GB2231945A - Spin drier closure - Google Patents

Abstract

Spin drier with a housing (11) containing a rotating drum (18), a lid (12) closing the entrance to the drum (18) and which can pivot about a first axis (13), and with a pivoting lever (15) which can pivot about a second axis (16), perpendicular to the plane of the lid (12), the pivoting lever (15) being pivoted, in a first end position. over the lid (12), locking the latter mechanically against opening and simultaneously actuating a switch for a drive motor of the drum (18), whereas the pivoting lever (15), in a second end position, is pivoted away out of the path of movement of the lid (12) and is simultaneously released from the switch, the lid (12) and the pivoting lever (15) being interconnected via a locking linkage (20-32) actuated by contact with an end surface (24) of the lid (12) and which catch-fastens the pivoting lever (15) in the second end position when the lid (12) is open. <IMAGE>

Description

Spin Drier The invention relates to a spin drier with a housing containing a rotating drum, a lid closing the entrance to the drum and which can pivot about a first axis, and with a pivoting lever which can pivot about a second axis, perpendicular to the plane of the lid, the pivoting lever being pivoted, in a first end position, over the lid, locking the latter mechanically against opening and simultaneously actuating a switch for a drive motor of the drum, whereas the pivoting lever, in a second end position, is pivoted away out of the path of movement of the lid and is simultaneously released from the switch.

Spin driers of the abovementioned type are generally known. Such spin driers have an essentially upright cylindrical shape and are closed from above by means of an annular cover. A lid of a likewise annular or, however, also rectangular shape is sunk into the cover and can pivot about a horizontal axis in the rear region of the annular cover such thut the lid can be pivoted upwards in order thereby to permit access to the drum in the housing.

For reasons of safety, the spin driers are provided with the pivoting lever which, in the case of the example mentioned, can pivot about a perpendicular axis which is situated behind the horizontal axis of the lid. In the first end position, the pivoting lever is pivoted into a position over the lid and makes it impossible for the latter to be opened upwards. A switch for the drive motor of the spin drier is simultaneously actuated by the pivoting lever such that the drier can only operate when the pivoting lever is pivoted over the lid and catchfastens the latter mechanically.

When the spinning action has ended, the pivoting lever can be pivoted away to one side so that the lid is now freed and can be opened upwards again. The drive motor of the spin drier is simultaneously switched off by the movement of the pivoting lever such that the spin drier comes to a standstill when the user opens the lid after moving the pivoting lever.

As stringent requirements are currently made on spin driers in terms of the safety of the user, the case must also be considered where a user pushes the pivoting lever with force into the closed position with the lid only partially closed, which has the consequence that the drive motor of the spin drier starts running although at the same time a certain access to the now rotating drum is possible because of the only partially closed lid, by the user, for example, pushing his hand through the gap between lid and cover still left by the lid.

The invention is therefore based on the object of redeveloping a spin drier of the type mentioned at the beginning such that such unintentional or even deliberate incorrect uses of the spin drier, with a risk to the users, are reliably prevented.

According to the invention, this object is achieved in that the lid and the pivoting lever are interconnected via a locking linkage actuated by the lid and which catch-fastens the pivoting lever in the second end position when the lid is open.

The object on which the invention is based is in this way completely achieved because the pivoting lever can now no longer move out of the second end position, namely the release position for the lid, as long as the lid is still completely or partially open. As a result of this mechanical catch-fastening, it is therefore necessary first to close the lid completely before moving the pivoting lever at all and the drive motor of the spin drier can thus be switched on. It is, in particular, no longer possible, with the lid only partially closed, to pivot the pivoting lever with more or less force into a position over the partially closed lid and in this way to switch on the spin drier.

In a preferred embodiment of the spin drier according to the invention, the locking linkage comprises a lock pin, arranged in the housing, which can be displaced along a third axis parallel to the second axis, and a recess which is arranged in the pivoting lever and is aligned with the lock pin only in the second end position.

The advantage of these measures is that a mechanically reliable arresting of the pivoting lever is achieved because a lock pin falls, perpendicularly to the path of movement of the pivoting lever, into the recess of the pivoting lever such that pivoting of the pivoting lever is in this way reliably prevented.

