# US 2020/0399814 A1 · Sealing valve installation structure and cleaning-free washing machine > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 2020/0399814 A1 - Document ID: US20200399814A1 - Status: Published application - Kind: A1 - Application number: 16/976,039 - Filed: 2019-02-21 - Published: 2020-12-24 - Earliest claimed: 2018-02-27 - Assignees: Qingdao Haier Washing Machine Co., Ltd.; Qingdao Haier Smart Technology R&D Co., Ltd.; Haier Smart Home Co., Ltd. - Applicants: Qingdao Haier Washing Machine Co., Ltd.; Qingdao Haier Smart Technology R&D Co., Ltd.; Haier Smart Home Co., Ltd. - Inventors: Yimin LI; Chunfeng LAO; Xinghui HAO; Di WU; Peishi LV - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US20200399814A1 ## CPC - D06F 37/065: {ribs or lifters having means for circulating the washing liquid} - D06F 23/025: {with a rotatable imperforate tub} - D06F 37/06: Ribs, lifters, or rubbing means forming part of the receptacle - D06F 39/083: {Liquid discharge or recirculation arrangements} - F16K 27/02: of lift valves (for reducing the flow resistance of screw-spindle lift-valves F16K1/06) - F16K 31/52: with crank, eccentric, or cam - D06F: LAUNDERING, DRYING, IRONING, PRESSING OR FOLDING TEXTILE ARTICLES - F16K: VALVES; TAPS; COCKS; ACTUATING-FLOATS; DEVICES FOR VENTING OR AERATING {(devices for emptying and evacuating the excess liquid in valves or conduits F16L55/07)} ## Abstract A support plate mounted on the inner side wall of an inner drum has a through hole corresponding to drain openings formed in the wall of the drum, and a gap between the support plate and the side wall of the inner drum forms a space for valve plugs of sealing valves to move up and down; a mounting sleeve installed on the upper side of the support plate has an inner through hole coaxially arranged with the through hole in the support plate, so that the valve plugs of the sealing valves are coaxially installed in the inner through hole and can move up and down. A drain opening formed in the side wall of the inner drum is provided with a sealing valve installed on the inner drum via the sealing valve structure. ## Claims ### Claim 1 A sealing valve installation structure comprising a support plate being mounted on an inner side wall of an inner drum, wherein a through hole corresponding to a drain opening formed in a side wall of the inner drum is provided in a middle of the support plate, and a gap between the support plate and the side wall of the inner drum is provided to form a space for a valve plug of a sealing valve to move up and down; a mounting sleeve is fixedly installed on an upper side of the support plate, an inner through hole of the mounting sleeve and the through hole in the support plate are coaxially and oppositely arranged, so that the valve plug of the sealing valve is coaxially installed in the inner through hole and is movable up and down. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The sealing valve installation structure according to claim 1, wherein a lifting rib is installed on the side wall of the inner drum of a washing machine, and a lifting rib body is of a shell structure, and a lower side of the shell structure is open and is fastened to the inner side wall of the inner drum, the rib lifting body is hollow inside to form a mounting cavity for installation of the sealing valve, and the sealing valve installation structure is arranged in the mounting cavity. ### Claim 3 (depends on 1) The sealing valve installation structure according to claim 1, wherein the support plate is a plate that is laid flat on an inner wall of the inner drum, support ribs protruding downward are provided at a lower side of the support plate, and lower ends of the supporting ribs are in contact with the inner side wall of the inner drum. ### Claim 4 (depends on 3) The sealing valve installation structure according to claim 3, wherein, left and right sides of the lifting rib are respectively provided with a notch, and the notch is formed corresponding to a side of the support plate, so that the side of the support plate is clamped in the notch. ### Claim 5 (depends on 3) The sealing valve installation structure according to claim 3, wherein, the support plate is provided with a positioning groove recessed downwardly and a jack vertically penetrates through the support plate, and a lower side of the lifting rib is provided with a first mounting rib protruding downwardly, and the first mounting rib is coaxially arranged with the jack, a lower end of the first mounting rib is provided with a bolt hole coaxially corresponding to the jack, a bolt sequentially passes through an inner drum wall, the support plate and then is correspondingly screwed and fixed to the bolt hole formed in the first mounting rib from an outer wall of the inner drum, so that the support plate and the lifting rib are fixedly installed with the inner drum; the positioning groove is formed in an upper side surface of the support plate, the lower side of the lifting rib is provided with a second mounting rib protruding downwardly and the second mounting rib is coaxially arranged corresponding to the positioning groove, and a lower end of the second mounting rib is provided with a positioning pin that is correspondingly connected to the positioning groove in plug-in manner. ### Claim 6 (depends on 5) The sealing valve installation structure according to claim 5, wherein, the mounting sleeve is of a tube structure extending vertically, a lower end of the mounting sleeve is open, an upper end of the mounting sleeve is provided with a folding edge protruding horizontally inward, and an inner periphery of the folding edge is provided with an inner peripheral folding edge extending vertically downward to the lower end of the mounting sleeve; an outer