Patent Description:
The invention of the laundry machine liberates people's hands. The laundry machine is an essential electric appliance in people's daily life. A controller arranged inside the laundry machine controls an electromotor to rotate so as to simulate a washing action. At present, a structure that integrates the electromotor with the controller is used in some laundry machines, the controller is arranged on the electromotor; moreover, since the electromotor needs to be arranged on an external structure such as a water container of the laundry machine, so that a housing of the electromotor needs to be provided with a mounting structure arranged to be secured with the water container, thus, complex structures of end covers of the electromotor are caused, a range of selection of materials is restrained, resulting in a high cost. <CIT> relates to a brushless motor for a washing machine having a drive circuit accommodated in case. relates to a rotor type motor and discloses a control unit disposed in a housing.

An objective of the embodiments of the present application is providing an electromotor and a laundry machine, which aims at solving a problem that the housing of the electromotor is provided with a structure fixedly connected with the water container, so that complex structures of the end covers of the electromotor are caused.

In order to solve the technical problem discussed above, the technical solutions used in the embodiments of the present application are as follows: in the first aspect, an electromotor for a laundry machine is provided, the electromotor includes a controller and a controller cover, the controller is arranged on the controller cover; the electromotor further includes a first end cover and a second end cover which is secured with the first end cover; the first end cover and the second end cover are fixed on two opposite sides of a stator respectively; the controller cover is provided with a first mounting part configured to be secured with the first end cover and is provided with a second mounting part configured to be secured with a water container of the laundry machine, and the first end cover is provided with a third mounting part configured to be secured with the first mounting part.

In one embodiment, the second mounting part is arranged on one side of the controller cover opposite to the controller.

In one embodiment, a surface of the controller cover protrudes outwards to form a mounting foot, the second mounting part is arranged on the mounting foot, the second mounting part is a mounting hole or a mounting column.

In one embodiment, a surface of the controller cover is provided with heat dissipation fins.

In one embodiment, the controller cover is the one selected from a group consisting of an aluminum cover, a cover made of aluminum alloy and a resin cover.

In one embodiment, the first mounting part and the third mounting part are connected by a fixing member, and the fixing member is arranged to pass through the first mounting part and the third mounting part.

In one embodiment, one side of the first end cover which faces towards the controller cover is provided with a first positioning element, and the controller cover is provided with a second positioning element that comes into engagement with the first positioning element; or one side of the stator which faces towards the controller cover is provided with a first positioning element, and the controller cover is provided with a second positioning element that comes into engagement with the first positioning element.

In one embodiment, the third mounting part is the first positioning element, and the first mounting part is the second positioning element;
the first positioning element is provided with a first connecting hole, the second positioning element is provided with a second connecting hole, and the fixing member is arranged to pass through the first connecting hole and the second connecting hole.

In one embodiment, the controller is configured to be snap-fitted into the controller cover or the first end cover; or alternatively the controller is fixed with the controller cover or the first end cover through a fixing member.

In one embodiment, the first end cover is molded through a stretching molding, a casting molding, or an injection molding.

In one embodiment, the first end cover is a housing made of metal or a housing made of resin.

In one embodiment, the electromotor further includes the stator and a rotor configured to rotate relative to the stator, the rotor includes a rotating shaft and two bearings arranged at two ends of the rotating shaft respectively, the first end cover and the second end cover protrude outwards to form annular bosses, interiors of the annular bosses are provided with bearing bores for accommodating the bearings respectively, a bottom of at least one of the two annular bosses is provided with a groove structure or a convex structure.

In one embodiment, at least one of the first end cover and the second end cover is provided with an edge flanging which comes into contact with the stator tightly.

In one embodiment, the groove structure is an annular groove or the groove structure includes a plurality of separately arranged concave ribs which are enclosed to be ring-shaped; the convex structure is an annular boss or the convex structure includes a plurality of separately arranged convex ribs which are enclosed to be ring-shaped.

In the second aspect, a laundry machine is provided, the laundry machine includes the electromotor described above and a water container.

