Damping system for a household appliance

Abstract

A household appliance includes a housing having a door, a washing unit inside the housing and including a tub having a rotatable drum for receiving laundry, and a suspension system movably supporting the washing unit and including a first and second damper coupled between the tub and the housing, the first and second dampers being arranged symmetrically on opposite sides of the tub and at a substantially equal distance from a second plane extending through the center of the housing, and a third damper coupled between the tub and the housing at a mounting point that is offset a predetermined distance from at least one of a first plane, the second plane, and a third plane, and wherein an axis of the third damper is in a plane that is offset from and parallel to the second plane.

1 . A household appliance comprising:
 a housing having a base, a top, a front, and a rear, wherein the housing includes a door formed in the front for accessing an interior of the housing;   a washing unit inside the housing and accessible through the door, the washing unit including a tub having a rotatable drum therein for receiving laundry through the door, the rotatable drum having an axis of rotation; and   a suspension system movably supporting the washing unit in the housing,   wherein a first plane extending through a center of the housing is perpendicular to a plane of the front and parallel to a plane of the base,   wherein a second plane extending through the center of the housing is perpendicular to the plane of the front and perpendicular to the plane of the base;   wherein a third plane extending through the center of the housing is parallel to the plane of the front and perpendicular to the plane of the base; and   wherein the suspension system includes:
 a first damper and a second damper coupled between the tub and the housing, the first damper and the second damper being arranged symmetrically on opposite sides of the tub and at a substantially equal distance from the second plane; and 
 a third damper coupled between the tub and the housing,
 wherein the third damper is coupled to the tub at a mounting point that is offset a predetermined distance from at least one of the first plane, the second plane, and the third plane, and 
 wherein an axis of the third damper is in a plane that is offset from and parallel to the second plane. 
 
   
     
     
         2 . The household appliance of  claim 1 , wherein the axis of the third damper intersects the third plane at a predetermined angle. 
     
     
         3 . The household appliance of  claim 2 , wherein the axis of the third damper intersects the third plane above a center of gravity of the washing unit. 
     
     
         4 . The household appliance of  claim 1 , wherein the predetermined distance of the mounting point of the third damper from one of the first plane, the second plane, and the third plane is maximized such that the mounting point is offset a substantially furthest distance on the tub from the one of the first plane, the second plane, and the third plane. 
     
     
         5 . The household appliance of  claim 1 , wherein the predetermined distance of the mounting point of the third damper from at least two of the first plane, the second plane, and the third plane is maximized such that the mounting point is offset a substantially furthest distance on the tub from the at least two of the first plane, the second plane, and the third plane. 
     
     
         6 . The household appliance of  claim 1 , wherein the predetermined distance of the mounting point of the third damper from each of the first plane, the second plane, and the third plane is maximized such that the mounting point is offset a furthest distance on the tub from each of the first plane, the second plane, and the third plane. 
     
     
         7 . The household appliance of  claim 1 , wherein the predetermined distance of the mounting point of the third damper from the first plane is maximized in a direction toward the base such that the mounting point is offset a furthest distance on the tub from the first plane in the direction of the base. 
     
     
         8 . The household appliance of  claim 1 , wherein a first distance of the mounting point of the third damper from the first plane is greater than a second distance of the mounting point of the third damper from the second plane. 
     
     
         9 . The household appliance of  claim 1 , wherein the mounting point of the third damper is on a rear face of the tub. 
     
     
         10 . The household appliance of  claim 1 , wherein the mounting point of the third damper is on a side surface of the tub. 
     
     
         11 . The household appliance of  claim 1 , comprising:
 an extension coupled to the tub,   wherein the mounting point of the third damper is on the extension.   
     
     
         12 . The household appliance of  claim 1 , wherein the axis of each of the first damper and the second damper is in the third plane. 
     
     
         13 . The household appliance of  claim 12 , wherein the axis of each of the first damper and the second damper intersects the second plane at a predetermined angle. 
     
     
         14 . The household appliance of  claim 1 , wherein an axis of each of the first damper and the second damper is in a plane parallel to the third plane. 
     
     
         15 . The household appliance of  claim 14 , wherein the first damper and the second damper are located closer to the front of the housing than to the third plane. 
     
     
         16 . The household appliance of  claim 14 , wherein the axis of each of the first damper and the second damper intersects the second plane at a predetermined angle. 
     
     
         17 . The household appliance of  claim 1 , wherein the axis of rotation of the rotatable drum extends substantially in a direction of the second plane. 
     
     
         18 . The household appliance of  claim 17 , wherein the axis of rotation of the rotatable drum intersects the first plane at an angle. 
     
