An adjustable damping integrated injection molded component for a washing machine vibration reduction and balancing system

Abstract

This utility model discloses an adjustable damping integrated injection-molded component for a washing machine vibration reduction and balancing system, comprising: a base body, a damping adjustment mechanism, and a counterweight connection part. The base body is integrally injection-molded from engineering plastic, and its overall structure is a ring-shaped plate. The outer edge has mounting lugs for fixing to the washing machine's outer drum bracket, and the inner side forms a receiving cavity. A central through hole is opened at the bottom of the receiving cavity for passing through a main shaft or connecting a transmission structure. Multiple guide ribs are distributed circumferentially on the upper surface of the base body. The guide ribs have a trapezoidal cross-section, and their inner surfaces are inclined, used to guide the radial movement of the damping adjustment mechanism. Compared with the prior art, the beneficial effects of this utility model are: by integrally injection-molding the base body, this component integrates guide ribs, a counterweight mounting column, an annular oil groove, and a sealing structure, significantly reducing the number of discrete parts, simplifying the assembly process, and improving the overall production efficiency.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This utility model relates to the technical field of vibration damping and balancing devices for washing machines, specifically an adjustable damping integrated injection molding component for a washing machine vibration damping and balancing system. Background Technology

[0002] Washing machines generate significant vibrations and eccentric loads during high-speed spin-drying. To improve operational stability, they are typically equipped with a vibration damping and balancing system. This system often uses a combination of dampers and counterweights to absorb and counteract unbalanced torques. However, the damping components in existing vibration damping and balancing systems are mostly independent metal or rubber structures, and their damping characteristics are fixed after leaving the factory, making it difficult to adapt to dynamic changes in washing loads and spin speeds.

[0003] Furthermore, these components are typically assembled from multiple discrete parts, requiring numerous coordination steps during installation and maintenance, which impacts the overall assembly efficiency. Although some solutions attempt to alter the damping effect by adjusting internal oil circuits or spring preload, in practical applications, their adjustment range is limited and they lack integrated design with the injection molding process, leaving room for further optimization in terms of miniaturization, weight reduction, and consistency in mass production. Utility Model Content

[0004] The purpose of this invention is to provide an adjustable damping integrated injection molding component for a washing machine vibration reduction and balancing system, so as to solve the problems mentioned in the background art.

[0005] To achieve the above objectives, this utility model provides the following technical solution: an adjustable damping integrated injection-molded component for a washing machine vibration damping and balancing system, comprising: a base body, a damping adjustment mechanism, and a counterweight connection part, wherein: The base body is integrally injection molded from engineering plastic. It has an overall ring-shaped plate structure with mounting lugs on the outer edge for fixing to the outer drum bracket of the washing machine, and an inner cavity. A central through hole is opened at the bottom of the cavity, which is used to pass through the main shaft or connect the transmission structure. Multiple guide ribs are distributed circumferentially on the upper surface of the base body. The cross-section of the guide ribs is trapezoidal, and the inner surface is inclined, which is used to guide the radial movement of the damping adjustment mechanism.

[0006] The damping adjustment mechanism is embedded in the receiving cavity of the base body and includes an adjustment ring, an elastic damping block assembly, and a limiting snap ring. The adjustment ring is a metal ring with a groove on its outer circumference that mates with the guide rib, allowing the adjustment ring to slide radially within the receiving cavity. The elastic damping block assembly consists of several independent rubber damping blocks, which are evenly distributed along the inner circumference of the adjustment ring. One end of each rubber damping block is fixed to the inner wall of the adjustment ring, and the other end extends toward the central through hole to form an arc-shaped contact surface. The limiting snap ring is an open ring structure with its two ends respectively engaged in the engaging grooves provided on the inner wall of the receiving cavity of the base body to limit the maximum displacement stroke of the adjustment ring.

[0007] The counterweight connection part is located on the lower surface of the base body and includes several counterweight mounting columns arranged circumferentially. Each counterweight mounting column has a threaded hole at its end for screwing a metal counterweight block. The counterweight mounting column and the base body are integrally injection molded structures with internal reinforcing ribs to improve torsional strength.

[0008] Preferably, the outer circumferential surface of the adjusting ring is also provided with an adjusting tooth segment, which is located between two adjacent sliding grooves; the side wall of the base body is provided with an adjusting window, which is directly opposite the position of the adjusting tooth segment; an external adjusting tool can engage with the adjusting tooth segment through the adjusting window to drive the adjusting ring to make radial displacement within the receiving cavity.

