Locking device for door of household appliance

Abstract

The invention relates to a locking device for a door (3) of a domestic appliance (1), comprising a clamping element (7) which is rotatably arranged between a clamped state (17) and a released state (10) and which engages a closing body (15, 16) that can lock the door (3) in the clamped state (17), wherein the clamping element (7) can be rotated into a final clamping state (17) by means of a sliding element (11) of an electrically drivable sliding mechanism (34), and wherein the sliding mechanism (34) has a mechanically actuated separating element (37, 38) by means of which a first sliding part (36) for the drive (31, 32, 33) can be separated from a second sliding part (35) having the sliding element (11) in the sliding movement direction (38).

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The invention relates to a locking device for a door of a household appliance, the locking device comprising a clamping element and a sliding mechanism, wherein the clamping element is rotatably arranged between a clamping state and a releasing state. Background Art

[0002] It is known that the door latch of household washing machines and tumble dryers is operated by a spring loaded mechanism. In order to close the door latch, an initial push action is required, wherein the user pushes the door of the household appliance to close the door. This causes the door latch to enter its state of holding the door closed.

[0003] For such a pushing action, it is desirable that the force applied is not too great, so that anyone can close such a door. To this end, the force must overcome the resistance of the sealing element installed between the door and the housing. If the compression force is not too great, so that anyone can close the door, the resistance of the sealing element must also not be too great, otherwise the door will not be closed by engaging the locking mechanism. This in turn means that the sealing element may not be able to develop its sealing properties due to the lack of compression force, which should act on the sealing element when closing the door. This can lead to leakage, especially after prolonged use of the household appliance. On the other hand, if the sealing element has been sufficiently compressed to ensure a safe seal, the compression force applied by the user when closing the door may be too great for the weak.

[0004] In order to support this manual operation when closing the door of such a household appliance, electric locking devices are also known. This allows the door to be automatically closed without corresponding personnel intervention, using the required compression force of the sealing element to achieve the desired sealing effect.

[0005] However, such electric locking devices have the disadvantage that they block or obstruct the locking device in the event of a power outage and make it impossible to access the laundry in the appliance. This in turn means that laundry can be inadvertently left wet in the appliance for long periods of time, which can result in mold stains or other damage. Summary of the invention

[0006] The object of the present invention is therefore to provide a locking device for a door of a domestic appliance, in which the door can be closed in a simple manner with the necessary watertight sealing and can be opened mechanically in the event of a power failure.

[0007] This object is achieved by a locking device for a door of a household appliance, the locking device having a clamping element which is rotatably arranged between a clamped state and a released state and which engages a closing body of a lockable door in the clamped state, the clamping element being rotatable into a final clamped state by means of a sliding element of an electrically drivable sliding mechanism. For a subsequent mechanical opening of the door by manual operation, a mechanically actuated separation element is provided, with which a first driven sliding part can be separated from a second sliding part comprising the sliding element in the direction of the sliding movement.

[0008] The clamping element is thus brought into its final clamping state by an electrically driven sliding mechanism which clamps around a closing body which can be designed, for example, as a pin element and which is attached to the door in order to pull the door firmly against the household appliance housing. This ensures the required tightness of the sealing element between the household appliance housing and the door.

[0009] At the same time, the sliding mechanism is not only used to move the rotating clamping element, but can also be divided into two parts, namely a first sliding part and a second sliding part, so as to achieve the separation of the two sliding parts, thereby achieving the separation of the motor drive with associated gears and racks and the sliding element, and the sliding element keeps the clamping element in a closed clamping position, that is, in a clamping state.

[0010] By releasing the first sliding part from the second sliding part in this way, the sliding element can then be pushed back again, whereby the clamping element is released from the clamping state. This separation of the two sliding parts can be performed purely mechanically by the separation element, so that no power supply is required. This makes it possible to open the door and remove wet laundry from the washing machine or dry laundry from the dryer even in the event of a power outage.

[0011] The separation element is preferably a lip extending in the direction of sliding movement of the sliding mechanism, the first sliding part and the second sliding part, which lip can engage with at least one protrusion. The protrusion is preferably attached to the first sliding part, while the lip is arranged on the second sliding part.

[0012] In this way, by engaging the lip-shaped part with the corresponding recess in the protrusion, it can be achieved that the first sliding part and the second sliding part are coupled to each other and are therefore firmly connected. In this state, the locking device will close normally. This is because the unit comprising the first sliding part and the second sliding part connected to each other is moved by the motor drive in such a way that the sliding element continuously moves the clamping element during the rotational movement of the clamping element to a position at which the sliding element has rotated the clamping unit to such an extent that, in the end position of the clamping unit, the clamping unit firmly clamps the closing body, which is designed, for example, in the form of a bolt and is attached to the door.