     
         19 . The household appliance of  claim 1 , wherein an upper mount of each of the first damper, the second damper, and the third damper is pivotably coupled to the tub and a lower mount of each of the first damper, the second damper, and the third damper is pivotably coupled to the housing. 
     
     
         20 . The household appliance of  claim 1 , wherein the household appliance is a front-loading washer. 
     
     
         21 . The household appliance of  claim 1 , wherein the washing unit is suspended inside the housing such that an inclination of the axis of rotation of the rotatable drum from the first axis of the washer is substantially equal to a maximum pitching movement of the washing unit during operation of the washer. 
     
     
         22 . The household appliance of  claim 21 , wherein the washing unit is suspended inside the housing such that a difference between the inclination of the axis of rotation of the rotatable drum from the first axis of the washer and the maximum pitching movement of the washing unit during operation of the washer is one of equal to and less than  10 . 
     
     
         23 . The household appliance of  claim 21 , wherein the washing unit is suspended inside the housing such that the inclination of the axis of rotation of the rotatable drum from the first axis of the washer is one of equal to and less than 3°. 
     
     
         24 . A household appliance comprising:
 a housing having a base, a top, a front, and a rear, wherein the housing includes a door formed in the front for accessing an interior of the housing;   a washing unit inside the housing and accessible through the door, the washing unit including a tub having a rotatable drum therein for receiving laundry through the door, the rotatable drum having an axis of rotation; and   a suspension system movably supporting the washing unit in the housing,   wherein a first plane extending through a center of the housing is perpendicular to a plane of the front and parallel to a plane of the base,   wherein a second plane extending through the center of the housing is perpendicular to the plane of the front and perpendicular to the plane of the base;   wherein a third plane extending through the center of the housing is parallel to the plane of the front and perpendicular to the plane of the base; and   wherein the suspension system includes:
 a plurality of dampers coupled between the tub and the housing, wherein an axis of each of the plurality of dampers is parallel to the third plane; and 
 an offset damper coupled between the tub and the housing, wherein an axis of the offset damper is in a plane that is offset from and parallel to the second plane. 
   
     
     
         25 . A household appliance comprising:
 a housing having a base, a top, a front, and a rear, wherein the housing includes a door formed in the front for accessing an interior of the housing;   a washing unit inside the housing and accessible through the door, the washing unit including a tub having a rotatable drum therein for receiving laundry through the door, the rotatable drum having an axis of rotation; and   a suspension system movably supporting the washing unit in the housing,   wherein a first plane extending through a center of the housing is perpendicular to a plane of the front and parallel to a plane of the base,   wherein a second plane extending through the center of the housing is perpendicular to the plane of the front and perpendicular to the plane of the base;   wherein a third plane extending through the center of the housing is parallel to the plane of the front and perpendicular to the plane of the base; and   wherein the suspension system includes:
 a first damper and a second damper coupled between the tub and the housing, the first damper and the second damper arranged symmetrically on opposite sides of the tub and at a substantially equal distance from the second plane; and 
 an offset damper coupled between the tub and the housing and arranged asymmetrically with respect to the second plane. 
   
     
     
         26 . The household appliance of  claim 25 , wherein the offset damper is arranged asymmetrically with respect to the first plane and the second plane. 
     
     
         27 . The household appliance of  claim 25 , wherein the offset damper is arranged asymmetrically with respect to the first plane, the second plane, and the third plane. 
     
     
         28 . A household appliance comprising:
 a housing having a base, a top, a front, and a rear, wherein the housing includes a door formed in the front for accessing an interior of the housing;   a washing unit inside the housing and accessible through the door, the washing unit including a tub having a rotatable drum therein for receiving laundry through the door, the rotatable drum having an axis of rotation; and   a suspension system movably supporting the washing unit in the housing,   wherein a fixation axis of the washer extending through a center of the housing is perpendicular to a plane of the front and parallel to a plane of the base, and   wherein the washing unit is suspended inside the housing such that an inclination of the axis of rotation of the rotatable drum from the fixation axis of the washer is substantially equal to a maximum pitching movement of the washing unit during operation of the washer.   
     
     
         29 . The household appliance of  claim 28 , wherein the washing unit is suspended inside the housing such that a difference between the inclination of the axis of rotation of the rotatable drum from the fixation axis of the washer and the maximum pitching movement of the washing unit during operation of the washer is one of equal to and less than 1°. 
     
     
         30 . The household appliance of  claim 28 , wherein the washing unit is suspended inside the housing such that the inclination of the axis of rotation of the rotatable drum from the fixation axis of the washer is one of equal to and less than 3°.