AU613017B2

AU613017B2 - Washing-machine of reduced size with unchanged load capacity

Info

Publication number: AU613017B2
Application number: AU12819/88A
Authority: AU
Inventors: Walter Verona
Original assignee: Smeg SpA
Current assignee: Smeg SpA
Priority date: 1987-03-10
Filing date: 1988-03-09
Publication date: 1991-07-25
Anticipated expiration: 2008-03-09
Also published as: EP0282465A3; IT1216905B; AU1281988A; IT8719637A0; EP0282465A2

Description

U -m COMMONWEALTH OF AUSTRALIA PATENT ACT 1952 COMPLETE SPECI FICATION

(ORIGINAL)

FOR OFFICE USE 613017 CLASS INT. CLASS_ Application Number: Lodged: Complete Specification Lodged: Accepted: Published: Priority: Related Art-: NAME OF APPLICANT: SMEG S.P.A.

ADDRESS OF APPLICANT:

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Circorivallazione Nord 36 Guastalla, (Reggio Emilia,) Italy.

,INAME(S) OF INVENTOR(S) Walter VERONA ADDRESS FOR SERVICE: DAVIES COLLISON, Patent Attorneys 1 Little Collins Street, Melbourne, 3000.

COMPLETE SPECIFICATION FOR THE INVENTION ENTITLED: "WASHING-MACHINE OF REDUCED SIZE WITH UNCHANGED LOAD CAPACITY" The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing it known to us II 1A 0 06

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The present invention relates to a washing-ma- -n-a pc-Vrcorlr C, a-cne chine of reduced size, especially in width, with an unchanged load capacity in comparison with the conventional machines.

It is known that at present the electric household appliances industry is oriented to manufacture apparatuses of reduced size or at any rate, among 10 the products in the range of traditional dimensions, apparatuses with reduced size are also appearing. The reasons of this trend are clear, i.e. first of all the available room being more and more restricted in the new houses or however the need of e ploitation of the space available for a more practical utilization.

On the other hand it is also known that with a size reduction a proportional reduction of the performances is experienced nearly always, especially when considering the load capacity of dishwashers and washing-machines.

Referring more specifically to the washingmachines, some of these have been produced recently which, in spite of having a width limited to only 40-45 cm., show however washing performances and a load capacity totally corresponding to the traditional values, as they can efficiently wash at least 5 Kg.

of dry laundry, Like the machines on sale, having a standard width of 60 cm. However the washing-machines of this type, with reduced dimensions and unchanged -2load capacity, are exclusively provided to be loaded from the top. It is true that sometimes washing-machines of the top-loading type are convenient, but is should be appreciated that these machines cannot be provided for a built-in construction, i.e. are unsuitable to be recessed in a furniture system having an uninterrupted top plane, just due to the fact of being chargeable only from above.

In accordance with the present invention there is provided a washingmachine for built-in constructions with a vertical front wall having a width size, smaller than for either side wall in the depth direction, comprising a cylindrical oO10 washing tank and a rotary drum mounted for rotating co-axially therein being moved by a driving motor through a pulley which is co-axial with the said drum, with the rotation axis of the drum extending itself between two end bearings 000000 mounted to the side walls of the tank, being parallel to the front vertical wall of the machine, an inlet loading door to the inside of the machine being provided on said wall, there being also provided an associated opening, formed at the peripheral skirt of the tank, as well as an opening suitable to be closed at the periphery of the rotary drum by means of an inlet door, characterized by the fact that said loading door is hinged along its lower side, there being provided a retainer means to stop

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said door when open at a horizontal position and by further comprising a discharge pump-filter assembly in which a filter extends from a pump to a sloping upward direction until reaching the front wall at a higher position than a lower part, without any interference with said lower part which is adapted to comprise a baseboard being adjustable by means of a guide in the depth direction.

Preferably the washing-machine further includes a wing mounted on hinges at an edge, either on the right or on the left hand-side of the front wall, said wing being arranged to cover the whole front portion of the machine, including a control panel provided at a known position on an upper front portion of the machine, with a door of the detergent-container drawer, and comprising in association with each of one or more controls or signals provided on said control panel, a LED signalling light.

910417,dbwspe.023,soctal.spe,2 r k -3- Preferably said door for closing the rotary drum comprises two wings hinged and suitable to be closed by a hook means.

