MANUAL WASHING MACHINE
A manual washing machine provides operability prioritizing torque in a washing step and a rinsing step, and operatively prioritizing high-speed operation in a dewatering step. A manual washing machine according to an embodiment includes a driving power transmission member configured to transmit the rotation of an operating unit to the drum; and a transmission mechanism. The transmission mechanism is arranged between a rotational center shaft of the operating unit and a rotation transmission shaft configured to transmit the rotation from the operating transmission member to the drum. The transmission mechanism allows the rotational speed of the rotation transmission shaft to be changed with respect to the rotational speed of the operating unit.
This application is a continuation application of International Patent Application No. PCT/JP2016/086947 filed on Dec. 12, 2016, the entire content of which is incorporated by reference in its entirety.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the InventionThe present invention relates to a portable, compact washing machine, and specifically, to a manual washing machine.
2. Description of the Related ArtA compact washing machine is preferably used to wash small articles such as underwear, baby wear, sportswear, pet wear, or the like, in a kitchen, bathroom, or shower room.
Typically, a manual washing machine includes a washing tank configured as a drum that can be rotated. Examples of typical names of washing machines including electric washing machines include “vertical-type washing machine”, “drum-type washing machine”, “two-tank washing machine”, and the like. A “vertical-type washing machine” includes a rotor on the bottom of a tank. The rotor stirs water so as to generate a water flow, thereby providing washing. A “drum-type washing machine” is a washing machine having a structure in which the rotational axis of the washing tank extends in the horizontal direction or otherwise along a direction tilted sideways. A “two-tank washing machine” has a structure having a combination of a vertical-type wishing machine and a dewatering tank used to remove water. As a comparison with such typical washing machines, in a case in which such a vertical-type washing machine is configured as a manual washing machine, the manual vertical-type washing machine employs a configuration including a drum that is to be rotated.
The following description relates to a manual washing machine. In this regard, for the sake of consistency of the technical terms for the manual washing machine, it is assumed that a container to be rotationally driven after laundry to be washed is inserted will be referred to as a “drum”. A washing machine having a configuration in which the drum is arranged with a rotational axis extending along the horizontal direction or otherwise along a direction tilted sideways will be referred to as a “manual horizontal washing machine”. A washing machine having a configuration in which the drum is arranged with a rotational axis extending in the vertical direction will be referred to as a “manual vertical washing machine”.
Patent document 1 discloses a manual vertical washing machine. As described above, the manual vertical washing machine has a drum with a rotational axis extending in the vertical direction. The manual vertical washing machine allows the user to insert/extract laundry to be washed to/from the upper end opening of the drum. The manual vertical washing machine has an upper lid arranged on the tank housing a rotatable drum. The upper lid includes a handle. By rotationally driving the handle along a circular path defined on a horizontal plane, the rotational motion of the handle is transmitted to the drum via an inner lid. A drain port is provided to the bottom face of the tank. The manual vertical washing machine allows the user to perform washing and dewatering in a state in which laundry to be washed is housed in the drum.
In a case of using such a manual vertical washing machine, the laundry to be washed and washing water are horizontally rotated together. Accordingly, the laundry to be washed cannot move freely in the water. Thus, such a simple operation for rotationally driving the drum cannot provide a function of washing the laundry with sufficient efficiency.
As a product manufactured based on the same idea as the manual vertical washing machine disclosed in Patent document the “Leadworks Laundry POD” (trade name) is known.
Patent document 2 discloses a compact manual horizontal washing machine. As described above, the manual horizontal washing machine includes a drum with a rotational axis extending in the horizontal direction. The tank housing the lower half of the drum has a flat and rectangular bottom face. An anti-skid member is arranged at each of the four corners of the bottom face. The four anti-skid members define a “seat portion” of the washing machine. A drain port is formed in a lower portion of the tank. The manual horizontal washing machine includes an upper lid housing the upper half of the drum. A hand grip and a feed-water inlet are provided to an upper portion of the upper lid. A handle is directly coupled to each of both ends of a rotational driving shaft of the drum. By rotating the two handles along a circular path defined on vertical planes in a state in which the user grips them with the hands, this allows the user to rotationally drive the drum.
With the manual horizontal washing machine, the laundry to be washed is moved upward according to the rotation of the drum, following which the laundry falls downward. That is to say, the manual horizontal washing machine provides “beat washing” for laundry.
