Washing machine

Abstract: A washing machine comprising a tub (20) with a drum (30) rotatably mounted therein is disclosed and includes means for dynamically compensating for imbalanced rotation caused by the uneven distribution of a load when the machine is in use. In a preferred embodiment, the means comprises a plurality of balls (52a,52b) contained and free to move within an annular enclosure (51a,51b) provided on the drum (30) and positioned concentrically with the axis of rotation of the drum (30).

Description: The present invention relates to a machine for spin-drying clothes comprising a drum rotatably mounted therein for receiving a load of clothes including a channel and counterbalance means arranged to move in the channel, during rotation of the drum, towards a counterbalancing position in response to an imbalance in a load in the drum. Such a machine is known from FR-A-2393097. A conventional drum washing machine is illustrated in Figure 3 and is an electrical appliance in which clothes are washed in using suds generated as a result of rotation of its drum-shaped spin basket. Washing, rinsing and removal of water is carried out automatically according to a predetermined program. After the clothes have been washed and rinsed, centrifugal force is used to remove excess water by rotating the spin basket at high speeds. Uneven distribution of clothes in the spin basket during this spin cycle can cause abnormal vibrations and noise and so a balancing device is required for sufficient operation of the washing machine. Referring to Figure 3, a known drum type washing machine includes a housing 1, containing a tub 2 suspended by suspension springs 4a and shock-absorbing members 4b. A spin basket 3 is installed in the tub 2 and is mounted for rotation by an electric motor 5 installed on the bottom of the housing 1. The spin basket 3 includes a plurality of small holes 3a in its surface, and a plurality of lifters 3b extend radially inwardly toward the axis of rotation of the spin basket. Water is drained from the spin basket by allowing it to flow into the tub 2 through the small holes 3a, and the lifters 3b raise the laundry and water to a constant level when the spin basket 3 rotates. To prevent the generation of vibrations during the operation cycle, cast iron counterweights 6a,6b, each of predetermined weight, are butted to the front and upper cylindrical surface respectively of the tub 2 by bolts 7. The front counterweight 6a is generally in the region of 11.4kg, and the upper counterweight 6b is generally in the region of 12.2kg. A particular disadvantage with the conventional balancing device disclosed above is that it only dampens rather than prevents vibration and noise caused by uneven distribution of laundry in the washing machine. Moreover, the conventional balancing device dampens the vibration transmitted to the tub 2 rather than the spin basket 3 and is therefore incapable of directly controlling imbalance of the spin basket 3 as soon as it occurs. It is an aim of the present invention to ameliorate this problem. A machine for spin-drying clothes according to the present invention is characterised in that the channel has a trapezoidal transverse cross-section, the taper of the trapezoidal cross-section being such that the counterbalance means is maintained in contact with three walls of the channel. Preferably, the channel is fixed relative to the drum and is concentric therewith. Conveniently, the guide means will be annular. Preferably, the counterbalance means comprises a body moveable along the channel. A convenient form of body is a ball. Preferably, the opposed non-parallel walls of the channel are inclined, relative to a line perpendicular to the parallel walls thereof, in the range 0.5 to 0.85°. The present invention may be applied to a machine in which the drum is mounted for rotation about a horizontal axis. In the following description, the element referred to as the "spin basket" is an example of a "drum" as mentioned in the claims. An embodiments of the present invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 shows the overall construction of a drum washing machine with a balancing device in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention; Figure 2 shows a partially enlarged view of the balancing device of Figure 1; and Figure 3 shows the overall construction of a drum washing machine having a conventional balancing device. Referring now to Figure 1, the drum washing machine of the preferred embodiment includes a housing 10 having a tub 20 suspended therein, a spin basket 30 rotatably installed within the tub 20, and an electric motor 40 mounted below the tub 20 to rotate the spin basket 30. The tub 20 is suspended by four springs 11 arranged on four sides in the housing 10, and a pair of shock absorbing members 12 are provided under the tub 20. The tub 20 and spin basket 30 are installed parallel to the ground rather than upright, and corresponding openings 10a, 20a and 30a are formed in the front of the housing 10, the front of the tub 20 and the front of the spin basket 30 respectively, so that laundry can be placed into the spin basket 30 or removed therefrom through the tub 20 and housing 10. The spin basket 30 has a cylindrically-shaped side panel 33 with front and rear panels 31 and 32 respectively joined to its front and back. A plurality of holes 33a are uniformly distributed in the side panel 33, and a plurality of lifters 33b, which raise and drop laundry during washing, are formed on the side panel 33 and protrude radially into the spin basket in the form of a "V", each being spaced 120° from the others. The small holes 33a allow water to flow freely between the tub 20 and the spin basket 30, and allows water to flow into the tub 20 from laundry during the spin cycle. The spin basket 30 is rotatably driven by the electric motor 40. The rear panel 32 of the spin basket 30 is connected to one end of a horizontally supported shaft 41 which extends through the rear of the tub 20. A first pulley 42 is connected to the electric motor 40, and a second pulley 43 is connected to the shaft 41. A belt 44 is placed between the first and second pulleys 42 and 43, and a flange 45 is formed in the rear panel 32 connected with the shaft 41 to provide room for a pair of bearings 46 installed in a bearing housing 41 between the shaft 41 and the tub 20 so as to support the shaft 41. The spin basket 30 has a pair of balancing devices provided on both the front and rear panels 31 and 32 so as to counteract the vibrations and imbalances created during rotation due to uneven distribution of laundry in the spin basket 30. The balancing devices comprise annular races 51a and 51b that are concentrically formed on the inner and outer sides of the front and rear panels 31 and 32, respectively, and spherical movable bodies (hereinafter, "balls") 52a and 52b seated in the races 51a and 51b, respectively. As described above, the races 51a and 51b are placed on the inner and outer sides of the front and rear panels 31 and 32, and the inner race 51a and the outer race 51b protrude inward and outward, respectively. The inner race 51a and the outer race 51b are welded to each other to form a seal. The races 5 la and 51b contain a predetermined amount of oil to allow the balls 52a and 52b to move freely. In the preferred embodiment steel ball bearings are used as the movable bodies 52a and 52b. A preferred embodiment of the balancing device of the present invention will be more fully described as follows. Because the races 51a and 51b, formed on the front panel 31 and rear panel 32, have essentially the same structure, only the structure of the races 51a and 51b on the front panel 31 will be described in detail. As shown in Figure 2, the races 51a and 51b each comprise a combination of the front panel 31 and a cover 53 coupled to the front panel 31. The outer race 51b is formed from a combination of a flat portion of the front panel 31 and a groove 53b in the cover 53, while the inner race 51a is formed from a combination of a first groove 31a in the front panel 31 and a second groove 53a in the cover 53. The race 51b has a first side 511 and a second side 512 that faces the first side 511, and which are annular in shape, a third side 513 and a fourth side 514, the first side 511 with the second side 512. (Referring to Figure 2, the first side 511, second side 512, third side 513, and fourth side 514 are on the right, left, top and bottom, respectively). The third and fourth sides 513 and 514 are angled towards each other, and the balls 52b are situated and sized to contact the second, third and fourth sides 512, 513 and 514 of the race 51b as they move. The angled third and fourth sides 513 and 514 of the race 51b prevent the balls 52b from shaking radially as they move along the circumference of the spin basket 30 in the race 51b. In an alternative embodiment, only one ofthe third and fourth sides 513 and 514 can be angled, and the third and fourth sides 513 and 514 may be tapered to the left so that the balls 52b contact the first side 511, third side 513 and fourth side 514. In the preferred embodiment, the angle of inclination a of the third and fourth sides 513 and 514 is less than 0.85° irrespective of the diameter of each of the balls 52b, although angle α may be in the range of 0.5 to 0.85°. As shown in Figure 1, a bolt 13 passes through the cover 53 and the front and rear panels 31 and 32 and a nut 14 is attached to its end when it protrudes through the front panel 31 between the races 51a and 51b. The operation of the balancing device will now be described Garments to be washed are placed in the spin basket 30. If the garments become unevenly distributed as the spin basket 30 rotates at high speeds, the balls 52a and 52b move along the races 51a and 51b into a position where the imbalance of the spin basket 30 is compensated and the vibration and eccentric rotation ofthe spin basket 30 is prevented. More specifically, when the spin basket 30 rotates eccentric from its geometric centre due to the laundry being unevenly distributed in the spin basket 30, the centrifugal force from the geometric centre and that of the spin basket's actual centre of rotation simultaneously act on the balls 52a and 52b, placed in the races 51a and 51b, so that they relocate to a predetermined position to oppose the imbalance. The balls 52a and 52b turn about the geometric centre of the spin basket 30, thus making the spin basket 30's centre of rotation meet the geometric centre. The unbalanced state of the spin basket 30 is then countered to thereby eliminate the vibration and noise. Since the balls 52b move within the race 51b contacting the second, third and fourth sides 512, 513 and 514 all the time, they form concentric circles during movement, preventing the noise and the delay of movement. The oil contained in the races 51a and 51b allows the balls 52a and 52b to move along the races 51a and 51b smoothly. As described above, the drum washing machine, equipped with the balancing device of the preferred embodiment, prevents the spin basket from rotating abnormally by counteracting any imbalance due to uneven distribution of laundry and eliminates the vibration and noise during the operation cycle. Further, the balancing device can prevent unnecessary wear of the components supporting the spin basket and abnormal noise created by friction. Furthermore, the balls seated in the race move concentrically and respond rapidly to counteract any imbalance of the spin basket. In addition, since two sides of the race are formed on an angle, it is easy to take the race out of a metal mold in molding process.