[0013] The protrusion is preferably arranged on the first sliding part and the lip part is preferably arranged on the second sliding part, so that the two sliding parts can be coupled to each other in a simple manner. Decoupling can also be achieved in a simple manner.

[0014] For manual separation in the event of a power outage, there is a handle rotatably mounted on the housing of the locking device, by means of which the lip can be pushed out of engagement with the projection. This handle is accessible from the outside of the washing machine or tumble dryer and can be operated by anyone by means of a rotational movement of the handle. The separation of the two sliding parts achieved in this way means that the second sliding part with the sliding element can be moved backwards independently of the first sliding part, which is held in its current position by means of a motor and an associated transmission gear, or can be moved back into a position in which it no longer blocks the clamping element.

[0015] For the electric drive, the first sliding part has at least one rack on the side, the teeth of which interact with a gear driven by at least one electric motor. This makes it relatively easy to make the electric drive perform the sliding movement of the first sliding part and, if necessary, also the sliding movement of the second sliding part.

[0016] Furthermore, when the two sliding parts are in a separated state, the electric drive can be used to restore the coupled state. To this end, the electric drive is driven in opposite directions to move the two sliding elements backwards, whereby the second sliding element abuts against a stopper, which stops the second sliding element, while the first sliding element continues to be moved backwards by the motor. Thus, when the lip-shaped part reengages the protrusion, the lip-shaped part reestablishes the coupled state between the two sliding parts.

[0017] Advantageously, the first sliding part and the second sliding part have the same sliding movement direction, whereby their sliding movement relative to each other is spring-loaded by at least one spring element. The spring element is preferably designed as a compression spring and is in a relaxed form when the first sliding part is separated from the second sliding part. This in turn means that when the two sliding parts are in the separated state, the spring element is tensioned so that when the separation process is initiated by the spring force, the two sliding parts move towards each other without current flow, which is absolutely necessary for the separation process of the two sliding parts.

[0018] The clamping element is rotatably mounted on a rotation axis extending perpendicularly to the direction of the sliding movement. The clamping element is preferably designed as a curved clamping groove so as to clamp around a pin-shaped closing element, which represents the closing body and is attached to the door, while performing a rotational movement of the clamping element. In this way, the nail-shaped or bolt-shaped closing element moves more and more into the clamping groove associated with the clamping element and, due to the curved shape of the clamping groove, the closing element is pulled firmly against the housing of the household appliance and thus against the compressive pressure of the sealing element. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0019] Further embodiments are described in the dependent claims in conjunction with the figures.

[0020] These figures show:

[0021] Figure 1 is a simplified perspective schematic diagram of a washing machine with a door locking device according to the present invention;

[0022] Figure 2a-2c is a side view of a locking device with a clamping element in various rotational positions according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0023] Figure 3a-Figure 3b is a top view of a locking device in a coupled state and a decoupled state according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0024] Figure 4a-4b is a top cross-sectional view of a locking device with a sliding mechanism according to the present invention during transition from a coupled state to a decoupled state; and

[0025] Figure 5a-5c is a top view of a locking device according to an embodiment of the present invention during transition from a disengaged state to a coupled state. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0026] Figure 1A perspective schematic view of a washing machine is shown. The washing machine 1 comprises a housing 2 and a door 3, which is rotatably attached to the housing 2 by means of a hinge element 4. A washing drum 5 arranged on the inside has an opening at the front through which the washing drum can be loaded with laundry. The door 3 is closed by means of a locking device 6 and a closing body 15a and is connected to the housing 2 in a substantially sealed manner.

[0027] Figure 2a , Figure 2b and Figure 2c A side view of a portion of a locking device according to the invention is shown, wherein the clamping element is shown here in various rotational positions.

[0028] According to these figures, the locking device 6 comprises a rotary clamping element 7 which can be rotated about an axis 8 . This is also indicated by an arrow 9 .

[0029] Figure 2a The position in represents the released state 10. This means that a closing body, for example in the form of a closing bolt, which is not shown in detail here, has not yet been inserted into the closing opening 12 and is therefore not yet surrounded by the clamping groove 13. The domestic appliance is therefore in the state where the door is open. The locking device is therefore in the open position.

[0030] exist Figure 2b In the process, the closing process takes place, which is completed in its end position, such as Figure 2c As shown. Figure 2b In the embodiment of the present invention, a closing pin 15 with an associated base body 16, which is attached to a door not shown here, is inserted into the opening 12 and is surrounded by the clamping groove 13 during this movement. The extension 14 of the clamping element 7 serves to initiate this rotation process according to arrow 9.

