Patent Application
20160090676
This application claims benefit and priority to Korean Patent Application No. 10-2014-0130726, filed on Sep. 30, 2014, with the Korean Intellectual Property Office, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein in its entirety by reference.
The present disclosure relates to a washing machine, and more particularly, to a washing machine, and a method of manufacturing the same.
In general, a washing machine is an apparatus used for washing and cleaning laundry by friction between laundry and washing water. Friction is generated by a pulsator or agitator that is disposed inside the inner tub of the washing machine and rotates to agitate the washing water. The inner tub is open at the top and used to accommodate laundry. A tub-u is installed at the lower portion of the inner tub. Typically, the tub-u becomes narrower toward a lower side of the inner tub.
However, the use of a tub-u imposes restrictions on the design and configuration of the associated pulsator, e.g., the diameter of the pulsator. Moreover, because the tub-u has to be smaller than the inner tub, the available space for installing the pulsator inside the inner tub is unfortunately limited.
The present disclosure is directed toward providing a washing machine and a method of manufacturing the same that offers improved flexibility in pulsator configurations and additional installation space available for assembling a pulsator inside the inner tub.
An exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure provides a washing machine including: a cylindrical inner tub having both the upper side and the lower side open; an outer tub in which the inner tub is installed; a drive unit which is installed outside the outer tub, and rotates the inner tub; and a tub flange which supports an open side of the inner tub, and serves as a connection between the drive unit and the inner tub.
The tub flange may include radially extended portions or members extending radially towards a circumference of the inner tub. The tub flange serves to couple the drive unit and the inner tub together.
The ends of the radially extended portions may be bent and are coupled to the inner circumferential surface of the inner tub. In this fashion, the radially extended portions are inserted into the inner tub. Alternatively, the bent ends may be coupled to the outer circumferential surface of the inner tub.
The radially extended portions may extend up to the outer circumferential surface of the inner tub and couple thereto.
Another exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure provides a method of manufacturing a washing machine, the method including: an inner tub forming step of forming a cylindrical inner tub having open upper and lower sides; a tub flange forming step of forming a tub flange including radially extended portions having a plurality of radial projections; and a fastening step of fastening and coupling one open side of the inner tub and a radial supporting portion of the tub flange.
According to the exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure, the washing machine and the method of manufacturing the same may provide enhanced flexibility in pulsator configurations and provide additional installation space which is available for assembling a pulsator inside an inner tub.
The foregoing summary is illustrative only and is not intended to be in any way limiting. In addition to the illustrative aspects, embodiments, and features described above, further aspects, embodiments, and features will become apparent by reference to the drawings and the following detailed description.
In the following detailed description, reference is made to the accompanying drawings, which form a part hereof. The illustrative embodiments described in the detailed description, drawings and claims are not meant to be limiting. Other embodiments may be utilized, and other changes may be made, without departing from the spirit or scope of the subject matter presented here.
Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings so that those skilled in the technical field to which the present disclosure pertains may easily carry out the exemplary embodiments. The present disclosure may be implemented in various different forms, and is not limited to the exemplary embodiments described herein.
In several exemplary embodiments, constituent elements having the same configuration will be representatively described using the same reference numerals in a first exemplary embodiment, and in a second exemplary embodiment, only configurations, which are different from those described in the first exemplary embodiment, will be described.
It should be noted that the drawings are schematically illustrated, and the scales of the drawings may be different from the actual scales. Relative dimensions and ratios of the parts illustrated in the drawings are exaggerated or reduced in terms of sizes thereof for clarification of the drawings and convenience, and any dimension is only illustrative, and is not limited thereto. The same structures, elements, or components illustrated in two or more drawings are designated by the same reference numerals so as to illustrate similar features.
The exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure is specifically presented as an ideal exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure. As a result, various modifications of the drawings are expected. Therefore, the exemplary embodiment is not limited to specific forms in regions illustrated in the drawings, and for example, further includes modified forms by the manufacture.
Hereinafter, an exemplary washing machine according to a first embodiment of the present disclosure will be described with reference to
As illustrated in
The inner tub 310 may be in a cylindrical shape having both the upper and the lower sides open. A pulsator 200 illustrated in
The outer tub 100 is installed outside the inner tub 310. The outer tub 100 is used to contain washing water. Specifically, the outer tub 100 may have a cylindrical shape with one side open.
