JPS6121028Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] The present invention relates to a dehydrating/washing machine in which a pulsator and a gear mechanism for transmitting rotation to the pulsator are disposed at the inner bottom of the rotating tank.

Conventionally, in order to improve the washing effect, a dehydrating and washing machine has been known in which a pulsator is arranged eccentrically at the bottom of the rotating tank and the pulsator is rotationally driven via a gear mechanism arranged at the bottom of the rotating tank. It is being Recently, in order to prevent foreign matter such as sand and lint from entering the gear mechanism in the washing water and causing various problems, the gear mechanism is housed in a sealed gear case. It is considered to do. However, with such a configuration, for example, if there is a change in the outside temperature or the wash water temperature, the air inside the gear case expands and contracts, causing the internal pressure to fluctuate, so even if there is a very small gap, the so-called breathing The action promotes water infiltration,
Water may accumulate inside the gear case after long-term use. When such a situation occurs, various lubrication problems may occur if grease is applied as a lubricant or oil accumulates, and if water that accumulates inside freezes. This causes problems such as the gear mechanism locking up and the gears being damaged by ice chips.

The present invention has been developed in view of the above circumstances, and its purpose is to provide a dehydrating/washing machine that can reliably prevent water from entering the sealed case housing the gear mechanism.

An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3.

First, in Figure 1, which shows an outline of the overall configuration,
Reference numeral 1 denotes an outer box of a washing machine that also serves as a dehydrator, and this has a water receiving tank 2 installed therein. Reference numeral 3 denotes a rotating tank that serves as both a washing tank and a dehydration tank, which is disposed inside the water receiving tank 2, and has a tapered shape that widens slightly as it goes upwards, and a rotating tank that is connected to a balance ring 4 that is attached to the opening at the top. It has a non-porous shape with a drainage gap 5 formed therein so that washing water can be directly stored inside. Next, in FIG. 2 showing the support structure etc. of the rotary tank 3, 6 is a housing disposed below the water receiving tank 2, which is inserted into the outer box 1 via a hanging rod of an elastic suspension mechanism (not shown). It is fixed to a substrate 7 which is elastically supported. 8 is a casing attached to the upper end of the housing 6; 9 is a hollow dehydration shaft inserted and supported in the housing 6 via bearings 10; A cylindrical body 11 for connection is fitted. Both 12 and 13 are sealing members that keep the space between the casing 8 and the cylinder 11 watertight. Reference numeral 14 denotes a washing shaft, which has cylindrical bearings 15 and 16 fitted to the cylindrical body 11 and the lower end of the dehydration shaft 9, respectively.
A flange 14c that is inserted concentrically into the dehydration shaft 9 through the shaft and formed near the upper end is supported in contact with the bearing 15, so that the upper end of the washing shaft 14 is separated from the cylindrical body 11. It is rotatably inserted and supported within the dehydration shaft 9 in a protruding manner. A predetermined gap 17 is formed between the washing shaft 14 and the dehydration shaft 9, located between the bearings 15 and 16, and this gap 17 is provided between the dehydration shaft 9 and the housing 6, respectively. It is communicated with the atmosphere through the formed through holes 18 and 19. 20 is a pulley,
This is done by fitting the cylindrical shaft 20a to the lower end of the washing shaft 14 that protrudes downward from the dehydration shaft 9, and at the same time, the cylindrical shaft 20a
A clutch spring 21 is disposed astride between Oa and the lower end of the dewatering shaft 9, and is connected to a motor attached to the base plate 7 via a belt (none of which is shown). By operating a switching mechanism (not shown), the clutch spring 21 is switched between a tightening free state and a tightening disabled state, thereby selectively transmitting the rotation of the motor to the dewatering shaft 9 and the washing shaft 14. 22 is a well-known brake device. On the other hand, 23 is a recess formed at the bottom of the rotary tank 3 by a predetermined amount eccentrically from the center thereof, and a portion of this recess 23 corresponding to the center of the rotary tank 3 has a relatively large diameter through which the cylindrical body 11 is inserted. A large opening 24 is formed. Reference numeral 25 denotes a reinforcing bottom plate fixed to the outer bottom of the rotating tank 3, which is attached to the flange 11 of the cylindrical body 11.
By fixing it to a, the rotary tank 3 is directly connected to the dewatering shaft 9, and the upper end of the cylinder 11 is located within the recess 23. Reference numeral 26 denotes a gear case which is a sealed case disposed in the recess 23, and is composed of a lid side case 27 and a bottom side case 28, and a receiving cylinder portion 2 is provided approximately at the center of both the lid side and bottom side cases 27, 28, respectively.
9 and a receiving recess 30, and a through hole 3 is formed in the bottom case 28 at a predetermined distance from the receiving recess 30.
1, and a fitting cylinder portion 32 is provided to protrude downward so as to surround this through hole 31.
The bottom case 28 of this gear case 26
The fitting cylindrical portion 32 is fitted to the upper end of the cylindrical body 11 via a packing 33, and the inside is connected to the cylindrical body 1.
1 and communicates with the upper end opening 11b. Reference numeral 34 denotes a drive gear, which is screwed to the upper end of the washing shaft 14 that passes through the through hole 31 of the bottom case 28 and projects upward. 35 is gear case 2
This internal gear 35 directly meshes with the drive gear 34 to constitute a gear mechanism 36 together with the drive gear 34, and
7 are integrally attached by insert molding. The pivot 37 of the internal gear 35 has bearings 38, 39 at its upper and lower ends mounted on the receiving cylinder portion 29 and receiving recess 30 of the cases 27, 28 on the lid side and the bottom side, respectively.
It is rotatably supported through. Reference numeral 40 indicates a gasket that seals water between the cases 27 and 28 on the lid side and the bottom side, and 41 indicates a pivot 37 on the upper surface of the cover side case 27.
A sealing member 42 provided to watertight the gap between the gear case 26 and the gear case 26 is a pulsator screwed to a pivot shaft 37 protruding from the gear case 26. Reference numeral 43 denotes a ventilation groove serving as a ventilation path formed in the cylinder 11. This is formed vertically on the inner circumferential surface of the part of the cylinder 11 that fits with the bearing 15. Upper end opening 11
b and the gap 17 on the inner peripheral side of the dehydration shaft 9 are communicated with each other.

