Patent Document

[0001]     This application claims the benefit of the Korean Patent Application Nos. 10-2005-0057734 and 10-2005-0057735, filed on Jun. 30, 2005, which are hereby incorporated by reference as if fully set forth herein.  
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0002]     1. Field of the Invention  
         [0003]     The present invention relates to a washer, and more particularly, to a drum type washer. Although the present invention is suitable for a wide scope of applications, it is particularly suitable for a lift having an improved structure.  
         [0004]     2. Discussion of the Related Art  
         [0005]     Generally, a drum type washer is a device that washes a laundry by rotating a drum by a drive force of a motor while a detergent, water and laundry are put in the drum. The drum type washer is advantageous in causing little damage to the laundry, preventing the laundry from being raveled and bringing washing effects of beating and rubbing.  
         [0006]     A drum type washer according to a related art is explained in detail with reference to FIGS.  1  to  3  as follows.  
         [0007]      FIG. 1  is a cross-sectional diagram of a drum type washer according to a related art,  FIG. 2  is a perspective diagram of a drum of the drum type washer shown in  FIG. 1 , and  FIG. 3  is a perspective diagram of a lift installed on an inner surface of the drum shown in  FIG. 2 .  
         [0008]     Referring to  FIG. 1 , a drum type washer according to a related art consists of a body  1  having a laundry entrance provided to its front side, a door  2  provided to the body  1  to open/close the laundry entrance, a tub  3  provided within the body to store water therein, a motor assembly  4  installed at the tub  3  to generate a drive force, a washing shaft connected to the motor assembly  4 , and a drum  6  connected to the washing shaft  5  to wash a laundry by the drive force transferred from the motor assembly  4 .  
         [0009]     The tub  3  is supported by a damper (not shown in the drawing) and a spring (not shown in the drawing). The damper and spring play a role in attenuating a vibration generated from the rotations of the motor assembly and drum  4  and  6 .  
         [0010]     The motor assembly  4  adopts an indirect drive mechanism for rotating the drum  6  by transferring the drive force generated from a motor to the washing shaft  5  via a belt or a direct drive mechanism for rotating the drum  6  by transferring the drive force generated from the motor to the washing shaft  5  directly.  
         [0011]     The drum  6  is made of a stainless steel based material. A spider  8  is provided to a closed rear lateral side of the drum  6  to reinforce solidity of the rear lateral side of the drum  6 . And, the washing shaft  6  is joined to a rotational center of the spider  8 .  
         [0012]     The spider  8  is formed by die-casting to prevent the drum  6  from being torn or transformed by the rotation of the washing shaft  5 . In particular, a portion of the rear lateral side of the drum  6 , where the spider  8  is installed, is inwardly projected to further reinforce the solidity of the drum  6 .  
         [0013]     Referring to  FIG. 2 , at least one lift  7  is provided to an inner surface of the drum  6  to be almost parallel with the washing shaft  5 .  
         [0014]     In this case, the at least one lift  7  is built in the drum  6  to expose one portion of a washing ball  71  that will be rotated by coming into contact with a laundry. And, the washing ball  7   a  is formed of a ceramic based material to facilitate its rotation in being embedded in the lift  7 .  
         [0015]     A bottom part of the lift  7 , as shown in  FIG. 1  and  FIG. 2 , is fixed to the drum  6  by at least one locking member  7   b  fitted into an outer circumference of the drum  6 .  
         [0016]     And, a rear end part of the lift  7  is fixed to the portion of the rear lateral side of the drum  6  at which the spider  8  is installed.  
         [0017]     The above-configured drum type washer performs a washing work by executing a series of a washing cycle, a rinsing cycle and a dewatering cycle in sequence.  
         [0018]     And, the washing, rinsing or dewatering cycle can be selectively carried out according to a user&#39;s selection.  
         [0019]     Moreover, it is understandable that a laundry can be washed in various ways according to its type.  
         [0020]     Once the drum type washer executes the washing cycle, the drum  6  is rotated at a low speed centering around the washing shaft  5  by the drive force transferred from the motor assembly  4 .  
