KR20090000761U - Washing machine and drain pump - Google Patents

Abstract

Disclosed are an improved drainage pump and a washing machine having such a drainage pump to reduce operating noise. The drain pump of the disclosed washing machine includes a wash water inlet chamber into which the wash water flows from the tub, a pump room equipped with an impeller for sucking the wash water in the wash water inlet chamber, and the washing water sucked into the pump room to flow back into the wash water inlet chamber. It comprises a communication unit provided between the water inlet chamber and the pump chamber. The drain pump may include a partition member for partitioning the wash water inlet chamber and the pump chamber, and the communication unit may include at least one communication hole formed in the partition member.

Description

Washing machine and drain pump {WASHING MACHINE AND DRAIN PUMP}

      The present invention relates to a washing machine, and more particularly, to a washing machine having an improved drainage pump to reduce operating noise.

      Washing machine is a washing machine is a machine for washing clothes using electric power, generally a tub for storing the wash water, a rotating tub rotatably installed inside the tub, a driving device for rotating the rotating tub, and a tub A water supply device for supplying the wash water and a drainage device for forcibly discharging the wash water in the tub.

      Usually, the drainage device includes a drain pipe for guiding the discharge of the wash water, and a drain pump installed on the drain pipe to pump the wash water. An example of such a drain pump is disclosed in Korean Patent No. 0465697.

      The disclosed drain pump has a pump case having a filter chamber and a pump chamber, and a drain motor fixed to one side of the pump case. The filter chamber is provided with a filter for filtering foreign matters contained in the wash water, and the impeller which is rotationally driven by the drainage motor is installed in the pump chamber. When the impeller is rotated by the drain motor, the washing water in the tub flows into the filter chamber, and the washing water flowing into the filter chamber passes through the filter and is sucked into the pump chamber. The washing water reaching the pump chamber is forced out of the drain pump by the impeller. Discharged.

      When the drainage process is in full swing in the drainage pump, a sufficient amount of washing water is supplied to the pump room so that a constant load acts on the drainage motor. However, in the situation where most of the water is drained and the sufficient amount of water is not supplied to the pump chamber, the load applied to the drain motor is changed, and the drain motor operates unstablely, thereby causing a large operation noise of the drain pump.

      The present invention is to solve such a problem, an object of the present invention is to provide an improved drain pump and a washing machine having such a drain pump to reduce the operating noise.

Washing machine according to the present invention for achieving the above object is a washing machine including a tub and a drain pump for draining the wash water in the tub, the drain pump is a washing water inlet chamber for washing water flows from the tub; And a pump room in which an impeller for sucking the wash water in the wash water inflow chamber is installed, and a communication unit provided between the wash water inflow chamber and the pump room so that the wash water sucked into the pump room flows back into the wash water inflow chamber. Characterized in that.

The drain pump may further include a partition member for partitioning the wash water inlet chamber and the pump chamber, and the communication unit may include at least one communication hole formed in the partition member.

The pump chamber has a discharge hole for discharging the wash water in the pump chamber to the outside, the communication hole may be located on the path that the wash water pumped by the impeller flows to the discharge hole.

In addition, the drainage pump according to the present invention includes: an inlet chamber into which water to be drained is introduced; and a pump chamber installed with an impeller to suck water in the inlet chamber in an axial direction and discharge in a radial direction; and a partition member partitioning the inlet chamber and the pump chamber. And at least one communication hole formed in the partition member so that a part of the water discharged in the radial direction by the impeller can flow back into the inflow chamber.

The communication hole is preferably located radially outward of the impeller.

      As described above, according to the present invention, when a sufficient amount of water is not filled in the drainage pump, a part of the pumped water is flowed back in the pump room so that the minimum load can be maintained in the drainage motor. Can be reduced.

      Hereinafter, with reference to the accompanying drawings, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail. 1 is a perspective view showing the configuration of a washing machine according to the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 1, the washing machine according to the present invention includes a main body 10 forming an appearance, a tub 11 installed inside the main body 10 and storing wash water at the time of washing, and a tub 11. It is provided with a rotating tub 12 rotatably installed therein. An inlet 13 is formed in the front portion of the main body 10 to inject laundry into the rotating tub 12, and a door 14 is provided to open and close the inlet 13.

