Washing machine inner barrel, roller washing machine and control method of roller washing machine

Abstract

The invention discloses a washing machine inner cylinder which comprises an inner cylinder wall (1) and a beating rib body (2), and a first end part (21) of the beating rib body (2) is connected with the inner cylinder wall (1) through a first connecting mechanism (3); the reset assembly is connected between the beating rib body (2) and the inner wall of the inner cylinder wall (1) and used for providing reset force for driving the beating rib body (2) to reset for the beating rib body (2); the limiting mechanism is connected between the second end part (22) of the beating rib body (2) and the inner cylinder wall and is used for limiting the movement stroke of the beating rib body (2); wherein the first connecting mechanism (3) allows the beating rib body (2) to swing in the radial direction of the inner cylinder, and enables the beating rib body (2) to have three determined mechanical positions. The telescopic clothes hanger has the advantage that clothes are prevented from being hung and eccentric through an innovative telescopic structure.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of household appliance technology, and in particular to a washing machine inner drum, a drum washing machine, and a control method thereof. Background Technology

[0002] As a mainstream household laundry appliance, the washing effect of a front-loading washing machine mainly relies on the interaction between the clothes and the tumbling ribs during the rotation of the inner drum. Currently, most front-loading washing machines on the market have several fixed tumbling ribs on the inner drum wall. These ribs are usually made of plastic or rubber in one piece, protruding from the inner drum wall at a fixed height. Their working principle is as follows: when the inner drum rotates, the tumbling ribs lift the clothes to a certain height and then allow them to fall freely, removing stains through repeated mechanical tumbling; simulating the action of manually beating and dropping, thereby using mechanical force to break down and peel stains from the fabric fibers. Therefore, the design and performance of the tumbling ribs directly affect the washing machine's cleaning effect, operating efficiency, and user experience.

[0003] However, when handling single garments or small loads, the fixed tumbling ribs reveal significant drawbacks. Due to the lack of self-adaptive ability of the fixed protrusions, garments are easily caught or tangled in the tumbling ribs during rotation. When the drum speed increases to the pre-spin-drying distribution stage or the high-speed spin-drying stage, the caught garments rotate with the tumbling ribs, failing to adhere evenly to the drum wall, resulting in a severe eccentric load. This directly leads to: 1. A sharp increase in washing machine vibration and noise, even causing "drum-banging"; 2. The control system frequently enters slow-down, balance correction, or shutdown protection processes to protect the equipment; 3. Increased failure rate of the spin-drying program, requiring repeated attempts, extending the overall washing time and increasing energy consumption; 4. Long-term operation exacerbates fatigue damage to critical components such as bearings and the suspension system, affecting the overall lifespan of the machine.

[0004] To solve the above problems, there is an urgent need to provide washing machine drums, front-loading washing machines, and their control methods that can dynamically adjust their own shape according to the washing stage and load conditions, so that the tumbling ribs have intelligent shape switching capabilities. This allows them to provide effective tumbling when needed, and to "disappear" when interference needs to be avoided, thus preventing clothes from getting caught at the source and completely solving the series of problems caused by this. Summary of the Invention

[0005] This invention provides a washing machine inner drum, a drum washing machine, and a control method thereof. By using a tumbling rib structure to switch between different forms during the operation of the washing machine, it can provide an effective tumbling effect while avoiding the tangling of clothes, thereby improving the stability and efficiency of the washing operation.

[0006] One technical solution adopted in this invention is: A washing machine inner drum includes: an inner drum wall and a tumbling rib body, a first end of which is connected to the inner drum wall via a first connecting mechanism; a reset assembly connected between the tumbling rib body and the inner wall of the inner drum wall, for providing a reset force to the tumbling rib body to reset; and a limiting mechanism connected between a second end of the tumbling rib body and the inner drum wall for limiting its travel; wherein the first connecting mechanism allows the tumbling rib body to swing radially within the inner drum and to have three defined mechanical positions: The first position is the position where the tumbling rib body protrudes into the drum under the action of the restoring force and is blocked and limited by the limiting mechanism; the second position is the position where the tumbling rib body swings to the closest point to the inner surface of the inner drum wall when the centrifugal force of dehydration overcomes the restoring force; the third position is the force balance position between the first and second positions when the centrifugal force and the restoring force are equal in magnitude. By setting a movable tumbling rib with three defined positions, the same structure can adapt to different washing stages: protruding and tumbling during washing, and adhering to the wall for vibration reduction during dehydration, and achieving a smooth transition through the balance position, fundamentally solving the technical problems of clothes tangling and large eccentric vibration during dehydration caused by fixed tumbling ribs.

