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(11) | EP 3 578 707 A1 |
| (12) | EUROPEAN PATENT APPLICATION |
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| (54) | LAUNDRY TREATING APPLIANCE |
| (57) Laundry treating appliance including a hollow mechanism (4, 6) including a first
member and a second member, the first member having a first flat surface before assembly,
the second member having a second flat surface before assembly, the first member and
the second member being fixedly connected through friction welding of the first flat
surface and the second flat surface to form the hollow mechanism, and at least one
of the first flat surface and the second flat surface having protruding welding ribs
(7) that constitute edges of several closed geometric units (70) joined to each other.
The welding ribs (7) that form the closed geometric units (70) joined to each other
have a longer welding line, a larger area, and higher welding strength, thus achieving
a firmer and more reliable connection between the first member and the second member
and higher tightness of welding points.
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BACKGROUND
Technical Field
[0001] The present invention relates to a laundry treating appliance for laundry washing and/or drying, and in particular to a connection structure for plastic parts of the laundry treating appliance.
Related Art
[0002] Laundry treating appliances are typically provided with a laundry treating space in which the laundry is washed and/or dried. A washing liquid and/or dry air are/is agitated or flow(s) within the treating space.
[0003] The treating space typically includes a fluid passageway or a container formed by combining a plurality of assemblies. In some cases, the plurality of assemblies is connected through friction welding.
[0004] In order to avoid leakage of the liquid or the dry air during laundry treatment, it is desired to achieve high tightness for the friction welding and high strength for welding joints. In addition, welding burs may be generated during the friction welding, and wool or fluff comes off the laundry when washing and/or drying are/is performed in the laundry treating space. The wool or fluff easily adheres to an area of the welding burs, absorbing more dirt or affecting the drying effect.
SUMMARY
[0006] The present invention provides a laundry treating appliance, including a hollow mechanism in which a fluid passageway or a container is formed, the hollow mechanism including a first member and a second member, the first member having a first flat surface before assembly, the second member having a second flat surface before assembly, the first member and the second member being fixedly connected through friction welding of the first flat surface and the second flat surface to form the hollow mechanism, and at least one of the first flat surface and the second flat surface having protruding welding ribs that constitute edges of several closed geometric units joined to each other.
[0007] As compared with a traditional independent linear welding rib, the welding ribs that form the closed geometric units joined to each other have a longer welding line, a larger area, and higher welding strength, thus achieving a firmer and more reliable connection between the first member and the second member and higher tightness of welding points.
[0010] More specifically, the geometric units may be of hexagons. The geometric units form a substantially honeycomb-shaped structure after being joined to each other.
[0011] In one of preferred implementations, the welding ribs include a main welding rib that protrudes higher and an auxiliary welding rib that protrudes lower, where the auxiliary welding rib is at least distributed on an outer circumference of the geometric units at the periphery, and the main welding rib is located in the interior of weld zones that are enclosed by the auxiliary welding rib. Thus, during the friction welding, the higher main welding rib melts to a larger extent, and the lower auxiliary welding rib melts to a smaller extent. As a result, weld burs are generally present on the main welding rib but are not or rarely present on the auxiliary welding rib. Since the auxiliary welding rib is located on the outer circumference of the weld zone, wool or fluff is not easily hooked due to the weld burs.
[0012] The laundry treating appliance has a rotary drum configured to accommodate laundry and a tub disposed around the drum, the hollow mechanism including the tub.
[0013] In one of embodiments, an inner surface of a wall of the tub has a groove, the groove being covered by a cover plate, the cover plate being fixedly connected to the wall of the tub to form an air condensing passageway between the groove and the cover plate, the first member including the wall of the tub, and the second member including the cover plate.
[0014] In addition, the tub includes a front tub and a rear tub that respectively have a first fitting face and a second fitting face that are opposite to each other, the first member including the front tub, and the second member including the rear tub. The welding ribs may be formed on at least one of the first fitting face and the second fitting face.
[0015] The laundry treating appliance has a rotary drum configured to accommodate laundry, a tub disposed around the drum, and a passageway connected to the tub that allows passage of dry air, where the hollow mechanism includes the passageway that allows the passage of the dry air.
[0017] One of specific implementations of the present invention will be described hereinafter by using a washer-dryer as an example with reference to the accompanying drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0018]
- FIG. 1
- is a schematic side view of a washer-dryer;
- FIG. 2
- is a schematic front view of a rear tub of a tub; and
- FIG. 3
- is a plan view of a welding rib on a cover plate.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0019] As shown in FIG. 1, a washer-dryer 10 has a rotary drum 2 configured to accommodate laundry and a tub 4 disposed around the drum 2. A condensing passageway 6 is integrally formed on the tub 4. An outlet 62 of the condensing passageway 6 is connected to a fan 8. The other end of the fan 8 is connected to an air heating passageway 9. An outlet 91 of the air heating passageway 9 communicates with the tub 4. The tub 4, the condensing passageway 6, the fan 8, and the air heating passageway 9 therefore form an air circulation loop. During drying, humidified and hot air exchanges heat in the condensing passageway 6, and moisture in the air is liquefied into water and separated from the air.
