Washing machine having legs absorbing impact

Abstract

A washing machine includes legs provided on a lower portion of a washing machine contacting with a support surface, thus supporting the washing machine and absorbing a vibration of the washing machine. The washing machine includes a cabinet, and legs which support the cabinet on a support surface. Each of the legs includes first and second vibration absorbing parts. The first vibration absorbing part contacts, on a bottom surface thereof, with the support surface, and has elasticity to have a higher contracting strain as a weight applied thereto increases. A bottom surface of the second vibration absorbing part is placed higher than the bottom surface of the first vibration absorbing part by a predetermined height, thus contacting with or being spaced apart from the support surface according to the contracting strain of the first vibration absorbing part.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of Korean Patent Application No. 2003-73332, filed Oct. 21, 2003 in the Korean Intellectual Property Office, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates, in general, to washing machines and, more particularly, to legs provided on a lower portion of a washing machine to contact a support surface, thus supporting the washing machine and absorbing impact when the washing machine vibrates.

2. Description of the Related Art

Generally, a machine driven by fossil fuels or electricity, sets in motion internal components thereof using power generated from a drive unit, such as an engine or a motor. In this case, as the machine operates, vibrations of various frequencies are generated, because frictions occur among the internal components of the drive unit when the drive unit rotates.

Therefore, a vibration frequency generated during an operation of the machine is called an operation frequency. Furthermore, various machines have respective characteristic frequencies based on physical properties of internal components thereof. There is a strong correlation between the operation frequency and the characteristic frequency and noise generated in the machine. Particularly, when the characteristic frequency is equal to the operation frequency, resonance occurs. When resonance occurs, vibration is remarkably increased. Therefore, it is desirable to prevent the resonance from occurring.

In conventional washing machines, legs thereof are made of a material having a low characteristic frequency, such as soft rubber, which absorbs a vibration of a high frequency. However, the conventional washing machines have a problem in that a vibration absorbing capacity of the soft rubber is reduced, because there is little difference between a characteristic frequency of the soft rubber and an operation frequency when a frequency of a vibration which is transmitted from a cabinet to the leg, is low. The conventional washing machines have another problem in that plastic deformation of the soft rubber may occur due to weights of the washing machine and water, when the soft rubber has been used for a lengthy period of time. The conventional washing machines have a further problem in that the soft rubber may undesirably weaken, because the soft rubber has a low resistance to heat or chemicals.

Meanwhile, although hard rubber is used, when the frequency of the vibration which is transmitted from the cabinet to the legs is high, there is little difference between a characteristic frequency of the hard rubber and the operation frequency. The vibration absorbing capacity of the hard rubber is thus reduced.

The above-mentioned problems occur more remarkably when the washing machine is placed on an uneven support surface, because loads applied to the legs are not uniform.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Accordingly, it is an aspect of the present invention to provide a washing machine having legs contacting a support surface each comprising parts having different characteristic frequencies, thus allowing the legs to efficiently absorb a vibration even when a wide range of operation vibrations are generated.

It is another aspect of the present invention to provide a washing machine which is constructed such that soft and hard parts of the legs simultaneously contact the support surface, thus preventing the soft part from being plastically deformed due to a load of the washing machine or from weakening due to heat or chemicals.

It is a further aspect of the present invention to provide a washing machine having legs each comprising parts having different characteristic frequencies, which are integrated with each other into a single structure, thus simplifying manufacturing and assembling processes, therefore increasing productivity.

Additional aspects and/or advantages of the invention will be set forth in part in the description which follows and, in part, will be obvious from the description, or may be learned by practice of the invention.

The above and/or other aspects are achieved by a washing machine, which includes a cabinet, and a leg to support the cabinet on a support surface. The leg includes first and second vibration absorbing parts. The first vibration absorbing part contacts, on a bottom surface thereof, the support surface, and has elasticity allowing a higher contracting strain as a weight applied thereto increases. A bottom surface of the second vibration absorbing part is placed higher than the bottom surface of the first vibration absorbing part by a predetermined height, thus contacting with or being spaced apart from the support surface according to the contracting strain of the first vibration absorbing part.

