RU2597534C2 - Detergent feeding device and washing machine having the same - Google Patents

Abstract

FIELD: home appliances.

SUBSTANCE: disclosed herein is a washing machine including a body, a tub disposed within the body to retain water, a spin basket rotatably installed in the tub, a detergent feeding device to supply detergent and water to the tub. Detergent feeding device includes a detergent housing installed in the body, a detergent case installed in the detergent housing to store liquid detergent, and a detergent introduction module to introduce the liquid detergent stored in the detergent case into the detergent housing.

EFFECT: as the detergent introduction module is installed on the outer surface of the detergent case, placement of electrical components inside the detergent case is avoided.

10 cl, 9 dwg

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

Embodiments of the present disclosure relate to a detergent supply device for supplying detergent and a washing machine having it.

This application claims the priority of Korean Patent Application No. 10-2012-0055359 filed May 24, 2012 with the Korean Intellectual Property Office, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The washing machine includes a tank for holding water and a drum mounted rotatably in the tank. The laundry contained in the drum is washed in the tank by rotating the drum.

The washing machine includes a detergent supply device for supplying a detergent used for washing, together with water to the tank. Recently, some washing machines use a detergent dispenser adapted to a liquid detergent that dissolves better in water than a powder detergent.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

TECHNICAL PROBLEM

An aspect of the present invention is to provide a detergent supply device that excludes an electrical element from a detergent container.

Additional aspects will be set forth in part in the following description, and will be partially understood from the description, or may be learned by practice of the present invention.

TECHNICAL SOLUTION

In accordance with one aspect, a washing machine includes a housing, a tank located in a housing for holding water, a drum rotatably mounted in the tank, a detergent supply device for supplying detergent and water to the tank, and a control unit for controlling the detergent supply device means, and the detergent supply device comprises a detergent cover installed in the housing, a detergent container installed in the detergent cover for containing liquid detergent wa and the detergent input unit mounted on the outer surface of the detergent container to communicate with the inside of the detergent container and configured to introduce liquid detergent contained in the detergent container into the detergent casing in accordance with a command transmitted from the control unit.

The detergent input assembly may include at least one detergent pump for pumping liquid detergent from the detergent container and draining the liquid detergent into the detergent casing.

The detergent pump may include a first gear made in an annular shape and containing teeth on its inner peripheral surface, a second gear made with an outer diameter smaller than the inner diameter of the first gear and containing teeth on its outer peripheral surface for engagement with the teeth located on the inner peripheral surface of the first gear, and a detergent pump motor for generating a rotational force to rotate the second gear.

The detergent input assembly may include a detergent input assembly housing comprising a channel connected to the detergent container for guiding the discharge of liquid detergent, the detergent input assembly housing may include a chamber allowing the first gear to rotate and a second gear, an inlet guide channel for communicating with the detergent container for directing liquid detergent into the chamber, an exhaust guide channel for directing liquid drain of detergent to the upper side of the chamber and an outlet guide tube connected to the upper end of the outlet guide channel to drain liquid detergent from top to bottom.

The detergent container may be mounted in the detergent housing for moving back and forth, and the detergent input assembly may be mounted on the rear surface of the detergent container.

The washing machine may further include a first connector located on the rear side of the detergent input assembly, and a second connector located on the inner rear side of the detergent housing for selectively connecting to the first connector depending on the position of the detergent container.

The detergent container may include a part for containing the main detergent for keeping the main detergent in the liquid state and a part for containing the auxiliary detergent for keeping the auxiliary detergent in the liquid state, and at least one detergent pump may include a pump for main detergent for pumping out the main detergent contained in the part for containing the main detergent, and a pump for auxiliary m guide means for pumping the detergent auxiliary contained in the portion for containing the detergent auxiliary.

In accordance with one aspect, a detergent supply device includes a detergent cover, a detergent container installed in the detergent cover for containing liquid detergent, and a detergent input assembly mounted on the outer surface of the detergent container for communication with the inside of the detergent container for introducing liquid detergent contained in the detergent container into the detergent casing.

Positive results

As is clear from the above description, in the case of using an electrically driven detergent input assembly located on the outer surface of the detergent container, a connecting structure for driving the detergent input assembly is located on the outside of the detergent container, and therefore can a simple configuration of the inside of the detergent container will be provided.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

These and / or other aspects will become apparent and more readily appreciated from the following description of embodiments along with the accompanying drawings, in which

FIG. 1 is a sectional view of a washing machine having a detergent supply device in accordance with an embodiment;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a detergent supply device in accordance with an embodiment;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a spatially separated casing for a detergent of the detergent supply device of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view of a detergent container of the detergent supply device of FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a detergent container and a detergent input assembly used in the detergent supply device of FIG. 2;

FIG. 6 is an exploded perspective view of the detergent input assembly used in the detergent supply device of FIG. 2;

FIG. 7 is a top sectional view of a detergent input assembly used in the detergent supply device of FIG. 2;

FIG. 8 is a side sectional view of the detergent input assembly used in the detergent supply device of FIG. 2; and

FIG. 9 is a control block diagram of a detergent supply device in FIG. 2.

