Source: https://patents.justia.com/patent/7490496
Timestamp: 2020-04-04 02:33:48
Document Index: 443636700

Matched Legal Cases: ['art 640', 'art 640', 'art 640', 'art 640', 'art 640', 'art 640']

US Patent for Drum washing machine with vertically openable and closable door Patent (Patent # 7,490,496 issued February 17, 2009) - Justia Patents Search
Justia Patents CoversUS Patent for Drum washing machine with vertically openable and closable door Patent (Patent # 7,490,496)
Oct 12, 2005 - LG Electronics
The door 5 includes an annular door rim 5a, and a door window 5b surrounded by the annular door rim 5a. The door window 5b is made of a transparent glass material, and has a convex structure protruding into the interior of the washing machine and coming into contact with a gasket 9 mounted in the cabinet 2.
However, the above-mentioned related art washing machine 4 has a problem in that the door 5 cannot be fully opened where the related art washing machine 4 is installed close to a wall W, as shown in FIG. 2, for example, because the door 5 opens in a horizontal direction corresponding to the side-mounted hinge mechanism 7. When the door 5 is partially opened, the convex door window 5b is positioned toward the opening 3, and there may be an inconvenience because the convex door window 5b may obstruct laundry when the laundry is put into or taken out of the related art washing machine 4 through the opening 3.
Also, vertical guide plates 241 may be arranged at opposite side ends of an outer surface of a front cover 215, respectively, such that the outer surface of each vertical guide plate 241 is flush with the outer surface of the door 230. The door 230 is arranged between the vertical guide plates 241. The rollers 247 are directly mounted to the associated side portions 232 of the door 230 at an upper end of the door 230, without using separate roller brackets, such that the rollers 247 are movable along the associated vertical guide plates 241. In this case, a guide groove 241c may be formed at an inner surface of each vertical guide plate 241 to receive the associated roller or rollers 247.
A pair of hinge brackets 256 are mounted to the base 213 to connect respective support rods 251 to the base 213. Vertically-elongated slits 215s and 219s are formed at the front cover 215 and lower cover 219, respectively, so that the support rods 251 are freely movable and extend through the associated slits 215s and 219s.
In the above-mentioned drum washing machine according to the third embodiment of the present invention, the door 230 may be horizontally opened in accordance with a downward movement thereof, and closed from the horizontally opened state in accordance with an upward movement thereof, as in the first and second embodiments, for example.
At the window rim 36 of the container-shaped door window 350 locking holes 36a may be formed, in which the locking pins 73 are inserted, respectively.
For example, when the basket handles 65 are gripped, and simultaneously, the locking release levers 71 of the locking mechanism 70 are pulled while the laundry is put in the basket 60, the locking pins 73 are disengaged from the locking holes 36a, respectively, because of the elastic forces of the tension springs 77, as shown in FIG. 16B. Then, the basket 60 is raised while the handles 65 are held, as shown in FIG. 17E, to transfer the basket 60 while the laundry is in the basket 60.
The latch mechanism 600 includes a protrusion 661 mounted to the door 30 such that the protrusion 661 extends toward the cabinet 10; and upper and lower latch holes 15u and 15d, respectively, disposed at the front cover 15 of the cabinet 10 such that the protrusion 661 may be inserted into the upper latch hole 15u or the lower latch hole 15d when the protrusion 661 is extended.
For example, as shown in FIG.19, the protrusion may include a maintenance-release lever 610 disposed at the door 30 for releasing a door-opened/closed state of the door 30; a latching unit 630 disposed at the door 30 such that the latching unit 630 may be moved by operating the maintenance-release lever 610, the latching unit 630 being inserted into the upper latch hole 15u or the lower latch hole 15d of the front cover 15 for restricting the movement of the door 30 or releasing the restricted state of the door 30; and a resilient member 680 to provide a resilient force to the latching unit 630 such that the latching unit 630 is protruded toward the upper latch hole 15u or the lower latch hole 15d.
