CN111336191B

CN111336191B - Clutch assembly and washing machine with same

Info

Publication number: CN111336191B
Application number: CN201911205719.8A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 付仕波; 谢洪涛; 马焉; 张玉琳
Original assignee: Wuxi Little Swan Electric Co Ltd
Current assignee: Wuxi Little Swan Electric Co Ltd
Priority date: 2019-11-29
Filing date: 2019-11-29
Publication date: 2021-10-26
Anticipated expiration: 2039-11-29
Also published as: CN111336191A

Abstract

The invention discloses a clutch assembly and a washing machine with the same, wherein the clutch assembly comprises: a housing; the outer peripheral wall of the ratchet wheel is provided with a plurality of spaced teeth; the shifting fork is positioned on the outer side of the shell, one end of the shifting fork is rotatably connected with the shell, and a first pawl is arranged on the shifting fork; the shifting block is positioned on the outer side of the shell, one end of the shifting block is rotatably connected with the shifting fork, the other end of the shifting block is rotatably connected with the shell, and a second pawl is rotatably connected to the shifting block; wherein one of the first and second pawls is disengaged from the teeth prior to the other when moving from the washing state to the dehydrating state; the other of the first pawl and the second pawl engages the teeth prior to one of the first pawl and the second pawl moving from the spin state to the wash state. According to the clutch assembly provided by the embodiment of the invention, the space occupation of the clutch assembly is favorably reduced, and the service lives of the first pawl, the second pawl and the ratchet wheel are favorably prolonged.

Description

Clutch assembly and washing machine with same

Technical Field

The invention relates to the field of household appliances, in particular to a clutch assembly and a washing machine with the same.

Background

In the related art, the clutch assembly occupies a large space, which results in large space occupation of the washing machine and reduces product competitiveness of the washing machine, and therefore, how to reduce the space occupation of the clutch assembly is a technical problem that needs to be solved urgently by those skilled in the art.

Disclosure of Invention

The present invention is directed to solving at least one of the problems of the prior art. Therefore, the clutch assembly is beneficial to realizing that the first pawl and the second pawl are both separated from the ratchet wheel under the condition that the shifting fork rotates by a small angle, and is beneficial to reducing the rotating range of the shifting fork and the shifting block, so that the space occupation of the clutch assembly is reduced, and the service lives of the first pawl, the second pawl and the ratchet wheel are prolonged.

The invention also provides a washing machine with the clutch assembly.

A clutch assembly according to an embodiment of the present invention includes: a housing; the ratchet wheel is positioned on one axial side of the shell, and a plurality of spaced teeth are arranged on the peripheral wall of the ratchet wheel; the shifting fork is positioned on the outer side of the shell, one end of the shifting fork is rotatably connected with the shell, and a first pawl is arranged on the shifting fork; the shifting block is positioned on the outer side of the shell, one end of the shifting block is rotatably connected with the shifting fork, the other end of the shifting block is rotatably connected with the shell, a second pawl is rotatably connected to the shifting block, the first pawl and the second pawl are arranged at intervals along the circumferential direction of the ratchet wheel, and the first pawl and the second pawl are respectively matched with different teeth of the ratchet wheel in a washing state; in the dehydrating state, the first pawl and the second pawl are disengaged from the ratchet wheel. Wherein one of the first pawl and the second pawl disengages from the teeth prior to the other when moving from the washing condition to the dehydrating condition; the other of the first pawl and the second pawl engages the teeth prior to the one when moving from the dehydrating state to the washing state.

According to the clutch component of the embodiment of the invention, the rotation of the shifting fork can drive one end of the shifting block to rotate relative to the other end of the shifting block, so that the first pawl and the second pawl are respectively matched with or separated from the ratchet wheel, the shifting fork and the shifting block are separately arranged, when the shifting fork rotates, the rotating direction of the shifting block is opposite to that of the shifting fork, thereby enabling the rotation directions of the first pawl and the second pawl to be opposite, being beneficial to realizing that the first pawl and the second pawl are both separated from the ratchet wheel under the condition that the shifting fork rotates by a smaller angle, being beneficial to reducing the rotation range of the shifting fork and the shifting block, therefore, the space occupation of the clutch assembly is reduced, meanwhile, the first pawl and the second pawl can be prevented from being matched with or separated from the ratchet wheel at the same time, the buffering of the collision force between the first pawl and the ratchet wheel and between the second pawl and the ratchet wheel is facilitated, and the service lives of the first pawl, the second pawl and the ratchet wheel are prolonged.

In some embodiments of the present invention, the other end of the shift fork is provided with a first pivot portion and the first pawl, the first pivot portion is disposed at a distance from the first pawl in a circumferential direction of the ratchet wheel, the dial block is located on one side of the first pawl adjacent to the first pivot portion and extends in the circumferential direction of the ratchet wheel, the one end of the dial block is provided with a second pivot portion, and the first pivot portion and the second pivot portion are rotatably and movably connected.

In some embodiments of the present invention, the first pivot portion is a first pivot shaft formed on the shift fork, and the second pivot portion is a first pivot hole penetrating through the shift block, and the first pivot hole extends in a long bar shape along a circumferential direction of the ratchet.