The water supply device 20 and the detergent supply device 30 for supplying the wash water and the detergent to the tub 11 are respectively installed on the inner upper portion of the main body 10. The water supply device 20 includes a water supply valve 21 for controlling water supply, a water supply pipe 22 connecting the water supply valve 21 and the detergent supply device 30, and wash water passing through the detergent supply device 30. It comprises a connecting pipe 23 for guiding the inside of the tub (11). In addition, the detergent supply device 30 is a detergent case 31 having a front open, and the detergent container 32 is installed so that the inside or outside of the detergent case 31 can be entered or withdrawn through the opening of the detergent case 31. It is provided.

The lower portion of the tub 11 is provided with a drive motor 15 to perform the washing, rinsing and dehydration operation while rotating the rotary tub 12 in a clockwise or counterclockwise direction.

In addition, a drainage device 40 for discharging the wash water contained in the tub 11 to the outside of the main body 10 is installed at the inner lower portion of the main body 10. The drainage device 40 includes a drain pump 100 for forcibly discharging the wash water of the tub 11, a first drain pipe 41 connecting the tub 11 and the drain pump 100, and a drain pump ( A second drain pipe 42 for discharging the wash water pumped by the pump 100 to the outside of the main body 10 is provided.

      2 is a cross-sectional view showing the configuration of a drain pump according to the present invention, Figure 3 is a perspective view showing a drain pump according to the present invention. As shown in FIG. 2 and FIG. 3, the drain pump 100 includes a pump case 110 having a washing water inlet chamber 120 and a pump chamber 130, and a drain filter installed in the washing water inlet chamber 120. 140, an impeller 150 installed in the pump chamber 130 and forcibly discharging the wash water to the outside, and a drain motor 160 for rotationally driving the impeller 150.

      An inflow hole 121 is formed in the wash water inflow chamber 120, and an inflow pipe 122 (see FIG. 3) communicates with the inflow hole 121. Inlet pipe 122 is connected to the first drain pipe 41, the washing water in the tub 11 at the time of drainage flows into the wash water inlet chamber 120 through the first drain pipe 41 and the inlet pipe 122. do. In addition, the washing water inlet chamber 120 is connected to the air discharge pipe 123 for discharging the air introduced into the washing water inlet chamber 120 with the washing water. The air discharge pipe 123 is for preventing the performance of the impeller 150 from being deteriorated by the air flowing into the washing water inlet chamber 120 together with the washing water.

      The drain filter 140 includes a head part 141 coupled to the pump case 110 and a filter part 142 which is less capable of filtering out foreign substances contained in the wash water introduced into the wash water inflow chamber 120. A screw thread 141a is formed on the side of the head portion 141 so as to be screwed to the pump case 110, and a handle on the front surface of the head portion 141 for the user to grip and rotate the head portion 141. 141b is provided. The filter unit 142 has a substantially truncated conical shape, and a first filter hole 142a is formed at a circumferential surface of the filter unit 142 so that washing water may flow into the filter unit 142. In addition, a second filter hole 142b is formed at an end portion of the filter unit 142 adjacent to the pump chamber 130 so that the washing water introduced into the filter unit 142 may be discharged toward the pump chamber 130.

      A discharge hole 131 for discharging the wash water in the pump chamber 130 to the outside is formed in the pump chamber 130, and the discharge tube 132 communicates with the discharge hole 131. The discharge pipe 132 is connected to the second drain pipe 42, the wash water in the pump chamber 130 is pumped by the impeller 150 is discharged to the outside through the discharge pipe 132 and the second drain pipe 42. .

      The impeller 150 rotates by the drain pump 100 and sucks the washing water in the washing water inflow chamber 120 in the axial direction to discharge the washing water in the radial direction. The impeller 150 is configured to include a shaft coupling portion 151 coupled to the rotating shaft of the drain motor 160, and a plurality of blades 152 extending in the radial direction from the shaft coupling portion 151.

      A partition member 170 is formed between the washing water inlet chamber 120 and the pump chamber 130 to partition the 120 and 130. In the partition member 170, an inlet 171 is formed so that the impeller 150 may suck the washing water in the washing water inflow chamber 120 into the pump chamber 130. The suction port 171 is formed to face the central portion of the impeller 150, and is formed to face the second filter hole 142b of the drain filter 140.

      Meanwhile, in the present invention, the drainage pump 100 includes the washing water inlet chamber 120 and the pump chamber so that the washing water sucked into the pump room 130 from the washing water inlet chamber 120 can flow back to the washing water inlet chamber 120. The communication unit 180 is provided between the 130. The communication unit 180 is part of the wash water sucked into the pump chamber 130 when the load amount applied to the drain motor 160 is changed because there is not enough water remaining in the pump chamber 130 at the end of drainage again wash water By allowing the inflow chamber 120 to be introduced to maintain a constant load on the drain motor 160, the operation noise of the drain pump 100 is reduced.

