Drum Balancer Locking Tab Assembly to Reduce Coupling Time
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
The existing methods for coupling balancers to drums in clothes treating apparatuses are time-consuming, leading to reduced productivity due to the requirement of inserting separate screws, which increases the time needed for coupling tasks and lowers efficiency in maintaining dynamic balance during drum rotation.
Innovation Solution
The implementation of a coupling method that alternates between screw coupling and lock coupling, utilizing locking tabs formed by cutting and bending the drum's outer surface to fit into fasteners on the balancer, allowing for quicker and more efficient fixation of the balancer to the drum, thereby reducing manufacturing time while maintaining equivalent coupling force.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If separate screws are used to couple balancers to drums, then reliable fixation is achieved, but assembly time increases and productivity decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines multiple fastening functions into a single integrated locking tab component. The locking tab integrates the coupling function between drum and balancer into one piece, eliminating the need for separate screws while maintaining reliable fixation through its bent structure that locks into the balancer's fastener.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent extracts the fastening function from separate screw components and integrates it into the locking tab formed from the drum's outer surface. This extraction and reintegration simplifies the assembly process by reducing the number of discrete parts while preserving the essential coupling function.
2Reliability
If multiple separate coupling components are used, then secure attachment is achieved, but the number of parts increases and assembly complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the drum surface, coupling mechanism, and fastening function into a single integrated locking tab structure. This tab is formed directly from the drum's outer surface and incorporates the fastening function, eliminating the need for separate coupling components and reducing overall system complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The locking tab serves multiple functions: it provides structural support as part of the drum surface, acts as a coupling element, and functions as a fastening mechanism through its bent configuration. This multi-functionality reduces the need for separate specialized components.
3Force
If traditional screw coupling is used, then adequate coupling force is achieved, but manufacturing time increases
Solution Approach 1:
The locking tab is pre-formed as an integral part of the drum structure during drum manufacturing. The tab's geometry and bending characteristics are established in advance, so that during assembly, only a simple insertion and locking action is needed, eliminating the time-consuming process of aligning and fastening multiple separate screw components.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent skips the intermediate steps of handling, aligning, and fastening multiple separate screw components by using a pre-formed locking tab that can be quickly inserted and locked into place in a single motion, significantly reducing assembly time while maintaining adequate coupling force.
Data Source
AI summary
A clothes treating apparatus is provided. The clothes treating apparatus may include a drum having a locking tab formed by cutting a portion of an outer circumferential surface to be bendable inward towards an interior of the drum, and a balancer having a fastener that protrudes from the outer circumferential surface to hold the locking tab. The locking tab may be configured to be pushed inward towards the interior of the drum in order to be locked in the fastener and to restrict movement of the balancer in a forward or backward direction of the drum as the drum rotates.