The latching unit 630 may include a latching rod 640 inserted into the lower latch hole 15d when the door 30 is opened; and a latching pin 660 inserted into the upper latch hole 15u when the door 30 is closed, the latching pin 660 being connected with the latching rod 640.
The maintenance-release lever 610 may be formed in a generally “L” shape, and may protrude out of the front surface of the door 30 through a lever hole 31a of the door 30. The maintenance-release lever 610 may be disposed at the door 30 such that the maintenance-release lever 610 is vertically hinged about a lever pin 620 along the lever hole 31a. Preferably, the lever hole 31a is vertically elongated such that the maintenance-release lever 610 is easily operated in the lever hole 31a.
The latching rod 640 may disposed at an inside of the door 30 while extending in a vertical direction of the door 30. A lower end of the latching rod 640 may be connected to the maintenance-release lever 610 such that the latching rod 640 can be rotated about a rod pin 650, relative to the maintenance-release lever 610. Consequently, the latching rod 640 may be linearly moved vertically as the maintenance-release lever 610 is operated. The upper end 640a of the latching rod 640 protrudes out of the upper end of the door 30 such that the upper end 640a of the latching rod 640 can be inserted into the lower latch hole 15d of the front cover 15 of the cabinet 10 when the door 30 is opened.
The latching pin 660 is connected to the latching rod 640 at the upper part of the door 30 while the latching pin 660 is perpendicular to the latching rod 640. Consequently, when the latching rod 640 is moved, the latching pin 660 is also moved along with the latching rod 640 such that the latching pin 660 can be inserted into the upper latch hole 15u when the door 30 is closed.
For example, the latching pin 660 may be connected to the latching rod 640 in a cam-connection fashion. At the latching pin 660 a cam hole 660a is formed through which the latching rod 640 is inserted such that the latching rod 640 can be moved relative to the latching pin 660. The latching rod 640 has a curved cam part 640c, which is inserted through the cam hole 660a of the latching pin 660. Preferably, the cam part 640c includes an inclined cam part 640C1, a straight cam part 640C2, and another inclined cam part 640C3.
When the door 30 is closed as shown in FIG. 21A, the latching unit 630 may be operated as follows: as the latching rod 640 is linearly moved upward or downward while the cam part 640c of the latching 640 is inserted through the cam hole 660a of the latching pin 660, the latching pin 660, which is connected to the latching rod 640 while being perpendicular to the latching rod 640, is horizontally moved such that the latching pin 660 is inserted into or separated from the upper latch hole 15u.
A guide mechanism (not shown) may be mounted in the door 30 to guide the latching rod 640 and the latching pin 660 such that the latching rod 640 and the latching pin 660 are linearly moved only in the longitudinal directions thereof, respectively.
In the sixth embodiment of the present invention as described above, the protrusion 661 is mounted to the door 30, although the protrusion 661 may be alternatively mounted to the cabinet 10. In this case, the maintenance-release lever 610, the latching rod 640, or the latching pin 660 may be disposed at the cabinet 10, and the latch hole 15u or 15d may be formed at the door 30.
For example, when the maintenance-release lever 610 is pushed upward such that the maintenance-release lever 610 is rotated while the latching pin 660 of the door 30 is inserted in the upper latch hole 15u of the front cover 15 (thus keeping the door 30 closed as shown in FIG. 21A), the latching rod 640 is moved downward while compressing the resilient member 680. At that time, the latching pin 660 is retracted through the cam operation of the latching pin 660 and the latching rod 640. As a result, the latching pin 660 is separated from the upper latch hole 15u.
When the user pulls the lower handle 19D downward, the upper end of the door 30 moves downward as the rollers 47 roll downward along the associated vertical guides 41. At that time, each support rod 51 hinges about the lower end thereof from a vertical state in accordance with the movement of the door 30 such that the upper end of the support rod 51 moves horizontally and downwardly to be forwardly spaced away from the cabinet 10. In accordance with this movement, the support rod 51 supports the door 30 when opening the door 30 to enable the lower end of the door 30 to be moved horizontally and forwardly.
