U.S. patent application number 11/635547 was filed with the patent office on 2007-10-18 for washing machine having a filtering drain pump.
This patent application is currently assigned to SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS CO., LTD.. Invention is credited to Jae Hyun Jang, Dong Bin Lim.
Application Number | 20070240457 11/635547 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 38603550 |
Filed Date | 2007-10-18 |
United States Patent
Application |
20070240457 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Jang; Jae Hyun ; et
al. |
October 18, 2007 |
Washing machine having a filtering drain pump
Abstract
A washing machine having a drain pump, which filters out
impurities contained in water supplied to a drain casing, and
conveniently removes the impurities. The drain pump includes a
drain casing provided with an inlet and an outlet to supply and
discharge the water, and a plurality of filtering pins filter
impurities contained in the water; and a drain filter provided with
through holes defined therein, into which the plurality of
filtering pins are respectively connected.
Inventors: |
Jang; Jae Hyun; (Suwon-si,
KR) ; Lim; Dong Bin; (Suwon-si, KR) |
Correspondence
Address: |
STAAS & HALSEY LLP
SUITE 700, 1201 NEW YORK AVENUE, N.W.
WASHINGTON
DC
20005
US
|
Assignee: |
SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS CO.,
LTD.
Suwon-si
KR
|
Family ID: |
38603550 |
Appl. No.: |
11/635547 |
Filed: |
December 8, 2006 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
68/18F ;
68/208 |
Current CPC
Class: |
D06F 39/083
20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
68/18.F ;
68/208 |
International
Class: |
D06F 35/00 20060101
D06F035/00; D06F 37/00 20060101 D06F037/00 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Apr 13, 2006 |
KR |
2006-33702 |
Claims
1. A washing machine, comprising: a drain pump draining water, said
drain pump comprising: a drain casing provided with an inlet and an
outlet to supply and discharge the water, and a plurality of
filtering pins to filter impurities contained in the water, and a
drain filter provided with through holes defined therein, into
which the plurality of filtering pins are respectively
connected.
2. The washing machine according to claim 1, wherein the through
holes comprise a plurality of pin holes into which the plurality of
filtering pins are respectively inserted, and a plurality of
collection holes filtering out the impurities in the water.
3. The washing machine according to claim 2, wherein the plurality
of filtering pins are installed at a designated tilt angle with
respect to a flow direction of the water supplied to the inlet of
the drain casing.
4. The washing machine according to claim 1, wherein the drain
filter comprises a filter body portion filtering out the impurities
in the water, a head connected to the filter body portion of the
drain filter facilitating insertion and removal of the drain filter
into and out of the drain casing, and connection members connecting
the filter body portion and the head.
5. The washing machine according to claim 4, wherein a level
portion is formed at an end of the filter body portion and a guide
protrusion is formed on a wall of the drain casing such that the
drain filter is correctly positioned within the drain casing when
the drain filter is inserted into the drain casing.
6. The washing machine according to claim 4, wherein the connection
members are separated from each other by a distance so that the
impurities are removed.
7. The washing machine according to claim 4, wherein the impurities
filtered out by the filtering pins are elevated by the filter body
when the drain filter is separated from the drain casing.
8. A washing machine, comprising: a drain pump for draining water,
said drain pump comprising: a drain casing provided with an inlet
and an outlet to supply and discharge the water; a drain filter
installed in the drain casing and provided with through holes
defined therein; a filtering plate; and a plurality of filtering
pins attached to the filtering plate, which are respectively
inserted into the through holes of the drain filter.
9. The washing machine according to claim 8, wherein the through
holes comprise a plurality of pin holes, into which the plurality
of filtering pins are respectively inserted so the plurality of
filtering pins protrude from the pin holes by a designated length,
and a plurality of collection holes to filter impurities in the
water.
10. The washing machine according to claim 9, wherein the plurality
of filtering pins are installed at a designated tilt angle with
respect to the flow direction of the water supplied to the
inlet.
