Tubing assembly for a washing machine and washing machine

Abstract

The invention relates to a tub assembly (6) for a washing machine (2), comprising a plastic tub (8) for receiving a washing drum (10) of the washing machine (2) for laundry (4) to be treated, wherein the plastic tub assembly (8) has an end wall (12) to which a bearing arrangement (14) of the tub assembly (6) for a rotatable bearing of a shaft (16) of the washing drum (10) is attached, characterized in that the bearing arrangement (14) is detachably attached to the plastic tub assembly (8). Furthermore, the invention relates to a washing machine (2).

Description

[0001] The invention relates to a tub assembly for a washing machine of the type mentioned in the preamble of claim 1 and to a washing machine.

[0002] Such tub assemblies for washing machines and washing machines are already known in the art in a multitude of embodiments. The known tub assemblies for washing machines comprise a plastic tub for receiving a washing drum of the washing machine for the laundry to be treated, wherein the plastic tub has an end wall to which a bearing arrangement of the tub assembly for a rotatable bearing of a shaft of the washing drum is attached.

[0003] The invention therefore addresses the problem of improving a tub assembly for a washing machine with a plastic tub and a washing machine.

[0004] According to the invention, this problem is solved by a tub assembly for a washing machine with the features of claim 1, characterized in that the bearing arrangement is detachably attached to the plastic tub. Furthermore, this problem is solved by a washing machine with the features of claim 10. Advantageous embodiments and further developments of the invention are described in the following dependent claims.

[0005] The advantage achievable with the invention lies particularly in the fact that a washing machine tub assembly with a plastic tub and a washing machine itself are improved. Due to the inventive design of the tub assembly with the plastic tub and the washing machine, the bearing arrangement of the tub assembly, despite the plastic tub, can be easily replaced and thus, for example, replaced on-site by a service technician using a spare bearing arrangement. Furthermore, the tub assembly can be implemented in a simpler way in terms of design and manufacturing. This also applies accordingly to the washing machine equipped with it.Furthermore, the individual components of the detergent dispenser assembly according to the invention, and thus of the washing machine according to the invention, can be manufactured in a simple manner, so that the development risk for new types of washing machines equipped with it is significantly reduced.

[0006] In principle, the tub assembly and the washing machine according to the invention can each be freely selected within wide suitable limits with regard to type, function, material, and dimensions. For example, the washing machine according to the invention can be a household appliance or a commercial appliance, i.e., a washing machine for professional use. Of course, the invention is not limited to washing machines alone. The invention can also be advantageously used in so-called washer-dryers, i.e., a combination of a washing machine and a clothes dryer.

[0007] A particularly advantageous embodiment of the lye container assembly according to the invention provides that the bearing arrangement is mounted on the end wall by means of a bearing receptacle that is detachably connected to the end wall; preferably, that the bearing receptacle is screw-connected to the end wall of the lye container assembly by means of a plurality of screw connections. This enables, on the one hand, a secure and robust connection of the bearing arrangement to the plastic lye container and, on the other hand, very good detachability of the bearing arrangement from the plastic lye container. The latter advantage naturally also extends to the replacement of the bearing arrangement on-site by a service technician during maintenance or repair.Accordingly, this training is advantageous not only for expanding the bearing arrangement, but also for installing a replacement bearing arrangement or a repaired bearing arrangement. Screw connections are particularly well-suited for a detachable connection, especially by a service technician on site, as no special tools or similar equipment are required.

[0008] An advantageous embodiment of the aforementioned embodiment of the alkaline container assembly according to the invention provides that the bearing receptacle has a central section for receiving a portion of the bearing arrangement and a fastening section extending directly outwards from the central section for detachable connection to the end wall. Preferably, the central section is designed as a bearing sleeve and / or the fastening section as a spoke-like section with a plurality of fastening spokes. In this way, the functionalities of the bearing receptacle are also clearly spatially divided, so that, on the one hand, the central section and, on the other hand, the fastening section of the bearing receptacle can be designed specifically for the respective task, i.e., for the respective function.The preferred embodiment of this further development also features highly advantageous designs for the central section and the mounting section. The bearing sleeve provides excellent protection for the rest of the bearing assembly, particularly the at least one bearing of the assembly, shielding it from adverse environmental influences. Furthermore, the design of the mounting section as a spoke-like section offers advantages known from spoked wheels, such as material savings, weight reduction, and improved spring properties.