The electromotor disclosed in the embodiments of the present application has the beneficial effects as follows: the electromotor of the present application includes the first end cover, the second end cover, the controller and the controller cover, the controller is arranged on the controller cover, the controller cover is fixed through an engagement between the first mounting part arranged on the controller cover and the third mounting part arranged on the first end cover or the stator, so that the controller cover is enabled to be fixed on the housing or the stator; furthermore, the controller cover is secured with the water container of the laundry machine through the second mounting part arranged on the controller cover, in this way, it only needs to arrange the third mounting part secured with the controller cover on the housing of the electromotor, without the need of additionally arranging another mounting structure secured with the water container of the laundry machine on the first end cover, thereby effectively simplifying the structure of the first end cover, and reducing the cost of the laundry machine.

The laundry machine disclosed in the embodiments of the present application has the beneficial effects listed below: the electromotor is applied in the laundry machine of the present application, the housing of the electromotor only needs to be provided with the third mounting part secured with the controller cover, without the need of additionally arranging another mounting structure secured with the water container of the laundry machine on the first end cover, thereby effectively simplifying the structure of the first end cover, and reducing the cost of the laundry machine.

Where, reference numerals in the figures are listed below:
<NUM>-electromotor; <NUM>-housing; <NUM>-first mounting part; <NUM>-second connecting hole; <NUM>-positioning groove; <NUM>-annular boss; <NUM>-edge flanging; <NUM>-bearing bore; <NUM>-annular groove; <NUM>-second end cover; <NUM>- stator; <NUM>-rotor; <NUM>-rotating shaft; <NUM>-bearing; <NUM>-controller; <NUM>-controller cover; <NUM>-first mounting part; <NUM>-positioning aperture; <NUM>-first connecting hole; <NUM>-mounting foot; <NUM>-second mounting part; <NUM>-positioning pole; <NUM>-heat dissipation fins; <NUM>-water container.

In order to make the purpose, the technical solution and the advantages of the present application be clearer and more understandable, the present application will be further described in detail below with reference to accompanying figures and embodiments. It should be understood that the embodiments described in detail herein are merely intended to illustrate but not to limit the present application.

It needs to be noted that, when one component is described to be "fixed to" or "arranged on" another component, this component may be directly or indirectly arranged on another component. When it is described that one component "is connected with" another component, this component may be directly or indirectly connected to another component. Orientation or position relationships indicated by terms including "upper", "lower", "left" and "right" are based on the orientation or position relationships shown in the accompanying figures and is only used for the convenience of description, instead of indicating or implying that the indicated device or element must have a specific orientation and is constructed and operated in a particular orientation, and thus should not be interpreted as limitation to the present application. As for the person of ordinary skill in the art, the specific meanings of the terms may be interpreted according to specific conditions. Terms such as "the first" and "the second" are only for the purpose of conveniently describing and should not be interpreted as indicating or implying relative importance or implicitly indicating the number of indicated technical features. "Multiple/a plurality of" means two or more unless there is an additional explicit and specific limitation.

In order to describe the technical solutions disclosed in the present application, the technical solutions are described in detail with reference to the accompanying figures and the embodiments.

