Source: http://patents.com/us-7219517.html
Timestamp: 2018-11-19 11:12:45
Document Index: 182274829

Matched Legal Cases: ['art 23', 'art 23', 'art 23', 'art 23', 'art 23', 'art 23', 'art 23', 'art 23', 'art 23']

US Patent # 7,219,517. Washing machine - Patents.com
United States Patent 7,219,517
Maeng May 22, 2007
Inventors: Maeng; Chang-Jae (Yongin, KR)
Appl. No.: 10/314,171
Jun 29, 2002 [KR] 2002-37602
Jul 26, 2002 [KR] 2002-44329
Current U.S. Class: 68/17R ; 222/236; 222/651
Field of Search: 68/17R 134/93 222/651,231,236
4917272 April 1990 Ikeda
6865911 March 2005 Bolduan et al.
3403628 Aug., 1985 DE
2001-340687 Dec., 2001 JP
2002035477 Feb., 2002 JP
1. A washing machine having a wash tub to receive laundry therein, the washing machine comprising: a cabinet which defines an appearance of the washing machine; a detergent supply device which is removably installed in the cabinet; and a reception chamber which is defined at an upper portion of the cabinet to receive the detergent supply device, wherein the detergent supply device comprises: a detergent container to contain detergent therein, and a handle comprising a pair of side mounting parts and a connection part connecting the pair of side mounting parts to each other, to rotatably mount the handle to an upper portion of the detergent container, and the handle selectively locking and releasing the detergent supply device to and from the reception chamber in response to the handle being rotated downwardly and upwardly, respectively.
3. A washing machine having a washing tub, the washing machine comprising: a cabinet which defines an appearance of the washing machine; a detergent supply device which is removably installed in the cabinet; and a reception chamber which is defined at an upper portion of the cabinet to receive the detergent supply device, wherein the detergent supply device comprises: a detergent container to contain detergent therein, and a handle which is mounted on an upper portion of the detergent container, and selectively locks and releases the detergent supply device to and from the reception chamber in response to the handle being rotated, wherein the handle comprises: two side mounting parts which rotatably mount the handle to the detergent container and removably lock the handle to the cabinet; and a connection part which integrally connects the two side mounting parts to each other into a single structure.
4. The washing machine as set forth in claim 3, wherein: the handle includes hinge holes which are provided on the corresponding side mounting parts, and the detergent container includes hinge shafts which are outwardly projected from an upper portion of corresponding opposite sidewalls of the detergent container, so as to be inserted into the respective hinge holes and rotatably mount the handle to the detergent container.
5. The washing machine as set forth in claim 4, wherein: the handle further includes locking slots which are formed on the corresponding side mounting parts, at corresponding positions adjacent to the respective hinge holes, and are provided with an opening which is downwardly opened where the handle is upwardly rotated, and the reception chamber includes locking projections which are provided on the corresponding opposite sidewalls of the reception chamber, and are inserted into the locking slots through the openings to lock the detergent supply device to the reception chamber in response to the detergent container being seated in the reception chamber and the handle being downwardly rotated.
7. The washing machine as set forth in claim 6, wherein the at least one sidewall of the detergent container has an angle in a range from 45.degree. to 55.degree. with respect to a horizontal support surface of the detergent container.
12. The washing machine as set forth in claim 11, wherein: the detergent feeding part has a tubular shape and is open at first and second ends thereof, and the automatic detergent feeding unit comprises: a feed screw which is set in the detergent feeding part and rotates to feed the detergent to the second end of the detergent feeding part; a detergent feeding motor which is provided at a position adjacent to the first end of the detergent feeding part and drives the feed screw; a cap which is provided at the second end of the detergent feeding part; and a cap drive motor which selectively opens and closes the cap.
13. The washing machine as set forth in claim 12, wherein: the cap is connected to the cap drive motor and biased to normally close the second end of the detergent feeding part, and the detergent feeding motor and the cap driving motor are fixedly installed in the cabinet and do not disengage the cabinet in response to removal of the detergent supply device from the cabinet.
16. A washing machine having a washing tub, the washing machine comprising: a cabinet which defines an appearance of the washing machine; a detergent supply device which is removably installed in the cabinet; and a reception chamber which is defined at an upper portion of the cabinet to receive the detergent supply device, wherein the detergent supply device comprises: a detergent container to contain detergent therein, and a handle comprising a pair of side mounting parts and a connection part connecting the side mounting parts to each other, to rotatably mount the handle to an upper portion of the detergent container, and the handle selectively locking and releasing the detergent supply device to and from the reception chamber in response to the handle being rotated, wherein the reception chamber includes a cover which is installed on an upper portion of the reception chamber to open and close the reception chamber, so as to cover the detergent supply device received in the reception chamber, and the cover is hinged to a rear portion of the reception chamber so as to be rotated upward and downward, wherein: the cover includes at least one hook which is provided on a front end of the cover, and the reception chamber further includes at least one hook hole which is formed on a front portion of the reception chamber to engage with the hook, so as to have the cover openably cover an open top portion of the reception chamber.
17. A washing machine comprising: a cabinet which defines an appearance of the washing machine; a wash tub to receive laundry therein; and a detergent supply device which is removably installed in the cabinet, and comprises: a detergent container to contain detergent therein, and a handle comprising a pair of side mounting parts and a connection part connecting the pair of side mounting parts to each other, to rotatably mount the handle to an upper portion of the detergent container, and the handle selectively locking and releasing the detergent supply device to and from the cabinet in response to the handle being rotated downwardly and upwardly, respectively.
