Washing machine and outer tub supporting structure thereof

Abstract

Disclosed herein are a washing machine which minimizes the number of dampers and effectively prevents vibration, and an outer tub supporting structure thereof. The washing machine includes a housing forming an external appearance of the washing machine, an outer tub provided in the housing to store water, an inner tub rotatably mounted within the outer tub, a driving device including a rotary shaft passing through the outer tub and connected to the inner tub to rotate the inner tub, a bearing surrounding the rotary shaft and fixed to the outer tub to prevent rotation of the outer tub during rotation of the rotary shaft, a bearing housing formed on the outer tub such that the bearing is mounted within the bearing housing, and a damping unit provided with a first end supporting the bearing housing and a second end fixed to the washing machine housing to reduce vibration of the outer tub.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of Korean Patent Application No. 2009-0077947, filed on Aug. 24, 2009 in the Korean Intellectual Property Office, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND

1. Field

Embodiments relate to a washing machine which effectively absorbs impact and vibration of an outer tub, and an outer tub supporting structure thereof.

2. Description of the Related Art

In general, a washing machine lifts and drop laundry in an inner tub, in which the laundry is contained, due to rotation of the inner tub, thus washing the laundry.

In a conventional washing machine, an inner tub within an outer tub is rotated by driving a motor located at the outside of the outer tub, and laundry in the inner tub is rotated together with the inner tub and is lifted to a designated height and dropped by a plurality of lifters provided on the inner surface of the inner tub. Thereby, washing of the laundry is carried out.

In order to absorb vibration generated from the inner tub of such a conventional washing machine, four damping springs are provided between the outer tub and an upper surface of the washing machine, and a pair of dampers is provided at both sides of the outer tub. Thus, vibration and noise of the outer tub generated due to rotation of the inner tub are absorbed by the damping springs and the dampers.

However, in the conventional washing machine, eccentric load is momentarily generated at the rear surface of the outer tub due to the driving force of the motor transmitted to a pulley at an initial driving stage of the motor, and thus the outer tub is tilted to the rear surface where the pulley is installed and eccentric rotation of the outer tub may occur.

In order to prevent the eccentric load, a balance weight may be provided on a front surface part of the outer tub. However, such a method does not completely prevent generation of the eccentric load, thus causing deterioration of durability of the outer tub and deterioration of washing performance of the washing machine.

Further, in order to prevent the eccentric load, a pair of dampers may be installed at a front region of the lower end of the outer tub and another pair of dampers may be installed at a rear region of the lower end of the outer tub. However, an increase of the number of the dampers causes deterioration of assembly efficiency of the dampers, difficulty in repair of the dampers, and increase of manufacturing costs. Moreover, since the dampers are fixed to the outer circumferential surface of the outer tub under the condition that the dampers are separated from a rotary shaft of the inner tub, the strength of the outer tub is lowered due to moment during partial disposition of laundry or rotation of the inner tub.

SUMMARY

Therefore, it is an aspect of the at least one embodiment to provide a washing machine which minimizes the number of dampers and effectively prevents vibration, and an outer tub supporting structure thereof.

It is another aspect of the at least one embodiment to provide a washing machine which prevents deformation of an outer tub due to vibration and moment of an inner tub, and an outer tub supporting structure thereof.

Additional aspects 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 foregoing and/or other aspects are achieved by providing a washing machine including a housing forming an external appearance of the washing machine, an outer tub provided in the housing to store water, an inner tub rotatably mounted within the outer tub, a driving device including a rotary shaft passing through the outer tub and connected to the inner tub to rotate the inner tub, a bearing surrounding the rotary shaft and fixed to the outer tub to prevent rotation of the outer tub during rotation of the rotary shaft, a bearing housing formed on the outer tub such that the bearing is mounted within the bearing housing, and a damping unit provided with a first end supporting the bearing housing and a second end fixed to the housing to reduce vibration of the outer tub.