According to an aspect of the invention, the first and second vibration absorbing parts may have different characteristic frequencies.

According to another aspect of the invention, the characteristic frequency of the first vibration absorbing part may be lower than the characteristic frequency of the second vibration absorbing part.

According to another aspect of the invention, the first vibration absorbing part may comprise soft rubber, and the second vibration absorbing part may comprise hard rubber.

According to another aspect of the invention, the first and second vibration absorbing parts may be integrated with each other into a single structure.

According to another aspect of the invention, a groove of a predetermined depth may be provided between the first and second vibration absorbing parts, thus minimizing interference between the first and second vibration absorbing parts.

According to another aspect of the invention, the washing machine may further include a fastening unit to support the first and second vibration absorbing parts at predetermined portions thereof and fasten the leg to the cabinet.

According to another aspect of the invention, the fastening unit may further include a reinforcing part to reinforce strength of one of the first and second vibration absorbing parts.

According to another aspect of the invention, a leg may be constructed so that parts thereof having different characteristic frequencies are integrated with each other into a single structure to contact with the support surface.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

These and/or other aspects and advantages of the invention will become apparent and more readily appreciated from the following description of the embodiments, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings of which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a leg included in a washing machine, according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a sectional view of the leg of FIG. 1;

FIGS. 3A and 3B are sectional views showing the leg of FIG. 1 mounted to a cabinet of the washing machine.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Reference will now be made in detail to the embodiments of the present invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein like reference numerals refer to like elements throughout. The embodiments are described below to explain the present invention by referring to the figures.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a leg included in a washing machine, according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a sectional view of the leg of FIG. 1.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the washing machine according to an embodiment of the present invention includes the leg 1 which has a fastening unit 10 fastened to a cabinet 2 (see, FIGS. 3A and 3B), and a vibration absorbing unit 20 to absorb a vibration.

The fastening unit 10 is made of metal, and includes a threaded part 11 and a head part 13 which is provided at an end of the threaded part 11. The threaded part 11 has a cylindrical shape, and is fastened to the cabinet 2. The head part 13 is surrounded by the vibration absorbing unit 20 which will be described later herein. A reinforcing part 15 is provided along an edge of the head part 13 to be downwardly bent. Thus, a central portion of a lower surface of the head part 13 of the fastening unit 10 is formed to be concave, and a step is formed on a central portion of an upper surface of the head part 13.

The vibration absorbing unit 20 is made of rubber, and includes first and second vibration absorbing parts 25 and 21, respectively which are integrated with each other into a single structure. The second vibration absorbing part 25 surrounds the reinforcing part 15, while the first vibration absorbing part 25 surrounds the concave central portion of the head part 13. In this case, the second vibration absorbing part 21 may be made of hard rubber, and the first vibration absorbing part 25 may be made of soft rubber. Because the head part 13 is formed to have a concave step on the lower surface thereof, a distance between a bottom surface of the first vibration absorbing part 25 and the lower surface of the head part 13 is longer than a distance between a bottom surface of the second vibration absorbing part 21 and the lower surface of the head part 13. Thus, although the first and second vibration absorbing parts 25 and 21 are made of the same rubber, the first vibration absorbing part 25 has higher elasticity than the second vibration absorbing part 21, and thereby the first and second vibration absorbing parts 25 and 21 have different vibration characteristics.

The reinforcing part 15 is embedded in the second vibration absorbing part 21, thus functioning to reinforce strength of the second vibration absorbing part 21. Conversely, when the first vibration absorbing part 25 is made of the hard rubber and the second vibration absorbing part 21 is made of the soft rubber, the reinforcing part 15 may be constructed to reinforce strength of the first vibration absorbing part 25. Such a construction increases a difference of a vibration characteristic between the soft and hard rubbers.