[0009] Preferably, each rubber damping block in the elastic damping block assembly has a metal skeleton embedded inside. One end of the metal skeleton is welded and fixed to the inner wall of the adjusting ring, and the other end extends to the underside of the arc-shaped contact surface of the rubber damping block, in order to enhance the structural stability of the rubber damping block under high-frequency vibration.

[0010] Preferably, the bottom of the receiving cavity of the base body is provided with an annular oil groove, which is located around the central through hole and is filled with high-viscosity silicone oil; the bottom surface of the adjusting ring is provided with an oil scraping lip, which is in contact with the inner wall of the annular oil groove, and shears the silicone oil during the movement of the adjusting ring, thereby generating additional damping force.

[0011] Preferably, the upper surface of the base body is also provided with a sealing flange, which surrounds the receiving cavity and its height is higher than the top of the guide rib; the top of the sealing flange is provided with an annular sealing groove, and a fluororubber sealing ring is embedded in the annular sealing groove to prevent external moisture or detergent from seeping into the receiving cavity.

[0012] Preferably, the inner circumferential surface of the adjusting ring is provided with a buffer pad layer, which covers the connection area between the rubber damping block and the adjusting ring. The buffer pad layer is made of polyurethane material and has a thickness of 1.5 mm. It is used to absorb local stress concentration of the adjusting ring under dynamic load.

[0013] Preferably, the mounting lug of the base body is provided with a positioning pin hole that extends through the thickness direction of the mounting lug. This positioning pin hole is used to cooperate with the positioning pin on the outer cylinder bracket during the assembly of the whole machine, so as to ensure the accuracy of the component installation angle.

[0014] Preferably, the outer periphery of the counterweight mounting column is provided with heat dissipation fins, which extend along the axial direction of the counterweight mounting column, and there are eight fins evenly distributed to dissipate the heat generated by damping friction during high-speed dehydration.

[0015] Compared with the prior art, the beneficial effects of this utility model are: This component integrates guide ribs, counterweight mounting columns, annular oil grooves, and sealing structures through one-piece injection molding of the base body, significantly reducing the number of discrete parts, simplifying the assembly process, and improving the overall production efficiency. The adjusting ring in the damping adjustment mechanism can move radially under the action of external tools, changing the pre-compression between the rubber damping block and the central through hole, thereby adjusting the damping force to adapt to different washing loads and speed conditions. The rubber damping block has an embedded metal skeleton, which, together with the silicone oil shear effect in the annular oil groove, forms a composite damping mechanism, providing stable and adjustable energy dissipation capacity over a wide frequency vibration range. The counterweight mounting column is integrally molded with the base body and is equipped with heat dissipation fins, taking into account both dynamic balance function and thermal management requirements. The combination of sealing flange and fluororubber sealing ring effectively isolates the influence of the external environment on the internal damping mechanism, ensuring long-term operational reliability. The overall structure is compact and lightweight, in line with the trend of miniaturization and lightweight design, while the injection molding process ensures consistency and cost control in mass production. Attached Figure Description

[0016] Figure 1 This is a three-dimensional structural diagram of the present invention; Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the internal structure of this utility model.

[0017] In the diagram: 1. Base body; 2. Damping adjustment mechanism; 3. Counterweight connection part; 4. Mounting lug; 5. Central through hole; 6. Guide rib; 7. Adjusting ring; 8. Elastic damping block assembly; 9. Limiting snap ring; 10. Counterweight mounting column. Detailed Implementation

[0018] The technical solutions of the present utility model will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the accompanying drawings of the embodiments. Obviously, the described embodiments are only some embodiments of the present utility model, and not all embodiments. Based on the embodiments of the present utility model, all other embodiments obtained by those of ordinary skill in the art without creative effort are within the protection scope of the present utility model.

[0019] Please see Figures 1 to 2This utility model provides an embodiment of an adjustable damping integrated injection-molded component for a washing machine vibration reduction and balancing system, comprising: a base body 1, a damping adjustment mechanism 2, and a counterweight connection part 3. The base body 1 is integrally molded from polyamide or polyoxymethylene engineering plastic using an injection molding process, forming a ring-shaped plate structure. Three mounting lugs 4 are evenly distributed around its outer edge, each lug 4 having a locating pin hole penetrating the thickness direction for engaging with corresponding locating pins on the washing machine's outer drum bracket, ensuring angular consistency of the component during overall assembly. A central through hole 5 is provided at the center of the base body 1, for the washing machine's main shaft to pass through or connect to the transmission structure. Its inner diameter is set according to the main shaft diameter to ensure that the assembly clearance meets mechanical tolerance requirements.

