JPS6231114Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] This invention relates to a drain switching device for operating a drain valve or the like using a knob attached to the operating panel of a washing machine.

Most of these types of devices employ rotary operation knobs. That is, a rotary knob is attached to the operation panel, and a lever is provided that follows a cam that is integrally connected to the shaft of this knob.
A connecting rod connected to the drain valve is moved up and down by this lever. However, in this conventional device, since the knob is of a rotary type as described above, it is necessary to secure a large installation space on the operation panel. Therefore,
Various restrictions arise in relation to the installation space of other operation parts, and there is an inconvenience in that the arrangement of these parts has to be adjusted while designing. In addition, if the drain valve, etc. is frozen due to water remaining in the drain in a cold region, forcibly operating the rotary knob may apply excessive force to the cam or lever, damaging them or preventing them from engaging. There was a risk that it might come off. In view of this, a coil spring is interposed between the lever and the connecting rod to absorb the unreasonable stress, but this increases the number of parts and reduces the cost and ease of assembly. It is also unfavorable in terms of.

Therefore, the purpose of this invention is to reduce the space required to install the knob on the operation panel, and to prevent damage or breakage even if the knob is forcibly operated when the drain valve, etc. freezes due to water remaining in the drain section. To provide a drain switching device for a washing machine with a simple configuration.

Hereinafter, embodiments of this invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

As shown in FIG. 1, the drainage switch switch 1 according to this invention uses a seesaw-shaped knob 3 having a shaft hole 2 in the center. This knob 3 is connected to the operation panel 24 (second
It is swingably mounted to the operation panel 24 by inserting a support shaft provided parallel to the mounting window into the shaft hole 2 (see figure). The knob 3 has a plate-shaped main cam 4 that protrudes rearward from its back surface, and the main cam 4 has a main cam 4 that descends in a smooth curve from the upper edge to the side edge.
A cam surface 6 is formed which terminates in a stopper groove 5 provided on the side edge. Further, on one side of the main cam 4, an auxiliary cam 7 that slopes downward toward the rear is provided.
is attached. On the other hand, a lock drive spring 8 interlocked with the knob 3 is provided. This Kotoku drive spring 8 consists of a coil spring body 11 and arms 9 and 10 extending tangentially from both ends of the coil spring body 11.
It is rotatably supported in relation to the knob by a shaft (not shown) extending parallel to the support shaft of the knob. One arm 9 extends along one side of the main cam 4, and its tip is bent at a substantially right angle, so that the cam receiver 1
It has become 2. Further, the other arm 10 has a ring 13 formed at its tip, and the upper end of a connecting rod 14 extending from the drainage pot body side, which will be described later, is hooked to this ring. FIG. 2 schematically shows an electric washing machine to which the above-described drain switch switching device 1 is applied. That is, a drain port 16 is formed at the bottom of a washing tub 15 installed in an outer box (not shown).
A pot body 17 is attached to the lower part of the washing tub 15 via a packing 18 so as to cover this.
A drain port 19 is provided protruding from the side wall of the pot body 17, and a known drain hose 20 is connected to the drain port 19. Washing tub 1 inside the cotuku body 17
A tubular drain valve 21 having a bellows-shaped body is connected to the drain port 16 of No.
It is made of a sealing member such as rubber so as to be in close contact with it. A drain valve holder 22 is attached to the neck of the drain valve 21, and one end is pivotally supported on the inner wall of the Kotuku body 17 and the other end is connected to the aforementioned connecting rod 14. It rotates as the rod 14 moves up and down, changing the contact angle between the lower edge opening of the drain valve 21 and the bottom surface of the pot body 17. Further, a spring 23 is attached to the body of the drain valve 21, which is sandwiched between the bottom of the washing tub 15 and the drain valve holder 22, and this urges the drain valve holder 22 downward. . The connecting rod 14 is connected to the drain switching device 1 as described above through a guide path 24 attached to the side of the washing tub 15.

Next, the operation of this invention will be explained with reference to FIGS. 3 to 6.

