Washing / dewatering machine and washing / dewatering method using the same

Abstract

To provide: a washing / dewatering machine that includes at least one partition wall extending in a rotation axis direction in an interior of a drum and prevents laundry from being caught between a tip of the partition wall and a door provided on an opening side of the drum; and a washing / dewatering method using the same.SOLUTION: A washing / dewatering machine comprises: an outer barrel; and a drum subjected to rotation control in an interior of the outer barrel. The drum includes at least one partition wall which extends in a rotation axis direction and divides the interior of the drum. The outer barrel includes an opening and a door configured to open and close the opening. The door includes a moving mechanism controlled to move forward and backward with respect to the opening of the outer barrel. The washing / dewatering machine has a seal part configured to bring the opening of the outer barrel into: a sealed state when the door moves forward toward the opening of the outer barrel; and an open state when the door moves backward from the opening of the outer barrel.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a rotary drum type washer / extractor, and more particularly to a washer / extractor having partitions that divide the inside of the drum into multiple sections. [Background technology]

[0002] In a washing and drying machine in which laundry is placed into a drum that is controlled to rotate around a horizontal axis, washed by rotation, shaking, etc., and then the drum is rotated to spin the water, Patent Document 1, for example, discloses a machine in which a partition plate (partition wall) is provided to separate the inside of the drum in the direction of rotation in order to prevent the laundry placed in the drum from becoming tangled with each other. However, in this case, laundry is likely to become caught between the tip of the partition and the door on the opening side of the drum during washing, and if the spin rotation is continued in this state, there is a risk of damaging the laundry or the door.

[0003] There are split-type washing machines that have an inner lid attached to the drum opening to prevent laundry from getting caught, but if the inner lid is left locked and the drum is rotated, there is a risk that the door or inner lid may be damaged. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. Hei 1-146576 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] The present invention aims to provide a washing and drying machine having a partition wall divided into multiple sections along the rotation axis inside the drum, which prevents laundry from being caught between the tip of the partition wall and a door provided on the opening side of the drum, and a washing and drying method using the same. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] The washer / extractor according to the present invention comprises an outer body and a drum inside the outer body whose rotation is controlled, the drum having partitions in the direction of the rotation axis that divide the inside of the drum into multiple sections, the outer body having an opening and a door for opening and closing the opening, the door having a moving mechanism that is controlled to move forward and backward toward the opening of the outer body, and a sealing portion that seals the opening of the outer body when the door moves forward toward the opening of the outer body and opens the opening of the outer body when the door moves backward from the opening of the outer body.

[0007] The outer body is capable of storing wash water and has a drum supported therein so as to be capable of rotating forward and reverse and stopping. The outer shell has an opening for loading and unloading laundry into the drum. Therefore, when loading laundry into the drum, the opening is opened wide, and when washing or spin-drying, the opening is closed. For example, it has a door with one end hinged. In a washer / dryer having such a structure, a predetermined gap is provided between the back side of the door and the open end of the drum during washing and dehydration, allowing the drum to rotate within the outer body.

[0008] The present invention is characterized in that a partition wall is formed along the direction of the rotation axis of the drum to provide two or more separate laundry storage compartments inside the drum. With this structure, there is a risk that laundry may become caught in the gap between the tip of the partition and the back surface of the door.

[0009] Therefore, the present invention is characterized in that a movement mechanism is provided that controls the movement of the door forward and backward toward the opening in the outer body when the door is closed. Specifically, when the door advances toward the opening of the outer body, the opening of the outer body is sealed, and when the door retreats from the opening of the outer body, the opening of the outer body is opened.This seal portion is designed to allow the door to retreat from the opening of the outer body and open the opening of the outer body, thereby providing the effect that even if laundry becomes caught between the tip of the partition and the door, the trapped laundry will be released once the door is retracted from the opening of the outer body and opened.

[0010] In the present invention, it is preferable that the gap dimension d0 between the rear surface of the door and the tip of the partition wall in a sealed state is set to a range of 5 to 15 mm. Many doors have transparent glass so that the laundry inside can be seen from the outside. In this case, the door has a door glass and a ring frame that holds the door glass, and it is preferable that the gap dimension d1 between the back surface of the door glass and the tip of the partition wall in the sealed state is set in the range of 8 to 15 mm.

