Washing Machine Balancer Structure for Fast Assembly and Low Vibration
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional washing machines with ball balancers face issues of reduced lifespan due to deformation under centrifugal force, assembly challenges, and generation of fusion scraps that cause noise and vibration, leading to misalignment and reduced durability.
Innovation Solution
The washing machine incorporates a balancer design with annular-shaped first and second housings that form a closed internal space, featuring protruding supports for strength and guiding the balancer's position, and fusion ridges and grooves to collect fusion scraps, ensuring precise assembly and preventing internal debris from interfering with ball motion.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Device complexity
If ball balancers are used with upper and lower plates fused together, then the balancer structure is simplified, but the walls deform under centrifugal force reducing lifespan
Solution Approach 1:
The balancer is divided into an upper plate and a lower plate that are fused together at specific fusion portions. This segmentation allows the structure to maintain simplicity while distributing centrifugal forces through the fusion portions, preventing wall deformation and extending lifespan.
Solution Approach 2:
The fusion portions are strategically positioned at locations that experience significant centrifugal force. By concentrating fusion material at these critical local areas rather than uniformly throughout, the structure achieves enhanced strength where needed while maintaining overall simplicity.
2Device complexity
If conventional ball balancers are used without installation guidance, then the structure remains simple, but assembly time increases
Solution Approach 1:
Installation guide portions are pre-formed as integral parts of the balancer structure during manufacturing. These guide portions protrude from the outer surfaces and automatically align with corresponding recesses in the spin tub, providing preliminary positioning that speeds up assembly without adding complex separate components.
3Device complexity
If upper and lower plates are fused together in conventional ball balancers, then the structure is compact, but fusion scraps fall inward and outward causing noise and vibration
Solution Approach 1:
The harmful fusion scraps are extracted from the operational space by directing them into dedicated collection pockets. The fusion portions are designed to channel scraps into these pockets, separating the scraps from the ball circulation path and preventing them from causing noise and vibration.
Solution Approach 2:
The fusion process, which generates harmful scraps, is redesigned so that the scraps are systematically collected and contained. The fusion portions act as both the source of joining material and the mechanism for directing scraps into collection pockets, converting a harmful byproduct into a controlled element.
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
This design enhances the durability and lifespan of the balancer by preventing deformation and noise, allowing for smoother operation and faster assembly, while maintaining dynamic balance during high-speed spinning.
Implementation Method 1
the ball balancers are continuously supplied with centrifugal force that is generated when the steel balls make a circular motion
Data Source
AI summary
A washing machine that has at least one balancer that increases durability by reinforcing the strength of the balancer and is installed on a rotating tub in a rapid and convenient way. The balancer includes first and second housings that have an annular shape and are fused to form a closed internal space, and the first housing including at least one support for reinforcing the strength of the balancer. A spin tub includes an annular recess corresponding to the balancer so as to be coupled with the balancer. The support protrudes from the first housing and comes into contact with a wall of the recess and guides the balancer to be maintained in the recess in place. The supports are integrally molded to the first housing at predetermined intervals along at least a first wall of the first housing.