A laundry washing machine and a tub assembly guiding device

Abstract

This invention discloses a washing machine and a tub assembly guiding device. The tub assembly guiding device includes a detection unit for detecting the eccentricity of the tub assembly and a vibration damping unit for reducing the vibration of the tub assembly. The vibration damping unit consists of vibration damping rods disposed around the tub assembly, which can generate asymmetrical forces on both sides of the tub assembly. Specifically, the vibration damping rods located on opposite sides of the tub assembly have different damping forces, with the vibration damping rod closer to the detection unit having a relatively smaller damping force. Alternatively, the vibration damping rods located on opposite sides of the tub assembly have different lengths, with the vibration damping rod closer to the detection unit having a longer length. When the tub assembly becomes eccentric, different damping forces are generated around the tub assembly by the vibration damping rods with different damping forces or different lengths. Under the influence of the damping forces, the tub assembly moves closer to the detection unit, enabling the detection unit to detect the eccentricity of the tub assembly more sensitively, thereby improving detection sensitivity and accuracy.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention belongs to the field of washing machine technology, and specifically relates to a washing machine and tub assembly guiding device. Background Technology

[0002] Existing eccentricity detection in pulsator washing machines relies on a mechanical structure, specifically a combination of a control lever and a safety switch. This mechanical detection structure only activates after the outer tub impacts the control lever. Consequently, a situation exists where the entire machine has already been corrected for eccentricity, but the tub assembly exhibits regular shaking, preventing it from impacting the control lever and causing the machine to continuously collide with the casing, resulting in displacement.

[0003] To address the aforementioned technical issues, existing technologies employ a sensor placed around the tub assembly. When the tub assembly vibrates and approaches the sensor, the sensor is triggered, enabling relatively accurate detection of the tub assembly's eccentricity. However, this solution increases the cost of the washing machine by using sensors, and since sensors typically use light or magnetic force as detection signals, they may malfunction due to misalignment or prolonged use.

[0004] Therefore, Chinese invention patent application number CN200810175653.8 discloses a washing machine in which the tub assembly is eccentrically arranged inside the washing machine cabinet. Specifically, it discloses that multiple suspensions are arranged between the washing machine cabinet and the tub assembly. The suspensions located on one side of the washing machine cabinet and the suspensions located on the other side of the washing machine cabinet are installed such that their damping forces are asymmetrical. The asymmetrical damping forces cause the tub assembly to deviate to the side farther away from the washing machine cabinet, avoiding collision between the tub assembly and the washing machine cabinet when excessive vibration occurs. Although the above solution discloses a solution to avoid collision between the tub assembly and the washing machine cabinet by setting suspensions with different damping forces, it cannot detect the eccentricity of the tub assembly before the tub assembly collides with the washing machine cabinet.

[0005] In view of this, the present invention is proposed. Summary of the Invention

[0006] One of the objectives of this invention is to provide a bucket assembly guiding device to address the problems in the prior art. The device includes a detection unit for detecting eccentricity of the bucket assembly and a vibration damping unit disposed around the bucket assembly to reduce vibration of the bucket assembly. When eccentricity occurs, the vibration damping unit generates asymmetrical forces on opposite sides of the bucket assembly. Under the guidance of the asymmetrical forces, the bucket assembly moves closer to the detection unit, thereby achieving control over the eccentricity direction of the bucket assembly.

[0007] Another objective of this invention is to provide a washing machine that addresses the problems in the prior art described above. The washing machine is equipped with a tub assembly guiding device inside, which guides the tub assembly closer to the detection unit when eccentricity occurs, thereby improving the sensitivity and accuracy of eccentricity detection in the washing machine.

[0008] To achieve the above objectives, a first aspect of the present invention provides a barrel assembly guiding device, including a detection unit for detecting the eccentricity of the barrel assembly;

[0009] Vibration damping unit, connected to the tank assembly, is used to reduce the vibration of the tank assembly;

[0010] The vibration damping part is located around the barrel assembly. When the barrel assembly is eccentric, the vibration damping part generates an asymmetrical force on opposite sides of the barrel assembly, guiding the barrel assembly closer to the detection part.