In a further development of this exemplary embodiment, the lock pin can be displaced in the third axis by means of a lock lever which can pivot about a fourth axis parallel to the first axis and is also pivoted when the lid is pivoted.

The advantage of this measure is that the desired actuation of the locking linkage via the lid is achieved with a minimum number of components because the desired conversion of the pivoting movement of the lid into a locking function for the pivoting lever is achieved with essentially only two elements, namely the lock pin and the lock lever.

It is still more preferred in this alternative if a rear side of the lid forms an actuating surface for the lock lever which, in the first end position, is drawn into the housing counter to the force of a spring.

The advantage of this measure is that, in the first end position of the lock lever, no unintentional locking of the pivoting lever can occur, which would lead to the drum motor running permanently. Indeed, in this first end position, the lock pin is drawn, controlled forcibly via the rear side of the lid, counter to the force of the spring such that the lock pin is completely withdrawn from the path of movement of the pivoting lever. On the other hand, when the lid is completely open, the lock pin is automatically extended under the force of the spring and remains there in its catchfastening position for the pivoting lever until the lid is completely closed.The arrangement of the actuating surface of the lid on the rear side of the latter has the advantage here that the space requirement becomes minimal because the rear side of the lid is situated in proximity to the pivot axis of the pivoting lever in proximity to which the lock pin also engages.

Further advantages emerge from the description of the attached drawing.

It is self-evident that the abovementioned features and those additional ones which will be explained below may be used not only in the combination given in each case but also in other combinations or individually without going beyond the scope of the present invention.

An exemplary embodiment of the invention is shown in the drawing and is explained in more detail in the following description. In the drawing: Fig. 1 shows a side view, in partial cross-section and partially cut away, of part of a spin drier accord ing to the invention, with the pivoting lever in-a first end position; Fig. 2 shows the arrangement in Fig. 1 but in a second end position of the pivoting lever with the lid of the spin drier open.

In Figs. 1 and 2, 10 designates as a whole a spin drier of conventional design, i.e. with an essentially upright cylindrical form. A housing 11 of the spin drier 10 has, on its upper side, a lid 12 which can pivot about a first horizontal axis 13, as indicated by an arrow 14.

A pivoting lever 15 is arranged above the lid 12 and can in turn pivot about a second vertical axis 16, as indicated by an arrow 17.

In the position in Fig. 1, the pivoting lever 15 spans the lid 12 such that the latter cannot be opened upwards, whereas in Fig. 2 the pivoting lever 15 is situated in a position perpendicular to the plane of the drawing and is thus pivoted away out of the path of movement of the lid 12.

The lid 12 covers a drum 18 of the spin drier 10, indicated only schematically in Fig. 1, from above. In the representation in Fig. 1, the drum 18 is closed by the lid 12, whereas in the position in Fig. 2, the entrance to the drum is free.

A switch mechanism, known per se and not shown in the figures, is connected to the pivoting lever 15. This switch mechanism consists of an electric switch which is actuated by the pivoting lever 15. If the pivoting lever 15 is situated in the first end position in Fig. 1, in which the lid 12 is mechanically catch-fastened, the switch is closed and the drive motor of the drum 18 switched on. If, on the other hand, the pivoting lever 15 is situated in the second end position in Fig. 2, in which the lid 12 can be opened, the switch is released and the drive motor of the drum 18 switched off.

A lock lever 20, which can pivot about a third horizontal axis 21, as indicated by an arrow 22, is situated in the housing 11. The third axis 21 runs parallel to the first axis 13.

The lock lever 20 has a first lever arm 23 which bears against a rear side 24 of the lid 12. A second lever arm 25 engages into an annular groove 26 of a lock pin 27 with its free end.

The lock pin 27 can be displaced along a fourth axis 28, as indicated by an arrow 29. The fourth axis 28 runs parallel to the second axis 16 but is separated from the latter in a direction perpendicular to the plane of the drawing in Figs. 1 and 2.

The lock pin 27 has, at its upper end, a widened head 30 which runs in a bore 31 of the housing 11 in the direction of the fourth axis 28. A compression spring 32 is arranged between the head 30 and a bottom of the bore 31.

