EP4667645A1

EP4667645A1 - Clothing treatment household appliance with a housing

Info

Publication number: EP4667645A1
Application number: EP25182685.5A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Urh Sreden ek; Robi POGOREVC
Original assignee: Gorenje gospodinjski aparati dd
Current assignee: Gorenje gospodinjski aparati dd
Priority date: 2024-06-17
Filing date: 2025-06-13
Publication date: 2025-12-24
Also published as: SI26652A; CN121161568A

Abstract

A clothing treatment household appliance, such as a washing or drying machine, has a housing that comprises lateral walls (2, 3), a rear wall (4), a front two-part wall (5) with an opening (6) in the bottom part for loading and unloading the household appliance and with a control panel (31), and a top panel (7), the lateral walls (2, 3) being connected on the upper front part by a crossbar (8), the crossbar (8) comprising a main portion (9) configured as a substantially hollow profile of a rectangular cross-section with the bottom side removed, the profile having reinforcing ribs (12) arranged therein and extending into the interior of the main portion (9), and end portions integrally moulded in a material-bonding manner at a respective end of the main portion (9), said end portions (10, 11) being configured substantially as an L profile having a long leg (16, 18) and a short leg (17, 19).

Description

Subject of invention

The subject of the present invention is a clothing treatment household appliance with a housing, such as a washing or drying machine, the housing comprising lateral walls, a rear wall, a front wall with an opening through which the household appliance is loaded and unloaded and is closed by a door, and a top panel.

Prior Art

The clothing treatment household appliance, such as a washing or drying machine, has a housing that comprises lateral walls, a rear wall, a front wall with an opening through which the household appliance is loaded and unloaded and is closed by a door, and a top panel. The housing accommodates a laundry treatment chamber.
The front wall connecting the two lateral walls is substantially formed of two portions. The bottom portion of the front wall comprises an opening for loading and unloading the household appliance, the upper portion is a control panel with which the user controls the household appliance. The lateral walls are connected to each other in the upper portion by a crossbar, allowing the attachment of the control panel and the top panel. The crossbar is normally made of a sheet metal by flexing and bending, which, to a certain extent, contributes to the stiffness of the crossbar. However, the crossbar may get deformed due to vibrations generated during the household appliance operation and due to other external forces, which may lead to damages, particularly to the control panel, resulting in malfunctioning of the household appliance. At the same time, the crossbar contributes to increased stiffness of the household appliance housing which is usually made of sheet metal and as such exposed to bending and deformations due to external forces and vibrations generated during the operation of the appliance.
The crossbar is fixed to the lateral walls by more than one screw connection. The crossbar is therefore provided with a plurality of boreholes. The crossbar is further provided with a plurality of other boreholes for attaching the top panel, the control panel which is arranged on the front wall of the household appliance above the loading opening, and a number of other elements needed for a normal operation of the household appliance and attachable to the crossbar. The elements are attached by means of various fastening elements. A number of components are needed for such attachment, which makes the production difficult to automate, is time consuming and requires precise work, otherwise a respective component may get damaged.

Technical problem

The technical problem is to configure such a clothing treatment household appliance with a housing, such as a washing or drying machine, which will include less components, particularly for mounting the control panel and the top panel, resulting in a simpler, more rapid and more economical assembly of such a household appliance, while such a configuration will not affect the stiffness of the household appliance. A further goal of the invention is to configure a clothing treatment household appliance whose configuration, in particular the crossbar as part of the housing, will prevent a fluid access to the interior of the control panel and to the elements arranged on the control panel.

