Patent Application
20200325614
The present invention relates to an accessory adapted for a laundry machine, and more particularly, to a rotary laundry device adapted for a laundry machine.
It is an important task to clean clothing since people have learned to make clothing with cloth, silk or modern man-made fibers. With advancement automation equipment technology, a washing machine becomes one of essential electrical appliances in every home. The laundry machine removes dirt from clothing by stirring and lashing clothing with water and laundry detergent. The stronger turbulence of flow of the water during washing is, the better the cleanliness of the washed clothing. Therefore, it becomes an important topic to provide an easy-to-use and user-friendly solution to increase the turbulence of the flow of the water during washing to improve the cleanliness of the washed clothing.
Therefore, it is an objective of the present invention to provide a rotary laundry device adapted for a laundry machine for solving the aforementioned problem.
In order to achieve the aforementioned objective, the present invention discloses a rotary laundry device adapted for a laundry machine. The rotary laundry device includes a driving main body, a supporting component and a connecting component. The driving main body is located inside an inner tub of the laundry machine. A plurality of protruding portions protrude from the driving main body. A blocking surface is formed on each of the plurality of protruding portions. The supporting component is detachably installed on the inner tub of the laundry machine. A plurality of mounting lugs protrude from the supporting component for passing through and engaging with a plurality of mounting holes formed on the inner tub of the laundry machine. The supporting component is installed on the inner tub of the laundry machine by engagement of the plurality of mounting lugs and the plurality of mounting holes. The connecting component rotatably passes through the supporting component. The driving main body drives the connecting component to rotate relative to the inner tub of the laundry machine when the blocking surface is forced.
According to an embodiment of the present invention, the plurality of mounting lugs are made of resilient material.
According to an embodiment of the present invention, the supporting component includes a first portion and a second portion connected to the first portion. A distance between an outer periphery of the first portion and a rotating axis of the connecting component gradually increases along a first direction parallel to the rotating axis of the connecting component. A distance between an outer periphery of the second portion and the rotating axis of the connecting component gradually decreases along the first direction parallel to the rotating axis of the connecting component, and the plurality of mounting lugs are located at a connection of the first portion and the second portion of the supporting component and extend away from the rotating axis of the connecting component.
According to an embodiment of the present invention, the rotary laundry device further includes a detaching assembly. The detaching assembly includes an abutting component. The abutting component includes an abutting operating portion and a plurality of abutting portions movably connected to the abutting operating portion and for abutting against the plurality of mounting lugs.
According to an embodiment of the present invention, each of the plurality of abutting portions includes a first abutting member, a second abutting member and a third abutting member. Two ends of the first abutting member are respectively connected to the abutting operating portion and the second abutting member. The second abutting member is further connected to the third abutting member. A first included angle is formed between the first abutting member and the abutting operating portion. The first abutting member is bendable relative to the abutting operating portion to adjust the first included angle. A second included angle is formed between the first abutting member and the second abutting member. The second abutting member is bendable relative to the first abutting member to adjust the second included angle. A third included angle is formed between the second abutting member and the third abutting member. The third abutting member is bendable relative to the second abutting member to adjust the third included angle. The abutting operating portion is a polygon-shaped structure. The polygon-shaped structure includes a first operating member and a second operating member at one side, and the first operating member is connected to the second operating member and bendable relative to the second operating member.
According to an embodiment of the present invention, the abutting operating portion includes a first operating member and a second operating member, and the first operating member is connected to the second operating member and bendable relative to the second operating member.
According to an embodiment of the present invention, the detaching assembly further includes a prying component. The prying component includes a prying operating portion and a prying portion connected to the prying operating portion and for abutting against the driving main body. The prying portion is a U-shaped structure, and the prying operating portion is connected to a middle portion of the U-shaped structure.
According to an embodiment of the present invention, the rotary laundry device further includes a cleaning component connected to the connecting component and perpendicular to the connecting component, and the cleaning component is located between the inner tub and an outer tub of the laundry machine.
According to an embodiment of the present invention, the supporting component further includes at least one restraining structure for abutting against the driving main body to restrain an axial displacement of the connecting component relative to the supporting component and parallel to a rotating axis of the connecting component.