Referring to <FIG> and <FIG>, in one embodiment of the electromotor, the electromotor <NUM> includes a housing <NUM>, a controller <NUM> and a controller cover <NUM>, the controller <NUM> may be configured to control the rotor <NUM> and other electronically controlled devices of the laundry machine. The controller <NUM> is arranged inside or outside the controller cover <NUM>, and the controller cover <NUM> is fixed on the housing <NUM> of the electromotor <NUM> or a stator <NUM> of the electromotor <NUM>. The housing <NUM> includes a first end cover <NUM> and a second end cover <NUM>, the first end cover <NUM> and the second end cover <NUM> are fixed on two opposite sides of the stator <NUM>, respectively. The controller cover <NUM> is provided with a first mounting part <NUM> and a second mounting part <NUM>, the first end cover <NUM> or the stator <NUM> is provided with a third mounting part <NUM>, the first mounting part <NUM> and the third mounting part <NUM> are arranged to be engaged with each other, so that the controller cover <NUM> is enabled to be fixed on the first end cover <NUM> or the stator <NUM>, and the controller <NUM> is enabled to be integrated in the electromotor <NUM>. The second mounting part <NUM> is configured to be connected with a water container <NUM> of the laundry machine, so that a structure which is originally arranged on the housing <NUM> of the electromotor <NUM> is redesigned to be arranged on the controller cover <NUM>, thereby simplifying the structure of the housing <NUM> of the electromotor <NUM>. Since the housing <NUM> of the electromotor <NUM> needs to support the rotor <NUM>, if the structure of the housing <NUM> of the electromotor <NUM> is too complex, a difficulty in manufacturing the laundry machine may be increased, in order to ensure the strength of the housing <NUM> of the electromotor <NUM>, the material and the production process of the housing <NUM> of the electromotor <NUM> are greatly limited. The housing <NUM> of the electromotor <NUM> in this embodiment is only provided with a third mounting part <NUM>, so that the complexity of the structure of the first end cover <NUM> is greatly reduced, the ranges of selections of the material and the production process of the first end cover <NUM> are broadened, and the production cost of the electromotor <NUM> is effectively reduced. In particular, with reference to <FIG> and <FIG>, the first end cover <NUM> in <FIG> is manufactured and molded by using a stretching process, and the first end cover <NUM> in <FIG> is manufactured and molded by using a casting process; since the first end cover <NUM> has a simple structure, the first end cover <NUM> can be manufactured and molded by using different processes according to the requirement, and the requirement on the manufacturing process of the first end cover <NUM> is low. When the first end cover <NUM> is made of a material such as resin, the first end cover <NUM> may be molded through an injection molding. The first end cover <NUM> may be selected as a metal housing or be a resin housing, the first end cover <NUM> is simple in structure, has low performance requirement on the material, so that the production cost of the first end cover <NUM> can be greatly reduced. Moreover, the controller cover <NUM> is only used to accommodate and protect the controller <NUM>, and the requirements of the control cover <NUM> on the production process and the material is low, thus, arranging the second mounting part <NUM> on the controller cover <NUM> will not significantly increase the production difficulty and the cost. The electromotor in the aforesaid embodiment includes the housing <NUM>, the controller <NUM>, and the controller cover <NUM>. The controller <NUM> is arranged on the controller cover <NUM>, the housing <NUM> includes the first end cover <NUM> and the second end cover <NUM>; the controller cover <NUM> is fixed through an engagement between the first mounting part <NUM> arranged on the controller cover <NUM> and the third mounting part <NUM> arranged on the first end cover <NUM> or the stator <NUM>; furthermore, the controller cover <NUM> is secured with the water container <NUM> of the laundry machine by arranging the second mounting part <NUM> on the controller cover <NUM>. In this way, the housing <NUM> of the electromotor <NUM> only needs to be provided with the third mounting part <NUM> secured with the controller cover <NUM>. so that the structure of the first end cover <NUM> is simplified, other materials with lower price and simpler production process may be selected for the first end cover <NUM>, and the cost of the laundry machine is reduced accordingly.

Referring to <FIG> and <FIG>, in one embodiment of the present application, the second mounting part <NUM> is arranged on one side of the controller cover <NUM> opposite to the controller <NUM>. The controller cover <NUM> is provided with a cavity, the controller <NUM> is arranged in the cavity, and the controller cover <NUM> is arranged to cover the outside of the first end cover <NUM>, which means that, a side of the controller cover <NUM> opposite to the controller <NUM> is the outer side of the controller cover <NUM>, that is, the second mounting part <NUM> is arranged on the outer side of the controller cover <NUM>, the first mounting part <NUM> and the second mounting part <NUM> are arranged on one side of the controller cover <NUM> facing the housing <NUM> and one side of the controller cover <NUM> opposite to the housing <NUM>, respectively. In this way, when the controller cover <NUM> is connected with the water container <NUM>, the housing <NUM> does not interfere with the water container <NUM>.