Solution to the technical problem

The relative expressions such as front, rear, upper, lower, etc. are herein defined from the perspective of the household appliance user, when the appliance is in its functional state.
The technical problem is solved by a clothing treatment household appliance, the main characteristics of which are defined in the first independent claim.
A clothing treatment household appliance, such as a washing or drying machine, has a housing that comprises lateral walls, a rear wall, a front two-part wall with an opening in the bottom part for loading and unloading the household appliance and with a control panel, and a top panel, the lateral walls being connected on the upper front part by a crossbar, the crossbar comprising a main portion configured as a substantially hollow profile of a rectangular cross-section with the bottom side removed, the profile having reinforcing ribs arranged therein and extending into the interior of the main portion; and end portions integrally moulded in a material-bonding manner at a respective end of the main portion, said end portions being configured substantially as an L profile having a long leg and a short leg. The reinforcing ribs extend vertically into the interior of the main portion and in parallel to the lengthwise extent L of the main portion and perpendicularly thereto such that a grid of rectangular ribs is formed having a plurality of contact points which impart the crossbar the required stiffness. The crossbar deformations which might result from the machine vibrations are herewith prevented. At the same time, the crossbar weight is considerably lower compared to that of a solid crossbar, which contributes to a reduced weight and lower material consumption of the appliance. As a result, the economic effect is increased.
A respective long leg of the end portion comprises a locking bolt with a through hole, the locking bolt being materially bonded to the end portion. The locking bolt is configured as a two-stage element: the diameter of the bottom portion of the locking bolt is smaller than the diameter of the upper portion of the locking bolt shaft. At least one short leg of the end portion may comprise a hole to receive a screw and/or a bolt for the engagement with the lateral wall. The locking bolt with the through hole may serve to additionally attach the crossbar to the lateral walls, if needed, while this element serves at the same time to mount and attach the top panel of the household appliance.
The main portion of the crossbar is provided on its upper side with at least one materially-bonded fastening element intended to attach the control panel and at least one support and/or fastening element intended to position an electric component.
The main portion of the crossbar is provided with an upper side longitudinally configured in two parts, such that the respective parts of the upper side are longitudinally inclined to each other forming a drain. The drain is closed at one end, while its bottom is inclined lengthwise towards its open end. The drain extends substantially in parallel to the lengthwise extent of the main portion along the entire length. The drain may also be configured as a groove shaped recess, the bottom of which is inclined towards the open end of the drain.
The crossbar is made of a plastic material, such as glass-fibre reinforced polypropylene PP.
The clothing treatment household appliance of the invention will be described hereinbelow in more detail by way of an embodiment and drawings in which

Fig. 1 shows a household appliance in a simplified exploded view
Fig. 2 shows a crossbar, top view
Fig. 3 shows a crossbar, bottom view

A clothing treatment household appliance 100, such as a washing or drying machine, has a housing 1 comprising lateral walls 2, 3, a rear wall 4, a front two-part wall 5 and a top panel 7. The housing accommodates a laundry treatment chamber. The bottom part of the front wall 5 comprises an opening 6 for loading and unloading the household appliance 100, the upper part is a control panel 31 with which the user controls the household appliance 100. The lateral walls 2, 3 are connected on the upper front part by a crossbar 8. The crossbar 8 is made of a plastic material, such as glass-fibre reinforced polypropylene PP, to have the required strength and stiffness. The crossbar 8 has a lengthwise extent L which substantially coincides with the width of the household appliance housing 1, and a width S which is considerably smaller than the lengthwise extent L. The crossbar 8 comprises a main portion 9 configured as a substantially hollow profile of a rectangular cross-section with the bottom side removed, a left end portion 10 and a right end portion 11 which are moulded in a material-bonding manner at a respective end of the main portion 9. The crossbar 8 with its left 10 and right end portions 11 abuts the front portion of a respective lateral wall 2, 3 and is fixed thereto.
In the crossbar's main portion 9 configured as a hollow profile there are reinforcing ribs 12 perpendicularly extending into the interior of the main portion 9. The reinforcing ribs 12 extend in parallel to the lengthwise extent L of the main portion and perpendicularly thereto such that a grid 14 of rectangular ribs is formed having a plurality of contact points 15. The grid 14 of ribs so formed imparts the required strength and stiffness to the crossbar 8. High stiffness of the crossbar 8 prevents it from getting deformed due to external forces and/or vibrations generated during the household appliance operation. The grid 14 of ribs, which only partly fills the interior of the main portion 9, imparts the required stiffness at a relatively low weight. The weight of the crossbar 8 is still further reduced due to the use of a material having a low specific density, such as glass-fibre reinforced polypropylene. The low weight contributes to the reduced total weight of the household appliance.
The left 10 and right end portions 11 which are moulded at a respective end of the main portion 9 are configured substantially as an L profile having a long leg 16, 18 and a short leg 17, 19. In order to attach the crossbar 8 to the lateral wall 2, 3, the at least one short leg 17, 19, in the embodiment the short leg 17 of the left end portion, comprises a hole 20 to receive a screw to attach the crossbar 8 to the lateral wall 2, 3, while the at least one short leg 17, 19, in the embodiment the short leg 19 of the right end portion 10, comprises a bolt 21 which, when mounted, engages the complementary part in the lateral wall 3. At a respective long leg 16, 18 of the end portion, a locking bolt 22, 24 with a through hole 23, 25 is arranged and connected to the end portion 10, 11 and the crossbar 8 in a materially-bonding manner. The locking bolt 22, 24 is configured in two stages. A bottom portion 26, 28 proximal to the long leg 16, 18 has a diameter that is smaller than the diameter of an upper portion 27, 29 which is distal to the long leg 16, 18. When the top panel 7 is positioned onto the housing 1, the complementary bolt arranged on the bottom front side of the top panel 7 engages the bottom portion 26, 28 of the locking bolt and fixes it. The crossbar 8 may further be fixed to a respective lateral wall 2, 3 by a screw connection between a screw and the through hole 23, 25 of the locking bolt.
On its upper side 13, the main portion 9 of the crossbar has at least one, preferably more than one, fastening element 30 configured in a materially-bonded manner for attaching the control panel 31, which allow the control panel 31 to be fixed to the crossbar 8 by screws and/or latch elements arranged on the inner side of the control panel 31. In addition to the fastening elements 30 configured to fix the control panel 31, the main portion 9 may have other materially-bonded support and/or fastening elements 33 configured to position and attach various electric components needed for the functioning of the household appliance. These support and/or fastening elements are configured with respect to the household appliance type.
The upper side 13 of the main portion of the crossbar is longitudinally configured in two parts, such that respective parts 34, 35 of the upper side are longitudinally inclined to each other, forming a drain 32 that extends substantially in parallel to the lengthwise extent L over the entire length of the main portion 9. The drain 32 is closed at one end, while the bottom is inclined lengthwise towards its open end. The drain 32 collects the liquid which would either during tightness testing or during potential spillage of a huge amount of liquid onto the household appliance flow under the top panel 7; this prevents the liquid from getting in contact with the electric elements and damaging them. As the upper side 13 is concave, the liquid is collected in the drain 32 and since the drain has an inclined bottom the liquid flows towards the open end of the drain and further along a dedicated canal or tube towards the bottom portion of the housing and through the opening in the bottom out of the housing 1.

