Washing machine

Abstract

To provide a washing machine including a new lid lock mechanism.SOLUTION: A washing machine can switch between a lock state and a lock release state of a lid member provided with respect to a housing. The washing machine includes a lid lock mechanism which performs switching of the lock state and the lock release state of the lid member inside the lid member.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a washing machine having a lid locking mechanism for locking the lid or door of the washing machine. [Background technology]

[0002] Washing machines are equipped with an openable lid (or door) that covers the laundry inlet, and a lid locking mechanism that locks the lid so that it cannot be opened or closed during washing or spin-drying.

[0003] In conventional washing machine lid locking mechanisms, an engagement claw is typically provided on the lid, and the movement of this engagement claw is restricted on the washing machine housing to lock the lid (see, for example, Patent Document 1). In this case, electrically conductive components such as a drive mechanism and a control circuit for restricting the movement of the engagement claw when the lid is locked are also provided on the housing. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] International Publication No. 2019 / 234985 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] Depending on the specifications of the washing machine, it may not be desirable to provide an electrically conductive component for locking the lid on the housing side, and a new lid locking mechanism that can be applied in such cases is required.

[0006] The present disclosure has been made in consideration of the above-mentioned problems, and aims to provide a washing machine equipped with a new lid locking mechanism. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] In order to solve the above problems, the washing machine disclosed herein is a washing machine that can switch between a locked state and an unlocked state of a lid member provided on a housing, and is characterized in that the lid member has a lid locking mechanism that switches between the locked state and the unlocked state. [Effects of the Invention]

[0008] The washing machine of the present disclosure has the advantage of being able to provide a new configuration in which the lid locking mechanism is provided inside the lid member. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0009] [Figure 1] 1 is a perspective view of a washing machine to which the lid locking mechanism of the present disclosure is applied; [Figure 2] FIG. 1 is a top perspective view of the washing machine with the lid open. [Figure 3] FIG. 10 is a perspective view showing the lid locking mechanism in a latched state. [Figure 4] FIG. 10 is a perspective view showing the lid locking mechanism in an unlatched state. [Figure 5] FIG. 10 is a perspective view showing the lid locking mechanism in a locked state. [Figure 6] FIG. 2 is a plan view of the lid locking mechanism. [Figure 7] FIG. 10 is a partial cross-sectional view of the front of the lid when the lid locking mechanism is in a latched state. [Figure 8] FIG. 10 is a partial cross-sectional view of the front of the lid when the lid locking mechanism is in an unlatched state. [Figure 9] FIG. 10 is a partial cross-sectional view of the front of the lid when the lid locking mechanism is in a locked state. [Figure 10] 10 is a partial cross-sectional view of the lid lock mechanism in a locked state when a user operates the handle. FIG. [Figure 11] FIG. 10 is a partial cross-sectional view of the front of the lid when the lid locking mechanism is in a latched state. [Figure 12] FIG. 10 is a partial cross-sectional view of the front of the lid when the lid locking mechanism is in a locked state. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0010] [First embodiment] DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a washing machine 1 to which the lid locking mechanism of the present disclosure is applied.

[0011] As shown in FIG. 1, washing machine 1 has housing 10 and lid (lid member) 20 that opens and closes laundry inlet 11 (see FIG. 2) on the top surface of housing 10. Washing machine 1 can lock lid 20 when closed to prevent lid 20 from being opened during washing. Note that while washing machine 1 in FIG. 1 illustrates a vertical washing machine with lid 20 on its top surface, the present invention is not limited to this and can also be applied to a drum-type washing machine with a door on the front. In other words, in a drum-type washing machine, the door can be considered as the lid member and the lid locking mechanism of the present invention can be applied.

[0012] Figure 2 is a perspective view of the top of washing machine 1 with lid 20 open. As shown in Figure 2, an engagement claw 212 is provided on the underside of lid 20. An engagement hole 12 is provided on the top surface of housing 10. When lid 20 is closed, engagement claw 212 is inserted into engagement hole 12 and engages with an engaged portion (not shown) in engagement hole 12, thereby enabling latching.

[0013] Lid 20 is provided with a movable handle 30, and engagement claw 212 is capable of swinging in conjunction with the operation of handle 30 by the user. When the user is not operating handle 30, engagement claw 212 is in a latched state in which it engages with engagement hole 12, and when the user operates handle 30, it can be in an unlatched state in which it is not engaged with engagement hole 12. Furthermore, washing machine 1 is provided with a lid locking mechanism in lid 20 for restricting swinging movement of engagement claw 212 in the latched state (locked state).

