AU2016206404B2

AU2016206404B2 - Washing and/or drying appliance

Info

Publication number: AU2016206404B2
Application number: AU2016206404A
Authority: AU
Inventors: Diego Dal Ben; Andrea Giovannetti; Marco Santarossa; Alessandro Vian
Original assignee: Electrolux Appliances AB
Current assignee: Electrolux Appliances AB
Priority date: 2015-07-27
Filing date: 2016-07-22
Publication date: 2021-02-11
Anticipated expiration: 2036-07-22
Also published as: CN106436198B; AU2016206404A1; EP3124675A1; CN106436198A

Abstract

P-61371/EP Abstract The invention relates to a washing and/or drying appliance, comprising - A casing including a first and second side walls, a front wall and a rear wall, said rear wall including a lower edge, and a basement defining a basement plane and supporting said rear wall, - A washing and/or drying chamber apt to contain the laundry to be washed and/or dried, said chamber being located within said casing, - Wherein one of said basement and said rear wall includes a pivot and the other of said basement and said rear wall includes a seat housing said pivot, said pivot defining an axis of rotation for said rear wall substantially perpendicular to said basement plane, so that said rear wall is apt to swing around said axis of rotation from a first semi-assembled position where it is connected to said basement substantially only by said pivot to a second assembled position where said lower edge is facing said basement. 22 1/5 2e 17 5 2c 2 2b ,I 100 R~ ti,~ z 3--~ 9a FIG. 1 \x4

Description

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Washing and/or drying appliance

Technical field

The present invention relates to a washing and/or drying appliance the assembly of which is simplified. Simplifying the assembly of the appliance means that the complexity to join together the various elements of the appliance may be lower, the time required for the assembly may be reduced and the overall costs may be reduced as well, compared to washing and/or drying machine of the prior art.

Technological background

Washing and/or drying appliances include in the following washing machines, dryer and combined washer dryer machine.

Generally, washing and/or drying appliances include a casing having a basement, a front wall, a rear wall and two side walls, as well as a top wall. Depending on the type of appliance, the front wall or the top wall may include a door. In all cases, the casing houses a washing and/or drying chamber in which the laundry to be washed and/or dried is housed. The chamber is rotatably mounted in the casing so that it can rotate around an axis which can be substantially vertical, substantially horizontal or tilted.

The casing has commonly a parallelepiped shape, so that the front and rear wall, as well as the two side walls, are substantially opposite one to the other. However any other shape can be realized as well.

In the assembly of the appliance, the casing has to be mounted around the chamber. In one of the walls, for example in the top or in the front wall, an opening, closable by a hinged door, is provided in order to introduce or remove laundry from the chamber. Generally, at least some of the walls of the casing are fixed, for example by means of fastening means such as screws, to the basement which has thus the function of supporting the walls. In order to fasten the wall(s) to the basement, it is necessary to position the wall in the right place onto the basement and keep it into this position for the time necessary to insert and tighten the screws. However, this action of, at the same time, holding the wall in the proper position and fastening the wall requires a certain amount of practice and time. Therefore, in particular for unexperienced personnel, this action may require a rather long time interval and it may also cause several trial and errors before the wall is securely fixed on the

basement.

Several methods to fix a wall of the casing onto the basement have been proposed in the prior art.

WO 2012/062896 relates to a washer/dryer comprising two side walls covering the volume from sides wherein the drum, in which the laundry is placed, and other machine elements are located, a front wall covering the said volume from the front side, a base that supports the side walls and other machine elements from below and a skirt that extends into the body at the lower edge of the side wall and perpendicularly to the side wall.

EP 2778279 describes a household appliance having a housing which has a bottom module comprising a side wall, a rear wall and a front wall, where the bottom module is attached in a pre-defined latched position for a frameless construction of the rear wall. The bottom module is provided with a center pin for centering the rear wall and an engagement hook for holding the rear wall, which is cooperated with an appropriate hole punching part at the rear wall in an attached state. An introduction bevel is arranged at the engagement hook and adjoined with a vertically arranged latching web portion. An independent claim is also included for a method for assembling a rear wall of a housing for household appliances.

Summary of the invention

The present invention relates to a washing and/or drying machine and to a method to assemble the same which simplify the assembly of the machine itself. The washing and/or drying machine includes a casing which houses a chamber in which the drying and/or washing laundry is introduced. The simplification particularly refers to the assembly of a rear wall of the casing of the machine onto a basement.

Applicant has understood that there is a need, in particular felt by the personnel assembling the washing and/or drying machines, to simplify the fastening of a wall of the casing to the basement, so that keeping the wall in the correct place on the basement and at the same time connecting fastening screws or any other fastening means to hold the wall in place becomes easier. Further, Applicant has noted that this need is particularly felt with regards to the rear wall of the casing. The rear wall may include also specially designed portions having the function of housing for components of the machines, such as air conduits or fan, which implies that the rear wall may include portion(s) having a non-linear geometrical shape, comprising for example curved edge surfaces. A rear wall having portions located at its edge which are non-flat, e.g. curved, and which at the same time has to be attached to the basement, enhances the difficulty to fasten the rear wall to the basement because the curved portion(s) cannot rest onto the basement, unless the latter has a corresponding

surface having a mating geometry.