[0020] The upper surface of the base body 1 has six guide ribs 6 distributed circumferentially. Each guide rib 6 extends radially along the base body 1, has a trapezoidal cross-section, an inclined plane on the inner side, and a perpendicular outer side to the upper surface of the base body 1. The guide ribs 6 have a uniform height, with their tops lower than the height of the sealing flange at the edge of the upper surface of the base body 1. The inner side of the guide rib 6 forms a sliding fit with the groove on the outer circumferential surface of the adjusting ring 7 in the damping adjustment mechanism 2, guiding the adjusting ring 7 to move radially linearly within the receiving cavity of the base body 1.

[0021] The damping adjustment mechanism 2 is embedded in the receiving cavity formed inside the base body 1, and includes an adjusting ring 7, an elastic damping block assembly 8, and a limiting snap ring 9. The adjusting ring 7 is a metal ring made of stainless steel, and its outer circumferential surface has six sliding grooves. The number of sliding grooves corresponds one-to-one with the guide ribs 6. The inner wall contour of the sliding groove matches the trapezoidal cross section of the guide ribs 6, so that the adjusting ring 7 can only slide radially in the receiving cavity and cannot rotate circumferentially or move axially. Eight rubber damping blocks are evenly distributed on the inner circumferential surface of the adjusting ring 7, forming the elastic damping block assembly 8. One end of each rubber damping block is fixed to the inner wall of the adjusting ring 7 by a vulcanization process, and the other end extends towards the central through hole 5, forming an arc-shaped contact surface that matches the outer circle of the main shaft.

[0022] Each rubber damping block has an embedded metal skeleton, which is a stamped thin steel plate structure. One end of the skeleton is welded and fixed to the inner wall of the adjusting ring 7, and the other end extends directly below the arc-shaped contact surface of the rubber damping block. The length of the metal skeleton covers more than 80% of the total length of the rubber damping block, and is used to prevent the rubber material from tearing or peeling due to shear fatigue under high-frequency vibration conditions. The inner circumferential surface of the adjusting ring 7 is covered with a buffer pad layer in the connection area between the rubber damping block and the adjusting ring 7. This buffer pad layer is made of polyurethane material and is 1.5 mm thick. Its function is to disperse local stress concentration when the adjusting ring 7 is subjected to dynamic impact loads and to prevent micro-cracks from forming at the metal-rubber interface.

[0023] The limiting spring 9 is an open annular spring steel sheet, with its two ends respectively engaging with two engaging grooves provided on the inner wall of the receiving cavity of the base body 1. The engaging grooves are located on both sides of the root of the guide rib 6. The inner diameter of the limiting spring 9 is slightly smaller than the outer diameter of the adjusting ring 7. When the adjusting ring 7 moves radially outward to its limit position, its outer circumferential surface contacts the inner wall of the limiting spring 9, thereby limiting the maximum displacement stroke of the adjusting ring 7 and preventing the rubber damping block from failing due to excessive compression.

[0024] An adjustment window is provided on the side wall of the base body 1. This window is located in the area between two adjacent guide ribs 6, directly opposite the adjustment tooth segment on the outer circumference of the adjustment ring 7. The adjustment tooth segment is a straight tooth structure locally machined along the outer circumference of the adjustment ring 7, with twelve teeth and a module of 0.5. The external adjustment tool is a gear wrench with a handle. The small gear at its front end can pass through the adjustment window and mesh with the adjustment tooth segment. By rotating the gear wrench, the adjustment ring 7 is driven to make radial displacement within the receiving cavity, thereby changing the pre-compression between the rubber damping block and the central through hole 5, achieving stepless adjustment of the damping force.

[0025] The base 1 has an annular oil groove at the bottom of its receiving cavity. This annular oil groove surrounds the central through hole 5 and has a rectangular groove in cross-section. It is filled with high-viscosity silicone oil with a viscosity grade of 50,000 centipoise. The bottom surface of the adjusting ring 7 has an oil scraping lip, which is an annular protrusion extending downward along the outer edge of the bottom surface of the adjusting ring 7. Its outer diameter fits against the inner wall of the annular oil groove. When the adjusting ring 7 moves radially, the oil scraping lip shears the silicone oil in the annular oil groove. The silicone oil molecular chains generate internal friction resistance under shearing action, thereby forming an additional fluid damping force. This, together with the structural damping of the rubber damping block, constitutes a composite damping mechanism.