Claims

A clothing treatment household appliance, such as a washing or drying machine, has a housing that comprises lateral walls (2, 3), a rear wall (4), a front two-part wall (5) with an opening (6) in the bottom part for loading and unloading the household appliance and with a control panel (31), and a top panel (7), the lateral walls (2, 3) being connected on the upper front part by a crossbar (8),
characterized in that the crossbar (8) comprises

a main portion (9) configured as a substantially hollow profile of a rectangular cross-section with the bottom side removed, the profile having reinforcing ribs (12) arranged therein and extending into the interior of the main portion (9),
and

end portions (10, 11) moulded at a respective end of the main portion (9) in a materially-bonded manner and configured substantially as an L profile having a long leg (16, 18) and a short leg (17, 19).
The household appliance according to claim 1, characterized in that reinforcing ribs (12) extend perpendicularly into the interior of the main portion (9) and in parallel to the lengthwise extent (L) of the main portion and perpendicularly thereto such that a grid (14) of rectangular ribs is formed having a plurality of contact points (15).
The household appliance according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that a respective long leg (16, 18) of the end portion comprises a locking bolt (22, 24) with a through hole (23, 25), which is connected to the end portion (10, 11) in a materially-bonding manner.
The household appliance according to claim 3, characterized in that the locking bolt (22, 24) arranged at the end portion (10, 11) is configured as a two-stage element, the diameter of the bottom portion (26, 28) of the locking bolt being smaller than the diameter of the upper portion (27, 29) of the locking bolt shaft.
The household appliance according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that at least one short leg (17, 19) of the end portion comprises a hole (20) to receive a screw.
The household appliance according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that at least one short leg (17, 19) of the end portion comprises a bolt (21) for the engagement with the lateral wall (3).
The household appliance according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that the main portion (9) of the crossbar has at least one fastening element (30) configured in a materially-bonded manner on its upper side (13) for attaching the control panel (31).
The household appliance according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that the main portion (9) of the crossbar has at least one support and/or fastening element (33) configured in a materially-bonded manner for positioning an electric component.
The household appliance according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that the upper side (13) is longitudinally configured in two parts, such that the respective parts (34, 35) of the upper side are longitudinally inclined to each other forming a drain (32).
The household appliance according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that the drain (32) extends substantially in parallel to the lengthwise extent (L) over the entire length of the main portion (9).
The household appliance according to claim 10, characterized in that the drain (32) is closed at one end, while its bottom (36) is inclined lengthwise towards its open end.
The household appliance according to claim 11, characterized in that the drain (32) is configured as a groove-like recess, the bottom (36) of which is inclined towards the open end of the drain.
The household appliance according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that the crossbar (8) is made of a plastic material, such as glass-fibre reinforced polypropylene PP.