When the door 30 is fully opened, the latching rod 640 is advanced by the resilient force of the resilient member 680. Consequently, the end 640a of the latching rod 640 is inserted into the lower latch hole 15d, as shown in FIG. 21B. As a result, the door may be stably kept open.
The laundry, which is taken out of the drum 25 when the door 30 is open and temporarily stored in the door window 35, may be subsequently taken out of the door window 35 and transferred to another place. After that, when the user rotates the maintenance-release lever 610, the latching rod 640 is separated from the lower latch hole 15d. Subsequently, when the user pulls the upper handle 39U of the door 30 upward while grasping the upper handle 39U, the door 30 is moved upward to be closed.
At this time, the rollers 47 mounted to the upper end of the door 30 roll upward along the associated vertical guides 41 in accordance with a procedure substantially reverse to the above-discussed procedure for opening the door 30. The lower end of the door 30 is substantially moved horizontally toward the cabinet 10, and comes into contact with the front cover 15, together with the upper end of the door 30, so that the door 30 is closed. At the same time, the latching pin 660 of the door 30 is inserted into the upper latch hole 15u, as shown in FIG. 21A. Consequently, the door 30 may be stably kept closed.
For example, vertically-elongated slits 15a may be formed at opposite side portions of the front cover 15 to receive the guide couplers 45, allowing the guide couplers 45 to be movable. The vertical guides 41 may be disposed at the front cover 15 in the rear of the slits 16, respectively, such that the rollers 47 of the guide couplers 45 may be moved along the vertical guides 41.
Further, detent units 700 and 710 may be disposed at the upper and lower part of the front surface of the front cover 15, and may function as protrusions for maintaining a closed or opened state of the door 30. At the door 30, grooves 770a and 770b may be formed respectively corresponding to the detent units 700 and 710, which serve as a latching mechanism to maintain the door-closed/opened state of the door 30.
Each of the detent units 700 and 710 includes a detent case 720 mounted to the rear surface of the front cover 15; a detent ball 750 disposed at the detent case 720 such that the detent ball 750 protrudes out of the front surface of the front cover 15 and is inserted in the corresponding one of the grooves 770a or 770b; and a spring 730 disposed in the detent case 720 for providing a resilient force to the detent ball 750.
The grooves 770a and 770b are preferably formed, in a pair, at a detent block 770 mounted to the door frame 31. For example, the detent block 770 having a predetermined or particular thickness may be attached to the rear of the door frame 31, since the door frame 31 is generally made of a plate shape. The grooves 770a and 770b, in which the detent ball 750 may be inserted, may be formed at the rear surface of the detent block 770 while the grooves 770a and 770b are vertically arranged.
Consequently, when the door 30 is fully closed as shown in solid lines in FIG. 24, the detent ball 750 of the upper detent unit 700 is engaged in the lower groove 770a. As a result, the door 30 may be kept closed. When the door 30 is fully opened as shown in broken lines in FIG. 24, the detent ball 750 of the lower detent unit 710 is engaged in the upper groove 770b. As a result, the door 30 is kept opened.
According to at least one aspect of the seventh embodiment of the present invention, the detent block 770 may be attached to the door frame 15, and the grooves 770a and 770b are formed at the detent block 770, although the door frame 15 may alternatively be folded such that the folded part of the door frame 15 serves as the outer surface of the detent block 770, and the grooves 770a and 770b may be formed at the folded part of the door frame 14, as long as the implementation of the grooves 770a and 770b is suitable.
For example, the plate springs 80 and 81, each of which exert a respective resilient force, may be mounted to the front cover 15 while the plate springs 80 and 81 are vertically arranged. The detent block 770 is attached to the door 30, and the groove 770a is formed at the detent block 770.
The upper plate spring 80 may be inserted in the groove 770a, while the lower plate spring 81 may be engaged with the upper end of the door 30.
Alternatively, the lower plate spring 81 may also be inserted in the groove 770a formed at the detent block 770, similarly to the seventh embodiment of the present invention, for example.