The washing machine may further include a pair of support members connected to an outer diameter part of the outer tub.

The damping unit may include a damper member, and a first bracket to fix a first end of the damper member to the bearing housing.

The damping unit may further include an elastic member provided between the damper member and the first bracket to damp vibration.

The damping unit may further include a second bracket to fix a second end of the damper member to a bottom surface of the housing.

The first end of the damping unit may be closer to a front surface of the housing than the second end of the damping unit.

The outer tub may include a support part on which the first bracket is mounted.

The driving device may include a driving motor fixed to an outer diameter part of the outer tub, and a power transmission member to transmit rotary force of the driving motor to the rotary shaft.

The damping unit may further include an anti-vibration member provided between the first bracket and the damper member.

The first bracket may be mounted directly to the bearing housing to fix the first end of the damper member directly to the bearing housing.

The foregoing and/or other aspects are achieved by providing a washing machine including a first washing unit including a first outer tub, and a first inner tub rotatably provided within the first outer tub, and a second washing unit including a second outer tub provided with a bearing housing at the center of a rear surface thereof such that a bearing is mounted within the bearing housing, and a damping device to reduce vibration of the second outer tub, wherein the second washing unit is mounted on the upper part of the first washing unit, and the damping device includes a pair of support members mounted at opposite positions of an outer diameter part of the second outer tub, and a damping unit provided with a first end supporting the bearing housing and a second end supported by the upper part of the first washing unit.

The damping unit may include a damper member, and a first bracket to fix a first end of the damper member to the bearing housing.

The damping unit may further include an anti-vibration member provided between the first bracket and the damper member.

The first end of the damping unit may be closer to a front surface of the second washing unit than the second end of the damping unit.

The second end of the damping unit may be connected to any one of a lower surface of the second washing unit and an upper surface of the first washing unit.

The first washing unit may further include a pair of first dampers supporting a front portion of the outer tub, and a pair of second dampers supporting a rear portion of the outer tub so as to support the first outer tub.

The foregoing and/or other aspects are achieved by providing an outer tub supporting structure of a washing machine to damp vibration of an outer tub in which an inner tub is rotatably provided, is provided, and the outer tub is supported at three points by a pair of support members fixed to the outer circumferential surface of a front portion of the outer tub, and a damper unit provided with one end connected to a bearing housing formed on a rear surface of the outer tub.

The other end of the damper unit may be arranged on a bottom surface of a housing of the washing machine on a line extended vertically downwardly from the center of the outer tub in the axial direction of the outer tub.

The damper unit may be tilted such that the end of the damper unit connected to the bearing housing is closer to a front surface of the housing than the other end of the damper unit.

The foregoing and/or other aspects are achieved by providing a washing machine, including: an outer tub to store water; an inner tub rotatably mounted within the outer tub to wash laundry; a rotary shaft passing through the outer tub and connected to the inner tub to rotate the inner tub upon receiving a driving force; a bearing housing formed on the outer tub and configured to receive a bearing surrounding the rotary shaft; and a damping device directly supporting the bearing housing.

The foregoing and/or other aspects are achieved by providing a damping device for a washing machine including a bearing housing surrounding a rotary shaft passing through an outer tub at a rear surface of the outer tub and connected to an inner tub disposed within the outer tub, the damping device including: a damping unit directly supporting the bearing housing at the rear surface of the outer tub.

The damping device may include a damper member and a bracket, and the washing machine may include a support part at the outer tub adjacent to the bearing housing, one end of the damper member being fixed to the bearing housing at the support part with the bracket.