Next, the operation of the above configuration will be explained. When you put the laundry with detergent into the rotating tub 3 and set the timer,
A water supply valve (not shown) opens and water is supplied into the rotary tank 3. When a predetermined water level is reached, a water level switch (not shown) is activated.Based on this, the water supply valve is closed and the motor is started. As a result, the washing shaft 14
rotates, and the pulsator 42 is driven to rotate via the drive gear 34 and the internal gear 35, thereby performing detergent washing. At this time, foreign substances such as sand, mud, or lint attached to the laundry may be washed out and included in the washing water, but in this embodiment, the gear mechanism 36 is covered with the gear case 26 and washed. Since it is completely shielded from water, it is possible to reliably prevent foreign matter from entering the gear mechanism 36 by riding on the washing water, thereby preventing the occurrence of defects such as abnormal wear of the gear mechanism 36. Can be done. When the detergent washing described above is completed, the process moves on to the draining/dewatering process, and a switching mechanism (not shown) is operated to tighten the clutch ring 21 and rotate the dewatering shaft 9, which drives the rotary tank 3 to rotate at high speed. The water is drained into the water receiving tank 2 through the drainage gap 5, and the laundry is dehydrated. After this, the rotary tank 3 is again
The rinsing process, in which water is stored in the pulsator 42 and the pulsator 42 is driven, and the draining/dewatering process are repeated several times in order, and the entire process is completed.