[0007] The reset assembly is a spring reset assembly, which includes at least one spring; the spring generates the reset force when it is compressed or stretched. This structure is simple and reliable, with stable force value and low cost, providing a durable and precisely calculable power source for the automatic reset of sprained tendons. The main body of the tumbling rib is a fixed plate; the fixed plate includes a first end and a second end; the first end is connected to the inner wall of the inner cylinder through the first connecting mechanism; the lower surface of the fixed plate is connected to the spring reset assembly, providing a stable support plane for installing the reset assembly and withstanding the impact of clothing.

[0008] The first connecting mechanism is a hinge shaft; the inner wall of the inner cylinder is provided with an installation groove, and the hinge shaft is set in the installation groove so that the fixed plate can rotate around it. The hinge shaft is used to realize the rotational connection, the kinematic pair is simple, the friction is small, and it ensures that the swinging of the tumbling rib under the action of centrifugal force and reset force is flexible, smooth and reliable.

[0009] The limiting mechanism is an elastic connector; one end of the elastic connector is connected to the second end of the tumbling joey body, and the other end is fixed to the inner wall of the inner cylinder; the maximum elastic force it can provide is greater than the reset force generated by the reset component when the tumbling joey body is in the first position; the first position is when the tumbling joey body protrudes into the cylinder until its second end is blocked by the elastic connector; using an elastic connector as a limiting mechanism limits the maximum protrusion position on the one hand, and its flexible nature can absorb the impact of movement, reduce noise, and avoid jamming or damage caused by rigid collision, thereby improving the durability and smooth operation of the mechanism.

[0010] The fixing plate is equipped with a flow guiding structure to guide water flow during washing. The flow guiding structure includes multiple flow guiding protrusions protruding from the upper surface of the fixing plate; these protrusions are dot-shaped. By adding a flow guiding structure to the surface of the tumbling ribs, the water flow can be disturbed during washing, forming a more complex water flow path, enhancing the rubbing and rinsing effect on clothes, thereby further improving the washing effect. Furthermore, the dot-shaped protrusion structure is simple in design, has a significant effect on disturbing water flow, and is easy to integrally mold on the fixing plate without adding extra process complexity.

[0011] Multiple tumbling ribs are provided in the circumferential direction of the inner cylinder wall, and all the tumbling ribs are arranged in the same direction along the circumference. By providing multiple movable tumbling ribs, multiple adaptive action points can be formed in the circumferential direction of the inner cylinder, ensuring that the clothes can be effectively lifted and the uniform tumbling and dehydration effect can be achieved in any phase.

[0012] A drum washing machine includes the washing machine inner drum as described above. The aforementioned intelligent adaptive inner drum is preferably applied to a drum washing machine, enabling the drum washing machine to automatically optimize its internal structure according to operating conditions, thereby comprehensively improving its overall performance in terms of washing efficiency, anti-tangling, spin-drying efficiency, and stable operation.

[0013] A method for controlling a drum washing machine includes: adjusting the centrifugal force acting on the tumbling rib body according to the rotation speed of the inner drum of the washing machine; and driving the tumbling rib body to switch between a first position, a second position, and a third position by means of a balance between the centrifugal force and the reset force of the reset component; wherein, when the inner drum is running at a washing speed, the reset force is greater than the centrifugal force, and the tumbling rib body is in the first position. When the inner cylinder is running at the first critical speed, the centrifugal force and the restoring force are equal in magnitude, and the tumbling rib body is in the third position; When the inner drum is running at the dehydration speed, the centrifugal force is greater than the restoring force, and the tumbling rib body is in the second position. This method intelligently and passively drives the tumbling rib to switch between three key positions by controlling the single variable of rotation speed through a program. It achieves fully automatic control of "protruding tumbling during washing, balanced distribution during transition, and wall-mounted vibration reduction during dehydration", without the need for additional drive devices. The control logic is simple, efficient, and cost-free.

