Wall-mounted drum type washing machine

Abstract

A wall-mounted drum type washing machine includes a rear panel mounted on a wall surface; a tub supported by the rear panel and containing wash water; a front panel on the tub and having an opening therein; a rotatable drum in the tub; a driving unit providing power to the drum; a box unit in the tub and surrounding the drum; and a cover unit coupled to the box unit, and covering the front panel.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A wall-mounted washing machine comprising:
 a tub configured to contain washing water,   wherein the tub comprises a tub sidewall and a tub rear panel integrally formed with the tub sidewall,   wherein a diameter of the tub rear panel is greater than a diameter of the tub sidewall, and wherein the tub rear panel is operable to serve as a mounting member operable to mount on an external wall;   a tub front panel coupled to the tub sidewall; and   a rotatable drum disposed in the tub, wherein a diameter of the rotatable drum is greater than a depth of the rotatable drum.   
     
     
         2 . The wall-mounted washing machine of  claim 1 , wherein the depth of the rotatable drum is approximately 120 mm to 130 mm. 
     
     
         3 . The wall-mounted washing machine of  claim 1 , wherein the diameter of the rotatable drum is approximately 3 to 3.2 times greater than the depth of the rotatable drum. 
     
     
         4 . The wall-mounted washing machine of  claim 2 , wherein the diameter of the rotatable drum is approximately 3 to 3.2 times greater than the depth of the rotatable drum. 
     
     
         5 . The wall-mounted washing machine of  claim 1 , wherein an opening is formed on a front surface of the rotatable drum, and wherein a shortest distance from a circumference of the rotatable drum to a circumference of the opening is approximately 0.4 to 0.8 times of the depth of the rotatable drum. 
     
     
         6 . The wall-mounted washing machine of  claim 2 , wherein an opening is formed on a front surface of the rotatable drum, and wherein a shortest distance from a circumference of the rotatable drum to a circumstance of the opening is approximately 0.4 to 0.8 times of the depth of the rotatable drum. 
     
     
         7 . The wall-mounted washing machine of  claim 3 , wherein an opening is formed on a front surface of the rotatable drum, and wherein a shortest distance from a circumference of the rotatable drum to a circumstance of the opening is approximately 0.4 to 0.8 times of the depth of the rotatable drum. 
     
     
         8 . The wall-mounted washing machine of  claim 4 , wherein an opening is formed on a front surface of the rotatable drum, and wherein a shortest distance from a circumference of the rotatable drum to a circumstance of the opening is approximately 0.4 to 0.8 times of the depth of the rotatable drum. 
     
     
         9 . The wall-mounted washing machine of  claim 1  further comprising:
 one or more holes formed in the tub rear panel; and 
 one or more fastening members configured to mount the tub rear panel to the external wall through the one or more holes. 
 
     
     
         10 . The wall-mounted washing machine of  claim 1  further comprising a buffer member configured to be disposed between the tub rear panel and the external wall, wherein the buffer member is operable to suppress transmission of vibration caused by an operation of the tub to the external wall. 
     
     
         11 . The wall-mounted washing machine of  claim 1  further comprising a drain hole formed at a bottom of a front portion of the tub. 
     
     
         12 . The wall-mounted washing machine of  claim 11  further comprising a drain device disposed at a lower portion of the tub sidewall and coupled to the drain hole, wherein the drain device is configured to drain the washing water from the drain hole. 
     
     
         13 . The wall-mounted washing machine of  claim 12 , wherein the drain device comprises:
 a first drain pipe coupled to the drain hole;   a second drain pipe disposed under the first drain pipe; and   a siphon drain unit coupled between the first and second drain pipes,   wherein the second drain pipe has a greater diameter than the first drain pipe and is coupled to the first drain pipe through the siphon drain unit.   
     
     
         14 . The wall-mounted washing machine of  claim 13  further comprising a drain valve coupled to the second drain pipe, wherein the drain valve is operable to control washing water flow. 
     
     
         15 . The wall-mounted washing machine of  claim 1 , wherein the tub sidewall is substantially cylindrical-shaped, and wherein a diameter of the tub sidewall becomes increasingly larger toward a front side of the tub sidewall. 
     
     
         16 . The wall-mounted washing machine of  claim 1  further comprising a reinforcement unit formed on the tub sidewall and the tub rear panel, wherein the reinforcement unit is coupled to both the tub sidewall and the tub rear panel and surrounds the tub sidewall. 
     
     
         17 . The wall-mounted washing machine of  claim 1 , wherein the tub rear panel comprises a plurality of reinforcement ribs formed on a rear surface of the tub rear panel. 
     