11. The washing machine according to claim 8, wherein the drain
filter comprises a filter body provided with the through holes, a
head connected to the filter body facilitating insertion and
removal of the drain filter into and out of the drain casing, and
connection members connecting the filter body and the head.
12. The washing machine according to claim 11, wherein a level
portion and a guide protrusion are individually formed on the
filter body and the drain casing to position the drain filter in
the drain casing.
13. The washing machine according to claim 11, wherein the
plurality of connection members are separated from each other by a
distance so that the impurities are removed by a user.
14. The washing machine according to claim 11, wherein the
impurities filtered out by the filtering pins are elevated by the
filter body when the drain filter is separated from the filtering
plate.
15. The washing machine according to claim 8, wherein the drain
pump further comprises filtering plate connectors connecting the
drain filter and the filtering plate.
16. The washing machine according to claim 8, wherein the filtering
plate is fixedly installed in the drain casing.
17. A drain pump, comprising: a drain filter filtering impurities
contained in water; a drain casing, in which the drain filter is
installed; and a plurality of filtering pins attached to the drain
casing to filter impurities in the water.
18. The drain pump according to claim 17, wherein the drain filter
is provided with through holes into which the plurality of
filtering pins are respectively selectively inserted.
19. The drain pump according to claim 18, wherein the through holes
comprise a plurality of pin holes, into which the plurality of
filtering pins are respectively inserted so the plurality of
filtering pins protrude from the pin holes by a designated length,
and a plurality of collection holes filter impurities in the
water.
20. A drain pump, comprising: a drain filter to filter impurities
contained in water provided to the drain pump; a drain casing, into
which the drain filter is installed; a filtering plate connected to
the drain filter; and a plurality of filtering pins affixed to the
filtering plate to filter impurities in the water.
21. The drain pump according to claim 20, wherein the drain filter
has through holes defined therein into which the filtering pins are
inserted.
22. A drain filter, comprising: a filter body portion having
through holes defined therein; a filtering plate connected to the
filter body portion; and a plurality of filtering pins affixed to
the filtering plate to filter impurities and insertable within the
through holes of the filter body portion.
23. The drain filter according to claim 22, further comprising
flexible filtering plate connectors connecting the filter body
portion to the filtering plate.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application claims the benefit of Korean Patent
Application No. 2006-0033702, filed Apr. 13, 2006, in the Korean
Intellectual Property Office, the disclosure of which is
incorporated herein by reference.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] 1. Field of the Invention
[0003] The present invention relates to a washing machine, and more
particularly, to a washing machine having a drain pump to filter
impurities contained in water.
[0004] 2. Description of the Related Art
[0005] Generally, washing machines are apparatuses that wash
laundry by rotating a cylindrical drum containing water for washing
and the laundry. Washing machines may be, for example, a drum
washing machine or a vertical axis washing machine. In the drum
washing machine, laundry is raised and dropped and is thus washed
when a drum is rotated. In the vertical axis washing machine,
laundry is washed by water current generated by the rotation of a
pulsator.
[0006] A washing machine generally includes a drain casing and a
drain filter for filtering out impurities contained in washing
water. Korean Patent Application No. 10-2005-106259 discloses a
washing machine having a drain casing and a drain filter.
[0007] The washing machine disclosed in the above Korean Patent
Application No. 10-2005-106259 includes a drain casing for draining
water, a filter member installed in the drain casing and provided
with a plurality of filtering holes and filtering protrusions, and
a drain pump for forcibly discharging the water. When the drain
pump is operated so that the water is supplied to the inside of the
drain casing, impurities in the water are first filtered out by the
filtering protrusions of the filter member, and impurities that
pass through the filtering protrusions are then filtered by the
filtering holes.
[0008] In the above structure of the washing machine disclosed in
the above Korean Patent Application No. 10-2005-106259, the drain
filter has filtering grooves and filtering protrusions, which
filter out impurities contained in the water in two ways.