[0014] Lid 20 is provided with movable handle 30, and engagement claw 212 is capable of swinging in conjunction with the operation of handle 30 by the user. When the user is not operating handle 30, engagement claw 212 is in a latched state in which it engages with the engaged portion in engagement hole 12, and when the user operates handle 30, it can be in an unlatched state in which it does not engage with the engaged portion of engagement hole 12. Furthermore, washing machine 1 is provided with a lid locking mechanism in lid 20 for restricting swinging movement of engagement claw 212 in the latched state (locked state).

[0015] 3 to 5 are perspective views showing the lid locking mechanism extracted from the lid 20. Fig. 3 shows the latched state, Fig. 4 shows the unlatched state, and Fig. 5 shows the locked state.

[0016] As shown in Figures 3 to 5, the lid locking mechanism in this embodiment includes a first shaft member (shaft member) 21, an intermediate member 22, a second shaft member (regulating portion) 23, a drive source 24, a first spring 25, a second spring 26, a sensor 27, and a support shaft 28.

[0017] The first shaft member 21 is a member that includes the aforementioned engagement claw 212. The engagement claw 212 can swing in response to the rotational movement of the first shaft member 21. When a user operates the handle 30, the intermediate member 22 transmits the displacement of the handle 30 to the first shaft member 21. The second shaft member 23 has a rotation axis that is parallel to the rotation axis of the first shaft member 21. The lid lock mechanism switches between a locked state and a latched state (unlocked state) by the rotational movement of the second shaft member 23. The drive source 24 is a drive source that rotates the second shaft member 23, and in this embodiment, a stepping motor is used. However, the type of drive source 24 is not particularly limited, and a solenoid or the like can also be used.

[0018] The first spring 25 is disposed between the intermediate member 22 and the frame member of the lid 20, and applies a biasing force to hold the intermediate member 22 and the first shaft member 21 in the default position (the position in the latched state). The second spring 26 is disposed between the first shaft member 21 and the intermediate member 22, and applies a biasing force to hold the first shaft member 21 and the intermediate member 22 in an abutting state. The sensor 27 detects when the lid locking mechanism is in the locked state based on the rotational position of the second shaft member 23.

[0019] In the lid locking mechanism of this embodiment, when a user places his / her hand on the handle 30 and pulls it upward, the first shaft member 21 rotates in conjunction with this operation, causing the engagement claw 212 to swing and change from the latched state to the unlatched state.

[0020] The configuration and operation of the lid locking mechanism will be described in detail below. Figure 6 is a plan view of the lid locking mechanism. Figures 7 to 9 are partial cross-sectional views of the front of the lid 20 including the lid locking mechanism. Figure 7 corresponds to the AA cross section of Figure 6 when the lid locking mechanism is in the latched state. Figure 8 corresponds to the AA cross section of Figure 6 when the lid locking mechanism is in the unlatched state. Figure 9 corresponds to the AA cross section of Figure 6 when the lid locking mechanism is in the locked state. Note that the front-to-rear and up-to-down directions in the following description correspond to the directions when the lid 20 is in the closed state.

[0021] At the cross-sectional position of Fig. 7 (cross-sectional position AA in Fig. 6), the first shaft member 21 has an engagement claw 212, a first abutment portion 213, and a second abutment portion (abutment portion) 214 that protrude radially from the rotating shaft portion 211. In this embodiment, the rotating shaft portion 211 is rotatably attached to a support shaft 28 that is fixedly provided inside the lid 20. At the same cross-sectional position, the second shaft member 23 has a restricting portion 231 for restricting rotation of the first shaft member 21 in the locked state. In this embodiment, the cross-sectional shape of the restricting portion 231 is substantially L-shaped.

[0022] The first abutment portion 213 extends from the rotating shaft portion 211 toward the intermediate member 22 in front and abuts against the intermediate member 22. When a user operates the handle 30, the displacement of the handle 30 is transmitted to the first shaft member 21 via the intermediate member 22 and the first abutment portion 213, causing the first shaft member 21 to rotate around the rotating shaft portion 211. The second abutment portion 214 extends upward from the rotating shaft portion 211 and abuts against the restricting portion 231 of the second shaft member 23 in the locked state. Note that in FIG. 7, the lid lock mechanism is in the latched state and the unlocked state, so the second abutment portion 214 does not abut against the restricting portion 231. Note that, although a detailed description will be omitted, the latched state in FIG. 7 is maintained by the biasing force of the first spring 25.