Applicant has therefore considered a structure of the basement and of the rear wall, and a method of assembly of the two, which allows positioning the rear wall onto the basement, and then fastening the rear wall in this position, regardless of the geometrical shape of the edge of the rear wall, without having to perform two tasks at the same time, that is there is no need of holding the rear wall in place and fastening it at the same time, but the two operations can be performed consecutively and the rear wall can also be left unsupported and it will stay connected to the basement without the risk of fall.

According to a first aspect, the invention relates to a washing and/or drying appliance, comprising

- A casing including a first and second side walls, a front wall and a rear wall, said rear wall including

a lower edge, and a basement defining a basement plane and supporting said rear wall,

- A washing and/or drying chamber apt to contain the laundry to be washed and/or dried, said

chamber being located within said casing,

- Wherein one of said basement and said rear wall includes a pivot and the other of said basement

and said rear wall includes a seat housing said pivot, said pivot defining an axis of rotation for said rear wall substantially perpendicular to said basement plane, so that said rear wall is apt to swing around said axis of rotation from a first semi-assembled position where it is connected to said basement substantially only by said pivot to a second assembled position where said lower edge is facing said basement.

The washing and/or drying appliance of the invention may include a washing machine, a drier or a combined washer-dryer. The appliance includes a washing and/or drying chamber where the laundry can be located in order to be washed and/or dried; the chamber can be rotated around a chamber axis during the washing and/or drying operations. Further, the appliance may be a front-loading dryer, which means that the axis of rotation of the laundry chamber is positioned in a horizontal manner or slightly tilted with respect to a horizontal plane, or a top laundry dryer, where the axis of the laundry chamber is substantially vertical.

In a preferred embodiment, the washing and/or drying appliance is a dryer and more preferably it is a front loading laundry dryer.

The washing and/or drying machine (in the following only "appliance") comprises a casing preferably including a front wall, a rear wall, side walls, top wall and a base section or basement. The front or top wall may comprise a user panel to command the functioning of the appliance by the user. The casing defines the limit between the internal volume of the appliance and the outside to the appliance. Further, preferably, the casing includes a door hinged to the casing itself, e.g. to the front wall in case of a front loading appliance, which is openable in order to introduce the laundry in the laundry chamber, or to the top wall in case of a top loading appliance.

The basement has, among others, the function of housing several components of the machine, such as a portion of a drying air conduit, heat exchangers, a motor for rotating the chamber, a fan, etc. Further, it has also the function of supporting some of the walls of the casing, for example the rear wall. The rear wall is fixed to the basement when the appliance is in an assembled position.

The basement can be realized in any material; preferably it is realized in plastic, i.e. polymeric, material. Further, the walls of the casing can also be realized in any material, preferably the rear wall is realized in plastic, i.e. polymeric material. Preferably, at least one of the two lateral walls is realized in metal, at least for a portion thereof. In the basement a front side, a back side and two lateral sides can be defined as well, which are contiguous to the front, rear and lateral walls of the casing, respectively, when the appliance is fully assembled.

The basement is generally positioned on a floor and rests substantially horizontally when the machine is in a standard operating condition. The basement defines a basement plane, which is substantially parallel to the plane where it rests, e.g. a horizontal plane. The basement may also include an upper surface, which is the surface facing upwardly when the basement is in a standard operative configuration of the machine. The upper edge surface is the portion of the upper surface that surrounds the edge of the basement, contouring the same.

The basement, for example, may be divided in an upper and a lower shell. The upper and lower shells define the outer boundaries of the basement, dividing a volume "inside" of the basement and an "outside" to the basement.

The rear wall, when assembled, is substantially vertically arranged, or mainly vertically arranged, that is a projection of the rear wall in a horizontal and in a vertical plane, mutually orthogonal, shows a larger projection in the vertical plane. Further, the rear wall may be realized as a single unitary piece, or it can be formed by several pieces attached one to the other. For example, the rear wall may comprise a lid in order to cover an aperture formed in the remaining of the rear wall facing a back wall of the laundry chamber. The rear wall may also include a portion of a fan housing or a cover for a fan housing, in order to form a housing for a fan of a drying air circuit which might run at least for a portion within the basement.

The rear wall includes a lower edge, which is the edge that, when the rear wall is positioned substantially vertical, or positioned as if in an assembled configuration, is the edge surface which faces the basement. This lower edge includes a surface which in turn may include flat portions and/or curved portions.

In order to fix the rear wall to the basement, according to the invention, preferably either the rear wall itself or the basement includes a pivot and the other of the basement and rear wall includes a seat in which the pivot can be housed. The mating between pivot and seat is such that the pivot is rotatably introduced in the seat so that the rear wall - when not in the fully assembled configuration but still in the assembly phase - may rotate around the axis formed by the pivot-seat connection. This axis is substantially perpendicular to the basement plane. Preferably, the axis of rotation is substantially vertical. Substantially vertical means that the major projection of the rotation axis into a vertical plane and into a horizontal plane is the one on the vertical plane.

Pivot and seat may have any desired geometrical shape, width or length, as long as they suitably define an axis of rotation perpendicular to the basement plane for the rear wall. Their position is also arbitrary.

Preferably said pivot or said seat is located at said lower edge of said rear wall.

