Classifications

• • D—TEXTILES; PAPER
  • D06—TREATMENT OF TEXTILES OR THE LIKE; LAUNDERING; FLEXIBLE MATERIALS NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
  • D06F—LAUNDERING, DRYING, IRONING, PRESSING OR FOLDING TEXTILE ARTICLES
  • D06F37/00—Details specific to washing machines covered by groups D06F21/00 - D06F25/00
  • D06F37/02—Rotary receptacles, e.g. drums
  • D06F37/04—Rotary receptacles, e.g. drums adapted for rotation or oscillation about a horizontal or inclined axis
  • D06F37/10—Doors; Securing means therefor
• • D—TEXTILES; PAPER
  • D06—TREATMENT OF TEXTILES OR THE LIKE; LAUNDERING; FLEXIBLE MATERIALS NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
  • D06F—LAUNDERING, DRYING, IRONING, PRESSING OR FOLDING TEXTILE ARTICLES
  • D06F37/00—Details specific to washing machines covered by groups D06F21/00 - D06F25/00
  • D06F37/30—Driving arrangements 
  • D06F37/302—Automatic drum positioning

Definitions

• This invention relates to an improved washing machine, dryer or the like.
• the invention relate to an improved washing machine, dryer or the like, where the sense of loading is perpendicular to the rotational axis of the drum, hereafter called machines with side loaded drums, whether or not combined with unloading from the side or front side of the drum.
• EP 1.422.333 relates to the automation of the openi_ng process of the conventional construction of top-loac3.ed drums. Closing of the doors is still done by the operator.
• the conventional construction consists of two leaf doors, which are attached to the drum shield by means of hinges. One part of the door leaf is provided with hooks, the other one with holes.
• the hook keeping the cabinet door closed is disengagi_ng at the same time the lock o.f the two inner door leaLfs when operated by the operator and the door leafs a.re pushed further open by the springs integrated in the hinges of the two door leafs.
• This kind of construction provides a plurality of construction and user problems.
• the space between the tub and the drum must be wide seen the play to be provided on the assembly in order to be able to open and close the door, increasing in such way the water-consumption.
• the operator force to close the door must be very high. It can easily occur that a piece of linen stays between the doors, such that the hooks are liable to a high torque and can bend, such that the door can get open during spinning, resulting in a very dangerous situation for the operator.
• EP 0.943.720 describes the automatic opening and closing of an inner door of a drum. To this aim the door is sliding in two rails inside the drum. The reason why the door is placed inside the drum is to be capable to withstand the high centrifugal forces on the door by its own weight and the force induced by the linen (or other load) during spinning of the drumrat high .speed.
• the sliding door is reinforced towards the inside of the drum and for this reason placed also inside the drum, because the space between drum and tub is very limited in order to reduce water consumption.
• a closing mechanism operated by an automated key that connects two rods integrated in the door with the drum, preventing it from opening during washing and spinning due to the centrifugal force induced by the weight of the door and the linen.
• This key locking mechanism requires a very accurate positioning of the drum, such that the drum must be turned by means of: servo-motors instead of a traditional motor and a. widespread frequency convertor (UF-convertor) .
• EP 1.096.054 shows a procedure in which the aseptic nature of washing is checked before opening at least one door on the aseptic side of the machine, by checking successively the introduction of water into the tub of: the machine, the presence of detergents, the heating of: water to a minimum temperature and the maintenance of: this temperature during a minimum pre-set time.
• the object of the invention is an improved washing machine, dryer or the like, which does not have the above and other disadvantages.
• the present invention relates to an improved washing machine dryer or the like, comprising: a static tub with at least one opening; a drum which is provided rotatable around its axis inside said static tub, whereby in said drum an opening is provided; a drive motor connected to said drum; and - one opening is provided.
• An advantage of such an improved washing machine, dryer or the like is that, when the machine is in use, the drum shield closes of the opening(s) in the drum and, by" its construction, it increases its interlocking force with the centrifugal force as the drum shield is pressed more against the drum, such that there is no need fojc an additional locking mechanism which can withstand high centrifugal forces.
• Another advantage of such an improved washing macriine, dryer or the like, according to the invention is that it is possible, by keeping the drum shield blocked, to let the drum turn, such that the machine can go from an opened position for unloading to an opened position for loading without time loss.
• figure 1 schematically represents a perspective view of the internal mechanism of an improved washing machine, dryer or the like according to the invention
• figures 2a to 2b schematically represent the different stages going from a random pos-Ltion towards a loading and unloading position of a washing machine, dryer or the like according to figure 1, with partial omission.
• Figure 1 shows the internal mechanism of an improved washing machine, dryer or the like according to the invention, which mainly consists of a static "tub 1 containing a drum 2 that can rotate around its axis 3 and which drum 2 is driven by an electric motor 4 which is connected to a frequency convertor 5.