[0023] When opening the closed lid 20, the user operates the handle 30 to transition the lid locking mechanism from the latched state shown in Fig. 7 to the unlatched state shown in Fig. 8. That is, as shown in Fig. 8, when the handle 30 is displaced upward (in the direction of arrow C in Fig. 8) by the user's operation, the intermediate member 22 is accordingly displaced and rotated clockwise in Fig. 8. The intermediate member 22 is disposed so as to have a rotation axis concentric with the first shaft member 21. That is, the intermediate member 22 is rotatably attached to the support shaft 28, similar to the first shaft member 21.

[0024] When the intermediate member 22 undergoes rotational displacement, this rotational force is transmitted to the first shaft member 21 via the second spring 26, causing the first shaft member 21 to rotate integrally with the intermediate member 22. As a result, the engagement claw 212 provided on the first shaft member 21 swings toward the latch release side (the direction of arrow D in FIG. 8 ), and the lid lock mechanism enters the latch release state. Note that, in the transition from the latched state to the latch release state, the first shaft member 21 rotates against the biasing force of the first spring 25. At this time, by making the biasing force of the second spring 26 greater than the biasing force of the first spring 25, it is possible to prevent relative displacement between the intermediate member 22 and the first shaft member 21 and allow the intermediate member 22 and the first shaft member 21 to rotate integrally. Furthermore, in the transition from the latched state to the latch release state, the second abutment portion 214 does not abut against the restricting portion 231, and the restricting portion 231 does not restrict the rotation of the first shaft member 21.

[0025] To lock the closed lid 20, the lid locking mechanism is transitioned from the latched state of FIG. 7 to the locked state of FIG. 9. That is, as shown in FIG. 9, when the second shaft member 23 is rotated counterclockwise by approximately 45° from the state of FIG. 7, the restricting portion 231 comes into contact with the second contact portion 214 of the first shaft member 21. This contact restricts the rotation of the first shaft member 21 and the swinging of the engagement pawl 212, preventing the engagement pawl 212 from being unlatched. At this time, the second shaft member 23 is rotated by the drive source 24. Furthermore, when the second shaft member 23 is rotated back to its original state (FIG. 7), the lid locking mechanism enters the unlocked state.

[0026] In this embodiment, an intermediate member 22 is interposed between the handle 30 and the first shaft member 21, and when a user operates the handle 30, force is transmitted to the first shaft member 21 via the intermediate member 22. In this configuration, when the lid locking mechanism is in the locked state, movement of the handle 30 is permitted even when the user operates the handle 30.

[0027] Figure 10 is a partial cross-sectional view (corresponding to cross section AA in Figure 6) of the case where a user operates handle 30 when the lid locking mechanism is in the locked state. As shown in Figure 10, in the locked state, rotation of first shaft member 21 is restricted by the abutment between second abutment portion 214 and restriction portion 231, but intermediate member 22 can rotate against the biasing force of second spring 26. As a result, even when the lid locking mechanism is in the locked state, movement of handle 30 and intermediate member 22 is permitted when a user operates handle 30.

[0028] In this embodiment, when the lid lock mechanism is in the locked state, rotation of the first shaft member 21 is restricted by the second abutment portion 214, which is different from the engaging claw 212. Therefore, as shown in Figure 9 and other figures, if the position at which the second abutment portion 214 is restricted by the restricting portion 231 is closer to the support shaft 28 than the position at which the engaging claw 212 engages with the engaged portion, and the second abutment portion 214 and the restricting portion 231 are configured to withstand the stress when the user operates the handle 30, the intermediate member 22 may be eliminated and the operation of the handle 30 may be applied directly to the first shaft member 21. In this case, the intermediate member 22 and the second spring 26 can be eliminated, allowing for a simplified structure.

[0029] In the lid locking mechanism described above, a mechanism (second shaft member 23 and drive source 24) for restricting the movement of engagement claw 212 when the lid is locked can be provided on the lid 20 side. In this case, the drive mechanism for lid locking (drive source 24) and electrically conductive parts such as a control circuit are also provided on the lid 20 side.

[0030] For example, when the operation panel of washing machine 1 is provided on lid 20, the panel control circuit for the operation panel is usually also provided on lid 20. In such a case, providing the current-carrying components for locking the lid on lid 20 also simplifies circuit design (e.g., simplifies wiring), making the application of the present invention preferable. Furthermore, it is no longer necessary to place electrical components near laundry inlet 11 on the top surface of housing 10, and waterproofing measures for the electrical components are not required, which simplifies the structure and allows for the expansion of laundry inlet 11.

[0031] Washing machine 1 is capable of electrically detecting whether lid 20 is locked or not. This allows washing machine 1 to perform various operating operations after confirming that lid 20 is locked.

