ES2357781T3 - DOMESTIC WASHING MACHINE WITH IMPROVED DRAWER FOR DETERGENT. - Google Patents

Abstract

Washing or washing-drying machine comprising top surface, a detergent drawer placed on the machine front upper wall, and provided with a front panel (4) with a top portion (5) partially extending on said top surface itself, means for the engagement and disengagement of said drawer into and from a related lodgement by a pushing on said front panel; said means comprise a push-push arrangement, composed by two devices able of interacting each other, whose one device is mounted on said drawer, and the second device is firm with the machine main frame. Said machine is provided with means able of automatically giving said front panel a lifting movement, and a contemporary lateral movement when it takes the end inner position of said push-push arrangement.

Description

The present invention relates to an improved washing machine, preferably domestic, provided with a front drawer for the introduction and delivery of washing products, such as detergents, softeners, etc., as described in EP 0 410 086 TO.

A drawer of this kind, which is widely known and which in the following will be briefly referred to as "detergent drawer", is constructed and housed so that it can be easily removed and introduced into the machine by horizontal movement.

A drawer of this kind can be introduced and removed from the machine without specific problems; however, in order to facilitate user control and, also, to make its front panel more aligned with the front wall of the machine, essentially for aesthetic reasons, the drawer is sometimes provided with a mechanism called "push-push", known per se, which offers the possibility of releasing the drawer from the position introduced by pushing a little, simply, from the front.

Conversely, in order to introduce said drawer into its seat, it is necessary to introduce it by slightly exceeding, usually 1 to 3 mm, its final position in order to allow its own mechanism to be automatically restored; after that, elastic means of the same mechanism advance the drawer until the final position is reached.

However, when the drawer is being introduced said short stretch in excess, an annoying inconvenience may arise; in fact, with reference to fig. 1, it can happen that the upper part of the machine is constituted by two separate flat elements, that is, a flat rear surface 1 and a front frame 2 that extends the entire width of the machine.

These two elements 1 and 2 are separated by a throat 3.

The front panel 4 of the drawer, for aesthetic reasons, is provided with an upper part 5 that is flat, horizontal, extending backwards at the height of said upper part of the machine and interrupting a front part of said frame 2 until said throat 3, as clearly shown in figure 1.

In the case of such an embodiment, it is difficult, and sometimes even impossible, to provide the "push-push" mechanism to the drawer, since when the drawer is introduced and in a resting condition, as shown in the figure, the rear edge 6 of said frame 2 does not interfere with the front edge 7 of said flat rear surface 1; however, during the short excess travel required by said "push-push" mechanism, it is evident that said edges 6 and 7 approach each other through said throat 3, until they collide, as schematically illustrated in fig. 2.

Therefore, it would be desirable, and really is a main objective of the present invention, to provide a laundry machine equipped with a top surface, with a detergent drawer and an associated "push-push" mechanism located at the top of the front wall of the machine, said drawer being provided with a front panel with an upper part that extends, at least partially and in a horizontal direction, towards the flat rear surface of the machine, and with a throat that extends horizontally between said surface flat back and said upper part of the front panel of said drawer, which eliminates or, at least, reduces the inconvenience of the collision between said flat rear surface and said upper part of the detergent drawer during excessive movement of the "push" mechanism -Push".

In accordance with the present invention, this and other objects are achieved in a washing machine that incorporates the features cited in the appended claims and that includes operating means such as those described below, merely by way of non-limiting example with reference to the attached drawings, in which:

fig. 1 is a perspective view of the front wall of a washing machine with a detergent drawer and a related front panel, according to the prior art,

fig. 2 is a perspective view of the upper surface of a machine, illustrating the inconvenience explained,

fig. 3 is a symbolic view of a vertical cross section of the machine of fig. 2 according to the invention, and with the drawer fully inserted,

fig. 4 shows a perspective view, in transparency and partially exploded, of a detergent drawer according to the invention,

fig. 4A shows an exploded view of fig. 4,

the figs. 5 and 5A show two plan views of two respective components of a detergent drawer according to the invention,

