EP3577268A1

EP3577268A1 - A stacking apparatus and household appliances pair using the same

Info

Publication number: EP3577268A1
Application number: EP18704505.9A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Guven Ertas; Aykun ACIL; Remzi Can; Ahmet BALABAN; Mustafa GURBUZ
Original assignee: Arcelik AS
Current assignee: Arcelik AS
Priority date: 2017-02-06
Filing date: 2018-02-06
Publication date: 2019-12-11
Anticipated expiration: 2038-02-06
Also published as: WO2018141979A1; TR201701716A2; EP3577268B1

Abstract

The present invention relates to a stacking apparatus (1) used to securely attach each other two household appliances (102, 103) placed on top of each other, comprising a first attachment member (2) mounted on the top household appliance (102), and a second attachment member (3) mounted on the bottom household appliance (103).

Description

[Title established by the ISA under Rule 37.2] A STACKING APPARATUS AND HOUSEHOLD APPLIANCES PAIR USING THE SAME

The present invention relates to a stacking apparatus enabling household appliances placed on top of each other to be attached to one another, and the household appliances using the same.
Household appliances, particularly those serving similar functions such as a laundry washing machine and a laundry drying machine, are preferably used by being placed in the same room. However, when placed next to each other, said household appliances occupy a large ground space, causing user discontent. Therefore, stacking apparatuses are used in the state of the art, enabling stacking household appliances on top of each other. In general, the stacking apparatuses known in the art are shaped as edge profiles mounted on the household appliance on the bottom, on which the household appliance on the top is placed by being slid thereon. When such type of fixing apparatuses are used, the top household appliance should be lifted up in a balanced manner to be able to seat it on the stacking apparatus, and it should be placed on the bottom household appliance so as to maintain the correct mounting position. This complicates the mounting process and increases the demand for a service personnel. Therefore, there is a need for a stacking apparatus with a simple structure enabling ease of use.
State of the art European patent no. EP0667412 discloses a stacking apparatus having a rod shaped attachment member fixed by being adhered on the upper surface of the bottom household appliance, fitting into the channel in the foot of the household appliance placed on top. This application causes difficulty in mounting as it requires the household appliance to be placed on top, to be seated on the bottom household appliance by being aligned with respect to the attachment members. This application is also disadvantageous in that it cannot be used with household appliances that lack a channel in their feet.
State of the art European patent application no. EP1616991 describes a stacking apparatus enabling mounting to each other the household appliances placed on top of each other, having a first connecting member fixed on the first household appliance, and a second connecting member fixed on the second household appliance. The first connecting member and the second connecting member are fixed to each other by fitting the locking portion on the first connecting member into the locking jaw on the second connecting member. However, in this application, mounting cannot be easily performed and an additional guiding member is needed as the top household appliance is required to be tilted and pushed backwards in a balanced manner in order to fit the locking portion into the locking jaw.
The aim of the present invention is to obtain a stacking apparatus enabling easy and practical stacking.
The stacking apparatus realized to achieve the aim of the present invention and disclosed in the claims, comprises a first attachment member fixed on the household appliance at the lower side, and a second attachment member fixed on the household appliance at the upper side, mounted to each other so as to be freely rotatable at one of their edges. The first attachment member is fixed on the household appliance to be placed at the upper side, and the second attachment member is mounted to the first attachment member after placement of the household appliances on top of each other. Then the household appliances are aligned with respect to each other and mounting is completed by fixing the second attachment member on the bottom household appliance. Thus, the second attachment member is prevented from restricting the motions of the top household appliance during stacking of the household appliances, and placement and alignment operations are performed in a simple manner without being effected from the presence of the stacking apparatus.
In an embodiment of the invention, the first attachment member and the second attachment member are mounted to each other by means of a hinge pin. At least one seat through which the hinge pin is passed, is provided on each of the first attachment member and the second attachment member. During mounting of the first attachment member and the second attachment member to each other, first the seats are aligned with respect to each other, and the hinge pin is passed through the seats. The first attachment member and the second attachment member are thus connected to each other along one of their edges. By this, the connection between the first attachment member and the second attachment member is realized in a simple and robust manner.
In another embodiment of the invention, the first attachment member is shaped as a plate extending between the bottom household appliance and the top household appliance, and has a bore through which a foot of the top household appliance is passed. The foot of the top household appliance is dismantled, it is passed through the bore on the first attachment member, and is coupled again to the household appliance. By this, the first attachment member is fixed on the top household appliance by being constrained between the body and the foot of the top household appliance. The first attachment member can thus be connected to the top household appliance in a practical manner and without causing any deformation.
In an embodiment of the invention, the second attachment member is shaped as a plate fixed on the bottom household appliance such that one of its surfaces abuts on one side wall of the bottom household appliance extending in the vertical plane. The top household appliance can thus be aligned more easily with respect to the bottom household appliance thanks to the second attachment member abutting on the bottom household appliance.
In an embodiment of the invention, the second attachment member is fixed to the bottom household appliance by being adhered. In this embodiment, the second attachment member and the bottom household appliance are adhered to each other preferably by a double sided adhesive tape. By this, in case separate using of the household appliances is required later on, defects such as screw holes, or deformations likely to occur on fixing points, are avoided from adversely effecting the visual appearance.
The household appliances of the invention are fixed to each other by means of the above-described stacking apparatus. One stacking apparatus is mounted on each one of the four feet of the household appliance placed on top, and the household appliances are thus attached to each other at four corners in a robust manner.
In an embodiment of the invention, one of the household appliances placed on top of each other is a laundry washing machine, and the other is a laundry drying machine.
By means of the invention, the stacking apparatus is prevented from causing difficulty during superimposed placement and alignment operations. By this, stacking process is performed rapidly and practically.
The stacking apparatus realized to achieve the aims of the present invention and the household appliance using it are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein:
Figure 1 is a view of the stacking apparatus of an embodiment of the invention and the household appliances in which it is used.
Figure 2 is a view of the stacking apparatus of an embodiment of the invention, with the apparatus mounted to the household appliance on the top.
Figure 3 is a view of the stacking apparatus of another embodiment of the invention, with the apparatus mounted to the household appliance on the top.
Figure 4 is an exploded view of the stacking apparatus of another embodiment of the invention.
Figure 5 is an exploded view of the stacking apparatus of yet another embodiment of the invention.
The elements in the figures are numbered individually and the correspondence of these numbers are given hereinafter.

