EP3797190A1

EP3797190A1 - Lock body with elastic pusher

Info

Publication number: EP3797190A1
Application number: EP19721272.3A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Emre AYAROGLU; Celal Vatansever
Original assignee: Arcelik AS
Current assignee: Arcelik AS
Priority date: 2018-05-21
Filing date: 2019-04-30
Publication date: 2021-03-31
Also published as: WO2019223973A1

Abstract

The present invention relates to a lock with pusher (1), used by being placed on an opening (D) provided on the front wall (A) of a household appliance to lock the door of the appliance, comprising in its most basic form, at least one lock body (2) having at least one slot (21) for the door hook to engage therein and at least one side body (22) provided on the side of the slot (21) for placement of lock components therein, and at least one extension (3) extending through the lock body (2) towards the side portion of the slot (21) for contacting the rim of the opening (D).

Description

LOCK BODY WITH ELASTIC PUSHER

The present invention relates to a lock body with an elastic pusher for locking doors in household appliances such as laundry dryers, which can be positioned on a opening on the front wall of the household appliance.
In homes and commercial businesses like laundries, there are laundry dryers used for drying the laundry items or the other textile products right after they are washed in a laundry washing machine. In laundry dryers, a door part is provided for loading and unloading the laundry items and isolating the system from external environment during operation. A lock mechanism is provided for keeping said door in closed position, fastened by being engaged into a opening disposed on the front wall. In the state of the art, doors of the laundry dryers are assembled to be opened from a single direction. Doors are produced on the line so as to be opened only rightwards or leftwards. The intention is to change the opening direction of the door after production according to the direction desired by the customer, only by assembly and disassembly of the door and the lock.
In the state of the art, in order to be able to change the location of the locking mechanism, it is required to remove the front wall and reassemble the mechanism. In order to be able to change the location of the lock without removing the front wall, the locking mechanism requires to be enabled to be assembled and disassembled from front. However, with present designs, this is not possible since the locking mechanism is larger with respect to the opening on the front wall. In order to enable assembly and disassembly of the lock from front, the locking mechanism is made smaller and the assembly opening is enlarged. After placement of the lock, a second part referred to as the lock port is used to fix its position. After passing the lock through the opening, it should be pulled towards the door, preparing it for assembly of the lock port. Assembly problems arise due to displacement of the lock and not being correctly positioned in the time elapsed until mounting the lock port. In turn, this causes issues such as the operator dropping the lock, losing time for fixing the lock and not being able to correctly position the lock.
State of the art patent document no. WO2010092529A1 mentions a door lock system for household appliances. In said document, the grooves disposed on the protruding structure provided on the lock for placement of the lock through the rear portion on the surface, are adapted to correspond to the edges on the panel. Application of pressure on the lock leads to its flexion and the lock is thus placed in the panel opening.
State of the art patent document no. EP1640495 (A1) mentions a lock assembly which can be easily and rapidly mounted on dryer appliances. In said invention, the projection on the lock body engages the slot on the door. The projection on the door engages the slot on the lock body. The door is thus enabled to be assembled by a single operation.
The aim of the present invention is to realize particularly in appliances such as laundry dryers, a lock body with elastic pusher used in correct placement of the lock piece on the opening provided on the front wall, which positions the lock body in the opening for assembly of the lock port piece.
The aim of the present invention is to realize a lock body with elastic pusher inhibiting the lock body from falling backwards from the opening in the time elapsed until assembling the lock body on the opening.
The aim of the present invention is to realize a lock body with elastic pusher guiding the operator for correct placement of the lock body in the opening.
The lock body with elastic pusher realized to achieve the aims of the present invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein:
Figure 1- is a perspective view of the lock body with elastic pusher of the invention on the front portion of the household appliance
Figure 2- is a side view of the lock body with elastic pusher of the invention before being fully placed on the opening.
Figure 3- is a side view of the lock body with elastic pusher of the invention fully placed on the opening.
Figure 4- is a side sectional view of the lock body with elastic pusher of the invention.
Figure 5- is a frontal perspective view of the lock body with elastic pusher of the invention.
The elements in the figure are numbered individually and the correspondence of these numbers are given hereinafter.

Lock with pusher
Lock body

21. Slot
22. Side body
3. Extension
31. Gripping tip
32. Guide protuberance
A. Front wall
D. Opening
The lock with pusher (1), used in household appliances like dryers by being placed on an opening (D) provided on the front wall (A) of a household appliance in order to lock the door, comprises

at least one lock body (2) having at least one slot (21) for the door hook to engage therein and at least one side body (22) provided on the side of the slot (21) for placement of lock components (parts used in locking) therein,
and at least one extension (3) extending through the lock body (2) towards the side portion of the slot (21) to contact the rim of the opening (D) and to attach the lock body (2) on the opening (D).

