ES2374230B1 - APPLIANCE APPLIANCE. - Google Patents

Abstract

Household appliance (1) in particular a washing machine, a dishwasher, a refrigerator, a dryer or the like comprising a frame opened upwards by an opening, components inside the frame and a cover (3) to close the opening, where the lid It comprises a frame (5) and a glass plate (2) with an upper face (21), a lower face (22) directed towards the inside of the apparatus and lateral sections (23) surrounded by the frame (5). At least part of the lower face (22) is covered by a protector (6) to collect the pieces of the glass plate (2) in case of breakage of the latter.

Description

Home appliance.

Field of application of the invention

The invention is in the field of household appliances in particular a washing machine, a dishwasher, a refrigerator, a dryer or the like comprising a frame opened upwards by an opening, components within the frame and a cover for closing the opening, where the cover comprises a frame and a glass plate with an upper face, a lower face directed towards the inside of the apparatus and some lateral sections surrounded by the frame.

Background of the invention

From ES 2311360 B1 a household appliance is known in particular a washing machine, a dishwasher, a refrigerator, a dryer or the like comprising a frame opened upwardly by an opening, components within the frame and a cover for closing the opening, where the cover comprises a frame and a glass plate with an upper face, a lower face directed towards the inside of the apparatus and some lateral sections surrounded by the frame.

The main problem of this type of apparatus is the fragility of the glass plate that can be damaged by a blow and the pieces of glass can enter between the components of the apparatus damaging it.

Object of the invention

The object of the invention is an appliance with a lid with a glass plate, safer and more versatile than the prior art.

This objective is solved by a household appliance, in particular a washing machine, a dishwasher, a refrigerator, a dryer or the like comprising a frame opened upwards by an opening, components inside the frame and a lid to close the opening, where the lid It comprises a frame and a glass plate with an upper face, a lower face directed towards the inside of the apparatus and some lateral sections surrounded by the frame. At least part of the underside of the glass plate is covered by a protector to collect the pieces of the glass plate in case of breakage of the glass plate.

The cover can cover only the upper part of the device or partly cover the lateral sides of the device, that is, the sides, front or rear. The cover can be composed of a flat or partly rounded plate, for example at one of its ends to cover part of the front of the device or side of the device. The plate can be partly glass and other material such as wood or substitute plate or it can be completely glass. If it is in part, a joint between the parts of the plate is provided.

It is preferred that the protector is a flexible laminar body that occupies less space towards the interior of the apparatus and of a lightweight material, such as a plastic sheet, or a fine plastic or even metallic net. It can also be an adhesive sheet attached to the underside of the glass plate to keep the pieces of glass glued in case of breakage.

It is also preferred that the protector covers the entire lower face and in the area near the lateral sections is arranged between the lower face and the frame. Thus, in the case of breakage of the entire glass plate, the protector will be held by the frame and will not drop any piece into the apparatus.

The frame can be constructed from a single piece of plastic manufactured by direct injection on the glass plate, which facilitates the fixation of the protector to the frame during the manufacturing process, without leaving spaces that can give rise to slits through which they can filter liquids or dirt from outside to inside the device.

Or also, the frame is composed of an outer profile and an inner profile that are joined by enclosing the glass plate by its side sections with a simplified manufacturing process. The union between the profiles can be by connection by clip or glued or even by plastic welding.

To give more versatility to the lid of the apparatus, it is envisioned that the glass plate is at least translucent and the protector is decorated on its side facing the lower face. In this way, we can offer ample possibilities for decoration and information for the user.

Control elements of the device, such as touch control elements that can be operated by the user when touching the upper face of the glass, can be arranged under the protector. The protector can be transparent in order to let the projection light of some information element type information display screen.

Description of the fi gures

The invention will now be described on the basis of some constructive examples reproduced in the following figures that show:

Figure 1 a washing machine with a lid with a glass plate, and

Figure 2 a detail of a section of the lid of the invention.