[0011] A washing and spin-drying method using such a washer-spin-drying machine is characterized by comprising the steps of washing with the opening of the outer body sealed, and opening the sealed portion for a certain period of time during the balance rotation of the drum in the spin-drying process. As a result, even if laundry gets caught in the gap between the back surface of the door and the partition wall of the drum during washing, the sealed portion is left open for a certain period of time when the door is retracted, and the caught laundry is released and removed. Here, the balance rotation in the spin-drying process refers to a rotation speed slower than the spin-drying rotation, which is used to make the laundry stick to the inside of the drum.

[0012] The washer / extractor according to claim 2 or 3 may also include a step of washing with the opening of the outer body sealed, a step of keeping the sealed portion open for a certain period of time during the balance rotation of the drum in the spin-drying process, and a step of rotating the drum for spin-drying thereafter. In this way, by controlling the gap dimension d0 and / or d1 between the rear surface of the door (door glass) and the tip of the partition wall, the effect of preventing laundry from getting caught is further improved.

[0013] In the washer / extractor according to the present invention, the outer body and the drum may have a switching mechanism for switching between a horizontal state and a rearwardly inclined state in which the direction of the rotation axis of the drum is inclined downward at the rear side. In this way, the method can include the steps of washing with the opening of the outer body sealed, tilting the rear side of the drum downward during the balanced rotation of the drum in the dehydration process, lowering the water level in the drum, opening the sealing portion for a certain period of time, and sealing the sealing portion and setting the drum in a horizontal state when the drum transitions to dehydration rotation or when it rotates at a low speed. Even when the drum is in a horizontal position, when the seal part is opened during the balanced rotation in the spin cycle, any laundry that may have been caught in the drum will be released. However, by opening the seal part with the drum tilted backward with the rear side lowered, the laundry will be more likely to fall out. Also, tilting the drum backward lowers the water level, making it easier to prevent water from leaking from the seal when the seal is opened. Here, the transition of the drum spin rotation refers to the time before and after switching from balance rotation to spin rotation, and the low-speed spin rotation refers to the time when the washer-extractor is performing low-speed spin rotation when the specifications allow the spin rotation to transition to high-speed spin rotation via low-speed spin rotation. [Effects of the Invention]

[0014] In the present invention, the size of the gap between the back surface of the door and the tip of the partition can be controlled, and a door movement mechanism is provided so that, for example, the door and the opening of the outer body can be switched between a sealed state and an open state.This makes it possible to prevent laundry from getting caught without having to provide an inner lid on the drum as in the conventional method, or a seal or the like to fill the gap between the back surface of the door and the partition, and also prevents breakage of the door and damage to the laundry. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0015] [Figure 1] 1 is a partial view of the door side of a washer / extractor according to the present invention. [Figure 2] (a) shows a front view of the door part, and (b) shows a cross-sectional view along line AA. [Figure 3] (a) shows the state in which the door is moved backward by the door movement mechanism, with the seal part open, and (b) shows the state in which the door is moved forward, with the seal part sealed. [Figure 4] The door is shown wide open with the door hinge as the pivot point. [Figure 5] (a) shows the drum in a horizontal position, (b) shows the drum tilted backward, and (c) shows the drum returned to a horizontal position and dewatered. [Figure 6] The dehydration process is illustrated in the diagram below. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0016] An example of the structure of a washer / extractor according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings, but the present invention is not limited to this example as long as the functions and effects of the present invention can be obtained.

[0017] FIG. 1 shows the front side of the washer-extractor, FIG. 2(a) shows a front view of the door portion, and FIG. 2(b) shows a cross section taken along line AA. The washing machine has an outer body 10 capable of storing washing water and a drum 30 inside of the outer body 10, which is controlled to rotate and stop. The drum 30 is cylindrical and allows water to pass through its inner and outer circumferential sides. In this embodiment, the drum 30 is held together with the outer body 10 by the frame body 40, and the drum 30 can be switched between a horizontal state (with the rotation axis horizontal) and a backward tilted state in which the rear side of the drum 30 is lowered relatively downward. In this embodiment, the drum 30 can be rotated for dehydration while being in a floating state.

