GB2366808A

GB2366808A - Laundry appliance

Info

Publication number: GB2366808A
Application number: GB0022806A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Evan James Stevens
Original assignee: Dyson Ltd; Notetry Ltd
Current assignee: Dyson Technology Ltd; Dyson Ltd
Priority date: 2000-09-16
Filing date: 2000-09-16
Publication date: 2002-03-20
Also published as: GB0022806D0; AU2001279964A1; WO2002022934A3; WO2002022934A2

Abstract

A laundry appliance (10, Fig 1) comprises a container (100, 102, 103, Fig 4 and 104) for retaining liquid during a wash cycle. A drum (120) for retaining laundry is rotatably mounted within the container about a rotational axis. The container has an opening to allow the introduction of laundry into the drum (120) and a door (42, Fig 3 and 62) for closing the opening in the container. The opening in the container has a rigid throat portion (110) which extends in a direction axially outwardly from the drum (120) and provides a surface over which laundry can be unloaded from the drum, whilst offering support and reducing the risks of clothing snagging in the opening. Preferably a seal (115) is provided on the throat (110) spaced as far as possible in the axial direction from the drum (120), for sealing against the door (42) and held in place by a band (125 Fig 7). Also a drainage channel (112) may be extended within the throat. The container (100) is formed as a cylindrical housing (102) and an end face (104) which is secured to the cylindrical housing (102) by bolts (108) with another seal (106) fitted between.

Description

<Desc/Clms Page number 1> Laundry Applianc This invention relates to a laundry appliance such as a washing machine, a washer-dryer or a tumble dryer and also to a container for use in such an appliance.

A washing machine generally consists of an outer casing in which is mounted a watertight interior container, often called a tub. A perforated drum is commonly mounted inside the container in a manner which allows the drum to rotate with respect to the container. During operation, washing liquid is contained within the container and the laundry to be washed is located within the perforated drum. The laundry is agitated, either by slow rotation of the drum or by the operation of an agitator located within the drum. When the laundry has been washed, some washing liquid is drained from the interior container and further washing liquid is extracted from the laundry by fast rotation of the drum within the interior container to spin washing liquid therefrom. Extraction of rinse water is achieved in a similar manner. The imbalance of the drum caused by the inevitably uneven distribution of the laundry causes some vibration of the interior container within the outer casing when the drum is rotated at fast speeds. In order to avoid this vibration being transmitted to the outer casing of the washing machine, the interior container is mounted within the outer casing so as to allow a limited amount of movement between the container and outer casing. It is common, in this respect, to mount the interior container in the outer casing by way of tension sphings which dampen the movements of the interior container and urge it to return to its equilibrium position.

The fact that the interior container is allowed to move with respect to the outer container causes difficulties with respect to the sealing of the washing machine in the area of the door, particularly in the case of front-loading washing machines. In most cases, the door is mounted on the outer casing and is arranged so as to seal the outer casing when the door is in a closed position. In the case of front-loading washing machines, the door will also normally be dished in shape so as to project inwardly towards the interior container. A large flexible bellows seal is provided between the interior container and

either the door or the ri'm of the opening so as to prevent washing liquid from escaping from the interior container. In the case of top-loading, washing machines, the door need not be shaped so as to project towards the interior container, although the flexible seal may extend between the upper end thereof and the outer casing or the door. The flexible seal is normally designed with sufficient flexibility to allow the movement of the interior container to be accommodated without causinu excessive stresses or damage 1z; to the remainder of the machine.

These types of machine have a disadvantage in that the flexible seal on which the sealing of the interior container depends is prone to wear or damage. This is because, by necessity, it surrounds and projects, in an unsupported manner, into the opening through which laundry is passed in order to introduce it to the interior of the drum, It is common to use consl 'derable force to pass the laundry through the available opening I ZD and this can distort, dislodue or damaue the seal. If fastenings such as zips and/or buttons are present in the laundry, the damage to the seal can be considerable. Another disadvantage of the known front-loading arrangements is that, because the seal must be flexible in order to accommodate the movements of the interior container, there is a possibility of small articles of laundry becoming lodged in a fold or crevice of the seal which can lead to the article not being properly washed or being damaged.

t, It is known for some front-loadinc, washinc, machines to have a door mounted on the container itself. The door seals the container when it is closed. As with conventional machines, the container is located inside an outer casing in a manner which allows limited movement between the container and the outer casinc, but the need for a large bellows seal between the container and the outer casing is avoided.