[0009] A further development of the latter embodiment of the detergent dispenser assembly according to the invention provides that the bearing sleeve is designed to receive two bearings of the bearing arrangement for the shaft. Preferably, the bearing sleeve is designed such that the two bearings can be arranged spaced apart from each other in the bearing sleeve along an imaginary axis of rotation of the shaft. Particularly preferably, the bearing sleeve with the two bearings is designed as a pre-assembled unit. This further improves the ease of installation and removal of the bearing arrangement. The preferred and, in particular, the especially preferred embodiment of this further development has the additional advantage that very good support of the washing drum shaft is enabled by means of the bearing arrangement. Accordingly, higher mechanical loads, for example, higher spin speeds of the washing drum, can also be absorbed and transmitted by means of the bearing arrangement.

[0010] A particularly advantageous embodiment of the lye container assembly according to any one of claims 2 to 4 provides that the plurality of screw connections comprises an inner group of screw connections and an outer group of screw connections positioned radially further outwards compared to the inner group of screw connections; preferably, that the inner group of screw connections comprises a smaller number of screw connections compared to the outer group of screw connections; and particularly preferably, that the inner group of screw connections comprises a total of three screw connections and / or the outer group of screw connections comprises nine or more screw connections. In this way, the plurality of screw connections can be distributed over two radii, so that a larger number of screw connections can also be implemented for the purpose of transmitting higher forces.Furthermore, this makes it possible to functionally distribute the force transmission via the multiple screw connections between the outer and inner groups of screw connections. For example, the outer group can serve solely for the strength and axial positioning of the bearing mount relative to the plastic lye container. The preferred and, in particular, the especially preferred embodiment of this further development also provides very good quantitative distributions of the multiple screw connections between the two aforementioned groups. As is usual and advantageous with spoke-like arrangements, an odd number of fastening spokes evenly distributed around the circumference is preferred for each group.

[0011] A particularly advantageous embodiment of the lye container assembly according to any one of claims 2 to 5 provides that the majority of screw connections have screw bosses, at least partially, preferably completely, in the mounting section of the bearing receptacle and / or on the end wall of the plastic lye container. This allows the lye container assembly according to any one of claims 2 to 5 to be implemented in a very simple manner from a design and manufacturing perspective. This is because only small contact surfaces of the bearing receptacle and / or the plastic lye container, namely the associated screw bosses, are present. This applies particularly to the preferred embodiment of this embodiment.

[0012] Accordingly, an advantageous further development of the aforementioned further development of the lye container assembly according to the invention provides that the screw bosses of the bearing receptacle and the end-face wall are designed to correspond to each other, preferably that the corresponding screw bosses of the internal screw connections have corresponding concentric shoulders for each screw boss pairing, and particularly preferably that one of these screw boss pairings is designed differently from the others according to a coding pattern. In this way, the contact surfaces of the bearing receptacle and the plastic lye container can be designed to be coordinated with each other. For example, the corresponding screw bosses of a screw boss pairing can be butt-jointed with their contact surfaces.The preferred embodiment of this further development has the additional advantage that, by means of the screw bosses of the bearing mount and the plastic solution container corresponding to the inner group of screw connections, the bearing mount can be aligned, i.e., positioned, relative to the plastic solution container in a particularly simple manner from a design and manufacturing perspective. In contrast to the screw connection design of the outer group described above as an example, the screw connections of the inner group can thus also serve, for example, to radially position the bearing mount relative to the plastic solution container, in addition to ensuring strength and axial positioning.The aforementioned sections of each of the screw boss pairings can be configured as a screw boss with a circular cylindrical projection and a corresponding screw boss with a circular cylindrical receptacle for the aforementioned projection. The particularly preferred embodiment of this further ensures the correct circumferential mounting of the bearing housing to the plastic lye container in a very simple manner. For example, this can be achieved by using corresponding concentric sections with different diameters compared to the other screw boss pairings of the inner group. Correct circumferential alignment of the bearing housing is necessary, for example, to ensure that a vent opening in the central section of the bearing housing, such as the bearing sleeve, always points downwards.

