Drum washing machine

Abstract

A drum washing machine which includes a detergent supply device which is easily produced and has low production costs, and which allows a user to observe a supply state of a detergent. The drum washing machine includes a main body having an opening, a door having a transparent member to open and close the opening of the main body, the transparent member allowing a user to see the inside of the main body, and a detergent receiving portion formed in the transparent member of the door.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of Korean Patent Application No. 10-2005-0068438, filed Jul. 27, 2005, 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 to a drum washing machine. More particularly, to a drum washing machine which includes a detergent supply device and allows a user to observe the supplying state of a detergent.

2. Description of the Related Art

Korean Patent Laid-open Publication No. 2003-9847, published Feb. 5, 2003, discloses a drum washing machine having a detergent supply device, in which a detergent is dissolved in washing water during the supply of the washing water and the washing water containing the detergent dissolved therein is supplied to the drum washing machine.

The above detergent supply device of the drum washing machine includes a detergent container having a detergent receiving portion, and a detergent container housing installed in an upper portion of a side part of a main body. Water supply tubes for supplying washing water to the detergent container housing and a connection tube for guiding the washing water having passed through the detergent container housing to a tub are connected to the detergent container housing.

The above conventional drum washing machine causes the supplied washing water to pass through the detergent supply device and then to be supplied to the tub, thereby allowing a detergent introduced into the detergent supply device to be dissolved in the supplied water and then the water containing the detergent dissolved therein to be supplied to the tub.

However, since the detergent supply device has a complicated structure and requires many components, it is difficult to produce the drum washing machine and the production costs are high. Further, a user cannot see the state of the detergent, which is dissolved in the water and is then supplied to the tub.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Accordingly, it is an aspect of the present invention to provide a drum washing machine which includes a detergent supply device, and which is easily produced and having low production costs.

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

These and/or other aspects of the present invention are achieved by providing a drum washing machine which allows a user to observe a supply state of a detergent, thereby supplying the user with visual satisfaction.

It is an aspect of the present invention to provide a drum washing machine including a main body having an opening, a door having a transparent member to open and close the opening of the main body, the transparent member allowing a user to see an inside of the main body, and a detergent receiving portion formed in the transparent member.

The detergent receiving portion is formed integrally with transparent member.

The drum washing machine further includes a tub installed in the main body to contain washing water therein, a rotary drum installed in the tub to wash laundry therein, and a water supply device to supply washing water to the detergent receiving portion, wherein the detergent receiving portion includes an outlet to guide the received washing water to an inside of the rotary drum.

An upper surface of the detergent receiving portion is opened.

It is an aspect of the present invention to provide a stream delay protrusion to delay a flow of the washing water to the outlet installed in the detergent receiving portion.

A filtration sieve is installed at the outlet of the detergent receiving portion.

The filtration sieve is detachably installed.

It is another aspect of the present invention to provide a drum washing machine including a detergent receiving portion formed in an inner surface of a door for opening and closing an opening of a main body.

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 illustrates a sectional view of a drum washing machine according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 illustrates a perspective view of a detergent receiving portion of the drum washing machine in accordance with a first embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 illustrates a plan view of the detergent receiving portion of the drum washing machine shown in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 illustrates a perspective view of a detergent receiving portion of the drum washing machine in accordance with a second embodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 5 illustrates an exploded perspective view of the detergent receiving portion of the drum washing machine shown in FIG. 4.

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.

A drum washing machine in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, as shown in FIG. 1, comprises a tub 11 having a cylindrical structure and installed in a main body 10 to contain washing water, and a rotary drum 12 rotatably installed in the tub 11.

An opening 13 to place laundry into the rotary drum 12 is formed through a front surface of the main body 10, and a door 30 to open and close the opening 13 is installed on the main body 10. A water supply device comprising a water supply tube 14a and a water supply control valve 14b to supply washing water to an inside of the tub 11 is installed above the tub 11, and a drainage device comprising a drainage tube 15a and the drainage pump 15b to discharge the water in the tub 11 to an outside is installed below the tub 11.

The rotary drum 12 comprises an opening 12a formed through a front surface thereof, through holes 12b formed through the circumferential surface thereof, and a plurality of lifters 12a installed on the inner surface thereof to lift and drop laundry when the rotary drum 12 is rotated. The rotary drum 12 is supported by a rotary shaft 16 connected with a central portion of a rear surface thereof, and the rotary shaft 16 passes through the rear surface of the tub 11, is extended backwards, and is rotatably supported by bearings 17 installed on the rear surface of the tub 11.