In some embodiments of the invention, the clutch assembly comprises: the rotating block is provided with a third pivoting part and a fourth pivoting part, the rotating center line of the third pivoting part is not collinear with the rotating center line of the fourth pivoting part, the third pivoting part is rotatably connected with the shell, the shifting block is provided with a fifth pivoting part, and the fifth pivoting part is rotatably and movably connected with the fourth pivoting part; wherein the second pawl is immovably provided on the rotating block.

In some embodiments of the present invention, the fourth pivot portion is a second pivot shaft, and the fifth pivot portion is a second pivot hole formed in the dial block, and the second pivot hole extends in a long strip shape along a circumferential direction of the ratchet.

In some embodiments of the present invention, the clutch assembly further includes a fixed block, the fixed block is immovably disposed on the housing, the other end of the shifting block is rotatably connected to the fixed block, and the third pivot portion is rotatably connected to the fixed block.

In some embodiments of the present invention, the clutch assembly further includes a stator disposed on one axial side of the housing and disposed around the ratchet, and the fixing block is disposed on the stator.

In some embodiments of the present invention, a first guide portion is disposed on the fixed block, the first guide portion is in a circular arc shape, a central axis of the circular arc shape of the first guide portion is a rotation central axis of the dial block rotating relative to the fixed block, and a first guide portion adapted to the second guide portion is disposed on the dial block.

In some embodiments of the present invention, in the axial direction, the fixed block is located between the housing and the dial block, a side surface of the dial block facing the fixed block extends toward a direction close to the housing to form a first connecting section, a free end of the first connecting section is provided with a flange, a limit space is defined between the flange and the side surface of the dial block facing the fixed block, and a part of the fixed block is located in the limit space.

In some embodiments of the present invention, the first connecting section and the flange form a second guiding portion, and a portion of the fixing block located in the limiting space is provided with a first guiding portion engaged with the second guiding portion.

In some embodiments of the present invention, the ratchet includes a first wheel part and a second wheel part arranged in an axial direction, a peripheral wall of the first wheel part is provided with a plurality of first teeth, a peripheral wall of the second wheel part is provided with second teeth, the first teeth are inclined in one of a clockwise direction and a counterclockwise direction in a radially outward direction of the ratchet, the second teeth are inclined in the other of the clockwise direction and the counterclockwise direction, and in a washing state, the first pawls are engaged with the first teeth and the second pawls are engaged with the second teeth.

In some embodiments of the invention, the second pawl disengages from the teeth prior to the first pawl when moving from the washing condition to the dehydrating condition; the first pawl engages the teeth prior to the second pawl when moving from the dehydrating state to the washing state; the length of a connecting line of the inner end of the first pawl and the central axis is smaller than that of a connecting line of the inner end of the second pawl and the central axis in a plane perpendicular to the central axis of the ratchet wheel.

The washing machine according to the embodiment of the invention comprises the clutch assembly.

According to the washing machine provided by the embodiment of the invention, the clutch component is arranged, so that the first pawl and the second pawl are separated from the ratchet wheel under the condition that the shifting fork rotates at a smaller angle, the rotating range of the shifting fork and the shifting block is reduced, the space occupation of the clutch component is reduced, the space occupation of the washing machine is reduced, and the market competitiveness of the washing machine is improved.

Additional aspects and advantages of the invention will be set forth in part in the description which follows and, in part, will be obvious from the description, or may be learned by practice of the invention.

Drawings

The above and/or additional aspects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent and readily appreciated from the following description of the embodiments, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings of which:

FIG. 1 is an exploded schematic view of a clutch assembly according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is an assembly schematic of a clutch assembly according to an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 3 is an assembly schematic of an example assembly according to an embodiment of the invention, with the stator removed from the housing;

FIG. 4 is a schematic plan view of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of the engagement of a rotating block with a paddle according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 6 is an exploded view of a rotating block and a paddle according to an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 7 is an assembly schematic of a rotating block, a shifting block and a fixed block according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 8 is a schematic view of another angle of FIG. 7;

fig. 9 is a schematic structural view of a fixing block according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 10 is a schematic view of a clutch assembly moving from a washing state to a dehydrating state according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 11 is a schematic view of a clutch assembly moving from a dehydration state to a washing state according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Reference numerals:

a clutch assembly 100;

a housing 1;

a ratchet 2; the first wheel portion 21; the first teeth 211; a second wheel section 22; the second tooth 221;

a shifting fork 3; a first pivot portion 31; a first pawl 32;

a shifting block 4; the second pivot portion 41; a fifth pivoting portion 42; a seventh pivot portion 43; the second guide portion 44; a first connection section 45; a flange 46; a spacing space 47;

a rotating block 5; a third pivot portion 51; a fourth pivot portion 52; the sixth pivot portion 53; a second pawl 54;

a fixed block 6; a first guide portion 61; a first stopper portion 62; a second stopper portion 63; a rotating shaft 64;

a dehydrating shaft 71; a washing shaft 72; a brake disc 73; a clutch shaft 74; a drive shaft 75; a clutch sleeve 76; a wrap spring 77; a joystick 78;

a stator 8; avoiding the hole 81.

