# US 10,865,513 B2 · Washing machine and home appliance

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- Number: US 10,865,513 B2
- Document ID: US10865513B2
- Status: Granted
- Kind: B2
- Application number: 16/068,223
- Filed: 2016-12-27
- Published: 2019-01-31
- Granted: 2020-12-15
- Earliest claimed: 2016-01-05
- Assignees: Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.
- Applicants: Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.
- Inventors: Jae Sin Kim; Wan Gi Park; Kab Jin Jun; Jung Hwan Kim; Dong Ik Lee; Ji Hoon Choi
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US10865513B2

## CPC

- D06F 39/14: Doors or covers; Securing means therefor
- A47K 13/30: Seats having provisions for heating, deodorising or the like {, e.g. ventilating, noise-damping or cleaning devices}
- D06F 1/04: the tub walls or bottom having corrugations
- D06F 23/04: and rotating or oscillating about a vertical axis
- E05D 11/08: Friction devices between relatively-movable hinge parts (E05D7/086 takes precedence)
- F25D 23/02: Doors; Covers (F25D23/08 takes precedence {locks or fastenings E05B65/0042})
- D06F 37/24: in machines with a receptacle rotating or oscillating about a vertical axis
- D06F 37/28: Doors; Security means therefor
- D06F 39/088: {Liquid supply arrangements}
- E05Y 2900/312: for washing machines or laundry dryers
- Y02B 40/00: Technologies aiming at improving the efficiency of home appliances, e.g. induction cooking or efficient technologies for refrigerators, freezers or dish washers
- D06F: LAUNDERING, DRYING, IRONING, PRESSING OR FOLDING TEXTILE ARTICLES
- A47K: SANITARY EQUIPMENT; ACCESSORIES THEREFOR, e.g. TOILET ACCESSORIES
- E05D: HINGES OR SUSPENSION DEVICES FOR DOORS, WINDOWS OR WINGS (pivotal connections in general F16C11/00)
- F25D: REFRIGERATORS; COLD ROOMS; ICE-BOXES; COOLING OR FREEZING APPARATUS NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR (refrigerated showcases A47F3/04; thermally-insulated vessels for domestic use A47J41/00; refrigerated vehicles, see the appropriate subclasses of classes B60 - B64; containers with thermal insulation in general B65D81/38; heat-transfer, heat-exchange or heat-storage materials, e.g. refrigerants, or materials for the production of heat or cold by chemical reactions other than by combustion C09K5/00; thermally-insulated vessels for liquefied or solidified gases F17C; air-conditioning or air-humidification F24F; refrigeration machines, plants, or systems F25B; cooling of instruments or comparable apparatus without refrigeration G12B)
- E05Y: INDEXING SCHEME ASSOCIATED WITH SUBCLASSES E05D AND E05F, RELATING TO CONSTRUCTION ELEMENTS, ELECTRIC CONTROL, POWER SUPPLY, POWER SIGNAL OR TRANSMISSION, USER INTERFACES, MOUNTING OR COUPLING, DETAILS, ACCESSORIES, AUXILIARY OPERATIONS NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR, APPLICATION THEREOF
- Y02B: CLIMATE CHANGE MITIGATION TECHNOLOGIES RELATED TO BUILDINGS, e.g. HOUSING, HOUSE APPLIANCES OR RELATED END-USER APPLICATIONS

## Abstract

Disclosed is a washing machine and a home appliance including a plurality of doors, a damper configured to buffer pivoting of the plurality of doors, and a structure by which each of the plurality of doors smoothly opened/shut.

## Claims

### Claim 1

A home appliance comprising:
a main body with an opening;
an outer door pivotally arranged in the main body;
an inner door pivotally arranged between the opening and the outer door; and
a damper including a moving member, wherein
the inner door is configured to pivot alone, from an open position of the inner door, over an angular distance, without causing the moving member to move, and thereafter pivot past the angular distance to cause the moving member to be pressed and thereby move as much as a first displacement to dampen a pivoting speed of the inner door, and
the outer door is configured to pivot together with the inner door, from an open position of the outer door, over an angular distance, without causing the moving member to move, and thereafter pivot past the angular distance to cause the moving member to be pressed and thereby move as much as a second displacement, which is greater than the first displacement, to dampen a pivoting speed of the outer door.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

The home appliance of claim 1, wherein the moving member moves back and forth in a straight line.

### Claim 3 (depends on 1)

The home appliance of claim 1, wherein the outer door and the inner door pivot around the same pivot axis.