In the known machines there have been some difficulties in loading and unloading laundry from the drum of the machine.

The present invention seeks to provide a laundry appliance which is more convenient to use. In particular, the present invention seeks to provide a laundry appliance in which it is easier to load and/or unload laundry from the drum of the appliance.

Accordingly, a first aspect of the present invention provides a laundry appliance comprising an outer casing, a container for retaining liquid, a drum for retaining laundry, the drum being rotatably mounted within the container about a rotational axis, the outer casing, drum and container each having an opening to allow the introduction of laundry into the drum, a door for closing the opening in the container, and wherein the opening in the container has a rigid throat portion which extends in a direction axially outwardly from the drum and provides a surface over which laundry can be unloaded from the drum.

The rigid tub throat permits easier loading and unloading of laundry into the drum since there is a reduced risk of laundry snagging at the opening. It also serves to support the mass of laundry as it is unloaded from the drum. The throat portion can be formed as part of a larger component of the container, e.g. the throat portion and front annular portion, of the container can be moulded as one piece, or the throat portion can be fon-ned as a separate part which is secured to the remainder of the container.

Preferably the rigid throat portion has a convex shape and a smooth outer surface, Preferably the throat portion has a large radius of curvature without angular features. This further helps to ease unloading and loading of laundry from the drum.

Preferably a seal is provided on the throat portion for sealing against the door. It is preferred that the seal is spaced as far as possible in the axial direction from the drum. This maximises the depth of the surface and further reduces the risk of laundry snagging on the opening, Conveniently, the seal is located on the axially outermost part of the throat portion. Preferably, the seal is radially recessed from the surface of the throat portion such that laundry cannot be dragged across the seal. This reduces the risk of the seal becoming damaged by laundry,

Preferably a drainage channel extends through the throat portion from the region adjacent the seal to the interior of the container. This allows any wash liquid that may accumulate in a pocket between the throat and the seal to return to the container .

it is preferred that the throat portion is located only on the lowermost region of the container. This allows the door to be inclined with respect to the drum which has the advantage of allowing a user to more easily view the contents of the drum.

Z.7 The casing of a laundry appliance is usually limited to a standard set of dimensions so that the laundry appliance can fit within a space in a kitchen or utility room where the appliance will be used- This places constraints on the design of an improved laundry appliance. In particular, it restricts the diameter of' the drum that is used within the appliance.

Thus, a second aspect of the invention seeks to increase the size of the drum that is used within the appliance.

Accordingly, a second aspect of the invention provides a container for use in a laundry appliance, the container comprising a cylindrical housing for surrounding a drum of the appliance, an end face which is formed as a separate part to the cylindrical housing, means for securing the end face to the cylindrical housing and a seal for forming a liquid tight seal between the end face and the cylindrical housing, wherein the seal in use is located inside the cylindrical housing and acts radially between the inner surface of the cylindrical housing and the end face.

By sealing the container in this manner, the container and hence the drum within the C, container can have a larger diameter than previously possible.

A further advantage of providing a seal that acts radially is that securing means are not needed around the entire circumference of the cylindrical housing. Previously it has

been considered necessary to provide securing means around the entire circumference of the cylindrical housing to compress an axially acting seal against the cylindrical housing. Preferably securing means are not located in the regions on each side of the cylindrical housing, these being the regions where the clearance requirement between the container and outer casing is most critical, Embodiments of the invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein: Figure I is a perspective view of a washing machine according to the invention; Figure 2 is a side view of the washing machine of Figure I showing, schematically, the interior components of the machine; Figure 3 is a front view of the machine of Figure I with the outer door open to reveal the inner container; Figure,4 is a more detailed view of the tub assembly within the machine of Figure 1; Figure 5 is a cross-section through the tub assembly of Figure 4; and, Figures 6 and 7 show parts of Figure 5 in more detail.

