Washing machine

Abstract

A washing machine is provided. The washing machine includes a rear cabinet cover, a front cabinet cover, and a gasket. The rear cabinet cover includes a rear fabric opening through which fabrics pass. The front cabinet cover is disposed at a front side of the rear cabinet cover and includes a front fabric opening corresponding to the rear fabric opening. The gasket includes a screening portion for covering a periphery of the rear fabric opening.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a washing machine.

2. Description of the Related Art

Generally, washing machines include a drum in which laundries such as garments, linens, and fabrics (hereinafter, referred to collectively as fabrics) are washed by water and detergent (hereinafter, referred to as wash water) fed into a tub in washing mode. Then, the garments are rinsed and excess water is extracted from the garments in rinsing and spinning modes.

During use or transportation of the washing machine, a cabinet cover of the washing machine can be scratched or deformed, causing degradation in appearance. Further, users may be surfeited with the frontal appearance of the washing machine after long use of the washing machine. In addition, since the cabinet cover is coated with a coating material, the manufacturing process of the cabinet is complicated and manufacturing costs increases.

To eliminate such disadvantages, the cabinet cover can be constructed including: a non-coated rear cabinet cover having a fabric opening in a center portion; and an exchangeable, injection-molded plastic front cabinet cover which has a fabric opening larger than the fabric opening of the rear cabinet cover and covers a front side of the rear cabinet cover. In this case, the frontal cosmetic appearance of the washing machine can be improved by exchanging the front cabinet cover. However, water can reach the rear cabinet cover through the fabric opening and corrode the rear cabinet cover. Further, although the rear cabinet cover can be formed to have the same color as the front cabinet cover for cosmetic purposes or the exposed portion of the rear cabinet cover by the fabric opening can be coated with a coating material, these modifications will entail complicated manufacturing processes and increased material costs.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Accordingly, the present invention is directed to a washing machine that substantially obviates one or more problems due to limitations and disadvantages of the related art.

An object of the present invention is to provide a washing machine that has a sealing structure for preventing water form reaching a rear cabinet cover through a fabric opening.

Additional advantages, objects, and features of the invention will be set forth in part in the description which follows and in part will become apparent to those having ordinary skill in the art upon examination of the following or may be learned from practice of the invention. The objectives and other advantages of the invention may be realized and attained by the structure particularly pointed out in the written description and claims hereof as well as the appended drawings.

To achieve these objects and other advantages and in accordance with the purpose of the invention, as embodied and broadly described herein, there is provided a washing machine including: a rear cabinet cover including a rear fabric opening through which fabrics pass; a front cabinet cover disposed at a front side of the rear cabinet cover and including a front fabric opening corresponding to the rear fabric opening; and a gasket including a screening portion for covering a periphery of the rear fabric opening.

In another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a washing machine including: a tub including a tub fabric opening through which fabrics pass; a rear cabinet cover disposed at a front side of the tub and including a rear fabric opening through which fabrics pass; a front cabinet cover disposed at a front side of the rear cabinet cover and including a front fabric opening corresponding to the rear fabric opening; and a gasket including a tub coupling portion coupled to the tub, a cover coupling portion coupled to at least one of the front cabinet cover and the rear cabinet cover, a connection portion connecting the tub coupling portion and the cover coupling portion, and a screening portion formed on the cover coupling portion to cover a periphery of the rear fabric opening for sealing up the rear cabinet cover.

In a further another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a washing machine including: a cabinet cover including a fabric opening through which fabrics pass; and a gasket sealing an inside of the cabinet cover and covering a periphery of the fabric opening.

According to the washing machine of the present invention, the gasket includes the screening portion covering the fabric opening, such that the fabric opening of the rear cabinet is not exposed to the outside. Thus, water cannot flow into the rear cabinet cover through the fabric opening, thereby preventing corrosion of the rear cabinet cover. Further, the rear cabinet cover is not required to have the same color as the front cabinet cover or be coated with a coating material. Therefore, the rear cabinet cover can be manufactured through a simple process with less cost.

It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description of the present invention are exemplary and explanatory and are intended to provide further explanation of the invention as claimed.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The 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 embodiment(s) of the invention and together with the description serve to explain the principle of the invention. In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a washing machine according to the present invention;

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the washing machine depicted in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along line I-I′ of FIG. 1; and

FIG. 4 is an enlarged view of portion A of FIG. 3.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Reference will now be made in detail to the preferred embodiments of the present invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a washing machine according to the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 1, the washing machine includes a cabinet 3 and a cabinet cover 50 attached to a front side of the cabinet 3.