By the way, if the outside temperature fluctuates, or if the water temperature of the equal wash water, which uses hot water for detergent washing and regular tap water for rinsing, changes, the air inside the gear case 26 will change depending on the temperature fluctuation. expands or contracts. However, in this embodiment, inside the gear case 26, the upper end opening 11 of the cylindrical body 11 is closed.
The dewatering shaft 9 and the washing shaft 14 are connected from b through the ventilation groove 43.
Since this gap 17 communicates with the atmosphere through through holes 18 and 19 formed in the dehydration shaft 9 and the housing 6, respectively, the air inside the gear case 26 expands. Even if the gear case 26 contracts, air enters and exits through the ventilation groove 43, so that the pressure inside the gear case 26 can always be equalized to atmospheric pressure. Therefore, it is possible to prevent water from accumulating inside the gear case due to the intrusion of water from extremely small gaps caused by fluctuations in internal pressure, which is the case with conventional systems, thereby preventing deterioration of the grease inside the gear case 26. It is possible to reliably prevent locking of the gear mechanism 36 due to freezing of water or abnormal wear and damage of the gear mechanism 36 due to pieces of ice. Moreover, in this embodiment, the gear case 26 can be communicated with the atmosphere with a simple structure without using any other members such as a communication tube.
There is no risk that the number of parts will increase. Furthermore, since the gear case 26 in which the gear mechanism 36 is installed is disposed at the inner bottom of the rotary tank 3, the outer box 1 can be left in an upright position without having to fall over during assembly or repair/inspection. 3, the gear case 26, pulsator 42, etc. can be sequentially assembled or removed by inserting one's hand into the housing 3, resulting in extremely high workability during assembly or repair/inspection.

FIG. 4 shows a different embodiment of the present invention.
The difference from the embodiment described above is that the ventilation passage is formed by a ventilation groove 44 formed on the outer circumference of the bearing 15, and by doing so, the inner circumference of the cylindrical body 11 can be cut as in the embodiment described above. The ventilation path can be formed more easily than in the case where the ventilation path is formed.

Further, in the embodiment described above, the gap 17 between the dehydration shaft 9 and the washing shaft 14 is communicated with the atmosphere through the through holes 18 and 19 formed in the dehydration shaft 9 and the housing 6. An air passage may be formed in the fitting portion between the bearing 16 at the lower end of the dehydration shaft 9 and the dehydration shaft 9 to communicate with the atmosphere.
Further, the ventilation passage is not limited to the groove, but may be a ventilation hole formed in either the bearing or the dehydration shaft at the fitting portion of the two.

In addition, the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above and shown in the drawings, but includes, for example, a so-called double tank in which a large number of dehydration holes are formed in the peripheral wall of the rotating tank and washing water is also stored in the water receiving tank. The present invention can be modified in various ways without departing from the spirit of the invention, such as being applicable to a type-type dehydrating/washing machine.

As described above, the present invention has the gear mechanism housed in a sealed case that prevents washing water from entering, so it is possible to reliably prevent foreign matter from entering the gear mechanism. A ventilation passage is formed at the fitting part with the bearing for shaft support, and the inside of the sealed case is communicated with the gap between the dehydration shaft and the washing shaft, which is communicated with the atmosphere. It is possible to communicate the inside of the sealed case with the atmosphere with a simple structure without using any parts, and it is possible to reliably prevent water from entering the sealed case due to the so-called breathing effect caused by the expansion and contraction of air. Moreover, it is possible to provide a dehydrating and washing machine that is excellent in workability during assembly and repair/inspection.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

1 to 3 show an embodiment of the present invention,
Fig. 1 is a partially cutaway side view of the whole, Fig. 2 is an enlarged vertical cross-sectional view of the main part, Fig. 3 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view further enlarged, and Fig. 4 is a cross-sectional view of another part of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a diagram corresponding to FIG. 3 showing an embodiment. In the figure, 3 is a rotating tank, 9 is a dehydration shaft, 14 is a washing shaft, 17 is a gap, 26 is a gear case (sealed case), 36 is a gear mechanism, 42 is a pulsator, 43
and 44 are ventilation grooves (ventilation paths).

Claims (1)

[Claims for Utility Model Registration] 1. A hollow dehydration shaft connected to the bottom of the rotating tank,
The dewatering shaft is equipped with a washing shaft supported via a bearing, and a sealed case is disposed at the inner bottom of the rotary tank and includes a gear mechanism for transmitting the rotation of the washing shaft to a pulsator. The inside of the case is communicated with the upper end opening of the dehydration shaft located at the bottom of the rotary tank, and the upper end opening is located below the bearing located near the dehydration shaft and the washing shaft, which are communicated with the atmosphere. 1. A washing machine for dehydration and washing, characterized in that a ventilation path is formed in a fitting portion of the bearing and the dehydration shaft so as to communicate with a gap between the bearing and the dehydration shaft. 2. The dehydrating and washing machine according to claim 1, wherein the ventilation path is constituted by a ventilation groove formed on the outer periphery of the bearing.