Therefore, when the pivot is inserted into the seat, the rear wall may swing around the rotation axis which is substantially perpendicular to the basement plane, e.g. it is substantially vertical. The insertion of the pivot into the seat takes place in a pre-assembled stage so that a pre-assembled configuration is reached, that is, a configuration in which the rear wall is connected to the basement by means of the pivot only. The rear wall is movable in a door-like manner, being capable of swinging around the rotation axis defined by the pivot-seat coupling and of moving to and fro the back side of the basement. The rear wall can be moved substantially away from the basement, so that the only portion of lower edge of the rear wall which is facing the basement is the rear portion in a neighborhood of the pivot. In this semi-assembled position, the rear wall is not yet in its final assembled position, however it is firmly coupled to the basement and there is no possibility that it can fall, but it is forced to maintain an upright, e.g. substantially vertical, position. From this pre-assembled position, the rear wall can be moved into its final assembled position by a rotation around the rotation axis. The final assembled configuration is a position in which the lower edge of the rear wall faces the basement. For example, most of the lower edge may be above the basement itself. Some portions of the lower edge may be in contact with the basement, but not necessarily.

This assembled configuration, in which the rear wall is still not firmly fixed to the basement, for example by means of fastening means such as screws, can be kept by the rear wall without any supporting aid. That is to say, the personnel assembling the rear wall onto the basement do not have to keep the rear wall in this position, for example by means of their hands or additional tools, but the rear wall can be maintained in this position by the combination of the presence of the pivot-seat connection and the gravity, e.g. the weight of the rear wall keeping it firm onto the basement. The personnel thus have free hands to take, use and operate the necessary fastening means to fasten the rear wall in this final assembled position. In addition, the rear wall remains in the final assembled position - unfastened - for any required time, so there is no need to fasten it as quickly as possible, fearing that the rear wall may change position or fell.

The insertion of the pivot in the seat is a straightforward operation which does not need any specific training and any personnel is capable of doing. Therefore no special training is needed for assembling this new appliance of the invention. The operation is also simple and quick, reducing the overall assembling time.

According to a second aspect, the invention relates to a method to assemble a washer and/or dryer appliance, said method including:

- Providing a basement defining a basement plane having one of a pivot and a seat for said pivot; - Providing a rear wall to be mounted on said basement having the other of said pivot and seat; - Connecting said rear wall to said basement by coupling said pivot to said seat; and - Rotating said rear wall around an axis of rotation substantially perpendicular to said basement

plane so that said rear wall swings from a first semi-assembled position where it is connected to said basement substantially only by said pivot to a second assembled position with a lower edge of said rear wall faces said basement.

The assembly of the appliance according to the invention is simplified. The insertion of the pivot into the seat, with the consequent definition of an axis of rotation substantially perpendicular to the basement plane, e.g. a horizontal plane and thus a substantially vertical axis of rotation, is a simple and straightforward task.

Defining an axis of rotation for the rear wall means that the latter may be swung from a semi-assembled configuration in which the rear wall is with its lower edge far from the basement, with the exception of the neighborhood of the pivot, to an assembled configuration in which the lower edge faces the basement. In both these configurations, the rear wall is free standing, that is, it keeps the configuration (semi-assembled or final) without the need that an external tool or the personnel in charge of the assembly have to keep the rear wall upright. Therefore, the personnel are capable of taking the necessary tools to fasten the rear wall in its final position, for example by any fastening means such as screws, without having at the same time to hold the rear wall in such a final assembled position.

The invention, according to the first or the second aspect, may comprise one or more of the following characteristics, either in combination or as alternatives.

Preferably, said basement includes an edge surface and wherein a portion of said lower edge of said rear wall, in said second assembled position, is in abutment to or faces a portion of said edge surface of said rear basement.

The basement has an upper surface which is the surface that faces upwardly when the appliance is in the standard operative configuration. The portion of the surface which is close to the boundary of the basement, that is, the portion of upper surface that surrounds and delimit the basement, is called edge surface. The edge surface at the back side of the basement faces or is in contact with the lower surface of the rear wall, when the rear wall is in the final assembled position. The edge surface of the basement may also have the function of support of the rear wall. Preferably, at least a portion of this edge surface of the basement is planar.

More preferably, said portion of edge surface of said basement is substantially parallel to said basement plane.

The basement plane is preferably horizontal, so more preferably also the portion of edge surface is also horizontal. Further, preferably also the lower edge includes a horizontal portion. In this way, the portion of edge surface has a mating geometry to a portion of the lower edge of the rear wall and the lower edge may be positioned above the edge surface.

Advantageously, the washing and/or drying appliance includes a single pivot for rotation of said rear wall.

A single pivot is enough to form an axis of rotation for the rear wall. Therefore, a simple and economical modification of the prior art appliances is needed in order to obtain the appliance of the invention, without the need of relatively expensive or time consuming changes.

In a preferred embodiment, said rear wall is realized in plastic, i.e. polymeric, material and/or said basement is realized in plastic, i.e. polymeric, material.

The use of plastic, i.e. polymeric, material allows molding the rear wall and/or the basement in any desired shape in an easy and economical manner. In this way, the formation of the pivot and/or of the seat is very simple and does not require extensive work, a change in the mold is required and the modification, either the pivot or the seat, molded during the production of the basement and/or rear wall. Thus, the use of plastic, i.e. polymeric material, allows changes and complex shapes to be produced rather easily.

Advantageously, said rear wall includes a plurality of holes located along said lower edge and a plurality of screws inserted each in a different hole of said plurality, to fasten said rear wall to said basement.

