A suspension mechanism for a flexible drum washing machine and a washing machine thereof

Abstract

The present invention provides a suspension mechanism for a flexible drum washing machine, which is provided with a suspension member and a support member. The upper end of the flexible drum is fixed to the box body through a top plate, and the lower end of the flexible drum 13 is rotatably supported on the support member. The support member preferably adopts a bearing structure, and the flexible drum fits on the inner ring of the bearing. When the flexible drum rotates, it drives the inner ring of the bearing to rotate together. The inner ring of the bearing plays a role in supporting the flexible drum, which can effectively prevent the flexible drum from bearing excessive tensile force during operation, avoid its fatigue failure, and extend its service life. In addition, the outer ring of the bearing is suspended on the box body through the suspension member. The outer ring of the bearing is bolted with a motor bracket and a clutch bracket, and the outer shell of the motor is bolted and fixed on the motor bracket. The clutch housing is bolted and fixed on the clutch bracket. That is, the driving mechanism as a whole is suspended and installed, so as to avoid the rotation of the driving mechanism being directly transmitted to the box body, greatly reducing the vibration and noise of the washing machine.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a suspension mechanism for the inner drum of a washing machine, and particularly to a suspension mechanism for a flexible drum washing machine and a washing machine thereof. Background Art

[0002] At present, the function of simulating hand rubbing of washing machines is not yet perfect, and washing causes damage to clothes, especially for agitator washing machines; at present, it is still very common for washing machines to have large vibrations and noises during the dehydration stage.

[0003] The patent with the patent number CN104928884A discloses a washing machine suspension mechanism for supporting a rigid structure, but it is not applicable to a flexible drum.

[0004] In the currently disclosed flexible drum washing machines, the flexible drum does not have a good support structure, causing the flexible drum itself to bear a large tensile force, which easily causes fatigue damage to the flexible drum and severe vibrations and noises of the washing machine. Summary of the Invention

[0005] In view of this, the present invention provides a suspension mechanism that can achieve a flexible drum that is not easily damaged by fatigue and has low vibration and noise.

[0006] A suspension mechanism for a flexible drum washing machine provided by the present invention, wherein the flexible drum is arranged in a washing machine body, and the suspension mechanism includes a support member and a plurality of suspension members. The support member includes an inner ring and an outer ring that are rotatably matched, wherein the outer ring is used to suspend the flexible drum on the body, and the inner ring is used to rotatably support the flexible drum; the outer wall of the flexible drum is attached to the inner wall of the inner ring, and when the flexible drum is driven to rotate, the flexible drum can drive the inner ring to rotate together;

[0007] One end of the suspension member is connected to the outer ring, and the other end is connected to the body.

[0008] Further preferably, the inner ring and the outer ring are combined by steel balls to form a bearing structure.

[0009] Further preferably, one end of the suspension member is connected to the outer ring, and the other end is connected to the body.

[0010] Further preferably, one end of the suspension member is provided with a hook, and the outer ring is provided with a hanging ear, and the hanging ear is movably connected to the hook by hanging.

[0011] Further preferably, a hanging ring is arranged on the outer ring, and the hanging ear is arranged on the hanging ring and is connected to the hanging ring by threaded connection and cooperation.

[0012] Further preferably, the suspension member is a suspension rod, which is uniformly distributed on the outer ring.

[0013] Further preferably, the washing machine suspension mechanism further comprises at least one mounting frame, the mounting frame is mounted on the bottom of the outer ring, and the motor and the clutch for driving the flexible drum to rotate are arranged on the mounting frame.

[0014] Further preferably, the mounting frame includes a motor bracket and a clutch bracket, the two brackets are arranged on both sides of the bottom of the outer ring and are connected to the outer ring by bolts, the motor is arranged on the motor bracket, and the clutch is arranged on the clutch bracket.

[0015] Further preferably, the motor is arranged in a motor housing, the clutch is arranged in a clutch housing, the motor housing is bolted to the motor bracket, and the clutch housing is bolted to the clutch bracket.

[0016] The present invention further provides a washing machine, which is provided with a flexible drum, wherein the flexible drum adopts any one of the above-mentioned suspension mechanisms.