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

Reference will be made in detail to the embodiments, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which reference numerals denote similar elements.

As shown in FIG. 1, the washing machine includes a housing 10 defining an appearance of the washing machine, a tub 20 located within the housing 10, a drum 30 rotatably mounted in the tub 20, and a drive motor 40 for rotating the drum 30.

On the upper portion of the front of the cabinet 10, a control panel (not shown) is provided containing control buttons 810, which will be described later, allowing the user to control the operation of the washing machine. A printed circuit board (not shown) forming a control unit 800, which will be described later, is located inside the control panel. In addition, a loading hole 10a is formed in the center of the front surface of the housing 10 to provide loading of laundry into the drum 30 and is opened and closed by a door 11 mounted for rotation on the front surface of the housing 10.

The tank 20 is mounted inside the housing 10 by means of a suspension, and the water used to wash the laundry is contained therein.

The drum 30 includes a housing 31 having a cylindrical shape, a front plate 32 located at the front of the housing 31, and a rear plate 33 located at the rear of the housing 31. A plurality of through holes 31a are formed in the housing 31 of the drum 30 to allow washing water to pass through them, and a plurality of laundry lifting protrusions 31b are formed on an inner peripheral surface of the drum 30 and are spaced apart from each other in a circumferential direction. The front plate 31 comprises an opening 32a through which laundry is loaded or unloaded. A shaft flange 34 is mounted in the center of the rear plate, to which a rotating shaft 43 of the drive motor 40 is connected, which will be described later.

The drive motor 40 includes a stator 41 mounted on the rear surface of the tank 20, a rotor 42 for interacting with the stator 41 for rotation, and a rotating shaft 43, one end of which is fixed in the center of the rotor 42, and the other end is fixed in the center of the rear plate 33 of the drum through tank 20.

On the rear wall of the tank 20 is a bearing housing 21 for supporting the rotating shaft 43, so that the rotating shaft 43 can rotate. The bearing housing 21 is formed using an injection molding process for insertion. Bearings 22 are mounted inside the bearing housing 21 to support the rotating shaft 43, so that the rotating shaft 43 can rotate.

On the upper portion of the tank 20, there is a water supply device 50 for supplying water to the tank 20 and a detergent supply device 70 connected to the water supply device 50 for supplying water supplied through the water supply device 50 to the tank 20 together with the detergent. At the bottom of the tank 20 is a drain device 60 for draining the used washing water to the outside of the housing 10.

The water supply device 50 includes water supply pipes 51 for connecting an external water source (not shown) and a detergent supply device 70 and a water supply valve 52 located in the water supply pipes 51 for opening and closing the water pipes 51 for water supply. The drain device 60 includes a drain pipe 61 for directing water from the tank 20 to be drained to the outside of the housing 10 and a sump pump 62 located in the drain pipe 61 to drain water through the drain pipe 61.

The detergent supply device 70 is connected to the tank 20 through a connecting pipe 53 connected to the lower portion of the detergent supply device 70. Accordingly, the water supplied through the water supply tubes 51 is supplied to the tank 20 through the connecting tube 53 through the detergent supply device 70.

As shown in FIG. 2-4, the detergent dispenser 70 includes a detergent container 710 for holding detergent, a detergent casing 700 for containing a detergent container 710. A plurality of water supply nozzles 702a are located on an upper portion of a rear end of a detergent casing 700 for connecting to the water supply tubes 51, and a connecting pipe 700b is located on a lower portion of a detergent casing 700 for connecting to a connection tube 53.

As shown in FIG. 3, a detergent casing 700 is mounted and secured to the housing 10 of the washing machine and includes a cover 701 for closing the upper portion of the detergent casing 700. In addition, on the inner upper portion of the detergent casing 700, a first water supply guide 702 is installed, located on the upper portion of the detergent container 710 and containing at its rear end water supply pipes 702a for distributing water supplied through the supply pipes 51 water, to the detergent containing portion 710c, which will be described later, or the manual detergent dispenser 710d, which will be described below. On the inner rear side of the detergent casing 700, a second water supply guide 703 is connected to the first water supply guide 702 for distributing water supplied through the water supply pipes 51 to the left and right sides in the detergent casing 700.