In order to securely fasten the rear wall to the basement in the assembled position, a plurality of screws is preferably used, which are inserted each in a hole formed along the lower edge of the rear wall and preferably also in a corresponding hole in the basement. After fastening the screws in place, the rear wall is blocked in the final assembled configuration. The holes may also have the function of centering elements to help in finding the correct position, e.g. the correct final assembled position, for the rear wall. The holes may mate corresponding holes in the basement so that they guide the rear wall in the corrected final position and simplifies the task for the personnel in charge to assemble the appliance.

Preferably, said rear wall includes an inner and an outer surface and said chamber includes a back wall, and wherein said inner surface includes a concave portion, said concave portion being in abutment to said back wall when said rear wall is in said second assembled position.

The shape of the rear wall and the shape of the chamber in which the laundry is inserted preferably facilitate the centering and alignment of the rear wall into its final assembled position. The mating between the back wall of the chamber which is inserted into the concave portion brings the rear wall into the correct position while rotating from the semi-assembled position to the final assembled position around the pivot-seat rotation axis.

More preferably, said inner surface further includes an annular groove positioned at said concave portion and a gasket inserted in said annular groove.

The mating between the back wall of the chamber and the concave portion of the rear wall delimits, in case of a dryer or a washer dryer, the path for the drying air within the appliance. The path is thus air-tighten by means of a gasket which forces the air to flow within the designed path into the chamber to dry clothes.

In a preferred embodiment, said basement includes a drying air conduit which comprises an outlet for drying air out of said basement, said pivot or said seat being located in said edge surface between a corner of said basement and said outlet of process air.

In an embodiment in which said appliance includes an appliance having drying function, e.g. a dryer or a washer-dryer, the basement includes a conduit for the drying air to be recirculated into the chamber. This conduit is used for example to dry and/or heat the drying air to be returned to the chamber. The conduit channels the drying air out of the basement from an outlet preferably positioned in the back side of the basement, so that the outlet faces at least partially the rear wall when the latter is in its final assembled position. Consequently, the shape of the rear wall has preferably to take into consideration the presence of the outlet and to create a flow path for the drying air to be returned into the chamber.

Advantageously, said rear wall includes at least a portion of a fan housing, and wherein said pivot or said seat is located in said lower edge between a corner of said rear wall and said fan housing.

In a preferred embodiment, in which preferably the basement includes a conduit for the drying air which includes an outlet of the drying air from the basement, in front of such outlet a fan is located in order to blow the air exiting the basement into the chamber. In order to simplify the construction of the appliance, a housing for the fan is at least partially integrated in the rear wall of the casing. The rear wall thus includes preferably a part of the housing, such as a cover or a lid. The pivot or the seat preferably is not located at this housing portion, because it is generally curved without flat surfaces. It is preferred to position either the pivot or the seat along the lower edge, between a corner of the rear wall, for example a corner where the lower edge ends and a lateral edge starts, lateral edge which delimits a side of the rear wall, and the beginning of such housing.

Preferably, said basement plane is substantially a horizontal plane.

As mentioned, in a standard operative position of said appliance, said basement plane is horizontal and thus this axis of rotation is substantially vertical.

In an embodiment, said pivot is formed on said rear wall at a corner of said lower edge and said seat is formed on said basement.

Advantageously, said washing and/or dryer appliance includes a washing and/or drying chamber apt to contain the laundry to be washed and/or dried, and the method of the invention further includes:

- Mounting said chamber so that it is at least partially supported by said basement; - Lifting said chamber by means of said rear wall when said rear wall is in said second assembled

position.

When the rear wall is swung and brought in the assembled position rotating around the axis of rotation, the conformation of the rear wall itself, for example by means of the concave portion, lifts the chamber at least partially and this lift with the consequent effect of gravity helps keeping the rear wall in place, that is in the final assembled position. A further lift action of the chamber may be provided by a chamber supporting device, like a plurality of rollers, provided on the rear wall side facing the chamber.

More preferably, the method includes the steps of:

- providing a concave portion on an inner surface of said rear wall which faces said chamber when

said rear wall is in said second assembled position;

- Mating and abutting a back wall of said chamber into said concave portion so that said chamber is lifted.

The mating has a centering effect as well as a tool to keep the rear wall in place in the final assembled position.

Brief description of the drawings

The accompanying drawings, which are included to provide a further understanding of the invention and are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate possible embodiments of the invention and together with the description serve to explain the principles of the invention. In the drawings, corresponding characteristics and/or components are identified by the same reference numbers. In particular:

• Figure 1 shows a perspective view of a laundry drying machine with a wall removed in order to show a

water-removing unit mounted therein according to the invention;

• Figure 2 shows a perspective view of the laundry drying machine illustrated in Figure 1 with some more

elements of the casing removed in a first operative position;

• Figure 2a shows an enlarged view of a detail of Figure 2 highlighted by a circle in Figure 2;

• Figure 3 shows a perspective view of the laundry drying machine illustrated in Figures 1 and 2 with

some more element of the casing removed in a second operative position;

• Figure 3a shows an enlarged view of a detail of Figure 3 highlighted by a circle in Figure 3;

• Figure 4 shows a perspective view of the laundry drying machine of figure 3 in the same second

operative position from a different angle of view; and

• Figure 5 shows a perspective view of the laundry drying machine of figures 1-4 with the rear wall in a

disassembled configuration.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

With initial reference to figure 1, a drying and/or washing appliance according to the invention is globally indicated with 1.

In the present detailed description the drying and/or washing appliance is a dryer, without limiting the scope of the invention, which can be used in washing machines, dryers and washer-dryers.

The preferred depicted embodiment is relative to a front loading heat pump laundry drying machine, however the invention can be applied to any type of dryer.

