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US 7,596,973 B2Granted
Structure of driving unit in drum type washing machine
AssigneeLG Electronics Inc.
InventorsJae Kyum Kim, Ho Cheol Kwon, Jong A Park, Kang Mo Choi
Life of this patent
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AssigneeLG Electronics Inc.
InventorsJae Kyum Kim, Ho Cheol Kwon, Jong A Park, Kang Mo Choi
Estimating the term…
Structure of driving unit in a drum type washing machine including a tub mounted inside of a cabinet, a drum mounted inside of the tub, a shaft connected to the drum mounted inside of the tub for transmission of a driving force from a motor to the drum, a front bearing and a rear bearing mounted on an outer circumference of the shaft at opposite end portions thereof respectively, a bearing housing built in a central portion of a rear wall of the tub for supporting the front bearing, a rotor composing the motor together with the rotor, and coupled to the rear end portion of the shaft, a stator fixed to the tub rear wall inward of the rotor to compose the motor together with the rotor, a connector serration coupled to the outer circumference of the shaft in front of the rear bearing and fixed to the rotor, for transmission of a rotating power from the rotor to the shaft, and a bearing bracket fixed to the rear wall of the tub to cover an outside of the rotor and support the rear bearing, thereby reducing noise, repair and power loss, by improving a structure of a driving unit, improving a product reliability, by improving a washing capability, and improving a productivity by improving workability in fabrication of components of the driving unit.
A washing machine, comprising:
A washing machine, comprising:
A washing machine, comprising:
A washing machine, comprising:
A washing machine, comprising:
A washing machine, comprising:
A washing machine, comprising:
A washing machine, comprising:
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.
Drawings are temporarily unavailable. Open the PDF at USPTO
From the US filing history. Foreign family members aren’t listed.
With stationary armatures and rotating magnets: with magnets rotating around the armatures, e.g. flywheel magnetos
Driving arrangements: arrangements or adaptations of electric motors
Means for mounting or fastening magnetic stationary parts on to, or to, the stator structures: to inner stators
The magnetisation axis of the magnets being perpendicular to the rotor axis: the rotor consisting of a single magnet or two or more axially…
Term ended 20 Jun 2021 (estimated)
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a drum type washing machine, and more particularly, to a structure of a driving unit in a drum type washing machine.
2. Background of the Invention
The accompanying drawings, which are included to provide a further understanding of the invention and are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate embodiments of the invention and together with the description serve to explain the principles of the invention:
In the drawings:
FIG. 1 illustrates a longitudinal section of a related art drum type washing machine;
Reference will now be made in detail to the preferred embodiments of the present invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. A first preferred embodiment of the present invention will be explained in detail with reference to FIGS. 2A˜8. FIG. 2A illustrates a longitudinal section of a drum type washing machine in accordance with a first preferred embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2B illustrates a detailed enlarged view of “A” part in FIG. 2A, FIG. 3 illustrates a perspective view with a partial cut away view of the rotor in FIG. 2, FIG. 4 illustrates an enlarged perspective view of “B” part in FIG. 3, FIG. 5 illustrates a perspective view of a bottom in FIG. 3,FIG. 6 illustrates a perspective view of the stator in FIG. 2, FIG. 7 illustrates a perspective view of the connector in FIG. 2, and FIG. 8 illustrates a perspective view of a bottom in FIG. 7.