According to an embodiment of the present invention, the connecting component includes a shaft body and at least one restraining portion. The shaft body rotatably passes through the supporting component and is connected to the driving main body. The at least one restraining portion protrudes from the shaft body and located adjacent to the supporting component, and the at least one restraining portion is for abutting against the supporting component to restrain an axial displacement of the connecting component relative to the supporting component and parallel to a rotating axis of the connecting component.
According to an embodiment of the present invention, a slit and a through hole are formed on the supporting component. The connecting component rotatably passes through the through hole. The slit is communicated with the through hole and extends to an outer periphery of the supporting component, and the slit extends to the outer periphery of the supporting component.
According to an embodiment of the present invention, the slit extends to the outer periphery of the supporting component through one of the plurality of mounting lugs.
According to an embodiment of the present invention, the connecting component is detachably connected to the driving main body. The connecting component includes a middle abutting portion and two resilient engaging portions. A middle recess and two engaging slots are formed on the driving main body. The middle recess is for accommodating the middle abutting portion, and the two resilient engaging portions are for engaging with the two engaging slots.
According to an embodiment of the present invention, the connecting component is detachably connected to the driving main body. An accommodating chamber and an opening communicated with the accommodating chamber are formed on the driving main body. An end of the connecting component for connecting the driving main body is a T-shaped structure. The T-shaped structure includes two lateral portions extending toward two opposite directions. A sum of lengths of the two lateral portions is greater than a length of the opening, and the accommodating chamber is for accommodating the two lateral portions.
According to an embodiment of the present invention, the rotary laundry device further includes a resilient component. The resilient component is disposed between the supporting component and the inner tub of the laundry machine, and the resilient component is forced to resiliently deform when the supporting component is detachably installed on the inner tub of the laundry machine.
According to an embodiment of the present invention, the rotary laundry device further includes a driven component disposed on the connecting component. A plurality of driving abutting portions protrude from the driven component, and the driving main body pushes the plurality of driving abutting portions to drive the connecting component to rotate relative to the inner tub of the laundry machine when the blocking surface is forced.
According to an embodiment of the present invention, the rotary laundry device further includes a covering component for at least partially covering the driving main body.
According to an embodiment of the present invention, a weight of the driving main body is distributed unevenly.
According to an embodiment of the present invention, the supporting component includes a first half portion and a second half portion detachably connected to the first half portion. A through hole is formed between the first half portion and the second half portion for allowing the connecting component to pass through when the first half portion and the second half portion are combined with each other. The rotary laundry device further includes a locking assembly. The locking assembly includes a first locking member disposed on the first half portion and a second locking member disposed on the second half portion. The first half portion and the second half portion are prevented from being separated from each other when the first locking member engages with the second locking member, and the first half portion and the second half portion are allowed to be separated from each other for withdrawal of the connecting component when the first locking member disengages from the second locking member.
According to an embodiment of the present invention, the supporting component is made of resilient material. The supporting component includes at least one sucking structure and a through slot structure. The at least one sucking structure is for attaching to a wall of an installing notch of the inner tub of the laundry machine. The through slot structure extends along a rotating axis of the connecting component for allowing the connecting component to pass through. The supporting component further includes at least one outer extending portion. The at least one outer extending portion is exposed out of the installing notch when the supporting component is installed on the inner tub of the laundry machine, and the through slot structure includes a corrugated segment for allowing a length of the through slot structure to resiliently retract and extend.
In summary, the present invention utilizes engagement of the mounting lugs and the mounting holes to install the supporting component on the inner tub of the laundry machine for reliably supporting the supporting component. Therefore, it is convenient for a user to install the rotary laundry device on the inner tub of the laundry machine by the engagement of the mounting lugs and the mounting holes or detach the rotary laundry device from the inner tub of the laundry machine by disengagement of the mounting lugs and the mounting holes. Furthermore, the supporting component can abut against the connecting component, the driving main body or the cleaning component along the direction parallel to the rotating axis of the connecting component for restraining the axial displacement of the connecting component relative to the supporting component. Therefore, the connecting component can be prevented from disengaging from the supporting component along the direction parallel to the rotating axis of the connecting component even if the connecting component is forced by an external force along the direction parallel to the rotating axis of the connecting component. Besides, the configuration of the connecting component detachable from the driving main body or the configuration of the connecting component detachable from the supporting component also facilitates maintenance.