Consequently, when the door 30 is fully closed as shown in solid lines in FIG. 25, the upper plate spring 80 is engaged in the groove 770a. As a result, the door 30 is kept closed. When the door 30 is fully opened as shown in broken lines in FIG. 25, the upper end of the door 30 may be engaged with the lower plate spring 81. As a result, the door 30 may be kept open.
In the drum washing machine 1 according to the ninth embodiment of the present invention as shown in FIG. 26, for example, magnetic members 85 and 86 may be provided instead of the detent units 700 and 710 of the seventh embodiment of the present invention, and an iron piece 88, which is a counterpart of the magnetic members 85 and 86, may be provided instead of the groove 770a. The iron piece 88 may be attached to one of the magnetic members 85 or 86 through the interaction between the iron piece 88 and the corresponding one of the magnetic members 85 or 86.
A pair of hinge brackets 56 may be mounted to the base 13 to connect respective support rods 51 to the base 13. Vertically-elongated slits 15s and 19s may be formed at the front cover 15 and lower cover 19, respectively, so that the support rods 51 are freely movable while extending through the associated slits 15s and 19s.
Two handles 39U and 39D, which are used to open or close the door 30, may be attached to the door window 35 of the door 30 while being arranged vertically such that the handles 39U and 39D are spaced apart from each other. A protrusion 90 to maintain a door closed or opened state of the door 30 is constructed such that the protrusion 90 cooperates with the handles 39U and 39D.
For example, slots 35a and 35b may be respectively formed at the door window 35, such that the handles 39U and 39D can be moved a predetermined distance in the direction in which the door 30 is opened or closed. The handles 39U and 39D may be inserted in respective slots 35a and 35b of the door window 35. When the user pulls the upper handle 39U upward to close the door 30, the upper handle 39U moves upward. When the user pushes the lower handle 39D downward to close the door 30, the upper handle 39U moves downward.
At the upper handle 39U and the lower handle 39D are disposed resilient members 39e, respectively, by which the upper handle 39U and the lower handle 39D can be returned to their original positions after the upper handle 39U or the lower handle 39D have moved vertically when the door is opened or closed. Each of the resilient members 39e may be composed of a spring such as, for example, a tension spring. Preferably, the resilient members 39e, when composed of tension springs, are connected between the upper handle 39U and the lower handle 39D at both ends of the handle 39U and 39D, as shown in FIG. 27.
When the user pulls the lower handle 39D of the door 30 downward while grasping the lower handle 39D so as to open the door 30, as shown in FIG. 27, for example, the lower handle 39D moves downward along the slots 35b of the door 30. At this time, the latching pin 91 connected to the lower handle 39D via the wire-shaped member 96 is separated from the upper latching hole 98 of the cabinet 10. As a result, the door 30 is moved downward, and therefore, the door 30 may be open.
When the door 30 is fully opened, the lower handle 39D is returned to its original position by the resilient forces of the resilient members 39e, and thus the force applied to the latching pin 91 is eliminated. Consequently, the latching pin 91 is inserted into the lower latching hole 99. As a result, the door 30 may be kept open.
When the user pushes the upper handle 39U of the door 30 upward while grasping the upper handle 39U to close the door 30, on the other hand, the upper handle 39U moves upward along the slots 35a of the door 30. At this time, the latching pin 91 connected to the upper handle 39U via the wire-shaped member 95 is separated from the lower latching hole 99 of the cabinet 10. As a result, the door 30 is moved upward, and therefore, the door 30 may be closed.
When the door 30 is fully closed, the upper handle 39U is returned to its original position by the resilient forces of the resilient members 39e, and thus, the latching pin 91 is inserted into the upper latching hole 98. As a result, the door 30 may be kept closed.
Each guide coupler 45 may include a pinion 47 engaged with a rack 41b of an associated vertical guide 41, as a rotating member to be operatively connected with the rotation/linear movement converting member. The pinion 47 is moved vertically along the associated vertical guide 41 in accordance with rotation of the pinion 47. The rotation of the pinion 47 may be carried out by an electric motor 66.