         [0021]     In doing so, the laundry is lifted up while the lift  7  rotates to arrive at a prescribed height. The laundry then falls down after arriving at the prescribed height. Thus, the lift  7  repeats a process of lifting the laundry to fall in rotating the drum  6  during a prescribed time. This process enables the laundry to be washed.  
         [0022]     Once the drum type washer executes the dewatering cycle, the drum  6  rotates at a high speed centering on the washing shaft  5 . In doing so, the laundry accommodated within the drum  6  is dewatered by a centrifugal force.  
         [0023]     However, the related art drum type washer has the following problems.  
         [0024]     First of all, the lift, as shown in  FIG. 1 , is fixed to the drum by fitting the locking member in the outer circumference of the drum. So, in case that the washing ball formed of the ceramic based material is broken, the drum needs to be completely dissembled from the tub and the motor assembly to replace the broken washing ball.  
         [0025]     So, the drum type washer needs to be sent to a manufacturer or service center for the replacement of the broken washing ball, whereby a transport cost, a repair cost and a repair time increase.  
         [0026]     Secondly, the difficulty in replacing a trivial part may reduce user&#39;s reliance on a product.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0027]     Accordingly, the present invention is directed to a drum type washer that substantially obviates one or more problems due to limitations and disadvantages of the related art.  
         [0028]     An object of the present invention is to provide a drum type washer, by which a replacement of a washing ball provided to a lift is facilitated.  
         [0029]     Additional advantages, objects, and features of the invention will be set forth in part in the description which follows and in part will become apparent to those having ordinary skill in the art upon examination of the following or may be learned from practice of the invention. The objectives and other advantages of the invention may be realized and attained by the structure particularly pointed out in the written description and claims hereof as well as the appended drawings.  
         [0030]     To achieve these objects and other advantages and in accordance with the purpose of the invention, as embodied and broadly described herein, a drum type washer according to the present invention includes a tub, a drum rotatably provided within the tube, and a lift provided within the drum, the lift including a base part detachably assembled to an inner surface of the drum and a cover part detachably assembled to the base part to enable a replacement of a washing ball, wherein an exposing hole is provided to a surface of the cover part to expose a portion of the washing ball and wherein a width of the cover part is decreased toward a front side of the cover part from a rear side of the cover part.  
         [0031]     Preferably, the cover part has an upwardly convex shape to cover an upper side of the base part.  
         [0032]     Preferably, a guide piece is provided to either an edge of the base part or a lower edge of the cover part and a guide recess is provided to either the lower edge of the cover part or the edge of the base part to have the guide piece slid to be inserted therein.  
         [0033]     More preferably, the base part and the cover part are locked to each other by a locking bolt.  
         [0034]     Preferably, a hook is provided to either a lower surface of the base part or an inner circumference of the drum and a recess to have the hook inserted therein is provided to the inner circumference of the drum or the lower surface of the base part.  
         [0035]     Preferably, the base part is locked by a locking bolt to be fixed to an inner circumference of the drum.  
         [0036]     Preferably, a rear end of the base part is upwardly projected and the rear end of the base part is locked to a rear side of the drum by a locking bolt.  
         [0037]     More preferably, a solidity-reinforcing rib is provided to the rear end of the base part.  
         [0038]     Preferably, the drum type washer further includes a supporter detachably provided to a lower side of the cover part, the supporter having a support recess rotatably supporting a lower portion of the washing ball.  
         [0039]     More preferably, a hook part is provided to both ends of the supporter, a locking part is provided to the lower side of the cover part, and the hook part is fitted into the locking part to be fixed thereto.  
         [0040]     More preferably, the locking part includes a pair of extensions extending to oppose each other and a hanging portion projected from at least one of a pair of the extension.  
         [0041]     More preferably, the hook part includes a support portion extending from the supporter, a connecting portion extending from the support portion vertically, the connecting portion inserted between a pair of the extensions to be fixed thereto, and an insertion-guide portion extending from the connecting portion vertically to be guided along inner walls of the extensions.  
         [0042]     More preferably, an end portion of the hook part is projected to have a           shape. And, a direction of the end portion of the hook part projected from one end of the supporter is opposite to that from the other end of the supporter.  
