Laundry treating apparatus having a pump body support leg including a rigid head and a deformable stem

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10704178-B2
Application number	US-201615287843-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Oct 7, 2016
Priority date	Oct 7, 2015
Publication date	Jul 7, 2020
Grant date	Jul 7, 2020

Abstract

Provided is a laundry treating apparatus in which vibrations are reduced. The laundry treating apparatus includes a tub holding washing water, a drum rotatably disposed within the tub and holding laundry, a nozzle jetting the washing water to an interior of the drum, a pump unit having a pump body, a drain pump coupled to the pump body and outwardly draining washing water introduced from the interior of the tub to the pump body, and a circulation pump coupled to the pump body and supplying washing water introduced from the interior of the tub to the pump body to the nozzle, a cabinet accommodating the tub, the drum, the nozzle, and the pump unit therein, and a mount coupled to the pump body and the cabinet to absorb vibrations.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A laundry treating apparatus comprising:
a tub;
a pump assembly having a pump body receiving water from the tub, a drain pump coupled to the pump body and draining water in the pump body, a circulation pump coupled to the pump body, and a fastening mount protruded from the pump body;
a cabinet to house the tub and the pump assembly; and
a support leg to couple the fastening mount and the cabinet and to absorb vibrations between the pump assembly and the cabinet,
wherein the support leg extends in a vertical direction,
wherein the support leg includes:
a rigid head; and
a deformable stem provided downward of the rigid head, and made of material softer than the rigid head, and

wherein the rigid head is positioned in a mold pattern when the deformable stem is molded in the mold pattern such that the rigid head and the deformable stem are formed integrally.

2. The laundry treating apparatus of claim 1 , further comprising:
a fastener coupling the support leg to the cabinet.

3. The laundry treating apparatus of claim 2 , wherein the cabinet includes a base cover forming a bottom surface of the cabinet, the support leg is coupled to the base cover, and the fastener is inserted through an opening in the base cover and engages an opening in the support leg.

4. The laundry treating apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the cabinet includes a base cover forming a bottom surface of the cabinet, and the support leg is coupled to the base cover.

5. The laundry treating apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the fastening mount includes a first fastening plate having a first fastening hole and a second fastening plate disposed to be parallel to the first fastening plate and having a second fastening hole.

6. The laundry treating apparatus of claim 5 , wherein the rigid head inserted into the first fastening hole when the support leg is received in the fastening mount; and
the deformable stem inserted into the second fastening hole when the support leg is received in the fastening mount.

7. The laundry treating apparatus of claim 6 , wherein the rigid head is formed from a metal or a plastic.

8. The laundry treating apparatus of claim 6 , wherein the deformable stem is formed from rubber.

9. The laundry treating apparatus of claim 6 , wherein the rigid head includes:
a circular base; and
at least one protrusion extending from an outer circumferential surface of the base in a radial direction, and
wherein the protrusion engages a portion of the first fastening plate when the support leg is received by the fastening mount to discourage a rotation of the support leg within the fastening mount.

10. The laundry treating apparatus of claim 6 , wherein the deformable stem includes:
a groove corresponding to the second fastening hole;
a first arrest extension formed on one side of the groove and caught by a surface of the second fastening plate facing the first fastening plate when the support leg is received by the fastening mount;
a second arrest extension formed on another side of the groove and caught by an opposite surface of the second fastening plate facing the first fastening plate when the support leg is received by the fastening mount; and
a buffer base extending from the second arrest extension so as to be in contact with the cabinet.

11. The laundry treating apparatus of claim 10 , wherein the buffer base includes:
an extending flange extending from the second arrest extension in an axial direction; and
a contact cushion protruding from an end portion of the extending flange in a radial direction so as to be in contact with the cabinet when the support leg couples the pump assembly to the cabinet.

12. The laundry treating apparatus of claim 10 , wherein the support leg includes at least one of a plurality of first arrest extensions or a plurality of second arrest extensions, and the plurality of first fastening extensions or the plurality of second fastening extensions are spaced apart from each other in a circumferential direction of the support leg.

13. The laundry treating apparatus of claim 10 , wherein the first arrest extension includes a sloped surface formed in a front end to be inserted into the second fastening hole.

14. A laundry treating apparatus comprising:
a tub;
a pump assembly having a pump body to receive water from the tub, a drain pump coupled to the pump body, a circulation pump coupled to the pump body, and a fastening mount protruded from the pump body;
a cabinet to house the tub and the pump assembly;
a support leg that is received in the fastening mount, the support leg including:
a rigid head; and
a deformable stem formed of material softer than the rigid head, the deformable stem having a cavity that extends between a first opening and a second opening of the deformable stem, a portion of the rigid head being received in the cavity via the first opening; and

a fastener that is configured to be inserted through an opening in a bottom surface of the cabinet and into the second opening of the deformable stem to couple the support leg to the bottom surface of the cabinet.

15. The laundry treating apparatus of claim 14 , wherein:
the rigid head includes a cylinder base, and at least one protrusion radially extending from an outer surface of the cylinder base, and
the fastener, when inserted into the cavity of the deformable head, applies positions the protrusion of the rigid head into a slot formed in the fastening mount.

16. The laundry treating apparatus of claim 14 , wherein the fastening mount includes a first fastening plate having a first fastening hole, a second fastening plate extending parallel to the first fastening plate and having a second fastening hole, and a vertical wall coupling the first fastening plate and the second fastening plate, and
wherein, when the support leg is received in the fastening mount, the rigid head is inserted into the first fastening hole, and the deformable stem is inserted into the second fastening hole.

17. The laundry treating apparatus of claim 16 , wherein the rigid head includes a cylinder base; and at least one protrusion extending radially from an outer circumferential surface of the base, and
wherein the at least one protrusion engages an interior surface of the first fastening hole when the support leg is received in the fastening mount.

18. The laundry treating apparatus of claim 16 , wherein the deformable stem includes:
a groove having a shape corresponding to the second fastening hole;
a first arrest extension formed on one side of the groove to engage a surface of the second fastening plate facing the first fastening plate when the support leg is received by the fastening mount;
a second arrest extension formed on another side of the groove to engage an opposite surface of the second fastening plate when the support leg is received by the fastening mount; and
a buffer base extending from the second arrest extension so as to contact the cabinet.

19. The laundry treating apparatus of claim 18 , wherein the buffer base includes:
an extending flange extending from the second arrest extension in an axial direction; and
a contact cushion protruding from an end portion of the extending flange in a radial direction so as to contact the cabinet when the support leg is coupled to the cabinet.

20. The laundry treating apparatus of claim 18 , wherein the first arrest extension includes a sloped surface formed in a front end to be inserted into the second fastening hole.

Assignees

• Lg Electronics Inc

Inventors

• Jung Sungwoon
• Jang Hunjun

Classifications

• D06F39/085 Primary

  Arrangements or adaptations of pumps · CPC title

• D06F37/22 Primary

  in machines with a receptacle rotating or oscillating about a horizontal axis · CPC title

• F04B53/004

  by mechanical resonators · CPC title

• D06F39/12

  Casings; Tubs · CPC title

• F04B53/003

  by damping supports · CPC title