Referring to <FIG>, in one embodiment of the present application, the surface of the controller cover <NUM> extends outwards to form a plurality of mounting feet <NUM>, the second mounting part <NUM> is disposed on the mounting feet <NUM>, the mounting feet <NUM> are arranged such that the second mounting part <NUM> may not be limited by the structure of the controller cover <NUM>, the position of the second mounting part <NUM> is designed according to the structure of the water container <NUM>. There may be a plurality of mounting feet <NUM>, and each of the mounting feet <NUM> is provided with at least one second mounting part <NUM>, such that the controller cover <NUM> can be stably fixed on the water container <NUM>. More specifically, there are two mounting feet <NUM>, the two mounting feet <NUM> extend outwards from the surface of the controller cover <NUM>, and the two mounting feet <NUM> are arranged to be splayed.

In one embodiment, the second mounting part <NUM> is a mounting hole or a mounting column. When the second mounting part <NUM> is a mounting hole, the water container <NUM> is provided with a mounting column, the mounting column is arranged to be inserted into the mounting hole, and the second mounting part <NUM> is fixed on the water container <NUM> through a fastener such as screw and a pin. Alternatively, when the second mounting part <NUM> is a mounting column, the water container <NUM> is provided with a mounting hole, and the mounting column is arranged to be inserted into the mounting hole. When the mounting column is inserted into the mounting hole, a cushioning element such as a gasket is arranged between the mounting hole and the mounting column, so that a vibration effect of the electromotor <NUM> on the water container <NUM> can be reduced.

Referring to <FIG>, in one embodiment of the present application, the surface of the controller cover <NUM> is provided with heat dissipation fins <NUM> which greatly increase the surface area of the controller cover <NUM>, so that heat generated by the controller <NUM> can be rapidly dissipated through the heat dissipation fins <NUM>, thereby accelerating the heat dissipation rate of the controller <NUM>. In one embodiment, the controller cover <NUM> is a metal cover such as an aluminum cover or an aluminum alloy cover, the metal cover has a better heat dissipation performance. Moreover, the aluminum, the aluminum alloy and other materials are prone to be molded and machined, and thus are suitable to be used for manufacturing complex structures such as the second mounting part <NUM> without greatly increasing the production cost. In one embodiment, the controller cover <NUM> may also be a resin cover, when the controller cover <NUM> is the resin cover, heat dissipation fins may be disposed on the controller cover <NUM>. The positions and the number of the heat dissipation fins are not limited herein.

In any one of the embodiments described above, the controller <NUM> is fixedly arranged inside the controller cover <NUM> by using a fastening method such as a snap-fit manner or a fastener; as an alternative, the controller <NUM> is fixed on the housing <NUM> using a fastening method such as a fastener; as yet another alternative, the controller <NUM> is received in the controller cover <NUM>, and the controller cover <NUM> is fixed on the housing <NUM>, so that the controller <NUM> is pressed tightly between the controller cover <NUM> and the housing <NUM>.

In one embodiment of the present application, the first mounting part <NUM> and the third mounting part <NUM> are fixedly connected through a fixing member, so that the controller cover <NUM> is fixed on the first end cover <NUM> or the stator <NUM>. The fixing member is arranged to pass through the first mounting part <NUM> and the third mounting part <NUM>, the fixing member may be selected as a screw or a pin, the controller cover <NUM> and the first end cover <NUM> or the stator <NUM> are fixed with each other by passing through the first mounting part <NUM> and the third mounting part <NUM>.