The damping device may include a damper member and a bracket, one end of the damper member being fixed directly to the bearing housing with the bracket.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

These and/or other aspects 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 longitudinal-sectional view schematically illustrating a washing machine in accordance with at least one embodiment;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view illustrating an outer tub supporting structure of the washing machine in accordance with at least one embodiment;

FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective of a damping unit of the washing machine in accordance with at least one embodiment;

FIG. 4 is a longitudinal-sectional view illustrating an essential portion of the washing machine in accordance with at least one embodiment;

FIG. 5 is a front view of the outer tub supporting structure of the washing machine in accordance with at least one embodiment;

FIG. 6 is a perspective view illustrating an outer tub supporting structure of a washing machine in accordance with at least one embodiment; and

FIG. 7 is a longitudinal-sectional view schematically illustrating a washing machine in accordance with at least one embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Reference will now be made in detail to the at least one embodiment, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein like reference numerals refer to like elements throughout.

FIG. 1 is a longitudinal-sectional view schematically illustrating a washing machine in accordance with at least one embodiment, and FIG. 2 is a perspective view illustrating an outer tub supporting structure of the washing machine in accordance with at least one embodiment.

Further, FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective of a damping unit of the washing machine in accordance with at least one embodiment, FIG. 4 is a longitudinal-sectional view illustrating an essential portion of the washing machine in accordance with at least one embodiment, and FIG. 5 is a front view of the outer tub supporting structure of the washing machine in accordance with at least one embodiment.

The washing machine in accordance with at least one embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1, includes a housing 10 provided in the shape of a box and forming an external appearance of the washing machine, an outer tub 20 provided in the housing 10 to contain water, an inner tub 30 rotatably installed in the outer tub 20, a driving device 40 transmitting rotary force to the inner tub 30 to rotate the inner tub 30 such that laundry contained in the inner tub 30 is washed and spin-dried, a water supply device 50 to supply a detergent and water to the inside of the outer tub 20, and a drain device 60 to discharge water in the outer tub 20 to the outside of the washing machine.

An inlet 11 through which laundry is put into or taken out of the inner tub 30 is formed on the inner tub 30, and a door 12 to open and close the inlet 11 is rotatably hinged to the front surface of the housing 10.

The water supply device 50 includes first water supply hoses 51 provided in an upper region of the inside of the housing 10 to receive wash water supplied from an external water source, a detergent container 52 to mix a detergent with the wash water and to transmit the wash water containing the detergent to the outer tub 20, and a second water supply hose 53 to guide the wash water containing the detergent to the outer tub 20.

The drain device 60 includes a drain pump 61 provided in a lower region of the inside of the housing 10 to drain the wash water in the outer tub 20, and drain hoses 62 and 63 connected to the drain pump 61 to guide the wash water to the outside of the housing 10.

Although this embodiment illustrates only the basic configuration of the washing machine, the washing machine may further include other devices to perform additional functions, such as a drying device.

The inner tub 30 is rotatably mounted within the outer tub 20, and forms a designated space to receive laundry.

A plurality of through holes 31 connecting the inside of the inner tub 30 and the outside of the inner tub 31 is formed through the circumferential surface of the inner tub 30, and thus water supplied to the inside of the washing machine freely moves between the outer tub 20 and the inner tub 30.

At least one lifter 32 separated from other lifters by a designated interval is arranged in the axial direction on the inner surface of the inner tub 30. As the inner tub 30 is rotated in the regular and reverse directions, the lifter 32 lifts the laundry and then drops the laundry so as to wash the laundry.

For example, three or more lifters 32 are provided, and are arranged at a regular angle on the inner surface of the inner tub 30. If necessary, various numbers of the lifters 32 may be provided and arranged at various angles.

The driving device 40 to rotate the inner tub 30 is installed on the outer surface of the outer tub 20.

The driving device 40, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, includes a driving motor 41 fixed to an outer diameter part of the outer tub 20, a rotary shaft 43 passing through the rear surface of the outer tub 20 and fixed to the center of the rear surface of the inner tub 30, a pulley 44 connected to the rotary shaft 43 at the outside of the rear surface of the outer tub 20, and a belt 42 to transmit rotary force of the driving motor 41 to the pulley 44.

