significant details of the invention described in the present description. Brief description of the drawings Figure 1 It shows a view in perspective of one of the utilised elements for the fixing of the two halves of the tank, showing how it has a projection terminated like a tip of harpoon - in an axial way in regard to one of the open bases of one half of the tank - while the other half of the tank has a lodging for the insertion of the cited projections. Likewise, we can observe the radial lugs provided with their respective orifices. Figure 2 It shows a plan view of one of the halves of the tank whose element of connection is defined by an axial projection like a tip of harpoon which projects beyond the profile of the base of the half of the corresponding tank. Figure 3 It shows a plan view of the other half of the tank. An element of connection is defined in relationship to this half. This element of connection is formed by a lodging of rectangular section that is provided with a projection prolongation which is placed over its upper part so that the element of closing the other half of the tank run into this prolongation. Figure 4 It shows a plan view of the connection of the two halves of the tank, so that the realisation of the closing is produced through the axial projection like a tip of harpoon of one of the halves of the tank which is introduced into the lodging of the other half of the tank. Figure 5 It shows a sectional view, in accordance with the section I-I of the figure 2 where it can be seen the axial projection that is topped like a tip of harpoon for its fixing to the element of closing of the other half of the tank of the washing machine. Figure 6 It shows a sectional view, in accordance with the section II-II of the figure 3, where it can be seen the radial projection of one half of the tank which defines an orifice of rectangular section that allows the pass of the corresponding axial projection of the other half of the tank, which has a projecting flange on its upper side. Figure 7 It shows a sectional view, in accordance with the section III-III of the figure 4, where it can be seen the form of anchorage of an element relative to both halves of the tank. In this way it can be observed that there is a little hollow between the elements of closing and fixing. Description of a preferred embodiment In view of the above cited figures, and in accordance with the numbering used, we can see how the plastic tank of the washing machine is made up of two halves (1, 2) obtained from a mould having their bases of connection open, while the other base of one of them defines the frontal part of the tank which remains in relationship to the door of the washing machine, and the other base of the second half defines the back of the tank, that is provided with a central axial orifice which allows the entry of the spindle of the drum. In relationship to the perimeter of the base of connection of both halves (1, 2) that form the tank of the washing machine, one of them defines a lodging (3) where the corresponding seal is placed. This seal is united to a projection (4) of the other half that is going to be joined. Moreover, the two bases which are going to be joined have a set of lugs (5) - placed over their respective perimeters - which are provided with respective orifices (6) so that the orifices of one of the bases of connection coincide with the orifices of the other base. In this way, the closing and fixing of the two halves of the tank will be carried out through some screws so that each one go through both orifices. The cost of this kind of closing goes up because of the cost of the utilised screws approximately 17 screws and the time that we have to spend in the screwing of all of them. The closing system that is described in the present description has been thought for solving these obstacles. Through this system, the two halves of the tank (1, 2) are provided of the means of closing during their process of manufacture through mould. In this way, one of the halves (2) of the tank has a set of axial projections like a tip of harpoon which are placed over the perimeter of its base of connection, while the other half (1) of the tank has a set of radial projections (8) like a inverted arch which are placed in a radial way over the perimeter of its base of connection. These radial projections (8) have respective orifice (9) that will coincide with the cited axial projections (7) of the other half. In relationship to their upper internal side, the radial projections (8) like a inverted arch have a projecting prolongation (10) whose internal side defines an inclined plane at the start and it tops in a parallel and line way the perimeter of the tank so that, as the height of the orifice (9) defined by the radial projections (8) is smaller than the width of the axial projections (7) like tip of harpoon, when these pass through the orifices (9), the free extreme of the said prolongation (10) runs up against the extreme flange (11) of the projections (7) at the same time as the cited projections (7) stay running up against the line stretch of the projecting prolongation (10). For realising the cited connections, it will be used a press so that a single punch will produce the simultaneous anchorage of all the axial projections (7) of the half (2) of the tank into the corresponding orifices (9) of the radial projections (8) of the other half of the tank, in collaboration with the projecting prolongation (10), because of the pressure that must be realised to realise the closing, obtaining the watertight seal by means of the joint placed in the lodging (3) and where the projection (4) of the other half of the tank tops. As a consequence of the conjunction of the radial projections (8) and their corresponding prolongations (10) as soon as the projecting positioning of the axial projections (7) a lodging (12) is formed because of their connection so that if a screwdriver or a similar element is introduced into this lodging, the separation between the projection (7) and the prolongation (10) will be realised. In this way and because of the simple pressure exercised by the joint, the projection (7) stays liberate so that the disassembly of both halves is fast and simple. The cost of the tank of the washing machine is substantially reduced with this kind of closing because all the screws that are utilised in a conventional way for joining the two halves of the tank are eliminated and also because of the saving of time because with this system the simultaneous anchorage of all the elements of closing is realised with a single punch of press. On the other side, in those exceptional cases where the two halves must be separated by the service of technical assistance with the described system the new closing of the two halves will be realised because the two halves of the tanks have some lugs (5) with their corresponding orifices (6) and for making their anchorage easy, one of the pairs of lugs that are confronted have a polygonal orifice (13) where the head of the corresponding screw will be inserted.

Claims: Closing system in plastic tank for washing machine, being of the kind of those plastic tanks that are formed by a first and a second half (1, 2) obtained through a mould, the second half (2) being provided with axial projections (7) like a tip of a harpoon with an extreme flange (11) for the fixing of the first half (1), characterised in that the first half (1) is provided with radial projections (8) with orifices (9) for the introduction of a corresponding axial projection (7) of the second half (2), and that the radial projections (8) of the first half (1) are provided with axial flexible prolongations (10) the free extremes of which support the extreme flanges (11) of the axial projections (7) in axial direction when the two halves (1, 2) are fixed together. Closing system according to claim 1, characterised in that the orifices (9) of the radial projections (8) have a rectangular section. Closing system according to claim 1 or 2, characterised in that the prolongations (10) are fixed to the radial projections (8) at their extremes opposite to the body of the first half (1), and that the prolongations (10) define an inclination from their zone of birth that converges towards the body of the plastic tank. Closing system according to any one of the claims 1, 2, 3, characterised in that the extremes of the prolongations (10) are finished off in a straight way. Closing system according to any one of the claims 1, 2, 4, characterised in that the internal sides of the prolongations (10) of the first half (1) define hollows (12) together with the corresponding projection (7) of the second half (2) when the two halves (1, 2) are fixed together.

Inventors: BOVED ISMAEL GRACIA, BOVED, ISMAEL GRACIA
Applicants: BSH BALAY SA, BSH BALAY, S.A.
Application year: 1996
Main classification: D06F37
IPC codes: D06F37