The present invention relates to an electromagnetic blocking device for a door of an electric household appliance, in particular for a viewing panel of a front-loading washing machine.
It is known that the doors of electric household appliances in which a washing cycle is performed, in particular those of front-loading washing machines, are in use blocked in a closed position by a blocking device provided with a safety device which is released only at the end of the washing cycle and, thus, when the electric household appliance is internally free from water.
The known safety devices, e.g. from U.S. Pat. No. 6,334,637, include a blocking pawl and control means for selectively moving the pawl between an extracted position and a retracted position in a through seat of a casing carrying the control means and the pawl itself therein, so that one end of the pawl, which protrudes in the extracted position from the seat may cooperate in use with a plate of the blocking device of the door, slidingly carried by a support on which the casing of the safety device is snappingly fixable; the support is in turn fixable in use to a housing of the electric household appliance, by the side of the door to be blocked and so that the sliding plate is adapted to cooperate in use, in turn, with a striker of the door.
The control devices include, in turn, a first electric actuating device, e.g. a bimetallic foil associated to a thermistor adapted to displace the pawl between the extracted and retracted position, when the electric household appliance is running, and electromagnetic blocking means of the pawl in the extracted position, in which it engages a perforation of the sliding plate, thus blocking the transversal sliding thereof on the support and, consequently, preventing the same from being released from the striker even if the user attempts to force the door into the opening position.
The electromagnetic means include, in turn, an electromagnetic actuator of the linear type which is actuated in use by means of a series of single electric pulses as a consequence of which the core of the electromagnet rotationally actuates, by means of a ratchet, a toothed wheel associated to cam means which selectively block/release the pawl in the extracted position, thus cooperating with a side appendix thereof. In this manner, by means of an appropriate shaping of the cam means and of the toothed wheel associated thereto, it is possible to obtain the blocking of the pawl and, consequently, of the entire blocking device, by applying a single electric pulse to the electromagnetic actuator, while two consecutive electric pulses are needed to release the same.
The known device described above is complex and expensive, as well as cumbersome.
It is thus the object of the present invention to provide an electromagnetic blocking device for the door of an electric household appliance, in particular for the viewing panel of a front-loading washing machine, which allows to obtain the releasing of the pawl by applying two consecutive pulses and the blocking of the same by means of a single pulse, as in the known art, but which displays, at the same time, a low manufacturing and assembly cost, small dimensions, high reliability and a simple structure.
The present invention thus relates to a blocking device for a door of an electric household appliance, in particular for a viewing panel of a front-loading washing machine, as defined in claim 1.
In particular, the blocking device of the invention is characterised in that the control means of the pawl comprise an electromagnet having a winding and a mobile core along the axis of the winding, wherein the core is operatively associated to a mobile slide parallelly to the axis of the winding between a first and a second limit stop position, only in the first of which protrusion of the slide cooperates with the pawl to block it in an extracted position, in which the pawl engages a sliding plate by blocking it in the engagement position with a striker of the door.
The control means further comprise a retaining device of the push-push type operatively associated on one side to the slide and on the opposite side to a pre-loaded spring sandwiched between the retaining device and a contrast shoulder fixed in use to the support.
Furthermore, according to the fundamental aspect of the invention, the push-push retaining device is configured so as to be adapted to block the slide in the first limit stop position following a single energising pulse of the electromagnet and to release the slide, so as to allow the spring to take it to the second limit stop position, following two consecutive energising pulses of the electromagnet.
In particular, the push-push retaining device used according to the invention is of the type used in ball-point pens, to control the extraction of the writing tip of the cartridge and comprises an accommodating bushing, integrally secured to the support in use, displaying a through seat defined by a first and a second hole, having different diameter and axis parallel to that of the winding, obtained reciprocally coaxial and in sequence through the bushing from a first side of the same facing the winding in use; a slidingly mounted pin engaged in the second hole of the bushing so that a first end of the pin overhangingly protrudes from the bushing, from the side opposite to the first hole; and a rotor having a first cylindrical end at least in part idly and slidingly engaged, in use, within a hole of the pin, which hole is coaxial to the holes the bushing, and displays an access mouth obtained at a second end of the pin, opposite to the first.
A second end of the rotor, opposite to the first, is further adapted to selectively engage, in use, the first and the second hole of the bushing, axially and abuttingly against the same, in particular against a front toothing of the bushing, obtained between the first and the second hole and against blank ends of axial grooves of the bushing, which extend to interrupt the continuity of the frontal toothing of the bushing, in virtue of a rotation of the rotor obtained by means of the presence of frontal toothings mating those of the bushing, both on the rotor and on the pin, cooperating either selectively or simultaneously in use under the bias of the spring and following the translation motion of the core caused by energising the electromagnet, which produces the attraction of the core against the winding, so as to feed the slide towards the winding, against the bias of the spring, which acts by axially resting on the rotor.
