CN114318783A - Laundry care appliance with fragrance dosing system - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a laundry care appliance (10) comprising: a housing (11) having a barrel (12) therein; an opening (13) in the housing (11) for placing items to be treated in the tub (12); a door (14) for closing the opening (13); and a fragrance dosing system (20) arranged in the door (14) or in the housing (11), the fragrance dosing system comprising a reservoir (21) for fragrance and a dosing device (22) having an inlet (23) and an outlet (24) connected to the reservoir (21), the dosing device (22) being operable with movement of the door (14) to pump fragrance from within the reservoir (21) out of the dosing device (22) and out of the appliance. The appliance has a compact fragrance dosing system that dispenses from the appliance.

Description

Laundry care appliance with fragrance dosing system

Technical Field

The present invention relates to the field of laundry care appliances comprising a housing having a tub therein, an opening in the housing for placing items to be treated into the tub, a door for closing the opening and a fragrance dosing system.

Background

Document EP 2145997 a1, for example, describes a laundry care appliance comprising a casing, a door mounted in a front surface of the casing for opening and closing the interior, a drum rotatably mounted in the casing, and an aroma supply module for supplying aroma materials into the drum, wherein the aroma supply module is mounted in a front support in a main body so as to be accessible by opening the door, and the aroma materials contained in the aroma supply module are solid, liquid or gaseous components, whereby addition or replacement of aroma materials can be facilitated by mounting the aroma supply module for spraying aroma into the drum of the dryer in an easily accessible position, if necessary.

Disclosure of Invention

Accordingly, the present invention relates to a laundry care appliance with an improved fragrance dosing system with regulated fragrance consumption.

This object is achieved by using a laundry care appliance comprising: a housing having a tub therein; an opening in the housing for placing items to be treated into the bucket; a door for closing the opening; and a fragrance dosing system disposed within the door or housing and including a reservoir for fragrance and a dosing device having an inlet connected to the reservoir and an outlet, the dosing device being operable with movement of the door to pump fragrance from within the reservoir out of the dosing device and out of the appliance.

The laundry care appliance of the present invention is preferably a domestic washing machine, dryer or laundry dryer. The housing is an external structure that accommodates all the components of the appliance, in particular the tub where the laundry is placed and the care of the laundry is carried out. The tub has a drum that is rotatable in the tub about a horizontal or vertical axis, depending on the appliance type. The casing has an opening that is closable by a door for putting laundry into the drum. The door may be located in front of or on the appliance and is coupled to the housing by means of a hinge. In addition, the door may be closed with a latch and opened with a handle.

The appliance has a fragrance dosing system that may be incorporated into the door or appliance housing along with the remaining components of the appliance. The dosing system has a reservoir containing a fragrance, which may be in a liquid or gaseous state. For dispensing fragrance, the dosing system has a dosing device having an inlet connected to the holder for drawing fragrance from the holder, and an outlet for ejecting fragrance out of the appliance. The dosing device may be an atomizer tank or a liquid distributor of the usual type known in the art. The dosing device for liquids has a valve comprising an intermediate container in which the liquid to be sprayed is collected to be sprayed upon subsequent actuation with an internal spring. The dosing device for gas has a flow valve which, when actuated, allows the gas to exit.

In this way, an appliance is obtained having a fragrance dosing system provided in a suitable position for dispensing fragrance from the appliance when switched on, so that the user smells the fragrance of the fragrance at this determined moment, but the laundry itself is not yet permeated by the fragrance.

In a simplified embodiment of the dosing system, an actuator is provided which pre-stresses the energy storage element when the door is in the closed position, and releases the energy storage element when the door is open, thereby operating the dosing device to release the fragrance. The actuator is an element that, depending on the exact position in which the dosing system is mounted, can protrude beyond the outer surface of the door or housing and, when the door is closed, is pressed, thus prestressing the energy storage element, for example an elastic spring of any type, which stops being pressed by the actuator and pushes the dosing system when the door is open, thus actuating the dosing device and releasing the fragrance from the reservoir. This mechanical mode of operation is both cheap and efficient. It may also be implemented with motorized electrical and electronic components that are more accurate in the amount of fragrance that is released.

To release the fragrance, the dosing system has a sprayer connected to the outlet of the dosing device, which sprayer may include a diffuser for spraying the fragrance in the form of a spray, thereby dispersing the fragrance through the air, and thus spreading further and faster. In order to ensure that the fragrance contained in the holder is not lost, the dosing device is connected to the holder by means of a sealing closure element.

In order to integrate the dosing system into the appliance in an aesthetically pleasing and protected manner, the appliance is provided with a chamber into which the store can be introduced in a detachable manner. The chamber may be located in the door or in the housing, depending on the location of implementation of the dosing system. When the door is closed, the entrance to the chamber may be covered by the door. Furthermore, in order to hide the entrance to the chamber, it may be closed with a lid.

