Drum Washer Bearing Housing With Vibration-Attenuating Support

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Solution Overview

Problem

The existing drum type washing machines face issues with amplified vibration noise, misalignment of bearings, and the need for excessive rigidity in the rear wall of the tub, which increases noise and complexity in assembly.

Innovation Solution

A drum type washing machine design featuring a bearing housing with a hub, a supporting portion, and a fastening portion, integrated as one unit, along with a vibration attenuating device and connective supporters to reduce vibration and enhance system stiffness, while minimizing the number of components and assembly time.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Strength

If the bearing housing is fixedly secured to the tub and the damper is placed under the tub, then the structure provides support for the drum, but the vibration of the tub is amplified and noise increases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvestructural supportVSAvoidvibration noise
Core Design Contradiction:
StrengthVSObject-generated harmful factors

Solution Approach 1:

A vibration attenuating device is introduced as an intermediary element between the tub and the bearing housing/damper assembly. This mediator absorbs and reduces vibration transmission, preventing the amplification of harmful vibrations while maintaining structural support functionality.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

Solution Approach 2:

The bearing housing is divided into a modular structure with separate components including the hub, supporting portion, and fastening portion. This segmentation allows the vibration attenuating device to be integrated into the supporting portion without compromising the overall structural integrity, thereby reducing noise while maintaining support strength.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

2Ease of manufacture

If the bearing housing is divided into multiple separate components, then assembly flexibility is improved, but the number of components increases and assembly time increases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveassembly flexibilityVSAvoidnumber of components
Core Design Contradiction:
Ease of manufactureVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The hub, supporting portion, and fastening portion are integrated into a single bearing housing component. This merging reduces the total number of parts while maintaining the functional benefits of modular design, as each portion serves its specific function within the unified structure, thereby simplifying assembly without sacrificing manufacturing flexibility.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #5Merging (Combining)

3Ease of manufacture

If the bearings are placed away from the center of the hub, then manufacturing is simplified, but misalignment occurs and drum driving shaft placement becomes difficult

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvebearing placementVSAvoidbearing alignment
Core Design Contradiction:
Ease of manufactureVSManufacturing precision

Solution Approach 1:

The supporting portion is specifically designed with localized features that ensure precise bearing alignment. By concentrating the alignment functionality in this specific region of the bearing housing, the design achieves both ease of manufacture and high precision bearing placement, eliminating misalignment issues while maintaining manufacturing simplicity.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #3Local quality

4Stability of the object's composition

If the rear wall of the tub is designed with excessive rigidity to support the bearing housing, then structural stability is improved, but the overall system weight increases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improverear wall stabilityVSAvoidtub weight
Core Design Contradiction:
Stability of the object's compositionVSWeight of stationary object

Solution Approach 1:

The bearing housing design incorporates dynamic vibration attenuation capabilities through the supporting portion and vibration attenuating device. This dynamic approach allows the structure to adapt to vibrational forces, maintaining stability without requiring excessive static rigidity in the rear wall, thereby reducing the overall weight while preserving structural stability.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #15Dynamics

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 solution effectively reduces vibration noise, improves system stiffness, and simplifies assembly by distributing force uniformly through the connective supporters, resulting in a lighter and more rigid system.

Implementation Method 1

A vibration attenuating device (60) for attenuating vibration transmitted from the drum to the cabinet

Methodology Applied
Scientific EffectVibration attenuation: Damping

Data Source

PatentEP2122035B1Drum type washing machine
Publication Date: 2016.09.14 LG ELECTRONICS INC
  • EP2122035B1 patent drawingFigure 1~2
  • EP2122035B1 patent drawingFigure 3~4

AI summary

This invention relates to a drum type washing machine including a cabinet (70), a tub provided in the cabinet (70), a drum (10) rotatably provided in the tub, a bearing housing (300) including a hub (311 ) having a rotating shaft (40) of the drum 8109 passed therethrough and bearings placed in a center portion (311 a) thereof, a supporting portion (312) which extends from an outside circumference of the hub (311 ) integrally, and a fastening portion (313) provided integrally with the supporting portion (312), a connective supporter (400.) fastened to the fastening portion (313) for supporting the bearing housing (300), and a vibration attenuating device (60) between the connective supporter (400) and the cabinet (70) for attenuating vibration.