The lock with pusher (1) of the present invention consists of a lock body (2) comprising a slot (21) used by being fastened on the periphery of the opening (D), into which the door hook engages for being locked and a side body (22) in which the lock components are placed, and an extension (3) extending through the lock body (2), used for positioning the lock body (2) on the opening (D) of the household appliance. The lock body is a monoblock piece consisting of the slot (21) and the side body (22). The lock with pusher (1) is used by being fastened together with a lock port on an opening (D) provided on the front wall (A) of the appliance. The lock port is used to reduce the size of the opening (D) to the size of the lock body (2) and is mounted on the opening (D) after attachment of the lock with pusher (1) on the opening (D). The extension (3) flexes by contacting the rim of the opening (D) upon attachment of the lock body (2) to the opening (D), and pushes and presses the lock body (2) against the opening (D).
In the lock with pusher (1) of the invention, when the slot (21) portion of the lock body (2) is positioned on the opening (D) perpendicularly to the front wall (A) the side body (22) settles towards the rear portion of the front wall (A). When the lock with pusher (1) settles on the rim of the opening (D), the extension (3) is interposed between the slot (21) and the opening (D) rim, enabling the lock body (2) to be squeezed and positioned in the opening (D) by continuously pushing the slot (21) on the opening (D) rim. The extension (3) preferably extends through the side surface (22) on the side portion of the slot (21) and can perform a flexing motion towards onto the slot (21) upon a force acting thereon.
When the lock with pusher (1) of the invention is being placed in the opening (D) provided on the front wall (A), first, the side surface (22) of the lock body (2) is passed through the opening (D) and then the slot (21) portion is placed on the rim portions of the opening (D). The extension (3) remains between the slot (21) and the rim portions of the opening (D), contacts on the opening (D) rim during placement of the slot (21) on the opening (D) rim and pushes the lock body (2) in opposite direction. By means of the pushing force, the slot (21) settles on the rim portions of the opening (D) with the extension (3) on one side and without the extension (3) on the other side. The lock body (2) thus remains stationary by being squeezed on the opening (D) until the lock port is mounted.
In an embodiment of the invention, the extension (3) is made of elastic material and performs flexing motion upon a force acting thereon. With this flexing motion, the extension (3) transmits a pushing force on the lock body (2) by means of the energy it stores.
In an embodiment of the invention, a projection-shaped gripping tip (31) is provided at the end portion of the extension (3), and the gripping tip (31) inhibit the lock body (2) from escaping the opening (D) by gripping the rim portions of the opening (D), enabling the lock body (2) to hold the opening (D) rim.
In an embodiment of the invention, at least one projection-shaped guide protuberance (32) is provided on the extension (3), used for sandwiching the opening (D) rim in between itself and the gripping tip (31). In addition, by means of said guide protuberance (32), the operator placing the lock body (2) to the opening (D) will hear a snap-fitting sound during passage of the guide protuberance (32) through the opening (D) rim, and will thereby understand realization of correct assembly.
In an embodiment of the invention, two extensions (3) are provided, extending in parallel to each other on two sides of the lock body (2).
In an embodiment of the invention, the extension (3) extends through the side surface (22) with an inclination so as to diverge from the outer side wall of the slot (21).
In another embodiment of the invention, a spring member is provided between the extension (3) and the lock body (2), enhancing the pushing force of the extension (3).

Claims

A lock with pusher (1) used by being placed on an opening (D) provided on the front wall (A) of a household appliance in order to lock the door of the appliance, comprising

- at least one lock body (2) having at least one slot (21) for the door hook to engage therein and at least one side body (22) provided on the side of the slot (21) for placement of lock components therein, characterized by

- an extension (3) extending from the outer portion of lock body (2) towards the side portion of the slot (21), for contacting the rim of the opening (D).
A lock with pusher (1) according to claim 1, comprising the extension (3) which is elastic and pushes the lock body (2) upon the rim of the opening (D) contacting thereon.
A lock with pusher (1) according to claim 1, comprising the extension (3) which extends through the side body (22) towards the side portion of the slot.
A lock with pusher (1) according to claim 1, comprising at least one gripping tip (31) for gripping the rim portions of the opening (D), shaped as a projection at the end portion of the extension (3).
A lock with pusher (1) according to claim 1 or 4, comprising at least one projection-shaped guide protuberance (32) provided on the extension (3) and used for sandwiching the opening (D) rim in between itself and the gripping tip (31).
A lock with pusher (1) according to claim 5, comprising a guide protuberance (32) generating a snap-fit sound during passing through the opening (D) rim.
A lock with pusher (1) according to claim 1, comprising two extensions (3) extending in parallel to each other on two sides of the lock body (2).
A lock with pusher (1) according to claim 1, comprising the extension (3) extending through the side body (22) an having inclination so as to diverge from the outer side wall of the slot (21).
A lock with pusher (1) according to claim 1, comprising at least one spring member provided between the extension (3) and the lock body (2), for enhancing the pushing force of the extension (3).
A lock with pusher (1) according to claim 1, used in a laundry dryer.