         [0043]     Preferably, at least one portion of an upper surface of the base is configured to have a same profile of a lower surface of the supporter.  
         [0044]     In another aspect of the present invention, a lift in a washer includes a base part fixed to an inner circumference of a drum and a cover part detachably assembled to the base part to enable a replacement of a washing ball, wherein an exposing hole is provided to a surface of the cover part to expose a portion of the washing ball and wherein a width of the cover part is decreased toward a front side of the cover part from a rear side of the cover part.  
         [0045]     In a further aspect of the present invention, a lift in a washer includes a base part fixed to an inner circumference of a drum, a cover part detachably assembled to the base part to enable a replacement of a washing ball, wherein an exposing hole is provided to a surface of the cover part to expose a portion of the washing ball and wherein a width of the cover part is decreased toward a front side of the cover part from a rear side of the cover part, and a supporter detachably provided to a lower side of the cover part to support a lower portion of the washing ball rotatably, the supporter having a support recess rotatably supporting a lower portion of the washing ball.  
         [0046]     It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description of the present invention are exemplary and explanatory and are intended to provide further explanation of the invention as claimed. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0047]     The accompanying drawings, which are included to provide a further understanding of the invention and are incorporated in and constitute a part of this application, illustrate embodiment(s) of the invention and together with the description serve to explain the principle of the invention. In the drawings:  
         [0048]      FIG. 1  is a cross-sectional diagram of a drum type washer according to a related art;  
         [0049]      FIG. 2  is a perspective diagram of a drum of the drum type washer shown in  FIG. 1 ;  
         [0050]      FIG. 3  is a perspective diagram of a lift installed on an inner surface of the drum shown in  FIG. 2 ;  
         [0051]      FIG. 4  is an exploded perspective view of a lift according to the present invention;  
         [0052]      FIG. 5  is a cross-sectional diagram of a fixed structure of a lift according to the present invention;  
         [0053]      FIG. 6  is a layout of a rear side of a base part of a drum type washer according to the present invention;  
         [0054]      FIG. 7A  is a perspective diagram of a rear side of an assembly of a cover part and a supporter according to the present invention;  
         [0055]      FIG. 7B  is a magnified perspective diagram of a fixing part provided to a rear side of a cover part according to the present invention;  
         [0056]      FIG. 7C  is a layout of a fixing part and a hook part according to the present invention; and  
         [0057]      FIG. 8  is a perspective diagram of an assembly of a base part and a cover part according to the present invention. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION  
       [0058]     Reference will now be made in detail to the preferred embodiments of the present invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. Wherever possible, the same reference numbers will be used throughout the drawings to refer to the same or like parts.  
         [0059]      FIG. 4  is an exploded perspective view of a lift according to the present invention,  FIG. 5  is a cross-sectional diagram of a fixed structure of a lift according to the present invention, and  FIG. 6  is a layout of a rear side of a base part of a drum type washer according to the present invention.  
         [0060]      FIG. 7A  is a perspective diagram of a rear side of an assembly of a cover part and a supporter according to the present invention, and  FIG. 7B  is a magnified perspective diagram of a fixing part provided to a rear side of a cover part according to the present invention.  
         [0061]      FIG. 7C  is a layout of a fixing part and a hook part according to the present invention, and  FIG. 8  is a perspective diagram of an assembly of a base part and a cover part according to the present invention.  
         [0062]     Referring to  FIG. 4 , a drum type washer according to the present invention includes a drum (cf. ‘ 6 ’ in  FIG. 2 ) and at least one lift  100 .  
         [0063]     The at least one lift  100  preferably includes a cover part  120 , a base part  101  and a supporter  130 .  
         [0064]     The drum  6  is rotatably provided within a tub. And, the at least one lift  100  is preferably provided to an inner circumference of the drum in a circumferential direction to be projected with an interval of a prescribed angle.  
         [0065]     The lift  100  plays a role in lifting up a laundry to fall while the drum is rotating. In order to prevent the laundry from being damaged, at least one washing ball  103  is provided to an upper surface of the lift  100  to be smoothly rotated in case of coming contact with the laundry. In this case, the at least one washing ball  103  is installed to have its portion projected and exposed. Preferably, the at least one washing ball  103  is formed of a ceramic based material to enable its rotation attributed to friction with the laundry.  