[0026] The upper surface of the base 1 is provided with a sealing flange that surrounds the receiving cavity and is approximately three millimeters higher than the top of the guide rib 6. An annular sealing groove is formed at the top of the sealing flange, and a fluororubber sealing ring is embedded within the groove. The fluororubber sealing ring has a circular cross-section, and its outer diameter is interference-fitted with the inner diameter of the annular sealing groove. Its inner diameter is slightly smaller than the outer edge of the adjustment window, ensuring that after the assembly is installed in the washing machine, external moisture, detergent foam, or condensate cannot seep into the receiving cavity through the adjustment window or the gap in the guide rib 6, thus ensuring the long-term reliability of the damping adjustment mechanism 2.

[0027] The counterweight connection part 3 is located on the lower surface of the base body 1 and includes eight counterweight mounting columns 10 arranged at equal intervals along the circumference. Each counterweight mounting column 10 is integrally injection molded with the base body 1, and its interior has cross-shaped reinforcing ribs along the axial direction. The reinforcing ribs extend from the lower surface of the base body 1 to the end of the counterweight mounting column 10 to improve torsional strength and prevent cracking at the root of the counterweight mounting column 10 due to centrifugal force during high-speed spin-drying. Each counterweight mounting column 10 has an internal threaded hole at the center of its end, with a thread specification of M6, for screwing in a standard metal counterweight block. The mass of the metal counterweight block is pre-calculated and determined according to the rated capacity and spin-drying speed of the washing machine. By increasing or decreasing the number of counterweight blocks or replacing them with counterweight blocks of different masses, the dynamic balance of the whole machine during the spin-drying stage can be finely adjusted.

[0028] Each counterweight mounting post 10 has eight heat dissipation fins on its outer periphery. The heat dissipation fins extend along the axial direction of the counterweight mounting post 10, with a height of 10 mm and a thickness of 1.2 mm. Air circulation channels are formed between adjacent heat dissipation fins. During the high-speed spin-drying process of the washing machine, the frictional heat generated between the rubber damping block and the main shaft, and during the shearing process of the silicone oil, is conducted to the counterweight mounting post 10 through the base body 1. Then, the heat dissipation fins increase the heat dissipation surface area, accelerating the convection dissipation of heat to the surrounding air, thus preventing the internal temperature of the components from becoming too high, which could lead to rubber aging or a decrease in silicone oil viscosity.

[0029] In the actual assembly process, firstly, the limiting snap ring 9 is snapped into the snap-fit ​​groove on the inner wall of the receiving cavity of the base body 1; then, the adjusting ring 7 is inserted into the receiving cavity from above the base body 1 downwards, so that the sliding groove on the outer circumference of the adjusting ring 7 is aligned with the guide rib 6 and slides into place; next, a small amount of grease is applied to the arc-shaped contact surface of the rubber damping block on the inner circumference of the adjusting ring 7 to reduce dry friction during initial operation; then, the fluororubber sealing ring is pressed into the annular sealing groove at the top of the sealing flange; finally, the entire assembly is aligned with the positioning pin on the outer drum bracket of the washing machine through the positioning pin hole on the mounting lug 4, and bolts are used for fastening. The counterweight is selected with an appropriate mass according to the overall dynamic balance test results and screwed into the threaded hole at the end of the counterweight mounting column 10.

[0030] During the operation of the washing machine, when uneven distribution of clothes inside the drum causes radial vibration of the main shaft, the outer circle of the main shaft and the arc-shaped contact surface of the rubber damping block undergo relative displacement. The rubber damping block is compressed and deformed, generating a restoring force. At the same time, the internal metal skeleton restricts its excessive deformation. Under vibration excitation, the adjusting ring 7 makes a slight radial reciprocating motion along the guide rib 6, driving the oil scraper lip to periodically shear the silicone oil in the annular oil groove. The viscous resistance of the silicone oil further dissipates the vibration energy. If the user finds that the vibration is too large during the spin-drying stage, a special gear wrench can be used in the stopped state to pass through the adjusting window, mesh with the adjusting gear segment, and rotate to push the adjusting ring 7 towards the central through hole 5, increasing the pre-compression of the rubber damping block, thereby increasing the damping force to adapt to the current load conditions.

