Washing machine and outer tub supporting structure thereof

Abstract

Disclosed herein are a washing machine which minimizes the number of dampers and effectively prevents vibration, and an outer tub supporting structure thereof. The washing machine includes a housing forming an external appearance of the washing machine, an outer tub provided in the housing to store water, an inner tub rotatably mounted within the outer tub, a driving device including a rotary shaft passing through the outer tub and connected to the inner tub to rotate the inner tub, a bearing surrounding the rotary shaft and fixed to the outer tub to prevent rotation of the outer tub during rotation of the rotary shaft, a bearing housing formed on the outer tub such that the bearing is mounted within the bearing housing, and a damping unit provided with a first end supporting the bearing housing and a second end fixed to the washing machine housing to reduce vibration of the outer tub.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS[0001]This application claims the benefit of Korean Patent Application No. 2009-0077947, filed on Aug. 24, 2009 in the Korean Intellectual Property Office, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.BACKGROUND[0002]1. Field[0003]Embodiments relate to a washing machine which effectively absorbs impact and vibration of an outer tub, and an outer tub supporting structure thereof.[0004]2. Description of the Related Art[0005]In general, a washing machine lifts and drop laundry in an inner tub, in which the laundry is contained, due to rotation of the inner tub, thus washing the laundry.[0006]In a conventional washing machine, an inner tub within an outer tub is rotated by driving a motor located at the outside of the outer tub, and laundry in the inner tub is rotated together with the inner tub and is lifted to a designated height and dropped by a plurality of lifters provided on the inner surface of the inner tub. Thereby, washing ...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0011]Therefore, it is an aspect of the at least one embodiment to provide a washing machine which minimizes the number of dampers and effectively prevents vibration, and an outer tub supporting structure thereof.

[0012]It is another aspect of the at least one embodiment to provide a washing machine which prevents deformation of an outer tub due to vibration and moment of an inner tub, and an outer tub supporting structure thereof.

[0014]The foregoing and / or other aspects are achieved by providing a washing machine including a housing forming an external appearance of the washing machine, an outer tub provided in the housing to store water, an inner tub rotatably mounted within the outer tub, a driving device including a rotary shaft passing through the outer tub and connected to the inner tub to rotate the inner tub, a bearing surrounding the rotary shaft and fixed to the outer tub to prevent rotation of the outer tub during rotation of the rotary shaft, a bearing housing formed on the outer tub such that the bearing is mounted within the bearing housing, and a damping unit provided with a first end supporting the bearing housing and a second end fixed to the housing to reduce vibration of the outer tub.

[0024]The foregoing and / or other aspects are achieved by providing a washing machine including a first washing unit including a first outer tub, and a first inner tub rotatably provided within the first outer tub, and a second washing unit including a second outer tub provided with a bearing housing at the center of a rear surface thereof such that a bearing is mounted within the bearing housing, and a damping device to reduce vibration of the second outer tub, wherein the second washing unit is mounted on the upper part of the first washing unit, and the damping device includes a pair of support members mounted at opposite positions of an outer diameter part of the second outer tub, and a damping unit provided with a first end supporting the bearing housing and a second end supported by the upper part of the first washing unit.

Problems solved by technology

Thus, vibration and noise of the outer tub generated due to rotation of the inner tub are absorbed by the damping springs and the dampers.

However, in the conventional washing machine, eccentric load is momentarily generated at the rear surface of the outer tub due to the driving force of the motor transmitted to a pulley at an initial driving stage of the motor, and thus the outer tub is tilted to the rear surface where the pulley is installed and eccentric rotation of the outer tub may occur.

However, such a method does not completely prevent generation of the eccentric load, thus causing deterioration of durability of the outer tub and deterioration of washing performance of the washing machine.

However, an increase of the number of the dampers causes deterioration of assembly efficiency of the dampers, difficulty in repair of the dampers, and increase of manufacturing costs.

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