Detailed Description

Reference will now be made in detail to embodiments of the present invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein like or similar reference numerals refer to the same or similar elements or elements having the same or similar function throughout. The embodiments described below with reference to the accompanying drawings are illustrative only for the purpose of explaining the present invention, and are not to be construed as limiting the present invention.

In the description of the present invention, it is to be understood that the terms "central", "longitudinal", "lateral", "length", "width", "thickness", "upper", "lower", "vertical", "horizontal", "top", "bottom", "inner", "outer", "axial", "radial", "circumferential", and the like, indicate orientations and positional relationships based on those shown in the drawings, and are used merely for convenience in describing the present invention and for simplicity in description, and do not indicate or imply that the referenced devices or elements must have a particular orientation, be constructed and operated in a particular orientation, and thus, are not to be construed as limiting the present invention. Furthermore, a feature defined as "first" or "second" may explicitly or implicitly include one or more of that feature. In the description of the present invention, "a plurality" means two or more unless otherwise specified.

In the description of the present invention, it should be noted that, unless otherwise explicitly specified or limited, the terms "mounted," "connected," and "connected" are to be construed broadly, e.g., as meaning either a fixed connection, a removable connection, or an integral connection; can be mechanically or electrically connected; they may be connected directly or indirectly through intervening media, or they may be interconnected between two elements. The specific meanings of the above terms in the present invention can be understood in specific cases to those skilled in the art.

A clutch assembly 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention is described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

As shown in fig. 1, a clutch assembly 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention may include: the device comprises a shell 1, a ratchet 2, a shifting fork 3, a shifting block 4, a rotating block 5 and a fixed block 6.

Referring to fig. 1, a ratchet 2 is located at one axial side (e.g., a lower side as viewed in fig. 1) of a housing 1, a plurality of spaced teeth are provided on an outer circumferential wall of the ratchet 2, a yoke 3 is located at an outer side of the housing 1 and one end of the yoke 3 is rotatably connected to the housing 1, and a first pawl 32 (see fig. 3) is provided on the yoke 3.

As shown in fig. 1 and 2, the dial 4 is located outside the housing 1, one end of the dial 4 is rotatably connected to the shift fork 3, the other end of the dial 4 is rotatably connected to the housing 1, the dial 4 is rotatably connected to a second pawl 54, and the first pawl 32 and the second pawl 54 are spaced apart from each other in the circumferential direction of the ratchet 2. In the washing state, as shown with reference to fig. 4, the first pawl 32 and the second pawl 54 engage with different teeth of the ratchet wheel 2, respectively, and in the dehydrating state, both the first pawl 32 and the second pawl 54 disengage from the ratchet wheel 2.

Wherein, with reference to fig. 10, one of the first pawl 32 and the second pawl 54 disengages from the teeth before the other when moving from the washing condition to the dehydrating condition; referring to fig. 11, the other of the first and

second pawls

32, 54 engages the teeth prior to the one when moving from the dehydrating state to the washing state. In other words, the first pawls 32 disengage from the teeth prior to the second pawls 54 when moving from the washing condition to the dehydrating condition, and the second pawls 54 engage with the teeth prior to the first pawls 32 when moving from the dehydrating condition to the washing condition; alternatively, the second pawls 54 are disengaged from the teeth prior to the first pawls 32 when moving from the washing state to the dehydrating state, and the first pawls 32 are engaged with the teeth prior to the second pawls 54 when moving from the dehydrating state to the washing state.

Therefore, the first pawl 32 and the second pawl 54 can be prevented from being simultaneously matched with or separated from the ratchet wheel 2, collision force between the first pawl 32 and the ratchet wheel 2 and collision force between the second pawl 54 and the ratchet wheel 2 can be buffered, and the service lives of the first pawl 32, the second pawl 54 and the ratchet wheel 2 can be prolonged.

In some examples, referring to fig. 4, first pawl 32 is fixedly connected to fork 3, second pawl 54 is rotatably connected to block 4, center line of rotation L1 of fork 3 and center line of rotation L2 of block 4 are located on opposite sides of ratchet 2, an end of first pawl 32 can be inserted between any two adjacent teeth of ratchet 2, and an end of second pawl 54 can be inserted between the remaining two adjacent teeth of ratchet 2.

Further, the rotation of the fork 3 can drive one end of the block 4 to rotate relative to the other end of the block 4 (in other words, the rotation of the fork 3 can drive the block 4 to rotate around the rotation center line L2) so that the first pawl 32 and the second pawl 54 are respectively engaged with or disengaged from the ratchet 2, when the fork 3 rotates to a position where the first pawl 32 and the second pawl 54 are respectively engaged with different teeth of the ratchet 2, the clutch assembly 100 is in a washing state so that the washing shaft 72 of the washing machine rotates, and the dewatering shaft 71 is in a free state; when the fork 3 is rotated to a position where both the first and

second pawls

32 and 54 are disengaged from the ratchet 2, the clutch assembly 100 is in a dehydrating state to rotate the dehydrating shaft 71 and the washing shaft 72 simultaneously.

The inventor finds that, in the related art, the shifting fork adopts the integrated double pawls, and the shifting fork needs to rotate by a large angle to enable the two pawls to be disengaged from the ratchet wheel, so that the required rotating space of the shifting fork is large when the clutch assembly is switched between the dehydration state and the washing state, and particularly, the distance from the pawl at one end far away from the rotation center of the shifting fork to the central axis of the ratchet wheel is very large in the dehydration state, so that the space occupation of the clutch assembly is increased.