[0020] The tub 4 includes a front tub 41 and a rear tub 42 that respectively have a first fitting face 410 and a second fitting face 420 that are opposite to each other and are substantially flat. The first fitting face 410 and the second fitting face 420 are connected through friction welding, with a first weld zone 43a therebetween.
[0021] As shown in FIG. 2, an inner surface 440 of a rear wall 44 of the tub 4 has a groove 441. The groove 441 is covered by a cover plate 5, and the cover plate 5 is fixedly connected to the rear wall 44 of the tub to form the condensing passageway 6 between the groove 441 and the cover plate 5. The cover plate 5 is connected to the rear wall 44 of the tub 4 through friction welding, with a second weld zone 43b therebetween. In order to achieve the friction welding, the cover plate 5 has a third fitting face 51 that is substantially flat, and a side of the rear wall 44 of the tub that faces the cover plate 5 has a fourth fitting face 442 that is substantially flat.
[0022] In other embodiments not shown in the drawings, the tub may be connected to a separate condensing passageway that allows passage of dry air. The passageway is formed of two butted assemblies. The two assemblies are connected through friction welding.
[0023] The tub 4, the cover plate 5, the independent condensing passageway, and the like that are described above are made of plastic by means of injection molding.
[0024] In order to achieve the friction welding, in one of the embodiments, the first fitting face 410 and the third fitting face 51 are respectively provided with protruding welding ribs 7.
[0025] As shown in FIG. 3, the welding ribs 7 constitute edges of several closed geometric units 70 that are joined to each other. In a preferred embodiment, the geometric units 70 are of hexagonal structures having a same shape and a same size.
[0026] The welding ribs 7 include a main welding rib 71 that protrudes higher and an auxiliary welding rib 72 that protrudes lower. The auxiliary welding rib 72 is distributed on an outer circumference of the geometric units at the periphery. It can also be understood that the auxiliary welding rib 72 is located at edges of the first weld zone 43a and the second weld zone 43b. The main welding rib 71 is located in the interior of the weld zones 43a and 43b that are enclosed by the auxiliary welding rib 72. A part of the auxiliary welding rib 72 may also be located in the interior of the weld zones 43a and 43b.
[0027] The specific implementations described above and shown in the drawings are merely illustrative of the present invention, but do not represent the entire invention. Within the scope of the basic technical ideas of the present invention, all changes to the present invention made by those of ordinary skill in the art fall within the protection scope of the present invention.
1. A laundry treating appliance, comprising a hollow mechanism (4, 6) in which a fluid
passageway or a container is formed, the hollow mechanism comprising a first member
(41, 5) and a second member (42, 44), the first member having a first flat surface
(410, 51) before assembly, the second member having a second flat surface (420, 442)
before assembly, and the first member and the second member being fixedly connected
through friction welding of the first flat surface and the second flat surface to
form the hollow mechanism, characterized in that at least one of the first flat surface and the second flat surface has protruding
welding ribs (7, 71, 72), and the welding ribs constitute edges of several closed
geometric units (70) joined to each other.
2. The laundry treating appliance according to claim 1, characterized in that the geometric units are of polygonal structures.
3. The laundry treating appliance according to claim 2, characterized in that the geometric units have a same shape.
4. The laundry treating appliance according to claim 3, characterized in that the geometric units are of hexagons.
5. The laundry treating appliance according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the welding ribs comprise a main welding rib (71) that protrudes higher and an auxiliary
welding rib (72) that protrudes lower, wherein the auxiliary welding rib is at least
distributed on an outer circumference of the geometric units at the periphery, and
the main welding rib is located in the interior of weld zones (43a, 43b) that are
enclosed by the auxiliary welding rib.
6. The laundry treating appliance according to claim 5, characterized by having a rotary drum (2) configured to accommodate laundry and a tub (4) disposed
around the drum, the hollow mechanism comprising the tub.
7. The laundry treating appliance according to claim 6, characterized in that an inner surface (440) of a rear wall (44) of the tub has a groove (441), the groove
being covered by a cover plate (5), the cover plate (5) being fixedly connected to
the rear wall of the tub to form an air condensing passageway (6) between the groove
and the cover plate, the first member comprising the rear wall of the tub, and the
second member comprising the cover plate.
8. The laundry treating appliance according to claim 6, characterized in that the tub comprises a front tub (41) and a rear tub (42) that respectively have a first
fitting face (410) and a second fitting face (420) that are opposite to each other,
the first member comprising the front tub, the second member comprising the rear tub,
and the welding rib being formed on at least one of the first fitting face and the
second fitting face.
9. The laundry treating appliance according to claim 5, characterized by having a rotary drum configured to accommodate laundry, a tub disposed around the
drum, and a passageway (6) connected to the tub that allows passage of dry air, wherein
the hollow mechanism comprises the passageway that allows the passage of the dry air.
10. The laundry treating appliance according to claim 1, characterized in that the hollow mechanism is made of plastic.