Drawer Washer Inlet Door Guides for Leak-Resistant Sealing
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional drawer-type laundry treating apparatuses face issues with water supply and drain pipes twisting inside the cabinet, leading to durability concerns and vibration transmission, and lack an integrated structure for water supply, tub exhaust, and pump exhaust pipes.
Innovation Solution
The proposed solution includes a laundry treating apparatus with a drawer extended from a cabinet, a tub for water storage, a rotatable drum, and a door that opens and closes an inlet with a gasket for high sealing force, allowing the inlet to be opened even when the door is not fully withdrawn and minimizing vibration-induced opening risks, featuring a guide system for door reciprocation and a gasket with enhanced contact points for improved sealing.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If the drawer is extended from or retracted into the cabinet, then the laundry treating apparatus performs washing operations, but the water supply pipe or drain pipe becomes twisted inside the cabinet
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs flexible hoses for water supply and drain pipes instead of rigid pipes. These flexible hoses can bend and deform without breaking, allowing them to accommodate the drawer's extension and retraction movements while maintaining connection between the cabinet and drawer, thus preventing twisting damage and improving reliability during operation.
2Reliability
If a support structure is added to prevent pipe twisting, then pipe durability is improved, but vibration from the drawer is transmitted to the cabinet
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces vibration-absorbing elements or damping mechanisms as intermediaries between the drawer support structure and the cabinet. These intermediaries absorb and dissipate vibration energy, preventing direct transmission of drawer vibrations to the cabinet while still providing the necessary structural support to prevent pipe twisting, thus resolving both durability and vibration transmission issues.
3Ease of operation
If the door is fully withdrawn to open the inlet, then the inlet can be accessed, but the door cannot remain in the cabinet and the inlet may open due to vibration
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the door movement into multiple positions using guide structures and stopping mechanisms. The door can be positioned at different locations: fully withdrawn for inlet access, partially withdrawn for operation, and in a locked position during washing to prevent vibration-induced opening. This segmentation allows the door to fulfill multiple functions at different times, improving both accessibility and sealing reliability.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent incorporates locking mechanisms that preemptively secure the door in the closed position during washing operations. These mechanisms apply counter-forces to prevent vibration from opening the inlet, addressing the potential problem of vibration-induced opening before it occurs, thus maintaining reliable sealing during the washing process.
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3
AI summary
Disclosed is a laundry treating apparatus including a cabinet having a front face with a drawer hole defined therein, and a rear cover for forming a rear face of the cabinet, a drawer including a drawer body extendable from the cabinet through the drawer hole, a drawer cover for forming a top face of the drawer body, and a cover through-hole defined to penetrate the drawer cover, wherein the cover through-hole is exposed to the outside of the cabinet when the drawer body is extended from the cabinet, a tub including a tub body disposed inside the drawer and storing water therein, a tub cover for forming a top face of the tub body, and an inlet defined to penetrate the tub cover, wherein the inlet is exposed to the outside of the drawer through the cover through-hole, a drum rotatably disposed in the tub, wherein the drum accommodates laundry, a gasket fixed to the tub cover and surrounding an edge of the inlet, a door for closing the inlet by pressing the gasket, a first guide and a second guide for providing a path for the door to reciprocate between a first point where the inlet is closed and a second point where the inlet is opened in a space defined between the tub cover and the drawer cover, wherein the first guide and the second guide are respectively disposed on portions to the left and to the right of the inlet, a third guide for providing the path for the door to reciprocate between the first point and the second point, wherein the third guide extends from a rear end of the inlet toward a rear end of the tub cover, wherein the third guide is positioned between the first guide and the second guide, and a door lock for detachably fixing the door to a point positioned in front of the inlet in a space provided by the tub cover when the door is located at the first point.