The washing machines described in Patent documents 1 and 2 and the “Leadworks Laundry POD” manual washing machine are designed to allow the user to operate the handles so as to rotationally drive the drum, thereby providing washing and dewatering regardless of whether they are configured as a vertical washing machine or a horizontal washing machine. In the washing step, the washing machine is set to a state in which a part of the drum is immersed in the water supplied to the tank. In particular, in a case in which the washing machine is configured as a horizontal washing machine, this state requires a relatively large torque (operating force) in order to rotationally drive the drum housing the laundry so as to perform the “beat washing”.
[Patent Document 1]
Japanese Patent Application Laid Open No. 2006-212405
[Patent Document 2]
Japanese Patent Application Laid Open No. 2009-119199
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONAs described above, in a case of using the manual vertical washing machine having a drum that is horizontally rotated, the laundry is rotated together with the drum. Accordingly, this arrangement does not generate a water flow required for stirring washing. Thus, the manual vertical washing machine provides almost no washing function. On the other hand, the manual horizontal washing machine provides the aforementioned “beat washing”, thereby providing a washing function. That is to say, in a case of employing a manual horizontal washing machine, this provides a washing function in a sure manner. However, in a case of employing such a manual horizontal washing machine, in order to rotate the drum in a state in which the laundry is lifted in the drum, this arrangement requires a large torque (operating force) as compared with the manual vertical washing machine.
One or more embodiments of the present invention are directed to a manual washing machine that can be employed to provide not only the washing step, but also the rinsing step and the dewatering step in a single manual washing machine, that is capable of providing operability with torque prioritized in the washing step and rinsing step, and operability with high-speed dewatering prioritized in the dewatering step.
One or more embodiments of the present invention provide a manual horizontal washing machine that is capable of providing a washing function with reduced operating force required to rotationally drive a drum.
The aforementioned technical issues can be addressed by one or more embodiments of the present invention that provides a manual washing machine (100). The manual washing machine (100) comprises: a tank (10) including an opening in an upper end thereof; a drum (20) rotatably mounted on the tank (10); an upper lid (12) that covers the opening in the upper end of the tank (10); an operating unit (4) rotatably mounted on the upper lid (12); a driving power transmission member (24) configured to transmit a rotation of the operating unit (4) to the drum (20); and a transmission mechanism (60) arranged between a rotational center shaft (6) of the operating unit (4) and a rotation transmission shaft (28) that transmits the rotation to the drum (20) from the driving power transmission member (24), and configured to be capable of changing a rotational speed of the rotation transmission shaft (28) with respect to a rotational speed of the operating unit (4).
Other purposes, operations, and effects of the present invention can be clearly understood based on specific description of an embodiment of the present invention.
100 manual washing machine according to an embodiment, 2 handle, 4 operating disk (operating unit), 6 rotational center shaft of the operating disk, 10 tank, 10a bottom face of the tank, 10b upper end face of the outer edge of the tank, 12 upper lid, 14 single buckle (fixing member), 16 drain opening for dewatering (first drain opening), 18 rubber plug, 20 drum, Od rotational axis of the drum, 24 inner lid (driving power transmission member), 28 rotation transmission shaft, 34 water stop ring (water stop member), 36 first rubber piece (first seat portion), 40 standing face, 42 second rubber piece (second seat portion), 50 feed-water inlet, 52 drain port, 54 cap, 60 gear transmission mechanism, 64 first gear, 66 ring gear, 68 driven gear, 72 guide slot, 72a first circular portion (first position) of the guide slot, 72b second circular portion (second position) of the guide slot, 72c junction portion (guide portion) of the guide slot.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTSDescription will be made below regarding a preferable embodiment of the present invention with reference to the accompanying drawings.
The overall configuration of the manual washing machine 100 is formed of a synthetic resin. The washing machine 100 includes a tank 10 and an upper lid 12 that can be detachably mounted on the tank 10. The upper lid 12 can be fixedly mounted on the tank 10 by multiple single buckles 14. Each single buckle 14 is an example of typical members that allow the upper lid 12 to be fixedly mounted on the tank 10.