[0011] In the above scheme, when the barrel assembly becomes eccentric, the vibration damping part generates an asymmetrical force on the opposite sides of the barrel assembly. Under the guidance of the asymmetrical force, the barrel assembly is brought closer to the detection part, making it easier for the detection part to detect the eccentricity and improving the detection sensitivity.

[0012] Furthermore, the vibration damping component includes,

[0013] Vibration damping hangers;

[0014] When the barrel assembly is eccentric, the vibration damping rod generates damping forces of different magnitudes on opposite sides of the barrel assembly, guiding the barrel assembly closer to the detection unit.

[0015] Furthermore, the damping forces of the vibration damping rods located around the barrel assembly vary, with the vibration damping rods closer to the detection unit having relatively smaller damping forces.

[0016] In the above scheme, by placing the vibration damping rod with a smaller damping force on the side of the barrel assembly closer to the detection part, when eccentricity occurs, the barrel assembly tends to deviate towards the direction of the detection part due to the smaller damping force on the side closer to the detection part, thereby improving the detection sensitivity.

[0017] Furthermore, the damping force of the vibration damping rod is negatively correlated with the distance between the vibration damping rod and the detection unit.

[0018] In the above scheme, the vibration damping rods with different damping forces are set in a specific way, which can further improve the guiding effect on the barrel assembly and further improve the detection sensitivity.

[0019] Alternatively, as an alternative to the above solution, the vibration damping rods around the barrel assembly can have different lengths, with the vibration damping rods closer to the detection unit having a relatively longer length.

[0020] In the above scheme, the vibration damping rods near the detection unit are longer. When the barrel assembly becomes eccentric, the angle between the vibration damping rods of different lengths and the peripheral wall of the barrel assembly is different. The angle between the longer vibration damping rods and the peripheral wall of the barrel assembly is smaller, which leads to a reduction in the damping force. Under the guidance of vibration damping rods of different lengths, the barrel assembly tends to deviate towards the direction of the detection unit, thus improving the detection sensitivity.

[0021] One implementation of the above solution is as follows: the barrel assembly is provided with a fixing device for fixing the vibration damping rod, the fixing device including,

[0022] The first fixing part is provided on the side of the barrel assembly near the detection part;

[0023] The second fixing part is located on the side of the barrel assembly away from the detection part;

[0024] The first fixing part is positioned lower than the second fixing part in the vertical direction, and the longer vibration damping rod is connected to the first fixing part.

[0025] In the above scheme, the bucket assembly is guided by the different heights at the connection points between the vibration damping rod and the bucket assembly.

[0026] Another implementation method is to connect the vibration damping rods of different lengths to the barrel assembly at the same horizontal plane.

[0027] In the above scheme, the projection of the longer vibration damping rod on the plane perpendicular to the axis of the barrel assembly is not perpendicular to the tangent at the connection position. While guiding the barrel assembly closer to the detection unit, by setting the connection position of the vibration damping rod and the barrel assembly on the same horizontal plane, the difference in the vertical height of the connection position is avoided from affecting the balance state of the barrel assembly during normal operation.

[0028] Furthermore, the vibration damping component also includes,

[0029] A limiting device is disposed on the other side of the bucket assembly opposite to the detection part, and is used to limit the deviation of the bucket assembly from the detection part when it is eccentric.

[0030] The above solution uses a limiting device located on the other side of the barrel assembly opposite the detection unit to limit the deviation of the barrel assembly from the detection unit, and in conjunction with the vibration damping rod, it further improves the guiding effect on the barrel assembly.

[0031] Preferably, the limiting device has a certain elastic deformation capability.

[0032] The above solution uses a limiting device with elastic deformation capability. During normal operation of the bucket assembly, the balance state will not be disrupted due to the limiting device. When eccentricity occurs, the restoring force generated after elastic deformation can also guide the bucket assembly to deviate in the opposite direction to a certain extent, further improving the guiding effect on the bucket assembly.

