Gasket and drum-type washing machine having the same
A gasket and washing machine having the same prevents gasket deformation and damage. The gasket is coupled between a cabinet of a drum-type washing machine and a tub disposed inside the cabinet. The gasket includes a shock absorber having a bent portion for preventing a vibration appearing in the tub from being transferred to the cabinet, and at least one reinforcement member, provided to the shock absorber, for preventing deformation of the shock absorber. The reinforcement member includes a plurality of protruding ribs protruding from an inner wall of the shock absorber.
This application claims the benefit of Korean Applications Nos. P2004-009703 and P2004-009704, both filed on Feb. 13, 2004, and which are hereby incorporated by reference.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to drum-type washing machines, and more particularly, to a gasket for absorbing shocks generated from drum rotation while preventing water leakage from a tub, which employs a reinforcement member constructed of a plurality of protruding ribs provided to a shock absorber of the gasket to prevent gasket deformation and damage, and to a washing machine having the same.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
Generally speaking, a washing machine is an apparatus which uses detergent and an applied mechanical energy to remove dirt attached to laundry. A tub is provided to hold (or contain) water and detergent, and laundry is placed in a drum for accommodating the laundry mixed with the water and detergent. The drum, which is installed within the tub, is rotated inside the tub by the drive force of a motor to perform washing, rinsing, and dewatering.
Meanwhile, drum-type washing machines, in which the drum and tub are disposed horizontally, tend to avoid damaging and raveling the laundry and consume less water while achieving a washing effect of beating and rubbing. A general drum-type washing machine is shown in
Referring to
A rotating means 40, such as an induction or BLDC motor for rotating the drum 30 and including a rotational shaft 41 centrally coupled to the rear of the drum, is installed behind the tub 20 and rotates the drum forward and reversely according to the motor's rotational direction. At least one lifter 31 is provided to an inner wall of the drum 30 to assist the washing action by repeatedly lifting the laundry to a predetermined height as the drum is rotated and then allowing the lifted laundry to fall from the predetermined height.
As the drum 30 rotates within the tub 20 under the drive force of the rotating means 40, the drum and tub assembly vibrates. To attenuate the vibration, the tub 20 is supported by an elastic means, including a spring 25 disposed above the tub and a damper 26 disposed below the tub.
Referring to
Over time, the gasket 50 of the related art tends to become damaged and thereby lose its leakage prevention properties or may collapse and thereby lose its vibration prevention properties. Specifically, vibration transferred from the tub 20 to the gasket 50 may cause friction to develop between inner walls 51b and 51c of the shock absorber 51, whereby the gasket becomes damaged or broken down as indicated by dotted lines in
Accordingly, the present invention is directed to a gasket and drum-type washing machine having the same that substantially obviate one or more of the problems due to limitations and disadvantages of the related art.
An object of the present invention, which has been devised to solve the foregoing problems, lies in providing a gasket and washing machine having the same, by which gasket deformation and damage is prevented.
Additional features and advantages of the invention will be set forth in the description which follows, and in part will be apparent to those having ordinary skill in the art upon examination of the following or may be learned from a practice of the invention. The objectives and other advantages of the invention will be realized and attained by the subject matter particularly pointed out in the specification and claims hereof as well as in the appended drawings.
To achieve these objects and other advantages in accordance with the present invention, as embodied and broadly described herein, a gasket coupled between a cabinet of a drum-type washing machine and a tub disposed inside the cabinet includes a shock absorber having a bent portion for preventing a vibration appearing in the tub from being transferred to the cabinet, and at least one reinforcement member, provided to the shock absorber, for preventing deformation of the shock absorber.
The reinforcement member comprises a protruding rib protruding from an inner wall of the shock absorber, and preferably, a plurality of such protruding ribs arranged to have a predetermined interval, whereby the protruding ribs run perpendicular with respect to the bend of the bent portion, which has a predetermined direction. The protruding ribs are formed to have characteristics determined in consideration of stresses applied to the shock absorber, and in the event that a washing machine adopting the gasket of the present invention is provided with a drying function such that the gasket further comprises a duct receptacle, the stresses applied to the shock absorber are particularly compounded.
In another aspect of the present invention, a washing machine includes a cabinet having a front panel in which a forward opening is centrally formed for loading and retrieving laundry, the cabinet forming an exterior of the washing machine; a tub, disposed behind the front panel, having a tub entrance for communicating with the forward opening; and the above gasket. The washing machine may include a drying device for drying laundry by supplying hot air to the tub, the drying device being provided with a drying duct. Thus, the gasket further includes a duct receptacle for receiving the drying duct, and the at least one reinforcement member of the gasket includes a protruding rib protruding from an inner wall of the shock absorber adjacent the duct receptacle, the protruding rib being formed to have characteristics determined in consideration of stresses applied to the shock absorber by the drying duct.