According to the clutch assembly 100 of the embodiment of the invention, the rotation of the shift fork 3 can drive one end of the shift block 4 to rotate relative to the other end of the shift block 4, so that the first pawl 32 and the second pawl 54 are respectively matched with or separated from the ratchet wheel 2, and it can be understood that the shift fork 3 and the shift block 4 are separately arranged, when the shift fork 3 rotates, the rotation direction of the shift block 4 is opposite to the rotation direction of the shift fork 3, so that the rotation directions of the first pawl 32 and the second pawl 54 are opposite, for example, when the first pawl 32 rotates clockwise, the second pawl 54 rotates counterclockwise, which is beneficial to realizing that the first pawl 32 and the second pawl 54 are respectively separated from the ratchet wheel 2 under the condition that the shift fork 3 rotates by a small angle, is beneficial to reducing the rotation ranges of the shift fork 3 and the shift block 4, so as to reduce the space occupation of the clutch assembly 100, and simultaneously avoid that the first pawl 32 and the second pawl 54 are simultaneously matched with or separated from the ratchet wheel 2, the impact force between the first pawl 32 and the second pawl 54 and the ratchet wheel 2 is buffered, and the service lives of the first pawl 32, the second pawl 54 and the ratchet wheel 2 are prolonged.

In some embodiments of the present invention, referring to fig. 4 and 5, the other end of the shift fork 3 is provided with a first pivot portion 31 and a first pawl 32, the first pivot portion 31 is spaced apart from the first pawl 32 in the circumferential direction of the ratchet 2, the dial 4 is located on one side of the first pawl 32 adjacent to the first pivot portion 31 and extends in the circumferential direction of the ratchet 2, the dial 4 is provided with a second pivot portion 41 at one end, and the first pivot portion 31 and the second pivot portion 41 are rotatably and movably connected. From this, be convenient for realize the rotatable continuous of shift fork 3 and shifting block 4, and simple structure, the machine-shaping of being convenient for.

Further, as shown in fig. 4 and 5, the first pivot portion 31 is a first pivot shaft formed on the shift fork 3, and the second pivot portion 41 is a first pivot hole penetrating through the shift block 4, and the first pivot hole extends in a long bar shape along the circumferential direction of the ratchet 2. For example, as shown in fig. 4, the first pivot hole is formed in an oblong shape. It will be appreciated that the area of the first pivot hole is larger than the area of the first pivot shaft, so that there is a moving and rotating allowance between the first pivot part 31 and the second pivot part 41, which facilitates the rotatable and movable connection of the first pivot part 31 and the second pivot part 41.

Further, as shown in fig. 5 and 6, the clutch assembly 100 includes a rotating block 5, a third pivot portion 51 and a fourth pivot portion 52 are provided on the rotating block 5, a rotation center line of the third pivot portion 51 is not collinear with a rotation center line of the fourth pivot portion 52, the third pivot portion 51 is rotatably connected with the housing 1, a fifth pivot portion 42 is provided on the dial 4, and the fifth pivot portion 42 is rotatably and movably connected with the fourth pivot portion 52; the second pawl 54 is immovably arranged on the rotary block 5, in other words, the second pawl 54 is fixedly connected to the rotary block 5. Therefore, when the shifting fork 3 drives one end of the shifting block 4 to rotate relative to the other end of the shifting block 4, the rotating block 5 rotates around the rotation center line of the third pivot part 51, so that the rotation track of the second pawl 54 can be formed into an arc line, and the working reliability of the second pawl 54 can be improved. For example, the third pivot portion 51 is formed as a pivot shaft, and the fixed block 6 is provided with a pivot hole engaged with the third pivot portion 51.

Alternatively, as shown in fig. 6, the fourth pivot portion 52 is a second pivot shaft, and the fifth pivot portion 42 is a second pivot hole formed in the dial 4, and the second pivot hole extends in a long bar shape in the circumferential direction of the ratchet 2. The moving direction of the fourth pivoting portion 52 in the elongated fifth pivoting portion 42 is the first length direction, and the direction perpendicular to the first length direction in the horizontal direction is the first width direction, it can be understood that the area of the second pivoting hole is larger than the area of the second pivoting shaft, so that there is a moving and rotating allowance between the fourth pivoting portion 52 and the fifth pivoting portion 42, and it is convenient to realize that the fourth pivoting portion 52 and the fifth pivoting portion 42 are rotatably and movably connected.

For example, as shown in fig. 6, the rotating block 5 is further provided with a sixth pivoting portion 53, the sixth pivoting portion 53 and the third pivoting portion 51 are respectively located at the upper side and the lower side of the rotating block 5, the rotation center lines of the sixth pivoting portion 53 and the third pivoting portion 51 are located on the same straight line, the dial 4 is further provided with a seventh pivoting portion 43, the seventh pivoting portion 43 and the sixth pivoting portion 53 are rotatably and movably connected, the seventh pivoting portion 43 is formed as a pivoting hole and extends in a long strip shape along the radial direction of the ratchet 2, the direction in which the sixth pivoting portion 53 moves in the long strip-shaped seventh pivoting portion 43 is a second length direction, the direction perpendicular to the second length direction in the horizontal direction is a second width direction, the seventh pivoting portion 43 is communicated with the fifth pivoting portion 42, the hole depth of the fifth pivoting portion 42 is greater than the hole depth of the seventh pivoting portion 43, the length of the fourth pivoting portion 52 is greater than the length of the sixth pivoting portion 53, thereby advantageously preventing the fourth pivot portion 52 from sliding from the fifth pivot portion 42 into the seventh pivot portion 43, and advantageously ensuring the reliability of the operation of the rotating block 5.