[0013] A particularly advantageous embodiment of one of the two aforementioned embodiments of the alkaline container assembly according to the invention provides that the plastic alkaline container and / or the bearing housing are each formed in one piece, preferably that the plastic alkaline container is formed as an injection-molded part and / or the bearing housing as a casting, particularly preferably as a gray cast iron part. This significantly simplifies the manufacture of the bearing housing and / or the plastic alkaline container and thus reduces costs. Furthermore, gray cast iron parts, in particular, possess very good mechanical properties for this application, such as high strength, good thermal conductivity, good damping properties, and good dimensional stiffness. Accordingly, high mechanical loads are not a problem.The high wear resistance and good casting properties of grey cast iron ensure a long service life, i.e., operating time, so that even very high demands on the quality of the washing machine equipped with it can be met.

[0014] An advantageous further development of the aforementioned further development of the lye container assembly according to the invention provides that the end wall has stiffening ribs that are bonded to at least a portion of the screw bosses of the end wall during the manufacture of the plastic lye container. Preferably, these stiffening ribs extend from the respective screw boss in a spoke-like manner. Particularly preferably, each screw boss of the external screw connections is assigned a plurality of stiffening ribs. In this way, very high forces can be transmitted by means of the plurality of screw connections without, for example, the end wall of the plastic lye container warping undesirably. This applies particularly to the preferred embodiment of this further development, which has the additional advantage of material savings with the same quality of stiffening.The particularly preferred embodiment of this further development has the significant advantage that the force-transmitting connection between the plastic tubing container on one side and the bearing housing on the other side can be designed to be very rigid in the area of ​​the outer group of screw connections, while the aforementioned force-transmitting connection in the area of ​​the inner group of screw connections, i.e., where no stiffening ribs are arranged, can be designed to be softer, i.e., more elastic, compared to the outer group. This ensures that the aforementioned force transmission is not undesirably concentrated primarily on the inner group of screw connections, which could lead to mechanical overloading of these screw connections.Furthermore, it is ensured that, for example, a seal for sealing the bearing arrangement with the shaft of the washing drum mounted therein remains properly positioned even under load and can thus fulfill its sealing function.

[0015] Furthermore, an advantageous embodiment of the washing machine according to the invention provides that a housing of the washing machine, which conceals the bearing arrangement in a mounting position of the washing machine, is designed such that the bearing arrangement can be removed from the washing machine, preferably that the housing has a removable or openable end wall for this purpose. This improves both the overall visual appearance of the washing machine and the protection against accidental contact, and simultaneously enables the repairability and replacement of the bearing arrangement on-site by a service technician.

[0016] An embodiment of the invention is shown purely schematically in the drawings and is described in more detail below. It shows Fig. 1 An embodiment of the washing machine according to the invention with the tub assembly according to the invention in a partial, lateral sectional view, Fig. 2 the bearing of the exemplary embodiment in an enlarged detail view, in a perspective view and Fig. 3 the plastic lye container of the exemplary embodiment in an enlarged detail view, in a perspective view.

[0017] In the Fig. Figures 1 to 3 are an exemplary embodiment of the washing machine according to the invention with the tub assembly according to the invention.

[0018] The washing machine 2, designed as a household washing machine for laundry 4, comprises a tub assembly 6 with a plastic tub 8 for receiving a washing drum 10 of the washing machine 2 for the laundry 4 to be treated, wherein the plastic tub 8 has an end wall 12 to which a bearing arrangement 14 of the tub assembly 6 for a rotatable bearing of a shaft 16 of the washing drum 10 is attached.

[0019] According to the invention, the bearing assembly 14 is detachably attached to the plastic tub 8. Accordingly, the bearing assembly 14 can be replaced, for example, during on-site maintenance or repair at the end customer's premises by a service technician, namely by replacing it with a spare bearing assembly (not shown). Of course, it is also fundamentally possible to carry out a repair on the removed bearing assembly 14 and to reinstall it in the washing machine 2 after the repair has been completed. For example, in this way only a defective bearing of the bearing assembly 14 could be replaced with a spare bearing (not shown). The at least one bearing is designed here as a total of two bearings and in the Fig. 1 is merely symbolized as a hatched area 27. Since the washing machine 2 is designed as a so-called front loader, the front wall 12 of the plastic tub 8 is designed as a rear wall of the plastic tub 8.

[0020] The bearing assembly 14 is arranged on the end wall 12 by means of a bearing receptacle 18 of the bearing assembly 14, which is detachably connected to the end wall 12. The bearing receptacle 18 can be screwed to the end wall 12 by means of a plurality of screw connections 20 of the lye container assembly 6. Furthermore, the bearing receptacle 18 has a central section 22 for receiving a portion of the bearing assembly 14 and a fastening section 24 extending directly outwards from the central section 22 for detachable connection to the end wall 12. The central section 22 is designed as a bearing sleeve and the fastening section 24 as a spoke-like section with a plurality of fastening spokes 26.