In this manner, by means of an appropriate selection of the number of axial grooves of the bushing and of the teeth of the toothing of the rotor and of the bushing, a control method of the pawl is obtained, which is the same as the control method obtained by the device in U.S. Pat. No. 6,334,637, but by means of a device which is much simpler and more reliable, less expensive and, above all, much smaller, but which is again based on the actuation by means of electromagnet.
Further features and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the following description of a non-limitative embodiment thereof, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:
With reference to figures from 1 to 9, numeral 1 indicates as a whole a blocking device in a closing position of a door 2 of an electric household appliance, known and not shown for simplicity, e.g. the viewing panel 2 of a front-loading washing machine, rotating about an axis A and provided with a striker 3 which may be actuated by means of a handle 4 (
The blocking device 1 comprises a striker plate in the form of a preferably metal plate 5 sliding in use perpendicularly to the rotation axis A of the door 2 on a support 20 securable in use close to the door 2, e.g. onto the housing of the electric household appliance. The plate 5 is adapted to cooperate in use, in a per se known manner, with the striker 3 of the door 2; furthermore, the support 20 carries, e.g. snap-mounted thereon in a per se known manner, a safety device, indicated as a whole by numeral 6, comprising in turn a pawl 7 for blocking the sliding of the plate 5 and electrically actuated control means 8 (
In particular, the casing 13 is secured to the support 20 in a position adjacent to the sliding plate 5, and the sliding seat 10 for the pawl 7 is obtained through the casing 13 on the side facing the plate 5; furthermore, the electrically actuated control means 8 for the pawl 7 are entirely accommodated into the casing 13, so that the device 6 made according to the invention may be used to replace a similar safety device according to the known art, without any change to the rest of the device 1.
According to a first aspect of the invention, the control means 8 comprise an electromagnet 30 having a winding 31 and a core 32 mobile along a symmetry axis B of the winding 31 and the core 32 is operatively associated to a slide 33 which is mobile parallelly to the axis B of the winding 31 between a first and a second limit stop position (shown in
The control means 8 further comprise, according to the invention, a retaining device 38 of the push-push type operatively associated on one side to the slide 33 and on the opposite side to a pre-loaded spring 39 sandwiched between the retaining device 38 and a contrast shoulder 40, fixed in use to the support 20, being integrally obtained in one piece with the casing 13, within the same; according to the main aspect of the invention, the push-push retaining device 38 is configured so as to be adapted to block the slide 33 in the first limit stop position (i.e. in the position shown in
Preferably, the electrically actuated control means 8 also comprise actuating means 42 which are different from the electromagnet 30 and per se known, in particular adapted to displace the pawl 7 between the first and the second position, in the first position, extracted from the seat 10, the pawl 7 thoroughly engaging the perforation 11 of the plate 5, perpendicularly to a laying plane of the plate 5 itself.
The push-push retaining device 38 comprises an accommodating bushing 45 (
The device 38 further comprises a slidingly mounted pin 50 (
A second end 57 of the rotor 52 (
The bushing 45 is further provided, essentially at an internal side wall 62 of the hole 48, with a plurality of axial grooves 63 which extend, from the side facing the hole 47, to interrupt the continuity in the annular axial shoulder zone 58 and which end, on the opposite side, with corresponding blank ends 64 so as to define, within the bushing, corresponding axial stop shoulders arranged near the outlet of the second hole 48 on a second side 65 of the bushing 45, opposite to the first side 49 and thus facing the opposing side of the winding 31. The grooves 63 display a circumferential extension essentially of the same order of the circumferential extension of the teeth 61, and are arranged to interrupt the continuity, as we will see in greater detail, of selected teeth 61, according to a predetermined sequence.
The end 57 of the rotor 52 is laterally provided with a cylindrical guiding surface 68, adapted to slidingly couple in use with the internal side wall 62 of the hole 48, and with a plurality of first radial protrusions 69, equal in number to the number of axial grooves 63 of the bushing 45 and shaped so as to be accommodated within the hole 47 and adapted to slidingly engage in use the axial grooves 63.