The drive unit 400 is installed outside the outer tub 100, and can rotate the inner tub 310 and/or the pulsator 200.
Specifically, as illustrated in
The drive unit 400 is installed between the bottom of the outer tub 100 and the bottom of the housing 10.
The tub flange 320 is coupled to one of the open sides of the inner tub 310 and the drive unit 400. More specifically, as illustrated in
The pulsator 200 is installed on the top of tub flange 320. A rotation shaft of the drive unit 400 and a rotation shaft of the pulsator 200 may be coupled to each other.
Therefore, the tub flange 320 couples the drive unit 400 and the inner tub 310 together. The tub flange 320 also supports and thereby reinforces the strength of one of the open sides of the inner tub 310.
In a washing machine according to the conventional art, a tub-u is coupled to a lower surface of the inner tub. The configuration and installation of the pulsator is undesirably limited because the cross section of the tub-u becomes narrower toward the lower side of the inner tub. In contrast, according to embodiments of the present disclosure, a tub-u is not needed because the tub flange 320 can effectively and advantageously support the inner tub 310 and serves to couple the drive unit 400 and the inner tub 310 together. The pulsator 200 can be installed on the tub flange 320, which advantageously offers more flexibility in designing and installing the pulsator 200.
As illustrated in
The radially extended portions or members 321 of the tub flange 320 may advantageously and effectively support the inner tub 310 and aid against vibration of the pulsator 200 when the pulsator 200 is rotated. More specifically, the central portion of the tub flange 320 provides support for the drive unit 400, while the radially extended portions 321 provide support for the open side of the inner tub 310.
Hereinafter, an exemplary tub flange 320 of an exemplary washing machine 102 according to a second embodiment of the present disclosure will be described with reference to
In
Owing to this configuration, the hollow inner circumferential portion of the inner tub 310 where the pulsator 200 is installed may be advantageously and effectively utilized. That is, because the radially extended portions 321 are coupled to the outer surface of the inner tub 310, there is more space available for the pulsator 200 installation than the configuration where the radially extended portions 321 are coupled to an inner surface of the inner tub 310.
Hereinafter, an exemplary tub flange 320 of an exemplary washing machine 103 according to a third embodiment of the present disclosure will be described with reference to
According to the third embodiment of the present disclosure, each of the radially extended portions 321 also has one end bent upward. Different from the second embodiment as described with reference to
According to embodiments of the present disclosure, a tub flange is used to couple the drive unit and the inner tub together, which advantageously provides additional available space and enhances flexibility for the installation of the pulsator.
More specifically, the tub flange 320 may support an open side of the inner tub 310, which provides flexibility in selecting the diameter of the pulsator 200 to be installed in the inner tub 310.
Hereinafter, a method of manufacturing the embodiments of the washing machines 101, 102, or 103 will be described.
The method of manufacturing the washing machines 101, 102, and 103 includes a tub forming process, a tub flange forming process, and a fastening process.
More specifically, in the tub forming process, a cylindrical inner tub having an open upper side and an open lower side is formed. For instance, the inner tub is primarily made of a metallic material. The inner tub may be formed into a cylindrical shape by joining both ends of a plate-shaped material together, or may be manufactured using a tubular unit.
The tub flange may include multiple radially extended portions extending radially from the center.
Then, in the fastening process, the inner tub and the tub flange are fastened together. In one embodiment, the radially extended portions formed on the tub flange may be coupled to the inner tub.
The tub flange and the inner tub may be coupled together using any suitable technique that is well known in the art, such as by adhesion or welding, or using screws, etc.
In some embodiments, the method may further include the steps of bending the radially extended portions of the tub flange. The bending process may be performed before the fastening process.
According to embodiments of the present disclosure, since a tub-u (as used in the prior art) is not needed, the washing machine manufacturing processes are advantageously simplified and the manufacturing cost is advantageously reduced.
From the foregoing, it will be appreciated that various embodiments of the present disclosure have been described herein for purposes of illustration, and that various modifications may be made without departing from the scope and spirit of the present disclosure. Accordingly, the various embodiments disclosed herein are not intended to be limiting, with the true scope and spirit being indicated by the following claims.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10-2014-0130726 | Sep 2014 | KR | national |