[0021] The bearing sleeve, namely the central section 22, is designed to accommodate the two aforementioned bearings 27 of the bearing arrangement 14 for the shaft 16, wherein the bearing sleeve 22 is designed such that the two bearings 27 can be arranged spaced apart from each other in the bearing sleeve 22 along an imaginary axis of rotation 28 of the shaft 16, namely such that the bearing sleeve 22 with the two bearings 27 is designed as a pre-assemblable unit.

[0022] The majority of screw connections 20 have an inner group of screw connections 20 and an outer group of screw connections 20 positioned radially further outwards compared to the inner group of screw connections 20. The inner group of screw connections 20 has a smaller number of screw connections 20 than the outer group of screw connections 20, such that the inner group of screw connections 20 has a total of three screw connections 20 and the outer group of screw connections 20 has a total of nine screw connections 20. Although the screw connections 20 are consistently designated with the same reference numeral 20, it is conceivable that, for example, the screw connections of the outer group and the screw connections of the inner group differ from each other in type, material, and dimensions.Preferably, all screws of the majority of screw connections 20 are identical. The screw connections 20 of the outer group and the inner group are each equally spaced from the axis of rotation 28 in the radial direction; thus, they are each located on a common imaginary circular path around the axis of rotation 28.

[0023] In the present embodiment, the majority of screw connections 20 have screw bosses 30, at least partially, in fact completely, in the fastening section 24 of the bearing receptacle 18 and on the end wall 12 of the plastic tubing container 8. The screw bosses 30 of the bearing receptacle 18 and the end wall 12 are designed to correspond to each other, with the corresponding screw bosses 30 of the inner screw connections 20 having corresponding concentric shoulders in each pair of screw bosses 30 / 30, i.e., in each pair of screw bosses 30 of the bearing receptacle 18 and the corresponding screw boss 30 of the plastic tubing container 8. These shoulders are designed such that one of these screw boss pairings 30 / 30 is configured differently from the other pairings 30 / 30 by a code-like pattern. See also the relevant explanations in the introductory section of the description.The screws of the screw connections 20 are in the . Fig. 1 to 3 not shown.

[0024] In the present embodiment, the plastic caustic solution container 8 and the bearing receptacle 18 are each formed in one piece, the plastic caustic solution container 8 being an injection-molded part and the bearing receptacle 18 being a cast part, namely a gray cast iron part. The end wall 12 has stiffening ribs 32 that are bonded to each of the screw bosses 30 of the end wall 12 during the manufacture of the plastic caustic solution container 8. These stiffening ribs 32 extend outwards from the respective screw boss 30 in a spoke-like manner, such that each screw boss 30 of the external screw connections 20 is associated with a plurality of stiffening ribs 32.The screw bosses 30 corresponding to the inner screw connections 20 do not have stiffening ribs, so that the area of ​​the plastic tank 8 associated with this inner group of screw connections 20 is softer, i.e., more elastic, compared to the area of ​​the plastic tank 8 associated with the outer group of screw connections 20. See also the relevant explanations in the introductory description.

[0025] To ensure accessibility for maintenance or repair of the bearing assembly 14, the housing of the washing machine 2, which conceals the bearing assembly 14 in a mounting position of the washing machine 2, is designed such that the bearing assembly 14 can be removed from the washing machine 2. For example, the housing (not shown) can have a removable or openable end wall for this purpose. Since the washing machine 2 is a front-loading machine, this end wall is designed as a rear wall of the housing.

[0026] Due to the inventive design of the tub assembly 6 and the washing machine 2, the bearing arrangement 14 of the tub assembly 6, despite the plastic tub 8, can be easily replaced and thus, for example, replaced on-site by a service technician using a spare bearing arrangement (not shown). Furthermore, the tub assembly 6 can be implemented in a simpler design and manufacturing manner. This also applies accordingly to the washing machine 2 equipped with it. The individual components of the tub assembly 6, and thus of the washing machine 2, can also be manufactured easily, so that the development risk for new types of washing machines equipped with it is significantly reduced.

[0027] However, the invention is not limited to the present embodiment. See, for example, the relevant explanations in the introductory section.