• the tub 1 contains at least one opening, and in this case contains two openings 6 and 7, in particular a loading opening 6 and an unloading opening 7.
• Typical for the drum 2 in an improved washing machine, dryer or the ' like according to the invention is that an opening is provided in its shield for loading and unloading.
• drum shield 8 is placed rotatable, which drum shield 8 is coaxial with said drum 2 and contains at least: one opening, and in this case contains two openings 9 and 10.
• the drum shield 8 is placed with a minimum play around the drum 2.
• an improved washing machine, dryer or the like according to the invention is also provided with coupling means for realizing a connection between the drum shield 8 and the drum 2 and which, in this case, consist of a first part 11 attached to the drum shield 8 and a second part 12 attached to the drum shield 8, whereby between said parts 11. and 12 a spring is provided for friction coupling said drum 2 and said drum shield 8.
• an improved washing machine, dry'er or the like is also provided with blocking means which consist of a pin 13 actuated by means, for example in the form of a coil 14 or? any other means, such as pneumatic or hydraulic means. It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that this can be done by a cheap electrical operated coil.
• the blocking means also consist of a recess 15 which is provided on the drum shield 8.
• an improved washing machine, dryer or the like may also be provided with means for indicating the recess to be in line with the pin 13, which can co-operate with said blocking means and which can consist of one or more of the following means which are provided on the drum shield 8:
• Figure 2a is showing the situation during normal operation of the improved washing machine, d ⁇ ryer or the like, wherein the drum shield 8 is positioned against the inner drum 2, sealing the opening in the drum 2.
• the pin 13 is in upper position and the drum shield 8 is interconnected with drum 2 by means of the coupling parts 11 and 12.
• the interconnection between the drum shield 8 and the drum 2 is realized by means of a spring which is integrated in one of the two parts 11 or 12, resulting in a friction force between them.
• the coupling means may also consist of two interconnecting parts which are provided on the drum 2 and on the drum shield 8, xespectively.
• said coupling means can be formed by means of a magnetic coupling between the drum 2 and the drum shield
• Figures 21b, 2c and 2d show the sequential operations for opening the door, for loading the improved washing machine, dryer or the like.
• Figure 2c demonstrates how the pin 13 keeps the drum shield 8 static and the motor 4 keeps on turning the drum 2, in this way positioning the opening in. the drum 2 opposite the opening 10 in the drum shield 8.
• Figure 2d shows the situation in which the opening in the drum 2 is completely situated opposite the opening 10 of the drum shield 8, in order to unload the washing machine, ciryer or the like.
• the invention and as demonstrated in figure 2e it is also possible to let the drum 2 turn in the opposite direction and keep the drum shield 8 blocked by means of said blocking means, such, that the washing machine, dryer or the like goes in an interrupted way from an opened position for unloading to an opened position for loading without time loss. This latter is not possible with current state of the art machines.
• the drum 2 can be rotated over a. certain angle from a closed to an opened position.
• the washing machine, dryer or the like according to the invention is provided with whereby said angle is determined by means of magnetic, inductive and/our capacitive means or by means off an encoder.
• drum can also be rotated from a first opened position to a second opened position.
• an improved washing machine can be provided with load cells 17 for determining the weight of the linen, which are placed inside the washing machine.
• Said load cells 17 measure the amount of linen just after loading the machine and according the kind of' linen the control means select a certain quantity of water and soap which will be added in the drum. Preferably an appropriate amount of soap is added to guarantee a pH level of 9 to 9,5.
• an improved washing machine, dryer or the like according .to the invention also comprises measuring means which determine the pH level of the water.
• the water retention will be determined which can be used to prrocess further the linen in a dryer or ironing machine by this way preventing extra features needed on a dryer or ironing machine to measure the residual humidity.
• a barrier machine is placed in a wall, separating a dirty room and a clean room and having a loading opening in the tub on the dirty side and an unloading opening in the tub on the clean side. Those openings can be parallel to each other (a pass through machine) or perpendicular to each other (a corner machine) .

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• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Textile Engineering (AREA)
• Main Body Construction Of Washing Machines And Laundry Dryers (AREA)

Applications Claiming Priority (1)

Publications (1)

Family

ID=34959119

Family Applications (1)

Country Status (2)

Families Citing this family (2)

Family Cites Families (9)

• 2004
  • 2004-10-22 EP EP04789656A patent/EP1819865A1/de not_active Withdrawn
  • 2004-10-22 WO PCT/BE2004/000151 patent/WO2006042382A1/en active Application Filing

Non-Patent Citations (1)

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