[0009] The filtering protrusions of the drain filter protrude in
the flow direction of the water, supplied to the drain casing
through an inlet pipe, and thus are incapable of effectively
filtering out impurities contained in the washing water.
[0010] Further, when the drain filter is taken out of the drain
casing provided with the filtering protrusions so as to remove the
impurities, the impurities may be entangled with the filtering
protrusions and the filtering holes.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0011] Therefore, one aspect of the present invention is to provide
a washing machine having a drain pump, which easily filters
impurities contained in water supplied to a drain casing, and then
conveniently removes the impurities.
[0012] Additional aspects and/or advantages of the invention will
be set forth in part in the description which follows and, in part,
will be apparent from the description, or may be learned by
practice of the invention.
[0013] The foregoing and/or other aspects are achieved by providing
a washing machine having a drain pump for draining water, the drain
pump including a drain casing provided with an inlet and an outlet
to supply and discharge the water, and a plurality of filtering
pins to filter impurities contained in the water; and a drain
filter provided with through holes defined therein, into which the
plurality of filtering pins are respectively connected.
[0014] The through holes include a plurality of pin holes into
which the plurality of filtering pins are respectively inserted,
and a plurality of collection holes filtering out the impurities in
the washing water.
[0015] The plurality of filtering pins are installed at a
designated tilt angle with respect to the flow direction of the
water supplied to the inlet of the drain casing.
[0016] The drain filter includes a filter body filtering out the
impurities in the water, a head facilitating insertion and removal
of the drain filter into and out of the drain casing, and
connection members connecting the filter body and the head.
[0017] A level portion is formed at an end of the filter body
portion and a guide protrusion is formed on a wall of the drain
casing such that the drain filter is correctly positioned within
the drain casing when the drain filter is inserted into the drain
casing.
[0018] The plurality of connection members are separated from each
other by a distance so that the impurities are able to be
removed.
[0019] The impurities filtered out by the filtering pins are
elevated by the filter body when the drain filter is separated from
the drain casing.
[0020] The foregoing and/or other aspects are achieved by providing
a washing machine having a drain pump draining water, the drain
pump including a drain casing provided with an inlet and an outlet
to supply and discharge the water; a drain filter installed in the
drain casing and provided with through holes defined therein; a
filtering plate; and a plurality of filtering pins attached to the
filtering plate, which are respectively inserted into the through
holes of the drain filter.
[0021] The through holes include a plurality of pin holes, into
which the plurality of filtering pins are respectively able to be
inserted so the plurality of filtering pins protrude from the pin
holes by a designated length, and a plurality of collection holes
to filter impurities in the water.
[0022] A level portion and a guide protrusion are individually
formed on the filter body and the drain casing so as to easily
position the drain filter in the drain casing. The plurality of
connection members are separated from each other by a distance so
that the impurities are able to be removed by a user.
[0023] The impurities filtered out by the filtering pins are
elevated by the filter body when the drain filter is separated from
the filtering plate.
[0024] The drain pump further includes connectors connecting the
drain filter and the filtering plate.
[0025] The filtering plate is fixedly installed in the drain
casing.
[0026] The foregoing and/or other aspects are achieved by providing
a drain pump including a drain filter filtering impurities
contained in water; a drain casing, in which the drain filter is
installed, and a plurality of filtering pins attached to the drain
casing to filter impurities in the water.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0027] These and/or other aspects and advantages of the invention
will become apparent and more readily appreciated from the
following description of the embodiments, taken in conjunction with
the accompanying drawings in which:
[0028] FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view of a washing machine
in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention;
[0029] FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of a drain pump of
the washing machine in accordance with the embodiment of the
present invention of FIG. 1;
[0030] FIG. 3 is a partially broken-away perspective view
illustrating the connection between a drain casing and a drain
filter of the drain pump of FIG. 2; and
[0031] FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view of a drain pump of a
washing machine in accordance with another embodiment of the
present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0032] Reference will now be made in detail to the embodiments of
the present invention, examples of which are illustrated in the
accompanying drawings, wherein like reference numerals refer to
like elements throughout. The embodiments are described below to
explain the present invention by referring to the annexed
drawings.