fig. 6 shows a vertical plan and side view of the drawer according to the invention,

fig. 7 represents some specific characteristics of fig. 6,

fig. 8 shows an exterior and side perspective view of a side wall of a washing machine provided with a detergent drawer and a related front panel, according to the prior art,

fig. 9 shows a plan view from above and in transparency of an improved embodiment of a detergent drawer according to the invention,

fig. 10 shows a perspective view of the embodiment of fig. 9 with the drawer in its resting position,

fig. 11 illustrates the view of fig. 10 but with the drawer pressed in the final position of the "push push" path,

fig. 12 and fig. 13 show two views from above of the machine according to an improved embodiment of the invention, respectively with the drawer inserted in the rest position and fully pressed in the final position of the "push-push" path,

the figs. 14 and 15 show the machine under the conditions of, respectively, figures 12 and 13, but represented in side vertical views,

the figs. 16 and 17 show a symbolic representation and from above of a different embodiment of a drawer according to the invention,

fig. 18 shows a schematic perspective view of a detail of the washing machine in relation to a detergent drawer and a related front panel, according to the invention.

With reference to figures 1 and 3, a front loading washing machine, according to the prior art, comprises:

- an upper wall consisting of a flat rear surface 1 and a front frame 2,

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a detergent drawer located in the upper part of the front wall of the machine and provided with a vertical front panel 4 with an upper part 5 which extends, at least partially, through the upper wall of the machine,

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a "push-push" mechanism, known per se and not shown, which allows the application and de-application of said drawer within the related seat inside the machine.

According to the invention, the machine and specifically the detergent drawer, are provided with means and devices that allow them to overcome the described inconvenience thanks to a simple lifting of the front panel 4 of the drawer, that is, to a lifting movement of said front panel when the drawer is being fully inserted throughout the travel of the "push-push" maneuver.

Obviously, when the said panel is lifted, its upper part is also raised and as a final consequence, due to such lifting, its rear edge 6 is made to exceed the front edge 7 of the flat rear surface 1 and slide on it, thus avoiding the collision (fig. 3).

The invention can be carried out in accordance with the following advantageous embodiment: with reference to Figures 4 and 4A, said detergent drawer comprises a front structure 10 located just behind said front panel 4, being provided in said structure:

- two cylindrical housings 11 and 12, aligned along the same first horizontal axis X1, transverse to the direction of introduction of the drawer and arranged at a distance similar to the width of the drawer,

- a first rotating element 13 (fig. 5), flat and rectangular, but which can also take on a trapezoidal shape, in which two adjacent angles are provided with two respective coaxial pivots, 14 and 15, aligned along said first axis X1 and sized and shaped at a distance such that they can be introduced into said respective cylindrical housings; in practice, said first rotation element 13 can thus be rotated with respect to said front structure 10, around said two pivots 14 and 15 in the respective housings 11 and 12.

Said first rotation element 13 is also provided with a second pair of pivots 16, 17 which are coaxial, the relevant axis X2 being parallel to said first axis X1 and the inner wall of said front panel 4 being correspondingly provided with respective cylindrical housings 18, 19 that are coaxial and that are located and sized so as to be able to accommodate said respective pivots 16, 17.

In addition, said first rotation element is sized and arranged with an inclination such that its adjacent, but not aligned, pivots 14 and 16 are positioned such that the pivot 16 is arranged in a higher and more advanced position with respect to the pivot 14 respectively, as schematically shown in fig. 6; the same is valid for pivot 15 in relation to the corresponding pivot 17, contiguous and non-coaxial.

During the excess travel of the "push-push" operation, when the front panel 4 is being pressed from the rest position, the drawer is then introduced into its normal operating position, the structure 10 is stopped and, therefore, the pressure on said panel 4 is transmitted, through the housings 18 and 19, on said respective pivots 16 and 17 of said first rotation element 13; The force acting on said pivots 16 and 17 comprises two components, namely a radial force F1 and a tangential force F2 (see Fig. 7), the latter causing the pivots 16 and 17 to rotate around the respective centers of rotation constituted by said pivots 14 and 15 on said axis X1, properly applied in the respective housings 11 and 12 of structure 10.