Figures I and 2 show a laundry appliance in the form of a washing machine 10. The washing machine 10 has an outer casing 12 comprising a front panel 14, side panels 16 and a cover 18. The outer casing 12 can be dimensioned so as to fit within a standard appliance space as is commonly provided in European kitchens and utility rooms. However, the dimensions of the washing machine 10 do not form par't of the present invention and can be varied to suit requirements.

The front panel 14 includes a control panel 20 in which are housed various control buttons or other means for appropriate operation of the washing machine 10. The front panel 14 also includes a soap tray drawer 22 by means of which access to a soap tray for receiving deter-ent can be aalned. Also positioned in the front panel 14 is a coin trap t) Z71 24 which can be used to provide access to a cavity for collecting large foreign objects inadvertently introduced to the washing machine 10. It will be appreciated that the desi-n, , operation and relative positioning of the control panel 20, the soap tray drawer 22 and the coin trap 24 are immaterial to the present invention and variations to these particular features are intended to be encompassed within the invention.

Mounted on the front panel 14 of the outer casing 12 is a first door 26. The door 26 is supported on one side thereof by way of a hinge 28. Located on the door 26 on the side thereof- remote from the hinge 28 is a handle 30 which co-operates with a latch 32 (Figure 3) mounted on the front panel 14.

C# An interior container or tub 100 is mounted inside the outer casing 121 by way of tension spnngs and dampers 36. This method of rnountincy a tub 100 inside a washing machine t# In 10 is known. A cvl1ndricaI drum 120 is mounted inside the tub 100, also in a known manner, with a motor 40 being provided so as to cause the drum 120 to rotate about its own lon(Yitudinal axis. Perforations are provided in the drum 120 so as to allow washing liquid and/or rinse water contained within the tub 100 to pass through the perforations and into the interior of the drum 120.

A second door 42 is provided on the tub 100 on the face thereof closest to and generally parallel with the front panel 14 of the outer casing 1-2. The door 421, like the door 26, is supported by and pivotable about a hinge 44 (see Figure 3). A handle 46 is also provi ided on the door 42 on the side remote from the hinge 44. The handle 46 co- operates with a latch mounted on the tub 100.

In order to perform as a washing machine, means (not shown) are provided for introducing water to the tub 100 and also for draining water from the tub 100 and

pumping it to a water outlet. These features are well known in. the art and, for this reason, are not shown in the Figures nor described any further here.

The washing machine 10 also includes control means for causing the washing machine 10 to perform appropriate washing cycles. A typical washing cycle will include the introduction of water and detergent to the interior of the tub 100 to produce a washing liquid, the heating of the washing liquid to a required temperature, the rotation of the drum 120 about its axis within the tub 100 to agitate laundry contained within the drum 120, the draining of the washing liquid from the tub 100, a senies of rinse cycles involving the introduction of rinse water to the interior of the tub 100 and its extraction from the tub 100 by draining and slow spinning of the drum 120, and spinning of the laundry by fast rotation of the drum 120 about its axis. Further discussion of the washing cycles will not be given here. The control means 50 provided to operate the washing machine 10 are also operatively connected to the latch 32 and the latch 48 as will be described in more detail below.

Figure 3 shows the washing machine 10 in a first configuration in which the outer door 26 is open and the inner door 42 is closed. The outer door 26 comprises a generally circular panel 52 which is supported on one side by the hinge 28. The hinge 28 is located on the front panel 14 adjacent one of the side panels 16. Locating the hinge so close to the side panel 16 allows the circular panel 52 to have as large a diameter as possible. The circular panel 52 supports the handle 30 on the side thereof remote from the hinge 28.

The circular panel 52 is made from a transparent material. In the embodiment shown, the material used is polycarbonate although other transparent materials may be used. This allows the door 42 to be visible through the door 26. The position of the door 42 is shown in dotted lines in Figure 3.