     
         18 . The wall-mounted washing machine of  claim 1  further comprising:
 a rotatable drum shaft coupled to the rotatable drum and extending through a rear surface of the tub rear panel; 
 a disposition portion formed at the rear surface of the tub rear panel; 
 a driving wheel installed inside the disposition portion, wherein the driving wheel is coupled to the rotatable drum shaft; 
 a driving motor installed on a front surface of the tub rear panel; 
 a rotatable motor shaft coupled to the driving motor, wherein the rotatable motor shaft extends through the tub rear panel to a rear surface of the tub rear panel; and 
 a coupling member operable to couple the rotatable motor shaft to the driving wheel to transfer drive force from the driving motor to the driving wheel. 
 
     
     
         19 . The wall-mounted washing machine of  claim 1  further comprising:
 a water supply valve disposed at an upper part of the tub rear panel and operable to control washing water flow into the tub; and 
 a water supply pipe coupled between the water supply valve and the tub. 
 
     
     
         20 . A wall-mounted washing machine comprising:
 a tub configured to contain washing water,   wherein the tub comprises a tub sidewall and a tub rear panel integrally formed with the tub sidewall, wherein a diameter of the tub rear panel is greater than a diameter of the tub sidewall, and   wherein the tub rear panel is operable to serve as a mounting member to mount the washing machine on an external wall surface;   a tub front panel coupled to the tub sidewall; and   a rotatable drum disposed inside the tub,   wherein the rotatable drum comprises an opening formed on a front surface of the rotatable drum, and   wherein a shortest distance from a circumference of the rotatable drum to a circumference of the opening is approximately 0.4 to 0.8 times a depth of the rotatable drum.   
     
     
         21 . The wall-mounted washing machine of  claim 20 , wherein the depth of the rotatable drum is substantially 120 mm to 130 mm. 
     
     
         22 . The wall-mounted washing machine of  claim 20  further comprising:
 one or more holes formed in the tub rear panel; and 
 one or more fastening members configured to mount the tub rear panel to the external wall surface through the one or more holes. 
 
     
     
         23 . The wall-mounted washing machine of  claim 20  further comprising a buffer member operable to be disposed between the tub rear panel and the external wall, and wherein the buffer member is operable to suppress transmission of vibration of the tub to the wall surface. 
     
     
         24 . The wall-mounted washing machine of  claim 20 , further comprising a drain hole formed at a bottom of a front portion of the tub. 
     
     
         25 . The wall-mounted washing machine of  claim 24  further comprising a drain device disposed at the lower portion of the tub sidewall and coupled to the drain hole. 
     
     
         26 . The wall-mounted washing machine of  claim 25 , wherein the drain device comprises:
 a first drain pipe coupled to the drain hole;   a second drain pipe under the first drain pipe; and   a siphon drain unit coupled between the first and second drain pipes,   wherein the second drain pipe has a larger diameter than the first drain pipe and is coupled to the first drain pipe through the siphon drain unit.   
     
     
         27 . The wall-mounted washing machine of  claim 26  further comprising a drain valve installed in the second drain pipe and configured to control a flow of washing water. 
     
     
         28 . The wall-mounted washing machine of  claim 20 , wherein the diameter of the tub sidewall gradually increases toward a front side of the tub sidewall. 
     
     
         29 . The wall-mounted washing machine of  claim 20  further comprising a reinforcement unit coupled to the tub sidewall and to the tub rear panel, wherein the reinforcement unit surrounds the tub sidewall. 
     
     
         30 . The wall-mounted washing machine of  claim 20 , wherein the tub rear panel comprises a plurality of reinforcement ribs formed on a rear surface of the tub rear panel. 
     
     
         31 . The wall-mounted washing machine of  claim 20 , further comprising:
 a rotatable drum shaft coupled to the rotatable drum and extending through the tub rear panel;   a disposition portion formed at a rear surface of the tub rear panel;   a driving wheel installed inside the disposition portion, wherein the driving wheel is coupled to the rotatable drum shaft;   a driving motor coupled to a front surface of the tub rear panel;   a rotatable motor shaft coupled to the driving motor, wherein the rotatable motor shaft extends through the tub rear panel; and   a coupling member coupling the rotatable motor shaft to the driving wheel to transfer driving force from the driving motor to the driving wheel.   
     
     
         32 . The wall-mounted washing machine of  claim 20  further comprising:
 a water supply valve installed at an upper portion of the tub rear panel and operable to control washing water flow into the tub; and 
 a water supply pipe coupled to between the water supply valve and the tub.