It is to be understood that both the foregoing explanation and the following detailed description of the present invention are exemplary and illustrative and are intended to provide further explanation of the invention as claimed.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGSThe accompanying drawings, which are included to provide a further understanding of the invention and are incorporated in and constitute a part of this application, illustrate embodiments of the invention and together with the description serve to explain the principle of the invention. In the drawings:
Reference will now be made in detail to the preferred embodiments of the present invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. Throughout the drawings, like elements are indicated using the same or similar reference designations where possible.
Referring to
A rotating means 400, such as an induction or BLDC motor for rotating the drum 300 and including a rotational shaft 410 centrally coupled to the rear of the drum, is installed behind the tub 200 and rotates the drum forward and reversely according to the motor's rotational direction. At least one lifter 310 is provided to an inner wall of the drum 300 to assist the washing action by repeatedly lifting the laundry to a predetermined height as the drum is rotated and then allowing the lifted laundry to fall from the predetermined height.
To attenuate vibration generated during operation of the drum-type washing machine, the tub 200 is supported by an elastic means, including a spring 250 disposed above the tub and a damper 260 disposed below the tub.
According to the present invention, a drum-type washing machine as described above is provided with a gasket 500, as shown in
To prevent water leakage, the gasket 500 has a front rim 501 coupled to the front panel 130 of the cabinet 100 and a rear rim 502 coupled to the entrance 210 of the tub 200, thus closing the gap between the cabinet 100 and tub 200. To prevent a transfer of vibration to the cabinet 100, the gasket 500 includes a shock absorber 510 having an annular shape corresponding to that of the gasket, in which a bent portion 511 is formed between the front and rear rims 501 and 502 of the gasket by shaping a predetermined length of the gasket material into a U-shaped bend. The shock absorber 510 is preferably formed of a soft, pliable material to absorb vibration appearing in the tub 200, by contracting, expanding, and twisting accordingly.
Referring to
The shock absorber 510 preferably protrudes outwardly from its annular shape and is typically directed forward, i.e., toward the front panel 140 of the cabinet 100, and the protruding rib 530 is disposed to be perpendicular with respect to the direction of the bend of the bent portion 511. Thus, the protruding rib 530 has the same general cross-section as that of the shock absorber 510. Preferably, the protruding ribs 530 are formed as one continuous protrusion extending over both inner walls of the shock absorber 510, with the rib formation on one wall directly opposing a rib formation on the other wall. The rib formation may, however, be separately provided on one or both opposing walls. In the same manner, although not specifically shown in the drawings, the protruding ribs 530 may be formed on one or both outer walls of the shock absorber 510.
The above-constructed protruding rib 530 prevents the gasket 500 from drooping due to weight of the tub 200 when the washing machine stops operating. The protruding rib 530 prevents excessive torsional deformation of the shock absorber 510 caused by the vibration of the tub 200 while the washing machine operates and minimizes the degradation of overall vibration attenuating capability of the gasket 500.
A drum-type washing machine according to another embodiment of the present invention is provided with a drying function, as shown in
Therefore, as shown in
Meanwhile, referring to
During the operation of a drum-type washing machine adopting the gasket of the present invention, various forces generated from the vibration of the tub 200 are applied to the bent portion 511 (or bent portions 511 and 711) of the shock absorber 510 and/or 710, and particularly, to the bent portion adjacent the duct receptacle 720, but the reinforcement member provided to the shock absorber prevents excessive deformation (e.g., collapse) of the shock absorber caused by such forces, whereby a rubbing of the inner walls of the shock absorber, especially adjacent the duct receptacle, is prevented. Therefore, the present invention prevents the generation of friction between the inner walls of the entire the shock absorber, which would eventually damage the gasket, and maintains the vibration attenuating capability of the gasket over time.
It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made in the present invention without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention. Thus, it is intended that the present invention cover such modifications and variations, provided they come within the scope of the appended claims and their equivalents.
Claims
1. A gasket coupled between a cabinet of a drum-type washing machine and a tub disposed inside the cabinet, the gasket comprising:
- a shock absorber having a bent portion for preventing a vibration appearing in the tub from being transferred to the cabinet; and
- at least one reinforcement member, provided to the shock absorber, for preventing deformation of the shock absorber.
