Abstract:
The present disclosure relates to a washing machine for washing laundry. According to exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure, the washing machine may use a novel horizontal vibration method of washing laundry and the like instead of a rotation method. The washing machine may include a moving magnet connected to the washing tub causing the washing tub to move horizontally. The moving magnet may be a permanent magnet or an electromagnet.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
       [0001]    This application is based on and claims priority from Korean Patent Application No. 10-2013-0163093, filed on Dec. 24, 2013 with the Korean Intellectual Property Office, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein in its entirety by reference. 
     
    
     TECHNICAL FIELD 
       [0002]    The present disclosure relates to a washing machine for washing laundry (e.g., a washer). The washing machine, which is an apparatus that supplies water to wash clothes or the like, is widely used for home and industrial applications. 
       BACKGROUND 
       [0003]    In general, a washing machine may be an upright type (e.g., a top-loading washing machine) or a drum type (e.g., front-loading) washing machine. An upright washing machine holds laundry and rotates while upright, and a drum type washing machine rotates along a horizontal axis. 
         [0004]    Since the upright type washing machine generally has a structure in which laundry is inserted from the top, the upright type washing machine is referred to as a top loading type washing machine, and since the drum type washing machine generally has a structure in which laundry is inserted from the front side, the drum type washing machine is referred to as a front loading type washing machine. 
         [0005]    The washing machine generally includes a tub that stores water and a rotatable drum inside the tub that holds the laundry. 
         [0006]    In general, the tub is fixed inside the washing machine, and the drum is inside the tub and may rotate. The drum has a plurality of holes therein, and water stored in the tub flows into the holes and is discharged from the drum through the holes. 
         [0007]    In a drum type washing machine of the related art, a motor is mounted behind and/or below the tub, and the drum inside the tub is connected to the motor by a rotatable shaft in the tub having a bearing at the interface with the tub. 
         [0008]    The washing machine of the related art washes laundry while the drum rotates and may cause noise and vibration due to the rotation of the drum, which may be large and heavy. Further, where a load distribution inside the drum is unbalanced during rotation, the drum may vibrate hard in one direction due to centrifugal force, and the resulting noise and vibration may be severe. 
         [0009]    Some laundry may become tangled with other laundry and be damaged when the drum rotates, and a user may need to untangle laundry after completion of the washing, which is inconvenient. 
       SUMMARY 
       [0010]    The present disclosure has been made in an effort to provide a washing machine capable of washing laundry by horizontal movement and/or a rocking motion instead of rotation. 
         [0011]    Exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure provide a washing machine capable of washing laundry using a horizontal and/or a rocking motion instead of a rotation method. 
         [0012]    The washing machine has a washing tub configured to hold laundry. The washing tub may hold water with the laundry and may have only a single washing tub, without a separate drum. 
         [0013]    Horizontal reciprocation and/or oscillation of the washing tub may be caused by a moving magnet configured so the magnet and the washing tub move together horizontally. The moving magnet may be a permanent magnet or an electromagnet. 
         [0014]    The washing machine may include a horizontal guide that guides horizontal movement and/or oscillation of the moving magnet. The horizontal guide may support at least a part of the moving magnet, and may have a groove or slot extending in the direction of the horizontal movement of the moving magnet. 
         [0015]    The moving magnet may be moved in the horizontal direction by magnetic force from an electromagnet which has a magnetic field. 
         [0016]    The washing machine may include a controller for controlling a current supplied to the electromagnet, thereby controlling the oscillation of the moving magnet and/or causing a direction of the magnetic field of the electromagnet to change or reverse. 
         [0017]    A compression plate and an actuator may be on an inner wall of the washing tub. One end of the actuator may be supported by an inner wall of the washing tub, and another end may be connected to the compression plate. The washing tub may have a plurality of compression plates and actuators. 
         [0018]    The laundry inside the washing tub is compressed by the compression plate, and thus, the water in the laundry may be forcibly discharged (e.g., squeezed) from the laundry. 
         [0019]    The controller of the washing machine may be configured or programmed to cause the washing machine to perform a laundry washing cycle, including a washing cycle, a rinsing cycle, and a drying cycle, and the compression plate may be configured to be used in the washing cycle, the rinsing cycle, and the drying cycle. 
         [0020]    In the related art washing machine having a drum that rotates, the drum rotates at a high speed for the spin-drying, and the laundry may be damaged by the centrifugal force of the rotating drum, but the exemplary washing machine according to embodiments of the present disclosure uses the compression plate so that damage to the laundry is prevented or reduced. When the washing machine in the related art performs spin-drying where a load of the laundry inside the drum is not evenly distributed in the drum, noise and vibrations may be produced. The washing machine according to embodiments of the present disclosure uses the compression plate to dry the laundry and noise and vibration may be greatly reduced compared to the rotation method. 