Alternatively, as shown in fig. 6, the fourth pivot portion 52 and the sixth pivot portion 53 are both cylindrical, the diameter of the sixth pivot portion 53 is greater than the diameter of the fourth pivot portion 52, and the width of the seventh pivot portion 43 in the second width direction is greater than the width of the fifth pivot portion 42 in the first width direction, so as to facilitate preventing the sixth pivot portion 53 from sliding from the seventh pivot portion 43 into the fifth pivot portion 42, and to facilitate ensuring the reliability of the operation of the rotating block 5.

In some embodiments of the present invention, as shown in fig. 4 and 7, the clutch assembly 100 further includes a fixed block 6, the fixed block 6 is immovably disposed on the housing 1, in other words, the fixed block 6 is fixedly connected to the housing 1, the other end of the shifting block 4 is rotatably connected to the fixed block 6, and the third pivot portion 51 is rotatably connected to the fixed block 6. It can be understood that the shifting block 4 is rotatably connected with the shell 1 through the fixed block 6, and the rotating block 5 is rotatably connected with the shell 1 through the fixed block 6, so that structures respectively matched with the shifting block 4 and the rotating block 5 do not need to be additionally processed on the shell 1, and the production cost of the shell 1 is favorably reduced.

In some embodiments of the present invention, as shown in fig. 2, the clutch assembly 100 further includes a stator 8, the stator 8 is disposed on one axial side of the housing 1 and surrounds the ratchet 2, and the fixing block 6 is disposed on the stator 8. For example, as shown in fig. 2, the stator 8 is formed in an annular shape, the tip of the stator 8 is provided with an inward-turned flanged portion, the stator 8 is connected to one axial side of the housing 1 through the flanged portion, the fixed block 6 is provided on the flanged portion, the circumferential wall of the stator 8 is provided with an avoiding hole 81, one end of the shift fork 3, which is provided with the first pawl 32, extends into the stator 8 through the avoiding hole 81, and the fixed block 6, the rotating block 5, and the shift block 4 are all located between the ratchet 2 and the inner circumferential wall of the stator 8 (see fig. 4). Therefore, the stator 8 of the motor is directly arranged on the shell 1, and the ratchet wheel 2 is positioned on the inner side of the stator 8, so that the space occupation of the clutch assembly 100 is further reduced.

Further, the inventor found in practical studies that since the opening of the stator 8 is limited, in other words, the distance from the inner peripheral wall of the stator 8 to the central axis of the stator 8 is limited, the related art integrated double pawl type shift fork needs to be rotated by a large angle to disengage both pawls from the ratchet wheel, and thus cannot be applied to such a clutch in which the transmission shaft is directly driven by the motor.

According to the clutch assembly 100 of the embodiment of the invention, the rotation of the shifting fork 3 can drive one end of the shifting block 4 to rotate relative to the other end of the shifting block 4, so that the first pawl 32 and the second pawl 54 are respectively matched with or separated from the ratchet wheel 2, and it can be understood that the shifting fork 3 and the shifting block 4 of the invention are separately arranged, when the shifting fork 3 rotates, the rotation direction of the shifting block 4 is opposite to that of the shifting fork 3, so that the rotation directions of the first pawl 32 and the second pawl 54 are opposite, which is beneficial to realizing that the first pawl 32 and the second pawl 54 are separated from the ratchet wheel 2 under the condition that the shifting fork 3 rotates by a small angle, and the rotation range of the shifting fork 3 and the shifting block 4 can be reduced, so that the clutch assembly 100 of the embodiment of the invention can be suitable for the condition that the opening of the stator 8 is limited.

In some embodiments of the present invention, the fixed block 6 is provided with a first guiding portion 61, the first guiding portion 61 is in a circular arc shape, a central axis of the circular arc shape of the first guiding portion 61 is a rotation central axis of the dial 4 rotating relative to the fixed block 6, and the dial 4 is provided with a second guiding portion 44 adapted to the first guiding portion 61. Therefore, the first guide part 61 is matched with the second guide part 44, so that the rotation of the shifting block 4 relative to the rotation center line of the fixed block 6 is guaranteed, and the reliable rotation of the shifting block 4 is guaranteed.

Alternatively, as shown in fig. 6 and 8, the fixed block 6 is located between the housing 1 and the dial 4 in the axial direction, a side surface of the dial 4 facing the fixed block 6 extends toward a direction close to the housing 1 to form a first connecting section 45, a free end of the first connecting section 45 is provided with a turned edge 46, a limit space 47 is defined between the turned edge 46 and the side surface of the dial 4 facing the fixed block 6, and a part of the fixed block 6 is located in the limit space 47. Therefore, the matching area of the fixed block 6 and the shifting block 4 is increased, and the reliable rotation of the shifting block 4 is further ensured.