Preferably said width size is 40 to 45 cm.

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0**S S S S@ 00 0 9101W0$bwspc.023,socital~spe,3 L_ I These and further objact ad' dnt-age-s and characteristics of the washing-machine according to the invention wiLL be clear to those skilled in the art from the following detailed description, iR-4-weby cy of e)aFe onI, of pr-Fe~~-cr e-r(cbo'imetc 5 te- s |of the said machine with reference to the annexed drawings in which: FIGURE 1 is a front view, with front side wall partially removed, of a washing-machine according to the invention; 10 FIGURE 2 shows a partial cross-section view taken along Line II-II of Fig. 1, and FIGURE 2z a

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sectional view, complementary to Fig. 2, relating to a washing-machine of the invention, to be Loaded from the top; and 15 FIGURE 3 shows a diagrammatic, partly in i cross-section view of the machine according to the invention, with outer casing completely removed, taken along the direction of arrow A of Fig. 2.

With reference to the drawings, the washingmachine of the invention comprises within a mantle or casing 1 the known components of this type of machine, i.e. a washing tank 2 containing therein a rotary perforated drum 3, having the usual size for standard Load capacity of at Least 5 Kg. of dry Laundry. It is rotatabLy mounted about an axis X-X, being fixed to a puLLey 4 which is co-axiaL with the drum 3 and the tank 2 and driven in turn by a motor 6 through a beLt The washing tank is supported in a known manner by damping feet 7 and thereunder a discharge conduit 8 Leads to a fiLter 9 through a discharge pump 9a. According to the invention, the filter is preferabLy directed -^c upward slantwise, so as to open to the outside, where a filter cover 11 is provided over a base board which in the model to be embedded can be adjusted in the depth direction to prevent any interference therewith. From pump 9a, in the direction opposite to filter 9, a discharge hose 11a conveys to the outside the water used for washing.

Of course casing 1 is mounted on a supporting base 15 with adjustable feet 16 resting on the floor 0* 10 and a control panel 12 is also provided with the various knobs and Lights of control and signalling, in particu- Lar the programmer knob 13, possibly of the "push-pull" type, being the subject of a prior patent of the same applicant. At one side of said panel, in a known posi- S 15 tion, there is also provided a door 14 for the deter- Sgent-container drawer.

The washing-machine according to the invention has the rotation axis X-X of drum 3 directed along the width direction of the machine itself, thereby parallel to the front wall 17 thereof. With reference to Fig. 3 there is shown more clearly how the drum 3 is rotatably mounted about axis X-X, namely on bearings 20' on either side of the drum which preferably has at its axial zone a recess 29, 29' on each side in order to further reduce the width overall size.

The case of bearing 20 has been sectioned in Fig. 3 to show the connection with 'the driving pulley 4 through out the thank 2 wall.

With such an arrangement the rotary drum 3 is formed with an inlet door 21 on its cylindrical lateral surface, e.g. comprised, as shown, of two T -C wings 21a, 21b which are hinged at one end and can be closed by a hook means 22. In Fig. 2 the door 21 has been represented closed and, with broken Lines, open in a position facing a front loading door 19. The Latter is preferably made, as shown in the drawings, hinged at its lower end to the front wall 17 and provided with a stop means so as to take, when open, the horizontal position shown by broken Lines in Fig. 2, which allows the utilization of a handy support plane 10 for the laundry to be loaded into the washing-machine or when taking off the washed clothes therefrom. The door 19 has also the Least overall size possible in the depth direction, in order to reduce as much as possible the room required without obviously any inter- 15 ference with the washing tank 2. The latter shows an opening of its lateral cylindrical surface, correspond-

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ing to the aperture defined by door 19 in the front wall 17.

As on the other hand, according to one of the features of the present invention, by utilization of the same basic components with only simple modifications of the moulds this machine is adapted to be manufactured in various models, e.g. as a top-loading type, in this case the loading door 18 will be provided on the top 23 of the machine and correspondingly the washing tank 2 will have the above-mentioned opening in its upper portion instead of the front central zone as in case of front side loading. In Fig. 2a a portion of machine has been represented as a top loading model, and in this case it will necessarily be of the "free-standing" type, even possibly recessed between -4f

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adjacent pieces of forniture, but certainly not to be integrally built-in.