[0032] Figure 11 is a partial cross-sectional view of the lid 20 when the lid locking mechanism is in the latched state (unlocked state). Figure 12 is a partial cross-sectional view of the lid 20 when the lid locking mechanism is in the locked state. Note that the cross sections in both Figures 11 and 12 correspond to the cross section position BB in Figure 6.

[0033] 11 and 12, the second shaft member 23 has a third abutment portion 232 that protrudes radially from the rotation axis of the second shaft member 23. A sensor 27 is also disposed at the same cross-sectional position. In this embodiment, the sensor 27 is a microswitch.

[0034] When the lid locking mechanism of lid 20 is in the latched state, as shown in Figure 11, third contact portion 232 is separated from sensor 27, and the output of sensor 27 is turned OFF. When the lid locking mechanism is in the locked state, third contact portion 232 swings due to the rotation of second shaft member 23, and third contact portion 232 comes into contact with sensor 27, and the output of sensor 27 is turned ON. This allows washing machine 1 to detect whether lid 20 is in the locked state based on the output of sensor 27.

[0035] In this way, in the lid locking mechanism of this embodiment, the current-carrying components (sensor 27, etc.) related to the lock state detection mechanism of lid 20 are also provided on the lid 20 side, making it easier to design the circuit including the lock state detection mechanism.

[0036] Second Embodiment This embodiment describes a manual release mechanism for the locked state of the lid 20 in the washing machine 1. In the washing machine 1, if the lid 20 cannot be electrically unlocked due to a power outage or malfunction while the lid is locked, the manual release mechanism can be used to manually release the locked state.

[0037] As a specific example of this manual release mechanism, the lid lock mechanism of this embodiment is provided with a manually operated lever 233 (see FIGS. 3 to 5) on the second shaft member 23. The location of the lever 233 relative to the second shaft member 23 is not particularly limited.

[0038] Washing machine 1 has a removable panel member in a part of the external housing of lid 20 (for example, area E in FIG. 2). In this embodiment, removing this panel member allows the user to access lever 233. That is, the user can manually unlock lid 20 by accessing lever 233 and rotating second shaft member 23 from the state in FIG. 5 to the state in FIG. 3.

[0039] For example, if the lid locking mechanism is provided on the housing 10 side of the washing machine 1, the lid 20 is likely to get in the way when manually releasing the locked state. In contrast, in the washing machine 1 of this embodiment, the lid locking mechanism is provided on the lid 20 side, making it easier to manually release the locked state without the lid 20 getting in the way.

[0040] The embodiments disclosed herein are illustrative in all respects and are not intended to be limiting. Therefore, the technical scope of the present disclosure should not be interpreted solely by the above-described embodiments, but should be determined based on the claims. [Explanation of symbols]

[0041] 1 washing machine 20 Lid (lid member) 21 1st shaft member (shaft member) 211 Rotating shaft 212 Engagement claw 213 1st contact part 214 Second contact part (contact part) 22 Intermediate parts 23 Second shaft member (regulating portion) 231 Regulatory Department 232 Third contact part 233 Lever 24 Power Source 25 First Spring 26 Second spring 27 Sensors 28 Support shaft 30 Handle

Claims

1. A washing machine capable of switching between a locked state and an unlocked state of a cover member provided on a housing, The washing machine is characterized in that the lid member has a lid lock mechanism therein that switches between a locked state and an unlocked state of the lid member.

2. The washing machine according to claim 1, The lid locking mechanism is a shaft member having an engaging claw that can be engaged with an engaged portion of the housing, the shaft member pivoting to swing the engaging claw and switch between a latched state and an unlatched state; a restricting portion that can restrict rotational movement of the shaft member by moving to switch a relative position of the engaging claw with respect to the shaft member when the engaging claw is in a latched state; a drive source that moves the restriction portion so as to switch a relative position with respect to the shaft member, the shaft member has an abutment portion that abuts against the restriction portion in a locked state to restrict rotation of the shaft member, The washing machine according to claim 1, wherein the position at which the abutting portion is regulated by the regulating portion is closer to the rotation axis of the shaft member than the position at which the engaging claw engages with the engaged portion.

3. The washing machine according to claim 2, The washing machine, characterized in that the regulating portion changes its relative position with respect to the shaft member by rotational movement around a rotation axis parallel to the rotation axis of the shaft member.

4. The washing machine according to claim 2, The washing machine is characterized in that the regulating portion has a lever for manually releasing the restriction on the rotational movement of the shaft member.

5. The washing machine according to claim 1, The washing machine characterized in that the cover member has an operation panel.

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