[0033] The present invention may be applied to, for example, a
vertical axis washing machine and a drum washing machine.
Hereinafter, for the convenience of description, a drum washing
machine will be described.
[0034] FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view of a washing machine
in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 2
is an exploded perspective view of a drain pump of the washing
machine in accordance with the embodiment of the present invention
of FIG. 1; and FIG. 3 is a partially broken-away perspective view
illustrating the connection between a drain casing and a drain
filter of the drain pump of FIG. 2.
[0035] As shown in FIG. 1, a washing machine in accordance with one
embodiment includes a case 1 having an approximately hexahedral
shape for forming the external appearance of the washing machine, a
tub 2 having a cylindrical shape and which may be slantingly
installed in the case 1 containing water, a drum 3 rotatably
installed in the tub 2 and provided with a plurality of dehydration
holes 3a formed through the surface thereof, a driving motor 4
rotating the drum 3 to perform washing, rinsing, and dehydrating
operations, a water supply device 5 supplying detergent and water
to the inside of the tub 2, and a drain device 10 draining the
water contained in the tub 2.
[0036] The front surfaces of the tub 2 and the drum 3 are able to
be opened so that laundry to be washed can be put into the drum 3
or the washed laundry can be taken out of the drum 3. A door 6
opening and closing the opened front surfaces of the tub 2 and the
drum 3 is hinged to the front surface of the case 1.
[0037] A plurality of lifters 3b lifting the laundry from a lower
portion of the drum 3 to an upper portion of the drum 3 are
disposed on the inner circumferential surface of the drum 3 at
designated intervals.
[0038] The water supply device 5 includes water supply hoses 5a
provided in an upper portion of the case 1 receiving water supplied
from an external water supply source, and a detergent case 5b
mixing the detergent with the water and supplying the water
containing the detergent to the tub 2.
[0039] When the drum washing machine is operated after the door 6
is opened and the laundry is put into the drum 3, the water
containing the detergent is supplied to the tub 2 through the water
supply device 5, and the laundry is lifted along the lifters 3b by
the rotation of the drum 3 and is then dropped. Thus, the laundry
is washed.
[0040] The drain device 10 is provided in the lower portion of the
case 1 of the washing machine of the embodiment of the present
invention. The drain device 10 includes first and second drain
hoses 21 and 22 and a drain pump 30 discharging the water contained
in the tub 2 to the outside of the washing machine.
[0041] As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the drain pump 30 includes a
drain casing 40 forming the external appearance of the drain pump
30 and defining an internal space in which water flows, an impeller
50 installed in a rear portion of the drain casing 40 forcibly
discharging the water from the tub 2 to the outside of the tub 2, a
pump motor 51 installed in the rear of the impeller 50 providing
driving force to the impeller 50, and a drain filter 70 detachably
attached to the drain casing 40 filtering out impurities contained
in the water supplied to the drain casing 40.
[0042] An opening 41 allowing the drain filter 70 to be inserted
into and removed from the drain casing 40 is defined through the
front surface of the drain casing 40. A hollow 42, in which the
water flows, is defined through the drain casing 40.
[0043] A first screw thread 41a is formed on an inner
circumferential surface of the opening 41. The first screw thread
41a is engagable with a second screw thread 91 of the drain filter
70, which will be described later, so that the drain filter 70 is
easily attached to and detached from the drain casing 40.
[0044] An inlet 43 is formed through a side surface of the drain
casing 40 so that the water is supplied to the drain casing 40
through the inlet 43, and an outlet 44 is formed through a rear
surface of the drain casing 40 so that the water in the drain
casing 40 is discharged to the impeller 50. A supply pipe 45 is
connected to the inlet 43 of the drain casing 40, and a discharge
pipe 46 discharging the water to the outside of the drain pump 30
through the impeller 50 is connected to the outlet 46.
