Balancer and washing machine having the same
AssigneeSamsung Electronics Co., Ltd.
InventorsDong Ha JUNG, Jeong Hoon Kang, Min Sung Kim, Doo Young Rou
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A washing machine includes a cabinet, a drum rotatably arranged within the cabinet, an annular recess provided in the drum, and a balancer to offset an unbalanced load caused within the drum during rotation of the drum. The balancer includes a balancer housing mounted to the recess and has an annular channel therein, at least one mass movably disposed in the channel, and at least one ball disposed between the balancer housing and the mass to generate rolling motion.
Claims29
A washing machine comprising:
- a cabinet;
- a drum rotatably arranged within the cabinet;
- an annular recess provided in the drum;
- and
- a balancer to offset an unbalanced load caused within the drum during rotation of the drum,
- wherein the balancer comprises
- a balancer housing mounted to the recess and having an annular channel therein;
- at least one mass movably disposed in the channel;
- and
- at least one groove formed on an inner surface of the balancer housing and accommodating the mass so as to restrict the mass moving along the channel when an RPM of the drum is within a specific RPM range.
A washing machine comprising a cabinet, a drum rotatably arranged within the cabinet, and a balancer which is coupled to the drum and offsets an unbalanced load caused within the drum during rotation of the drum,
- wherein the balancer comprises
- a balancer housing having an annular channel therein;
- and
- at least one mass movably disposed in the channel, and
- wherein the channel comprises at least one cross-section increasing portion having an increased cross-sectional area such that the cross-section increasing portion restricts the mass moving along the channel when an RPM of the drum is within a specific RPM range.
A balancer of a washing machine to offset an unbalanced load on a drum of the washing machine, comprising:
- a balancer housing which is mounted to at least one of a front surface and a rear surface of the drum and has a channel extending in a circumferential direction of the drum;
- a plurality of masses movably disposed along the channel;
- at least one groove which is formed on an inner surface of the balancer housing to seat the plural masses so as to restrict the masses moving along the channel when an RPM of the drum is lower than a specific RPM range;
- and
- a damping fluid accommodated in the channel such that the damping fluid applies resistance to the masses when force acts on the masses.
A balancer to offset an unbalanced load in a rotating body, the balancer comprising:
- a housing having an annular channel therein, the housing being adapted to be attached to the rotating body;
- at least one mass movably disposed in the channel;
- and
- at least one groove formed on an inner surface of the balancer housing, the at least one groove being configured to restrict the mass moving along the channel when a rotation speed of the rotating body is within a predetermined range.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.