         [0021]    A hydraulic cylinder (e.g., an actuator) may be used to move the compression plates together and apart. 
         [0022]    A washboard or other undulating surface having a plurality of protrusions and depressions or toughs may be inside and/or on a bottom surface of the washing tub. Contact and friction between the laundry and the inner wall of the washing tub may be increased by the plurality of protrusions on the bottom of the tub, improving the washing function of the washing machine. 
         [0023]    A damper that dampens a vertical movement of the washing tub may be installed between the washing tub and the moving magnet. When the moving magnet horizontally reciprocates and/or oscillates, inertia may cause the laundry inside the washing tub may collect or agglomerate at one side in the washing tub. This may cause one side of the washing tub to move vertically. The vertical movement of the washing tub may cause a vertical movement of the laundry inside the washing tub, thereby further improving the effect of washing. 
         [0024]    The moving magnet may have a contact member that contacts a lower surface of the washing tub, and sides of the moving magnet may be at an inclined/downward angle relative to the horizontal direction of the contact member. The damper may be on the inclined surfaces (e.g., the left and right sides) of the contact member of the moving magnet. Where the contact member is at the center of the moving magnet, the center part contacts a lower surface of the washing tub, and the washing tub may be arranged horizontally and may rotate. 
         [0025]    In another exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, a washing machine may have a slider that reciprocates and/or oscillates in a horizontal direction together with a washing tub, and a driver configured to provide a driving force that causes horizontal reciprocation and/or oscillation of the slider by applying power/current to an electromagnet. 
         [0026]    The driver may have any form that is capable of electronically causing the slider to horizontally reciprocate/oscillate. For example, the driver may use a motor and/or a cam, or a hydraulic cylinder (e.g., an actuator). Related art mechanisms for making an object reciprocate in a horizontal direction may be applied to the slider and/or the driver in the present disclosure. 
         [0027]    According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, a new type of washing machine is described that is different from the related art washing machine in several ways. 
         [0028]    A new type of washing machine washes laundry using an oscillating and/or reciprocating movement, thereby preventing and/or reducing noise, vibration, and damage to the laundry. 
         [0029]    The foregoing summary is illustrative only and is not intended to be in any way limiting. In addition to the illustrative aspects, embodiments, and features described above, further aspects, embodiments, and features will become apparent by reference to the drawings and the following detailed description. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0030]      FIG. 1  is a view illustrating a front side of an exemplary washing machine according to exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure. 
           [0031]      FIG. 2  is a perspective view illustrating an exemplary washing machine, as illustrated in  FIG. 1 . 
           [0032]      FIG. 3  is a view illustrating the inside of an exemplary washing tub, suitable for use in the washing machine of  FIG. 1 . 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0033]    In the following detailed description, reference is made to the accompanying drawings, which form a part hereof. The illustrative embodiments described in the detailed description, drawings, and claims are not meant to be limiting. Other embodiments may be utilized, and other changes may be made, without departing from the spirit or scope of the subject matter presented here. 
         [0034]    Exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure will be described with reference to  FIGS. 1 to 3 . 
         [0035]    First, the washing machine of  FIG. 1  includes a washing tub  10  configured to hold laundry and water. 
         [0036]    The washing tub  10  may have a quadrangular, 6-sided, or box shape, but may also have other various shapes. In the present exemplary embodiments, the washing tub  10  has a box shape that is elongated in one or two directions. That is, in the present exemplary embodiments, a cross-section of the washing tub  10  has a rectangular or square shape. 
         [0037]    As illustrated in  FIG. 3 , a first compression plate  11  and a second compression plate  12  are inside the washing tub  10 . The first compression plate  11  may be on, near, or adjacent to a first inner wall  10   a  of the washing tub  10  and has a first hydraulic cylinder  13  and a second hydraulic cylinder  14 . The second compression plate  12  is on, near, or adjacent to a second inner wall  10   b  of the washing tub  10  and has a third hydraulic cylinder  15  and a fourth hydraulic cylinder  16 . According to some embodiments, the washing machine may have other numbers of cylinders (e.g., 1, 3, etc.) compressing and retracting each of the compression plates  11  and  12 . 
         [0038]    The first compression plate  11  may be pressed toward the second inner wall  10   b  of the washing tub  10  by the first hydraulic cylinder  13  and the second hydraulic cylinder  14 , and the second compression plate  12  may be pressed toward the first inner wall  10   a  of the washing tub  10  by the third hydraulic cylinder  15  and the fourth cylinder  16 . 