Stacking apparatus
First attachment member
Second attachment member
Hinge pin
Bore
Supporting portion
Tape
Seat
Grip
Abutment
Extension portion

100. The household appliances pair
101. Foot
102. Top household appliance
103. Bottom household appliance
The stacking apparatus (1) is used to securely attach each other two household appliances (102, 103) placed on top of each other, and comprises a first attachment member (2) mounted on the top household appliance (102), and a second attachment member (3) mounted on the bottom household appliance (103). The top household appliance (102) is placed on the bottom household appliance (103) such that its feet (101) rests on the upper surface of the bottom household appliance (103). The stacking apparatus (1) is mounted on the household appliances (102, 103) such that the first attachment member (2) and the second attachment member (3) are connected to the top household appliance (102) and the bottom household appliance (103) respectively, attaching the household appliances (102, 103) to each other.
The stacking apparatus (1) of the invention comprises a first attachment member (2) and a second attachment member (3) hinged to each other so as to be rotatable about a rotational axis. During mounting, at first the first attachment member (2) is mounted on the household appliance (102) to be placed at the upper side, and the household appliance (102) is placed on the other household appliance (103). After placement of the household appliances (102, 103) on top of each other, the second attachment member (3) is hingedly attached to the first attachment member (2), rendering the stacking apparatus (1) integral. Then, the top household appliance (102) is aligned with respect to the bottom household appliance (103) by being slid thereon, and assembly operation is completed by mounting the second attachment member (3) on the bottom household appliance (103). Thus, the second attachment member (3) is prevented from making the assembly operation difficult by getting caught to or abutting on the bottom household appliance (103), and the top household appliance (102) can be aligned by simply being placed on the bottom household appliance (103) without any movement restriction caused by the stacking apparatus (1).
In an embodiment of the invention, the stacking apparatus (1) comprises at least one hinge pin (4) forming the rotational axis about which the first attachment member (2) and the second attachment member (3) are rotated, and at least one seat (8) provided on each of the first attachment member (2) and the second attachment member (3), in which the hinge pin (4) is supported. During mounting of the second attachment member (3) to the first attachment member (2), first the seats (8) are aligned with respect to each other so as to be on the same axis, and then the hinge pin (4) is passed through the seats (8). The second attachment member (3) and the first attachment member (2) can thus rotatably move independent of each other on the hinge pin (4) supported in the seats (8). By this, the second attachment member (3) and the first attachment member (2) are easily and rapidly hinged to each other, facilitating the use of the stacking apparatus (1).
In another embodiment of the invention, the first attachment member (2) and the second attachment member (3) are shaped as plates. The first attachment member (2) and the second attachment member (3) are shaped as plates, and extend vertically to each other so as to form an essentially “L” shape when the are fixed on the top household appliance (102) and the bottom household appliance respectively. By this, the first attachment member (2) is enabled to extend without being constrained between two household appliances (102, 103) placed on each other, and the contact surface area between the second attachment member (3) and the bottom household appliance (103) is increased.
In another embodiment of the invention, the first attachment member (2) is mounted on the foot (101) of the top household appliance (102) having at least one foot (101) resting on the upper surface of the bottom household appliance (103). The first attachment member (2) is connected to one foot (101) of the top household appliance (102), and it is thus mounted on the top household appliance (102). Mounting is facilitated by means of connecting the first attachment member (2) on the foot (101) which is relatively easier to access. This embodiment is also advantageous where more than one stacking apparatus (1) is used, in that the stacking apparatuses (1) are not required to be further aligned thanks to being mounted on the feet (101) which are already aligned.
In another embodiment of the invention, a bore (5) enabling the first attachment member (2) to be fitted on the foot (101), is provided on the first attachment member (2). During mounting, the foot (101) of the top household appliance (102) is dismantled, it is passed through the bore (5) on the first attachment member (2), and is coupled again to the household appliance (102). By this, the coupling of the stacking apparatus (1) to the top household appliance (102) is performed in an easy and robust manner without requiring an additional fixing member.