The cabinet cover 50 includes a fabric opening 51 for putting fabrics into the washing machine and taking the fabrics out of the washing machine. A door 52 is installed on the cabinet cover 50 for opening and closing the fabric opening 51.

A hinge member 53 is installed between the cabinet cover 50 and the door 52 for allowing rotation of the door 52.

The door 52 includes a hook 54 protruded from a portion opposite to the hinge member 53, and the cabinet cover 50 includes a switch 55 for locking/unlocking the hook 54.

A control panel 80 is disposed above the cabinet cover 50.

Further, a deco panel 100 is attached along left, bottom, right, sides of the cabinet cover 50 and left, top, and right sides of the control panel 80.

The deco panel 100 is used for protecting the cabinet 50 and the control panel 80 and increasing the frontal cosmetic appearance of the washing machine. The deco panel 100 may be provided in one piece or include a plurality of deco panel members 110, 120, 130, and 140 attached around the cabinet cover 50 and the control panel 80. Hereinafter, only the latter case will be described.

The deco panel member 110 is a bottom deco panel member disposed on the bottom side of the cabinet 50. The deco panel member 120 is a left deco panel member disposed on the left side of the cabinet cover 50. The deco panel member 130 is a right deco panel member disposed on the right side of the cabinet cover 50. The deco panel member 140 is a top deco panel member disposed along the left, top, and right sides of the control panel 80.

Reference numeral 300 denotes a gasket that prevents wash water and fabrics from flowing into the fabric opening 51 between the cabinet cover 50 and a tub.

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the washing machine depicted in FIG. 1.

Referring to FIG. 2, the washing machine includes a front upper frame 200 installed between front upper ends of the cabinet 3, and a front lower frame 210 installed between front lower ends of the cabinet 3.

The cabinet cover 50 includes a rear cabinet cover 60 and a front cabinet cover 70. The front cabinet cover 70 covers a front side of the rear cabinet cover 60 and forms the frontal exterior of the washing machine.

The rear cabinet cover 60 is formed of metal using various methods such as press die casting. Hereinafter, the case where the rear case cover 60 is formed by the press die casting will only be referred.

Since the rear cabinet cover 60 is covered by the front cabinet cover 70 and is not exposed to the outside, coating or polishing is not required for the rear cabinet cover 60.

Here, the rear cabinet cover 60 includes a left coupling portion 161 and right coupling portion 162 that are protruded from both sides of a top end. When assembled, the coupling portions 161 and 162 are fixed to the front upper frame 200 using coupling members 63 and 64 such as screws.

For this, the front upper frame 200 includes coupling holes 201 and 202 receiving the coupling members 63 and 64, and the left and right coupling portions 161 and 162 include coupling holes 163 and 164 corresponding to the coupling holes 201 and 202 of the front upper frame 200. Therefore, the rear cabinet cover 60 can be securely fixed to the front upper frame 200 by fitting the coupling members 63 and 64 into the coupling holes 163 and 164 of the rear cabinet cover 60, and into the coupling holes 201 and 202 of the front upper frame 200.

The rear cabinet cover 60 includes a bent portion 65 recessed in a backward direction.

The fabric opening 51 of the cabinet 50 is formed in the bent portion 65 of the rear cabinet cover 60.

The fabric opening 51 is curled, and a portion of the gasket 300 is fitted around the curled section of the fabric opening 51.

The front cabinet cover 70 is formed of plastic by injection molding.

The front cabinet cover 70 is coupled with the rear cabinet cover 60 by a hooking structure such as a hook or a coupling member such as a screw to cover the front side of the rear cabinet cover 60.

The front cabinet cover 70 includes a stepped portion 71. The stepped portion 71 is inserted into the bent portion 65 of the rear cabinet cover 60 when the front cabinet cover 70 and the rear cabinet cover 60 are assembled.

When assembled, the bent portion 65 of the rear cabinet cover 60 and the stepped portion 71 of the front cabinet cover 70 are in tight contact with each other and receive the door 51 partially or entirely.