[0014] Compared with the prior art, the beneficial effects of this invention are as follows: 1. It fundamentally prevents clothes from getting caught and misaligned: Through an innovative retractable structure, the tumbling ribs can automatically retract during the dehydration distribution and high-speed dehydration stages, becoming basically flush with the inner drum wall, completely eliminating the problem of clothes being "hooked" or tangled by the fixed protrusions; 2. It significantly improves the success rate and efficiency of dehydration: Since the initial misalignment is effectively avoided, the washing machine does not need to enter the process of repeatedly trying to balance and slowing down to restart to correct the misalignment, thereby significantly improving the one-time success rate of the dehydration program, shortening the overall washing and dehydration time, and improving operating efficiency; 3. Significantly Enhanced Operational Stability and Reliability: The uniformity of load distribution is fundamentally improved, resulting in a significant reduction in vibration and noise during high-speed spin-drying. This avoids extreme situations such as "drum collisions," enhancing the user experience and reducing the impact load on key mechanical components such as bearings and the suspension system, thus extending the overall machine's lifespan. 4. Optimized Washing Process and User Experience: The structure remains protruding during low-speed stages requiring tumbling, such as washing and rinsing, ensuring the original cleaning effect. It automatically retracts during stages requiring even distribution of clothes and high-speed spin-drying, ensuring spin-drying stability. This intelligent adaptability—"out when it should, retract when it should"—is particularly optimized for handling single, thin, and easily tangled garments. Attached Figure Description

[0015] To more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the specific embodiments of the present invention, the drawings used in the description of the embodiments will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the drawings described below are only some embodiments of the present invention. For those skilled in the art, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without creative effort.

[0016] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the inner drum of the washing machine according to the present invention.

[0017] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the inner drum of the washing machine of the present invention in the first position (protruding state).

[0018] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of the inner drum of the washing machine of the present invention in the second position (compressed state).

[0019] Reference numerals: 1-Inner cylinder wall, 2-Stretching rib body, 21-First end, 22-Second end, 6-Elastic connector, 3-First connecting mechanism, 4-Mounting groove, 5-Spring reset assembly. Detailed Implementation

[0020] To make the objectives, technical solutions, and advantages of the present invention clearer, specific embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Examples of these preferred embodiments are illustrated in the drawings. The embodiments of the present invention shown in and described with reference to the drawings are merely exemplary, and the present invention is not limited to these embodiments.

[0021] It should also be noted that, in order to avoid obscuring the invention with unnecessary details, only the structures and / or processing steps closely related to the solution according to the invention are shown in the accompanying drawings, while other details that are not closely related to the invention are omitted.

[0022] Furthermore, in the description of this invention, the terms "center," "upper," "lower," "left," "right," "vertical," "horizontal," "inner," and "outer," etc., indicate the orientation or positional relationship based on the orientation or positional relationship shown in the accompanying drawings. They are used solely for the convenience of describing the invention and for 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 limitations on the invention. In addition, the terms "first" and "second" are used for descriptive purposes only and should not be construed as indicating or implying relative importance.

[0023] Example 1 like Figure 1 As shown, this embodiment provides a washing machine inner drum, including multiple (preferably three, distributed at 120° intervals) unidirectional tumbling rib bodies 2 arranged at intervals along the circumferential direction on the circumferential inner wall of the inner drum 1. Each tumbling rib body 2 and its connected reset assembly constitute an asymmetrical anti-clothes-snagging design.

[0024] like Figure 2-3 As shown, the main body 2 of the tumbling rib is specifically a fixed plate. The fixed plate is a rectangular plate, and its upper surface has a flow guiding structure for guiding water flow during washing to enhance the tumbling effect. This structure is preferably a flow guiding point protrusion, or a strip-shaped rib, or a combination thereof (not shown in the figure). The fixed plate serves as the supporting body of the tumbling rib. Its first end 21 near the inner wall of the inner drum is movably connected to the inner wall of the inner drum 1 via a first connecting mechanism 3. In this embodiment, the first connecting mechanism 3 is preferably a hinge shaft. Specifically, a mounting groove 4 is correspondingly provided on the inner wall of the inner drum 1, and one end of the hinge shaft (i.e., the first connecting mechanism 3) is fixed to the side wall of the mounting groove 4, thereby allowing the first end 21 of the fixed plate to rotate around the axis of the hinge shaft.

[0025] The reset assembly is connected between the tumbling rib body 2 and the inner wall of the inner cylinder 1, providing a reset force to the tumbling rib body 2 to drive it back to its original position. In this embodiment, the reset assembly is specifically a spring reset assembly 5, which has at least one spring (a helical spring in this embodiment). Preferably, there are two springs, and these two springs are symmetrically arranged about the longitudinal centerline of the fixed plate (e.g., ...). Figure 2 (As shown). A spring changes shape when it is compressed or stretched, storing elastic potential energy and generating a restoring force.