[0033] A second aspect of the present invention provides a washing machine having the tub assembly guiding device described in the above-described solution.

[0034] Furthermore, the tub assembly is located at the center inside the washing machine cabinet and is fixed inside the washing machine cabinet by a vibration damping part. The detection part is a control rod, which is located between the washing machine cabinet and the tub assembly.

[0035] The beneficial effects of the above scheme are as follows: the vibration damping part generates asymmetrical forces on both sides of the tub assembly, guiding the tub assembly closer to the detection part and improving the detection sensitivity; by placing vibration damping rods with different damping forces around the tub assembly, when the tub assembly becomes eccentric, the asymmetrical damping forces on both sides of the tub assembly guide the tub assembly closer to the detection part, avoiding the need for a separate structure to guide the tub assembly, saving internal space of the washing machine, and allowing the tub assembly to have a larger capacity; the magnitude of the damping force of the vibration damping rod is negatively correlated with the distance between the vibration damping rod and the detection part, further improving the guiding effect on the tub assembly; placing vibration damping rods of different lengths around the tub assembly, with the longer vibration damping rods closer to the detection part, and using the different angles between the vibration damping rods and the peripheral wall of the tub assembly, generates different magnitudes of damping forces around the tub assembly, thereby guiding the tub assembly; the connection points of the vibration damping rods of different lengths to the tub assembly are on the same horizontal plane, reducing the influence of different connection heights on the balance state of the tub assembly; the limiting device, in conjunction with the vibration damping rods, further improves the guiding effect on the tub assembly and increases the detection sensitivity. Attached Figure Description

[0036] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the first structure of the bucket assembly guiding device of the present invention.

[0037] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of a second structure of the bucket assembly guiding device of the present invention.

[0038] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of a third structure of the bucket assembly guiding device described in this invention.

[0039] Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram of the fourth structure of the bucket assembly guiding device described in this invention.

[0040] Figure 5 This is a schematic diagram of the fifth structure of the bucket assembly guiding device described in this invention.

[0041] Figure 6 This is a schematic diagram of the sixth structure of the bucket assembly guiding device described in this invention.

[0042] In the figure: 1. Drum assembly; 11. First fixing part; 12. Second fixing part; 2. Detection part; 31. First vibration damping rod; 32. Second vibration damping rod; 33. Limiting device; 4. Washing machine cabinet. Detailed Implementation

[0043] Exemplary embodiments of the present invention will now be described in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. Those skilled in the art will understand that the following embodiments are only used to explain the technical principles of the present invention and are not intended to limit the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0044] In the description of this invention, unless otherwise explicitly specified and limited, the terms "set" and "connection" should be interpreted broadly. For example, they can refer to a fixed connection, a detachable connection, or an integral connection; they can refer to a direct connection or an indirect connection through an intermediate medium. Those skilled in the art can understand the specific meaning of the above terms in this utility model according to the specific circumstances.

[0045] In the description of this invention, it should be noted that the terms "upper", "lower", "front", "rear", "left", "right", "vertical", "inner", "outer", etc., indicate the orientation or positional relationship based on the orientation or positional relationship shown in the accompanying drawings. They are only for the convenience of describing this utility model and simplifying the description, and do not indicate or imply that the device or element referred to must have a specific orientation, or be constructed and operated in a specific orientation. Therefore, they should not be construed as limiting the invention.

[0046] Example 1

[0047] As an embodiment of the present invention, this embodiment provides a barrel assembly guiding device, including a detection unit 2 for detecting the eccentricity of the barrel assembly 1;

[0048] The vibration damping part is connected to the barrel assembly 1 and is used to reduce the vibration of the barrel assembly 1;

[0049] The vibration damping part is a vibration damping rod located around the barrel assembly 1. By generating asymmetrical forces on opposite sides of the barrel assembly 1, it guides the barrel assembly 1 closer to the detection part 2, thereby improving the detection sensitivity.