         [0066]     In order to facilitate a replacement of the washing ball  103  that is broken, it is preferable that the lift  100  can be dissembled. For this, the cover part  120  is detachably assembled to the base part  101 . In this case, each of the cover part  120  and the base part  101  is preferably formed long along a length direction of the drum.  
         [0067]     In particular, the base part  101  is fixed to the inner circumference of the drum and the cover part  120  is detachably attached to a lower end portion of the base part  101 .  
         [0068]     A separation-preventing hole  121  is provided to the cover part  120  to enable a portion of the washing ball  103  to be exposed toward an inside of the drum. Preferably, a rim of the separation-preventing hole  121  is rounded to come into contact with the washing ball  103  smoothly.  
         [0069]     So, the washing ball  103  projected toward the inside of the drum via the separation-preventing hole  121  is able to prevent the laundry from being damaged in case of a high-speed rotation of the drum, while being rotated in coming into contact with the laundry.  
         [0070]     Preferably, the cover part  120  is formed tapered toward its front side from its rear side. This is to increase a volume of the drum. By reducing a width of the cover part  120 , the volume of the drum can be increased in proportion to the reduced width without decreasing sizes of the body and drum.  
         [0071]     Meanwhile, if the base part is projected convex upwardly, if the cover part is formed narrow along the area having the washing ball formed therein, and if the cover part is assembled to an upper end of the base part, a gap can be generated from the assembled area. So, a problem that the laundry is stuck in the gap may be caused.  
         [0072]     To prevent the problem from being caused, the cover part  120  of the present invention is configured convex upwardly in one body to cover the upper portion of the base part  101  completely.  
         [0073]     Preferably, the lift  100 , as shown in  FIG. 4 , further includes a supporter  130  supporting a lower portion of the washing ball  103  rotatably.  
         [0074]     More preferably, the supporter  130  is provided between the cover part  120  and the base part  101  to be detachable under the cover part  120 .  
         [0075]     A support recess  130   a  is formed on the supporter  130  to support the lower portion of the washing ball  103  rotatably.  
         [0076]     The support recess  130   a  has a hemispherical shape having an almost same diameter of the washing ball  103 . So, the washing ball  103  can be rotatably supported between the cover part  120  and the supporter  130 .  
         [0077]     The supporter  130 , as shown in the drawing, can be independently provided to the base part  101  to be assembled thereto. Alternatively, the supporter  130  can be built in one body of the upper portion of the base part  101 .  
         [0078]     Explained in the following description is a structure that the base part  101  is fixed to the inner circumference of the drum.  
         [0079]      FIG. 5  is a cross-sectional diagram of a fixed structure of a lift according to the present invention, and  FIG. 6  is a layout of a rear side of a base part of a drum type washer according to the present invention.  
         [0080]     Referring to FIGS.  4  to  6 , hooks  106  are  106  provided to both sides of a lower portion of the base part  101 , respectively. And, recesses are provided to portions of the drum  6  to oppose the hooks  106 , respectively. So, the hooks  106  are elastically fitted into the recesses to be locked together, respectively.  
         [0081]     Hence, a pre-assembly between the base part  101  and the drum is achieved and a position for a locking of a locking member  105  such as a fixing bolt can be automatically aligned.  
         [0082]     Alternatively, the hooks  106  are provided to the drum and the recesses for the hooks  106  can be provided to the lower surface of the base part  101 .  
         [0083]     A rear portion  101   a  of the base part  101 , as shown in the drawings, is projected upward and is fixed to the rear side of the drum by a locking of a fixing member  104  such as a fixing bolt  104 .  
         [0084]     For this, a locking hole  104   a  is formed at the rear portion  101   a  of the base part  101 . The fixing member  104  passes through the rear side of the drum to be locked into the locking hole  104   a.    
         [0085]     Preferably, the fixing member  104  is locked to the portion where the spider (cf. ‘ 8 ’ in  FIG. 1  or  FIG. 2 ) joining the drum and a bearing housing together in the rear lateral side of the drum.  