Therefore, said rotation is transformed into a lifting movement, in addition to a backward movement, of the pivots 16 and 17, said lifting movement being transmitted through the housings 18 and 19 to the front panel 4 and, in particular, to the top 5, causing it to rise, as shown schematically in fig. 3.

In this way, the necessary lifting action of the panel is achieved, which is carried out simultaneously with the introduction of the drawer, during the excess travel of the "push-push" operation.

It is assumed, in this case, that it is useful to remember that panel 4 is not firmly connected to structure 10, but only through pivots 16 and 17 and related housings and, therefore, it is basically movable with respect to to panel 4 proper.

Obviously, the "push-push" mechanism, not illustrated by being well known in the art, will be incorporated thanks to a first device in firm application with the front panel 4 and by a second corresponding device connected to the main frame of the machine, in such a way that the mechanism itself can only act on the front panel 4 and not on the detergent drawer itself.

The solution just described offers some advantageous improvements: from the foregoing, it follows that the front panel is pivoted on the coaxial pivots 16 and 17 through the respective housings 18 and 19; all of this, apparently, causes uncertainty regarding the inclination / orientation of the front panel itself, which is unacceptable.

In order to avoid said problem, an improvement consisting of incorporating a second rotation element 20 (figures 4 to 6), totally identical to the first element 13, mounted on said structure 10 and connected to said front panel 4 with the same is introduced criterion.

Therefore, with reference to said figures, the following elements are defined:

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in said structure 10, two other cylindrical housings 21, 22 located along a third common axis (X3) and at a defined distance, preferably similar to the width of the drawer, said third axis (X3) being basically horizontal and oriented transversely with respect to to the address of introduction of said drawer.

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in said second rotation element 20, which rotates around said structure 10 and comprising four corners, a third pair of pivots 23, 24 are located in two respective corners, said pivots 22, 24 being able to be introduced into said other respective cylindrical housings 21, 22, said second rotation element 20 can be rotated by means of said two respective pivots 23, 24 relative to said structure.

Said second rotation element is provided with a fourth pair of pivots 25, 26 which are coaxial, with a fourth geometric axis X4 parallel to said third axis X3, capable of being applied with respective cylindrical housings 27, 28 located on the inner side of said front panel 4.

Said second rotation element 20 is further shaped and oriented with an inclination such that the two pivots 23 and 25, contiguous and not aligned (belonging to respective and different pairs of pivots) are positioned such that the pivots 25, 26 they are arranged in a higher and forward position relative to the respective adjacent pivots 23, 24 of said third pair of pivots (figs. 4, 4A, 6 and 7).

In addition, said third axis X3 and said fourth axis X4, which are parallel, are also parallel to said two axes X1 and X2.

5

fifteen

25

35

Four. Five

It is also advantageous (fig. 7) that the distance S between said first and second axes, X1 and X2, is equal to the distance given to the housings between the third and fourth axes, X3 and X4.

In addition, the distance R between the first and third axes, X1 and X3, is equal to the distance between the axis X2 of the housings 16, 17 and the axis X4 of the housings 21, 22.

This allows these axes to be positioned such that in an orthogonal section as shown in fig. 7, the sections of said axes are located exactly at the corners of a parallelogram; This makes it possible that, during the final stage of introduction by means of the "push-push" maneuver, the mentioned front panel can only move backwards and upwards but always staying parallel to itself.

The proposed solution completely solves the initial problem; however, it has been observed that another problem may arise, namely that the side edge 30 of the front panel 4, even if it is raised, may collide in its final leg of the path with the edge 31 which is the extension, on the wall side of the machine, of the leading edge 7 of the flat rear surface 1, as shown in fig. 8.

In order to overcome said problem and with reference to Figures 9 and 10, in said structure 10 an inclined edge 32 is formed and in at least one of said rotating elements 13, a corresponding contact surface 33 is also formed , with which said inclined edge can come into contact, so that it can be pushed by a force that acts towards the side wall of the machine, generated by the reciprocal interaction between said elements 32 and 33 when said rotation element 13 is pushed backward during the final stretch of the "push-push" course.