In another embodiment of the invention, the second attachment member (3) is mounted to the bottom household appliance (103) by being adhered. The second attachment member (3) is adhered to the side wall of the bottom household appliance (103), and it is thus firmly fixed on the bottom household appliance (103). By this, the second attachment member (3) is mounted on the bottom household appliance (103) in a simple and robust manner without requiring any additional operation such as opening screw holes.
In another embodiment of the invention, an adhesive tape (7) is provided on the second attachment member (3), enabling adhering the second attachment member (3) on the bottom household appliance (103). The tape (7) is a double sided adhesive tape adhered on the second attachment member (3), and enables the second attachment member (3) to be adhered on the bottom household appliance (103). Production costs are reduced thanks to the tape (7) which is cheap and easy to use, facilitating the use of the stacking apparatus (1).
In another embodiment of the invention, the second attachment member (3) has a supporting portion (6) enlarged to the sides so as to enable increasing the contact surface area between the bottom household appliance (103) and the second attachment member (3). The supporting portion (6) is shaped as a rectangular plate abutting on a wall of the bottom household appliance (103) extending on the vertical plane. After being hinged to the first attachment member (2), the second attachment member (3) is brought by being rotated to the mounting position in which the supporting portion (6) abuts on the wall of the bottom household appliance (103) extending in the vertical plane, and is fixed on the bottom household appliance (103). By this, the attachment between the second attachment member (3) and the bottom household appliance (103) is enhanced. This embodiment is also advantageous where the fixing surface is not flat due to design patterns on the side wall of the bottom household appliance (103), in that it enables sufficient contact surface between the second attachment member (3) and the bottom household appliance (103).
In another embodiment of the invention, at least one grip (9) shaped as a protrusion suitable for a user to grasp it with his/her fingers, is provided on the second attachment member (3). The grip (9) is shaped as a protrusion extending outwards from the supporting portion (6). When the user desires to separate the household appliances (102, 103) from each other, he/she lifts the second attachment member (3) by grasping it at the grip (9), and can easily separate it from the bottom household appliance (103) on which it is adhered.
In an embodiment of the invention, an extension portion (11) is provided on the first attachment member (2), enabling the end of the first attachment member (2) mounted on the top household appliance (102) and the end hinged on the second attachment member (3) to be moved away from each other. The extension portion (11) extends almost vertically to both ends of the first attachment member (2) such that the first attachment member (2) almost has a “Z” shape. When the height of the foot (101) is short, the first attachment member (2) is enabled to reach the foot (101) by means of the extension portion (11), and is thus enabled to be mounted on the foot (101).
In another embodiment of the invention, an abutment (10) is provided on the second attachment member (3), terminating the rotational motion of the second attachment member (3) by abutting on the first attachment member (2) during rotating of the second attachment member (3). By means of the abutment (10), the second attachment member (3) is prevented from over-rotating, and in the mounting position in which it is fixed on the bottom household appliance (103), it is enabled to extend always on the vertical plane. Mounting errors are thus avoided.
The household appliance pair (100) of the invention are stacked on top of each other by means of at least one stacking apparatus (1) described above. By this, the users are enabled to stack the household appliances (102, 103) and simply separate them from each other when required, without needing a service personnel.
In another embodiment of the invention, the household appliance pair (100) are attached to each other at four corners by means of four stacking apparatuses (1). By this, the household appliances (102, 103) are fixed to each other in a robust and secure manner.
In another embodiment of the invention, the household appliances pair (100) is obtained by stacking a laundry drying machine and a laundry washing machine on top of each other.
A useful stacking apparatus is obtained by means of the present invention, which has a simple structure, and which enables convenient stacking of household appliances. The stacking apparatus realized with the invention also enables household appliances placed on top of each other to be fixed to one another without using screws. By this, complications that may arise due to screw usage such as the internal parts of a household appliance being subject to damage, or visual defects caused by screw holes in case the household appliances are used separately later on, are avoided.