[0045] A guide protrusion 42a is formed on an inner wall of the
upper portion of the drain casing 40 in the longitudinal direction
such that the lower portion of the guide protrusion 42a is leveled.
The guide protrusion 42a serves to fix the position of the drain
filter 70, which is inserted into the drain casing 40, thereby
simply adjusting filtering pins 47 to pin holes 82a, which will be
described later, so that the filtering pins 47 are easily inserted
into the pin holes 82a.
[0046] The first drain hose 21 receiving the water contained in the
tub 2 is connected to the supply pipe 45, and the second drain hose
22 discharging the water to the outside is connected to the
discharge pipe 46.
[0047] A plurality of filtering pins 47 protrude from an inner wall
of the rear surface of the drain casing 40 around the outlet 44.
The filtering pins 47 have a designated length so that the
filtering pins 47 are able to pass through the pin holes 82a of the
drain filter 70, which will be described later, and protrude
towards the opening 41. The filtering pins 47 are installed at a
designated tilt angle (.alpha..degree.) with the flow direction
(direction A) of the water supplied through the inlet 43. The
filtering pins 47 may be installed at a right angle with the
direction A. Accordingly, the filtering pins 47, which extend in a
direction perpendicular to the flow direction of the water supplied
through the supply pipe 45, improve the efficiency in filtering out
impurities contained in the water.
[0048] The filtering pins 47 may have various lengths. Accordingly,
the impurities of the water supplied to the hollow 42 through the
supply pipe 45 are filtered out by the filtering pins 47.
[0049] An air hole 48 preventing the deterioration of the
performance of the impeller 50 due to air supplied together with
the supply of the water is formed through an upper surface of the
drain casing 40. Accordingly, the air in the hollow 42 of the drain
casing 40 is discharged to the outside of the drain casing 40
through the air hole 48.
[0050] The drain filter 70 includes a filter body 80 filtering out
impurities in the water, a head 90 inserting the drain filter 70
into the hollow 42 of the drain casing 40 so that the drain filter
70 is easily inserted into and removed from the drain casing 40,
and connection members 71 connecting the filter body 80 and the
head 90.
[0051] The filter body 80 may be, for example, a circular plate,
which is provided with through holes 82 and a level portion 81
formed at an upper end thereof, so that the filter body 80 can be
inserted into the hollow 42 of the drain casing 40. The through
holes 82 include the pin holes 82a corresponding to the filtering
pins 47 of the drain casing 40 so that the filtering pins 47 are
insertable into the pin holes 82a, and a plurality collection holes
82b having a designated size to filter out the impurities in the
water. The pin holes 82a may have a diameter smaller than that of
fixing ends 47a of the filtering pins 47. Thereby, when the
filtering pins 47 are inserted within the pin holes 82a, the rear
surface of the drain casing 40 and the drain filter 70 are
separated from each other by a designated distance. Further, the
collection holes 82b have a diameter equal to or larger than that
of the pin holes 82a.
[0052] The level portion 81 of the filter body 80 has a shape
corresponding to the guide protrusion 42a formed on the inner wall
of the upper surface of the drain casing 40. The level portion 81
of the filter body 80 serves to fix the position of the drain
filter 70 so that the drain filter 70 is correctly adjusted to the
hollow 42, thereby inserting the filtering pins 47 correctly into
the pin holes 82a.
[0053] The head 90 of the drain filter 70 has a cylindrical shape
corresponding to the inner circumferential surface of the opening
41 of the drain casing 40. The head 90 includes the second screw
thread 91 formed on the outer circumferential surface of the head
90 and engagable with the first screw thread 41a formed on the
inner circumferential surface of the opening 41, a protruding knob
92 to rotate the head 90, and a sealing member 93 provided at the
rear of the second screw thread 91 and able to be pressed onto a
protruding portion 49 of the drain casing 40 by the rotation of the
head 90 to prevent the water in the hollow 42 from being discharged
to the opening 41.
