Classifications

• • D—TEXTILES; PAPER
  • D06—TREATMENT OF TEXTILES OR THE LIKE; LAUNDERING; FLEXIBLE MATERIALS NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
  • D06F—LAUNDERING, DRYING, IRONING, PRESSING OR FOLDING TEXTILE ARTICLES
  • D06F39/00—Details of washing machines not specific to a single type of machines covered by groups D06F9/00 - D06F27/00 
  • D06F39/12—Casings; Tubs
  • D06F39/14—Doors or covers; Securing means therefor
• • D—TEXTILES; PAPER
  • D06—TREATMENT OF TEXTILES OR THE LIKE; LAUNDERING; FLEXIBLE MATERIALS NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
  • D06F—LAUNDERING, DRYING, IRONING, PRESSING OR FOLDING TEXTILE ARTICLES
  • D06F37/00—Details specific to washing machines covered by groups D06F21/00 - D06F25/00
  • D06F37/42—Safety arrangements, e.g. for stopping rotation of the receptacle upon opening of the casing door

Definitions

• the present invention relates to a washing machine having an illuminated drum.
• the illumination means is located on the handle of the front door of the washing machine such that it emits light rays through the transparent wall of the front door towards the inside of the drum.
• the wall of the front door of a washing machine is made of transparent glass in order to enable the user to see the inside of the drum.
• a user might wish to see the content of the laundry to check, for instance, whether a colored laundry was erroneously mixed with white clothes during filling.
• the user might wish to see the inside of the drum in order to obtain information on the phase of a washing cycle.
• WO 2012/072470 discloses a method a device for operating a washing machine comprising an outer casing provided with a door, a drum mounted inside the outer casing, a drum lighting device arranged inside the outer casing and in operable condition to light the drum.
• the drum lighting device is however located inside the casing of the washing machine, hence making the same vulnerable to damages resulting from its surrounding.
• EP 1 918 448 A discloses a washing machine having an outer casing, a wash chamber housed inside the outer casing, a wash drum housed inside the wash chamber and which rotates about an axis of rotation.
• a lighting device is located inside the outer casing to light the wash drum and has at least one LED.
• the present invention discloses a washing machine having a front loaded rotating drum and a front door equipped with a transparent wall. Distinguishingly the washing machine is further equipped with an illumination means located around the outer periphery of the transparent wall of the front door. The illumination means, in use, emits light rays towards the inside of the drum.
• the illumination means may be attached to a handle fixed to said front door. Particularly, the illumination means may be located flush with the rear surface of the handle opposing the transparent wall of the front door.
• the illumination means may further be provided with a reflector for diverting light rays.
• the illumination means may be provided with a lens for diverting light rays where said lens is configured in the form of a transparent top cover of the illumination means.
• the illumination means may have one or more LEDs as a light source, it may also contain a conventional bulb type light sources.
• the wiring of the illumination means may be made through the hinge used to attach the front door to the washing machine or through the locking latch of the front door opposing the hinge.
• the washing machine may be equipped with an activation button for manual energization of the illumination means by the user.
• the illumination means may be activated by the control circuitry of the washing machine.
• the washing machine may further be equipped with a motion sensor or a noise sensor for triggering a signal for energization of the illumination means.
• Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a washing machine having an illuminated drum according to the present invention.
• the inside of the drum of a washing machine (1) may be illuminated using an illumination means (4) which is located outside the casing of the machine.
• the illumination means (4) may be protected from the water, chemicals contained in the evaporating water and also the heat produced inside the drum of the washing machine.
• Fig. 1 shows a washing machine (1) having an illuminated drum according to the present invention.
• the illumination means (4) in this preferred embodiment, is attached to the handle (2) of the front door (3) such that it emits light rays (5) through the transparent wall (7) of said front door.
• the illumination means (4) is located flush on the rear surface of the door handle (2).
• the term rear surface of the handle is used to indicate the surface of the handle opposing the transparent wall (7) of the front door (3). Once made flush with the rear surface of the handle, the illumination means (4) would not disturb the touch of a user when using the handle.
• the illumination means (4) may be of a conventional bulb type light source or preferably of composed of one or more LEDs (Light Emitting Diodes).
• the illumination means (4) may be buried in the body of the door handle (2) and covered flush with the rear surface with a non-conductive top plate for enhanced security of the user.
• a non-conductive top plate typically made of plastic, may protect the user from the electricity provided to the illumination means (4) even when touching the same with wet hands.
• the illumination means (4) may further comprise a reflector and/or a lens to better focus the light rays (5) into the drum of the washing machine (1). While a reflector is usually placed beneath the light source, a lens may be placed on top of the light source in order to divert the light rays (5) originating from the illumination means (4) to a desired location. To this end, the non-conductive top plate may be made in the form of a transparent lens.
• the illumination means (4) may be attached to the door handle (2) as an external body whose electric wiring is made through the body of the handle (2).
• the electric wiring of the illumination means (4) may be made either through the hinge (8) used to attach the front door (3) to the washing machine (1) or through the locking latch of the front door (3) opposing the hinge (8).
• the illumination means (4) is placed around the outer periphery of the transparent wall (7) front door (3) in a location not corresponding to the handle (2). Therefore, it is obvious for those skilled in the art that the illumination means (4) is not necessarily located on the handle (2), but may suitably located at any position around the periphery of the transparent wall (7) of the front door (3).
• the term outer periphery is used to indicate the periphery of the transparent wall (7) opposing the user and not the drum of the washing machine.
• the activation of the illumination means may be made in a number of ways. While the activation may be made automatically by the control circuitry of the washing machine (1), the user may also be allowed to manually activate the illumination means (4) by means of an activation button (6) located on the washing machine (1).
• the control circuitry of the washing machine (1) may be programmed to energize the illumination means (4) either constantly or intermittently to save energy.
• the washing machine may be equipped with a motion sensor or a noise sensor which might trigger a signal indicating the presence of a user in the vicinity of the washing machine such that the illumination means (4) is energized only when said motion sensor or noise sensor triggers a signal to the control circuitry of the washing machine.

Landscapes

• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Textile Engineering (AREA)
• Main Body Construction Of Washing Machines And Laundry Dryers (AREA)

Applications Claiming Priority (1)

Publications (1)

Family

ID=47559444

Family Applications (1)

Country Status (2)

Families Citing this family (3)

Family Cites Families (6)

• 2012
  • 2012-12-30 WO PCT/EP2012/077103 patent/WO2014101965A1/en active Application Filing
  • 2012-12-30 EP EP12815716.1A patent/EP2941501A1/de not_active Withdrawn

Non-Patent Citations (1)

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