The detergent container 710 is movably mounted in the detergent casing 700 through an opening for inserting the detergent container 700a formed in front of the detergent casing 700. Accordingly, the user can introduce detergent into the detergent container 710 by pulling the detergent container 710 from the detergent casing 700 or removing the detergent container 710 from the detergent casing 700 to clean the detergent container 710.

The detergent container 710 comprises a plurality of detergent containing parts 710a, 710b, 710c and 710d. Detergent containing parts 710a, 710b, 710c and 710d include liquid detergent containing parts 710a and 710b, powder detergent containing powder detergent containing part 710c, manual detergent dispenser 710d allowing the user to dispense an additive for rinse or bleach. In addition, the liquid detergent containing parts 710a and 710b are divided into the main detergent containing part 710a for containing the main detergent in the liquid state and the auxiliary detergent keeping part 710b for containing the auxiliary detergent in the liquid state, such as an additive for rinse or bleach.

The lid of the detergent container is mounted on an upper portion of the detergent container 710 to prevent overflow of detergent from the detergent container 710. In addition, the detergent container lid 711 includes a plurality of holes for introducing detergent into the respective detergent holding portions 710a, 710b, 710c and 710d for containing detergent. Among the detergent inlet openings 711a, 711b, 711c and 711d, the detergent inlet openings for the main detergent holding part 710a and the auxiliary detergent holding part 710b holding a large amount of liquid detergent contain lids 711e and 711f to prevent overfilling liquid detergent.

The detergent supply device 70 also includes a detergent inlet unit 730, controlled by the control unit 800, for introducing liquid detergent contained in the detergent container 710 into the detergent casing 700 to thereby mix the liquid detergent with water in a casing 700 for detergent and feed into the tank 20 along with water.

As shown in FIG. 5, the detergent input assembly 730 is installed to communicate with the detergent container 710. The detergent input assembly 730 is located on the outer surface of the detergent container 710 to prevent the electrical connection structures from being located in the detergent container 710. In the depicted embodiment, the detergent input assembly 730 is mounted on the rear surface of the detergent container 710.

As shown in FIG. 6, the detergent inlet assembly 730 includes detergent pumps 731M and 731S for pumping liquid detergent from the detergent container 710 and for draining the liquid detergent into the detergent casing 700, and a housing 732 of the detergent inlet channel for communication with the container 710 for detergent and the direction of the drain of liquid detergent. The detergent input assembly 730 also includes a lid 734 for closing the upper part of the detergent input assembly housing 732 and a lower plate 735 located on the lower surface of the detergent input assembly housing 732 to form a chamber, which will be described later. In the depicted embodiment, the detergent pumps 731M and 731S include a main detergent pump 731M for pumping the main detergent contained in the main detergent holding portion 710a, and an auxiliary detergent pump 731S for pumping the auxiliary detergent contained in the auxiliary detergent containing part 710b, and are installed in the housing 732 of the detergent input unit.

In order to allow liquid detergent to be transferred from the detergent container 710 to the detergent input unit 730, a pair of connecting holes 710e and 710f, respectively, connected to the main detergent containing part 710a and the auxiliary detergent containing part 710b, is formed on the rear surface of the container 710 for detergent. The housing 732 of the detergent inlet assembly includes inlets 732a at positions corresponding to the connecting holes 710e and 710f to allow liquid detergent to pass into the housing 732 of the detergent inlet assembly. Sealing elements 736 are located between the connecting holes 710e and 710f and the inlet openings 732a.

Each of the detergent pumps 731M and 731S includes a first gear 731a made in an annular shape and containing teeth on its inner peripheral surface, and a second gear 731b having an outer diameter smaller than the inner diameter of the first gear 731a, and teeth located on its outer peripheral surface, for engagement with the teeth formed on the inner peripheral surface of the first gear 731a, and a detergent pump motor 731c for generating a rotational force to rotate the second th gear 731b.

As shown in FIG. 7 and 8, the housing 732 of the detergent input assembly includes a chamber 732b located on the lower portion of the housing 732 of the detergent input assembly to provide for the first gear 731a and the second gear 731b to rotate therein, an inlet guide channel 732c connected to an inlet 732a for communicating with the detergent container 710 and configured to direct liquid detergent to the chamber 732b, an exhaust guide channel 732d for directing the liquid detergent to a higher location, than the location of the liquid detergent contained in the detergent container 710, an outlet guide tube 733 connected to the upper end of the outlet guide channel 732d for discharging the liquid detergent down. In the illustrated embodiment, since a pair of detergent pumps are installed, the detergent inlet assembly 730 comprises a pair of chambers 732b, a pair of inlet guide channels 732c, a pair of outlet guide channels 732d, and a pair of outlet guide tubes 733.