Description of embodiments of the invention

Figure 1 shows a front-loading home appliance 1 that has a frame open from the top with an upper opening and inside the frame are the functional components of the device 1. The top opening is covered by a cover 3 that has a glass plate 2 covering the entire surface of the lid and having a frame 5 surrounding the glass plate. In another embodiment not shown, part of the plate can be made of plastic or wood with a window that is closed with a glass plate in which device information is shown.

Figure 2 shows a section of the cover 3 of the household appliance in which the frame 5 has been injected from a piece onto the glass plate 2 surrounding the side sections 23 and partly covering the upper face 21 and the lower face 22. The frame also covers the edge of the protector 6 leaving it fixed to the underside 22 of the glass plate 2.

From the same injection, fixing means not shown can be obtained to hold the touch control of the device and the data display elements against the lower face of the plate.

In another embodiment not shown in the fi gures, the frame of the lateral sections is formed by an outer profile and an inner profile, each of which is formed, for example, by an angular profile. Both profiles are manufactured separately by injection. The outer profile partly covers the upper face of the plate and extends downwards until partly touching the frame of the device. The inner profile has a short wing in contact with the lower face of the plate and another wing with which it joins with the downward extension of the outer profile, for example by welding, glue or the like.

Figure 3 shows an appliance 1, in particular a dishwasher with a lid 3 covering it having a glass plate 2 surrounded by a frame 5 comprising the touch control knobs 7 of the appliance 1 and an operation information display element 8 . In this way the front of the device is free of electrical connections, greatly reducing the costs of the device and allowing more space for aesthetic designs. The home appliance 1 is embedded under a kitchen cabinet 9 and the lid can be moved over the home appliance 1 for access to the touch control knobs and the display for displaying the operation of the home appliance.

An advantageous feature of the protector is that it can be decorated without the need to do so with the glass plate. The lower face 22 of the plate can be accessed, either by lifting and separating it from the frame or by a slot in the frame to adhere information to the lower face 22 of the plate when the protector is transparent or partly transparent.

Reference List

one

Home appliance.

2

Glass plate.

3

Top.

5

Framework.

6

Protective.

7

Touch control element.

8

Display element

9

Kitchen furniture.

twenty-one

Upper face.

22

Underside.

2. 3

Lateral sections.

Claims (10)

one.

Household appliance (1) in particular a washing machine, a dishwasher, a refrigerator, a dryer or the like comprising a frame opened upwards by an opening, components inside the frame and a cover (3) to close the opening, where the lid it comprises a frame (5) and a glass plate (2) with an upper face (21), a lower face (22) directed towards the inside of the apparatus and some lateral sections (23) surrounded by the frame (5) characterized in that At least part of the lower face (22) is covered by a protector (6) to collect the pieces of the glass plate (2) in case of breakage of the latter.

2.

Home appliance according to claim 1, characterized in that the protector (6) is a flexible laminar body.

3.

Home appliance according to the preceding claims, characterized in that the protector (6) covers the entire lower face (22) and in the area near the lateral sections (23) is arranged between the lower face (22) and the frame (5).

Four.

Home appliance according to claim 1 characterized in that, the protector (6) is an adhesive sheet adhered to the bottom face (22) of the glass plate (2).

5.

Home appliance according to the preceding claims, characterized in that the frame (5) is composed of a plastic body injected around the glass plate (2).

6.

Home appliance according to claims 1-4, characterized in that the frame (5) is composed of an outer profile and an inner profile that are joined by enclosing the glass plate (2) by its lateral sections (23).

7.

Home appliance according to the preceding claims, characterized in that the protector (6) is decorated on its side facing the lower face (22).

8.

Home appliance according to the preceding claims, characterized in that at least one touch control command (7) of the home appliance (1) and / or a display element (8) for displaying operating data of the home appliance is provided under the protector (6). (one).

9.

Home appliance according to previous claims, characterized in that the cover (3) or part thereof can slide over the home appliance (1).