The dryer 1 comprises a casing 10 formed advantageously by a front and a rear wall 2a, 2b and a couple of side walls 2c-2d arranged perpendicularly one another. An upper wall 2e closes the top end of the box-like structure formed by the walls 2a-2d. However, some of the mentioned walls need not to be vertical, a one or more tilted wall are foreseen as well. In Figure 1, the lateral side wall 2c has been removed for showing some of the dryer parts accommodated within casing 10.

Further, the casing 10 includes a basement 3, better detailed below, onto which the walls 2a-2d are connected and it represents the lower portion of the dryer 1. The basement 3 also defines a front side 3a, back side 3b and lateral sides 3c, 3d (shown in figures 2-5) which represent the external boundaries of the basement 3 and correspond to the front 2a, rear 2b and lateral walls 2c, 2d, respectively, of casing 10.

The casing 10 defines in a three-dimensional coordinate system a horizontal plane (X,Y) also called basement plane, and a vertical axis Z, along which the dryer 1 extends from the floor on which is commonly positioned in an operative position. Therefore, the front and rear walls 2a, 2b and the lateral walls 2c, 2d are substantially in a vertical position when the dryer 1is in an assembled configuration.

The casing 10 can be realized in any desired material, which can be the same for all components, that is basement 3 and walls 2a-2e, or different. Preferably, the basement is realized in plastic, i.e. polymeric, material. Further, preferably the rear wall is realized in plastic, i.e. polymeric, material. Advantageously, the lateral walls 2c, 2d are realized at least in part in metal.

A laundry chamber 6, preferably comprising a rotatable drum, is provided within the casing 10. the rotatable drum 6 includes a mantle 6a, having preferably a substantially cylindrical, tubular body, which is preferably made of metal material, is apt to rotate around a general rotational axis R which can be horizontal, i.e. parallel to the (X,Y) plane, or tilted with respect to the latter.

In case of a combined clothes washing and drying machines, the rotatable drum is opportunely contained in a washing tub (not depicted in the attached drawings).

Casing 10 preferably further includes a front door 9 pivotally coupled to the front upright side wall 2a for allowing access to the drum interior region to place laundry to be dried therein. Front door 9 closes an access opening 9a realized in the front wall 2a of the casing for the laundry loading/unloading. A user control interface or panel 5 is preferably arranged on the top of the casing 10 for input of laundry drying programs and displaying machine working conditions.

The mantle 6a defines a first end 6b and a second end 6c and the drum 6 is so arranged that the first end 6b of the mantle 6a is faced to the laundry loading/unloading opening 9a realized on the front wall 2a of the casing and the door 9. The second or rear end 6c of the drum 6 is closed by a back wall 8.

Preferably, drum back wall 8 is faced to the rear wall 2b of the casing 10 and is permanently and rigidly coupled to the second end 6c of mantle 6a of the drum 3 so as to close said second end 6c. Back wall 8 forms, together with lateral mantle 6a, a substantially cylindrical, cup-shaped rigid container structured for housing the laundry to be dried. Preferably the drum back wall 8 is coupled to a circular rim of the second end 6c of mantle 6a of the drum 6.

Preferably, the back wall 8 is furthermore suitably perforated so as to allow a stream of drying air to flow through the back wall 8 of the tubular shaped body of the drum 6.

The dryer 1 further comprises a drying air circulating conduit or circuit 4, depicted as plurality of arrows in figure 1, adapted to circulate a flow of process drying air in and out of the drum 6. The drying air circulating circuit 4 advantageously comprises a fan, not illustrated, which blows a flow of drying air through the drum 6. The air circulating circuit preferably comprises a heating device, adapted to heat up the air at a location upstream of the drum 6. Preferably, in the present embodiment the heating device is included in a heat pump, not visible in the figures, for example it includes a condenser of the heat pump. Alternatively, an electric heater can be used as well, when a heat pump is not present, or even in combination with the heat pump.

Circulation of the process drying air inside the drum 6 evaporates the moisture from the wet laundry so as to form a moisture-laden process air, or moist process air. The moist process air then exits the drum 6 preferably at the front side of the dryer 1, as depicted in figure 1. The moist process air enters into the basement 3 into a basement portion of the drying air conduit 4 where the moisture included in the process air is at least partially removed by means for example of a condensing device, in this case the evaporator of heat pump.

The basement portion of the drying air conduit 4 then exits the basement 3, preferably from the back side 3b of the basement, and the process air is fed again to the drum 6. The basement conduit 4 terminates or exits the basement with an outlet 4a visible in figures 2, 4 and 5 for the exit of drying air from the basement 3. The outlet 4a is located in the back side 3b of the basement 3. From the outlet 4a, a further portion of the drying air circuit 4 brings the drying air from the outlet 4a inside the chamber 6, as detailed below.

The basement 3 preferably includes a lower shell 13 and an upper shell 14, which are coupled together defining the basement. The upper shell 14 forms the upper portion of the basement, while the lower shell 13 forms the lower portion of the basement. Both upper and lower shells form together the front, back and lateral sides of the basement. Preferably, the upper and the lower shell 14, 13 are realized in plastic, i.e. polymeric, material and are preferably formed in a molding process. In the basement, thus as internal volume to the shells can be defined as the "interior" to the basement.

Preferably, the process air conduit 4 includes a basement portion which is formed as a combination of the upper and lower shell 14, 13, that is the basement portion of the process air conduit is divided in two half, a lower half and an upper half, each half realized integral to with the respective shell, defining an air process duct basement portion.