Further, as shown in fig. 8, the first connecting section 45 and the flange 46 form a second guide portion 44, and a portion of the fixing block 6 located in the limiting space 47 is provided with a first guide portion 61 engaged with the second guide portion 44. From this, be favorable to further increasing the direction complex area of fixed block 6 and shifting block 4, be favorable to further guaranteeing the reliable rotation of shifting block 4.

In some embodiments of the present invention, as shown in fig. 9, the fixed block 6 is further provided with a first stopping portion 62 and a second stopping portion 63, the rotating block 5 rotates between the first stopping portion 62 and the second stopping portion 63, in the dehydration state, the first stopping portion 62 stops the dial 4, and at least one of the dial 4 and the rotating block 5 is limited from rotating outwards relative to the fixed block 6; in a washing state, when the shifting block 4 rotates, the rotating block 5 is driven to rotate together, the second stopping part 63 stops the rotating block 5, the rotating block 5 can be limited to rotate inwards relative to the fixed block 6, and therefore the working reliability of the rotating block 5 can be improved. Alternatively, as shown in fig. 9, the fixed block 6 is further provided with a rotating shaft 64, and the other end of the dial 4 is rotatably engaged with the rotating shaft 64.

In some embodiments of the present invention, as shown in fig. 3, the ratchet 2 comprises a first wheel part 21 and a second wheel part 22 arranged along an axial direction, a plurality of first teeth 211 are provided on an outer peripheral wall of the first wheel part 21, a second tooth 221 is provided on an outer peripheral wall of the second wheel part 22, the first teeth 211 are inclined in one of a clockwise direction and a counterclockwise direction along a radially outward direction of the ratchet 2, the second tooth 221 is inclined in the other one of the clockwise direction and the counterclockwise direction, and in a washing state, the first pawls 32 are engaged with the first teeth 211, and the second pawls 54 are engaged with the second teeth 221. Thus, the first pawls 32 and the second pawls 54 are facilitated to be engaged with and disengaged from the first and

second wheel portions

21 and 22, respectively, which is advantageous to ensure that the clutch assembly 100 is reliably switched between the washing state and the dehydrating state.

For example, the first tooth 211 is inclined in the counterclockwise direction and the second tooth 221 is inclined in the clockwise direction in the radially outward direction of the ratchet 2, and the first pawl 32 is engaged with the first tooth 211 and the second pawl 54 is engaged with the second tooth 221 in the washing state.

In some embodiments of the present invention, as shown in fig. 10, the second pawl 54 disengages from the teeth prior to the first pawl 32 when moving from the washing state to the dehydrating state; as shown in fig. 11, the first pawls 32 engage the teeth prior to the second pawls 54 when moving from the dehydrating state to the washing state; the length of the line connecting the inner end of the first pawl 32 and the center axis in a plane perpendicular to the center axis of the ratchet 2 is smaller than the length of the line connecting the inner end of the second pawl 54 and the center axis of the ratchet 2. Therefore, the first pawl 32 and the second pawl 54 can be prevented from being matched with or separated from the ratchet wheel 2 at the same time, the impact force between the first pawl 32 and the ratchet wheel 2 and the impact force between the second pawl 54 and the ratchet wheel 2 can be buffered, the service lives of the first pawl 32, the second pawl 54 and the ratchet wheel 2 can be prolonged, and meanwhile, the structure is simple and the production is convenient.

It will be appreciated that, with reference to fig. 10, when the distance from the inner end of the first pawl 32 to the force-bearing surface of the tooth on the ratchet 2 to the central axis of the ratchet 2 is smaller than the distance from the inner end of the second pawl 54 to the force-bearing surface of the tooth on the ratchet 2 to the central axis of the ratchet 2, then the second pawl 54 disengages from the tooth before the first pawl 32 when moving from the washing state to the dehydrating state, and the first pawl 32 engages with the tooth before the second pawl 54 when moving from the dehydrating state to the washing state; when the distance from the inner end of the first pawl 32 to the force bearing surface of the teeth on the ratchet wheel 2 to the central axis of the ratchet wheel 2 is larger than the distance from the inner end of the second pawl 54 to the force bearing surface of the teeth on the ratchet wheel 2 to the central axis of the ratchet wheel 2, the first pawl 32 is disengaged from the teeth before the second pawl 54 moves from the washing state to the dehydrating state; the second pawls 54 are engaged with the teeth prior to the first pawls 32 in moving from the dehydrating state to the washing state.

In some embodiments of the invention, as shown in fig. 4, the angle α between the line connecting the inner end of the first pawl 32 and the central axis of the ratchet 2 and the line connecting the inner end of the second pawl 54 and the central axis of the ratchet 2 in a plane perpendicular to the central axis of the ratchet 2 is less than 180 °. It should be noted that, as shown in fig. 4, the included angle α refers to an arc formed from a position where the inner end of the first pawl 32 is engaged with the ratchet 2 to a position where the inner end of the second pawl 54 is engaged with the ratchet 2 along the length direction of the dial 4, and the included angle α is opposite to the dial 4. Therefore, the assembling space among the shift fork 3, the shift block 4 and the ratchet 2 can be saved, so that the structure of the clutch assembly 100 is more compact. For example, α can take the values of 10 °, 20 °, 30 °, 40 °, 50 °, 60 °, 70 °, 80 °, 90 °, 100 °, 110 °, 120 °, 130 °, 140 °, 150 °, 160 °, 170 °, 175 °, and the like.