SPANISH OFFICE OF THE PATENTS AND BRAND Application no .: 200931192 SPAIN Date of submission of the application: 17.12.2009 Priority Date: REPORT ON THE STATE OF THE TECHNIQUE 51 Int. Cl.: D06F39 / 14 (2006.01) RELEVANT DOCUMENTS

Category

56 Documents cited Claims Affected

TO

JP 2001212396 A (SHARP) 07.08.2001, figures & summary of the WPI database; Recovered from EPOQUE; AN 2001-586622. 1-9

TO

US 2009106911 A1 (KIM) 04/30/2009, the whole document. 1-9

TO

EP 1386997 A1 (LG) 04.02.2004, summary; claim 1; figures. one

Category of the documents cited X: of particular relevance Y: of particular relevance combined with other / s of the same category A: reflects the state of the art O: refers to unwritten disclosure P: published between the priority date and the date of priority submission of the application E: previous document, but published after the date of submission of the application

This report has been prepared • for all claims • for claims no:

Date of realization of the report 01.02.2012

Examiner V. Anguiano Mañero Page 1/4

REPORT OF THE STATE OF THE TECHNIQUE Application number: 200931192 Minimum documentation sought (classification system followed by classification symbols) D06F Electronic databases consulted during the search (name of the database and, if possible, terms of search used) INVENES, EPODOC, WPI State of the Art Report Page 2/4  WRITTEN OPINION Application number: 200931192 Date of Written Opinion: 01.02.2012 Statement

Novelty (Art. 6.1 LP 11/1986)

Claims Claims 1-9 IF NOT

Inventive activity (Art. 8.1 LP11 / 1986)

Claims Claims 1-9 IF NOT

The application is considered to comply with the industrial application requirement. This requirement was evaluated during the formal and technical examination phase of the application (Article 31.2 Law 11/1986).  Opinion Base.- This opinion has been made on the basis of the patent application as published. State of the Art Report Page 3/4  WRITTEN OPINION Application number: 200931192 1. Documents considered.- The documents belonging to the state of the art taken into consideration for the realization of this opinion are listed below.

Document

Publication or Identification Number publication date

D01

JP 2001212396 A (SHARP) 07.08.2001

D02

US 2009106911 A1 (KIM) 04/30/2009

D03

EP 1386997 A1 (LG) 04.02.2004

2. Statement motivated according to articles 29.6 and 29.7 of the Regulations for the execution of Law 11/1986, of March 20, on Patents on novelty and inventive activity; quotes and explanations in support of this statement The patent application would comply with the patentability requirements established in articles 6, 8 and 9 of the patent law for the following reasons: The problem posed by the applicant is to prevent pieces of glass from entering the components of the device . For this, a frame with a component in the lower plate is proposed to collect possible pieces of the plate in case of breakage of the plate. The first claim of the patent application describes a device consisting of a frame characterized in that it comprises a cover, frame, plate, side sections and protector in case of breakage. Claims 2,4, 7-9 do not describe technical characteristics that define the scope of protection for which the patent is requested. Specifically, claim 2 indicates that the protector is a flexible laminar body, but without limiting what type of sheet it refers to. Claim 4, as in claim 2 does not delimit the scope of protection. In turn, claim 7 lacks technical characteristics since indicating "the protector is decorated" does not claim any technical element. Claim 8 suffers from a lack of clarity since the expression does not at least limit the scope of protection. Finally, claim 9 is not clear, since "cover or part thereof" leads to confusion. EP 1386997 A1 describes an appliance cover, consisting of a cover, frame, plate and side sections, differing from the application document in that it does not consist of the collection element. The same difference is observed in the documents cited as JP 2001212396 A and US 2009106911, referring to the upper element of the washing machine lid. JP 2001212396 uses a double top cover with another arrangement as indicated and another purpose. Thus, it also describes upper protection frame (31) with lower protective element (36), not indicating that it is made of glass and differentiating in the flanges. The remaining claims comply with the patentability requirements for being dependent on the former. It is recommended to correct claims 2,4,7-9. State of the Art Report Page 4/4