The door 26 is dimensioned and arranged so as to be able to close an opening 54 in the front panel 14. The circular panel 54 carries a lip 56 which projects through the

opening 54 into the interior of the outer casing past the front panel 14 when the door 26 is in the closed position. A seal 58 is located on the rim of the circular panel 52 radially outwardly of the lip 56 so that, when the door -16 is in the closed position, the seal 58 is compressed between the circular panel 52 and the rim of the opening 54 in the front panel 14. Thus, when the door 26 is closed, the outer casing 12 is firn-ily and scalingly closed in the area of the opening 54.

The opening 54 in the front panel 14 is sufficiently large that the inner door 4_1 can pass zn therethrough when the door 26 is open. The door 42 is supported on the tub 100 by way of the hinge 44. The hinge 44 is located at a greater distance from the side panel 16 than the hinge 28 when the tub 100 is in its equilibrium position. This ensures that the door 42 is able to pass through the aperture 54 when the door 42 is rotated about the hinue 44.

Z__ The door 42 comprises an annular rim portion 60 which is supported at one side thereof bv the hinLe 44. The handle 46 is located on the rim portion 60 on the side thereof remote from the hinge 44. The rim portion 60 surrounds and supports a dish-shaped portion 6_2 which is manufactured from a transparent material such as glass or Pyrex"I". Other transparent materials may also be used. When the door 42 is in the closed position, the dish-shaped porilon 62 (see Figure 5) projects into the interior of the tub 100.

The door 42 is located and dimensioned so that it closes an opening 64 located in the portion of the tub 100 adjacent the front panel 14 of the outer casing 12. The opening 64 is circular and has a diameter which is smaller than that of the opening 54. A seal 115 is positioned around the rim of the opening 64 on the outer face of the tub 100 in such a position that, when the door 42 is closed, the rim portion 60 is pressed against the seal 115. In this manner, the tub 100 is scaled in a watertight manner when the door 42 is in the closed position.

Each of the handles 30,46 co-operates with the respective latch 32,48 in a known manner. In the closed position, each latch 32,48 is operable so as to hold the respective door 26,42 in a closed position until the respective handle 30,46 is operated. In this way, each door 26,42 is maintained in a position in which the respective seal 58,115 remains under compression and therefore operative so as to form a seal against any leakage of water.

The provision of two separate doors, a first door 26 mounted on the outer casing 12 and a second door 42 mounted on the tub 100, means that there is no need for a large flexible seal to be provided between the tub 100 and the door 26 mounted on the outer casing 12. The door 42 which closes the tub 100 is mounted directly thereon and therefore the seal 115 which ensures a watertight closure of the tub 100 is not vulnerable to wear and/or damage as a result of laundry being introduced to the interior of the tub 100 through the opening 64. The seal 115 can be made small and compact with adequate support being provided thereto. Furthermore, the seal 58 provided between the front panel 14 and the door 26 is also fully supported and therefore less vulnerable to damage and wear, although it is recognised that this seal 58 is less critical to the operation of the washing machine 10.

r.# When the washing machine 10 is in operation, both doors 26,42 are closed. However, the interior of the tub 100 can still be viewed by the user of the washing machine 10 by virtue of the fact that both doors 26,42 are transparent. The user is therefore able to view the interior of the washing machine 10 so as to be able to judge the stage of the cycle reached by the washing machine 10 at any particular time.

A seal 80 is positioned between the front panel 14 and the tub 100. The seal 80 serves the purpose of guarding the region between the tub 100 and the front panel 14. The tub 100 and front panel 14 must be spaced so as to allow for movement of the tub 100 during use of the machine. The seal 80 prevents a user from trapping their hand between the tub 100 and the front panel 14.

