Driving device for washing machine

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11613837-B2
Application number	US-202016752383-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jan 24, 2020
Priority date	Jan 25, 2019
Publication date	Mar 28, 2023
Grant date	Mar 28, 2023

Abstract

A driving device for a washing machine includes: a shaft including an inner shaft and an outer shaft surrounding the inner shaft; a motor assembly including a stator, a rotor that surrounds the stator, a modulator that surrounds the rotor, and a magnetic gear rotating body that surrounds the modulator; a first fixation body that connects between the inner shaft and the magnetic gear rotating body; a second fixation body having one end connected to the stator and the other end connected to a tub; and an electronic clutch that disconnects the outer shat and the rotor or connects the inner shaft and the rotor according to an operation mode of the washing machine. The modulator adjusts a speed and torque of the magnetic gear rotating body. The driving device may make a motor drive area highly efficient and may reduce electric consumption.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A driving device for a washing machine, comprising:
a shaft comprising an inner shaft and an outer shaft that surrounds the inner shaft;
a motor assembly comprising:
a stator,
a rotor that surrounds the stator and that is configured to rotate relative to the stator,
a modulator that surrounds the rotor, and
a magnetic gear rotating body that surrounds the modulator, wherein the modulator is configured to adjust a rotating speed of the magnetic gear rotating body and a torque of the magnetic gear rotating body;

a first fixation body that connects the inner shaft to the magnetic gear rotating body;
a second fixation body that fixes the modulator to a tub of the washing machine, the second fixation body having a first end connected to the stator and a second end connected to the tub; and
an electronic clutch that is configured to, according to an operation mode of the washing machine, disconnect the outer shaft from the rotor or connect the inner shaft to the rotor,
wherein the rotor is disposed radially between the stator and the modulator, the rotor comprising:
a first magnet that faces the stator, and
a second magnet that is disposed radially outward relative to the first magnet and that faces the modulator.

2. The driving device of claim 1 , wherein the motor assembly includes:
a first gap defined between the stator and the rotor;
a second gap defined between the rotor and the modulator; and
a third gap defined between the modulator and the magnetic gear rotating body.

3. The driving device of claim 1 , wherein the modulator comprises one or more electrical steel sheets.

4. The driving device of claim 3 , wherein the magnetic gear rotating body comprises a plurality of magnets that face the modulator, that have different polarities from one another, and that are alternately arranged along a circumferential direction of the rotor.

5. The driving device of claim 4 , wherein the modulator is configured to, based on adjusting the rotating speed and the torque of the magnetic gear rotating body, decrease a speed of the rotor and increase a torque of the rotor.

6. The driving device of claim 1 , wherein the inner shaft connected to a pulsator of the washing machine.

7. The driving device of claim 6 , wherein the outer shaft is connected to the tub of the washing machine.

8. The driving device of claim 7 , wherein the electronic clutch is configured to, based on the operation mode being a wash mode, disconnect the outer shaft from the rotor and rotate the pulsator in a low-speed high-torque mode.

9. The driving device of claim 7 , wherein the electronic clutch is configured to, based on the operation mode being a dehydration mode, couple the outer shaft to the rotor and rotate the tub in a high-speed low-torque mode.

10. A driving device for a washing machine, comprising:
a shaft comprising an inner shaft and an outer shaft that surrounds the inner shaft;
a motor assembly comprising:
a stator,
a rotor that that surrounds the stator and that is configured to rotate relative to the stator,
a modulator that surrounds the rotor, and
a magnetic gear rotating body that surrounds the modulator, wherein the modulator is configured to adjust a rotating speed of the magnetic gear rotating body and a torque of the magnetic gear rotating body;

a first fixation body that connects the inner shaft to the magnetic gear rotating body, the first fixation body having a first end fixed to the magnetic gear rotating body and a second end fixed to the inner shaft;
a second fixation body that fixes the modulator to a tub of the washing machine, the second fixation body having a first end connected to the stator and a second end connected to the tub; and
an electronic clutch that is configured to, according to an operation mode of the washing machine, disconnect the outer shaft from the rotor or connect the inner shaft to the rotor,
wherein a distal end of the inner shaft is connected to a pulsator of the washing machine, and the outer shaft is connected to the tub, and
wherein the rotor is disposed radially between the stator and the modulator, the rotor comprising:
a first magnet that faces the stator, and
a second magnet that is disposed radially outward relative to the first magnet and that faces the modulator.

11. The driving device of claim 10 , wherein the motor assembly includes:
a first gap defined between the stator and the rotor;
a second gap defined between the rotor and the modulator; and
a third gap defined between the modulator and the magnetic gear rotating body.

12. The driving device of claim 10 , wherein the modulator comprises one or more electrical steel sheets.

13. The driving device of claim 12 , wherein the magnetic gear rotating body comprises a plurality of magnets that face the modulator, that have different polarities from one another, and that are alternately arranged along a circumferential direction of the rotor.

14. The driving device of claim 13 , wherein the modulator is configured to, based on adjusting the rotating speed and the torque of the magnetic gear rotating body, decrease a speed of the rotor and increase a torque of the rotor.

15. The driving device of claim 10 , wherein the electronic clutch is configured to, based on the operation mode being a wash mode, disconnect the outer shaft from the rotor and rotate the pulsator in a low-speed high-torque mode.

16. The driving device of claim 10 , wherein the electronic clutch is configured to, based on the operation mode being a dehydration mode, couple the outer shaft to the rotor and rotate the tub in a high-speed low-torque mode.

17. The driving device of claim 10 , wherein the second fixation body comprises:
a stator fixer that is connected and fixed to the stator; and
a modulator fixer that extends from the stator fixer and that fixes the modulator to the tub.

18. The driving device of claim 17 , wherein the modulator fixer extends from the stator fixer toward the tub and is inserted between the rotor and the magnetic gear rotating body.

Assignees

• Lg Electronics Inc

Inventors

• Nam Hyoung Uk
• Ko Hyojin
• Hong Jin

Classifications

• D06F37/36

  for rotating the receptacle at more than one speed {(D06F37/304, D06F37/308 take precedence)} · CPC title

• D06F37/304 Primary

  Arrangements or adaptations of electric motors · CPC title

• H02K29/08

  using magnetic effect devices, e.g. Hall-plates, magneto-resistors (H02K29/12 takes precedence) · CPC title

• D06F33/36

  of washing · CPC title

• H02K49/102

  Magnetic gearings, i.e. assembly of gears, linear or rotary, by which motion is magnetically transferred without physical contact (magnetized gearings with physical contact F16H13/12, F16H49/005) · CPC title