A driving motor 20 to rotate the rotary shaft 16 is installed on the rear surface of the tub 11. The driving motor 20 comprises a stator 21 fixed to the rear surface of the tub 11, a rotor 22 rotatably disposed outside the stator 21, and a support plate 23, the outer cylindrical surface of which is connected with the rotor 22, and the center of which is connected to the rotary shaft 16, so that the rotor 22 is rotatably supported by the support plate 23. The driving motor 20 rotates the rotary drum 12 at a low speed in a regular or reverse direction so that the washing of laundry is performed, and rotates the rotary drum 12 at a high speed so that a dehydration of the laundry is performed.

An opening 11a is formed through the front surface of the tub 11 at a position corresponding to a position of the opening 13 of the main body 10. A connection member 18 in a bellows shape having high elasticity is interposed between the opening 11a of the tub 11 and the opening 13 of the main body 10. The connection member 18 prevents washing water from being leaked through a gap between the opening 11a of the tub 11 and the opening 13 of the main body 10. Further, the connection member 18 is elastically extendible and contractible, thus preventing shake or vibration of the tub 11, generated during the washing operation, from being transmitted to the main body 10.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the door 30 for opening and closing the opening 13 of the main body 10 comprises a ring-shaped door frame 31 rotatably installed on the front surface of the main body 10, and an outer transparent member 32 and an inner transparent member 33, which are connected with the door frame 31. The outer transparent member 32 and the inner transparent member 33 are made of a transparent material so that a user located at an outside of the main body 10 can observe the inside of the rotary drum 12 during a washing operation of the drum washing machine.

The inner transparent member 33 is protruded in a dome shape from the door frame 31 towards the opening 12a of the rotary drum 12. An outlet of the water supply tube 14a is connected with an upper portion of the connection member 18 such that the outlet is located above the inner transparent member 33. The above connection allows the supplied washing water to be guided to the inside of the rotary drum 12 through the inner transparent member 33, and allows foam or foreign substances attached to the inner transparent member 33 during the washing operation to be washed away by the supplied water so that the inner transparent member 33 maintains its transparent state. The inner transparent member 33 protrudes towards the opening 12a of the rotary drum 12, thereby preventing the laundry agitated in the rotary drum 12 from being discharged from the inside of the rotary drum 12.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a detergent receiving portion 40 having a designated depth, an upper surface thereof is opened, is formed in the upper surface of the inner transparent member 33. When the washing of the laundry is performed, a user opens the door 30 and pours a detergent into the detergent receiving portion 40, and the poured detergent is dissolved in the supplied water and is then supplied to the inside of the tub 11. Accordingly, the drum washing machine of the present invention does not require the conventional detergent supply device, thus having a simple configuration. Further, since the door 30 is opened and the detergent is poured only into the detergent receiving portion 40 when the detergent is supplied to the drum washing machine, the drum washing machine of the present invention allows the detergent to be easily supplied thereto. Moreover, since the detergent receiving portion 40 and the inner transparent member 33 are transparent, the user can observe the supply state of the detergent during the washing operation.

For this reason, the inner transparent member 33 is produced by injection-molding an acrylic resin, such as Poly Methyl Meta Acrylate (PMMA). When the inner transparent member 33 is produced, the detergent receiving portion 40 is produced integrally with the inner transparent member 33. PMMA has excellent transparency and high heat resistance and is easily produced by injection molding, thus being suitable to mold the inner transparent member 33 having the detergent receiving portion 40.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the detergent receiving portion 40 comprises an outlet 41 located adjacent to the opening 12a of the rotary drum 12 so that the washing water supplied to the detergent receiving portion 40 is discharged to the inside of the rotary drum 12. As shown in FIG. 1, the outlet 41 guides the detergent dissolved in the washing water to drop onto the laundry contained in the rotary drum 12 so that the laundry is soaked in the washing water containing the detergent during the supply of the water, thereby improving the laundry washing effect of the drum washing machine.

A stream delay protrusion 42 having a designated width to delay the flow of the washing water towards the outlet 41 is protruded upwardly from the bottom of the detergent receiving portion 40 at a position adjacent to the outlet 41.

As shown in FIG. 3, the stream delay protrusion 42 comprises a width (W2) larger than the width (W1) of the outlet 41 so that the washing water supplied to the detergent reception potion 40 goes around the stream delay protrusion 42 and flows towards the outlet 41. The stream delay protrusion 42 delays the discharge of the washing water supplied to the detergent receiving portion 40, thereby increasing the solubility of the detergent in the washing water. When a user opens the door 30 and pours the detergent into the detergent receiving portion 40, as shown in FIG. 3, the stream delay protrusion 42 allows the detergent to be poured into the inner portion of the stream delay protrusion 42, thereby preventing the powdered detergent from flowing towards the outlet 41.