In some specific examples of the present invention, as shown in fig. 1, the clutch assembly 100 further includes a dehydrating shaft 71, a washing shaft 72, a brake disc 73, a clutch shaft 74, a transmission shaft 75, a clutch sleeve 76, a clutch shaft 74, a holding spring 77, and an operating lever 78.

Specifically, the dewatering shaft 71 is adapted to be connected to a dewatering tub of a washing machine and output power to the dewatering tub, the washing shaft 72 is adapted to be connected to a pulsator of the washing machine and output power to the pulsator, the dewatering shaft 71 is a hollow shaft, the washing shaft 72 is at least partially sleeved inside the dewatering shaft 71, the clutch shaft 74 is located below the dewatering shaft 71, the clutch shaft 74 and the dewatering shaft 71 are coaxially arranged, and a brake disc 73 is arranged between the clutch shaft 74 and the dewatering shaft 71.

Further, the transmission shaft 75 is used for transmitting the rotation power from the motor of the washing machine, a part of the transmission shaft 75 is sleeved in the clutch sleeve 76, the clutch sleeve 76 is arranged outside the transmission shaft 75, a part of the transmission shaft 75 is matched with the clutch sleeve 76, the outer diameter of the clutch sleeve 76 is equal to that of the clutch shaft 74, the holding spring 77 is spanned on the outer peripheral surfaces of the clutch sleeve 76 and the clutch shaft 74, the ratchet 2 is sleeved outside the holding spring 77, and the lower end of the holding spring 77 hooks the ratchet 2, so that a clutch mechanism capable of selectively coupling or separating the holding spring 77 with the outer peripheral surfaces of the clutch sleeve 76 and the clutch shaft 74 is formed.

When the clutch assembly 100 is switched from the washing state to the dehydrating state, the operating lever 78 drives the fork 3 to rotate, the fork 3 moves in a direction away from the ratchet 2 and separates the first pawl 32 from the first wheel portion 21, the fork 1 drives the dial 4 to rotate, the dial 4 drives the rotating block 5 to rotate, so that the second pawl 54 is disengaged from the second wheel portion 22, the first pawl 32 is disengaged from the first wheel portion 21 after the second pawl 54 is disengaged from the second wheel portion 22, the clasping spring 77 returns to the natural winding state after the first pawl 32 and the second pawl 54 are disengaged from the ratchet 2, i.e. the clasping spring 77 is reset to the state that the clasping spring 77 is attached to the outer peripheral surfaces of the clutch sleeve 76 and the clutch shaft 74, the clutch sleeve 76 and the clutch shaft 74 are coupled with each other, and the friction forms the transmission coupling in the twisting direction, so that the rotating power from the transmission shaft 75 is transmitted to the dehydrating shaft 71, the dehydrating shaft 71 and the washing shaft 72 are rotated in synchronization;

when the clutch assembly 100 is switched from the dehydrating state to the washing state, the fork 3 is reset by the torsion spring, the first pawl 32 is first brought into engagement with the first wheel part 21, at the same time, the dial 4 drives the rotation block 5 to rotate, so that the second pawl 54 is engaged with the second wheel portion 22, when the first pawls 32 and the second pawls 54 push the first wheel portion 21 and the second wheel portion 22 respectively, thereby loosening the clasping spring 77, leading the clasping spring 77 to be separated from the peripheral surfaces of the clutch sleeve 76 and the clutch shaft 74, leading the clasping spring 77 to lose the coupling with the clutch sleeve 76 and the clutch shaft 74, leading the clutch sleeve 76 and the clutch shaft 74 to lose the coupling, thereby, the rotary power from the transmission shaft 75 can not be transmitted to the dewatering shaft 71, and at the moment, the brake disc 73 is in a free state and can rotate freely, the rotation directions of the dewatering barrel and the impeller are opposite under the action of water flow inertia, and the effect similar to hand rubbing is formed.

The washing machine according to the embodiment of the present invention includes the clutch assembly 100 according to the above-described embodiment of the present invention.

According to the washing machine provided by the embodiment of the invention, the clutch assembly 100 provided by the embodiment of the invention is beneficial to realizing that the first pawl 32 and the second pawl 54 are both disengaged from the ratchet wheel 2 under the condition that the shifting fork 3 rotates by a small angle, and is beneficial to reducing the rotating range of the shifting fork 3 and the shifting block 4, so that the space occupation of the clutch assembly 100 is reduced, the space occupation of the washing machine is further facilitated to be reduced, and the market competitiveness of the washing machine is improved.

Other configurations and operations of the washing machine according to the embodiment of the present invention are known to those skilled in the art and will not be described in detail herein.

In the description herein, references to the description of the term "one embodiment," "some embodiments," "an illustrative embodiment," "an example," "a specific example," or "some examples" or the like mean that a particular feature, structure, material, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment or example is included in at least one embodiment or example of the invention. In this specification, the schematic representations of the terms used above do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment or example. Furthermore, the particular features, structures, materials, or characteristics described may be combined in any suitable manner in any one or more embodiments or examples.