[0050] In this embodiment, four vibration damping rods are provided around the barrel assembly 1, and the detection unit 2 is located near one of the vibration damping rods on the outside of the barrel assembly 1.

[0051] Furthermore, the vibration damping rods around the barrel assembly 1 have different damping forces. The vibration damping rods closer to the detection unit 2 are the first vibration damping rods 31, which have relatively small damping forces. The other vibration damping rods are the second vibration damping rods 32. When the barrel assembly 1 becomes eccentric, because the first vibration damping rod 31 has a small damping force, the barrel assembly 1 deviates towards the detection unit 2 under the guidance of the damping force. As a result, the detection unit 2 can more easily detect the eccentricity of the barrel assembly 1, thereby improving the detection sensitivity.

[0052] To improve the guiding effect on the barrel assembly 1, in this embodiment, the damping force of the vibration damping rods around the barrel assembly 1 is negatively correlated with the distance between the vibration damping rods and the detection unit 2. That is, the closer the vibration damping rod is to the detection unit 2, the smaller the damping force; the farther the vibration damping rod is from the detection unit 2, the greater the damping force. The above scheme improves the guiding effect on the barrel assembly 1 and further enhances the detection sensitivity.

[0053] Example 2

[0054] As another embodiment of the present invention, this embodiment provides a barrel assembly guiding device. The difference from the first embodiment is that in this embodiment, four vibration damping rods are provided around the barrel assembly 1, and the detection part 2 is located outside the barrel assembly 1, between two adjacent vibration damping rods.

[0055] Furthermore, the vibration damping rods around the barrel assembly 1 have different damping forces. The two vibration damping rods closer to the detection unit 2 are the first vibration damping rods 31, which have smaller damping forces, while the two vibration damping rods farther away from the detection unit 2 are the second vibration damping rods 32, which have larger damping forces.

[0056] When the barrel assembly 1 becomes eccentric, the damping forces of the vibration damping rods on both sides of the barrel assembly 1 are different. The damping force of the first vibration damping rod 31 is less than that of the second vibration damping rod 32. Under the guidance of different damping forces, the barrel assembly 1 deviates towards the detection unit 2, and thus the detection unit 2 can detect the eccentricity of the barrel assembly 1 more easily, thereby improving the detection sensitivity.

[0057] Furthermore, the distance between the detection unit 2 and the two adjacent first damping rods 31 is the same, and the two first damping rods 31 have the same damping force.

[0058] The above solution guides the barrel assembly 1 closer to the detection unit 2 by using two first damping rods 31 with the same damping force, which can further improve the guiding effect of the barrel assembly 1, enabling the barrel assembly 1 to deviate more accurately from the detection unit 2, and further improve the detection sensitivity.

[0059] Example 3

[0060] As another embodiment of the present invention, this embodiment provides a bucket assembly guiding device. The difference from the first embodiment is that, in this embodiment, four vibration damping rods are provided around the bucket assembly 1. The vibration damping rod near the detection part 2 is the first vibration damping rod 31, and the other three vibration damping rods are the second vibration damping rods 32. The first vibration damping rod 31 is longer than the second vibration damping rod 32.

[0061] When eccentricity occurs, damping forces of different magnitudes are generated around the barrel assembly 1 by vibration damping rods of different lengths, thereby guiding the barrel assembly 1 closer to the detection unit 2.

[0062] Furthermore, the barrel assembly 1 is provided with a fixing device for fixing the vibration damping rod, the fixing device including,

[0063] The first fixing part 11 is provided on the side of the barrel assembly 1 near the detection part 2;

[0064] The second fixing part 12 is provided on the side of the barrel assembly 1 away from the detection part 2;

[0065] The position of the first fixing part 11 is lower than the position of the second fixing part 12 in the vertical direction. The first vibration damping rod 31 is connected to the first fixing part 11, and the second vibration damping rod 32 is connected to the second fixing part 12.

