Foot for household appliance, and household appliance
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing household appliance leveling systems require manual adjustment, which is inconvenient and imprecise, especially for heavy appliances, leading to vibration and reduced service life due to uneven placement and vibration-induced instability.
Innovation Solution
A hydraulic foot system with a sheath, adjustable foot, and hydraulic medium that automatically levels the appliance by communicating between feet through a control device, allowing for axial movement and stabilization, reducing vibration and noise.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If manual adjustment of bolt feet is used, then the washing machine can be leveled, but user operation is extremely inconvenient and time-consuming
Solution Approach 1:
The leveling system automatically adjusts the washing machine's level without requiring manual operation. The hydraulic medium flows autonomously between feet based on pressure differences caused by uneven surfaces, enabling the system to self-level the appliance.
Solution Approach 2:
The traditional mechanical screw-based adjustment system is replaced with a hydraulic system. Instead of manually rotating bolts to adjust height, the invention uses hydraulic pressure transmission through fluid medium to automatically equalize the height of different feet.
2Measurement precision
If manual adjustment of bolt feet is used, then the washing machine can be leveled, but both time and labor are wasted
Solution Approach 1:
The hydraulic system performs the leveling action automatically and rapidly upon installation. The hydraulic medium immediately begins flowing to equalize pressure differences, completing the leveling process in a fraction of the time required for manual adjustment.
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs self-leveling without human intervention. The hydraulic mechanism autonomously detects and corrects imbalances by redistributing the hydraulic medium between feet, eliminating the time users would spend on manual adjustment.
3Stability of the object's composition
If the washing machine is not leveled properly, then placement is uneven, but great vibration is caused during spin-drying
Solution Approach 1:
The hydraulic system provides continuous feedback through pressure differences between feet. When the washing machine is uneven, pressure variations cause hydraulic medium to flow from higher-pressure (lower) feet to lower-pressure (higher) feet, automatically correcting the level and preventing vibration during operation.
4Reliability
If vibration occurs during long-term work, then screws become loose and foot brackets move vertically, but this causes more intense vibration in a vicious cycle
Solution Approach 1:
The hydraulic system provides continuous stabilization by maintaining equal pressure across all feet. The incompressible hydraulic medium compensates for any vertical movement or screw loosening by redistributing pressure, preventing the vicious cycle of increasing vibration that occurs with mechanical screw systems.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The hydraulic foot system enables automatic leveling and stable support, simplifying the mounting process, reducing vibration and noise, and extending the service life of household appliances by ensuring precise and consistent placement.
Implementation Method 1
a hydraulic medium, being arranged in the accommodating chamber, and the hydraulic medium being compressed or expanded depending on the pressure changes to drive the adjustable foot to move axially in the sheath for leveling
Implementation Method 2
a communicating device for communicating at least two feet for the household appliance to realize a flowing of the hydraulic medium between the two feet for the household appliance
Data Source
AI summary
A foot for a household appliance includes a hydraulic plate, a sheath connected with the hydraulic plate, an adjustable foot arranged in the sheath and axially moveable relative to the sheath, and a device for communicating the flow of a hydraulic medium between at least two feet of the household appliance. An accommodating chamber is formed by the hydraulic plate, the sheath and the adjustable foot; the hydraulic medium is arranged in the accommodating chamber, and the hydraulic medium is compressed or expanded along with the change of pressure to drive the adjustable foot to move axially in the sheath for leveling. A control device for turning on/off the flow of the hydraulic medium is provided on the communicating device, a better leveling support effect is achieved by controlling the on/off of the communicating device.