In order to guarantee said lateral movement effect of the front panel, together with the upward movement, said inclined edge 32 is inclined at an angle that is not zero with respect to a vertical plane P1 orthogonal to the front wall of the machine; such that the contact surface 33 of the rotating element 13 acts as a pusher and slides on said inclined edge 32 which, in this case, works as a cam.

The final effect is that, during the rotation of the rotation element 13, when the front panel is pushed, schematically represented in figures 10 and 11 in their initial and final orientations, said element 13 is forced to move in the direction of said edge inclined 32 and, therefore, in the embodiment of figures 12 and 13 and, also as shown in figures 14 and 15, towards the chosen side wall, with the result that, also, said side edge 30 of the front panel 4 separates and moves away from said edge 31, as desired to avoid lateral collision.

In summary, the movement of said element is oriented both upwards and laterally.

Obviously, the solution detailed precisely for one of said rotation elements, identified as 13, can also extend identically to the second rotation element 20 and to a corresponding edge of the structure 10 and is absolutely similarly applicable.

The purpose of such an extension is also to allow lateral movement of the front panel 4 thanks to a simple translation movement and without any modification of the orientation of the front panel itself.

The solutions just described for moving the front panel by moving it up and sideways in the phase of movement in excess of the "push-push" maneuver, can also be achieved with the following embodiment which, very briefly, is based in the following characteristics: the upward and lateral movement of the front panel 4 is now carried out thanks to a solution based on the fact that the excess travel of the "push-push" maneuver can originate, on its own, from Simultaneously, both movements.

Reference is made in this case to Figures 16 and 17 showing views from above, in transparency, of the structure 10 and of the rotating elements 13, 20 and of the front panel 4 in accordance with an improved embodiment.

It has been observed that, in order to achieve the result of moving the control panel both upwards and laterally while being pushed to the final position of the "push-push" path, it is sufficient to provide the structure 10 of housings and pivots in a totally similar way as described, and the same for the front panel 4, however with a main difference: as detailed, axes X1, X2 X3 and X4 of figures 1 to 7, even if they remain parallel and in the horizontal plane, they are no longer oriented parallel to the front wall of the machine, but are slightly inclined with respect to it at an appropriate angle b, as shown in said figures 16 and 17, illustrating two schematic views from above, of the structure 10 and of the rotation element 13, respectively with the drawer closed and at rest, and with the drawer in the "push-push" end path, that is, with panel 4 slightly shifted towards the extreme side wall of the machine.

Therefore, the rotation of the front panel 4, which basically rotates when driven on axes X1 and X2, also has a side component in addition to the component facing up, as just described.

And thus, the desired result of a combined upward and lateral movement of the front panel 4 in the excess travel of the "push-push" maneuver is achieved.

For reasons of brevity and clarity, the total repetition of the characteristics just described is avoided, it being understood that the only difference lies in the fact that in the present embodiment, axes Xa1 and Xa2, corresponding to axes X1 and X2 of the previously explained embodiment, are horizontal but slightly inclined, just at angle b with respect to the front wall of the machine.

5 For simplicity, the full equivalent description is omitted in this case in the case, already explained previously, that two differentiated but equal rotation elements are provided in order to constitute a parallelogram.

In fig. 18 shows a detail of the washing machine related to a detergent drawer and the related front panel, according to a preferred embodiment of the invention, as previously described.

At this point, the person skilled in the art will have already guessed, surely, that the configuration of the invention is such that the lifting movement and, possibly, the lateral movement of the detergent drawer starts from the position in which the drawer is closed and at rest; In this condition, the position of the drawer is perfectly aligned with the remaining contiguous surfaces of the machine, that is, the front wall and the top surface.

Said front panel 4 must only be manipulated and reoriented in the manner described during the travel in

15 excess of the "push-push" operation and, therefore, the described devices are incorporated, sized and reciprocally mounted so that the movements described above and laterally of the front panel 4 can be achieved at the same time and completely automatically, and they start and stop during the excess travel of the "push-push" maneuver and exclusively during said maneuver.