[0017] Further optionally, the flexible drum is divided into two parts, the upper part is a stationary drum, and the lower drum is a dynamic drum. The dynamic drum is rotatably supported on the inner ring and is supported by a flexible material. The dynamic drum rotates at a low speed during washing.

[0018] The technical effects that can be obtained by the present invention are:

[0019] (1) The suspension mechanism adopts the inner and outer ring structure of the bearing. The inner ring rotates while the outer ring does not rotate, which can avoid large tension on the flexible tube, which may easily cause fatigue damage to the flexible tube.

[0020] (2) The inner ring fits the outer wall of the flexible tube to support the flexible tube and can rotate with the flexible tube to avoid noise;

[0021] (3) The outer ring cooperates with the inner ring through the steel ball. The outer ring does not rotate. Two brackets are installed at the lower end of the outer ring, which are used to fix the motor and the reduction clutch respectively. The structure is compact and the center of gravity is lowered, avoiding the motor and the reduction clutch directly fixed on the box to generate greater vibration and fatigue damage to the flexible cylinder. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0022] The above and other objects, features and advantages of the present disclosure will become more apparent by describing in detail its exemplary embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings. The accompanying drawings described below are only some embodiments of the present disclosure, and it is clear to a person skilled in the art that other accompanying drawings can be obtained from these accompanying drawings without creative work.

[0023] Figure 1 Structural diagram of the suspension mechanism;

[0024] Figure 2 Sectional view of the installation position of the suspension mechanism;

[0025] Figure 3 Schematic diagram of the clutch support structure. Description of the drawings:

[0027] The above-mentioned drawings include the following reference numerals:

[0028] 1. Suspension part; 2. Inner ring of bearing; 3. Eye ring; 4. Lifting lug; 5. Motor support; 6. Clutch support; 7. Outer ring of bearing; 8. Cross beam; 9. Drain pipe installation hole; 10. Clutch installation hole; 11. Support fixing hole; 12. Box body; 13. Flexible cylinder; 14. Clutch; 15. Motor; 16. Drain pipe; 17. Top plate. Detailed implementation manners

[0029] To make the objectives, technical solutions and advantages of the embodiments of the present invention clearer, the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the drawings in the embodiments of the present invention. Apparently, the described embodiments are some but not all of the embodiments of the present invention. All other embodiments obtained by those of ordinary skill in the art based on the embodiments of the present invention without creative efforts shall fall within the protection scope of the present invention.

[0030] The terms used in the embodiments of the present invention are only for the purpose of describing specific embodiments and are not intended to limit the present invention. The singular forms "a", "the" and "said" used in the embodiments of the present invention and the appended claims are also intended to include the plural forms unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. "Plural" generally includes at least two, but does not exclude the case of including at least one.

[0031] It should be understood that the term " / and / " used herein is only a description of the association relationship of associated objects, indicating that there can be three relationships. For example, A and / or B can represent: A exists alone, A and B exist simultaneously, and B exists alone. In addition, the character " / " herein generally represents an "or" relationship between the associated objects before and after.

[0032] It should also be noted that the term "comprises", "comprising" or any other variation thereof is intended to cover a non-exclusive inclusion, so that a commodity or system including a series of elements not only includes those elements, but also includes other elements not explicitly listed, or further includes elements inherent to this commodity or system. Without more limitations, the element defined by the statement "comprising a..." does not exclude the existence of another identical element in the commodity or system including the said element.

[0033] The flexible drum washing machine targeted by this application can deform the flexible drum during the washing process, fit with the clothes and squeeze the clothes, and drive the clothes to rub against each other; during the dehydration process, the flexible inner drum twists to squeeze the clothes for dehydration, similar to the way of manually wringing out the clothes; the advantage of this wringing method is that the motor does not need to rotate at a high speed, and no noise and large vibration will be generated. That is, the washing and dehydration processes simulate hand rubbing, achieving the beneficial effect of not damaging the clothes.

[0034] However, in the flexible drum washing machines in the currently disclosed patents, the flexible drum does not have a good support structure, resulting in a large tensile force on the flexible drum itself, which is prone to cause fatigue damage to the flexible drum and easy to cause severe vibration and noise of the washing machine.

[0035] The present invention provides a suspension structure and a washing machine that can solve at least one of the technical problems in the prior art.