20. A washing machine comprising: a cabinet which defines an appearance of the washing machine; a wash tub to receive laundry therein; an automatic detergent supply device which is removably installed within the cabinet, and automatically feeds detergent received therein to the wash tub; and a handle comprising a pair of side mounting parts and a connection part connecting the pair of side mounting parts, to rotatably mount the handle to an upper portion of the detergent container, and the handle selectively locking and releasing the detergent supply device to and from the cabinet in response to the handle being rotated downwardly and upwardly, respectively.
21. A detergent supply device for use in a washing machine having a cabinet which defines an appearance of the washing machine, a wash tub to receive laundry therein, and a reception chamber which is defined in the cabinet to receive the detergent supply device therein, comprising: a detergent container to contain detergent therein, and a handle comprising a pair of side mounting parts and a connecting part connecting the side mounting parts to each other, to rotatably mount the handle to an upper portion of the detergent container, and selectively locking and releasing the detergent supply device to and from the cabinet in response to the handle being rotated downwardly and upwardly, respectively.
The detergent container may have at least one sidewall thereof which is downwardly and inwardly inclined, so as to allow the detergent to easily flow to a bottom of the detergent container. The at least one sidewall of the detergent container may have an angle in a range from 45.degree. to 55.degree. with respect to a horizontal support surface of the detergent container.
Since sidewalls of the detergent container 21 are downwardly and inwardly inclined in such a way as to be tapered from a top to a bottom of the detergent container 21, the powdered detergent easily flows to the bottom of the detergent container 21 and converges into the detergent feeding part 23. The angles of the inclined sidewalls of the detergent container 21 may be from 45.degree. to 55.degree. with respect to a horizontal support surface of the detergent container 21.
The upper member 22 is opened at a top wall thereof to form a walled opening 22a, so as to place the powdered detergent into the detergent container 21 through the walled opening 22a. Several locking lugs 22b, spaced apart from each other, are provided along a lower edge of a skirt provided at a lower portion of the upper member 22. Locking notches 21a corresponding to the locking lugs 22b are formed along an upper edge of the detergent container 21, thus allowing the upper member 22 to be easily locked to or unlocked from the detergent container 21.
Each locking slot 34 is provided with an opening 34a which is downwardly opened where the handle 30 is upwardly rotated to be positioned above the detergent container 21. Thus, as the handle 30 is downwardly rotated, locking projections 41 (see FIG. 4) of a reception chamber 40, which will be described later herein, are inserted into the locking slots 34 through the openings 34a.
The detergent feeding part 23 has, for example, a tubular shape, and has first and second ends 23a and 23b which are opened at left and right side ends of the detergent feeding part 23, respectively.
Referring to FIG. 3, the automatic detergent feeding unit 60 includes a detergent feeding motor 61 and a cap drive motor 65. The detergent feeding motor 61 is provided at a position adjacent to the open first end 23a (see FIG. 2A) of the detergent feeding part 23, and the cap drive motor 65 is provided at a position adjacent to the open second end 23b of the detergent feeding part 23. In this case, the detergent feeding motor 61 and the cap drive motor 65 are fixedly installed in the cabinet 1. Thus, although the detergent container 21 is removed from the cabinet 1, the detergent feeding motor 61 and the cap drive motor 65 are maintained in the cabinet 1.
The second end 23b of the detergent feeding part 23 serves as an outlet port to supply the powdered detergent to the washing tub 2 (see FIG. 4). The second end 23b is covered with a cap 66 which is connected to the cap drive motor 65. Thus, where the cap drive motor 65 is operated, the cap 66 is pulled to open the second end 23b. On the contrary, where the cap drive motor 65 stops operating, the cap 66 is elastically returned to its original position while closing the second end 23b.
A feed screw 62 is set in the detergent feeding part 23, and is rotated by the detergent feeding motor 61 to discharge the powdered detergent through the second end 23b. To removably connect the feed screw 62 to the detergent feeding motor 61, a first coupling gear 63 is mounted to the detergent feeding motor 61 and a second coupling gear 64 is mounted at an end of the feed screw 62 outside the first end 23a of the detergent feeding part 23. The first coupling gear 63 connected to the detergent feeding motor 61 engages with the second coupling gear 64 connected to the feed screw 62. Thus, where the detergent container 21 is lifted up, the second coupling gear 64 disengages from the first coupling gear 63. Meanwhile, where the detergent container 21 is pushed into the reception chamber 40 (see FIG. 4), the second coupling gear 64 engages with the first coupling gear 63 to connect the feed screw 62 to the detergent feeding motor 61.
As described above, the cap 66 is provided at the second end 23b of the detergent feeding part 23, and selectively opens or closes the second end 23b by an operation of the cap drive motor 65. Where the detergent feeding motor 61 and the cap drive motor 65 are not operated, the cap 66 closes the second end 23b so as to prevent the powdered detergent from being discharged through the second end 23b. On the other hand, where the detergent feeding motor 61 and the cap drive motor 65 are operated, the cap 66 is pulled by the cap drive motor 65 to open the second end 23b, thus supplying the powdered detergent fed by the rotation of the feed screw 62 to the washing tub 2 (see FIG. 4).
The cover 50, which functions to open and close an open top portion of the reception chamber 40, is installed on the cabinet 1 to cover the detergent supply device 20, which is seated in the reception chamber 40. The cover 50 prevents the detergent supply device 20 from being exposed to the outside. Several hinge shafts 51 are provided on a rear end of the cover 50. Several hinge members 42 are provided on a rear portion of the reception chamber 40, and are provided with several hinge holes 42a so as to rotatably fit the hinge shafts 51 into the hinge holes 42a. Thus, the cover 50 is rotatably hinged to the cabinet 1 by inserting the hinge shafts 51 into the hinge holes 42a of the hinge members 42. In this case, each hinge member 42 may be elastically deformed in a horizontal direction, thus allowing the hinge shafts 51 of the cover 50 to be easily inserted into the hinge holes 42a of the hinge members 42.
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