Claims (8)

1. Front loading washer or washer-dryer machine, comprising: - an upper surface, - a detergent drawer located at the top of the front wall of the machine and provided with a front panel (4) with an upper part (5) extending at least partially on said upper surface, - means for the application and de-application of said drawer in and from a housing related to pushing on said front panel, said means comprising a "push-push" arrangement consisting of two devices capable of interacting with each other, one of whose devices is mounted in said drawer, the second device being firmly attached to the main frame of the machine, characterized in that it is provided with means capable of automatically communicating to said front panel a lifting movement when it reaches the extreme inner position of said "push-push" arrangement. 2. Washing machine according to claim 1, characterized in that said detergent drawer comprises a structure (10) which includes: - two cylindrical housings (11, 12) located on a first common geometric axis (X1) and at a predefined distance, preferably similar to the width of the drawer, said first axis being substantially horizontal, - a first rotating element (13) comprising four corners, with two coaxial pivots (14, 15) arranged in two adjacent respective corners, it being possible that said pivots can be applied with two respective cylindrical housings (11, 12), said said first rotation element rotate with said two coaxial pivots with respect to said structure,

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said first rotation element being provided with two coaxial pivots (16, 17) whose common geometric axis (X2) is parallel to said first axis (X1), which can be applied with respective cylindrical housings (18, 19) located on the inner side of said front panel (4),

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said first rotation element being configured and oriented with an inclination such that two corresponding pivots, contiguous and not aligned (14, 16), are positioned such that the pivot (16) on said second axis (X2) is located in a position higher and forward with respect to the adjacent pivots (14) in said first axis (X1).

3. Machine according to claim 2, characterized in that said first and second geometric axes (X1, X2) are oriented essentially parallel to the plane of the front wall of the machine. 4. Machine according to claim 3, characterized in that said detergent drawer comprises: - two other cylindrical housings (21, 22) located on a third common axis (X3) and at a predefined distance, preferably similar to the width of the drawer, said third axis being substantially horizontal and oriented transversely to the direction of introduction of said drawer , - a second rotating element (20) comprising four corners, with two coaxial pivots (23, 24) arranged in two respective adjacent corners, said pivots being able to be applied with two respective cylindrical housings (21, 22), said second element being capable rotating rotation with said two coaxial pivots with respect to said structure,

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said second rotating element being provided with two coaxial pivots (25, 26) whose common geometric axis (X4) is parallel to said third axis (X3), which can be applied with respective cylindrical housings (27, 28) located on the inner side of the cited front panel (4),

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said second rotation element being shaped and oriented with an inclination such that two adjacent, corresponding and not aligned pivots (23, 25) are positioned such that the pivot (25) on said fourth axis (X4) is located in a position higher and forward with respect to the adjacent pivots (23) in said third axis (X3).

Machine according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that said means for lifting the front panel (4) can give the panel itself a simultaneous lateral movement when pushed in the extreme position of the "push-push" path. 6. Machine according to claim 6, characterized in that said structure (10) comprises an edge (32) which is inclined outwardly at a non-zero angle (a) with respect to a vertical plane (P1) orthogonal to the front wall of the machine, and because at least one of said rotating elements (13) is provided with a respective contact surface (33) capable of touching said inclined edge (32) and sliding on it, in order to be pushed to execute a lateral movement caused by the interaction between said inclined edge (32) and said contact surface ( 33). 7. Machine according to claims 5 or 6, characterized in that said first and second axes (X1, X2) are oriented substantially inclined (b) with respect to the front wall of the machine. Machine according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that said first and second rotating elements (13, 20) are basically identical, and because the four pivots (14, 16, 23, 25) that are located in the same said drawer side, and the corresponding four pivots (15, 17, 24, 26) located on the opposite side of the drawer, define a parallelogram. 9. Machine according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that said The "push-push" arrangement is positioned and mounted such that said upward and lateral movements of said front panel (4) are carried out only during the excess travel of said "push-push" arrangement.