In Figure 3, the upper part of knob 3 is pushed and the cam receiver 1 is pressed.
2 is shown removed from the stopper groove 5, and in this state, the connecting rod 14 is connected to the drain valve 2.
The drain valve 21 is pulled downward via the drain valve holder 22 by the biasing force of the spring 23 of the drain valve 21, and the drain valve 21 is closed with its lower opening edge in close contact with the bottom of the pot body 17. From this state, when the lower part of the knob 3 is pressed and the main cam 4 is rotated in the counterclockwise direction as shown in the figure together with the knob 3, the arm 9 of the Kotoku drive spring 8 comes into contact with the auxiliary cam 7, as shown in FIG. The other arm 10 also rotates accordingly and pulls the connecting rod 14 upward. In this process, initially, the cam receiver 12 of the arm 9 does not yet come into contact with the cam surface 6 of the main cam 4, and the rotation of the cock drive spring 8 is performed exclusively by the sliding movement between the auxiliary cam 7 and the arm 9. . Then, as the lower part of the knob 3 is further pushed and the main cam 4 is rotated, the cam receiver 12 of the arm 9 comes into contact with the cam surface 6 and thereafter slides along the cam surface 6, as shown in FIG. Therefore, the arm 9 will be separated from the auxiliary cam 7. In this way, after the arm 9 of the Kotoku drive spring 8 is once raised by the auxiliary cam 7,
Since the cam receiver 12 slides in contact with the cam surface 6 of the main cam 4, the frictional force applied to the main cam 4 and the cam receiver 12 is greatly reduced, and the knob 3 can be operated with a light touch. be able to. Further, since no unreasonable force is applied to the cam receiver 12, the bending angle of the cam receiver 12 does not widen. Finally, as shown in FIG. 6, the cam receiver 12 of the arm 9 engages with the stopper groove 5 of the main cam 4, and the lock drive spring 8 is stopped in this state. Note that due to the biasing force of the spring 23 of the drain valve 21, a rotational force is applied to the lock drive spring 8 in the counterclockwise direction shown in the figure, and this force tends to return the knob 3 to the clockwise direction, that is, to the state shown in FIG. 3. However, as shown in FIG. 6, the cam receiver 12 engages with the stopper groove 6 above the straight line connecting the shaft hole 2 of the knob 3 and the support shaft of the coil spring body 11, so the knob 3 is unnecessary. There will be no turning back. In this case, it is more preferable that the cam receiver 12 engages with the stopper groove 5 above the imaginary horizontal plane that includes the shaft hole 2 of the knob 3, thereby reliably preventing the knob 3 from returning. be able to. In this way, the connecting rod 14 is maintained in a pulled up state by the cock drive spring 8, and as shown in FIG.
A gap is created between the drain valve 21 and the bottom wall of the pot body 17 to drain water. In addition,
To close the drain valve 21, the upper part of the knob 3 is pushed in from the state shown in FIG. 6, and the cam receiver 12 is forcibly removed from the stopper groove 5. By the way, if the water remaining in the Kotoku main body 17 freezes in a cold region etc., even if the knob 3 is operated, the Kotoku drive spring 8 will be elastically deformed around its coil spring main body 11, so that the main cam 4 will Damage can be prevented without applying excessive force.

Another embodiment is shown in FIG. 7, in which three stopper grooves 5a, 5b, 5c are formed in the main cam 4 of the knob 3, whereby the connecting rod 13 can be raised to three positions: upper, middle, and lower. Therefore, according to this aspect, for example,
It is also possible to apply it to a switching device that changes the water level at the overflow port in three stages, as shown in No. 42867.

Although a seesaw-type knob is used in the above-described embodiment, it goes without saying that a lever-type knob may also be used.

As is clear from the description of the embodiments described above, according to this invention, by using a small knob such as a seesaw type or lever type in place of the conventional rotary type knob, the installation required on the operation panel is simplified. space can be reduced,
The degree of freedom in design is increased. In addition, by interposing a cock drive spring between the knob and the drain knob, even if the drain valve, etc. freezes due to water remaining in the drain valve, the elasticity of the coil spring body will not be affected even if the knob is forcibly operated. As unreasonable stress is absorbed, it is possible to prevent the cam and Kotoku drive spring from breaking or coming off, and the stress-absorbing spring that was previously specially provided in conjunction with the connecting rod can be removed. This eliminates the need, reducing costs and improving assembly workability.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

All figures show examples of this invention.
Figure 1 is an exploded perspective view of the drainage switching device according to this invention, Figure 2 is a longitudinal sectional view showing a washing machine to which this drainage switching device is applied, and Figures 3 to 6 are this drainage switching device. FIG. 7 is a side view showing the operation of the knob, and FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the knob in another embodiment. In the figure, 1 is a drainage switching device, 2 is a shaft hole, and 3
is a knob, 4 is a main cam, 6 is a cam surface, 8 is a cock drive spring, 9 and 10 are arms, 11 is a winding part, 1
2 is a cam receiver, 14 is a connecting rod, 21 is a drain valve, 22
2 is a drain valve holder, and 24 is an operation panel.

Claims (1)

[Claims for Utility Model Registration] (1) A knob that is swingably mounted within a mounting window of an operation panel via an axis extending parallel to the panel surface, and a knob that extends from the back of the knob toward the inside of the panel. The kettle drive means includes a perforated cam means and a kettle drive means that cooperates with the cam means to convert the rocking motion of the knob into a linear up-and-down motion and transmits it to the drain kettle of the washing machine. The means includes a rotatably supported coil spring body, and a pair of arms drawn out from both winding ends of the coil spring body so as to form a substantially L-shape, one of the arms being connected to the cam. A drain kettle switching device for a washing machine, characterized in that the other arm is operatively connected to the drain kettle via a connecting rod. (2) Claim (1) of the utility model registration is characterized in that the cam surface of the cam means is provided with a stopper groove that releasably engages with one of the arms of the cock drive means. Washing machine drain switching device.