[0054] Accordingly, when the knob 92 of the head 90 is rotated in
one direction after the drain filter 70 is inserted into the hollow
42, only the head 90 is rotated. Therefore, the first screw thread
41a is engaged with the second screw thread 91, and the sealing
member 92 is fixedly pressed onto the protruding portion 49. When
the knob 92 of the head 90 is rotated in the reverse direction,
only the head 90 is also rotated. Thus, the drain filter 70 is
easily separated from the drain casing 40.
[0055] The plurality of connection members 71, which are provided
between the outer circumferential surface of the head 90 and the
outer circumferential surface of the filter body 80, serve to guide
the drain filter 70 so that the drain filter 70 is able to be moved
back and forth into and out of the hollow 42 of the drain casing
40. The plurality of connection members 71 are separated from each
other so as to allow the water supplied through the supply pipe 45
to be introduced into the hollow 42. When the drain filter 70 is
separated from the drain casing 40 to remove foreign substances
caught by the filter body 80 after the washing operation is
completed, a user is able to insert the user's hand into a space
formed by the separated connection members 71, thereby being able
to easily remove the foreign substances.
[0056] Further, when the drain filter 70 is connected to the drain
casing 40, the filter body 80 of the drain filter 70 is separated
from the rear surface of the drain casing 40 by a designated length
so that the water is effectively drained.
[0057] Hereinafter, the connection of the drain filter 70 to the
drain casing 40 of the washing machine and the separation of the
drain filter 70 from the drain casing 40 of the washing machine
will be described.
[0058] When the filter body 80 of the drain filter 70 is inserted
into the drain casing 40, allowing for the level portion 81 to be
adjusted to the position of the guide protrusion 42a so that the
filter body 80 corresponds to the shape of the hollow 42, the
filtering pins 47 formed on the inner wall of the rear surface of
the drain casing 40 are inserted into the pin holes 82a formed
through the filter body 80 and protrude toward the opening 41 of
the drain casing 40. Thereby, the filter body 80 is fixed to the
drain casing 40. Thereafter, when the knob 92 of the head 90 is
rotated in one direction, only the head 90 is rotated and is
screw-connected with the opening 41 of the drain casing 40, as the
sealing member 93 of the head 90 is caught by the protruding
portion 49 formed on the inner wall of the drain casing 40.
Thereby, the sealing member 93 exhibits a sealing capacity.
[0059] When water is supplied to the hollow 42 of the drain casing
40, the filtering pins 47 installed at a designated tilt angle
(.alpha..degree.) with respect to the flow direction (direction A)
of the water first catch impurities contained in the water, and
then the collection holes 82b secondarily catch impurities in the
water, which pass through the filtering pins 47. Thus, it is
possible to effectively filter out the impurities in the water.
[0060] Compared with filtering pins that are installed in the same
direction as the flow direction of the water, the filtering pins
47, which are installed at a designated tilt angle
(.alpha..degree.) with respect to the flow direction (direction A)
of the water, increase the amount of filtered impurities under
similar washing conditions. Accordingly, the amount of impurities
caught by the collection holes 82b using the filtering pins 47
installed at the designated angle is decreased compared with the
use of filtering pins installed in the same direction as the flow
direction of the water, and thus the cleaning cycle of the drain
filter 70 is elongated.
[0061] When the drain filter 70 is removed from the drain casing 40
to clean the drain filter 70, the impurities caught by the
filtering pins 47 are elevated by the filter body 80, thus being
separated from the filtering pins 47. The impurities separated from
the filtering pins 47 are situated on the filter body 80.
Accordingly, a user is able to insert the user's hand into the
internal space formed between the connection members 71 and easily
remove the impurities located on the filter body 80 and the
impurities caught in the collection holes 82b.
[0062] Hereinafter, a washing machine in accordance with a second
embodiment of the present invention will be described. Some parts
in this embodiment, which are substantially the same as those in
the first embodiment, are denoted by the same reference numerals
even through they are depicted in different drawings, and a
detailed description thereof will thus be omitted.