      2 and 3, when the washing water inlet chamber 120 and the pump chamber 130 is partitioned by one partition member 170, the communication unit 180 is at least one formed in the partition member 170 It may be composed of a communication hole (181). However, when the wash water inflow chamber 120 and the pump chamber 130 are partitioned in different forms, for example, when the wash water inflow chamber and the pump chamber are partitioned by two diaphragms installed at a predetermined distance from each other, the communication unit 180. May be implemented in the form of a channel rather than a hole.

      The communication hole 181 is formed on a path through which the washing water pumped by the impeller 150 flows to the discharge hole 131. In addition, when the communication hole 181 is located too close to the inlet 171, the wash water in the pump chamber 130 does not flow back to the wash water inlet chamber 120 properly. Therefore, the communication hole 181 is preferably formed at a point corresponding to the discharge side of the impeller 150 in the partition member 170, that is, a point corresponding to the outside of the impeller blade 152 in the radial direction.

      3 shows an example in which three communication holes having a small size are formed in the partition member 170, but the optimum size and the optimal number of the communication holes 181 that can effectively reduce the operation noise of the drain pump 100. Can be determined by experiment. In order to prevent the pumping force of the impeller 150 from being lowered and to prevent foreign substances from entering the pump chamber 130 through the communication hole 181, several small holes are more preferable than one large hole.

      Hereinafter, an operation of draining the washing water in the washing machine according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1, 2, and 4. 4 is a view for explaining the operation of the drain pump in the present invention.

      When the drainage operation of the washing machine starts, the wash water in the tub 11 flows into the wash water inflow chamber 120 of the drain pump 100 through the first drain pipe 41, and washes in the wash water inflow chamber 120. The water is sucked into the pump chamber 130 by the impeller 150 and then forcedly discharged into the discharge hole 131 to be drained to the outside through the second drain pipe 42. At this time, even if the communication hole 181 is formed in the partition member 170, the water in the pump chamber 130 hardly flows back by the water pressure acting in the washing water inlet chamber 120. When the drainage process is in full swing, since a sufficient amount of washing water is supplied to the drain pump 100, the load applied to the drain motor 160 is kept constant so that the operation noise of the drain pump 100 is not greatly generated.

      However, since a sufficient amount of washing water is not supplied to the drainage pump 100 at the end of the drainage, the communication hole 181 is exposed to the air as shown in FIG. 4, and the washing water pumped by the impeller 150 in the pump room 130. A part flows back to the washing water inlet chamber 120 through the communication hole 181. Then, the reversed water is sucked back into the pump chamber 130 through the suction port 171. Through such a circulation process, it is possible to alleviate a change in the load applied to the drainage motor 160, thereby reducing noise due to unstable starting of the drainage motor 160.

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

      Figure 2 is a cross-sectional view showing the configuration of the drain pump according to the present invention.

      Figure 3 is a perspective view of the drain pump according to the present invention.

      Figure 4 is a view for explaining the operation of the drain pump in the present invention.

      * Description of symbols on the main parts of the drawings *

      11: tub 40: drainage

      41: first drain pipe 42: second drain pipe

      100: drain pump 110: pump case

      120: washing water inlet chamber 130: pump room

      140: drain filter 150: impeller

      160: drainage motor 170: partition member

      180: communication unit 181: communication

Claims (5)

A washing machine comprising a tub and a drain pump for draining the washing water in the tub, wherein the drain pump Washing water inlet chamber for washing water flows from the tub; And A pump chamber in which an impeller for sucking the washing water in the washing water inflow chamber is installed; and A communication unit provided between the wash water inlet room and the pump room so that the washing water sucked into the pump room flows back into the wash water inlet room; Washing machine comprising a. The method of claim 1, The drain pump further comprises a partition member for partitioning the wash water inlet chamber and the pump chamber, wherein the communication unit includes at least one communication hole formed in the partition member. The method of claim 2, The pump chamber has a discharge hole for discharging the wash water in the pump chamber to the outside, the communication hole is located on the path that the wash water pumped by the impeller flows to the discharge hole. An inflow chamber into which water to be drained flows; and A pump chamber installed with an impeller for sucking water in the inflow chamber in an axial direction and discharging in a radial direction; and Partition member for partitioning the inlet chamber and the pump chamber; And At least one communication hole formed in the partition member so that a part of the water discharged in the radial direction by the impeller may flow back into the inflow chamber; Drainage pump comprising a. The method of claim 4, wherein The communication hole is a drain pump, characterized in that located on the radially outer side of the impeller.

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