EP4717810A1

EP4717810A1 - Improved sink system

Info

Publication number: EP4717810A1
Application number: EP25204617.2A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Edoardo MONGARDI
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2024-09-30
Filing date: 2025-09-25
Publication date: 2026-04-01

Abstract

An improved sink system is described, comprising at least one sink body (1) designed to be placed in support of at least one laundry appliance.

Description

The present invention relates to an improved sink system.
Classic sinks are known in the art, designed to be fixed to a wall, directly or using support brackets, or placed on a special support cabinet.
These sinks are also usually supplied with water from a water supply line and use a wastewater discharge line specifically dedicated to them.
Naturally, this type of sink causes a significant waste of space, especially if it is intended for laundry rooms or small bathrooms.
Furthermore, the installation of these sinks requires the installation of dedicated water supply and drainage connections, with the related work and costs for masonry and plumbing.
EP3346041 , US2020/283940 and EP2253755 disclose washing machines equipped with an upper sink for hand washing clothes: however, these sinks are integrated into the washing machine itself, with which they share the water supply and drainage fluid lines, making these appliances more complex and expensive.
Object of the present invention is therefore solving the aforementioned prior art problems by providing an improved sink system comprising at least one sink body designed to be placed on top of at least one separate laundry appliance the as, preferably, a washing machine, allowing for a significant optimisation of space in the room in which it is installed, usually rooms of relatively small dimensions the as, for example, bathrooms or domestic laundries.
Another object of the present invention is providing an improved sink system comprising at least one sink body designed to share the domestic water supply and drainage fluid systems with the laundry appliance, preferably a washing machine, on which it is placed, thus significantly simplifying the plumbing installation activities, and the related costs, of the sink body itself.
The above and other objects and advantages of the invention, as will result from the following description, are achieved with an improved sink system the as that described in claim 1. Preferred embodiments and non-trivial variants of the present invention form the subject matter of the dependent claims.
It is understood that all attached claims form an integral part of this specification.
It will be immediately obvious that countless variations and modifications can be made to what is described (for example relating to shape, dimensions, arrangements and parts with equivalent functionality) without departing from the scope of the invention as appears from the appended claims.
The present invention will be better described by some preferred embodiments, provided by way of example and not limitation, with reference to the attached drawings, in which FIGS. 1 to 5 show perspective views of some installation steps of a preferred embodiment of a sink body of the improved sink system according to the present invention.
Referring to the Figures, it is possible to note some exemplary installation steps of a sink body 1 of the improved sink system according to the present invention on at least one laundry appliance.
Advantageously, the improved sink system according to the present invention comprises at least one sink body 1 designed to be placed in support of at least one laundry appliance.
As can be clearly seen from the Figures, the sink body 1 of the improved sink system according to the present invention is, advantageously, an element in itself and distinct from the household appliance on which it rests: contrary to what is proposed by the state of the art, the sink body 1 of the improved sink system according to the present invention is therefore not integrated with the household appliance.
Preferably, the sink body 1 is designed to be placed on at least one upper surface 4 of the appliance.
Preferably, the laundry appliance consists of at least one washing machine 3. In this case, the sink body 1 is designed to be placed on the upper surface 4 of the washing machine 3.
Even more advantageously, the sink body 1 comprises at least one water supply means (not shown) the as, for example, at least one tap, and at least one discharge opening 5 for waste water from the sink body 1, the water supply means being provided to be fluidly connected to the domestic water supply line which may be shared with the laundry appliance, and in particular with the washing machine 3, and the discharge opening 5 being provided to be fluidly connected to the domestic water discharge line which may be shared with the laundry appliance, and in particular with the washing machine 3. Naturally, the laundry appliance could be any other laundry appliance other than the washing machine 3 (for example, a dryer), but suitably adjacent to the domestic water supply and discharge lines (the as, for example, those usually provided for use by a washing machine) to allow the connection of the water supply means and the discharge opening 5, without therefore going outside the scope of the present invention.
Preferably, the domestic water supply line and the domestic water drain line are placed outside of the appliance.
Preferably, the sink body 1 is arranged to rest on at least one the laundry appliance, the laundry appliance being, preferably, at least one the washing machine 3, by means of the interposition of at least one fixing and support structure 7.
In particular, the fixing and support structure 7 comprises one or more double-sided fixing elements 9 and at least one support frame 11, the double-sided fixing elements 9 being intended to glue the support frame 11 to the laundry appliance, and in particular to the upper shelf 4 of the washing machine 3, and the support frame 11 being intended to support and contain the sink body 1.
Preferably, the support frame 11 can be composed of two half-frames 11a, 11b, each of the half-frames 11a, 11b being substantially triangular in shape and mutually connected at one of its vertices.

Claims

Improved sink system characterized in that it comprises at least one sink body (1) designed to be placed in support of at least one laundry appliance, said sink body (1) being an element in itself and distinct from said appliance on which it is placed in support.
System according to the previous claim, characterized in that said sink body (1) is designed to be placed on the upper surface (4) of said household appliance.
System according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that said laundry appliance consists of at least one washing machine (3).
System according to the previous claim, characterized in that said sink body (1) is designed to be placed on the upper surface (4) of said washing machine (3).
System according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that said sink body (1) comprises at least one water supply means and at least one discharge opening (5) for waste water from said sink body (1), said water supply means being intended to be fluidly connected to a domestic water supply line that can be shared with said laundry appliance, and said discharge opening (5) being intended to be fluidly connected to a domestic water discharge line that can be shared with said laundry appliance.
System according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that said sink body (1) is arranged to rest on at least one said laundry appliance by means of the interposition of at least one fixing and support structure (7).
System according to the previous claim, characterized in that said fixing and support structure (7) comprises one or more double-sided fixing elements (9) and at least one support frame (11).
System according to the preceding claim, characterized in that said double-sided fixing elements (9) are intended to glue said support frame (11) to said laundry appliance, and in particular to said upper surface (4) of said appliance, and said support frame (11) is intended to support and contain said sink body (1).
System according to any of the preceding claims 7 or 8, characterized in that said support frame (11) is composed of two half-frames (11a, 11b), each of said half-frames (11a, 11b) being substantially triangular in shape and mutually connected at one of their vertices.