Drawings

The invention is explained in more detail using preferred embodiments and with reference to the drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an appliance according to the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a front view of a door of the appliance of FIG. 1;

FIG. 2b is a side view of the door of FIG. 2 a;

fig. 3 is a schematic view of a dosing system of the appliance of the present invention.

Detailed Description

In the drawings, identical or functionally identical elements are provided with the same reference numerals, unless otherwise specified.

Fig. 1 shows a household laundry care appliance 10, the household laundry care appliance 10 having a housing 11, the housing 11 having a door 14 hinged thereto to close an access opening 12 to a tub 13, through which access opening 12 laundry to be treated can be introduced. The inner face of the door 14, which faces the housing when closed, houses a fragrance dosing system 20 having a chamber 25, in which chamber 25 a fragrance reservoir is placed. The dosing system has an actuator 28, which actuator 28 is pressed in and pre-stresses an energy storage element 27 in the form of a spring as shown in fig. 3, when the actuator 28 is in contact with the outer surface of the housing when the door is closed. An aperture 30 is provided in the surface of the door which provides an outlet for fragrance emitted from the reservoir when the door 14 is open. Fig. 2a and 2b show the door of fig. 1 in more detail, showing the cover 29 of the chamber 25 into which the store 21 is introduced.

Fig. 3 is a schematic view of the fragrance dosing system 20 of the present invention, which may be disposed in a door or housing of an appliance. The system comprises a store 21 arranged in a chamber 25 and closed by a lid 29. The system further comprises an actuator 28, which actuator 28 protrudes beyond the surface and is pressed in when the door of the appliance is closed. When closed, the inwardly displaced actuator 28 stresses the spring 27 and causes the link 31 to rotate about its axis of rotation 33. The rotary motion of the link 31 linearly displaces the pusher 32, the pusher 32 being in contact with the reservoir 21 and enabling the dosing device 22 to load fragrance into the intermediate reservoir, drawing it from the reservoir 21 via the inlet 23.

When the door is opened, the spring 27 pushes the actuator 28, causing it to move outwards and the link 31 to rotate, thus pushing the pusher 32 linearly and pressing on the reservoir and actuating the dosing device 22, so as to cause the fragrance contained in the intermediate reservoir to be expelled through the outlet 24 into the injector 26 and out of the appliance through the orifice 30.

In a simplified embodiment, a reservoir containing pressurized gas fragrance releases the gas fragrance by acting in the manner of an atomizer.

List of reference numerals

10 laundry care appliance

11 casing

12 barrels

13 opening

14 doors

20 dosing system

21 storage device

22 quantitative feeding device

23 inlet

24 outlet

25 chamber

26 ejector

27 energy storage element

29 cover

28 actuator

30 holes

31 connecting rod

32 pusher

33 axis of rotation

Claims (9)

1. A laundry care appliance (10) comprising: a housing (11) having a barrel (12) therein; an opening (13) in the housing (11) for placing items to be treated in the tub (12); a door (14) for closing the opening (13); and a fragrance dosing system (20),

characterized in that the dosing system (20) is arranged in the door (14) or in the housing (11) and comprises a reservoir (21) for fragrance and a dosing device (22), the dosing device (22) having an inlet (23) connected to the reservoir (21) and having an outlet (24), the dosing device (22) being operable with movement of the door (14) to pump fragrance out of the dosing device (22) from within the reservoir (21) and out of the laundry care appliance (10).

2. The laundry care appliance (10) according to claim 1, characterized in that the dosing system (20) has an actuator (28) which pre-stresses an energy storage element (27) when the door (14) is in the closed position; when the door (14) is opened, the actuator (28) releases the energy storage element (27), thereby operating the dosing device (22) to release fragrance.

3. Laundry care appliance (10) according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that the dosing system (20) has an injector (26), the injector (26) being connected to the outlet (24) of the dosing device (22).

4. The laundry care appliance (10) according to claim 3, characterized in that the sprayer (26) has a diffuser for spraying the fragrance in the form of a spray.

5. Laundry care appliance (10) according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that the dosing device (22) is connected to the store (21) by means of a sealing closure element.

6. Laundry care appliance (10) according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that the dosing system (20) has a chamber (25) into which the magazine (21) can be introduced in a detachable manner.

7. The laundry care appliance (10) according to claim 6, characterized in that the chamber (25) is located in a surface of the door (14) facing the housing (11).

8. Laundry care appliance (10) according to claim 6, characterized in that the chamber (25) is located in a surface of the housing (11) which is covered by a door (14) in the closed position, and the chamber (25) can be closed by a lid (29).

9. Laundry care appliance (10) according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that the laundry care appliance (10) is a washing machine, a dryer or a laundry dryer.

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