2. The gasket as claimed in claim 1, wherein the at least one reinforcement member comprises a first protruding rib protruding from an inner wall of the shock absorber.
3. The gasket as claimed in claim 2, wherein the bent portion of the shock absorber comprises a bend having a predetermined direction, the first protruding rib running perpendicular with respect to the bend of the bent portion.
4. The gasket as claimed in claim 2, wherein the first protruding rib meets the shock absorber at a rounded junction having a predetermined radius.
5. The gasket as claimed in claim 1, wherein the at least one reinforcement member comprises a plurality of first protruding ribs protruding from an inner wall of the shock absorber.
6. The gasket as claimed in claim 5, wherein the plurality of first protruding ribs are arranged to have a predetermined interval.
7. The gasket as claimed in claim 1, wherein the bend of the shock absorber comprises two opposing inner walls, the at least one reinforcement member being provided to one inner wall.
8. The gasket as claimed in claim 1, wherein the bend of the shock absorber comprises two opposing inner walls, the at least one reinforcement member being respectively provided to both inner walls.
9. The gasket as claimed in claim 8, wherein the at least one reinforcement member provided to the inner walls is continuously formed so as to oppose each other.
10. The gasket as claimed in claim 8, wherein the at least one reinforcement member provided to the inner walls is separately formed.
11. The gasket as claimed in claim 1, further comprising a duct receptacle, provided between the shock absorber and the cabinet, for receiving a drying duct.
12. The gasket as claimed in claim 11, wherein the at least one reinforcement member comprises a second protruding rib protruding from an inner wall of the shock absorber adjacent the duct receptacle.
13. The gasket as claimed in claim 12, wherein the second protruding rib is formed to have characteristics determined in consideration of stresses applied to the shock absorber by the drying duct.
14. The gasket as claimed in claim 13, wherein the at least one reinforcement member further comprises a first protruding rib protruding from an inner wall of the shock absorber at points other than points adjacent to the duct receptacle.
15. The gasket as claimed in claim 14, wherein the characteristics of the second protruding rib are determined separately from characteristics for forming the first protruding rib.
16. The gasket as claimed in claim 13, wherein the characteristics of the second protruding rib include height and width of the second protruding rib.
17. The gasket as claimed in claim 11, wherein the at least one reinforcement member comprises a plurality of second protruding ribs protruding from an inner wall of the shock absorber.
18. The gasket as claimed in claim 17, wherein the second protruding rib is formed to have characteristics determined in consideration of stresses applied to the shock absorber by the drying duct.
19. The gasket as claimed in claim 18, wherein the characteristics of the second protruding rib include spacing of the second protruding ribs.
20. The gasket as claimed in claim 1, wherein the at least one reinforcement member comprises a first protruding rib protruding from an outer wall of the shock absorber.
21. A washing machine comprising:
- a cabinet having a front panel in which a forward opening is centrally formed for loading and retrieving laundry, the cabinet forming an exterior of the washing machine;
- a tub, disposed behind the front panel, having a tub entrance for communicating with the forward opening; and
- a gasket coupled between the cabinet and the tub, the gasket comprising: a shock absorber having a bent portion for preventing a vibration appearing in the tub from being transferred to the cabinet; and at least one reinforcement member, provided to the shock absorber, for preventing deformation of the shock absorber.
22. The washing machine as claimed in claim 21, further comprising a drying device for drying laundry by supplying hot air to the tub, the drying device being provided with a drying duct.
23. The washing machine as claimed in claim 22, wherein the gasket further comprises a duct receptacle for receiving the drying duct.
24. The washing machine as claimed in claim 23, wherein the bent portion of the shock absorber is directed away from the duct receptacle.
25. The washing machine as claimed in claim 23, wherein the duct receptacle is provided between the shock absorber and the cabinet.
26. The washing machine as claimed in claim 23, wherein the at least one reinforcement member comprises a protruding rib protruding from an inner wall of the shock absorber adjacent the duct receptacle.
27. The gasket as claimed in claim 26, wherein the protruding rib is formed to have characteristics determined in consideration of stresses applied to the shock absorber by the drying duct.
Type: Application
Filed: Aug 25, 2004
Publication Date: Aug 18, 2005
Inventors: Jae Kyum Kim (Gimhae-si), Geon Kim (Jinhae-si), Chi Wan Hur (Changwon-si), Yu Beom Kang (Changwon-si), Sang Man Je (Koje-si)
Application Number: 10/925,002