Washing machine having a balancing apparatus employing movable balls
AssigneeSamsung Electronics Co., Ltd.
InventorsHyung-kyun Kim, Sung-jae Shin
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A clothes washing machine includes a rotary tub having a balancing apparatus at its upper end. The balancing apparatus comprises at least one annular chamber in which balls are movably disposed. A radially outer upright side surface of the chamber is inclined upwardly and outwardly so that the balls can ride up along that surface when the rotary speed of the tub exceeds a predetermined value. A plurality of chambers can be disposed, one above the other, wherein bottoms of the chambers are inclined obliquely relative to the axis of rotation, with the bottoms being out of phase with respect to one another by an angle equal to 360.degree. divided by the number of chambers.
Claims10
A clothes washing machine including a rotary dehydrating tub and a balancing apparatus mounted on an upper end thereof, a drive mechanism for rotating the tub, the balancing apparatus including a plurality of annular chambers disposed coaxially with respect to a vertical center axis of the tub, and balls disposed in each chamber, the chambers arranged one upon the other and each having a bottom on which the balls are seated, the bottoms of the chambers being inclined obliquely with respect to the axis, the inclinations of the bottoms being out of phase with one another by an angle equal to 360.degree. divided by the number of chambers, wherein each bottom comprises a pair of radially spaced vertical ribs on which the balls are seated.
A clothes washing machine comprising a rotary dehydrating tub and a balancing apparatus mounted on an upper end thereof, a drive mechanism for rotating the tub, the balancing apparatus including a plurality of annular chambers disposed coaxially with respect to a vertical center axis of the tub, and balls movably disposed in each chamber, the chambers arranged one above the other, a radially inwardly facing outer upright surface of each chamber being inclined upwardly and outwardly by an obtuse angle with respect to a radial plane extending perpendicular to the axis for allowing the balls to ascend along the inclined surface of a respective chamber when the tub is rotated faster than a prescribed speed, respective bottoms of the chambers being inclined obliquely with respect to the axis, the inclinations of the bottoms being out of phase with one another by an angle equal to 360.degree. divided by the number of chambers, wherein each bottom comprises a pair of radially spaced vertical ribs on which the balls are seated.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.