         [0086]     Preferably, a locking boss  105   a  is provided to a front portion of the base part  101  to be externally locked with the locking member  105  such as a bolt.  
         [0087]     Hence, if the fixing member  105  is locked into the locking boss  105   a  to enable the front and rear portions of the base part  101  to be stably fixed to the inner circumference of the drum.  
         [0088]     Referring to  FIG. 6 , for the reinforcement of a rear support structure of the lift to which the fixing member  104  is locked, a solidity reinforcing rib  112   a  is preferably provided to the rear side of the base part  101  by injection molding.  
         [0089]     Hence, even if an intensive stress is structurally concentrated on the locking hole  104   a , it is able to prevent the locking hole  104   a  from being damaged.  
         [0090]      FIG. 7A  is a perspective diagram of a rear side of an assembly of a cover part and a supporter according to the present invention,  FIG. 7B  is a magnified perspective diagram of a fixing part provided to a rear side of a cover part according to the present invention, and  FIG. 7C  is a layout of a fixing part and a hook part according to the present invention.  
         [0091]     Referring to  FIG. 7A , a pair of hook parts  135  are provided to both ends of the supporter  130 , respectively. And, a pair of locking parts  123  are provided to a lower surface of the cover part  120 . So, the hook parts  135  are fitted into the locking parts  123  to be fixed thereto, respectively.  
         [0092]     Referring to  FIG. 7B , each of the locking parts  123  includes a first extension  123   a  and a second extension  123   b  opposing each other. And, the corresponding hook part  135  is fitted into the locking hole  124  between the first and second extensions  123   a  and  123   b.    
         [0093]     A hanging portion  123   c  is provided to either the first extension  123   a  or the second extension  123   b  to catch the fitted hook part  135 .  
         [0094]     So, if the hook part  135  is pushed between the first and second extensions  123   a  and  123   b , the hanging portion  123   c  is elastically retreated to enable the hook part  135  to be inserted between the first and second extensions  123   a  and  123   b  to be locked therein.  
         [0095]     Alternatively, the hook parts  135  are provided to one side of the base part  101  and the locking parts  123  are provided to the lower surface of the cover part  120 .  
         [0096]     Referring to  FIG. 7C , each of the hook parts  135  includes a support portion  135   a , a connecting portion  135   b  and an insertion guide portion  135   c.    
         [0097]     The support portion  135   a  extends from the supporter  130  and the connecting portion  135   b  extends in a direction vertical to the support portion  135   a.    
         [0098]     So, the connecting portion  135   b  is inserted between a pair of the extensions  123   a  and  123   b  and is then postured in the locking hole  124  to be fixed thereto.  
         [0099]     The insertion guide portion  135   c  vertically extends from the connecting portion  135   b  to be guided along inner walls of the extension portions  123   a  and  123   b.    
         [0100]     Preferably, the insertion guide portion  135   c  extends in both directions vertical to an end portion of the connection portion  135   b  to a prescribed length. Alternatively, the insertion guide portion  135   c  is able to extend in one direction only.  
         [0101]     If the fixed supporter  130  is pulled by a prescribed external force, the hook part  135  can be detached from the locking part  123 . So, the hook part  135  can be separated from the fixing part  123 . Through this, the supporter  130  can be detached from the cover part  120  with ease.  
         [0102]     For a more stable fixing structure, as shown in  FIG. 4  and  FIG. 5 , a locking boss  102   a  can be provided to the base part  101  and a locking member  102  such as a bolt locked into the locking boss  102   a  can be additionally provided to fix the cover part  120  and the supporter  130  to the base part  101  from the upper side of the cover part  120 .  
         [0103]     Through this, both ends of the supporter  130  can be fixed to the lower surface of the cover part  120 .  
         [0104]     Once the cover part  120  is assembled to the upper side of the base part  101 , the lower surface of the supporter  130  can be stably supported by the upper surface of the base part  101 . For this, it is preferable that the lower surface of the supporter  130  has the same profile of at least one portion of the upper surface of the base part  101 . And, it is a matter of course that a profile portion  108   a , as shown in the drawing, having the same profile of the lower surface of the supporter  130  can be projected or recessed from the upper surface of the base part  101 .  