Now, with reference to figures 2-5, the rear wall 2b includes a rear bulkhead 60. In particular, the rear bulkhead 60 includes a first surface 60a facing the interior of the casing 10, such as the back wall 8 of the drum 6, and a second surface 60b facing the exterior or the outside of the casing 10. Optionally, the rear bulkhead 60 includes at least a portion of a, more preferably a whole, fan housing 150 to house an impeller (not depicted) of a fan (also not depicted in the appended drawings) of the process air circuit 4, defining a fan aperture 61a to access the fan. The aperture 61a is preferably located substantially below the location of the back wall 8 and faces the interior of the casing 10, in this example, the basement 3 and more preferably the drying air outlet 4a of the drying air from the basement 3.

In the depicted embodiment, the rear wall 2b of the casing 10 forms a rear bulkhead 60 which faces the whole back wall 8 of the drum 3, and it is preferably realized as a single, unitary, piece. The rear bulkhead 60 includes a through drum aperture 64 located in front of the back wall 8 of the drum 6, thus from this drum aperture 64 the back wall 8 is visible. Further, a cover or lid is coupled to the rear bulkhead 60 in order to close aperture 64. Preferably, also the fan housing 150 is covered by the same lid which is attached, in a detachable manner, to the rear bulkhead 60 on the second surface 60b thereof. The lid or cover closes both through drum aperture 64 and fan aperture 61a, therefore forming, together with a portion of the bulkhead 60, the housing for the fan 150. The so formed rear wall 2b when the lid or cover is coupled to the rear bulkhead 60 defines a concave portion 66 which is located in front of the back wall 8. The concave portion 66 may be entirely formed in the lid or cover.

Furthermore, as illustrated in the above example, the whole fan housing 150 is realized within the rear wall 2b and it is composed by a first cup-shaped portion 142 (which belongs to the rear bulkhead 60) and the lid which covers the first cup-shaped portion 142 .

The first cup-shaped portion 142 is provided with a through opening 142a, in the example shown circular, for housing the relevant shaft (not shown) of the fan 12 having an impeller (not shown). Of course, the impeller is housed in the housing 150. The same opening 142a is also used for the process air to enter the fan. Therefore, in the drying air conduit 4, air exits the basement, where it has been heated and/or dried by the drying air generator - heat pump -, from outlet 4a, and enters into the fan housing 150 through opening 142. From the fan housing 150, which is a closed element being the fan aperture 61a closed by the above cited lid or cover, a conduit portion formed by the rear bulkhead 60 and the lid or cover channels air to the concave portion 66 from where air enters into the drum 6 via the back wall 8.

Further, a groove 40 is preferably provided outside an outline of the central concave portion 66. The groove 40 is preferably apt to house a sealing gasket (not visible in the drawings). The sealing gasket is preferably encircled and fitted/recessed into the groove 40 (see figure 4), and is suitably shaped/dimensioned so as to permanently come in abutment against the rear rim of the rotatable drum 6 without interruption all around the perimeter of the latter, so as to avoid any air leakage between the rear rim of rotatable drum 6 and the supporting rear bulkhead 60.

In the example shown, the drum 6 is preferably structured for being rotatably supported by a drum support assembly, including a plurality of rollers 50 which are arranged - off-axis with respect to the general rotational axis R of the drum 6 - approximately at the two axial ends 6b, 6c of the drum 6, with their rotation axis substantially parallel to the general rotational axis R of the drum 6, so as to allow the tubular body of the drum 6 to rotate about the longitudinal reference or general rotational axis R inside the casing 10. Preferably, two of such rollers 50 are located at the front end 6b of the drum 6 and two other of such rollers 50 are located at the back end 6c of the drum 6 (in the figures only the front rollers are visible).

Two rollers (or more) are fixed to the rear bulkhead 60. Further, the drum support assembly includes, bosses or pins or brackets 101 by means of which the rollers are attached to the rear bulkhead and are fixed therein by means of screws or snap-fitting connections (not depicted in the present drawings). The bosses or brackets are preferably formed as a single unitary piece with the rear bulkhead.

Further rear wall 2b, in correspondence of rear bulkhead 60, defines a lower edge 7, which is the lower surface of the rear wall delimiting the same when the rear wall is in an assembled upright position. The lower edge or surface 7 in the present embodiment includes a first flat portion 7a which runs from a corner 11 of the rear wall 2b to the fan housing 150. Then, due to the presence of the fan housing, the lower edge 7 includes a second curved portion 7b in geometrical continuation of the flat portion 7a which is substantially a portion of a cylindrical mantle and ends at a further corner 12 of the rear wall 2b.

Along the lower edge 7, in a neighbourhood of corner 11, more preferably at the corner 11 itself, the rear wall 2b includes a pivot 70 protruding downwardly when the rear wall is in the assembled configuration. Basement 3 includes a corresponding seat 71 the geometry of which mates the geometry of the pivot 50, so that the latter can be inserted in the seat 71 without difficulties. Further, the shape and dimensions of the seat 71 and of the pivot are such that, when the pivot is inserted into the seat, the seat surrounds the pivot in a bearing manner, that is, the rear wall 2b can be supported upright by the pivot-seat connection. The connection is visible in an enlarged view in the figures 2a and 3a. As visible in figure 5, the pivot 70 can be for example substantially cylindrical and protrudes from the lower edge along an axis indicated with H in the figures. The seat 71 preferably includes substantially a cylindrical hole realized in a protrusion 72 on the basement 3. The protrusion 72 protrudes from the back side 3b of the basement 3 externally to the casing 10 and it is located at a corner 21 of the basement, in the example in the corner 21 formed by the back side 3b and a lateral side of the basement 3.