A groove 27 is provided along a junction between the first and second vibration absorbing parts 25 and 21. The bottom surface of the first vibration absorbing part 25 is placed lower than the bottom surface of the second vibration absorbing part 21, by a height H, so that the first and second vibration absorbing parts 25 and 21 form a step. Further, the groove 27 is formed along the junction between the first and second vibration absorbing parts 25 and 21, so that the first and second vibration absorbing parts 25 and 21 are spaced apart from each other, thus minimizing an interference between the first and second vibration absorbing parts 25 and 21. The first vibration absorbing part 25 is placed at the central portion of the lower surface of the head part 13 and the second vibration absorbing part 21 is placed along the edge of the head part 13, thus effectively preventing the first vibration absorbing part 25 from being damaged due to light, heat, chemicals, etc.

FIGS. 3A and 3B are sectional views of the leg 1 mounted to the cabinet 2 of the washing machine. As shown in FIG. 3B, when the washing machine is placed on the support surface, the first and second vibration absorbing parts 25 and 21 simultaneously contact the support surface. Although the bottom surface of the first vibration absorbing part 25 is placed lower than the bottom surface of the second vibration absorbing part 21, the first vibration absorbing part 25 is more elastically deformed than the second vibration absorbing part 21, thus making the first and second vibration absorbing parts 25 and 21 simultaneously contact the support surface. Because the first vibration absorbing part 25, having a lower characteristic frequency and the second vibration absorbing part 21, having a higher characteristic frequency, simultaneously contact the support surface, the first vibration absorbing part 25 absorbs the vibration when a frequency of the vibration transmitted from the cabinet 2 to the legs 1 is high. Further, when the frequency of the vibration transmitted from the cabinet 2 to the legs 1 is low, the second vibration absorbing part 21 absorbs the vibration.

Meanwhile, when the washing machine operates, the weight of water as well as the weight of the cabinet 2 is applied to the legs 1. In this case, the weight applied to the legs 1 is varied according to washing operations, such as a water supply operation and a water drain operation. Generally, when the washing machine is filled with water, a load applied to a drive unit (not shown) is increased. Thus, the frequency of the vibration acting on the legs 1 is reduced. Conversely, when water is completely discharged from the washing machine, the load applied to the drive unit is reduced, the frequency of the vibration acting on the legs 1 is increased. When the weight acting on the legs 1 is large, the frequency of the vibration is reduced. Conversely, when the weight acting on the legs 1 is small, the frequency of the vibration is increased.

As shown in FIG. 3A, when the weight acting on the legs 1 is small, only the first vibration absorbing part 25 contacts with the support surface, and the second vibration absorbing part 21 is spaced apart from the support surface.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 3B, when the weight acting on the legs 1 is large, the elastic deformation of the first vibration absorbing part 25 is increased, so that the first and second vibration absorbing parts 25 and 21 simultaneously contact with the support surface. Therefore, when the frequency of the vibration action on the legs 1 is high, only the first vibration absorbing part 25 contacts the support surface. On the other hand, when the frequency of the vibration acting on the legs 1 is low, the first and second vibration absorbing parts 25 and 21 simultaneously contact the support surface, thus enhancing vibration absorbing efficiency. Further, when the frequency of the vibration acting on the legs 1 is low, a contracting strain of the vibration absorbing unit 20 is increased. In this case, supposing that the cabinet 2 is supported by only the first vibration absorbing part 25, the first vibration absorbing part 25 may be easily plastically deformed. However, according to the present invention, the legs 1 of the washing machine are constructed so that the first and second vibration absorbing parts 25 and 21 simultaneously contact with the support surface. Thus, even when the frequency is low and the contracting strain of the vibration absorbing unit 20 is increased, the second vibration absorbing part 21 prevents the first vibration absorbing part 25 from being plastically deformed. Further, when the frequency is high, the contracting strain of the vibration absorbing unit 20 is reduced. Thus, although the cabinet 2 is supported by only the first vibration absorbing part 25, the contracting strain of the vibration absorbing unit 20 is not increased so that the first vibration absorbing part 25 is not plastically deformed.

From the above description, the present invention provides a washing machine having legs contacting a support surface wherein each leg comprises parts having different characteristic frequencies, thus allowing the legs to efficiently absorb a vibration even when a wide range of operation vibration is generated.