[0026] A limiting mechanism is also provided on the inner wall of the inner cylinder wall 1. One specific design of this limiting mechanism is an elastic connector 6, which is connected between the fixed plate and the inner wall of the inner cylinder wall 1. One end of the elastic connector 6 is connected to the second end 22 of the tumbling rib body 2, and the other end is fixed to the inner wall of the inner cylinder wall 1. The maximum elastic force it can provide is greater than the reset force generated by the reset component when the tumbling rib body 2 is in the first position. The material of the elastic connector 6 is preferably a rubber material with excellent elasticity, fatigue resistance and hydrolysis resistance. More preferably, the plate body of the elastic connector 6 is designed as a wave-shaped structure, either entirely or partially. This structure gives it a larger elastic deformation space, which can provide a smooth flexible connection and effective cushioning when the fixed plate rotates. At the same time, when the tumbling rib retracts, its wave-shaped folds can reduce the contact area and friction with the high-speed rotating clothes, reducing wear and noise.

[0027] The structural design of the elastic connector 6 is used to limit the rotation angle range of the tumbling joey body 2, defining its first position (maximum protrusion position) and second position (maximum retraction position), as well as a third position in equilibrium (where the restoring force equals the centrifugal force). Compared to rigid linkages or hinges, the elastic connector (especially made of rubber) allows for a certain degree of flexible deformation between the tumbling joey body 2 and the inner cylinder wall when connecting them, ensuring the balance and stability of the mechanism's operation and avoiding jamming caused by unilateral force.

[0028] Based on the above physical structure, the present invention also provides a control method for a washing machine. This method is applied to washing machines equipped with the aforementioned tumbling rib structure. Its core lies in: controlling the rotational speed of the inner drum wall 1 of the washing machine through a program, actively adjusting the magnitude of the centrifugal force acting on the tumbling rib body 2, thereby cleverly utilizing the dynamic balance between this centrifugal force and the inherent restoring force of the reset component (such as a spring) to passively and automatically drive the tumbling rib body 2 to switch between a first position, a third position, and a second position.

[0029] The specific work process is as follows: When the washing machine drum 1 is running at low to medium speed (approximately 0–90 r / min), clothes undergo periodic adhesion, slippage, and redistribution along the drum wall under the combined action of centrifugal force and gravity. This speed range is the critical stage where single or small amounts of clothing are most easily lifted by the tumbling ribs and form a large eccentricity. The resetting force generated by the reset component dominates, driving the tumbling ribs to bulge into the drum and stabilize in the first position. This helps to lift and tumble the clothes during washing, enhancing the washing effect; and during shaking, it helps the clothes detach and disperse from the drum wall, preventing tangling. When the rotation speed reaches the preset critical range, the centrifugal force and the restoring force tend to be balanced, and the tumbling rib body 2 is in the third position between the first position and the second position, thereby significantly reducing the outer contour size of the tumbling rib and preventing the clothes from being pulled into a ball by the tumbling rib during the 0-90 r / min distribution stage, thus forming a smaller amount of eccentricity.

[0030] When the inner drum speed increases further and enters the dehydration stage, the inner drum speed can reach 400 r / min, 600 r / min, 800 r / min, 1000 r / min or even 1200 r / min. At this time, the centrifugal force generated is much greater than the restoring force. Under the action of centrifugal force, the tumbling rib body 2 is completely pressed back to the second position, and its outer contour is basically flush with the inner drum wall, so that the inner drum forms an approximately smooth cylindrical structure, thereby effectively avoiding clothes from hanging and significantly reducing vibration and noise during the dehydration process.

[0031] After the final spin cycle, as the rotation speed decreases, the centrifugal force weakens, and the resetting force takes over again, driving the tumbling rib body 2 to automatically reset and extend, preparing for the next washing cycle. This process is repeated to directly complete the washing program.

[0032] Example 2 This embodiment, based on the specific implementation of Embodiment 1, can be modified in various ways. For example, the reset component is not limited to a helical spring, but can also use a spring sheet, torsion spring, rubber elastomer, or magnetic component. The first connecting mechanism 3 can also be a sliding block or a flexible hinge; the flow guiding structure can also be selected by opening a flow guiding groove (such as a mesh groove, annular groove, etc.) on the fixed plate. In addition to using the elastic connector 6 as the limiting mechanism, the limiting mechanism of the present invention can also adopt other equivalent mechanical limiting methods (such as using mechanical stop limiting, damping buffer limiting, etc.), as long as it can limit the movement stroke of the tumbling fascia body 2 between the first position and the second position. These modifications, as long as they achieve the core function of "controlling the position switching of the tumbling fascia body 2 by balancing centrifugal force and reset force", all fall within the protection scope of the present invention.

