Front-loading washing machine

Abstract

The present invention provides a drum washing machine, comprising a cabinet body having an opening for loading and unloading clothes; further comprising a door hinge assembly and a door body, the door body being rotatably connected to the cabinet body through the door hinge assembly to open or close the opening; further comprising a voice module and a control module, the voice module being arranged in the door body, the control module being arranged on the cabinet body, and a wire passing through the door hinge assembly to connect the voice module and the control module. For the drum washing machine disclosed by the present invention, while ensuring a simple appearance, the working stability of the voice module is improved through the specially designed connection mode of the voice module and the control module; after adding a connection structure, the control module can be conveniently mechanically and electrically connected to other functional components in the cabinet body without affecting the normal opening and closing of the door body. The drum washing machine disclosed by the present invention has the advantages of high working stability, good practicability and beautiful appearance.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the technical field of household appliances, and particularly to a drum washing machine. Background Art

[0002] Commercially available fully automatic washing machines usually adopt a microcomputer type controller, in which the control chip mostly uses a single-chip microcomputer, supplemented by peripheral electronic components. The controller issues instructions according to the selected program to control each execution component of the washing machine, such as a motor, a water level switch, a speed regulator, etc., so that each component performs corresponding work to complete the washing cycle. In the whole process, the user only needs to press a start button to complete the entire laundry process.

[0003] With the development of smart home technology, the microcomputer type controller has gradually been unable to meet the needs of users, and washing machines have gradually integrated various human-computer interaction means such as voice control. At the same time, the overall appearance of the whole machine tends to be simple, and it is hoped that there are fewer components on the visible surface, which puts higher requirements on the overall design of the washing machine. Summary of the Invention

[0004] The present invention designs and provides a drum washing machine, which can meet the overall design requirements of an integrated voice control drum washing machine.

[0005] The present invention provides a drum washing machine, including a cabinet, the cabinet having an opening for loading and unloading clothes; further including a door hinge assembly and a door body, the door body being rotatably connected to the cabinet through the door hinge assembly to open or close the opening; further including a voice module and a control module, the voice module being disposed in the door body, the control module being disposed on the cabinet, and a wire passing through the door hinge assembly to connect the voice module and the control module.

[0006] Further, the door hinge assembly includes a hinge body, and a first cavity for guiding and changing the extending direction of the wire is formed inside the hinge body; the cabinet includes a front cabinet panel; the first cavity communicates with a first through hole opened on the front cabinet panel; the wire connecting the voice module enters the first cavity and is guided through the front cabinet panel via the first through hole and then connected to the control module.

[0007] Further, the door body includes an outer frame and an inner frame, the inner frame having a first inner frame surface and a second inner frame surface, wherein the first inner frame surface is close to the cabinet side, and the second inner frame surface is away from the cabinet side; the voice module is fixedly disposed on the second inner frame surface, and a first wire groove for guiding the wire is formed on the second inner frame surface, and the wire is longitudinally arranged and extended along the first wire groove.

[0008] Further, a hinge plate is disposed between the outer frame and the inner frame. The hinge plate has a groove for cooperating with the door hinge assembly and a guiding groove for guiding the wire. The guiding groove is formed below the groove and communicates with the groove.

[0009] Further, a hinge reinforcing plate is disposed inside the front plate of the cabinet. A second through hole is formed in the hinge reinforcing plate. The wire passes through the front plate of the cabinet under the guidance of the first through hole and the second through hole and then enters a second wire groove formed on the wire plate, extends and is connected to the control module; the wire plate is fixedly connected to the front cross beam.

[0010] Further, a microphone and a speaker are further included. The microphone and the speaker are connected to the voice module. The microphone has a sound pickup hole, and the speaker has a speaker through hole. The speaker through hole and the sound pickup hole of the microphone are formed on the inner frame. The speaker through holes are symmetrically arranged, and the sound pickup holes of the microphone are symmetrically arranged.

[0011] Further, a sound pickup cavity is formed between the inner frame and the front plate of the cabinet. The sound pickup cavity has a sound inlet, and the sound inlet is formed at a gap between the inner frame and the front plate of the cabinet; a decorative strip with a guiding hole is provided at the sound inlet.

[0012] Further, the front plate of the cabinet is an integrally formed sheet metal front plate; a dispenser handle, a display module, a key module, and a filter are embedded on the front plate of the cabinet.