The pin 50 is laterally provided on the outside, near the end 56 thereof, with a plurality of second radial protrusions 70 equal in number to the number of the axial grooves 63 of the bushing 45 and which are slidingly engaged, in use, in the axial groves 63 to abut, at a first limit stop position which may be taken by the pin 50 in relation to the bushing 45 (
Furthermore, the end 56 of the pin 50 is further provided with a front toothing 72, preferably with scalene triangle-profiled teeth 73 (or asymmetric saw-tooth shaped), facing the rotor 52 in use; on the contrary, the end 57 of the rotor 52 is provided, towards the first end 53 of the rotor 52 itself, with a frontal toothing 74, preferably with isosceles triangle-profiled teeth 75 (i.e. symmetric on opposite sides); the toothings 74, 72 and 60 reciprocally mate in the profile of the teeth, therefore the toothing 74 is adapted to mesh in use both with the front toothing 72 and with the front toothing 60, selectively or simultaneously, according to the relative position of the pin 50 with respect to the bushing 45.
In particular, when the front toothing 74, selectively meshes either with the toothing 72 (
According to the invention, the number of teeth 75 of the frontal toothing 74 is chosen equal to the number of the protrusions 69; and, in combination, the number of teeth 61 of the frontal toothing 60 and the number of axial grooves 63 are chosen so that for every three consecutive teeth 61, the third tooth 61 is interrupted, for almost its entire circumferential extension, by a corresponding groove 63.
According to the illustrated embodiment, the core 32 axially and overhangingly protrudes, with a first end 80 thereof, from a first corresponding end 81 of the winding 31 facing in use the slide 33, to thoroughly engage a first end 83 of the slide 33, with which it axially cooperates abuttingly on the opposite side of that facing the winding 31.
Furthermore, the core 32 and the winding 31 are shaped so that, when the electromagnet 30 receives an electric energising pulse, the core 32 is attracted inside the winding 31, so as to feed, against the bias of the spring 39, the end 83 of the slide 33 towards the first end 81 of the winding 31.
The slide 33 is shaped in plan as a frame, which engages with its opposite internal sides 85,86 corresponding guiding elements 87 (
The push-push retaining device 38 and the spring 39, as well as the contrast shoulder 40, are arranged in a space delimited within the frame defining the slide 33 and being integrally secured to the guiding elements 87; in particular, the accommodation bushing 45 is driven between the guiding elements 87, so that the pin 50 is mobile parallelly to the axis B and so that the end 51 of the same thoroughly engages a second end 88 of the slide 33, e.g. by means of a slot 90 (
The spring 39 is specifically sandwiched between the contrast shoulder 40 and the end 57 of the rotor 52, so as to push in use the latter towards the pin 50 and the bushing 45. The electric supply of the electromagnet 30 and the actuating means 42 is performed in a per se known manner by means of contacts 100 of the blade type (e.g. Faston).
In use, the starting position of the described device is shown in
When by means of the contacts 100 a first electric energising pulse is supplied to the electromagnet 30, the winding 31 recalls the core 32, against the bias of the spring 39; consequently, the pin 50 and the rotor 52 slide into the hole 48 until the end 57 of the rotor 52 reaches the hole 47, thus disengaging the protrusions 68 from the grooves 63. In such a position, the grooves 63 are thus still engaged by the projections 70; accordingly, the final stroke of the pin 50 towards the winding 31 causes a rotation of the rotor 52 due to the meshing between the toothings 72 and 74, with the consequent misalignment of the projections 68 with respect to the grooves 63; when the electric energising pulse of the electromagnet 30 ceases, the spring 39 tends to produce again the extraction of the core 32 from the winding 31 but at this point the teeth 74 mesh with the teeth 61 and consequently block the sliding of the rotor 52; the slide 33 and the whole device 38 thus take the position shown in
Upon the application of a second energising pulse of the electromagnet 30, the core 32 is attracted into the winding 31, thus slightly moving the slide 33 with a consequent movement of the pin 50 which is axially integral therewith, towards the electromagnet 30 and against the spring 39; this time, such a movement simply produces a further rotation of a tooth 61 of the rotor 52 with respect to the bushing 45, but the teeth 75 are kept engaged with the intact teeth 61 (free from grooves 63) and therefore the pawl 7 remains blocked.
Upon the application of a third pulse (therefore after two consecutive pulses), exactly the same sequence of movements is obtained, but this time the teeth 75 are taken to the teeth 61 which are incomplete because they are interrupted by the grooves 63, and the protrusions 68 are aligned again with the latter. Therefore, the spring 39 may expand, the bias thereof no longer contrasted by the shoulder zone 58, thus pushing the rotor 52 into the hole 48 and consequently the pin 50 and the slide 33 at the limit stop away from the winding 31; the starting position is thus restored (
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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TO2007A000476 | Jun 2007 | IT | national |
Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind | 371c Date |
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PCT/IB08/01691 | 6/27/2008 | WO | 00 | 12/16/2009 |