[0036] As Figures 1-3 shown, a suspension mechanism for a flexible drum washing machine provided by the present invention has the upper end of the flexible drum 13 fixedly arranged in the washing machine body 12 through the top plate 17. The suspension mechanism includes a support member and a plurality of suspension members. The support member includes an inner ring 2 and an outer ring 7 that are rotatably matched. The outer ring 7 is used to suspend the flexible drum on the body 12, and the inner ring 2 is used to rotatably support the flexible drum 13.

[0037] In a further preferred embodiment of this example, the inner ring and the outer ring are combined by steel balls to form a bearing structure, that is, the outer ring is the outer ring of the bearing, and the inner ring is the inner ring of the bearing. Further preferably, the bearing is a ball bearing, which can play a role in reducing the friction between the inner and outer rings.

[0038] In a further preferred embodiment of this example, the flexible drum is made of a flexible material and is rotatably supported on the inner ring. During washing, under the low-speed rotation of the driving motor, the flexible drum deforms to generate a running mode of simulating rubbing. During the washing process, rinsing process, and dehydration process, the washing process simulates the manual mode. Further preferably, the flexible drum is divided into two parts. The upper part is a static drum, which is fixed on the body 12, and the lower drum is a moving drum, which is rotatably supported on the inner ring. When the motor drives the flexible drum to operate, only the lower drum rotates; since the upper end of the flexible drum 13 is fixed, during the operation process, the flexible drum 13 makes a twisting motion. During the twisting process of the flexible drum 13, the clothes will fully rub and squeeze against each other and against the inner wall of the flexible drum 13, which can better simulate the rubbing washing process. During the washing process, the flexible drum 13 can be driven to twist to the end in the forward direction and then to the end in the reverse direction, that is, the flexible drum rotates forward and backward alternately until the entire rubbing washing process is completed.

[0039] The outer wall of the flexible cylinder fits against the inner wall of the inner ring. Preferably, the outer wall of the flexible cylinder is provided with a friction-increasing structure so that, through the frictional action with the inner wall of the inner ring, when the flexible cylinder is driven to rotate, it can drive the inner ring to rotate together, without generating the overall movement and vibration noise of the box body as in the prior art.

[0040] To achieve better flexible installation of the flexible cylinder in the box body, the suspension mechanism of the present invention further provides a suspension member 1. The upper part of the suspension mechanism is suspended on the box body 12 through the suspension member 1. Preferably, the suspension member is a suspension rod (of course, it can also be a suspension rope with a certain strength), one end of which is connected to the outer ring 7, and the other end is connected to the box body 12. Further optimized, a hook is provided at one end of the suspension member, and a suspension ear 4 is provided on the outer ring. The suspension ear and the hook are connected in a hanging and movable manner. Further preferably, a suspension ring 3 is provided on the outer ring, and the suspension ear 4 is arranged on the suspension ring and is connected to the suspension ring through a threaded connection for convenient installation.

[0041] Further preferably, the suspension members are evenly distributed on the outer periphery of the outer ring. In this embodiment, 4 suspension ears 4 are evenly distributed on the bearing outer ring 7. Each suspension ear 4 is connected to its corresponding suspension ring 3 through a threaded connection, and the suspension ring 5 is further connected to its corresponding suspension member 1 through the hook at the lower end of the suspension member 1.

[0042] Further preferably, in view of the problem that the existing flexible cylinder washing machine generates excessive noise because the driving mechanism is arranged on the box body, the washing machine suspension mechanism of the present invention further includes at least one mounting bracket. The mounting bracket is mounted at the bottom of the outer ring, and the driving motor 15 and the clutch 14 for driving the flexible cylinder to rotate are arranged on the mounting bracket. To avoid resonance, further preferably, the mounting bracket is split into two independent motor brackets 5 and clutch brackets 6. The two brackets are arranged on both sides of the bottom of the outer ring and are connected to the outer ring through bolts. The motor is arranged on the motor bracket, and the clutch is arranged on the clutch bracket.

[0043] As Figure 3 shown, the cross beam 8 is used to support the clutch 14, the drain pipe mounting hole 9 is used to leave an installation position for the drain pipe 16, the clutch mounting hole 10 serves as a bolt hole to fix the clutch 14, and the bracket fixing hole 11 serves as a bolt hole to fix the clutch bracket 11.