The door moving mechanism 70 may include the pinions 47, functioning as the rotating members, to be rotated by respective electric motors 66, and the racks 41b, as the rotation/linear movement converting members, provided at respective vertical guides 41. Each rack 41b may be formed at a side portion of the inner surface of the guide groove 41 in the associated vertical guide 41. Preferably, the other side portion of the inner surface of the guide groove 41 is smooth, in order to prevent generation of frictional resistance during the rotation of the associated pinion 47.
As shown in FIG. 30, for example, a configuration in which the electric motors 66, pinions 47 and racks 41b are arranged at opposite sides of the door 30, is most preferable. However, alternatively, one electric motor 66, one pinion 47 and one rack 41b may be arranged at only one side of the door 30, to automatically move the door 30 vertically.
When the user presses the automatic door opening button 61 arranged on the front wall of the cabinet 10 to automatically open the door 30, which is closed, a corresponding signal is sent to the motor controller 67. In response to the signal, the motor controller 67 controls the electric motor 66 to rotate the pinion 47. Accordingly, the pinion 47 moves downwardly along the rack 41b of the associated vertical guide 41, thereby causing the door 30 to be opened while being moved automatically downward. At this time, the opening of the door 30 is achieved through procedures of FIGS. 33B through 33E such that the upper end of the door 30 is moved downward, and the lower end of the door 30 is moved horizontally and forwardly away from the cabinet 10. As a result, the door 30 is opened as shown in FIG. 33E.
For example, the upper end of the door 30 moves downward as the pinion 47 moves downward along the rack 41b of the associated vertical guide 41 in accordance with the operation of the electric motor 66. At this time, each support rod 51 hinges about its lower end from a vertical state in accordance with the movement of the door 30, such that the upper end of the support rod 51 moves both horizontally and downwardly to be forwardly spaced away from the cabinet 10. In accordance with this movement, the support rod 51 supports the door 30 during the opening of the door 30 to enable the lower end of the door 30 to be moved horizontally and forwardly.
The laundry, which may be taken out of the drum 25 when the door 30 is open, and temporarily stored in the door window 35, may subsequently be taken out of the door window 35 and transferred to another place. When the user presses the automatic door closing button 62 to close the door 30, the electric motor 66 is driven reversely in accordance with a control signal generated by the motor controller 67 in response to the pressing of the automatic door closing button 62. As a result, the pinion 47 engaged with the rack 41b of the associated vertical guide 41 rotates reversely, thereby causing the door 30 to be automatically moved in an upward direction, and thus, to be closed.
FIGS. 34 and 35 illustrate a drum washing machine according to the twelfth embodiment of the present invention, motor brackets 46 may be mounted to the door 30 at opposite sides of the door 30, respectively. Each motor bracket 46 may extend through an associated one of the slits 15a into the interior of the cabinet 10 such that the motor bracket 46 is movable vertically along the associated slit 15a in accordance with a vertical movement of the door 30. An electric motor 66 and a pinion 47 may be mounted to each motor bracket 46.
In the above-described drum washing machine according to the twelfth embodiment of the present invention, when the automatic door opening button 61 or automatic door closing button 62 is operated to automatically open or close the door 30, the electric motor 66 is driven, thereby causing the door 30 to move downwardly or upwardly. At this time, the electric motors 66 and pinions 47 mounted to the associated motor brackets 46 extending through the associated slits 15a are moved along the associated vertical guides 41 in accordance with the vertical movement of the door 30. In this case, the support rods 51 support the opening or closing operation of the door 30, for example, as discussed in the eleventh embodiment.