The arrangement works as follows: In the first end position shown in Fig. 1, the lid 12, as mentioned, is situated in the closed position such that the rear side 24, in anticlockwise direction, assumes its end position of the pivoting movement about the first axis 13. As a result, the lock lever 20 is also pivoted, by the rear side 24 bearing against the first lever arm 23, into an end position, and to be precise in a clockwise direction.

In this end position of the lock lever 20, the second lever arm 25 pulls, with its free end which lies positively in the annular groove 26, the lock pin 27 in the direction of the arrow 29 downwards counter to the force of the spring 32. The arrangement here is such that in the end position the head 30 of the lock pin 27 does not project upwards above the opening of the bore 31 or the upper surface of the housing 11.

In addition, it may be envisaged for the pivoting lever 15 to be provided in this position with a continuous supporting surface 40 such that the lock pin 27 does not hinder the pivoting movement of the pivoting lever 15 about the second axis 16.

The pivoting lever 15 may therefore be pivoted about the second axis 16 in the direction of the arrow 17.

This initially happens without any hindrance because the lock lever 20 holds the lock pin 27 with the head 30 in the position drawn into the housing 11.

If, however, the lid 12 is now opened, while the pivoting lever 15 is in the second end position illustrated in Fig. 2, the spring 32 can then relax because one torque more (sic) is exerted on the lock lever 20 via the rear side 24 of the lid 12. The head 30 of the lock pin 27 can therefore emerge out of the bore 31 upwards at least partially, as long as a corresponding recess is situated in the lower side of the pivoting lever 15.

Now the arrangement on the lower side of the pivoting lever 15 is such that in the second end position in Fig. 2 a recess 41 is aligned with the fourth axis 28, the recess 41 being dimensioned such that the head 30 of the lock pin 27 can penetrate into the recess 41. In order to allow this, the recess 41 is arranged in the otherwise continuous supporting surface 40 at a distance from the second axis 16 which corresponds to the distance of the fourth axis 28 from the second axis 16 and the circumferential position of the recess 41 is adjusted such that it is just aligned with the fourth axis 28 and the head 30 of the lock pin 27 in the second end position in Fig. 2.

This locking of the pivoting lever 15 in the second end position in Fig. 2 by means of the lock pin 27 has the consequence that the pivoting lever 15 can no longer be pivoted away out of the second end position as long as the lid 12 is open.

The user of the spin drier 10 must therefore first close the lid 12, completely in fact, because the rear side 24 only comes to bear against the first lever arm 23 with the lid 12 completely closed, so that a torque is then again exerted on the lock lever 20 and the lock pin 27 may be drawn in.

Claims (1)

1. Claims

   1. Spin drier with a housing (11) containing a rotating drum (18), a lid (12) closing the entrance to the drum (18) and which can pivot about a first axis (13), and with a pivoting lever (15) which can pivot about a second axis (16), perpendicular to the plane of the lid (12), the pivoting lever (15) being pivoted, in a first end position, over the lid (12), locking the latter mechanically against opening and simultaneously actuating a switch for a drive motor of the drum (18), whereas the pivoting lever (15), in a second end position, is pivoted away out of the path of movement of the lid (12) and is simultaneously released from the switch, characterized in that the lid (12) and the pivoting lever (15) are interconnected via a locking linkage (20-32) actuated by the lid (12) and which catch-fastens the pivoting lever (15) in the second end position when the lid (12) is open.

   2. Spin drier according to Claim 1, characterized in that the locking linkage (20-32) comprises a lock pin (27), arranged in the housing (11), which can be displaced along a third axis (28) parallel to the second axis (16), and a recess (41) which is arranged in the pivoting lever (15) and is aligned with the lock pin (27) only in the second end position.

   3. Spin drier according to Claim 2, characterized in that the lock pin (27) can be displaced in the third axis (28) by means of a lock lever (20) which can pivot about a fourth axis (21) parallel to the first axis (13) and is also pivoted when the lid (12) is pivoted.

   4. Spin drier according to Claim 3, characterized in that a rear side (24) of the lid (12) forms an actuating surface for the lock lever (20) which, in the first end position, is drawn into the housing (11) counter to the force of a spring (32).

   10. A spin drier substantially as herein described with reference to the accompanying drawing.