These and other objectives of the present invention will no doubt become obvious to those of ordinary skill in the art after reading the following detailed description of the preferred embodiment that is illustrated in the various figures and drawings.
In the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments, reference is made to the accompanying drawings which form a part hereof, and in which is shown by way of illustration specific embodiments in which the invention may be practiced. In this regard, directional terminology, such as “top,” “bottom,” “front,” “back,” etc., is used with reference to the orientation of the Figure (s) being described. The components of the present invention can be positioned in a number of different orientations. As such, the directional terminology is used for purposes of illustration and is in no way limiting. Accordingly, the drawings and descriptions will be regarded as illustrative in nature and not as restrictive.
Please refer to
The connecting component 13 rotatably passes through the supporting component 12. A first end 131 of the connecting component 13 is connected to the driving main body 11. The cleaning component 14 is connected to a second end 132 of the connecting component 13 opposite to the first end 131 of the connecting component 13 and substantially perpendicular to the connecting component 13. The cleaning component 14 is located between the inner tub 21 and an outer tub 22 of the laundry machine 2. Preferably, in this embodiment, the cleaning component 14 can be a brush or a soft spatula. However, the present invention is not limited thereto. In such a way, when the blocking surface is forced by the water or the washed clothing, the driving main body 11 can be driven to drive the connecting component 13 to rotate together with the driving main body 11 relative to the inner tub 21 of the laundry machine 2 and further can increase turbulence of flow of the water by the blocking surface for improving cleanliness of the washed clothing. Furthermore, when the driving main body 11 is lashed by the water or the clothing to drive the connecting component 13 to rotate together with the driving main body 11 relative to the inner tub 21 of the laundry machine 2, the connecting component 13 can drive the cleaning component 4 to rotate relative to the inner tub 21 and the outer tub 22 of the laundry machine 2 to clean the inner tub 21 and the outer tub 22.
When beginning to operate the laundry machine 2, the inner tub 21 can be filled with water, and the driving main body 11 can be sunk into the water. The water inside the inner tub 21 can be driven by the laundry machine 2 to form a whirly flow. Since the blocking surface is formed on each protruding portion 111 of the driving main body 11, the water lashes the blocking surface to drive the driving main body 11 to rotate when the water flows through the driving main body 11. Besides, when the clothing inside the inner tub 21 passes by the driving main body 11, the clothing also lashes the blocking surface to drive the driving main body 11 to rotate. Furthermore, the driving main body 11 can further swipe the water by the blocking surface to increase turbulence of the flow of the water when the driving main body 11 rotates. By the turbulence, it can increase the friction between the clothing and the water, so that the cleanliness of the washed clothing is improved. In other words, in the present invention, since the driving main body 11 can be driven by the water inside the inner tub 21 to rotate, the rotation of the driving main body 11 can change a flow field of the water and increase the turbulence of the flow of the water accordingly, which causes a coupling effect. Therefore, the flow field of the water inside the inner tub 21 gradually changes with time and can be regarded as an unstable flow field. Since the unstable flow field has the stronger turbulence, which facilitates transmission of momentum of the water, the present invention can improve the cleanliness of the washed clothing.
It should be noticed that the structure of the rotary laundry device is not limited to this embodiment. For example, in another embodiment, the rotary laundry device can include the driving main body, the supporting component and the connecting component only, i.e., the cleaning component can be omitted. Furthermore, the number and the arrangement of the mounting lug are not limited to this embodiment. For example, in another embodiment, there can be only two mounting lugs protruding from the supporting component and arranged diagonally and oppositely, i.e., an included angle between the two mounting lugs is 180 degrees.