The stepped portion 71 includes a front fabric opening 72 that has a size larger than the (rear) fabric opening 51, such that the front cabinet cover 70 and the rear cabinet cover 60 can be coupled with each other without interference at the curled fabric opening 51.

The front fabric opening 72 has a diameter D2 larger than an end diameter D1 of the rear fabric opening 51.

Meanwhile, the bottom deco panel 110 has a horizontally elongated shape and disposed on the bottom side of the cabinet cover 50. The bottom deco panel 110 includes a left side coupled to a left side of the front lower frame 210 and a left lower end of the cabinet 3 using a coupling member 111 such as a screw, and a right side coupled to a right side of the front lower frame 210 and a right lower end of the cabinet 3 using a coupling member 112 such as a screw.

The left deco panel 120 has a vertically elongated shape and disposed on the left side of the cabinet cover 50. The left deco panel 120 is hooked on at least one of the front cabinet cover 70 and the rear cabinet cover 60.

The right deco panel 130 has a vertically elongated shape and disposed on the right side of the cabinet cover 50. The right deco panel 120 is hooked on at least one of the front cabinet cover 70 and the rear cabinet cover 60.

The top deco panel 140 includes a left portion 141 disposed on the right side of the control panel 80, a right portion 142 disposed on the right side of the control panel 80, and a top portion 143 disposed on the top side of the control panel 80.

The top deco panel 140 is coupled to the front upper frame 200 using coupling members 148, 149, 150, and 151 such as screws.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along line I-I′ of FIG. 1, and FIG. 4 is an enlarged view of portion A of FIG. 3.

Referring to FIGS. 3 and 4, the gasket 300 includes a tub coupling portion 310 fitted around a fabric opening 12 of a tub 10, a cover coupling portion 320 fitted around the curled section of the fabric opening 51.

The gasket 300 is formed into a cylindrical shape and further includes a connection portion 340 between the tub coupling portion 310 and the cover coupling portion 320. The connection portion 340 may be folded several times.

The gasket 300 has a front diameter D3 and a rear diameter D4 larger than the front diameter.

The tub coupling portion 310 has a shape corresponding to the shape of the fabric opening 12 of the tub 10 and is fitted around the fabric opening 12 using a coupling member such as a clamp 313. The clamp 313 may press the tub coupling portion 310 against the rim of the fabric opening 12.

The cover coupling portion 320 is shaped such that it can enclose the inside and outside surfaces of the curled section of the fabric opening 51. The cover coupling portion 320 is coupled to the curled section of the fabric opening 51 of the rear cabinet cover 60 by fitting a coupling member such as a clamp 322 around the cover coupling portion 320. The cover coupling portion 320 is pressed against the curled section of the fabric opening 51 by the clamp 322. The gasket 300 further includes a screening portion 330 extending from the cover coupling portion 320. When the cover coupling portion 320 is pressed against the curled section of the fabric opening 51 by the clamp 322, the screening portion 330 is also pressed by the clamp 322 such that more reliable sealing can be attained.

The cover coupling portion 320 includes a door contact section such as a door contact rib 321 which is abutted against a rear surface of the door 52 when the door 52 is closed.

When the cover coupling portion 320 of the gasket 300 is coupled to the curled section of the fabric opening 51, the screening portion 330 covers the fabric opening 72 of the front cabinet cover 70, such that the fabric opening 72 is not exposed to the front side of the washing machine.

The screening portion 330 extends outwardly from the cover coupling portion 320 in a radial direction and has an outer diameter D5 larger than the diameter D2 of the fabric opening 72 of the front cabinet cover 70. The screening portion 330 is formed integral with the gasket 300, for example, using a rubber material. The screening portion 330 covers the periphery of the fabric opening 51 along the edge of the fabric opening 51.

Meanwhile, the rear cabinet cover 60 is shaped such that the screening portion 330 can cover the fabric opening 51 without bending. That is, a portion 165 of the rear cabinet cover 60 adjacent to the curled section of fabric opening 51 is forwardly protruded more than a portion 166 of the rear cabinet cover 60 making contact with the stepped portion 71 of the front cabinet cover 70, such that the portion 165 is flush with the stepped portion 71. Therefore, portions 331 and 332 of the screening portion 330 can be kept flat without bending.

In the rear cabinet cover 60, the portion 165 adjacent to the curled section of fabric opening 51 is protruded more than the portion 166 in a forward direction by a thickness (t) of the stepped portion 71.