[0066] In the above scheme, the first vibration damping rod 31 is connected to the barrel assembly 1 through the first fixing part 11. Since the position of the first fixing part 11 is lower than the position of the second fixing part 12 in the vertical direction, when the barrel assembly 1 becomes eccentric, the first vibration damping rod 31 connected to the first fixing part 11 generates a smaller damping force on the side of the barrel assembly 1 near the detection part 2 than the second vibration damping rod 32, thereby achieving the guiding effect on the barrel assembly 1.

[0067] Furthermore, the projection of the first damping rod 31 onto a plane perpendicular to the axis of the barrel assembly 1 is perpendicular to the tangent line of the barrel assembly 1 closest to the detection part 2.

[0068] The above solution guides the bucket assembly 1 while preventing the bucket assembly 1 from being tilted even in a balanced state due to the tilted setting of the vibration damping rod, thus reducing the impact on the balance state of the bucket assembly 1.

[0069] Example 4

[0070] As another embodiment of the present invention, this embodiment provides a barrel assembly guiding device. The difference from embodiment three is that in this embodiment, four vibration damping rods are provided around the barrel assembly 1, and the detection part 2 is located outside the barrel assembly 1, between two adjacent vibration damping rods. The length of the two vibration damping rods closer to the detection part 2 is longer than the length of the other two vibration damping rods.

[0071] When eccentricity occurs, damping forces of different magnitudes are generated around the barrel assembly 1 by vibration damping rods of different lengths, thereby guiding the barrel assembly 1 closer to the detection unit 2.

[0072] Furthermore, the vibration damping rod includes a first vibration damping rod 31 and a second vibration damping rod 32. The length of the first vibration damping rod 31 is longer than that of the second vibration damping rod 32, and the distance between adjacent first vibration damping rods 31 and second vibration damping rods 32 is less than the distance between two second vibration damping rods 32.

[0073] In the above scheme, because the first vibration damping rod 31 is close to the detection unit 2 and the second vibration damping rod 32 is far away from the detection unit 2, the projection of the first vibration damping rod 31 on the plane perpendicular to the axis of the barrel assembly 1 is not perpendicular to the tangent at the connection position. When the barrel assembly 1 becomes eccentric, the damping force generated by the first vibration damping rod 31 is less than the damping force generated by the second vibration damping rod 32. As a result, the barrel assembly 1 tilts towards the detection unit 2 under the guidance of different damping forces.

[0074] Furthermore, the connection points of the vibration damping rods of different lengths to the barrel assembly 1 are on the same horizontal plane.

[0075] In the above scheme, the connection positions of the first vibration damping rod 31 and the second vibration damping rod 32 to the barrel assembly 1 are on the same horizontal plane, which avoids the impact of the different heights of the connection positions in the vertical direction on the balance state of the barrel assembly 1 during normal operation and improves the stability of the barrel assembly 1 during operation.

[0076] The present invention also provides a washing machine having the tub assembly guiding device described in the above-mentioned solution, specifically:

[0077] Example 5

[0078] As another embodiment of the present invention, this embodiment provides a washing machine having a tub assembly guiding device as described in Embodiment 1.

[0079] In this embodiment, the tub assembly 1 is located at the center inside the washing machine housing 4 and is fixed inside the washing machine housing 4 by a vibration damping part. The detection part 2 is a control rod located between the washing machine housing 4 and the tub assembly 1.

[0080] Furthermore, four vibration damping rods are respectively connected to the four corners of the top of the tub assembly 1 and the washing machine cabinet 4, and the detection unit 2 is set close to one of the vibration damping rods.

[0081] Furthermore, the vibration damping component also includes,

[0082] The limiting device 33 is provided on the other side of the barrel assembly 1 opposite to the detection unit 2, and is used to limit the deviation of the barrel assembly 1 from the detection unit 2 when it is eccentric.

[0083] Furthermore, the limiting device 33 is located between the washing machine cabinet 4 and the tub assembly 1, on both sides of the washing machine cabinet 4 away from the vibration damping rod with a smaller damping force.

