EP1598472A1

EP1598472A1 - Washing machine

Info

Publication number: EP1598472A1
Application number: EP04102177A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Paul Flowers; Alexandre Barros Neves
Original assignee: Electrolux Home Products Corp NV
Current assignee: Electrolux Home Products Corp NV
Priority date: 2004-05-18
Filing date: 2004-05-18
Publication date: 2005-11-23

Abstract

The present invention relates to a washing machine comprising a cabinet (2) having vertical sidewalls (3) and a front wall (7); the cabinet (2) houses a cylindrical drum (5) arranged inclined along an axis (A) in respect to a horizontal supporting surface (6); the front wall (7) is provided with an opening to access the drum (5) closable by a porthole (8) arranged inclined along the axis (A); a portion (9) of the cabinet (2) surrounding the opening of the drum (5) is arranged inclined along the axis (A), while a remaining main portion (11) of the front wall (7) is arranged vertical in respect to the supporting surface (6), such that the inclined portion (9) and the porthole (8) protrude to a small extent in respect to the main portion (11).

Description

The present invention relates to a washing machine for clothes and the like having an improved ergonomy and a better capability to be fitted into an assembly of other domestic appliances or furniture.
Currently are known washing machines comprising a cylindrical drum having an axis which is inclined in respect to the horizontal in order to facilitate the loading and unloading of clothing items into and out of the washing machine. The drum is thus inclined upwardly toward the body of the user who can see the inside of the drum and has to bend less than in a conventional washing machine to operate the loading and unloading.
WO 99/54539 discloses a washing machine of the type described above, which is produced by Electrolux Zanussi S.p.A. with the commercial name "Jetsy"; this washing machine has an inclined drum and an upper portion of the front wall of the cabinet which follows the inclination of the drum, so that the porthole of the drum is flush with the front wall; the lower portion of the front wall has a convex shape to progressively recede into the lateral dimension of the base, which has the same size of the top. A major drawback of this arrangement is that the front wall protrudes from the vertical plane, thus rendering difficult to fit the washing machine in a assembly line of other domestic appliances or pieces of furnitures having a vertical front wall.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to overcome the drawbacks of prior-art solutions by providing a washing machine which combines an improved ergonomy with a better capability to be fitted into an assembly line of other domestic appliances, such as dishwashers, ovens, refrigerators and the like, or with other domestic furniture, having vertical front walls.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a washing machine having an improved ergonomy and capability to fit into other appliances which is capable of being manufactured at competitive costs with the use of existing techniques and equipments.
These objects are reached by a washing machine as claimed in claim 1.
The features and advantages of a washing machine according to the present invention will be more readily understood from the description of a particular, although not sole embodiment that is given below by way of non-limiting example with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a side elevational view of a washing machine according to the present invention;
Figure 2 is a prospective view of a washing machine according to the present invention fitted into a line assembly of other domestic appliances or furniture.

With reference to the above-listed figures, a washing machine 1 comprises a cabinet 2 having vertical sidewalls 3, a vertical rear wall 4 and a front wall 7.
A cylindrical drum 5, shown in dotted lines in Figure 1, is housed inside the cabinet 2 such that its axis A is arranged inclined in respect to the horizontal, generally defined by the supporting surface 6 of the washing machine 1. The access to the drum 5 is allowed by an opening in the front wall 7; a porthole 8 hinged to the cabinet 2 is adapted to close the opening.
The porthole 8 and a portion 9 of the cabinet 2 having a surface 10 abutting the porthole 8 and surrounding the opening of the drum 5 are arranged inclined along the same axis A of the drum 5, such that the porthole 8 and its abutting surface 10 lies in a plane which is arranged at substantially 90° in respect to the axis A; this arrangement allows the portion 9 and the corresponding porthole 8 to protrude to a small extent from the remaining main portion 11 of the front wall 7, which is arranged vertical in respect to the supporting surface 6; an upper portion 12 of the front wall 7 housing a control panel may be also inclined to facilitate reading the display by the user.
Fully apparent from the above description is therefore the ability of the washing machine according to the present invention to effectively reach the objects and advantages cited above: in fact, the inclined arrangement of the drum 5 and of the porthole 8 in combination with the substantial vertical arrangement of the front wall 7, with the exception of the portion 9 surrounding the opening of the drum 5 and abutting the porthole 8, enable the washing machine to protrude to a considerably limited extent in an assembly line of other domestic appliances or furniture having a vertical front wall, thus allowing an easier fit of the washing machine into the said assembly line maintaining at the same time unchanged the characteristics of an improved ergonomy thanks to the inclined drum 5 and porthole 8.
Advantageously, the portion 9 surrounding the opening of the drum 5 can be obtained separately from the cabinet 2, such that the vertical main portion 11 of the front wall 7 can be used indifferently to mount either a horizontal or an inclined drum and porthole, with evident advantages both at the manufacturing stage, thanks to the increased flexibility, and for the storage of cabinet pieces, which require less space than storing two front walls having a different geometrical shape.
It shall be appreciated that the above-described washing machine may of course be the subject of a number of modifications and variants without departing from the scope of the present invention. Furthermore, the materials used to manufacture the washing machine of the present invention, as well as the sizes thereof, may each time be selected so as to more appropriately meet the particular requirements or suit the particular application, again without departing from the scope of the present invention.

Claims

Washing machine comprising a cabinet (2) having vertical sidewalls (3) and a front wall (7), said cabinet (2) housing a cylindrical drum (5) arranged inclined along an axis (A) in respect to a horizontal supporting surface (6), said front wall (7) being provided with an opening to access said drum (5), a porthole (8) adapted to close said opening being arranged inclined along said axis (A), characterized in that a portion (9) of said cabinet (2) surrounding said opening of the drum (5) is arranged inclined along said axis (A), while a remaining main portion (11) of said front wall (7) is arranged vertical in respect to said supporting surface (6), such that said portion (9) and said porthole (8) protrude to a small extent in respect to said main portion (11).
Washing machine according to claim 1, wherein said portion (9) surrounding said opening of the drum (5) is obtained separately from said main portion (11) of said front wall (7).