### Claim 4 (depends on 1)

The home appliance of claim 1, wherein
the outer door is configured to, with the inner door being at a closed position and the moving member having been moved by as much as the first displacement, pivot alone from the open position of the outer door, over the angular distance, without causing the moving member to move, and thereafter pivot past the angular distance to cause the moving member to be pressed and thereby move as much as a third displacement, and thereby dampen the pivoting speed of the outer door, and
the second displacement is the sum of the first displacement and the third displacement.

### Claim 5 (depends on 1)

The home appliance of claim 1, wherein the damper is configured to provide a damping force to the inner door even after completion of providing a damping force to the outer door.

### Claim 6 (depends on 5)

The home appliance of claim 5, wherein the damper is configured to provide a damping force to the outer door and the inner door when the outer door and the inner door pivot in a direction to open the opening.

### Claim 7 (depends on 1)

The home appliance of claim 1, wherein
the outer door includes a first pusher,
the inner door includes a second pusher,
the second pusher is configured to apply a force to the damper to cause the moving member to be pressed when the inner door pivots alone, and
the first pusher is configured to apply a force to the damper to cause the moving member to be pressed when the outer door pivots together with the inner door.

### Claim 8 (depends on 7)

The home appliance of claim 7, wherein
when the outer door pivots together with the inner door to move the moving member as much as the second displacement, the damper is pressed by the first pusher but not by the second pusher.

### Claim 9 (depends on 1)

The home appliance of claim 1, wherein
the damper comprises a cylinder, and the moving member is a piston that moves in the cylinder,
the damper leaves a remaining damping area in the cylinder in which the piston is able to move while the inner door is at a closed position, and
the outer door is configured to, with the inner door being at the closed position and the piston having been moved by as much as the first displacement, pivot alone to cause the piston to be pressed and thereby move in the remaining damping area.

### Claim 10 (depends on 9)

The home appliance of claim 9, wherein the piston passes a first damping area in the cylinder by a closing operation of the inner door and passes a second damping area in the cylinder by a closing operation of the outer door.

### Claim 11 (depends on 10)

The home appliance of claim 10, wherein the first damping area has a longer length than the second damping area.

### Claim 12 (depends on 10)

The home appliance of claim 10, wherein the piston continuously passes the first damping area and the second damping area when the outer door and the inner door pivot simultaneously.

### Claim 13 (depends on 10)

The home appliance of claim 10, wherein
the outer door includes a first pusher,
the inner door includes a second pusher,
the second pusher applies a force to the damper to cause the piston to be pressed when the inner door pivots alone,
the first pusher applies a force to the damper to cause the piston to be pressed when the outer door pivots together with the inner door, and
the first pusher is configured to protrude further toward the damper than the second pusher at a position at which the outer door and the inner door close the opening.

### Claim 14

A home appliance comprising:
a main body with an opening;
an outer door pivotally arranged in the main body;
an inner door pivotally arranged between the opening and the outer door; and
a damper including a cylinder and a piston that moves in the cylinder, wherein
the inner door is configured to pivot alone, from an open position of the inner door, over an angular distance, without pushing the piston, and thereafter pivot past the angular distance to push the piston to move in the cylinder by as much as a first displacement to dampen a pivoting speed of the inner door, and
the outer door is configured to pivot together with the inner door, from an open position of the outer door, over an angular distance, without pushing the piston, and thereafter pivot past the angular distance to push the piston to move in the cylinder by as much as a second displacement, which is greater than the first displacement, to dampen a pivoting speed of the outer door.

### Claim 15 (depends on 14)

The home appliance of claim 14, wherein
the outer door is configured to, with the inner door being at a closed position and the piston having been moved by as much as the first displacement, pivot alone from the open position of the outer door, over the angular distance, without pushing the piston, and thereafter pivot past the angular distance to push the piston to move in the cylinder by as much as a third displacement, to thereby dampen the pivoting speed of the outer door, and
the second displacement is the sum of the first displacement and the third displacement.

### Claim 16 (depends on 14)

The home appliance of claim 14, wherein the piston passes a first damping area in the cylinder by a closing operation of the inner door and passes a second damping area in the cylinder, which is deeper in the cylinder than the first damping area, by a closing operation of the outer door.

### Claim 17 (depends on 15)

The home appliance of claim 15, wherein the piston passes a first damping area in the cylinder by a closing operation of the inner door and passes a second damping area in the cylinder, which is deeper in the cylinder than the first damping area, by a closing operation of the outer door.