[0084] When the barrel assembly 1 becomes eccentric, the vibration damping rod guides the barrel assembly 1 closer to the detection unit 2, while the barrel assembly 1 will not deviate away from the detection unit 2 under the limit of the limiting device 33, which further improves the accuracy of the detection.

[0085] Furthermore, the limiting device 33 has a certain elastic deformation capability.

[0086] The above solution uses a limiting device 33 with elastic deformation capability. When the bucket assembly 1 is running normally, the limiting device 33 will not cause the balance state to be disrupted. When eccentricity occurs, the restoring force generated after elastic deformation can also guide the bucket assembly 1 to deviate in the opposite direction to a certain extent, further improving the guiding effect on the bucket assembly 1.

[0087] Example 6

[0088] As another embodiment of the present invention, this embodiment provides a washing machine having a tub assembly guiding device as described in Embodiment 2. Its structure is the same as that of Embodiment 5. The difference is that in this embodiment, the fixing device includes a limiting device 33, which is disposed on both sides of the tub assembly 1 opposite to the detection part 2.

[0089] The above solution uses a limiting device 33 located on the other side of the barrel assembly 1 opposite to the detection unit 2 to limit the deviation of the barrel assembly 1 from the detection unit 2, and in conjunction with the vibration damping rod, further improves the guiding effect on the barrel assembly 1.

[0090] The above description is merely a preferred embodiment of the present invention and is not intended to limit the present invention in any way. Although the present invention has been disclosed above with reference to preferred embodiments, it is not intended to limit the present invention. Any person skilled in the art can make some modifications or alterations to the above-described technical content to create equivalent embodiments without departing from the scope of the present invention. The implementation schemes in the above embodiments can also be further combined or replaced. Any simple modifications, equivalent changes and alterations made to the above embodiments based on the technical essence of the present invention without departing from the scope of the present invention shall still fall within the scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A washing machine, characterized in that, It has a bucket assembly and a bucket assembly guiding device, the bucket assembly guiding device including, The inspection department is used to detect the eccentricity of the barrel assembly; Vibration damping unit, connected to the tank assembly, is used to reduce the vibration of the tank assembly; The vibration damping part includes vibration damping rods. The damping rods around the barrel assembly have different damping forces. The damping rods closer to the detection part have relatively small damping forces. When the barrel assembly is eccentric, the vibration damping rods generate different damping forces on opposite sides of the barrel assembly to guide the barrel assembly closer to the detection part. The tub assembly is located at the center inside the washing machine cabinet and is fixed inside the washing machine cabinet by a vibration damping part. The detection part is a control rod, which is located between the washing machine cabinet and the tub assembly.

2. The washing machine according to claim 1, characterized in that, The damping force of the vibration damping rod is positively correlated with the distance between the vibration damping rod and the detection unit.

3. The washing machine according to claim 1, characterized in that, The barrel assembly is surrounded by four vibration damping rods, and the detection unit is located near one of the vibration damping rods on the outside of the barrel assembly. The vibration damping rod closest to the detection unit is the first vibration damping rod, which has a relatively small damping force, while the other vibration damping rods are the second vibration damping rods.

4. The washing machine according to claim 1, characterized in that, The barrel assembly is surrounded by four vibration damping rods, and the detection unit is located outside the barrel assembly, between two adjacent vibration damping rods. The two vibration damping rods closer to the detection unit are the first vibration damping rods, which have a smaller damping force; the two vibration damping rods farther away from the detection unit are the second vibration damping rods, which have a larger damping force.

5. The washing machine according to claim 4, characterized in that, The distance between the detection unit and its two adjacent first vibration damping rods is the same, and the two first vibration damping rods have the same damping force.

6. The washing machine according to any one of claims 1-5, characterized in that, The vibration damping component also includes, A limiting device is disposed on the other side of the bucket assembly opposite to the detection part, and is used to limit the deviation of the bucket assembly from the detection part when it is eccentric.

7. The washing machine according to claim 6, characterized in that, The limiting device has elastic deformation capability.

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