The drum type washing machine in accordance with a first preferred embodiment of the present invention includes a tub 2 of plastic mounted inside of the cabinet 1, a drum 3 mounted in the tub 2, a shaft 4 fixed to the drum 3 for transmission of driving power from a motor 5 to the drum 3, bearings 6a and 6b fitted on outer circumference of the shaft 4 at both ends thereof, and bearing housings 7 of metal fitted to support the bearings 6a and 6b at a central portion of a rear wall 200 of the tub 2. The bearing housing 7 of metal is formed as a unit with the tub rear wall 200 by an inserted injection molding in the injection molding of the tub 2 of plastic. The bearing housing 7 is preferably formed of aluminum. The bearing housing 7 has steps 8a and 8b for holding the front bearing 6a and the rear bearing 6b fitted in inner circumferences of the bearing housing 7 for preventing the bearings 6a and 6b from being fallen off. Of the steps 8a and 8b formed on the inner circumferences of the bearing housing 7, the front step 8a has a form of “┐” for supporting a rear end portion of the front bearing 6a fitted to a front end of an outer circumference of the shaft 4, and the rear step 8b has a form of “└” for supporting a front end portion of the rear bearing 6b fitted to a rear end portion of the shaft 4. And, there are positioning steps 400a and 400b on outer circumferences of the shaft 4 disposed inside of the bearing housing 7 which transmits driving power from the motor 5 to the drum 3, for fixing mounting positions of the front bearing 6a and the rear bearing 6b on the shaft 4. A front end of the shaft 4 is coupled to a spider 10 in a rear wall of the drum 3, a region of the shaft 4 from a portion exposed in rear of the spider 10 to the front bearing 6a has a bushing 11 of brass press fit thereon for prevention of rusting, and there is a sealing member 12 on an outer surface of the bushing 11 for preventing ingress of water toward the bearing. There is a rotor 13 of a direct coupling type motor 5 fixed to a center of a rear end of the shaft 4, and a stator 14 of a crown form, consisting the direct coupling type motor 5 together with the rotor 13, fixed to the rear wall 200 inside of the rotor 13.
Referring to FIGS. 3˜5, the rotor 13 of steel or steel alloy plate includes a bent portion formed along a circumference thereof having a setting surface 130 for supporting magnets 13c fitted to an inside of front of a sidewall 13b extended forward from a periphery of a rear wall 13a, and a hub 132 at a center of the rear wall 13a having a through hole 131 for fastening members 15a, such as bolts, for coupling the rotor 13 to the shaft 4. An overall form of the rotor 13 is preferably formed by press forming. There are a plurality of cooling fins 133 each formed to have a preset length in a radial direction around the hub 132 of the rotor 13 for blowing air toward the stator 14 during rotation of the rotor 13 for cooling heat generated at the stator 14. The cooling fins 133 are formed by lancing, to bend the cooling fins 133 at a right angle to the rear wall toward the opening to leave through holes 134 for ventilation. There is an embossing 135 between adjacent cooling fins 133 with a drain hole 136 therein for draining water. There are fastening holes 137 for fastening a connector 16 to the rotor 13 and positioning holes 138 for positioning an assembly position of the connector 16 around the through hole 131 in the hub 132 of the rotor 13 at fixed intervals, which connector 16 is serration coupled to an outer circumference of a rear end portion of the shaft 4 exposed to rear of the rear bearing 6b. The connector 16 is formed of resin having a vibration mode different from the rotor 13 of steel or steel alloy plate, and also serves as a bushing for the rotor 13. As shown in FIGS. 2B, 7 and 8, the connector 16 has fastening holes 162 to correspond to the fastening holes 137 in the hub 132 of the rotor 13 around a circumferential direction of the a peripheral region and a dowel pin 160 between adjacent fastening holes 162 as a unit with the connector 16 for insertion in the positioning hole 138 in the rotor 13 for self alignment of the fastening holes 137 and 162 in the rotor 13 and the connector 16, respectively. The connector 16 has a serration in an inside circumference of the hub 163 matched to the serration in the rear end of the shaft 4, and reinforcing ribs 161 on outer circumference of the hub 163 for reinforcing the hub 163. There is a hub 201 on the rear wall 200 of the tub 2 having the bearing housing 7 inserted therein when the tub is injection molded, and fastening bosses 202 on an outer side of the hub 201 along a circumferential direction at fixed intervals for fastening the stator 14 to the rear wall 200 of the tub 2. There is a supporter 17 between the rear wall 200 of the tub 2 and the stator 14, of a form almost identical to an outline of the tub rear wall 200, fixed to the tub rear wall 200 when the stator 14 is assembled for supporting the stator 14 and maintaining concentricity of the stator 14. The supporter 17 has a fore end brought into a close contact with an inside of ribs 203 at one side of the tub rear wall 200, and a rear end brought into a close contact with an outer circumference of a rear end of the bearing housing 7 which is not enclosed by the hub 132, but exposed. In the meantime, as shown in FIGS. 2B and 6, the stator 14 includes a magnetic core 145 of segregated layers of magnetic material, a frame 140 of resin coated on the magnetic core 145, a coil 142 wound around each of winding parts 141 on an outer circumference of the frame 140, and fastening ribs 143 on an inside of the frame 140 for fastening the stator 14 to the tub rear wall 200.