The washing machine of the present invention is constructed so that vibration absorbing parts of the legs having soft and hard parts simultaneously contact the support surface, thus preventing the soft part from being plastically deformed due to a load of the washing machine or from weakening due to heat or chemicals.

Further, in the washing machine of the present invention, each leg comprises parts having different characteristic frequencies, which are integrated with each other into a single structure, thus simplifying manufacturing and assembling processes, therefore increasing productivity.

In the washing machine according to the present invention, the soft part is placed at a center of each of the legs and the hard part is placed along an edge of the leg, thus protecting the soft part against light, heat, and chemicals.

Further, according to the washing machine of the present invention, each of the legs is constructed so that a fastening unit thereof has a step having different characteristic frequencies, thus allowing the vibration absorbing parts having different characteristic frequencies to respectively contact with the support surface although the vibration absorbing parts are made of a same material.

In the washing machine of the present invention, the soft and hard parts of the legs form a step, thus allowing the soft part from being elastically deformed to some extent even when the support surface is uneven, therefore allowing the washing machine to be stably placed on the support surface.

Although an embodiment of the present invention has been shown and described, it would be appreciated by those skilled in the art that changes may be made in this embodiment without departing from the principles and spirit of the invention, the scope of which is defined in the claims and their equivalents.

Claims

1. A washing machine on a support surface, including:

a cabinet; and

at least one leg to support the cabinet on the support surface, the at least one leg comprising: a first vibration absorbing part to contact, on a bottom surface thereof, with the support surface, the first vibration absorbing part having elasticity to have a higher contracting strain as a weight applied thereto increases; and a second vibration absorbing part of which a bottom surface is placed higher than the bottom surface of the first vibration absorbing part by a predetermined height, thus contacting or being spaced apart from the support surface according to the contracting strain of the first vibration absorbing part.

2. The washing machine according to claim 1, wherein the first vibration absorbing part comprises soft rubber, and the second vibration absorbing part comprises hard rubber.

3. The washing machine according to claim 1, wherein the first and second vibration absorbing parts are integrated with each other into a single structure.

4. The washing machine according to claim 3, further comprising a groove of a predetermined depth, which provided between the first and second vibration absorbing parts, minimizing an interference between the first and second vibration absorbing parts.

5. The washing machine according to claim 1, further comprising a fastening unit to support the first and second vibration absorbing parts at predetermined portions thereof and fastening the leg to the cabinet.

6. The washing machine according to claim 5, wherein the fastening unit further comprises a reinforcing part to reinforce a strength of one of the first and second vibration absorbing parts.

7. A support leg comprising:

a fastening unit fastening the leg to a cabinet;

a head formed at an end of said fastening unit; and

a vibration absorbing unit surrounding a portion of said head, wherein said absorbing unit comprises first and second vibration absorbing parts separated by grooves.

8. The support leg according to claim 7, wherein said first vibration absorbing part contacts, on a bottom surface thereof, a support surface, the first vibration absorbing part having high elasticity, and said second vibration absorbing part having a bottom surface placed higher than the bottom surface of the first vibration absorbing part by a predetermined height, thus contacting or being spaced apart from the support surface according to a contracting strain of the first vibration absorbing part.

9. The support leg according to claim 7, wherein the first vibration absorbing part comprises soft rubber, and the second vibration absorbing part comprises hard rubber.

10. The support leg according to claim 7, wherein the first and second vibration absorbing parts are integrated with each other into a single structure.

11. The support leg according to claim 9, further comprising a groove of a predetermined depth, provided between the first and second vibration absorbing parts, minimizing an interference between the first and second vibration absorbing parts.

12. The support leg according to claim 7, wherein the head further comprises a reinforcing part to reinforce strength of one of the first and second vibration absorbing parts.

13. The support leg according to claim 7, wherein the first and second vibration absorbing parts have different characteristic frequencies.

14. The support leg according to claim 13, wherein the characteristic frequency of the first vibration absorbing part is lower than the characteristic frequency of the second vibration absorbing part.