Reference numeral 160 denotes an assembling hole vertically formed in a top surface of the rear cabinet cover 60, and reference numeral 81 denotes an assembling rib formed on a bottom surface of the control panel 80. The assembling rib 81 is inserted and held in the assembling hole 160.

Meanwhile, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments. The present invention can be applied to other devices such as a dryer and a washing machine combined with a dryer in various forms.

As described, according to the washing machine of the present invention, the fabric opening of the rear cabinet cover is curled, and the fabric opening of the front cabinet cover is larger than the curled fabric opening. The screening portion of the gasket covers the fabric opening such that the fabric opening of the rear cabinet cover cannot be exposed to the outside. Therefore, water cannot flow into the rear cabinet cover through the openings, thereby preventing corrosion of the rear cabinet cover. Further, the rear cabinet cover is not required to have the same color as the front cabinet cover or be coated with a coating material. Therefore, the rear cabinet cover can be manufactured through a simple process with less cost.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made in the present invention. Thus, it is intended that the present invention covers the modifications and variations of this invention provided they come within the scope of the appended claims and their equivalents.

Claims

1. A washing machine comprising:

a rear cabinet cover including a rear fabric opening through which fabrics pass;

a front cabinet cover disposed at a front side of the rear cabinet cover and including a front fabric opening corresponding to the rear fabric opening; and

a gasket including a screening portion for covering a periphery of the rear fabric opening.

2. The washing machine according to claim 1, wherein the gasket seals up the rear cabinet cover.

3. The washing machine according to claim 1, wherein the screening portion covers a periphery of the front fabric opening as well as the periphery of the rear fabric opening.

4. The washing machine according to claim 1, wherein the screening portion is in contact with peripheries of the rear fabric opening and the front fabric opening that are flush with each other.

5. The washing machine according to claim 1, wherein the gasket comprises a cover coupling portion that is coupled to a predetermined portion of the rear cabinet cover.

6. The washing machine according to claim 5, wherein the screening portion outwardly extends from the cover coupling portion.

7. The washing machine according to claim 1, wherein the gasket comprises an inwardly-extending door contact section for making tight-contact with a door of the washing machine.

8. The washing machine according to claim 1, wherein the screening portion covers the periphery of the rear fabric opening along a circumferential edge of the rear fabric opening.

9. The washing machine according to claim 1, wherein the screening portion is formed integrally with the gasket.

10. The washing machine according to claim 1, wherein the screening portion is formed of a rubber material.

11. The washing machine according to claim 1, wherein the screening portion is pressed by a coupling member used for coupling the gasket to the rear cabinet cover.

12. A washing machine comprising:

a tub including a tub fabric opening through which fabrics pass;

a rear cabinet cover disposed at a front side of the tub and including a rear fabric opening through which fabrics pass;

a front cabinet cover disposed at a front side of the rear cabinet cover and including a front fabric opening corresponding to the rear fabric opening; and

a gasket including a tub coupling portion coupled to the tub, a cover coupling portion coupled to at least one of the front cabinet cover and the rear cabinet cover, a connection portion connecting the tub coupling portion and the cover coupling portion, and a screening portion formed on the cover coupling portion to cover a periphery of the rear fabric opening for sealing up the rear cabinet cover.

13. The washing machine according to claim 12, wherein the screening portion covers a periphery of the front fabric opening as well as the periphery of the rear fabric opening.

14. The washing machine according to claim 12, wherein the screening portion is in contact with peripheries of the rear fabric opening and the front fabric opening that are flush with each other.

15. The washing machine according to claim 12, wherein the screening portion outwardly extends from the cover coupling portion.

16. The washing machine according to claim 12, wherein the screening portion covers the periphery of the rear fabric opening along a circumferential edge of the rear fabric opening.

17. The washing machine according to claim 12, wherein the screening portion is pressed by a coupling member used for coupling the gasket to the rear cabinet cover.

18. A washing machine comprising:

a cabinet cover including a fabric opening through which fabrics pass; and

a gasket sealing an inside of the cabinet cover and covering a periphery of the fabric opening.

19. The washing machine according to claim 18, wherein the gasket covers the periphery of the fabric opening along a circumferential edge of the fabric opening.

20. The washing machine according to claim 18, wherein the gasket is pressed by a coupling member used for coupling the gasket to the rear cabinet cover.