Self-cleaning washing machine

Abstract

A self-cleaning washing machine includes an inner drum, an outer drum and a chamber defined therebetween. The chamber is provided with cleaning pellets rotatable with water flow for cleaning walls of the inner and outer drums. An inner surface of the bottom of the outer drum includes at least one structure of: an inclined area formed on the inner surface along a circumferential direction with a height near a center of the bottom of the outer drum higher than that near a side wall of the outer drum; an annular water channel formed on the inner surface, being adjacent to the side wall of the outer drum, and recessed along the circumferential direction; and a water blocking convex rib formed on the inner surface corresponding to a side of the water drainage port along a rotation direction of the inner drum during dewatering.

1 . A self-cleaning washing machine, comprising:
 an inner drum;   an outer drum; and   a chamber defined between the inner drum and the outer drum, wherein the chamber is provided with cleaning pellets rotatable with water flow for cleaning an inner wall of the outer drum and an outer wall of the inner drum,   wherein an inner surface of the bottom of the outer drum is provided with one or more of the following improvement structures:
 a first improvement structure: an inclined area formed on the inner surface of the bottom of the outer drum along a circumferential direction, wherein a height of the inclined area near a center of the bottom of the outer drum is higher than that near a side wall of the outer drum, and a water drainage port is disposed at a lowest point of the bottom of the outer drum; 
 a second improvement structure: an annular water channel formed on the inner surface of the bottom of the outer drum, being adjacent to the side wall of the outer drum, and recessed along the circumferential direction, wherein the water drainage port on the bottom of the outer drum communicates with the annular water channel; and 
 a third improvement structure: a water blocking convex rib formed on the surface of the bottom of the outer drum and corresponding to a side of the water drainage port along a rotation direction of the inner drum during dewatering. 
   
     
     
         2 . The self-cleaning washing machine according to  claim 1 , wherein the height of the inner surface of the bottom of the outer drum gradually decreases along a radial direction from the center to the side wall of the outer drum, and the bottom of the outer drum is of a cone-shaped structure having a center higher than its periphery. 
     
     
         3 . The self-cleaning washing machine according to  claim 1 , wherein the height of the inner surface of the bottom of the outer drum gradually decreases along a clockwise or counter-clockwise circumferential direction, and a decreasing direction of the height is relevant to the rotation direction of the inner drum of the washing machine during dewatering. 
     
     
         4 . The self-cleaning washing machine according to  claim 1 , wherein an inclination angle a between the inner surface of the bottom of the outer drum along the radial direction and a horizontal plane satisfies with 0<α<30°. 
     
     
         5 . The self-cleaning washing machine according to  claim 3 , wherein an inclination angle a between the inner surface of the bottom of the outer drum along the radial direction and a horizontal plane satisfies with 0<α<3°, and a height difference between a highest point and a lowest point in the gradual decrease along the circumferential direction is 5 to 30 mm or is 1/10 to ⅓ of a minimum spacing between the bottom of the inner drum and the bottom of the outer drum. 
     
     
         6 . The self-cleaning washing machine according to  claim 1 , wherein a depth of the annular water channel gradually decreases along a clockwise or counter-clockwise circumferential direction, a decreasing direction of the depth is relevant to the rotation direction of the inner drum of the washing machine during dewatering, the water drainage port is disposed at a lowest point of the annular water channel, and the side of the water drainage port is adjacent to a shallowest point of the annular water channel. 
     
     
         7 . The self-cleaning washing machine according to  claim 1 , wherein a width of the annular water channel gradually increases along the clockwise or counter-clockwise circumferential direction, a changing direction of the width is relevant to the rotation direction of the inner drum of the washing machine during dewatering, the water drainage port is disposed at a widest point of the annular water channel, and the side of the water drainage port is adjacent to a narrowest point of the annular water channel. 
     
     
         8 . The self-cleaning washing machine according to  claim 1 , wherein the annular water channel gradually decreases and inclines from the center of the bottom of the outer drum to the side wall of the outer drum, and is formed by matching the side wall of the outer drum. 
     
     
         9 . The self-cleaning washing machine according to  claim 1 , wherein the annular water channel has a width of 10 to 60 mm and a depth of 3 to 15 mm. 
     
     
         10 . The self-cleaning washing machine according to  claim 1 , wherein the water blocking convex rib comprises a radial convex rib from the center of the bottom of the outer drum to the side of the water drainage port, and the radial convex rib is tangent to the side of the water drainage port. 
     
     
         11 . The self-cleaning washing machine according to  claim 1 , wherein the water blocking convex rib comprises an arc-shaped convex rib from the center of the bottom of the outer drum to the side of the water drainage port, and the arc-shaped convex rib smoothly transits an outline of the side of the water drainage port. 
     
     
         12 . The self-cleaning washing machine according to  claim 10 , wherein the water blocking convex rib has a height of 5 to 20 mm. 
     
     
         13 . The self-cleaning washing machine according to  claim 10 , wherein the water blocking convex rib is formed by a section of a height difference between a highest connecting point and a lowest connecting point that are obtained when the surface of the bottom of the outer drum gradually decreases in height along a clockwise or counter-clockwise circumferential direction.