On the contrary, when in case of front Loading models the machine of the invention is readily adaptable, with the appropriate equipments, in kitchen- or bath furnishing systems with continuously extending top and baseboard. In fact it will be sufficient to provide, on the front wall 17, pairs of hinges 25 on either side of the said wall (according to whether me 10 hinging on the right or Left hand side is desired) l for a wing 2A (see Fig. 2) to be applied frontally for a correct alignment with the adjacent forniture.

If the wing also covers the control panel 12, Leaving

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clear the programmer knob 13 in case this is of the 15 push-pull type,as already stated above it is however convenient that in association with these controls signalling lights 26 are provided, of the LED type, to indicate the operating conditions to the outside, even with closed wing. An upper shelf 27 with a front board being adjustable as to the height ensures the continuity of the "top" with the possibility of reaching the standard height of 85 cm for the built-in model.

Finally, with reference to the adjustable baseboard 10, the particular arrangement of filter 9 has been already mantioned, such as to prevent any interference therewith, and'an adjustable baseboardholder guide 28 will also be provided.

From the foregoing it will be clear which are the advantages of Less space occupied and more U IN, possibilities of fitting into a forniture system having ?tu 4 4 41 continuity features, that are afforded by the washingmachine of the invention. A 45 cm width actually corresponds to three elementary modules of fitting and clearly provides much more possibilities of embedding in the forniture of kitchens or bath-rooms, even when these rooms are of reduced size, than with a washingmachine having a width of about 60 cm-width, like the known machines on sale. It should be appreciated that I all this is obtained without any limitation of the machine characteristics, as to either the washing quality, or the load capacity, but on the contrary with some saving of the water utiLized and consequently of the relevant consumption of detergent and electric power. Another important advantage is that of being able to manufacture only one basic model, adaptable at will by simple modifications to moulds or fittings S* during the final setting up, to become a top- or front- Loading type machine, "free-standing" or to be recessed.

Possible additions and/or modifications could be made by those skilled in the art to the above-described and illustrated embodiments without departing from the scope of the invention. In particular the abovementioned dimensions should not be considered as limiting, but only as examples of the size reduction possibilities according to the invention, the actual dimeni sions being adaptable in a known manner to a possible different size or special requirements of use.

The reference numerals in the following claims do not in any way limit the scope of the respective claims, i

Claims

1. A washing-machine for built-in constructions with a vertical front wall having a width size, smaller than for either side wall in the depth direction, comprising a cylindrical washing tank and a rotary drum mounted for rotating co- axially therein being moved by a driving motor through a pulley which is co-axial with the said drum, with the rotation axis of the drum extending itself between two end bearings mounted to the side walls of the tank, being parallel to the front vertical wall of the machine, an inlet loading door to the inside of the machine oo o°1 10 being provided on said wall, there being also provided an associated opening, formed at the peripheral skirt of the tank, as well as an opening suitable to be o1 ,-closed at the periphery of the rotary drum by means of an inlet door, characterized by the fact that said loading door is hinged along its lower side, there being provided a retainer means to stop said door when open at a horizontal position and by further comprising a discharge pump-filter assembly in which a filter extends from a pump to a sloping upward direction until reaching the front wall at a higher S°position than a lower part, without any interference with said lower part which is adapted to comprise a baseboard being adjustable by means of a guide in the depth I direction.

2. A washing-machine as claimed in claim 1, further including a wing mounted on hinges at an edge, either on the right or on the left hand-side of the front wall, said wing being arranged to cover the whole front portion of the machine, including a control panel provided at a known position on an upper front portion of the machine, with a door of the detergent-container drawer, and comprising in association with each of one or more controls or signals provided on said control panel, a LED signalling light.

3. A washing-machine as claimed in claim 1, wherein said door for closing the rotary drum comprises two wings hinged and suitable to be closed by a hook means. 9/ O4-7,dbwspe.k23,o1apc,9 10

4. A washing-machine as claimed in any one of thc preceding clainis, wherein said wvidth-size is 40 to 45 cm. A washing-machine substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings. 15 DATED this 30th day of January, 1991. SMEG S.p.A. By its Patent Attorneys DAVIJES COLLISON S S S. *SSSSS S *5 S S S@ S SS 05 0 SO *0 S 0 S *05055 S S S 55 S 0 *05505 0

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