Washing machine
In order to increase washing volume, a washing machine comprises of: a cabinet holding moving and non-moving parts; a stationary tub located within the cabinet, both of which have an upper opening; and a basket located within the stationary tub which rotates around a vertical shaft, wherein the stationary tub can be attached to the cabinet using fasteners or cushioning materials and can be attached to the base bearing assembly with a flexible part, such as a rubber boot. The said base bearing assembly and the basket are suspended by a plurality of hanging rods with spring and damping elements to absorb vibrations and forces generated by an imbalanced clothing load. A tapered basket can be used to further increase the volume of the washing machine.
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an approach to increase washing volume for a washing machine and, more particularly, to a washing machine having a stationary tub and assembled to a cabinet by fasteners or cushioning materials. In order to seal water, a boot (or called a bellow) made of a flexible material is used to connect the stationary tub to the base bearing assembly, in which a driving shaft, driven by a motor with or without a speed reducer, and the basket are suspended by a plurality of hanging rods with spring and damping elements at the upper portion of the cabinet and through the corner cavities between the cabinet and the stationary tub for the base bearing assembly at the lower portion of the washing machine, in order to absorb vibrations and forces generated by an imbalanced clothing load. A tapered basket can be used to further increase volume of the washing machine.
2. Description of the Conventional Art
A washing machine generally refers to various devices for washing laundry with a spinning shaft driven by a motor, with or without a speed reducer, and an accessible opening with a cover used for loading clothes. A tub used as a water container is typically installed with a base bearing assembly and a basket which has a consistent diameter and is used for holding the clothes. The tub-basket assembly with the motor drive unit moves together relative to the cabinet. Four hanging rods with springs and dampers serve as a suspension to reduce vibrations and forces generated by an imbalanced clothing load.
The conventional washing machine has a constraint that an increase in diameter of a tub leads to an excessive increase in strikes between the tub and the cabinet. However it is desirable to maximize the tub size so that the basket size can be maximized, too. As a result, the washing machine should have a maximized volume to meet the consumer's needs, while the water usage per clothes weight should be reduced and the energy efficiency should be improved.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONThus, an object of the present invention provides a washing machine having a structure in which the diameter of the basket can be maximized when the cabinet size is given and a washing machine dynamics performance that is not degraded.
According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a washing machine comprising: a cabinet; a stationary tub located within the cabinet having an opening at the top for loading the clothes; and a basket located within the stationary tub rotating around a spinning shaft, wherein the stationary tub is assembled within the cabinet with fasteners or cushioning materials. The stationary tub is connected to the base bearing assembly with a flexible element, such as a boot, to seal the water and absorb vibrations and forces generated by an imbalanced clothing load. The base bearing assembly in which a driving shaft, driven by a motor with or without a speed reducer, and the basket are hanging by a plurality of rods with spring and damping elements attached at the upper portion of the cabinet and through the corner cavities between the cabinet and the stationary tub for the base bearing assembly at the lower portion of the washing machine, to form a suspension in order to reduce vibrations and forces generated by and imbalanced clothing load.
According to a washing machine of the present invention, one or more effects as follows may be achieved.
First, since the stationary tub has almost the maximum diameter inside the cabinet, the maximum diameter of the basket can be achieved. Therefore, the maximum volume of the washing machine can be achieved.
Second, the part, such as the boot, connecting the stationary tub and the base bearing assembly using clamps or other means, is made of flexible materials. Therefore, water can be sealed and less vibrations and forces will be transmitted to the stationary tub, the cabinet, and the floor.
Third, cushioning materials can be used between the cabinet and the stationary tub laterally and vertically to reduce vibrations and forces transmitted from the boot generated by an imbalanced clothing load.
Fourth, because of increase of the washing machine volume, water used for cleaning per clothes weight is reduced; therefore, the energy efficiency of the washing machine is improved.
The effects of the present invention are not limited to the aforementioned effects; other effects not mentioned above can be clearly understood from the definitions in the claims by one skilled in the art.
The unmentioned other objects, features, aspects and advantages of the present invention will become more obvious from the following detailed description of the present invention when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.
The accompanying drawings, which are included to provide a further understanding of the invention, are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate embodiments of the invention and together with the description serve to explain the principles of the invention.
In the drawings:
Exemplary embodiments of the present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, the invention may be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as being limited to the embodiments set forth herein. Instead, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the scope of the invention to those skilled in the art. In the drawings, the shapes and dimensions may be exaggerated for clarity, and the same reference numerals will be used throughout to designate the same or like components.
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[0038]Although the preferred embodiments of the present invention have been disclosed for illustrative purposes, those skilled in the art will appreciate the various modifications, additions and substitutions are possible, without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention as disclosed in the accompanying claims.
Claims
1. A washing machine comprising: a cabinet; a stationary tub located within the cabinet having a top opening for the clothes entry and a large bottom opening attached to a flexible boot, which is further attached to the base bearing assembly; a plurality of hanging rods hanging at the upper portion of the cabinet and supporting the base bearing assembly with spring and damping elements therein through the corner cavities between the cabinet and the stationary tub; and a basket located within the stationary tub.
2. The washing machine of claim 1, where the stationary tub has a large opening at the bottom with a flange or the like, or without.
3. The washing machine of claim 2, where the flange or the like can be facing up into or facing down out of, or both, the stationary tub.
4. The washing machine of claim 2, where the flange or the like can be facing in to, or facing out of, or both, the stationary tub, where the flange location can be much higher than the bottom surface of the basket.
5. The washing machine of claim 2, where the stationary tub is installed inside of the cabinet with fasteners or cushioning materials at the approaching areas of the cabinet and at the bottom of the stationary tub.
6. The washing machine of claim 1, where a boot made of flexible materials is used to connect the stationary tub and the base bearing assembly using one or more fasteners, such as clamps or the like, or other means.
7. The washing machine of claim 1, where the base bearing assembly comprising: a motor, a spinning shaft with or without a clutch to drive the basket and agitator or impeller; and a bracket to hold the hanging rods with spring and damping elements.
8. The washing machine of claim 7, where the base bearing assembly either has a flange, or the like, structure to attach the boot at its lower portion or has a means with or without accessory parts to sandwich the boot at its upper portion.
9. The washing machine of claim 1, where the basket can be designed to have a tapered angle to fully utilize the space inside the tub, where the tapered angle is equivalent to the tub draft angle, approximately.
10. The washing machine of claim 1, where a plurality of hanging rods hanging at the upper portion of the cabinet and supporting the base bearing assembly with spring and damping elements therein through the corner cavities between the cabinet and the stationary tub to absorb vibrations and forces generated by an imbalanced clothing load.
11. A washing machine comprising: a cabinet; a tub located within the cabinet having a top opening for the clothes entry; and a basket, which has a tapered angle equal to the tub draft angle approximately, located within the tub.
Type: Application
Filed: Jul 18, 2011
Publication Date: Mar 8, 2012
Inventor: Jianming Sun (Kalamazoo, MI)
Application Number: 13/135,878
International Classification: D06F 7/02 (20060101); D06F 39/12 (20060101);