EP2941501A1

EP2941501A1 - A washing machine having an illuminated drum

Info

Publication number: EP2941501A1
Application number: EP12815716.1A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Ufuk UGUS; Murat POYRAZ; Cetin CELEN
Original assignee: Arcelik AS
Current assignee: Arcelik AS
Priority date: 2012-12-30
Filing date: 2012-12-30
Publication date: 2015-11-11
Also published as: WO2014101965A1

Abstract

The present invention relates to a washing machine having a front loaded rotating drum and a front door equipped with a transparent wall. The drum is illuminated.

Description

A WASHING MACHINE HAVING AN ILLUMINATED DRUM

The present invention relates to a washing machine having an illuminated drum. The illumination means is located on the handle of the front door of the washing machine such that it emits light rays through the transparent wall of the front door towards the inside of the drum.
The wall of the front door of a washing machine is made of transparent glass in order to enable the user to see the inside of the drum. A user might wish to see the content of the laundry to check, for instance, whether a colored laundry was erroneously mixed with white clothes during filling. Furthermore, the user might wish to see the inside of the drum in order to obtain information on the phase of a washing cycle.
Illumination of the inside of the drum of a washing machine has recently been proposed in the industry. This need arises from the fact that the surrounding lighting where the washing machine is installed is not always sufficient to make the inside of the drum visible.
WO 2012/072470 discloses a method a device for operating a washing machine comprising an outer casing provided with a door, a drum mounted inside the outer casing, a drum lighting device arranged inside the outer casing and in operable condition to light the drum. The drum lighting device is however located inside the casing of the washing machine, hence making the same vulnerable to damages resulting from its surrounding.
Likewise, EP 1 918 448 A discloses a washing machine having an outer casing, a wash chamber housed inside the outer casing, a wash drum housed inside the wash chamber and which rotates about an axis of rotation. A lighting device is located inside the outer casing to light the wash drum and has at least one LED.
As is well known in the art, water is introduced in the drum and is subsequently heated usually together with a dissolving detergent, and also other agents such as decalcifiers, odorants etc. These chemicals evaporate to a certain extent along with the heated water inside the drum. A lighting device located inside the casing of a washing machine is therefore subject to dangers such as heat from the heater of the machine and also evaporating liquids containing various chemical required for a good washing. These factors risk the proper operation of a lighting device since most electric devices are badly influenced from high surrounding temperature and liquids or highly humid gasses found in the working environment. Quite often, the illumination means have an extremely short service life due to inadequate working conditions.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a washing machine having an illuminated drum in which the illumination means is protected from inadequate working conditions and service life is extended compared to existing solutions.
The present invention discloses a washing machine having a front loaded rotating drum and a front door equipped with a transparent wall. Distinguishingly the washing machine is further equipped with an illumination means located around the outer periphery of the transparent wall of the front door. The illumination means, in use, emits light rays towards the inside of the drum.
The illumination means may be attached to a handle fixed to said front door. Particularly, the illumination means may be located flush with the rear surface of the handle opposing the transparent wall of the front door. The illumination means may further be provided with a reflector for diverting light rays. Alternatively, the illumination means may be provided with a lens for diverting light rays where said lens is configured in the form of a transparent top cover of the illumination means.
While the illumination means may have one or more LEDs as a light source, it may also contain a conventional bulb type light sources. The wiring of the illumination means may be made through the hinge used to attach the front door to the washing machine or through the locking latch of the front door opposing the hinge.
The washing machine may be equipped with an activation button for manual energization of the illumination means by the user. Alternatively the illumination means may be activated by the control circuitry of the washing machine. In an embodiment, the washing machine may further be equipped with a motion sensor or a noise sensor for triggering a signal for energization of the illumination means.
Accompanying drawings are given solely for the purpose of exemplifying a washing machine having an illuminated drum whose advantages over prior art were outlined above and will be explained in detail hereinafter;
Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a washing machine having an illuminated drum according to the present invention.
The list of reference numerals shown in the drawings are correspond to the following parts that form the features of the appended claims;
(1) Washing machine
(2) Handle
(3) Front door
(4) Illumination means
(5) Light rays
(6) Activation button
(7) Transparent wall
(8) Hinge
In order to achieve the objects of the invention, it is proposed that the inside of the drum of a washing machine (1) may be illuminated using an illumination means (4) which is located outside the casing of the machine. In such a configuration, the illumination means (4) may be protected from the water, chemicals contained in the evaporating water and also the heat produced inside the drum of the washing machine. By this way, the service life of the illuminating means can be extended to a great extent.
Fig. 1 shows a washing machine (1) having an illuminated drum according to the present invention. The illumination means (4), in this preferred embodiment, is attached to the handle (2) of the front door (3) such that it emits light rays (5) through the transparent wall (7) of said front door.
Conveniently, the illumination means (4) is located flush on the rear surface of the door handle (2). The term rear surface of the handle is used to indicate the surface of the handle opposing the transparent wall (7) of the front door (3). Once made flush with the rear surface of the handle, the illumination means (4) would not disturb the touch of a user when using the handle. The illumination means (4) may be of a conventional bulb type light source or preferably of composed of one or more LEDs (Light Emitting Diodes).
The illumination means (4) may be buried in the body of the door handle (2) and covered flush with the rear surface with a non-conductive top plate for enhanced security of the user. A non-conductive top plate, typically made of plastic, may protect the user from the electricity provided to the illumination means (4) even when touching the same with wet hands. The illumination means (4) may further comprise a reflector and/or a lens to better focus the light rays (5) into the drum of the washing machine (1). While a reflector is usually placed beneath the light source, a lens may be placed on top of the light source in order to divert the light rays (5) originating from the illumination means (4) to a desired location. To this end, the non-conductive top plate may be made in the form of a transparent lens.
Alternatively, the illumination means (4) may be attached to the door handle (2) as an external body whose electric wiring is made through the body of the handle (2). The electric wiring of the illumination means (4) may be made either through the hinge (8) used to attach the front door (3) to the washing machine (1) or through the locking latch of the front door (3) opposing the hinge (8).
In an alternate embodiment, the illumination means (4) is placed around the outer periphery of the transparent wall (7) front door (3) in a location not corresponding to the handle (2). Therefore, it is obvious for those skilled in the art that the illumination means (4) is not necessarily located on the handle (2), but may suitably located at any position around the periphery of the transparent wall (7) of the front door (3). The term outer periphery is used to indicate the periphery of the transparent wall (7) opposing the user and not the drum of the washing machine.
The activation of the illumination means may be made in a number of ways. While the activation may be made automatically by the control circuitry of the washing machine (1), the user may also be allowed to manually activate the illumination means (4) by means of an activation button (6) located on the washing machine (1). The control circuitry of the washing machine (1) may be programmed to energize the illumination means (4) either constantly or intermittently to save energy. Alternatively, the washing machine may be equipped with a motion sensor or a noise sensor which might trigger a signal indicating the presence of a user in the vicinity of the washing machine such that the illumination means (4) is energized only when said motion sensor or noise sensor triggers a signal to the control circuitry of the washing machine.