In the depicted embodiment, the detergent container 710 is installed in the detergent casing 700 so that the detergent container 710 can move back and forth, and therefore, the first connector 737 is located on the rear side of the detergent input unit 730, and the second connector 704 is located on the inner rear side of the detergent case 700 for selectively connecting to the first connector 737 depending on the position of the detergent container 710. Accordingly, when the detergent container 710 is housed in the detergent case 700, the first connector 737 is connected to the second connector 704, so that electricity can be supplied to the detergent input assembly 730. When the detergent container 710 protrudes from the detergent casing 700, the first connector 737 is disconnected from the second connector 704 and thus, electricity cannot be supplied to the detergent input unit 730.

Such a washing machine includes, as shown in FIG. 9, a control unit 800 for controlling the operation of the respective elements of the washing machine, such as a detergent dispenser 70 and a drive motor 40, and a manipulation button 810 allowing the user to select the functions of the washing machine. Thus, the drive motor 40 and the detergent input unit 730 are controlled by the control unit 800.

Accordingly, when the operation of the washing machine is selected by the user using the manipulation button 810, the control unit 800 supplies electricity to the drive motor 40 and the detergent input unit 730 in accordance with cycles such as washing, rinsing and draining that are pre-installed in the control unit 800.

When power is supplied to the detergent input unit 730, the detergent pumps 731M and 731S are driven and the main detergent or auxiliary detergent in the liquid state contained in the main detergent containing part 710a or the auxiliary detergent containing part 710b, sequentially passes through the connection openings 710e and 710f, the inlets 732a and the inlet guide channel 732c and pass into the chamber 732b and then discharged into the detergent casing 700 through the outlet directs channel 732d and a discharge guide tube 733.

Although some of the embodiments have been shown and described, those skilled in the art should understand that changes are possible in these embodiments without departing from the principles and spirit of the present invention, the scope of which is defined in the claims and their equivalents.

Claims (10)

1. The detergent supply device containing
detergent cover;
a detergent container movably mounted in a detergent casing for containing liquid detergent; and
a detergent input assembly having at least one detergent pump and mounted on the outer surface of the detergent container to move with the detergent container. 2. The detergent supply device according to claim 1, wherein the detergent input assembly is removably mounted on the outer surface of the detergent container. 3. The detergent supply device according to claim 1, wherein the at least one detergent pump is adapted to pump liquid detergent from the detergent container to drain the liquid detergent into the detergent casing. 4. The detergent supply device according to claim 3, wherein the detergent pump comprises a first gear made in the form of a ring and containing teeth on its inner peripheral surface, a second gear made with an outer diameter smaller than the inner diameter of the first gear and containing teeth on its outer surface for engagement with teeth located on the inner peripheral surface of the first gear, and a detergent pump motor for generating a rotational force to rotate w Shouting gears. 5. The detergent supply device according to claim 4, wherein the detergent input unit comprises a detergent input unit body comprising a channel connected to a detergent container for directing a drain of liquid detergent,
moreover, the housing of the detergent input assembly comprises a chamber that allows the first gear and the second gear to rotate therein, an inlet guide channel for communicating with the detergent container for directing the liquid detergent into the chamber, an exhaust guide channel for directing the drain of the liquid detergent to the upper side of the chamber and the exhaust guide tube connected to the upper end of the exhaust guide channel to drain the liquid detergent down. 6. The detergent supply device according to claim 1, wherein
a detergent container is installed in the detergent housing with the ability to move forward and backward; and
the detergent input assembly is mounted on the rear surface of the detergent container. 7. The detergent supply device according to claim 6, further comprising a first connector located on the rear side of the detergent input assembly and a second connector located on the inner rear side of the detergent housing for selectively connecting to the first connector depending on the position of the container for detergent. 8. The detergent supply device according to claim 3, wherein
the detergent container comprises a part for containing the main detergent for keeping the main detergent in the liquid state and a part for containing the auxiliary detergent for keeping the auxiliary detergent in the liquid state; and
at least one detergent pump comprises a main detergent pump for pumping out the main detergent contained in the main detergent holding portion and an auxiliary detergent pump for pumping out the auxiliary detergent contained in the auxiliary detergent holding portion . 9. A washing machine comprising a detergent supply device according to any one of paragraphs. 1-8. 10. A washing machine according to claim 9, further comprising
tank for water retention; and
a control unit for controlling the detergent dispenser,
moreover, the detergent supply device supplies the detergent along with water to the tank,
wherein the detergent input unit introduces liquid detergent contained in the detergent container into the detergent casing in accordance with a command sent from the control unit.

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