         [0105]      FIG. 8  is a perspective diagram of an assembly of a base part and a cover part according to the present invention.  
         [0106]     Referring to  FIG. 8 , at least one guide piece  124  is provided to a lower edge of the cover part  120  and at least one guide recess  107  is provided to an edge of the base part  101 . So, the guide piece  124  is inserted in the guide recess  107  to be locked therein.  
         [0107]     In particular, the cover part  120  postured on a prescribed position of the upper surface of the base part  101  is slid, the guide piece  124  is fitted into the guide recess  107  to prevent the base part  101  from being separated from the cover part  120 .  
         [0108]     Alternatively, the guide piece is provided to the edge of the base part  101  and the guide recess  107  is provided to the lower edge of the cover part  120 .  
         [0109]     Preferably, a first locking piece  109  and a second locking piece  125  are provided to rear side edges of the base part  101  and the cover part  120  to be locked together by having ‘┐’ shapes, respectively. By the first and second locking pieces  109  and  125 , the lower edge of the cover part  120  and the edge of the base part  101  are locked together.  
         [0110]     Preferably, a rib  108  for solidity reinforcement is projected from the lower surface of the base part  101 .  
         [0111]     A process for assembling the above-configured lift according to the present invention is explained as follows.  
         [0112]     First of all, the base part  101  is fixed to the inner circumference of the drum.  
         [0113]     In particular, the hook  106  provided to the base part  101  is pre-assembled to the recess provided to the drum. In doing so, since locking positions of the locking members  104  and  105  are automatically aligned, the locking members  104  and  105  are locked into the aligned positions to enable the base part  101  to be stably fixed to the inner circumference of the drum.  
         [0114]     Preferably, the step of fixing the base part  101  to the drum is carried out before the drum is installed within the tub.  
         [0115]     Subsequently, the washing ball  103  is inserted in the support recess  130   a  of the supporter  130 . The supporter  130  is then assembled to the lower surface of the cover part  120 . For this, the hook parts  135  provided to both of the ends of the supporter  130  are fitted into the locking parts  123  provided to the lower surface of the cover part  120 , respectively. So, the supporter  130  is detachably assembled to the lower surface of the cover part  120 .  
         [0116]     The cover part  120  having the supporter  130  assembled thereto is slid on the base part  101  to be detachable assembled thereto.  
         [0117]     In particular, the guide piece  124  provided to the lower edge of the cover part  120  is slid into the guide recess  107  provided to the edge of the base part  101 , thereby completing the pre-assembly. The locking member  102  is then locked from the upper side of the cover part  120 , thereby completing the locking between the cover part  120  and the base part  101 .  
         [0118]     Meanwhile, if the washing ball is broken in operating the drum type washer, the cover part and the supporter are disassembled to facilitate the replacement of the broken washing ball.  
         [0119]     Accordingly, the present invention provides the following effects or advantages.  
         [0120]     First of all, since the lift is detachably provided within the drum, it is able to replace the washing ball of the lift and the like without dissembling the drum, the tub, the motor assembly and the like. In particular, since the supporter is detachably fixed to the cover part by the hook locking mechanism, it is able to separate the supporter from the cover part with ease. Hence, the repair time and cost of the washer can be considerably reduced.  
         [0121]     Secondly, since the hook parts projected in opposite directions from both ends of the supporter are joined to the locking part, it is able to effectively prevent the supporter from rocking back and forth or right to left.  
         [0122]     Thirdly, since the cover part in one body is projected to cover the whole upper portion of the base part, it is able to prevent the laundry from being stuck in the assembled part of the lift.  
         [0123]     Fourthly, unlike the related art lift, the lift of the present invention has the width tapered toward its front side, thereby increasing the volume of the drum.  
         [0124]     Finally, the lift of the washer according to the present invention is applicable to a dryer.  
         [0125]     It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made in the present invention without departing from the spirit or scope of the inventions. Thus, it is intended that the present invention covers the modifications and variations of this invention provided they come within the scope of the appended claims and their equivalents.

Technology Category: d