wall of the inner peripheral folding edge and an inner wall of the mounting sleeve are separated by a gap, to form a chamber for installation of a reset spring of the sealing valve. ### Claim 7 (depends on 6) The sealing valve installation structure according to claim 6, wherein, the upper side of the support plate is provided with a mounting rib protruding and extending upward, and an upper end of the sealing sleeve is provided with an extending rib protruding and extending horizontally outward, an extending end of the extending rib and an upper end of the mounting rib are correspondingly overlapped and fixedly connected by a bolt at an overlapping position, so that the support plate and the mounting sleeve are fastened to be installed by the bolt. ### Claim 8 (depends on 6) The sealing valve installation structure according to claim 6, wherein, a side of the mounting sleeve is provided with a second extending rib protruding and extending horizontally outward, and an extending end of the second extending rib is provided with a hinge hole with a horizontal axis, the hinge hole is configured to implement a hinged installation of a counterweight of the sealing valve. ### Claim 9 (depends on 8) The sealing valve installation structure according to claim 8, wherein, the mounting cavity enclosed by the lifting rib is provided with two sealing valve mounting structures correspondingly arranged, and the second extending rib of each of the two sealing valve mounting structures correspondingly extends in an approaching direction. ### Claim 10 (depends on 1) A cleaning-free washing machine equipped with the sealing valve structure according to claim 1, comprising, an inner drum being a sealed container after a drum opening is covered by a door cover, a lifting rib, provided on a side wall of the inner drum, wherein the lifting rib is hollow inside and is communicated to an inside of the inner drum, a drain opening, communicated to a hollow part of the lifting rib and formed in the side wall of the inner drum, a sealing valve, arranged at the drain opening and inside the lifting rib, wherein the sealing valve is installed on the inner drum via the sealing valve structure, when the inner drum rotates at a high speed, the valve plug of the sealing valve moves along a radial center direction of the inner drum under an action of centrifugal force to open the drain opening formed in the side wall of the inner drum. ### Claim 11 (depends on 3) The sealing valve installation structure according to claim 3, wherein an outer periphery of the supporting plate is provided with the supporting ribs arranged at intervals. ### Claim 12 (depends on 3) The sealing valve installation structure according to claim 3, wherein left and right sides of the supporting plate are provided with the supporting ribs arranged at intervals, and front and rear sides of the supporting plate are respectively provided with one supporting rib extending along a corresponding side. ### Claim 13 (depends on 2) The sealing valve installation structure according to claim 2, wherein the support plate is laid flat on an inner wall of the inner drum, support ribs protruding downward are provided at a lower side of the support plate, and lower ends of the supporting ribs are in contact with the inner side wall of the inner drum. ### Claim 14 (depends on 6) The sealing valve installation structure according to claim 6, wherein, the lower end of the mounting sleeve is placed on the upper side of the support plate, the mounting sleeve is coaxially arranged with the through hole formed in the support plate, an inner peripheral diameter of the lower end of the mounting sleeve is less than or equal to a diameter of the through hole, and an outer peripheral diameter of the lower end of the mounting sleeve is greater than the diameter of the through hole. ### Claim 15 (depends on 1) The sealing valve installation structure according to claim 1, wherein, the mounting sleeve is of a tube structure extending vertically, a lower end of the mounting sleeve is open, an upper end of the mounting sleeve is provided with a folding edge protruding horizontally inward, and an inner periphery of the folding edge is provided with an inner peripheral folding edge extending vertically downward to the lower end of the mounting sleeve; an outer wall of the inner peripheral folding edge and an inner wall of the mounting sleeve are separated by a gap, to form a chamber for installation of a reset spring of the sealing valve. ### Claim 16 (depends on 7) The sealing valve installation structure according to claim 7, wherein, one mounting rib is arranged on each of the left and right sides of the through hole, on the upper side of the support plate, and each of the left and right sides of the mounting sleeve is provided with the extending rib protruding and extending horizontally outward, so that the extending rib and the mounting rib on a corresponding side are overlapped and fixedly installed by the bolt. ### Claim 17 (depends on 8) The sealing valve installation structure according to claim 8, wherein, an included angle between the second extending rib and an extending direction of the extending rib is 90 degrees, and the horizontal axis of the hinge hole is parallel to the extending direction of the extending rib. ### Claim 18 (depends on 8) The sealing valve installation structure according to claim 8, wherein, the extending end of the second extending rib is higher than a top of the mounting sleeve, and the extending end of the second extending rib is provided with a slot, the slot is formed along an extending direction of the second extending rib to connected with the counterweight of the sealing valve in a plug-in manner, and the slot is provided with the hinge hole extending horizontally.