The tub assembly 100 is shown more fully in Figures 4 and 5. Figure 4 is an isometric view of the tub assembly and Figure 5 is a cross-sectional view along A-A' of Figure 4, with the addition of door panel 62 to show how the door seals the opening in the tub. The tub, when closed by door 42, forms a liquid-tight container for holding the water and deteruents that are used dun'n- a washing cycle. The tub 100 comprises a cylindr#ical part 102 having a rear face 103 and an annular front pail 104. Front pan 104 is secured to the cylindrical part 102 by bolts 108 which pass through holes in the radially outer-most portion of the front part 104 and locate in axially extending bores formed in the radially outermost portion of the cylindrical part 102. The bolts are spaced around the circumference of the annular front part 104 except in the regions 130 on either side of the tub 100. The tub is formed from a rigid glass-filled polypropylene material. A seal 106 fits between the annular front part 104 and the cylindrical part 102 and acts radially outwards aaainst the inner wall of part 102 to form a water-tight seal. As shown more clearly in Figure 6, the seal 106 is held in a U-shaped channel 109 formed by part 109a of the front face of the annular part 104, a short axially extending wall 109b and a short radially extending wall 109c, Seal 106 is held within channel 109 and is compressed against wall 102a of the cylindrical part, deforming the seal 106 to ensure a ti(,ht seal. The width of the casin- is the -rcatcst constraint on the design of the appliance. The positioning of the seal 106 inside the tub 100 such that it acts radially outwards against the tub reduces the clearance that is required between the tub and the sides 16 of the outer casing. This is particularly important where the drum 120 has a large diameter but the outer casing 12 is constrained to a standard width. As a further measure to increase the clearance between the side ofthe tub 100 and the casing 12, bolts 108 are not used in the regions 130 on either side of the tub 100. In regions 130 the radially outermost portions of the cylindrical part 102 and annular front part 104 are removed, i.e. flange 102b (see Figure 6) of the cylindrical part 102 which houses the axial bores for securing the bolts 108 and the outer flange on the annular front part 104 are removed. It is possible to avoid the need for bolts in these regions 130 because the seal 106 acts radially rather than axially, The tub 100 is manufactured from a glass- filled poly propylene material. It has been found difficult to directly manufacture a tub with a cylindrical part 102 that has a flange 102b around only pail of the circumference

of the cylindrical part 102 as the glass fibres adopt a non-ideal orientation in the regions where the flange is missing. A solution to this problem has been to manufacture the tub in two stages: (i) form a cylindrical part 102 with a flange around its entire circumference and, (ii) remove the flange from the regions 130. The tub resulting from this manufacturing process has been found to have glass fibres which are properly aligned for maximum strength.

The annular front part 104 defines an opening through which laundry can be loaded and unloaded from the drum 120. As previously described, the opening is closed by a door 42 (Figure 3) which includes a transparent panel 62 that projects inwardly into the opening. The lower portion of the opening includes an axially extending throat-like part 110 which provides a surface over which laundry can easily be unloaded from the drum. As shown in Figure 5, the annular part 104 extends radially inwardly from the circumference of the cylindrical part 102 and lies substantially parallel with the front edge 121 of the drum 120 up to the region of the innermost lip 122 of the drum. From this point, the annular part 104 has a generally convex shape and extends axially outwards from the drum 120. The broad axial region provided by the throat 110 and the smooth outer surface of the throat 110 minirnises the risk of laundry becoming snagged in this region. It is preferred that the throat portion 110 is completely free of angular edges.

A seal 115 is secured in a channel 128 in the forward, radially outermost surface of the throat 110. Channel 128 extends around the entire circumference of the opening in the annular part 104. Seal 115 is held in place by a tensioned wire band 125 which fits within a channel 126 around the circumference of the seal. The band 125 acts radially inwardly to press the seal against the throat. This band 125 can take the forrn of a wire hoop, the ends of which are joined by a spring which urges the ends towards one another and thus tightens the hoop around the seal 115. The sealing edge of the seal 115 extends radially inwardly and, in use, presses against panel 62 of the door 42, as shown in Figure 5. A drainage channel 112 extends within the throat 110 between an inlet aperture 117 located axially inwardly of the seal and an outlet aperture 118. The

drainage channel 112 drains any liquid that may collect in the region of the seal 115 and returns the liquid to the tub 100. The positioning of the seal 115 on the axially outermost part of the throat and securing the seal 115 to the throat on the radially outermost side of the tub throat helps to protect the seal 115 from damage as laundry is unloaded from the drum 120.