[0031] This utility model integrates the guide rib 6, counterweight mounting column 10, annular oil groove, sealing flange, mounting lug 4, and reinforcing ribs into a single unit through injection molding of the base body 1, significantly reducing the number of parts and assembly complexity. The damping adjustment mechanism 2 achieves on-site adjustment of damping force through the radial displacement of the adjustment ring 7, adapting to different washing loads without replacing parts. The rubber damping block with an embedded metal skeleton combined with silicone oil shear damping forms a wide-frequency-range, highly stable composite energy dissipation mechanism. The counterweight connection part 3 and the heat dissipation fins are designed to meet both dynamic balance adjustment and thermal management requirements. The sealing structure effectively isolates external environmental corrosion, ensuring long-term reliable operation of the internal damping mechanism.

[0032] It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that this invention is not limited to the details of the exemplary embodiments described above, and that it can be implemented in other specific forms without departing from the spirit or essential characteristics of this invention. Therefore, the embodiments should be considered illustrative and non-limiting in all respects, and the scope of this invention is defined by the appended claims rather than the foregoing description. Thus, it is intended that all variations falling within the meaning and scope of equivalents of the claims be included within this invention. No reference numerals in the claims should be construed as limiting the scope of the claims.

Claims

1. An adjustable damping integrated injection-molded component for a washing machine vibration reduction and balancing system, characterized in that, include: The base body (1), the damping adjustment mechanism (2), and the counterweight connection part (3) are as follows: The base body (1) is integrally injection molded from engineering plastic and has an overall ring-shaped plate structure. The outer edge is provided with mounting lugs (4) for fixing to the outer drum bracket of the washing machine, and the inner side forms a receiving cavity. The bottom of the receiving cavity is provided with a central through hole (5). The upper surface of the base body (1) is provided with multiple guide ribs (6) distributed circumferentially. The cross section of the guide ribs (6) is trapezoidal and its inner side is inclined. The damping adjustment mechanism (2) is embedded in the receiving cavity and includes an adjustment ring (7), an elastic damping block group (8), and a limiting snap ring (9). The adjustment ring (7) is a metal ring with a groove on its outer circumference that cooperates with the guide rib (6). The elastic damping block group (8) is composed of several rubber damping blocks, each rubber damping block is evenly arranged along the inner circumference of the adjustment ring (7), one end is fixed to the inner wall of the adjustment ring (7), and the other end extends toward the central through hole (5) and forms an arc-shaped contact surface. The limiting snap ring (9) is an open ring structure, and its two ends are respectively snapped into the snap-fit ​​grooves on the inner wall of the receiving cavity of the base body (1). The counterweight connection part (3) is located on the lower surface of the base body (1) and includes a number of counterweight mounting columns (10) arranged circumferentially, with a threaded hole at the end of each counterweight mounting column (10).

2. The adjustable damping integrated injection molding component for a washing machine vibration reduction and balancing system according to claim 1, characterized in that: The outer circumferential surface of the adjusting ring (7) is also provided with an adjusting tooth segment, which is located between two adjacent sliding grooves; the side wall of the base body (1) is provided with an adjusting window, which is directly opposite the position of the adjusting tooth segment.

3. The adjustable damping integrated injection molding component for a washing machine vibration reduction and balancing system according to claim 1, characterized in that: Each rubber damping block in the elastic damping block group (8) has a metal frame embedded inside. One end of the metal frame is welded and fixed to the inner wall of the adjusting ring (7), and the other end extends to the underside of the arc-shaped contact surface of the rubber damping block.

4. The adjustable damping integrated injection molding assembly for a washing machine vibration reduction and balancing system according to claim 1, characterized in that: The base body (1) has an annular oil groove at the bottom of its accommodating cavity, which is located around the central through hole (5); the bottom surface of the adjusting ring (7) has an oil scraping lip, which is in contact with the inner wall of the annular oil groove.

5. The adjustable damping integrated injection molding assembly for a washing machine vibration reduction and balancing system according to claim 1, characterized in that: The upper surface of the base body (1) is also provided with a sealing flange, which surrounds the receiving cavity and its height is higher than the top of the guide rib (6); the top of the sealing flange is provided with an annular sealing groove, and a fluororubber sealing ring is embedded in the annular sealing groove.

6. The adjustable damping integrated injection molding assembly for a washing machine vibration reduction and balancing system according to claim 1, characterized in that: The inner circumferential surface of the adjusting ring (7) is provided with a buffer pad layer, which covers the connection area between the rubber damping block and the adjusting ring (7), and is made of polyurethane material with a thickness of 1.5 mm.

7. The adjustable damping integrated injection molding assembly for a washing machine vibration reduction and balancing system according to claim 1, characterized in that: The outer periphery of the counterweight mounting column (10) is provided with heat dissipation fins, which extend along the axial direction of the counterweight mounting column (10) and are eight in number and evenly distributed.

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