Claims

A washing machine (1) comprising a front loaded rotating drum and a front door (3) equipped with a transparent wall (7) characterized in that the washing machine is further equipped with an illumination means (4) located around the outer periphery of the transparent wall (7) of said front door (3) such that the illumination means (4), in use, emits light rays towards the inside of the drum.
A washing machine (1) as set forth in Claim 1 wherein the illumination means (4) is attached to a handle (2) fixed to said front door (3).
A washing machine (1) as set forth in Claim 2 wherein the illumination means (4) is located flush with the rear surface of said handle (2) opposing the transparent wall (7) of said front door (3).
A washing machine (1) as set forth in Claim 1 wherein the illumination means (4) is provided with a reflector for diverting light rays (5).
A washing machine (1) as set forth in Claim 1 wherein the illumination means (4) is provided with a lens for diverting light rays (5), said lens being configured in the form of a transparent top cover of said illumination means (4).
A washing machine (1) as set forth in Claim 1 wherein the illumination means (4) has one or more LEDs as a light source.
A washing machine (1) as set forth in Claim 1 wherein the wiring of the illumination means (4) is made through the hinge (8) used to attach the front door (3) to the washing machine (1).
A washing machine (1) as set forth in Claim 1 wherein the wiring of the illumination means (4) is made through the locking latch of the front door (3) opposing the hinge (8).
A washing machine (1) as set forth in Claim 1 wherein the washing machine further comprises an activation button (6) for manual energization of the illumination means (4) by a user.
A washing machine (1) as set forth in Claim 1 wherein the illumination means (4) is activated by the control circuitry of the washing machine (1).
A washing machine (1) as set forth in Claim 10 wherein the washing machine is further equipped with a motion sensor or a noise sensor for triggering a signal for energization of the illumination means (4).