Claims: A machine for spin-drying clothes comprising a drum (30) rotatably mounted therein for receiving a load of clothes, including a channel (51a, 51b) and counterbalance means (52a,52b) arranged to move in the channel, during rotation of the drum (30), towards a counterbalancing position in response to an imbalance in a load in the drum (30), characterised in that the channel has a trapezoidal transverse cross-section, the taper of the trapezoidal cross-section being such that the counterbalance means (52a,52b) is maintained in contact with three walls (512,513,514) of the channel (51a,51b). A machine according to claim 1, wherein the channel (51a,51b) is fixed relative to the drum and is concentric therewith. A machine according to claim 1 or claim 2 wherein the counterblanace means (52a,52b) comprises a body moveable along the channel (51a,51b). A machine according to claim 3 wherein the counterbalance means (52a,52b) comprises a plurality of bodies (52a,52b) moveable along the channel (51a,51b). A machine according to claim 3, wherein the or each body (52a,52b) comprises a ball (52a,52b). A washing machine according to any of claims 1 or 5, wherein the opposed non-parallel walls (513,514) of the channel are inclined, relative to a line perpendicular to the parallel walls (511,512) thereof, in the range 0.5 to 0.85°. A machine according to any preceding claim wherein the drum (30) is mounted for rotation about a horizontal axis.

Inventors: JANG SAM-YONG, JANG, SAM-YONG
Applicants: SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS CO LTD, SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS CO., LTD.
Application year: 1997
Main classification: D06F37
IPC codes: D06F37