A circumferential wall 20a of the drum 20 and a bottom wall thereof, which is not shown in
As can be clearly understood with reference to the drum 20 shown in
An inner lid 24, which is to cover the upper-end opening of the drum 20, is detachably mounted on the upper lid 12 such that it cannot be rotated. The inner lid 24 is a driving force transmission member that allows the user's operation for rotating the handle 2 to be transmitted to the drum 20. Plate-shaped protrusions 26 are formed in an outer edge portion of the inner lid 24 such that each protrusion extends downward. The multiple protrusions 26 are arranged on the inner lid 24 along the circumferential direction thereof. Preferably, the protrusions 26 are arranged at regular intervals. Each protrusion 26 is inserted into a gap between two adjacent bars of the vertical bar structure 22 such that it is engaged with the vertical bar structure 22. By providing such an engagement between the protrusions 26 and the drum 20 via the vertical bar structure 22, this arrangement allows the inner lid 24 and the drum 20 to be rotated together with the axis Od of the drum 20 as an axis of rotation.
The inner lid 24 is configured to have a circular outline, and to have a non-circular through hole 24a (
As shown in
The manual washing machine 100 according to the embodiment allows the operation to be performed in a first operation mode (
As described in
When the three first rubber pieces 36 are set such that they are positioned on the horizontal plane, the drum 20 is set to a vertical orientation state, i.e., the first operation mode in which the rotational axis Od extends in the vertical direction (
As shown in
By setting the four second rubber pieces 42 such that they define the seat portion on the horizontal plane, this arrangement is set to a state in which the drum 20 is to be operated in a horizontal orientation, i.e., the second operation mode in which the rotational axis Od extends along the horizontal direction. The second operation mode is shown in
As shown in
Specifically, with reference to
As shown in
The rotational operation of the operating disk 4 is transmitted to the drum 20 via a gear transmission mechanism. That is to say, when the operating disk 4 is rotated, the operating force is transmitted to the drum 20 via the gear transmission mechanism. As a result, the drum 20 is rotationally driven.
The gear transmission mechanism 60 includes a first gear 64 mounted on the rotational center shaft 6 of the operating disk 4, and a ring gear 66 formed on the inner side of the operating disk 4. The ring gear 66 and the first gear 64 are arranged such that they are concentrically positioned. The gear transmission mechanism 60 further includes a driven gear 68 mounted on the rotation transmission shaft 28 (
The gear ratio between the first gear 64 and the driven gear 68 is 1:1. Furthermore, the gear ratio between the driven gear 68 and the ring gear 66 is 1:5. The gear ratios may be designed as desired. However, such gear ratios thus designed allow the user to rotationally drive the drum 20 at a high speed in a high-speed mode described later even if the user is a person with comparatively little hand strength. In addition, in a low-speed mode described later, by operating the handle 2 with light force, this arrangement allows the drum 20 to be rotationally driven. Accordingly, in the first state shown in
By shifting the operating disk 4 along the guide recess 58 having an elliptic shape formed in the upper lid 12, this arrangement allows the gear transmission mechanism 60 to switch the rotational speed of the rotation transmission shaft 28 with respect to the rotational speed of the operating disk 4. That is to say, the gear transmission mechanism 60 is capable of switching positions between the first position (prioritizing high-speed operation) and the second position (prioritizing torque). The position of the operating disk 4 shown in
As shown in
The push button 70 receives a force directed upward by a spring (not shown). Returning to
When the rotational center shaft 6 of the operating disk 4 is positioned at the first circular portion 72a or otherwise at the second circular portion 72b, the aforementioned arc-shaped protrusion 70c of the push button positioned at the first circular portion 72a or otherwise at the second circular portion 72b. Accordingly, the position of the rotational center shaft 6 of the operating disk 4 is determined by the first circular portion 72a or otherwise the second circular portion 72b (
When the operating disk 4 is to be shifted, the user presses down the push button 70.