Specifically, the supporting component 12 includes a first portion 121 and a second portion 122 connected to the first portion 121 and adjacent to the cleaning component 14. A distance between an outer periphery P1 of the first portion 121 and a rotating axis S of the connecting component 13 gradually increases along a first direction R1 parallel to the rotating axis S of the connecting component 13. A distance between an outer periphery P2 of the second portion 122 and the rotating axis S of the connecting component 13 gradually decreases along the first direction R1 parallel to the rotating axis S of the connecting component 13. The three mounting lugs 123 are located at a connection of the first portion 121 and the second portion 122 of the supporting component 12 and extend away from the rotating axis S of the connecting component 13 for engaging with the three mounting holes 211. Furthermore, the supporting component 12 further includes two restraining structures 124. The two restraining structures 124 respectively extend from the first portion 121 and the second portion 122 toward the driving main body 11 and the cleaning component 14 for respectively abutting against the driving main body 11 and the cleaning component 14 to restrain an axial displacement of the connecting component 13 relative to the supporting component 12 and parallel to the rotating axis S of the connecting component 13. Therefore, the axial displacement of the connecting component 13 along the first direction R1 or a second direction R2 opposite to the first direction R1 can be restrained by the two restraining structures 124 for preventing disengagement of the connecting component 13 from the supporting component 12 along the first direction R1 or the second direction R2 even if the connecting component 13 is forced by an external force along the first direction R1 or the second direction R2. Besides, preferably, in this embodiment, the supporting component can be a symmetrical gyro-shaped structure. However, the present invention is not limited to thereto. It depends on practical demands. For example, in another embodiment, the supporting component can only include the first portion and the restraining structure extending from the first portion toward the driving main body.
In addition, in this embodiment, an installing notch 212 is formed on the inner tub 21. The three mounting holes 211 are formed on a wall 2121 of the installing notch 212 of the inner tub 21 and disposed in a circular arrangement. When the rotary laundry device 1 is installed on the inner tub 21, the rotary laundry device 1 can be preferably partially accommodated inside the installing notch 212, i.e., only the driving main body 11 of the rotary laundry device 1 is partially exposed out of the installing notch 212, for preventing the clothing from wrapping the driving main body 11, the supporting component 12 or the connecting component 13 due to excessive protrusion of the rotary laundry device 1. However, in another embodiment, the driving main body can be configured to be fully exposed out of the installing notch. It depends on practical demands.
Furthermore, in order to bring convenience in installation and detachment of the rotary laundry device 1, the three mounting lugs 123 can be preferably be made of resilient material. When it is desired to install or detach the supporting component 12, it only has to press the mounting lugs 123 to resiliently deform to engage with or disengage from the mounting holes 211 for achieving installation or detachment of the supporting component 12. Besides, please refer to
In order to enhance using convenience of the abutting component 151, the three abutting portions 1512 are movably connected to the regular triangular structure, i.e., the abutting operating portion 1511. The three abutting portions 1512 can be moved to three peaks of the regular triangular structure to correspond to the three mounting lugs 123. The regular triangular structure includes a first operating member 1511A and a second operating member 1511B at each side. The first operating member 1511A is connected to the second operating member 1511B and bendable relative to the second operating member 1511B. Each abutting portion 1512 includes a first abutting member 1512A, a second abutting member 1512B and a third abutting member 1512C. Two ends of the first abutting member 1512A are respectively connected to the abutting operating portion 1511 and the second abutting member 1512B. The second abutting member 1512B is further connected to the third abutting member 1512C. A first included angle A1 is formed between the first abutting member 1512A and the abutting operating portion 1511. The first abutting member 1512A is bendable relative to the abutting operating portion 1511 to adjust the first included angle A1. A second included angle A2 is formed between the first abutting member 1512A and the second abutting member 1512B. The second abutting member 1512B is bendable relative to the first abutting member 1512A to adjust the second included angle A2. A third included angle A3 is formed between the second abutting member 1512B and the third abutting member 1512C. The third abutting member 1512C is bendable relative to the second abutting member 1512B to adjust the third included angle A3. In such a way, the user can bend the first abutting member 1512A relative to the abutting operating portion 1511, bend the second abutting member 1512B relative to the first abutting member 1512A, and bend the third abutting member 1512C relative to the second abutting member 1512B to fold or unfold the abutting component 151. The folded abutting component 151 has compact occupied space, which facilitates storage or portability.