The driving device 40 is not limited to the above type, but the inner tub 30 may be rotated using a direct drive motor or through a driving method using a clutch differently from this embodiment, for example.

The outer tub 20 includes a cylindrical part 22 provided with an opening formed at one side surface thereof, and a cover 23 forming the inlet 11, through which the laundry is put into and taken out of the outer tub 20, at the opening of the cylindrical part 22 and closing the remaining regions of the opening of the cylindrical part 22.

A bearing housing 24, through which the rotary shaft 43 passes and on which a bearing 21 to prevent rotation of the outer tub 20 during rotation of the rotary shaft 43, is formed on the rear surface of the outer tub 20.

In an embodiment, a damping device 71 and 80 to reduce swinging of the outer tub 20 due to vibration of the inner tub 30 generated by partial disposition of mass due to weight of the laundry in the inner tub 30 according to rotation of the inner tub 30 is provided.

The damping device 71 and 80, as shown in FIGS. 3 to 5, includes a pair of support members 71 mounted at opposite positions of the outer diameter part of the outer tub 30, and a damping unit 80 provided with one end directly supporting the bearing housing 24 and the other end fixed to the bottom surface of the housing 10.

Ends of the support members 71 are fixed to left and right sides of the outer diameter part of the front region of the outer tub 30, and the other ends of the support members 71 are fixed to the bottom surface of the housing 10.

The support members 71 may employ general hydraulic or pneumatic dampers, for example.

The damping unit 80 includes a damper member 81 using hydraulic or pneumatic pressure, a first bracket 83 to fix one end of the damper member 81 to the bearing housing 24, and a second bracket 84 to fix the other end of the damper member 81 to the bottom surface of the housing 10.

An elastic member 82 to assist in damping vibration may be provided between the damper member 81 and the first bracket 83. Although this embodiment exemplarily illustrates a coil spring as the elastic member 82, the elastic member 82 may be provided in various types of items providing an elastic function.

Anti-vibration members 85 and 86 made of rubber or silicon, for example, are respectively provided at contact portions between the first and second brackets 83 and 84 and the damper member 81, thus secondarily absorbing vibration.

The damping unit 80 is provided directly on the bearing housing 24, thus effectively preventing damage to the outer tub 20 due to moment applied at an initial driving stage of the driving device 40. Further, the damping unit 80 supporting the bearing housing 24 prevents eccentric rotation of the outer tub 20 even though the conventional balance weight mounted at the opening is omitted, thereby exhibiting vibration reduction effects.

A support part 25, on which the first bracket 83 is mounted, is formed at a portion of the outer tub 20 adjacent to the bearing housing 24.

The damper member 81 is extended vertically downwardly from the center of the outer tub 20 and is fixed to the bottom surface of the housing 10, as shown in FIG. 5, and is tilted such that the end of the damper member 81 fixed to the bearing housing 24 is closer to the front part of the housing 10 than the end of the damper member 81 fixed to the bottom surface of the housing 10, as shown in FIG. 4, thus more stably reducing vibration of the outer tub 30.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view illustrating an outer tub supporting structure of a washing machine in accordance with at least one embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 6, a first bracket 83′ is modified such that the damper member 81 may be fixed directly to the external surface of the bearing housing 24 without any separate support part at a portion of the outer tub 20 adjacent to the bearing housing 24, thus enabling the damper member 81 to be fixed more closely to the bearing housing 24. Further, the damper member 81 may be fixed to the bearing housing 24 through various methods according to design.

FIG. 7 is a longitudinal-sectional view schematically illustrating a washing machine in accordance with at least one embodiment.

In FIG. 7, the washing machine in accordance with at least one embodiment includes a plurality of washing units (for example, two washing units) vertically arranged to divisionally wash laundry according to amounts or kinds of the laundry. In this embodiment, a first washing unit to wash a large amount (for example, 10 Kg or more) of laundry is installed at the lower part, and a second washing unit to wash a smaller amount of laundry than that of the first washing unit is installed at the upper part.