This shifting is preferably performed in a state in which the rotation of the drum 20 is stopped. Furthermore, the shifting is preferably performed such that the two gears are smoothly meshed with each other. That is, it is preferable to prevent the teeth of the two meshing gears from colliding with each other in the shifting operation before they are meshed with each other. According to the embodiment, at the time of the shifting, each leg 70b of the push button 70 is restricted by the junction portion (guide portion) 72c. Accordingly, the rotational center shaft 6 cannot be shifted in position before the rotation of the operating disk 4 is stopped and the operating disk 4 is set to the switching position (the leg 70b is turned to a predetermined angle). If this switching can be made without stopping the rotation of the operating disk 4, when any one from among the ring gear 66 and the first gear 64, which are each configured as a gear of the operating disk 4, is released from the driven gear 68, in some cases, the driven gear 68 rotates freely due to the inertial force from the drum 20 or the laundry. This arrangement has the potential to damage the gears when they are meshed again. Thus, the shifting mechanism is preferably configured to disable such a sifting operation before the rotation is stopped. Furthermore, each gear train is configured such that, at the time of the shifting the operating disk 4 after the rotation of the operating disk 4 is stopped, the ring gear 66 and the first gear 64 are maintained in a state in which they are both released from the driven gear 68, following which the corresponding gear is smoothly meshed with the driven gear (
Description will be made with reference to
In
mg=m{V2/r}
By transforming the aforementioned Expression, gr=V2 is derived.
When the drum 20 is vertically rotated, the energy E(v) is represented by the following Expression with the radius of the drum 20 as “r”.
In contrast, in a case in which the drum 20 is horizontally rotated with an axis extending along the vertical direction as an axis of rotation, the energy E(h) can be represented by the following Expression assuming that the drum 20 is rotated at the same rotational speed as that in the aforementioned example in which the drum 20 is vertically rotated.
E(h)=(½){mV2}
In a case of horizontally rotating the drum 20, this operation does not involve gravitational potential energy. In a comparison between the horizontal rotational operation and the vertical rotational operation, the following relation holds true.
E(v):E(h)=5:1
As described above, it can be understood that the vertical rotational operation (in the horizontal orientation) requires a force of up to five times that required for the horizontal rotational operation (in the vertical orientation).
Next, description will be made below regarding a typical usage of the aforementioned manual washing machine 100. First, the upper lid 12 is detached, following which laundry to be washed such as underwear is loaded into the drum 20. Next, the tank 10 is closed by the upper lid 12. Furthermore, the upper lid 12 is fixed by the buckle 14, thereby allowing the tank 10 to be set to a liquid-tight state.
Next, the washing machine 100 is set to an upright state shown in
After the end of washing step, the cap 54 is rotated so as to open the drain port 52. This allows the dirty water stored in the washing machine 100 to be drained to the exterior via the drain port 52. After draining the water, the drum 20 is rotationally driven by rotationally operating the handle 2 while supplying water to the internal space of the washing machine 100 via the feed-water inlet 50 by a water tap or a shower head. In some cases, the drum 20 is rotationally driven in a state in which the drain port 52 is closed by the cap 54 so as to store the water in the internal space of the washing machine 100. As described above, this arrangement allows a rinsing step to be executed. In the rinsing step, the drum 20 is operated in the horizontal orientation state. Accordingly, the rinsing step can be executed while the laundry is moved in the drum 20.
After the end of the rinsing step, the washing machine 100 is set to a horizontal orientation state shown in
With the manual washing machine 100 according the embodiment, the washing step and the rinsing step can be executed with the drum in a horizontal orientation. This allows the laundry to be washed and rinsed in the drum while it is moved in the drum according to the rotation of the drum. On the other hand, the dewatering step can be executed with the drum in a vertical orientation. In a case of operating the drum in a vertical orientation, the laundry is not moved in the drum according to the rotation of the drum. This allows water to be removed from the laundry in a stable state.
With the manual washing machine 100 according to the embodiment including a gear transmission mechanism, in the washing step and the rinsing step, the manual washing machine 100 is capable of rotationally driving the drum 20 with a transmission gear ratio that provides prioritizing of torque. Furthermore, in the dewatering step, the manual washing machine 100 is capable of rotationally driving the drum 20 with a transmission gear ratio that provides prioritizing of high-speed operation.
The rotational center shaft 6 of the operating disk 4 has a circular cross-section portion 206a and a portion 206b having an approximately rectangular cross-section as obtained by cutting off both sides thereof, which is positioned below the circular cross-section portion 206a. The width of the approximately rectangular cross-section portion 206b is substantially the same as the width of the junction portion 72c of the guide slot 72. Upon raising the operating disk 4, the approximately rectangular cross-section portion 206b is inserted into the junction portion 72c of the guide slot 72. This allows the operating disk 4 to be moved along the junction portion (guide portion) 72c. Accordingly, by shifting the operating disk 4 along the junction portion 72c of the guide slot 72 after the operating disk 4 is raised (
The operating disk 4 has an outer-circumferential cylindrical portion 210. A circular gear 212 is formed in the inner face of the outer-circumferential cylindrical portion 210. The operating disk 4 is arranged such that it can be rotated with the rotational center shaft 6 as an axis of rotation. The rotational center shaft 6 is fixedly mounted such that it cannot be shifted in position. A driving gear 216 is fixedly mounted on the rotational center shaft 6 of the operating disk 4.
