Laundry treating apparatus
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing laundry treating apparatuses face challenges in easily forming and installing lifters within drums due to undercutting issues during injection molding and limitations in installation direction, which affect structural rigidity and aesthetic appearance.
Innovation Solution
A laundry treating apparatus design featuring a lifter frame made of synthetic resin with a metal frame cover that covers the lifter frame, allowing for easy injection molding and flexible installation direction, along with a configuration that enhances structural rigidity and minimizes unnecessary exposure, including a frame base with an insertion protrusion and a seating groove for secure mounting.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If a lifter with a hook structure is injection-molded using conventional molds, then the lifter can be manufactured, but undercutting occurs due to the head vertically overlapping the lifter main body
Solution Approach 1:
The lifter is divided into two separate components: a lifter frame and a lifter cover. The lifter frame is injection-molded without the hook structure, eliminating the undercutting problem during molding. The hook is then formed as a separate element (hook plate) that is attached to the lifter frame, allowing the main body to be molded without geometric constraints.
Solution Approach 2:
The hook structure is extracted from the main lifter body and formed as a separate hook plate component. This allows the lifter frame to be injection-molded without the problematic vertical overlap geometry, and the hook is subsequently attached to complete the assembly.
2Ease of manufacture
If the lifter structure is simplified for easier manufacturing, then production becomes easier, but structural rigidity may be compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The lifter uses a composite construction combining synthetic resin (lifter frame) with metal components (lifter cover and hook plate). This allows the frame to be easily injection-molded while the metal cover and hook provide the necessary structural rigidity and strength for lifting laundry.
Solution Approach 2:
By segmenting the lifter into functional components (frame for mounting, cover for rigidity, hook for engagement), each part can be optimized for its specific function while maintaining overall structural integrity through proper joining methods.
3Ease of operation
If the lifter design is simplified for easier installation, then installation direction restrictions are reduced, but aesthetic appearance and exposure of unnecessary portions may worsen
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of designing the hook as an integrated part of the lifter body, the approach is inverted by making the lifter frame a separate mounting structure that receives the hook plate. This allows the frame to be symmetrically designed for flexible installation while the cover conceals internal components for aesthetic purposes.
Solution Approach 2:
The lifter cover acts as a enclosing shell that conceals the internal frame and hook structures. This provides aesthetic appearance by hiding unnecessary portions while allowing the frame to have a simple, flexible mounting design without directional restrictions.
Data Source
Figure 1
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Figure 4
AI summary
A laundry treating apparatus according to the present disclosure includes a drum (51) having a mounting slot and being configured to receive laundry and rotate about a predetermined rotation axis extending in a front-rear direction, and a lifter (61a, 61b, 62a, 62b, 63 a, and 63b) disposed on an inner circumferential surface of the drum and extending in the front-rear direction. The lifter includes a lifter frame (620) installed on the inner circumferential surface of the drum, and a frame cover (640) coupled to the lifter frame and protruding radially inward from the inner circumferential surface of the drum. The lifter frame has a catching protrusion (626) protruding from an inner surface of the lifter frame and having a shape that is symmetrical based on a center in a plan view.