For example, vertical guide plates 41 may be arranged at opposite side ends of an outer surface of a front cover 15, respectively, such that the outer surface of each vertical guide 41 is substantially flush with the outer surface of the door 30. The door 30 may be arranged between the vertical guides 41. The electric motors 66 and pinions 47 may be directly mounted to the associated side portions 32 of the door 30 at an upper end of the door 30, without using separate motor brackets, such that the electric motors 66 and pinions 47 are movable along the racks 41b of the associated vertical guides 41. Each electric motor 66 and each pinion 47 associated therewith may be arranged inside and outside the associated side portion 32 of the door 30.
When the door 30 of the drum washing machine 1 in accordance with the sixteenth embodiment is automatically opened or closed by manipulating the automatic door-opening button 61 or the automatic door-closing button 62, the door 30, together with the support rods 51, move vertically of the driving of the electric motors 66, and thus the rollers 47 inserted into the slits 15a move vertically along the vertical guides 41.
The drum washing machine according to the twentieth embodiment of the present invention, as shown in FIGS. 56 and 57, has rollers 47, which are directly mounted to the side portions 32 of the door 30, and the support rods 51a are mounted to a bottom wall of the cabinet 10.
Also, the vertical guides 41 may be arranged at opposite side ends of an outer surface of the front cover 15, respectively, such that the outer surface of each vertical guide 41 is flush with the outer surface of the door 30, for example. The door 30 may be arranged between the vertical guides 41. The rollers 47 may be mounted directly to the associated side portions 32 of the door 30 at an upper end of the door 30, without using separate roller brackets, such that the rollers 47 are movable along the associated vertical guides 41. As shown in FIG. 56, for example, a guide groove 41c may be formed at an inner surface of each vertical guide 41 to receive the associated roller or rollers 47.
Each support rod 51a may have an upper end hingably connected to an associated one of the side portions 32 of the door 30, and a lower end extending into the cabinet 10 through the front cover 15 and the lower cover 19 and hingably connected to the base 13 forming the bottom wall of the cabinet 10.
A pair of hinge brackets 56 may be mounted to the base 13 to connect respective support rods 51a to the base 13. Vertically-elongated slits 15S and 19S may be formed at the front cover 15 and the lower cover 19, respectively, so that the support rods 51aare freely movable while extending through the associated slits 15S and 19S.
In contrast to the shock-absorbing units of the eighteenth and nineteenth embodiments, for example, the support rods 51a of the shock-absorber 150 of the twentieth embodiment are not necessarily divided into two portions. However, when a force exceeding a designated strength is applied to the support rods 51a, the support rods 51a are deformed (as shown in FIG. 57, for example), thereby providing supporting and shock-absorbing functions.
For example, as illustrated in FIGS. 56 and 57, the support rods 51a of the twentieth embodiment may be structured as plate springs, and are typically not elastically deformed when the door 30 is normally opened or closed. However, when an external force (F) exceeding a designated strength is applied to the door 30 and the door 30 moves horizontally and is completely opened, as shown if FIG. 57, the support rods 51a may be elastically deformed. Thus, when the external force (F) is removed from the door 30 and the door 30 moves downward centering on the rollers 47, the support rods 51a may be returned to their original positions by the restoring elastic force of the support rods 51a.
As described above, in the same manner as the preceding embodiments, the ends of the support rods 51a of the twentieth embodiment may be connected to the door 30 by the hinges 52, and the other ends of the support rods 51 are connected to the cabinet 10 by the hinge brackets 56.
wherein the shock-absorber is positioned between the hinge bracket and the support rod.
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Patent Publication Number: 20060086155
Inventors: Dong Won Kim (Kwangmyung-si), Jae Won Chang (Kunpo-si)
Assistant Examiner: Rita R Patel
Application Number: 11/247,359
Current U.S. Class: Covers (68/196); Door Safety Latch Detail (68/12.26); Horizontal Or Nonvertical Axis Tumbler And Centrifuge (68/24); Tumbling And Liquid Flowing (68/58); Cage Type Tumbler Supports, Bearings Or Drive (68/140); With Solid Agent Dissolving Or Supplying Means (134/93); With Closable Work-treating Chambers (134/200)
International Classification: B08B 3/00 (20060101); D06B 1/00 (20060101);