Although the first and second washing units may have the same capacity, if necessary, the first and second washing units may have different capacities, i.e., a large capacity and a small capacity, in respect of characteristics of the washing machine having plural washing units. Thereby, if a small amount of laundry is desired to be washed (particularly, in a boiling wash course), only the second washing unit having the small capacity is operated so as to prevent unnecessary power consumption.

Since the second washing unit in accordance with at least one embodiment has the same configuration as that of the washing machine in accordance with at least another embodiment of FIG. 1 and is fixed to the upper part of the first washing unit, some parts of the second washing unit in this embodiment, which are substantially the same as those in the earlier embodiment, are denoted by the same reference numerals even though they are depicted in different drawings, and a detailed description thereof will thus be omitted because it is considered to be unnecessary.

The first washing unit has the same basic configuration as the washing machine in accordance with the earlier embodiment, and thus includes a housing 100, a door 102, an outer tub 120, an inner tub 130, a water supply device 150, and a drain device 160.

Although this embodiment illustrates a direct-type motor as a driving device 140 of the first washing unit, the driving device 140 may include a driving motor, a belt, and a pulley, as in the earlier embodiment.

In order to support the outer tub 120, a pair of first dampers 170 supporting a front portion of the outer tub 120, and a pair of second dampers 175 supporting a rear portion of the outer tub 120 are provided, thereby reducing vibration of the outer tub 120.

In this embodiment, since the second washing unit is mounted on the upper part of the first washing unit, vibration of the second washing unit may be transmitted to the first washing unit. Particularly, if the first and second washing units are simultaneously operated, greater vibration than vibration generated due to operation of a single washing unit may be generated. In this embodiment, since the damper member of the second washing unit directly supports a bearing housing to damp vibration, the vibration may be effectively reduced, thereby preventing increase of vibration of the washing machine even if the first and second washing units are simultaneously operated.

Here, if the upper surface of the first washing unit and the lower surface of the second washing unit are separately formed, the damping device 71 and 80 of the second washing unit may be fixed to the lower surface of the housing 10 of the second washing unit, and if the upper surface of the first washing unit and the lower surface of the second washing unit are integrally formed using a single member, the damping device 71 and 80 of the second washing unit may be fixed to the upper surface of the housing 100 of the first washing unit.

Further, the upper surface of the first washing unit and the lower surface of the second washing unit may be opened so as to enable the inside of the first washing unit and the inside of the second washing unit communicate with each other. In this case, a separate support bracket is mounted between the first washing unit and the second washing unit, and the support members 71 and the damping unit 80 of the second washing unit are supported by the support bracket.

As is apparent from the above description, in a washing machine and an outer tub supporting structure thereof in accordance with at least one embodiment, a damping unit directly supports a bearing housing, thus reducing vibration of an outer tub.

Although at least one embodiment has 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 washing machine, comprising:

a washing machine housing forming an external appearance of the washing machine;

an outer tub provided in the housing to store water;

an inner tub rotatably mounted within the outer tub;

a driving device including a rotary shaft passing through the outer tub and connected to the inner tub to rotate the inner tub;

a bearing housing formed on the outer tub;

a bearing surrounding the rotary shaft and mounted within the bearing housing, the bearing being fixed to the outer tub to prevent rotation of the outer tub during rotation of the rotary shaft; and

a damping unit provided with a first end supporting the bearing housing and a second end fixed to the washing machine housing to reduce vibration of the outer tub.

2. The washing machine according to claim 1, further comprising a pair of support members connected to an outer diameter part of the outer tub.

3. The washing machine according to claim 1, wherein the damping unit includes a damper member, and a first bracket to fix a first end of the damper member to the bearing housing.

4. The washing machine according to claim 3, wherein the damping unit further includes an elastic member provided between the damper member and the first bracket to damp vibration.