In one embodiment, referring to <FIG> and <FIG>, one side of the first end cover <NUM> or the stator <NUM> that faces the controller cover <NUM> is provided with a positioning groove <NUM>, the controller cover <NUM> is provided with a positioning column <NUM> correspondingly, and the positioning column <NUM> is arranged to be inserted into the positioning groove <NUM> to facilitate the process of assembling and fixing the first end cover <NUM> or the stator <NUM> with the controller cover <NUM>. Alternatively, one side of the first end cover <NUM> or the stator <NUM> that faces the controller cover <NUM> is provided with a positioning column, the controller cover <NUM> is provided with a positioning groove, and the positioning column is arranged to be inserted into the positioning groove to facilitate the process of assembling and fixing the first end cover <NUM> or the stator <NUM> with the controller cover <NUM>. In the two embodiments described above, not only a mounting structure (i.e., the first mounting part <NUM> and the third mounting part <NUM>) is arranged between the first end cover <NUM> or the stator <NUM> and the controller cover <NUM>, an alignment structure (i.e., the positioning column <NUM> and the positioning groove <NUM>) is also arranged between the first end cover <NUM> or the stator <NUM> and the controller cover <NUM>, so that the first end cover <NUM> or the stator <NUM> and the controller cover <NUM> can be accurately assembled and secured stably.

In one embodiment, referring to <FIG> and <FIG>, the third mounting part <NUM> is a positioning pole, the first mounting part <NUM> is provided with a positioning aperture <NUM>, and the positioning pole is inserted into the positioning aperture <NUM> to fix the third mounting part <NUM> with the first mounting part <NUM>. As an alternative, the first mounting part <NUM> is the positioning pole, the third mounting part <NUM> is provided with the positioning aperture, and the positioning pole is inserted into the positioning aperture to fix the third mounting part <NUM> with the first mounting part <NUM>. In one preferable embodiment, a bottom of the positioning aperture <NUM> is provided with a first connecting hole <NUM>, the positioning pole is provided with a second connecting hole <NUM>, and the fixing member passes through the first connecting hole <NUM> and the second connecting hole <NUM> to fix the first mounting part <NUM> with the third mounting part <NUM>. The first connecting hole <NUM> and the second connecting hole <NUM> may be unthreaded holes or threaded holes. When the first connecting hole <NUM> and the second connecting hole <NUM> are unthreaded holes, the fixing member may be selected as a connection piece such as a pin; when one of the first connecting hole <NUM> and the second connecting hole <NUM> is a threaded hole, and the other of the first connecting hole <NUM> and the second connecting hole <NUM> is an unthreaded hole, the fixing member may be selected as a connection member such as a screw, and the screw passes through the optical hole to be connected to the threaded hole so as to secure the first mounting part <NUM> with the third mounting part <NUM>. In this embodiment, both the mounting structure and the positioning structure between the first end cover <NUM>/the stator <NUM> and the controller cover <NUM> are arranged on the first mounting part <NUM> and the third mounting part <NUM>, that is, it only needs to arrange the third mounting part <NUM> on the first end cover <NUM> to simplify the structure of the first end cover <NUM> to the most extent.

More specifically, when the first end cover <NUM> is a stretched end cover, the third mounting part <NUM> is the second connecting hole <NUM>, the first mounting part <NUM> is the positioning column correspondingly, and the positioning column is provided with the first connecting hole <NUM>. When the first end cover <NUM> is an aluminum casting end cover, the third mounting part <NUM> is a positioning column which is provided with the second connecting hole <NUM>, and the first mounting part is the first connecting hole <NUM> correspondingly.

In one embodiment, referring to <FIG>, at least one of the first end cover <NUM> and the second end cover <NUM> is provided with an edge flanging <NUM>, due to the fact that both the first end cover <NUM> and the second end cover <NUM> are fixed on the stator <NUM>, there is a gap between the first end cover <NUM> and the stator <NUM> and between the second end cover <NUM> and the stator <NUM>, and thereby forming an air gap, if the air gap is too large, a reluctance of the electromotor <NUM> is increased, and an efficiency of the electromotor <NUM> is reduced. The edge flanging <NUM> is formed by folding the edge of the first end cover <NUM> and/or the second end cover <NUM>, and the edge flanging <NUM> comes into contact with the surface of the stator <NUM> tightly, so that the air gap between the first end cover <NUM> and/or the second end cover <NUM> and the stator <NUM> can be reduced, and the efficiency of the electromotor <NUM> is ensured. The number and the distribution of the edge flanging <NUM> are not limited herein, the edge flanging <NUM> may be uniformly arranged on the first end cover <NUM> and/or the second end cover <NUM> circumferentially.