Advantageously, the pivot 70 is realized in plastic, i.e. polymeric, material and more preferably integral with the rear wall 2b in a single moulding step with the rear bulkhead 60.

Seat 71 and pivot 70 defines a substantially vertical axis of rotation H for the rear wall 2b during the assembling phase. This means that, during assembly, the rear wall 2b - as long as the pivot 70 is inserted in the seat 71 can swing around such an axis H, so that the corner 11 is rotatably fixed on the basement 3, e.g. it rotates around H but cannot translate, while the corner 12 can get closer or farer from the basement 3, depending on the angle formed between the rear wall 2b and a vertical plane perpendicular to the basement plane (X,Y) and passing through the back side 3b of the basement 3.

Further, the rear wall 2b preferably includes a plurality of through holes 80 realized along the lower edge 7. The basement 3 includes corresponding holes 81 (visible for example in figure 5), which coincide, when the rear wall is positioned in the final assembled position of fig. 2, to the holes 80. In such holes and corresponding holes 80, 81, screws (not visible) can be inserted as fastening means so as to fasten the rear wall 2b in its final assembled position of figs. 1 and 2. Preferably holes 80 are realized along the whole lower edge 7, that is along both the flat portion 7a and the curved portion 7b, and each of the hole is preferably realized in a flap (all indicated with 85) protruding downwardly from the lower edge 7.

Rear wall 2b may include additional holes 82, for example at the fan housing 150, which coincide to additional holes 83 realized in the basement 3 (visible again in fig. 5). In the holes 82 and 83, also screws (not visible) can be inserted. The holes 80, 82 both along the lower edge 7 and within the housing fan 150 in the rear wall 2b and the corresponding holes in the basement 81, 83 have the function not only to host the fastening means, e.g. the screws, but also as centring or aligning means to align the rear wall 2b in its correct position on the basement 3.

The basement 3 includes an edge surface, which is a surface that delimits the boundaries of the basement departing from the sides of the basement itself and faces upwardly. A portion of the edge surface is a back edge surface 20b, which delimits the basement 3 at the back side 3b, that is, the back edge surface 20b extends from the back side of the basement facing upwardly. This back edge surface 20b includes a flat portion 20b' visible in figure 4 and 5, and a curved portion 20b" (also visible in figs. 4 and 5). The curved portion 20b" preferably coincides with a portion of the conduit 4 at the outlet 4a. The back edge surface 20b starts and ends at a first and second back corners 21, 22 of the basement 3.

Considering now the final assembled position of the rear wall, as depicted in figs. 1 and 2, the rear wall 2b has the pivot 70 inserted into the seat 71 of the basement 3 so that corner 11 and corner 21 of rear wall 2b and basement 3, respectively, are in contact. The lower edge 7 is also facing the back edge surface 20b of the basement, more preferably the flat portion 7a is facing the flat portion 20b' and the curved portion 7b is facing the curved portion 20b". Preferably also corner 12 faces corner 22.

Still with reference to the final assembled position of fig. 2, the outlet 4a of the drying air conduit 4 located in the basement is inserted at least for a portion within the fan housing 150 of the rear wall 2b. Preferably, there is no interference in this insertion and the outlet 4a is smaller than the inlet 142a of the cup-shaped portion 142 of the fan housing 150.

The rear wall 2b is fastened and secured in this assembled configuration or position by means of the screws inserted in holes 80-83 above described.

In order to assemble the casing 10 of the washing and/or drying machine 1 and to reach the assembled final configuration of fig. 1 and 2, the method of the invention is preferably followed.

As a first step, the basement 3 and rear wall 2b are provided. Before the mounting of the rear wall 2b, preferably the chamber 6 is rotatably mounted on the casing 2, for example by means of rollers 50. Rollers are rotatably mounted onto the basement and rear wall 2b so that the chamber 6 can rotate on them. In fig. 5, the rear wall 2b is depicted detached from the basement 3. The rear wall 2b is connected to the basement by inserting the pivot 70 realized in the corner 11 of the rear wall 2b into the seat 71 realized in the corner 21 of the basement 3. Due to their respective geometrical construction, the pivot can rotate inside the seat around a rotation axis H as depicted in fig. 3 and 4. In this initial configuration, pre-assembling, shown in figures 3 and 4, the corner 12 of the rear wall 2b is far from corner 22 of the basement 3. However, due to the construction of the pivot and the seat, the pivot can rotate inside the seat and the corner 13 can get closer or farer to corner 22 of the basement, as in a door swinging around its hinging axis. Therefore, from the position depicted in figs. 3 and 4, the rear wall 2b can get closer to the basement, that is, the corner 12 can get closer to corner 22 in such a way that the assembled position of fig. 2 is approached.

While the rear wall 2b is rotated, there is no need of holding the same. In any position around its rotation axis H, that is, at any angular distance of the corner 12 from corner 22, the rear wall stands upright.