5. The washing machine according to claim 3, wherein the damping unit further includes a second bracket to fix a second end of the damper member to a bottom surface of the washing machine housing.

6. The washing machine according to claim 1, wherein the first end of the damping unit is closer to a front surface of the washing machine housing than the second end of the damping unit.

7. The washing machine according to claim 3, wherein the first bracket is mounted directly to the bearing housing to fix the first end of the damper member directly to the bearing housing.

8. The washing machine according to claim 3, wherein the outer tub includes a support part on which the first bracket is mounted.

9. The washing machine according to claim 1, wherein the driving device includes a driving motor fixed to an outer diameter part of the outer tub, and a power transmission member to transmit rotary force of the driving motor to the rotary shaft.

10. The washing machine according to claim 3, wherein the damping unit further includes an anti-vibration member provided between the first bracket and the damper member.

11. A washing machine, comprising:

a first washing unit including a first outer tub, and a first inner tub rotatably provided within the first outer tub; and

a second washing unit mounted on an upper part of the first washing unit, the second washing unit including a second outer tub provided with a bearing housing at the center of a rear surface thereof and a bearing mounted within the bearing housing, and a damping device to reduce vibration of the second outer tub, the damping device including a damping unit provided with a first end supporting the bearing housing and a second end supported by the upper part of the first washing unit.

12. The washing machine according to claim 11, wherein the damping device includes a pair of support members mounted at opposite positions of an outer diameter part of the second outer tub.

13. The washing machine according to claim 11, wherein the damping unit includes a damper member, and a first bracket to fix a first end of the damper member to the bearing housing.

14. The washing machine according to claim 13, wherein the damping unit further includes an anti-vibration member provided between the first bracket and the damper member.

15. The washing machine according to claim 11, wherein the first end of the damping unit is closer to a front surface of the second washing unit than the second end of the damping unit.

16. The washing machine according to claim 11, wherein the second end of the damping unit is connected to any one of a lower surface of the second washing unit and an upper surface of the first washing unit.

17. The washing machine according to claim 11, wherein the first washing unit further includes a pair of first dampers supporting a front portion of the outer tub, and a pair of second dampers supporting a rear portion of the outer tub so as to support the first outer tub.

18. An outer tub supporting structure of a washing machine to damp vibration of an outer tub in which an inner tub is rotatably provided, the outer tub supporting structure comprising:

a pair of support members fixed to an outer circumferential surface of a front portion of the outer tub; and

a damping unit provided with one end connected to a bearing housing formed on a rear surface of the outer tub.

19. The outer tub supporting structure according to claim 18, wherein the other end of the damping unit is arranged on a bottom surface of a housing of the washing machine on a line extended vertically downwardly from the center of the outer tub in the axial direction of the outer tub.

20. The outer tub supporting structure according to claim 19, wherein the damping unit is tilted such that a first end of the damping unit connected to the bearing housing is closer to a front surface of the washing machine housing than the other end of the damping unit.

21. A washing machine, comprising:

an outer tub to store water;

an inner tub rotatably mounted within the outer tub to wash laundry;

a rotary shaft passing through the outer tub and connected to the inner tub to rotate the inner tub upon receiving a driving force;

a bearing housing formed on the outer tub and configured to receive a bearing surrounding the rotary shaft; and

a damping device directly supporting the bearing housing.

22. A damping device for a washing machine including a bearing housing surrounding a rotary shaft passing through an outer tub at a rear surface of the outer tub and connected to an inner tub disposed within the outer tub, the damping device comprising:

a damping unit directly supporting the bearing housing at the rear surface of the outer tub.

23. The damping device according to claim 22, wherein the damping unit includes a damper member and a bracket, and the washing machine includes a support part at the outer tub adjacent to the bearing housing, one end of the damper member being fixed to the bearing housing at the support part with the bracket.

24. The damping device according to claim 22, wherein the damping unit includes a damper member and a bracket, one end of the damper member being fixed directly to the bearing housing with the bracket.