In one embodiment, referring to <FIG>, <FIG> and <FIG>, the electromotor <NUM> includes a housing <NUM>, a stator <NUM>, and a rotor <NUM>. The stator <NUM> is immobilized and stationary, the rotor <NUM> rotates relative to the stator <NUM>, and the housing <NUM> is configured to support the rotor <NUM> and have a certain protection effect on the rotor <NUM> and the stator <NUM>. The rotor <NUM> includes a rotating shaft <NUM> and two bearings <NUM> distributed on two ends of the rotating shaft <NUM> for supporting the rotating shaft <NUM>, so that the rotating shaft <NUM> is enabled to rotate relative to the stator <NUM>. The first end cover <NUM> and the second end cover <NUM> are provided with two annular bosses <NUM>, the annular bosses <NUM> are arranged to protrude outwards from the interior of the electromotor <NUM>, and interiors of the annular bosses <NUM> are provided with two bearing bores <NUM>, and the two bearings <NUM> are respectively arranged in the two bearing bores <NUM> of the first end cover <NUM> and the second end cover <NUM>. A bottom of at least one of the annular bosses <NUM> is provided with a groove structure or a convex structure for enhancing the structural strengths of the first end cover <NUM> and the second end cover <NUM>. The groove structure may be an annular groove <NUM>, an annular concave rib, etc., the annular groove <NUM> and the annular concave rib may be arranged segmentally, or may be arranged to be ring-shaped as a whole. The convex structure may be such as a boss, a convex rib and the like. The bottom of the annular boss <NUM> is a component close to the stator <NUM>, and the annular groove <NUM> is recessed towards the interior of the bearing bore <NUM>, and the arrangement of the annular groove <NUM> may increase the strength of the annular boss <NUM>, and prevent the annular boss <NUM> from being damaged or cracked when the bottom of the annular boss <NUM> is subjected to a great pressure.

The present application further provides a laundry machine, the laundry machine includes the electromotor <NUM> according to any one of the embodiments described above. The electromotor <NUM> is used in the laundry machine provided in the present application. The controller cover <NUM> is fixed according to the first mounting part <NUM> disposed thereon and the third mounting part <NUM> which is arranged on the housing <NUM> and matches with the first mounting part <NUM>. Furthermore, by providing the second mounting part <NUM> on the controller cover <NUM>, such that the controller cover <NUM> is secured with the water container <NUM> of the laundry machine. In this way, the housing <NUM> of the electromotor <NUM> only needs to be provided with the third mounting part <NUM> secured with the controller cover <NUM>, so that the electromotor <NUM> is enabled to be secured with the controller cover <NUM> which has the controller <NUM> inside it, there is no need to additionally provide other mounting structures fixedly connected with the water container <NUM> of the laundry machine, so that the structure of the housing <NUM> of the electromotor <NUM> is simplified, other materials with lower price and simpler production process can be selected for the housing <NUM> of the electromotor <NUM>, thereby reducing the cost of the laundry machine.

Claim 1:
An electromotor (<NUM>) for a laundry machine comprising a controller (<NUM>) and a controller cover (<NUM>), the controller (<NUM>) is arranged on the controller cover (<NUM>); the electromotor (<NUM>) further comprises a first end cover (<NUM>) and a second end cover (<NUM>) which is secured with the first end cover (<NUM>); wherein the electromotor (<NUM>) further comprises a stator (<NUM>), the first end cover (<NUM>) and the second end cover (<NUM>) are fixed on two opposite sides of the stator (<NUM>) respectively; the controller cover (<NUM>) is provided with a first mounting part (<NUM>) configured to be secured with the first end cover (<NUM>), and a second mounting part (<NUM>) configured to be secured with a water container (<NUM>) of the laundry machine, and the first end cover (<NUM>) is provided with a third mounting part (<NUM>) configured to be secured with the first mounting part (<NUM>).