[0044] In summary, for the suspension mechanism of the flexible drum washing machine provided in this embodiment, its upper end is suspended on the cabinet 12 through the suspension member 1. The main body of the suspension mechanism is the structure of the inner and outer rings of a bearing. The lower end of the flexible drum 13 can be rotatably supported on the inner ring 2 of the bearing. And because it preferably adopts an upper and lower split structure, its upper end is fixed on the cabinet 12, and the lower end is rotationally driven by the motor 15. During the rotation of the flexible drum 13, the inner ring 2 of the bearing is driven to rotate together. The inner ring 2 of the bearing plays a role in supporting the flexible drum 13, which can effectively prevent the flexible drum 13 from bearing excessive tensile force during operation, avoid its fatigue failure, and extend its service life. In addition, the outer ring 7 of the bearing is suspended on the cabinet 12 through the suspension ring 3 and the suspension member 1. The outer ring 7 of the bearing is bolted to the motor bracket 5 and the clutch bracket 6. The housing of the motor 15 is bolted and fixed to the motor bracket 5. The housing of the clutch 14 is bolted and fixed to the clutch bracket 6. That is, the entire drive mechanism is suspended and installed, so as to prevent the rotation of the drive mechanism from being directly transmitted to the cabinet, greatly reducing the vibration and noise of the washing machine.

[0045] The foregoing has specifically shown and described exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure. It should be understood that the present disclosure is not limited to the detailed structures, arrangements, or implementation methods described herein; on the contrary, the present disclosure is intended to cover various modifications and equivalent arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the appended claims.

Claims

1. A suspension mechanism for a flexible drum washing machine, the flexible drum being disposed in a washing machine cabinet, characterized in that, The suspension mechanism includes a support member and a plurality of suspension members, wherein the support member includes an inner ring and an outer ring that are rotatably engaged, wherein the outer ring is used to suspend the flexible cylinder on the box body, and the inner ring is used to rotatably support the flexible cylinder; the outer wall of the flexible cylinder is attached to the inner wall of the inner ring, and when the flexible cylinder is driven to rotate, the flexible cylinder can drive the inner ring to rotate together; one ends of the plurality of suspension members are connected to the outer ring, and the other ends are connected to the box body; the washing machine suspension mechanism further includes at least one mounting bracket, the mounting bracket is mounted on the bottom of the outer ring, and a driving mechanism for rotating the flexible cylinder is arranged on the mounting bracket; the driving mechanism includes a motor and a clutch, the mounting bracket includes a motor bracket and a clutch bracket, and the two brackets are arranged on both sides of the bottom of the outer ring; the motor is arranged in a motor housing, the clutch is arranged in a clutch housing, the motor housing is bolted to the motor bracket, and the clutch housing is bolted to the clutch bracket; a drain pipe mounting hole is provided on the clutch bracket, and the drain pipe mounting hole is used to leave a mounting position for the drain pipe.

2. The suspension mechanism for a flexible drum washing machine according to claim 1, characterized in that, The inner ring and the outer ring are combined by steel balls to form a bearing structure.

3. The suspension mechanism for a flexible drum washing machine according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that, One end of the suspension member is provided with a hook, a suspension ear is provided on the outer ring, and the suspension ear is movably connected to the hook by hanging.

4. The suspension mechanism for a flexible drum washing machine according to claim 3, characterized in that, A suspension ring is arranged on the outer ring, the suspension ear is arranged on the suspension ring and is connected to the suspension ring by threaded connection.

5. The suspension mechanism for a flexible drum washing machine according to claim 1, characterized in that, The suspension member is a suspension rod and is evenly distributed on the outer ring.

6. A washing machine, characterized in that, It is provided with a flexible cylinder, and the flexible cylinder adopts the suspension mechanism according to any one of claims 1-5.

7. The washing machine according to claim 6, characterized in that: The flexible cylinder is divided into two parts, the upper part is a static cylinder, and the lower cylinder is a moving cylinder. The moving cylinder is rotatably supported on the inner ring and is supported by a flexible material. The moving cylinder rotates at a low speed during washing.

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