         [0039]    The laundry may be compressed between the first compression plate  11  and the second compression plate  12  so that water in the laundry may be forcibly discharged from the laundry. 
         [0040]    The first compression plate  11  and the second compression plate  12  may be used in a washing cycle and a rinsing cycle, as well as a drying cycle. 
         [0041]    The first compression plate  11  and the second compression plate  12  may be used to move the laundry in a horizontal and/or vertical direction as the washing tub  10  reciprocates or oscillates. That is, when the washing tub  10  oscillates, the first compression plate  11  and/or the second compression plate  12  may cause the laundry inside the washing tub  10  to move in a horizontal direction orthogonal to that of the tub  10 , and/or move vertically above or away from the floor or bottom of the washing tub  10  while the first compression plate  11  and/or the second compression plate  12  reciprocate or oscillate (e.g., come together and move apart) in the horizontal direction opposite to that of the reciprocation or oscillation of the washing tub  10 . The laundry may be washed while moved in a multi-axis direction by the first compression plate  11  and/or the second compression plate  12 , improving the effect of washing. According to some embodiments, only one plate at a time oscillates or reciprocates. 
         [0042]    In the present exemplary embodiments, the first compression plate  11  and the second compression plate  12  may be on the inner walls  10   a  and  10   b  of along the longest dimension of the washing tub  10 . 
         [0043]    A washboard or undulating surface having a plurality of protrusions  17  is on a bottom surface of the washing tub  10 . The washboard may improve the washing effect by applying friction to the laundry and/or causing local eddies or currents within the tub  10 . 
         [0044]    In some exemplary embodiments, the protrusions  17  may have a shape elongated in a direction of the shortest dimension of the washing tub  10 , and have recessions between the protrusions  17  in a same direction or along the longest dimension of the washing tub  10 . The washing tub  10  may horizontally reciprocates/oscillate in the direction of the longest dimension of the tub  10 . 
         [0045]    A bottom surface of the washing tub  10  may be connected to a first damper  30  and a second damper  31 . The first damper  30  and the second damper  31  may dampen vertical movement and/or vibration of the washing tub  10 . 
         [0046]    A lower end of each of the first damper  30  and the second damper  31  may be connected with a moving magnet  20 . The horizontal reciprocation and/or oscillation of the moving magnet  20  may cause one side of the washing tub  10  to move vertically due to agglomeration of the laundry and the water inside the washing tub  10 . Therefore, ends of the washing tub  10  may move vertically as well as horizontally, according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. 
         [0047]    Where the lower surfaces of the washing tub  10  and the moving magnet  20  may be spaced apart, and the washing tub  10  may move in a vertical direction. 
         [0048]    In one or more exemplary embodiments, a contact member  23  may be at a center portion of the moving magnet  20 , in contact with a lower surface of the washing tub  10 , and side surfaces of the moving magnet  20  have a first inclined surface  21  and a second inclined surface  22 , which incline or decline vertically, based on the shape and location of contact member  23 . Accordingly, the washing tub  10  may not move in the vertical direction, but reciprocates or oscillates based on the shape and location of contact member  23 . In other words, the ends of the washing tub  10  may oscillate in a vertical direction, like a seesaw, where the contact member  23  contacts the washing tub  10 , similar to the fulcrum or pivot point of the seesaw. 
         [0049]    The horizontal movement of moving magnet  20  may be guided by a guide groove or slot  41  in a base  40 . An electromagnet (not illustrated) may be installed on and/or inside the base  40 . The electromagnet has or creates a magnetic field to apply magnetic force to the moving magnet  20 , and the force may be controlled by adjusting the power and/or current applied to the electromagnet. The direction of the magnetic field may be controlled and/or switched so that the moving magnet  20  horizontally reciprocates or oscillates by switching of the direction of the magnetic field at a predetermined frequency. 
         [0050]    A controller configured to control and supply power and/or current to the electromagnet is inside the base  40 . The controller may be configured to cause the washing machine to perform a washing cycle, a rinsing cycle, and a drying cycle, and the electromagnet, the hydraulic cylinder, and the like, which may be controlled according to a program in the controller. 
         [0051]    Exemplary embodiments of the present invention have been described, but terms and expressions used in the description of the exemplary embodiments are only used for illustrating the exemplary embodiments, and shall not be used to limit contents or the scope of the terms and the expression described in the claims of the present specification. 
         [0052]    From the foregoing, it will be appreciated that various embodiments of the present disclosure have been described herein for purposes of illustration, and that various modifications may be made without departing from the scope and spirit of the present disclosure. Accordingly, the various embodiments disclosed herein are not intended to be limiting, with the true scope and spirit being indicated by the following claims.