At the end of a wash cycle, a user opens door 26 and then door 42 of the machine in order to access laundry inside the drum 120. A user grasps laundry inside the drum and lifts or pulls the laundry from the drum 120. Laundry items may be dragged across the exposed surface of the throat 110 or parts of the laundry items, such as sleeves of a shirt, may fall onto the throat 110 as the items are lifted from the drum 120. Laundry is usually removed from the drum 120 in several actions. After each action part of the laundry that has not been removed from the drum may fall onto the throat 110. The broad throat portion 110, the absence of any angular edges on the throat 110 and the spacing of the seal 115 from the drum help to minimise the risk of laundry becoming z:1 trapped at the opening.

As an improvement to the illustrated embodiment, the seal 115 can be positioned further radially outwards from the surface of the tub throat which is contacted by the laundry- Ideally, the uppermost edge of the seal 115 should lie beneath the uppermost level of the tub throat (see I 10a in Figure 7) such that laundry being removed from the drum does not drag across any part of the seal 115.

ZD In the illustrated embodiment the broad throat 110 exists only in the lower region of the opening. In the uppermost region of the opening, the annular front part 104 ends with a radially inwardly extending flange 119. The broader throat i's not required in this region as laundry is not loaded against this part of the opening. Also, providing a broad throat at only the base of the opening allows the door 42 to be inclined with respect to the tub 100 and drum 120, which provides a user with an improved view of the contents of the drum 120.

In the illustrated embodiment the throat portion 110 is moulded integrally with the annular front part 104. However, the throat portion could be provided as a separate annular part which fits, e.g. Z# by bolts or by a snap fitting, to the annular front part 104.

Claims

Claints: 1. A laundry appliance comprising an outer casing, a container for retaining liquid, a drum for retaining laundry, the drum being rotatably mounted within the container about a rotational axis, the outer casing, drum and container each having an opening to allow the introduction of laundry into the drum, a door for closing the opening in the container, and wherein the opening, in the container has a rigid throat portion which extends in a direction axially outwardly from the drum and provides a surface over which laundry can be unloaded from the drum. I An appliance 1 according 1 to claim I wherein the throat portion has a COTIVeX profile. 3. An appliance according to claim I or 2 wherein the throat portion is located only on the lowermost reoion of the container. Z:7 4# An appliance accordin(T to anv one of the preceding claims wherein a seal is I provi 'ded on the throat portion 1 for sealing 1 n against the door. 5. An appliance according to claim 5 wherein the seal is located on the axially outermost parl of the throat portion. 6. An appliance according to claim 5 or 6 wherein the seaJ is radially recessed from the surface of the throat portion. 7. An appliance according to any one of claims 4 to 6 wherein the throat portion comprises a drainage channel which extends from the region adjacent the seal to the Z7# interior of the container. 8. An appliance according to any one of the preceding claims in the form of a washing machine.

<Desc/Clms Page number 15>

9. A laundry appliance substantially as described herein with reference to the accompanying drawings. 10, A container for use in a laundry appliance, the container comprising a cylindrical housing for surrounding a dmm of the appliance, an end face which is formed as a separate part to the cylindrical housing, means for securing the end face to the cylindrical housing and a seal for forming a liquid tight seal between the end face and the cylindrical housing, wherein the seal in use is located inside the cylindrical housing and acts radially between the inner surface of the cylindrical housing and the end face. 11, A container according to claim 10 wherein the seal is supported by the end face and acts radially outwardly against the inner surface of the cylindrical housing 0* 12, A container according to claim I I wherein the end face has a radially extending channel for receiving the seal, the channel being supported by a wall that extends axially. inwardly into the cylindrical housing, 13. A container according to claim 10 wherein the cylindrical housing has a radially extending channel for receiving the seal and the end face has a wall that extends axially inwardly into the cylindrical housing. 14. A container according to any one of claims 10 - 13 wherein the securing means are not located around the entire circumference of the cylindrical housing. 15. A container according to claim 14 wherein the securing means are not located on diametrically opposite sides of the cylindrical housing. 16. A container substantially as described herein with reference to the accompanying drawings.