[0031] Then, if Figure 2b The intermediate state shown changes to Figure 2c The end state shown. In this end clamping state shown, the closing pin 15 is surrounded by the clamping groove 13, so that it can no longer slide out of the opening 12. For this purpose, the clamping element 7 is pivoted about the rotation axis 8, as indicated by the rotation arrow 18. Due to this rotational movement of the clamping element 7, the pin is pulled into the opening 12 together with the base body 16. This is indicated by the arrow 19. This ensures that the sealing element (not shown in detail here) between the door of the household appliance and the base body in the area of ​​the opening of the household appliance is compressed to such an extent that tightness is ensured during the washing process.

[0032] The rotational movement of the clamping element and the blocking of the rotational movement in the final state are supported by a slidable sliding element 20, which is clamped under the outer side of the clamping element 7 when viewed in the image plane and thus supports the rotational movement by a sliding movement according to the arrow 20 until the final state or final clamping state 17 is reached.

[0033] Figure 3a and Figure 3b A top view of a locking device according to the invention is shown according to one embodiment of the invention.

[0034] The locking device according to the invention comprises a circumferential housing, the upper extension of which is not shown in detail. A motor 31 is provided for an electric drive which interacts with a rack and its teeth 33 via a gear 32. The rack is arranged on a first sliding part 35 of a sliding mechanism 34. The sliding mechanism 34 also comprises a sliding guide arranged on the housing side (as can be seen in the upper region), and a second sliding part 36 coupled to the first sliding part 35.

[0035] The sliding mechanism can be moved along a sliding movement direction 38 due to the sliding guide.

[0036] Figure 2a and Figure 2b The sliding element 11 described in FIG. 1 is also moved by the second sliding part 35 to which the sliding element 11 is attached, as long as the second sliding part 35 moves. On the other hand, the first sliding part 36 is connected to the rack 33 and is therefore driven by the motor and the associated gear 30.

[0037] Figure 3a 36 and the second sliding part 35 are connected to each other. Figure 3b In the embodiment, the two sliding parts 35, 36 are separated from each other.

[0038] The lip part 37 is provided as a separation element which is arranged on the second sliding part 35 and extends in the longitudinal direction or in the sliding movement direction 38. Figure 3b As can be seen in the figure, the lip 37 can be deflected to the left so as to disengage from the pin or protrusion 39 arranged on the first sliding part 36. This allows the second sliding part 35 to be pushed backwards according to arrow 43. This can also be clearly seen when examining the position of the lip 37 relative to the protrusion 38 more closely.

[0039] In order to support this separation movement independently of the motor drive, a spring element 44 is provided which moves the second slide part 35 backwards relative to the first slide part 36 according to arrow 43 .

[0040] Only manual actuation is required to initiate such a separation process. This can be done independently of energizing the locking device.

[0041] The separation process can be observed more closely in the subsequent figures. Figure 4a and Figure 4b The process of the two sliding parts 35, 36 separating from each other is shown in more detail. Figure 4a and Figure 4b It is shown that there is also Figure 3a and Figure 3b part of .

[0042] according to Figure 4a , the lip member 37 is still in the coupled state. Therefore, the lip member 37 engages the protrusion 38. On the other hand, Figure 4b In the embodiment of the present invention, the lip 37 is no longer shown as being engaged with the protrusion 38. To achieve this, a manually operated lever 40 is provided, which is rotatably mounted relative to the housing on a rotation axis 42. This lever 40 can be rotated by a handle 41, which is pulled in the direction of the arrow 43. This ensures that the cantilever 39 of the lever 40 is also rotated according to the arrow 44, and the lip 37 is pressed out of engagement with the protrusion 38. This causes the sliding part 36 to separate from the sliding part 35.

[0043] Figure 5a , Figure 5b and Figure 5c The reverse coupling state in 3 different sequential steps is shown. For this purpose, the locking device is shown in a top view.

[0044] Initially, if Figure 5a As shown, the lip part 37 is out of engagement with the protrusion 38 and therefore retreats relative to the first sliding part 36. If a new coupling state of the two sliding parts 35, 36 is now required, the first sliding part 35 is moved backwards or upwards by the motor and the gear and rack 33 and is thus driven, as shown by arrow 45. Therefore, during this backward movement, the first sliding part 36 moves backwards together with the second sliding part 35 until the second sliding part 35 reaches the end stop of the housing 45a. Then, the second sliding part 35 stops, while the first sliding part 36 continues to move backwards according to arrow 45. This is also shown by arrow 46.