Claims

[1] Tub assembly (6) for a washing machine (2), comprising a plastic tub (8) for receiving a washing drum (10) of the washing machine (2) for laundry (4) to be treated, wherein the plastic tub (8) has an end wall (12) to which a bearing arrangement (14) of the tub assembly (6) for a rotatable bearing of a shaft (16) of the washing drum (10) is attached, characterized by , that the bearing arrangement (14) is detachably attached to the plastic caustic container (8). [2] Lye container assembly (6) according to claim 1, characterized by , that the bearing arrangement (14) is arranged on the front wall (12) by means of a bearing receptacle (18) of the bearing arrangement (14) which is detachably connected to the front wall (12), preferably that the bearing receptacle (18) is screw-connectable to the front wall (12) by means of a plurality of screw connections (20) of the lye container assembly (6). [3] Lye container assembly (6) according to claim 2, characterized by , that the bearing receptacle (18) has a central section (22) for receiving a remainder of the bearing arrangement (14) and a fastening section (24) extending directly outwards from the central section (22) for detachable connection with the end face wall (12), preferably that the central section (22) is designed as a bearing sleeve and / or the fastening section (24) as a spoke-like section with a plurality of fastening spokes (26). [4] Lye container assembly (6) according to claim 3, characterized by, that the bearing sleeve (22) is designed to accommodate two bearings (27) of the bearing arrangement (14) for the shaft (16), preferably that the bearing sleeve (22) is designed such that the two bearings (27) can be arranged spaced apart from each other in the bearing sleeve (22) along an imaginary axis of rotation (28) of the shaft (16), particularly preferably that the bearing sleeve (22) with the two bearings (27) is designed as a pre-assemblable unit. [5] Lye container assembly (6) according to one of claims 2 to 4, characterized bythat the majority of screw connections (20) comprises an inner group of screw connections (20) and an outer group of screw connections (20) positioned radially further outwards compared to the inner group of screw connections (20), preferably that the inner group of screw connections (20) comprises a smaller number of screw connections (20) compared to the outer group of screw connections (20), particularly preferably that the inner group of screw connections (20) comprises a total of three screw connections (20) and / or the outer group of screw connections (20) comprises more than or equal to nine screw connections (20). [6] Lye container assembly (6) according to one of claims 2 to 5, characterized by, that the majority of screw connections (20) have screw bosses (30) at least partially, preferably completely, in the fastening section (24) of the bearing receptacle (18) and / or on the end wall (12) of the plastic tubing container (8). [7] Lye container assembly (6) according to claim 6, characterized by , that the screw bosses (30) of the bearing receptacle (18) and the end face wall (12) are designed to correspond to each other, preferably that the corresponding screw bosses (30) of the internal screw connections (20) have corresponding concentric shoulders for each screw boss pairing (30 / 30), particularly preferably that one of these screw boss pairings (30 / 30) is designed differently from the other of these screw boss pairings (30 / 30) in the manner of a coding. [8] Lye container assembly (6) according to claim 6 or 7, characterized by, that the plastic lye container (8) and / or the bearing receptacle (18) is each formed in one piece, preferably that the plastic lye container (8) is formed as an injection-molded part and / or the bearing receptacle (18) as a cast part, particularly preferably as a grey cast part. [9] Lye container assembly (6) according to claim 8, characterized by , that the end wall (12) has stiffening ribs (32) that are bonded to at least a part of the screw bosses (30) of the end wall (12) during the manufacture of the plastic lye container (8), preferably that these stiffening ribs (32) extend away from the respective screw boss (30) in a spoke-like manner, particularly preferably that only a plurality of stiffening ribs (32) are assigned to each screw boss (30) of the external screw connections (20). [10] Washing machine (2) for laundry (4), comprising a tub assembly (6) with a plastic tub (8) and a washing drum (10) of the washing machine (2) for the laundry (4) to be treated, wherein the plastic tub (8) has an end wall (12) to which a bearing arrangement (14) of the tub assembly (6) for a rotatable bearing of a shaft (16) of the washing drum (10) is attached, characterized by , that the lye container assembly (6) is designed according to one of claims 1 to 9. [11] Washing machine (2) according to claim 10, characterized by , that a housing of the washing machine (2) covering the bearing arrangement (14) in a mounting position of the washing machine (2) is designed in such a way that the bearing arrangement (14) can be removed from the washing machine (2), preferably that the housing has a removable or openable end wall for this purpose.

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