[0013] Further, a flanging in the same extending direction as the front plate of the cabinet is provided at the upper edge of the front plate of the cabinet; the front cross beam includes a beam body and a connecting portion perpendicular to each other, and the connecting portion extends into the space between the flanging and the front plate of the cabinet.

[0014] Preferably, the first cavity is L-shaped. A retaining piece for preventing the wire from falling off is provided at the first cavity. A clamping portion is provided on the retaining piece, and the clamping portion extends into the first cavity.

[0015] The drum washing machine disclosed by the present invention, while ensuring a simple appearance, improves the working stability of the voice module through a specially designed connection manner between the voice module and the control module; after adding a connection structure, the control module can be conveniently mechanically and electrically connected to other functional components in the cabinet, and does not affect the normal opening and closing of the door body. The drum washing machine disclosed by the present invention has the advantages of high working stability, good practicability, and beautiful appearance. Description of the Drawings

[0016] To more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention or the prior art, the following will briefly introduce the drawings required for the description of the embodiments or the prior art. Obviously, the drawings in the following description are some embodiments of the present invention. For those of ordinary skill in the art, without creative efforts, other drawings can also be obtained based on these drawings.

[0017] Figure 1 Structural schematic diagram of the front panel of the drum washing machine body disclosed by the present invention;

[0018] Figure 2 Exploded view of the structure for connecting the voice module and the control module in the drum washing machine disclosed by the present invention;

[0019] Figure 3 Structural schematic diagram of the voice module, door hinge assembly and control module in the non-connected state of the drum washing machine disclosed by the present invention;

[0020] Figure 4 Structural schematic diagram of the first cavity;

[0021] Figure 5 Structural schematic diagram of the voice module, door hinge assembly and control module in the connected state of the drum washing machine disclosed by the present invention;

[0022] Figure 6 Exploded view of the door body;

[0023] Figure 7 Structural schematic diagram of the washing machine body in the non-suspended state;

[0024] Figure 8 Structural schematic diagram of the washing machine body in the suspended state. Detailed implementation manners

[0025] The following will describe in detail the embodiments of the present invention. Examples of the specific implementation manners are shown in the drawings, where the same or similar reference numerals represent the same or similar elements or elements with the same or similar functions throughout. The embodiments described below with reference to the drawings are exemplary and are intended to explain the present invention, and should not be construed as a limitation to the present invention.

[0026] It should be understood that in the description of the present invention, terms characterizing the position and structure, such as "center", "longitudinal", "transverse", "length", "thickness", "upper", "lower", "front", "rear", "left", "right", "vertical", "horizontal", "top", "bottom", "inner", "outer", "clockwise", "counterclockwise", etc., are all based on the directions or position relationships shown in the drawings. They are only for the convenience of describing the present invention to make it easy to understand, rather than indicating or implying that the device or element referred to must have a specific orientation, be constructed and operated in a specific orientation. Therefore, it should not be construed as a limitation on the present invention.

[0027] In addition, the terms "first" and "second" are only used for description and should not be understood as indicating or implying relative importance or implicitly specifying the quantity of the indicated technical features. Thus, features defined with "first" and "second" may explicitly or implicitly include one or more. In the description of the present invention, the meaning of "a plurality" is two or more unless otherwise specifically defined.

[0028] It should also be noted that in the description of the present invention, unless otherwise clearly specified and limited, the terms "installed", "set", "connected" should be understood in a broad sense. For example, it may be a fixed connection, a detachable connection, or an integral connection; it may be a mechanical connection or an electrical connection; it may be directly connected or indirectly connected through an intermediate medium, and it may also be the communication inside two elements. For those skilled in the art, the specific meanings of the above terms in the present invention can be understood according to specific circumstances.

[0029] The drum washing machine according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings.

[0030] The drum washing machine 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a cabinet, a door hinge assembly, and a door body. It further includes a voice module 104, which can implement various functions such as voice input, voice recognition, voice storage, voice synthesis, and voice playback. Voice recognition technology has been widely applied in the fields of smart home and household appliance technologies and is familiar to those skilled in the art. It is not the focus of protection of the present invention, and the chips used in the voice module 104 and the specific algorithms for voice recognition and voice synthesis will not be further limited herein. For the drum washing machine disclosed in the present invention, on the one hand, it is necessary for the voice module 104 to achieve good sound pickup and voice playback effects and have good stability. If the sound pickup effect is poor, it will directly lead to control failure and affect the user experience. On the other hand, preferably, a control module 110 for controlling corresponding components of the drum washing machine (such as washing machine operating components, buttons, or display modules, etc.) is arranged on the cabinet to facilitate the realization of mechanical connection and electrical connection. To achieve the above two purposes simultaneously, in this embodiment, the voice module 104 is arranged in the door body, the control module 110 is arranged on the cabinet, and the voice module 104 and the control module 110 are connected by a wire 105.