FIGS. 4 and 5 illustrate a detergent receiving portion of the drum washing machine in accordance with a second embodiment of the present invention. As shown, a filtration sieve 50 is detachably installed at the outlet 41 of the detergent receiving portion 40. In FIG. 5, the filtration sieve 50 comprises a semicircular shape surrounding the inner surface of the outlet 41, and connection rails 51 respectively installed at ends so that the filtration sieve 50 is installed on an inner surface of the detergent receiving portion 40. Connection grooves 52, into which the connection rails 50 of the filtration sieve 50 are connected, are respectively formed in the inner surface of the detergent receiving portion 40 at both sides of the outlet 41.

The above configuration causes the detergent to be filtered by the filtration sieve 50 so as to prevent the detergent from flowing towards the outlet 41 when the powdered detergent is poured into the detergent receiving portion 40. Further, the above configuration allows the detergent dissolved in the washing water to pass through the filtration sieve 50 and to be supplied to the tub 11 when the washing water is supplied to the drum washing machine, and causes granules of the detergent, which are not dissolved in the washing water, to be filtered out by the filtration sieve 50. When foreign substances are filtered out by the filtration sieve 50 and the washing water does not smoothly pass through the filtration sieve 50, the filtration sieve 50 is separated from the detergent receiving portion 40, and is washed.

As apparent from the above description, the present invention provides a drum washing machine, in which a detergent receiving portion is formed integrally with an inner transparent member of a door thereof, thereby being easily produced and having low production costs.

In an embodiment of the present invention, a user opens the door and pours a detergent into the detergent receiving portion when the detergent is supplied to the drum washing machine, the drum washing machine allows the user to easily pour the detergent therein.

Since the detergent receiving portion is formed integrally with the inner transparent member of the door and the user can observe the supply state of the detergent, the drum washing machine of the present invention supplies the user with visual satisfaction.

Since washing water and the detergent dissolved in the washing water drop from the detergent receiving portion of the door directly onto laundry in a rotary drum, the drum washing machine of the present invention causes the washing water containing the detergent to rapidly soak the laundry, thereby increasing washing effects.

Although a few embodiments of the present invention have been shown and described, it would be appreciated by those skilled in the art that changes may be made in these embodiments 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 drum washing machine comprising:

a main body having an opening;

a door comprising a transparent member, to open and close the opening of the main body, said transparent member allowing a user to observe an inside of the main body; and

a detergent receiving portion formed in the transparent member to receive detergent therein.

2. The drum washing machine as set forth in claim 1, wherein the detergent receiving portion is formed integrally with the transparent member.

3. The drum washing machine as set forth in claim 1, further comprising:

a tub installed in the main body to contain washing water therein;

a rotary drum installed in the tub to contain laundry therein; and

a water supply device to supply washing water to the detergent receiving portion,

wherein the detergent receiving portion comprises an outlet to guide the received washing water to an inside of the rotary drum.

4. The drum washing machine as set forth in claim 3, wherein an upper surface of the detergent receiving portion is opened.

5. The drum washing machine as set forth in claim 3, further comprising a stream delay protrusion to delay a flow of the washing water to the outlet installed in the detergent receiving portion.

6. The drum washing machine as set forth in claim 3, further comprising a filtration sieve installed at the outlet of the detergent receiving portion.

7. The drum washing machine as set forth in claim 6, wherein the filtration sieve is detachably installed.

8. A drum washing machine comprising a detergent receiving portion formed in an inner surface of a door for opening and closing an opening of a main body.

9. A drum washing machine comprising:

a door to open and close the drum washing machine, the door comprising: a transparent member to allow a user to observe an inside of the drum washing machine; and a detergent receiving portion to receive detergent therein, and formed in the transparent member, thereby allowing the user to observe a supply of the detergent into the drum washing machine through the transparent member.

10. The drum washing machine of claim 9, further comprising a water supply device to directly supply washing water into the detergent receiving portion, and wherein the detergent receiving portion comprises an outlet to guide the received washing water to an inside of the drum washing machine.

11. The drum washing machine of claim 9, wherein the transparent member and the detergent receiving portion are integrally combined.

12. The drum washing machine of claim 9, wherein the transparent member is produced by injection-molding an acrylic resin.

13. The drum washing machine of claim 10, further comprising a stream delay protrusion to delay a flow of the washing water to the outlet installed in the detergent receiving portion.

14. The drum washing machine of claim 13, further comprising a filtration sieve detachably installed at the outlet to filter the detergent in the detergent receiving portion.