While embodiments of the invention have been shown and described, it will be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art that: various changes, modifications, substitutions and alterations can be made to the embodiments without departing from the principles and spirit of the invention, the scope of which is defined by the claims and their equivalents.

Claims

1. A clutch assembly, comprising:

a housing;

the ratchet wheel is positioned on one axial side of the shell, and a plurality of spaced teeth are arranged on the peripheral wall of the ratchet wheel;

the shifting fork is positioned on the outer side of the shell, one end of the shifting fork is rotatably connected with the shell, and a first pawl is arranged on the shifting fork;

the shifting block is positioned outside the shell, one end of the shifting block is rotatably connected with the shifting fork, the other end of the shifting block is rotatably connected with the shell, the rotation of the shifting fork can drive one end of the shifting block to rotate relative to the other end of the shifting block, a second pawl is rotatably connected onto the shifting block, the first pawl and the second pawl are arranged at intervals along the circumferential direction of the ratchet wheel, the first pawl and the second pawl are respectively matched with different teeth of the ratchet wheel in a washing state, and the first pawl and the second pawl are respectively disengaged from the ratchet wheel in a dehydration state;

wherein one of the first pawl and the second pawl disengages from the teeth prior to the other when moving from the washing condition to the dehydrating condition; the other of the first pawl and the second pawl engages the teeth prior to the one when moving from the dehydrating state to the washing state.

2. The clutch assembly according to claim 1, wherein the other end of the shift fork is provided with a first pivot portion and the first pawl, the first pivot portion is spaced apart from the first pawl in the circumferential direction of the ratchet wheel, the shift block is located on one side of the first pawl adjacent to the first pivot portion and extends in the circumferential direction of the ratchet wheel, the one end of the shift block is provided with a second pivot portion, and the first pivot portion and the second pivot portion are rotatably and movably connected.

3. The clutch assembly of claim 2, wherein the first pivot portion is a first pivot shaft formed on the shift fork, and the second pivot portion is a first pivot hole penetrating through the shift block, the first pivot hole extending in a long bar shape along a circumferential direction of the ratchet.

4. The clutch assembly of claim 1, wherein the clutch assembly comprises: the rotating block is provided with a third pivoting part and a fourth pivoting part, the rotating center line of the third pivoting part is not collinear with the rotating center line of the fourth pivoting part, the third pivoting part is rotatably connected with the shell, the shifting block is provided with a fifth pivoting part, and the fifth pivoting part is rotatably and movably connected with the fourth pivoting part;

wherein the second pawl is immovably provided on the rotating block.

5. The clutch assembly of claim 4, wherein the fourth pivot portion is a second pivot shaft, and the fifth pivot portion is a second pivot hole formed in the paddle, the second pivot hole extending in a long bar shape in a circumferential direction of the ratchet.

6. The clutch assembly of claim 4, further comprising a fixed block immovably disposed on the housing, the other end of the paddle being rotatably connected to the fixed block, the third pivot being rotatably connected to the fixed block.

7. The clutch assembly of claim 6, further comprising a stator disposed on one axial side of the housing and disposed around the ratchet, the fixed block being disposed on the stator.

8. The clutch assembly as claimed in claim 6, wherein the fixed block is provided with a first guide portion, the first guide portion is in the shape of a circular arc, a central axis of the circular arc of the first guide portion is a rotation central line of the shifting block relative to the fixed block, and the shifting block is provided with a second guide portion adapted to the first guide portion.

9. The clutch assembly of claim 6, wherein the fixed block is located between the housing and the shifting block in the axial direction, a side surface of the shifting block facing the fixed block extends toward a direction close to the housing to form a first connecting section, a free end of the first connecting section is provided with a flange, a limiting space is defined between the flange and the side surface of the shifting block facing the fixed block, and a part of the fixed block is located in the limiting space.

10. The clutch assembly of claim 9, wherein the first connecting section and the flange form a second guide portion, and a portion of the fixing block located in the limiting space is provided with a first guide portion engaged with the second guide portion.

11. The clutch assembly of claim 1, wherein the ratchet includes a first gear portion and a second gear portion arranged in an axial direction, wherein a plurality of first teeth are provided on an outer peripheral wall of the first gear portion, wherein a second tooth is provided on an outer peripheral wall of the second gear portion, wherein the first teeth are inclined in one of a clockwise direction and a counterclockwise direction along a radially outward direction of the ratchet, wherein the second teeth are inclined in the other of the clockwise direction and the counterclockwise direction, and wherein the first pawl is engaged with the first teeth and the second pawl is engaged with the second teeth in a washing state.

12. The clutch assembly of any one of claims 1-11, wherein the second pawl disengages the teeth prior to the first pawl when moving from the washing state to the dehydrating state; the first pawl engages the teeth prior to the second pawl when moving from the dehydrating state to the washing state;

the length of a connecting line of the inner end of the first pawl and the central axis is smaller than that of a connecting line of the inner end of the second pawl and the central axis in a plane perpendicular to the central axis of the ratchet wheel.

13. A washing machine comprising a clutch assembly according to any one of claims 1 to 12.