[0031] Specifically, an opening is formed on the front side of the cabinet, and the opening is formed on the front panel of the cabinet. Users take in and take out clothes through the opening. The door hinge assembly is arranged on one side of the front panel 101-2 of the cabinet. The door hinge assembly includes a hinge body 103-1 and a hinge rigid shaft 103-2. The hinge body 103-1 is fixedly connected to the front panel of the cabinet, and a bushing 103-3 is arranged on the hinge rigid shaft 103-2. The door body includes an outer frame 102-2, an inner frame 102-3, and an embedded observation window screen 102-1. The outer frame 102-2 and the inner frame 102-3 are connected by snap connection. A hinge plate 102-4 is arranged between the outer frame 102-2 and the inner frame 102-3. For the convenience of description, the surface of the inner frame 102-3 close to the cabinet is defined as the first inner frame surface 102-31, and the surface far from the cabinet is defined as the second inner frame surface 102-32. That is to say, taking the usage orientation of the drum washing machine as the reference system, the surface of the inner frame 102-3 located on the inner side is the first inner frame surface 102-31, and the surface located on the outer side is the second inner frame surface 102-32. The door body is connected to the door hinge assembly through the hinge plate 102-4, so that the door body is rotatably connected to the cabinet to open or close the opening, facilitating user operation.

[0032] In order to facilitate the mechanical and electrical connections of the control module 110 while ensuring the sound pickup effect, in this embodiment, the voice module 104 is fixedly arranged on the second inner frame surface 102-32. A first wire groove 102-33 for guiding the wire 105 is formed on the second inner frame surface 102-32. The wire 105 is longitudinally arranged and extended along the first wire groove 102-33 until the position of the door hinge assembly. The hinge body 103-1 protrudes from the second inner frame surface 102-32, and a first cavity 109 for guiding and changing the extension direction of the wire 105 is formed inside it. The first cavity 109 communicates with a first through hole 101-27 opened on the front panel 101-2 of the box body. The wire 105 enters the first cavity 109 in the hinge body 103-1 from bottom to top, passes through the front panel 101-2 of the box body through the first through hole 101-27, and then enters the second wire groove 107-1 from bottom to top and is connected to the control module 110 arranged in the box body.

[0033] Adopting this method, the rotation of the door body relative to the box body will not affect the connection between the voice module 104 and the control module 110. The wire 105 between the two is completely hidden and in an invisible state, which will not affect the overall beauty of the washing machine or increase the number of components outside the washing machine box body. The working environment of the voice module 104 is stable. At the same time, the control module 110 can be conveniently and mechanically and electrically connected to other control components, display components, buttons, etc.

[0034] As shown in the figure, in order not to affect the operation of the door hinge assembly, preferably, the first cavity 109 is arranged on the lower side of the hinge body 103-1. The basic structure of the first cavity 109 matches that of the hinge body 103-1. The first cavity 109 is roughly L-shaped. One end of the first cavity 109 close to the front panel is defined as the wire outlet end 109-2, and the end far from the front panel is defined as the wire inlet end 109-1. The wire outlet end 109-2 communicates with the first through hole 101-27 opened on the box body panel. The wire 105 longitudinally arranged and extended from the first wire groove 102-33 enters the first cavity 109 from the wire inlet end 109-1. The first cavity 109 is flush with the edge of the hinge body 103-1. The wire 105 extends horizontally in the first cavity 109 and turns 90 degrees and then extends out from the wire outlet end 109-2. In order to keep the wire 105 stable in the first cavity 109, a retaining piece 103-4 for preventing the wire 105 from falling off is also arranged at the first cavity 109. As Figure 2 shown, the retaining piece 103-4 is preferably designed as L-shaped. Clamping portions 103-41 are respectively arranged at both ends of the retaining piece 103-4. The clamping portions 103-41 extend vertically upward. After being clamped and assembled with the hinge body, they extend into the first cavity 109 to prevent the wire 105 from falling off from the first cavity 109.

