Laundry treating appliance with dynamic balancer

• US 10,590,585 B2
• Filed: 06/12/2017
• Issued: 03/17/2020
• Est. Priority Date: 05/27/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Whirlpool Corporation
• Original Assignee: Whirlpool Corporation
• Inventors: Erickson, Donald E., Haslanger, Mark R., Ostdiek, Stephen D., Rodriguez, Jaime E.
• Primary Examiner(s): Adhlakha, Rita P
• Application Number:
  US15/619,761
• Publication Number:
  US 20170275801A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,009 Days
• Field of Search: 68 232
• CPC Class Codes: D06F 37/225 Damping vibrations by displacing, supplying or ejecting a material, e.g. liquid, into or from counterbalancing pockets
• CPC Class Codes: D06F 37/245 Damping vibrations by displacing, supplying or ejecting a material, e.g. liquid, into or from counterbalancing pockets
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 29/49909 Securing cup or tube between axially extending concentric annuli

Abstract

A dynamic balancer device for mounting to and balancing a rotatable drum in a laundry treating appliance comprises an enclosed non-metal annular housing having a radial circumferential wall, an annular metal race within the non-metal annular housing disposed against the radial circumferential wall, and a mass disposed in the annular race and movable therein.

Claims

1. A laundry treating appliance, comprising:

a rotatable drum configured to receive a laundry load and including a cylindrical wall and a metal cover having an annular groove formed by a first wall, a second wall spaced from the first wall, and a third wall extending between a proximal edge of the first wall and a proximal edge of the second wall, where the annular groove is open between a distal edge of the first wall and a distal edge of the second wall, and the first wall is operably coupled to the cylindrical wall;

an enclosed non-metal annular housing having an outer radial wall, an inner radial wall, a top wall, and a bottom wall defining a hollow annular raceway where the enclosed non-metal annular housing is operably coupled to the annular groove; and

a mass disposed in the hollow annular raceway and movable therein.

2. The laundry treating appliance of claim 1 wherein the top wall abuts the third wall opposite the annular groove and the outer radial wall abuts the cylindrical wall.

3. The laundry treating appliance of claim 1, further comprising at least one fastener extending from the metal cover into the enclosed non-metal annular housing to secure the metal cover to the non-metal annular housing.

4. The laundry treating appliance of claim 1 wherein the enclosed non-metal annular housing comprises at least two pieces operably coupled together to define the hollow annular raceway.

5. The laundry treating appliance of claim 1, further comprising a stiffening ring operably coupled to a wall of the enclosed non-metal annular housing.

6. A laundry treating appliance, comprising:

a cover operably coupled to a wall forming at least a portion of a treating chamber configured to receive a laundry load, the cover having an open annular groove forming a U-shaped cross-section that is open at a surface between the two ends of the U-shaped cross-section;

an enclosed annular housing operably coupled to the cover, the enclosed annular housing defining a hollow annular raceway; and

a mass disposed in the hollow annular raceway and movable therein.

7. The laundry treating appliance of claim 6 wherein the enclosed annular housing comprises an outer radial wall, an inner radial wall, a top wall, and a bottom wall.

8. The laundry treating appliance of claim 7 wherein the hollow annular raceway has a curvature configured to direct the mass toward a center of the outer radial wall.

9. The laundry treating appliance of claim 8 wherein the curvature is in the outer radial wall.

10. The laundry treating appliance of claim 7 wherein the outer radial wall, the inner radial wall, and the bottom wall are one piece, and the top wall is a separate piece.

11. The laundry treating appliance of claim 7 wherein the top wall and the outer radial wall are one piece, and the inner radial wall and the bottom wall are a separate piece.

12. The laundry treating appliance of claim 6, further comprising a stiffening ring located within a portion of the enclosed annular housing.

13. The laundry treating appliance of claim 12 wherein the enclosed annular housing further comprises a groove on its exterior configured to receive the stiffening ring.

14. The laundry treating appliance of claim 6 wherein the cover forms a portion of a rotatable drum of the laundry treating appliance.

15. The laundry treating appliance of claim 14 wherein the wall forming the at least a portion of the treating chamber is a cylindrical wall.

16. The laundry treating appliance of claim 15 wherein the open annular groove is formed by a first wall adjacent to the cylindrical wall, a second wall spaced from the first wall, and a third wall extending between the first and second walls.

17. The laundry treating appliance of claim 16 wherein the open annular groove further comprises a fourth wall having at least a portion thereof extending from the second wall, the fourth wall terminating in an edge that defines an opening to accommodate receiving a laundry load in the treating chamber.

18. The laundry treating appliance of claim 6, further comprising at least one fastener extending from the cover into the enclosed annular housing to secure the cover to the enclosed annular housing.

19. The laundry treating appliance of claim 6 wherein the cover is metal.

20. The laundry treating appliance of claim 6 wherein the enclosed annular housing comprises an enclosed non-metal annular housing.