[0063] FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view of a drain pump of a
washing machine in accordance with the second embodiment of the
present invention.
[0064] As shown in FIG. 4, a drain pump 30 of a washing machine of
the second embodiment includes a drain casing 40 forming the
external appearance of the drain pump 30 and defining an internal
space therein, in which water flows, an impeller 50 installed in
the rear portion of the drain casing 40, a pump motor 51 providing
driving force to the impeller 50, a drain filter 70 filtering out
impurities contained in the water supplied to the drain casing 40,
and a filtering plate 60 detachably attached to the drain filter 70
and provided with filtering pins 62 filtering out the impurities in
the water.
[0065] The filtering plate 60 includes a base 61 having a
designated size such that the filtering plate 60 can be inserted
into the drain casing 40 after the filtering plate 60 is connected
to the drain filter 70 and the filtering pins 62 formed on the base
61. The filtering pins 62 are formed perpendicularly to the surface
of the base 61.
[0066] The filtering pins 62 are formed at positions of the base 61
corresponding to pin holes 82a of the drain filter 70 and are
insertable into the pin holes 82a so that the filtering pins 62
protrude toward the head 90 of the drain filter 70. An outer
surface of each of the filtering pins 62 is pressed into the inner
surface of each of the corresponding pin holes 82a, thereby fixing
the filtering plate 60 to the drain filter 70. Thereafter, the
drain filter 70 provided with the filtering plate 60 fixed thereto
is able to be inserted into the hollow 42 of the drain casing 40 in
the same method as that of the first embodiment. Thereby, when the
washing operation of the washing machine is performed, the drain
filter 70 effectively filters out impurities contained in the
water.
[0067] In order to remove the impurities filtered out by the drain
filter 70, the drain filter 70 provided with the filtering plate 60
fixed thereto is removed from the drain casing 40 and the filtering
plate 60 is separated from the drain filter 70. Then, the
impurities caught by the filtering pins 62 are elevated and are
accumulated on the filter body 80. Accordingly, a user inserts the
user's hand into the internal space formed between the plurality of
connection members 71 and is able to easily remove the impurities
accumulated on the filter body 80.
[0068] The drain pump 30 further includes filtering plate
connectors 83 connecting the drain filter 70 and the filtering
plate 60. The filtering plate connectors 83 serve to allow only the
drain filter 70 to be taken out of the drain casing 70 when the
filtering plate 60 remains in the hollow 42 of the drain casing 40.
If the connection between the drain filter 70 and the filtering
plate 60 becomes loosened due to the vibration of the drain pump 30
such that the filtering plate 60 becomes separated from the drain
filter 70 when the drain filter 70 is taken out of the drain casing
40, the filtering plate connectors 83 allow the filtering plate 60
to be taken out of the hollow 42 of the drain casing 40. The
filtering plate connectors 83 may be flexible and may be made of,
for example, an elastic material, such as a yarn or a string.
[0069] As apparent from the above description, the embodiments of
the present invention provide a washing machine having a drain
pump, in which filtering pins installed at a designated tilt angle
with respect to the flow direction of water and collection holes of
a drain filter effectively filter out impurities contained in the
water.
[0070] The filtering pins of the drain pump filter out a relatively
large amount of impurities. Accordingly, the drain pump prevents
the collection holes from being clogged by the impurities, and
causes the cleaning cycle of the drain filter to be elongated.
[0071] When the filtering pins are separated from the pin holes,
the impurities caught by the filtering pins are elevated and
accumulated on a filter body. Further, connection members, which
are separated from each other, allow a user to easily remove the
impurities accumulated on the filter body.
[0072] Although embodiments of the invention have been shown and
described, it would be appreciated by those skilled in the art that
changes may be made in these embodiments without departing from the
principles and spirit of the invention, the scope of which is
defined in the claims and their equivalents.
* * * * *