[0035] On the inner side of the front panel 101-2 of the box body, that is, the side away from the door hinge assembly, a hinge reinforcement plate 106 is provided. A second through hole 106-1 is provided at the position of the hinge reinforcement plate 106 corresponding to the first through hole 101-27. The wire 105 passes through the front panel 101-2 of the box body under the guidance of the first through hole 101-27 and the second through hole 106-1 and enters the second wire groove 107-1 formed on the wire plate 107 from bottom to top. The upper edge of the wire plate 107 is fixedly arranged on the front cross beam 108.

[0036] In this embodiment, the wire 105 for connecting the voice module 104 and the control module 110 needs to change the extension direction multiple times, and the bending part is prone to breakage or fracture. The first cavity 109 and the baffle 103-4 play a certain protective role. Before entering the first cavity 109, the wire 105 will also form a bending from bottom to top. In order to better guide the wire 105, prevent the wire 105 from sliding, and protect it at the same time, a guide groove 102-42 is formed on the hinge plate 102-4. The guide groove 102-42 is formed below the groove 102-41 corresponding to the cooperation with the door hinge assembly on the hinge plate 102-4 and is communicated with the groove 102-41 corresponding to the cooperation with the door hinge assembly on the hinge plate 102-4. When the wire 105 changes the direction from bottom to top, the guide groove can play a good guiding and protecting role to ensure the connection stability between the voice module 104 and the control module 110 during long-term use.

[0037] To achieve the effect of a simple and aesthetically pleasing external design, in this embodiment, the front panel 101-2 of the cabinet is an integrally formed sheet metal front panel. Only the dispenser handle 101-22, the display module 101-21, the button module 101-23, and the filter 101-24 are embedded in the entire front panel 101-2 of the cabinet. Preferably, the control module 110 and the display module 101-21 are integrally designed. The display module 101-21 is on the front panel 101-2 of the cabinet, and the control module 110 is on the inside. The display module can be an LCD display screen, an LED display screen, or other available display screens. To facilitate assembly, a flange 101-25 extending in the same direction as the front panel 101-2 of the cabinet is provided at the upper edge of the front panel 101-2 of the cabinet. In the non-assembled state, there is a certain angle between the flange 101-25 and the front panel 101-2 of the cabinet. Preferably, the angle is 5 degrees. The front crossbeam 108 includes a crossbeam body 108-1 and a connecting portion 108-2. The crossbeam body 108-1 and the connecting portion 108-2 are perpendicular to each other, and the extending direction of the connecting portion 108-2 is opposite to the extending direction of the front panel 101-2 of the cabinet. During assembly, the left and right ends of the crossbeam body 108-1 are first fixedly connected to the cabinet body 101-1 by bolts, and then the connecting portion 108-2 is inserted into the area between the flange 101-25 and the front panel 101-2, that is, the front panel 101-2 of the cabinet is suspended on the front crossbeam 108 and fixed by bolts to complete the assembly. In this way, the integrally formed sheet metal front panel is suspended on the front crossbeam 108. After the suspension is completed, the flange and the front panel 101-2 are basically parallel, making the suspension effect stable and reliable.

[0038] Since the front panel 101-2 of the cabinet is a one-piece sheet metal design, in order to achieve better sound pickup effect and protect the sound pickup holes at the same time. In this embodiment, the speaker and the microphone connected to the voice module 104 respectively have a speaker through-hole and a microphone sound pickup hole, and both the speaker through-hole and the microphone sound pickup hole are formed on the inner frame, specifically, on the surface 102-31 of the first inner frame. The speaker through-holes are symmetrically arranged, and the sound pickup holes of the microphone are also symmetrically arranged to ensure that sound signals in all directions can be fully collected. On the other hand, the speaker through-holes and the sound pickup holes of the microphone formed on the surface 102-31 of the first inner frame will not affect the overall appearance of the drum washing machine, and at the same time prevent water droplets or water vapor from entering. Further protect the voice module 104. The voice module 104 is preferably arranged at a position above the center line of the door body, and a display control module 110 is arranged in the cabinet at the corresponding position. In this way, the inner frame 102-3 and the front panel 101-2 of the cabinet can enclose a sound pickup cavity. In order to ensure the sealing effect, a sealing strip is usually arranged in the sound pickup cavity. The sound inlet of the sound pickup cavity is formed at the gap between the door body and the front panel 101-2 of the cabinet, and the height meets the requirements of ergonomics. A more preferred form is to arrange a decorative strip 110 at the sound inlet, and guiding holes are designed on the decorative strip. The guiding holes are blind holes. The guiding holes do not have the actual effect of sound pickup, but guide the user to speak towards this area to ensure the use effect of the voice module 104. At the same time, it plays a role in beautifying the appearance.