Moreover, as shown in
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Furthermore, a first end 131′ of the connecting component 13′ is detachably connected to the driving main body 11′. Specifically, an accommodating chamber 112′ and an opening 113′ communicated with the accommodating chamber 112′ are formed on the driving main body 11′. The first end 131′ of the connecting component 13′ for connecting the driving main body 11′ can be a T-shaped structure. The T-shaped structure includes two lateral portions 1311′ respectively extending toward two opposite directions. A sum of lengths of the two lateral portions 1311′ is greater than a length of the opening 113′, and the accommodating chamber 112′ is for accommodating the two lateral portions 1311′. The user can move the two lateral portions 1311′ to pass through the opening 113′ into the accommodating chamber 112′ by movement of the T-shaped structure relative to the driving main body 11′ for achieving connection of the first end 131′ of the connecting component 13′ and the driving main body 11′. On the other hand, the user also can move the two lateral portions 1311′ out of the accommodating chamber 112′ via the opening 113′ for achieving disconnection of the first end 131′ of the connecting component 13′ and the driving main body 11′.
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Besides, the connecting component 13″ includes a shaft body 133″ and two restraining portions 134″. The shaft body 133″ rotatably passes through the supporting plate 121″. Two ends of the shaft body 133″ are respectively connected to the driving main body 11″ and the cleaning component 14″. The two restraining portions 134″ protrude from the shaft body 133″ and located adjacent to two opposite sides of the supporting plate 121″. The two restraining portions 134″ are for abutting against the supporting plate 121″ to restrain an axial displacement of the connecting component 13″ relative to the supporting plate 121″ and parallel to a rotating axis of the connecting component 13″. Preferably, in this embodiment, the restraining portion 134″ can be a protruding ring-shaped structure whose outer diameter can be greater than an inner diameter of the through hole 125″. However, the number and the structure of the restraining portion are not limited to this embodiment. For example, the connecting component can include only one restraining portion located at one side of the supporting plate.
Furthermore, the shaft body 133″ is detachably connected to the driving main body 11″. The shaft body 133″ includes a middle abutting portion 1331″ and two resilient engaging portions 1333″ located at two sides of the middle abutting portion 1331″ and extending toward two opposite directions. A middle recess 114″ and two engaging wings 117″ are formed on the driving main body 11″. The two engaging wings 117″ are located at two sides of the middle recess 114″. Each engaging wing 117″ can be switched between an engaging position and a releasing position pivotally, and an engaging slot 116″ is formed on each engaging wing 117″. When it is desired to connect the shaft body 133″ to the driving main body 11″, the middle abutting portion 1331″ can be accommodated inside the middle recess 114″. Afterwards, the two engaging wings 117″ can be operated to pivot to the engaging positions to engage the two resilient engaging portions 1333″ with the two engaging slots 116″ for achieving connection of the shaft body 133″ and the driving main body 11″. When it is desired to disconnect the shaft body 133″ from the driving main body 11″, the two engaging wings 117″ can be operated to pivot to the disengaging positions to disengage the two resilient engaging portions 1333″ from the two engaging slots 116″ for allowing disconnection of the shaft body 133′ from the driving main body 11″.
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In contrast to the prior art, the present invention utilizes engagement of the mounting lugs and the mounting holes to install the supporting component on the inner tub of the laundry machine for reliably supporting the supporting component. Therefore, it is convenient for a user to install the rotary laundry device on the inner tub of the laundry machine by the engagement of the mounting lugs and the mounting holes or detach the rotary laundry device from the inner tub of the laundry machine by disengagement of the mounting lugs and the mounting holes. Furthermore, the supporting component can abut against the connecting component, the driving main body or the cleaning component along the direction parallel to the rotating axis of the connecting component for restraining the axial displacement of the connecting component relative to the supporting component. Therefore, the connecting component can be prevented from disengaging from the supporting component along the direction parallel to the rotating axis of the connecting component even if the connecting component is forced by an external force along the direction parallel to the rotating axis of the connecting component. Besides, the configuration of the connecting component detachable from the driving main body or the configuration of the connecting component detachable from the supporting component also facilitates maintenance.
Those skilled in the art will readily observe that numerous modifications and alterations of the device and method may be made while retaining the teachings of the invention. Accordingly, the above disclosure should be construed as limited only by the metes and bounds of the appended claims.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 108112583 | Apr 2019 | TW | national |