In this approach, the rear wall 2b rotates around the rotation axis H. Corner 12 approaches corner 22. In positioning the rear wall 2b towards its final assembled position, the concave part 66 of the bulkhead 60 also approaches back wall 8 of chamber 6. The back wall 8, due to its geometry, is inserted into the concave part 66 and therefore the chamber 6 is "lifted" by the coupling of the back wall 8 into the concave portion 66 of the rear wall 2b approaching the basement 3. The back wall is thus in abutment of the rear wall and it is sealed by the gasket present in the concave part. A lift action of the chamber may be provided by a chamber supporting device, like a plurality of rollers, provided on the rear wall side 60a facing the chamber 6.

While approaching corner 22 by the rotation of the rear wall 2b around the axis H and lifting of the chamber 6, the rear wall is positioned more and more above the basement, so that the lower edge 7 faces the back edge surface 20b of the basement 3. The two surfaces (edge of the basement and of the rear walls) might be in contact or not depending on the specific construction of the rear wall and the basement, but in any case the edges face one the other. Preferably, the geometries of the edges 7 and 20b allows a superposition of the lower edge 7 onto the upper edge surface 20b.

Again, this final position can be kept by the rear wall without any additional support. Therefore, the personnel can retrieve the fastening means and/or tools necessary to fasten the rear wall in this configuration without the need of having to hold the rear wall 2b at the same time.

Preferably, the fastening means, such as screws inserted into holes 80-83, as well as the insertion of outlet 4a inside the inlet 142a of the fan housing 150, help in aligning and positioning the rear wall 2b in the correct final assembled position.

Any reference herein to known prior art does not, unless the contrary indication appears, constitute an admission that such prior art is commonly known by those skilled in the art to which the invention relates, at the priority date of this application.

Where ever it is used, the word "comprising" is to be understood in its "open" sense, that is, in the sense of "including", and thus not limited to its "closed" sense, that is the sense of "consisting only of". A corresponding meaning is to be attributed to the corresponding words "comprise", "comprised" and "comprises" where they appear.

While particular embodiments of this invention have been described, it will be evident to those skilled in the art that the present invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from the essential characteristics thereof. The present embodiments and examples are therefore to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive, and all modifications which would be obvious to those skilled in the art are therefore intended to be embraced therein.

Claims

1. A washing and/or drying appliance, comprising - A casing including a first and second side walls, a front wall and a rear wall, said rear wall including a lower edge, and a basement defining a basement plane and supporting said rear wall, - A washing and/or drying chamber apt to contain the laundry to be washed and/or dried, said chamber being located within said casing, - Wherein one of said basement and said rear wall includes a pivot and the other of said basement and said rear wall includes a seat housing said pivot, said pivot defining an axis of rotation for said rear wall substantially perpendicular to said basement plane, so that said rear wall is apt to swing around said axis of rotation from a first semi-assembled position where it is connected to said basement substantially only by said pivot to a second assembled position where said lower edge is facing said basement.

2. The washing and/or drying appliance according to claim 1, wherein said basement includes an edge surface and wherein a portion of said lower edge of said rear wall, in said second assembled position, is in abutment to or faces a portion of said edge surface of said basement.

3. The washing and/or drying appliance according to claim 2, where said portion of edge surface is substantially parallel to said basement plane.

4. The washing and/or drying appliance according to any one of the preceding claims, including a single pivot for rotation of said rear wall.

5. The washing and or drying appliance according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein said rear wall is realized in plastic material and/or said basement is realized in plastic material.

6. The washing and/or drying appliance according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein said rear wall includes a plurality of holes located along said lower edge and a plurality of screws inserted each in a different hole of said plurality, to fasten said rear wall to said basement.

7. The washing and/or drying appliance according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein said rear wall includes an inner and an outer surface and said chamber includes a back wall, and wherein said inner surface includes a concave portion, said concave portion being in abutment to said back wall when said rear wall is in said second assembled position.

8. The washing and/or drying appliance according to claim 7, wherein said inner surface further includes an annular groove positioned at said concave portion and a gasket inserted in said annular groove.

9. The washing and/or drying appliance according to any one of the preceding claims when dependent on claim 2, wherein said basement includes a drying air conduit which comprises an outlet for drying air out of said basement, said pivot or said seat being located in said edge surface between a corner of said basement and said outlet of process air.

10. The washing and/or drying appliance according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein said rear wall includes at least a portion of a fan housing, and wherein said pivot or said seat is located in said lower edge between a corner of said rear wall and said fan housing.

11. The washing and/or drying appliance according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein said basement plane is substantially a horizontal plane.

12. The washing and/or drying appliance according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein said pivot is formed on said rear wall at a corner of said lower edge and said seat is formed on said basement.

13. A method to assemble a washer and/or dryer appliance, said method including: - Providing a basement defining a basement plane having one of a pivot and a seat for said pivot; - Providing a rear wall to be mounted on said basement having the other of said pivot and seat; - Connecting said rear wall to said basement by coupling said pivot to said seat; and - Rotating said rear wall around an axis of rotation substantially perpendicular to said basement

14. The method according to claim 13, wherein said washing and/or dryer appliance includes a washing and/or drying chamber apt to contain the laundry to be washed and/or dried, further including: - Mounting said chamber so that it is at least partially supported by said basement; - Lifting said chamber by means of said rear wall when said rear wall is in said second assembled

position.

15. The method according to claim 14, including the steps of: - providing a concave portion on an inner surface of said rear wall which faces said chamber when

said rear wall is in said second assembled position, - Mating and abutting a back wall of said chamber into said concave portion so that said chamber is

lifted.