[0039] The drum washing machine disclosed by the present invention, while ensuring a simple appearance, improves the working stability of the voice module through the specially designed connection method between the voice module and the control module; after adding the connection structure, the control module can be conveniently mechanically and electrically connected to other functional components in the cabinet without affecting the normal opening and closing of the door body. The drum washing machine disclosed by the present invention has the advantages of high working stability, good practicability and beautiful appearance.

[0040] Finally, it should be noted that the above embodiments are only used to illustrate the technical solutions of the present invention, rather than to limit them; although the present invention has been described in detail with reference to the foregoing embodiments, those of ordinary skill in the art should understand that they can still modify the technical solutions recorded in the foregoing embodiments, or perform equivalent replacements for some of the technical features; and these modifications or replacements do not make the essence of the corresponding technical solutions deviate from the spirit and scope of the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention.

Claims

1. A drum washing machine, comprising: A cabinet having an opening for loading and unloading clothes and a front cabinet panel; A door hinge assembly; And A door body rotatably connected to the cabinet through the door hinge assembly to open or close the opening, the door body including an inner frame; It is characterized in that it further includes: A voice module disposed in the door body; A control module disposed on the cabinet; A wire passes through the door hinge assembly to connect the voice module and the control module; A microphone connected to the voice module, the microphone having a sound pickup hole opened on the inner frame; A speaker connected to the voice module, the speaker having a speaker through hole opened on the inner frame; The inner frame and the front cabinet panel enclose a sound pickup cavity, the sound pickup cavity having a sound inlet formed at a gap between the inner frame and the front cabinet panel; a decorative strip is provided at the sound inlet, and a guiding hole is provided on the decorative strip, and the guiding hole is a blind hole.

2. The drum washing machine according to claim 1, characterized in that, The door hinge assembly includes a hinge body, and a first cavity for guiding and changing the extending direction of the wire is formed inside the hinge body; the first cavity communicates with a first through hole opened on the front cabinet panel; the wire connecting the voice module enters the first cavity and is guided through the front cabinet panel through the first through hole and then connected to the control module.

3. The drum washing machine according to claim 2, characterized in that, The door body further includes an outer frame, and the inner frame has a first inner frame surface and a second inner frame surface, wherein the first inner frame surface is close to the cabinet side and the second inner frame surface is away from the cabinet side; the voice module is fixedly disposed on the second inner frame surface, and a first wire groove for guiding the wire is formed on the second inner frame surface, and the wire is longitudinally arranged and extended along the first wire groove.

4. The drum washing machine according to claim 3, wherein, A hinge plate is provided between the outer frame and the inner frame, the hinge plate having a groove for cooperating with the door hinge assembly and a guiding groove for guiding the wire, and the guiding groove is formed below the groove and communicates with the groove.

5. The drum washing machine according to claim 4, wherein, A hinge reinforcing plate is provided on the inner side of the front cabinet panel, and a second through hole is opened on the hinge reinforcing plate. The wire passes through the front cabinet panel under the guidance of the first through hole and the second through hole and then enters a second wire groove formed on a wire plate, extends and is connected to the control module; the wire plate is fixedly connected to the front cross beam.

6. The drum washing machine according to claim 5, characterized in that, The speaker through holes are symmetrically arranged, and the sound pickup holes of the microphone are symmetrically arranged.

7. The drum washing machine according to claim 6, characterized in that, The front cabinet panel is an integrally formed sheet metal front panel; a dispenser handle, a display module, a key module and a filter are embedded on the front cabinet panel.

8. The drum washing machine according to claim 7, characterized in that, An edge of the upper side of the front cabinet panel is provided with a flange extending in the same direction as the front cabinet panel; the front cross beam includes a beam body and a connecting portion perpendicular to each other, and the connecting portion extends into the space between the flange and the front cabinet panel.

9. The drum washing machine according to any one of claims 2 to 8, characterized in that, The first cavity is in an L shape, and a retaining piece for preventing the wire from falling off is provided at the first cavity, and a clamping portion is provided on the retaining piece and extends into the first cavity.

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