[0018] As shown in FIG. 4, the outer shell 10 has an opening 12 on the front surface thereof, which corresponds to the opening 31 of the drum 30. The inside of the drum 30 has a partition 32 that divides it into two, and in this embodiment, a tip (tip plate) 32a made of a strip-shaped plate material is formed in a T shape at the tip of the partition 32. The inside of the drum is divided into two parts, but there is no limit to the number of parts.

[0019] As a means for opening and closing the door 20 widely, in this embodiment, as shown in Figures 1 and 2, one end of a door yoke 23 provided on the left and right sides of the outside of the door 20 is hingedly connected by a door hinge 24 to a drive shaft 24b connected in the vertical direction to a drive unit 24a. As shown in FIG. 2(b), the door 20 is attached to the door yoke 23 via a movement mechanism so as to be movable forward and backward. In this embodiment, the door 20 is disposed so that the leading end thereof is positioned inside a circular opening 12 formed in the outer body front plate 11 shown in FIG.

[0020] There are various possible structures for the movement mechanism of the door 20, but in this embodiment, the back side of the door yoke 23 and the front side of the door 20 are slidably connected via a connecting shaft 28a, and the door 20 is biased in the backward direction by a spring 28. In this specification, the movement of the door 20 toward the drum 30 is referred to as forward movement, and the direction away from the drum 30 is referred to as backward movement. In this embodiment, the means for moving the door 20 forward is a tube body 27 made of a rubber elastic body and having a circular outer shape. When air is injected through an air inlet 27a, the tube body 27 expands in the front-to-rear direction, and the door moves forward against the biasing force of a spring 28. When the air is exhausted through the air inlet 27a, the door moves backward due to the biasing force of the spring 28. When controlling the forward and backward movement of the door 20, a lock pin 26 can be inserted and locked into a lock hole in a lock plate 26a attached to the outer body front plate 11 using an air cylinder 25 provided on the free end side of the door yoke 23 to prevent the door yoke 23 from moving.

[0021] In this embodiment, the door 20 has a structure in which a circular door glass 22 is incorporated into a door channel 21 made of a ring frame via a glass frame 21b.

[0022] An enlarged view of the area circled by a dashed line in FIG. 2(b) is shown in FIG. (a) shows the state where the seal part is open, and (b) shows the state where the seal part is sealed. The door channel 21 has a cylindrical side frame portion 21a that faces the opening of the drum 30, and a glass frame 21b that is a donut-shaped disk that is folded back inward from the side frame portion 21a. The door glass 22 is incorporated into the inner periphery of the glass frame 21b. In this specification, the drum side of the glass frame 21b is referred to as the back side of the door.

[0023] As shown in FIG. 3(a), when the door 20 is retracted and the seal portion is open, a gap is formed between the seal member 29 provided on the door channel 21 side and the sub-seal member 11a provided on the outer body front panel 11 of the outer body 10. As shown in FIG. 3(b), when the door 20 is moved forward by the movement mechanism of the door 20, the seal member 29 on the door channel 21 side and the sub-seal member 11a on the outer body front plate on the outer body side are pressed against each other to form a sealed state. Here, when the seal portion is sealed (b), the gap dimension d0 between the back surface of the drum 20 and the tip 32a of the partition 32 is set to be in the range of 5 to 15 mm, and the gap dimension d1 between the back surface of the door glass 22 and the tip 32a of the partition 32 is set to be in the range of 8 to 15 mm. By setting it within this range, laundry is less likely to get caught. In contrast, in the open state of the seal portion shown in FIG. 3(a), a large gap can be provided so that the seal portion is open. In this embodiment, the gap dimension d0 between the back surface of the door 20 and the tip 32a of the partition is set to be in the range of 15 to 30 mm, and the gap dimension d1 between the back surface of the door glass 22 and the tip 32a of the partition is set to be in the range of 20 to 30 mm.