[0045] The motor continues to drive the first sliding portion 36 until the lip 37 again engages the protrusion 38. To this end, the lip or coupling element 37 is deflected, as indicated by the arrow 47.

[0046] Then, if Figure 5b The intermediate step status shown changes to Figure 5c The final state of the final coupling is shown. As can be seen from this illustration, the lip 37 has completely reengaged the protrusion 38 and the two sliding parts 35, 36 are therefore connected to each other.

[0047] At the same time, the spring element 44 is pretensioned as a compression spring due to the motor drive force, so that when a separation process is required again, the second slide part is automatically moved backwards or upwards without the intervention of the electric drive.

[0048] All features listed in this application are considered to be consistent with the present invention.

[0049] Reference numerals list

[0050] 1. Home appliances

[0051] 2 Housing

[0052] 3 doors

[0053] 4 Hinge elements

[0054] 5 Washing drum

[0055] 6 Locking device

[0056] 7 Clamping elements

[0057] 8 Rotation axis

[0058] 9 Arrow

[0059] 10 Release state

[0060] 11 Sliding element

[0061] 12 Opening

[0062] 13 Clamping slot

[0063] 14 Extension

[0064] 15 Closing pin

[0065] 15a Closed body

[0066] 16 Matrix

[0067] 17 Clamping state

[0068] 18 Rotation Arrow

[0069] 19 Arrow

[0070] 20 Slidable sliding element

[0071] 30 Circumferential shell

[0072] 31 Motor

[0073] 32 Gear

[0074] 33 teeth

[0075] 34 Sliding mechanism

[0076] 35 Sliding part

[0077] 36 Sliding part

[0078] 37 Lip

[0079] 38 Sliding movement direction

[0080] 39 protrusion

[0081] 40 shots

[0082] 41 Handle

[0083] 42 Rotation axis

[0084] 43 Arrow

[0085] 44 Spring element

[0086] 45 Arrow

[0087] 45a Housing

[0088] 46 Arrow

[0089] 47 Arrow

Claims

1. A locking device for a door (3) of a household appliance (1), the locking device comprising: a clamping element (7) which is rotatably arranged between a clamping state (17) and a release state (10) and in which, in the clamping state (17), the clamping element engages a closing body (15, 16) of the lockable door (3), It is characterized in that The clamping element (7) can be rotated into a final clamping state (17) by means of a sliding element (11) of an electrically drivable sliding mechanism (34), wherein the sliding mechanism (34) has a mechanically actuated separation element (37, 38), by means of which a first sliding part (36) for a drive (31, 32, 33) can be separated in the direction of sliding movement (38) from a second sliding part (35) having the sliding element (11).

2. The locking device according to claim 1, It is characterized in that The separation element is a lip member (37) which extends in the sliding movement direction (38) of the sliding mechanism (34), the first sliding part (36) and the second sliding part (35) and is engageable with at least one protrusion (38).

3. The locking device according to claim 2, It is characterized in that The protrusion (38) is arranged on the first sliding portion (36) and the lip member (37) is arranged on the second sliding portion (35), or the lip member (37) is arranged on the first sliding portion (36) and the protrusion (38) is arranged on the second sliding portion (35).

4. The locking device according to claim 2 or 3, It is characterized in that A handle (39, 40, 41) is rotatably or linearly movably mounted on the housing (30), and by means of which the lip member (37) can be pushed out of engagement with the protrusion (38).

5. A locking device according to any one of the preceding claims, It is characterized in that The first sliding part (36) for the drive has laterally at least one toothed rack (33), the teeth of which interact with a gear wheel (32) driven by at least one electric motor (31).

6. A locking device according to any one of the preceding claims, It is characterized in that The first sliding part (36) and the second sliding part (35) have the same sliding movement direction (38), and the relative sliding movement (45, 46) of the first sliding part and the second sliding part is spring-loaded by at least one spring element (44).

7. The locking device according to claim 6, It is characterized in that When the first sliding portion (36) is in a separated state, the spring element (44) as a compression spring is released from pressure relative to the second sliding portion (35).

8. A locking device according to any one of the preceding claims, It is characterized in that The clamping element (7) is rotatably mounted on an axis of rotation (8) which extends perpendicularly to the sliding movement direction (38).

9. The locking device according to claim 8, It is characterized in that The clamping element is designed as a curved clamping groove (7, 14) for clamping around a pin-shaped closing element (15, 16) during a rotational movement (9, 18) of the clamping element (7).

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