[0033] The specific embodiments described herein are merely illustrative examples of the invention. Those skilled in the art to which this invention pertains may make various modifications or additions to the described specific embodiments or use similar methods to substitute them, without departing from the spirit of the invention or exceeding the scope defined by the appended claims.

Claims

1. A washing machine inner drum, characterized in that, include: The inner cylinder wall (1) and the tumbling rib body (2), wherein the first end (21) of the tumbling rib body (2) is connected to the inner cylinder wall (1) through a first connecting mechanism (3); A reset assembly is connected between the body of the tumbling musculars (2) and the inner wall of the inner cylinder (1) to provide a reset force to the body of the tumbling musculars (2) to drive it to reset. A limiting mechanism is connected between the second end (22) of the tumbling muscular body (2) and the inner cylinder wall to limit its movement stroke; The first connecting mechanism (3) allows the tumbling rib body (2) to swing radially within the inner cylinder, giving it three defined mechanical positions: First position: Under the action of the reset force, the body of the tumbling tendon (2) protrudes into the cylinder and is blocked and limited by the limiting mechanism; Second position: the position where the slapping rib body (2) swings to when the centrifugal force of dehydration overcomes the restoring force, and is closest to the inner surface of the inner cylinder wall (1); The third position is when the centrifugal force and the resetting force are equal in magnitude, and the slapping tendon body (2) is in a force balance position between the first position and the second position.

2. The washing machine inner drum according to claim 1, characterized in that, The reset assembly is a spring reset assembly (5), which includes at least one spring; the spring generates the reset force when it is compressed or stretched.

3. The washing machine inner drum according to claim 2, characterized in that, The tumbling rib body (2) is a fixed plate; the fixed plate includes a first end (21) and a second end (22); the first end (21) is connected to the inner wall of the inner cylinder wall (1) through the first connecting mechanism (3); the lower surface of the fixed plate is connected to the spring reset assembly (5).

4. The washing machine inner drum according to claim 3, characterized in that, The first connecting mechanism (3) is a hinge shaft; the inner wall of the inner cylinder wall (1) is provided with an installation groove (4), and the hinge shaft is set in the installation groove (4) so ​​that the fixing plate can rotate around it.

5. The washing machine inner drum according to claim 3, characterized in that, The fixing plate is provided with a flow guiding structure for guiding water flow during washing; the flow guiding structure includes multiple flow guiding protrusions protruding from the upper surface of the fixing plate.

6. The washing machine inner drum according to claim 5, characterized in that, The flow-guiding protrusions are dot-shaped protrusions.

7. The washing machine inner drum according to claim 1, characterized in that, The limiting mechanism is an elastic connector (6); one end of the elastic connector (6) is connected to the second end (22) of the tumbling body (2), and the other end is fixed to the inner wall of the inner cylinder (1); the maximum elastic force it can provide is greater than the reset force generated by the reset component when the tumbling body (2) is in the first position; The first position is where the body (2) of the tumbling tendon protrudes into the cylinder until its second end (22) is blocked by the elastic connector (6).

8. The washing machine inner drum according to claim 1, characterized in that, Multiple tumbling body bodies (2) are provided in the circumferential direction of the inner cylinder wall (1), and all the tumbling body bodies (2) are arranged in the same direction in the circumferential direction.

9. A drum washing machine, characterized in that, Includes the inner drum of a washing machine as described in any one of claims 1-8.

10. A method for controlling a drum washing machine as described in claim 9, characterized in that, include: According to the rotation speed of the inner drum of the washing machine, the centrifugal force acting on the tumbling rib body (2) is adjusted, and the tumbling rib body (2) is driven to switch between the first position, the second position and the third position through the balance relationship between the centrifugal force and the reset force of the reset component; When the inner drum is running at the washing speed, the reset force is greater than the centrifugal force, and the tumbling rib body (2) is in the first position; When the inner cylinder is running at the first critical speed, the centrifugal force and the restoring force are equal in magnitude, and the tumbling rib body (2) is in the third position; When the inner cylinder is running at the dehydration speed, the centrifugal force is greater than the reset force, and the slapping rib body (2) is in the second position.

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