Claims

A stacking apparatus (1) used to securely attach each other two household appliances (102, 103) placed on top of each other, comprising a first attachment member (2) mounted on the top household appliance (102), and a second attachment member (3) mounted on the bottom household appliance (103), characterized by the first attachment member (2) and the second attachment member (3) being hinged to each other so as to be rotatable about a rotational axis.
A stacking apparatus (1) according to claim 1, characterized by at least one hinge pin (4) forming the rotational axis about which the first attachment member (2) and the second attachment member (3) are rotated, and by at least one seat (8) provided on each of the first attachment member (2) and the second attachment member (3), in which the hinge pin (4) is supported.
A stacking apparatus (1) according to claim 1 or 2, characterized by the first attachment member (2) and the second attachment member (3) being shaped as plates.
A stacking apparatus (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized by the first attachment member (2) mounted on the foot (101) of the top household appliance (102) having at least one foot (101) resting on the upper surface of the bottom household appliance (103).
A stacking apparatus (1) according to claim 4, characterized by a bore (5) provided on the first attachment member (2), enabling the first attachment member (2) to be fitted on the foot (101).
A stacking apparatus (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized by the second attachment member (3) mounted on the bottom household appliance (103) by being adhered.
A stacking apparatus (1) according to claim 6, characterized by an adhesive tape (7) provided on the second attachment member (3), enabling adhering the second attachment member (3) on the bottom household appliance (103).
A stacking apparatus (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized by the second attachment member (3) having a supporting portion (6) enlarged to the sides so as to enable increasing the contact surface area between the bottom household appliance (103) and the second attachment member (3).
A stacking apparatus (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized by at least one grip (9) provided on the second attachment member (3), shaped as a protrusion suitable for a user to grasp it with his/her fingers.
A stacking apparatus (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized by an extension portion (11) provided on the first attachment member (2), enabling the end of the first attachment member (2) mounted on the bottom household appliance (102) and the end hinged on the second attachment member (3) to be moved away from each other.
A stacking apparatus (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized by an abutment (10) provided on the second attachment member (3), terminating the rotational motion of the second attachment member (3) by abutting on the first attachment member (2) during rotating of the second attachment member (3).
A household appliances pair (100), characterized by being stacked on top of each other by means of at least one stacking apparatus (1) according to any one of the preceding claims.
A household appliances pair (100) according to claim 12, characterized by being attached to each other at four corners by means of four stacking apparatuses (1).
A household appliances pair (100) according to claim 12 or 13, obtained by stacking a laundry drying machine and a laundry washing machine on top of each other.