[0024] Next, the flow of the dehydration process will be described with reference to FIGS. In FIG. 6, the horizontal axis represents time, and the forward and reverse rotations and rotation speeds of the drum 30 are shown. Below that, the posture of the drum 30 is shown in each of the states of tilting backward, horizontal, and floating. The water level line indicates the level of the washing water, with the water level decreasing towards the bottom. The seal exhibits a change between an open and closed state.

[0025] The drum 30 is rotated forward and backward at predetermined time intervals to wash and rinse the laundry in the drum 30 with washing water. Next, the rear side of the drum 30 is lowered downward to tilt backward, and the drum 30 is shifted to a balanced rotation state. While performing the balancing rotation, drain the water until the water level drops to the specified level. Once the water level has been confirmed to have dropped to a predetermined level, the seal is switched to the open state. This prevents water from leaking through the open area of ​​the seal. The drum seal is left open and undergoing balanced rotation, and the drum 30 is returned to a horizontal position. Next, the drum 30 is raised, and low speed spin-drying and high speed spin-drying are carried out to complete the spin-drying. 5A shows the drum 30 in a horizontal position during washing, and FIG. 5B shows the drum 30 tilted backward with the seal portion open. When this seal is open, even if laundry gets caught between the back of the door and the tip of the partition during washing, the gap widens and the laundry is released, falling into the drum. (c) shows the state where dehydration is completed in a horizontal position. In the time flow diagram shown in Figure 6, the seal portion is shown to be in a sealed state during balance rotation, but this does not necessarily have to be the timing, and it may be when transitioning to low-speed spin rotation or at the early stage of low-speed spin before transitioning to high-speed spin rotation. [Explanation of symbols]

[0026] 10 Outer body 11 Outer body front plate 20 doors 21 Door Channel 22 Door glass 23 Door Yoke 24 Door hinge 29 Sealing material 30 drums 32 Drum bulkhead 32a Bulkhead tip (tip version) 40 Frame

Claims

1. The apparatus has an outer shell and a drum inside of which the rotation is controlled, The drum has a partition wall in the rotation axis direction that divides the inside into a plurality of sections, the outer shell has an opening and a door for opening and closing the opening, The door has a movement mechanism that controls forward and backward movement toward the opening of the outer shell, a seal portion that seals the opening of the outer body when the door advances toward the opening of the outer body, and opens the opening of the outer body when the door retreats from the opening of the outer body.

2. In the sealed state, the gap dimension d between the rear surface of the door and the tip of the partition wall ０ 2. The washing and drying machine according to claim 1, wherein the width is set in the range of 5 to 15 mm.

3. The door has a door glass and a ring frame that holds the door glass, In the sealed state, the gap dimension d between the rear surface of the door glass and the tip of the partition wall １ 3. The washing and drying machine according to claim 2, wherein the width is set in the range of 8 to 15 mm.

4. The washer / extractor according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the outer body and the drum have a mechanism for switching between a horizontal state and a rearwardly inclined state in which the direction of the rotation axis of the outer body and the drum is inclined downward.

5. A washing and dehydrating method using the washer and dehydrator according to claim 1, washing the outer body with the opening sealed; A dehydration method characterized by comprising a step in which the seal portion is in an open state for a certain period of time during balance rotation of the drum in the dehydration process.

6. A washing and dehydrating method using the washer and dehydrator according to claim 2 or 3, washing the outer body with the opening sealed; a step in which the seal portion is in an open state for a certain period of time during a balance rotation of the drum in a dewatering process; and rotating the drum for dehydration.

7. A washing and dehydrating method using the washer-extractor according to claim 4, washing the outer body with the opening sealed; a step of tilting the rear side of the drum downward during balance rotation of the drum in the dewatering process; lowering the water level in the drum; opening the seal for a certain period of time; A washing and spin-drying method comprising a step of placing the seal portion in a sealed state and the drum in a horizontal state when the drum is shifted to a spin-drying rotation or when the drum is rotating at a low speed for spin-drying.

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