The position setting mechanism that allows the position to be switched between the first position (prioritizing high-speed operation) and the second position (prioritizing torque) by raising and lowering the operating disk 4 may be configured as a combination of a rubber ring 220 and a protrusion 222. That is to say, the rubber ring 220 is provided to the outer-circumferential face of the outer-circumferential cylindrical portion 210 of the operating disk 4. On the other hand, the protrusion 222 is formed in the upper lid 12. In order to shift the operating disk 4 to the first position or otherwise the second position, by raising and lowering the operating disk 4, the rubber ring 220 goes over the protrusion 222. This arrangement allows the position of the operating disk 4 to be fixedly set to the first position (prioritizing high-speed operation) or otherwise the second position (prioritizing torque).
Referring to
Referring to
Description will be made with reference to
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Claims
1. A manual washing machine comprising:
- a tank including an opening in an upper end thereof;
- a drum rotatably mounted on the tank;
- an upper lid that covers the opening in the upper end of the tank;
- an operating unit rotatably mounted on the upper lid;
- a driving power transmission member configured to transmit a rotation of the operating unit to the drum; and
- a transmission mechanism arranged between a rotational center shaft of the operating unit and a rotation transmission shaft that transmits the rotation to the drum from the driving power transmission member, and configured to to be capable of changing a rotational speed of the rotation transmission shaft with respect to a rotational speed of the operating unit.
2. The manual washing machine according to claim 1, wherein the transmission mechanism comprises:
- a ring gear formed in an inner face of the operating unit;
- a first gear mounted on a rotational center shaft of the operating unit; and
- a driven gear mounted on the rotation transmission shaft,
- and wherein, by shifting a position of the operating unit, the transmission mechanism is switchable between a high-speed operation mode in which the ring gear meshed with the driven gear and a low-speed operation mode in which the first gear is meshed with the driven gear.
3. The manual washing machine according to claim 2, wherein the transmission mechanism comprises:
- a first position that provides the high-speed operation mode;
- a second position that provides the low-speed operation mode; and
- a junction portion that couples the first position and the second position,
- and wherein the junction portion allows the transmission mechanism to be switched between the high-speed operation mode and the low-speed operation mode while preventing an inappropriate shift in position of the operating unit.
4. The manual washing machine according to claim 3, wherein the ring gear and the first gear are arranged such that, when the operating unit is shifted in position in a state in which the rotation of the operating unit is stopped, a state in which both the ring gear and the first gear are detached from the driven gear is maintained, so as to smoothly mesh the corresponding gears.
5. The manual washing machine according to claim 1, comprising:
- a first seat portion configured as a bottom face of the tank or otherwise formed in the bottom face thereof; and
- a second seat portion defined by an standing face that intersects with the bottom face of the tank,
- wherein the manual washing machine can be operated in an operating mode that is switchable between a first operating mode in which the first seat portion is set on a horizontal plane such that an axis of rotation of the drum extends in a vertical direction and a second operating mode in which the second seat portion is set on a horizontal plane such that an axis of rotation of the drum extends in a horizontal direction.
6. The manual washing machine according to claim 5, further comprising:
- a drain port positioned in the vicinity of the second seat portion in the second operating mode in which the second seat portion is set on the horizontal plane;
- a feed-water inlet arranged away from the second seat in the second operation mode in which the second seat portion is set on the horizontal plane; and
- a cap configured to prevent water flow from the drain port.
7. The manual washing machine according to claim 5, wherein a first drain opening is formed in the bottom face of the tank.
8. The manual washing machine according to claim 7, wherein the first drain opening is arranged at a position away from the second seat portion.
9. The manual washing machine according to claim 1, wherein a water-stop member is provided between an inner face of an outer-circumferential portion of the upper lid and an upper end of an outer-circumferential face of the tank.
Type: Application
Filed: Apr 23, 2018
Publication Date: Aug 23, 2018
Inventors: Ichiro NAKANO (Tokyo), Masayo MORIKAWA (Tokyo)
Application Number: 15/959,317