WO2007110442A1

WO2007110442A1 - A locking mechanism for a household appliance

Info

Publication number: WO2007110442A1
Application number: PCT/EP2007/052998
Authority: WO
Inventors: Ersin Donmez; Bogac Simsir; Mehmet Durmaz
Original assignee: Arcelik Anonim Sirketi
Priority date: 2006-03-29
Filing date: 2007-03-29
Publication date: 2007-10-04
Also published as: TR200806010T1

Abstract

The present invention relates to a household appliance (1) comprising a door (3) that is locked by a locking mechanism (4). In the said household appliance (1), a biasing means (9) preferably made of plastic, comprising at least two separate springs (11, 12), one pushing the handle (8) and the other pushing the hook (6) is provided.

Description

A LOCKING MECHANISM FOR A HOUSEHOLD APPLIANCE

[0001] The present invention relates to household appliances wherein the door is locked by a locking mechanism.

[0002] In household appliances like the refrigerator, washing machine or the dryer, a door is provided that closes the body or a compartment within the body. This door is locked to the body by a locking mechanism. The locking mechanisms used in the front loaded washing machines basically comprise a pin situated in the body and a hook on the door that clutches this pin preventing the door from opening. One end of the hook is rotatably attached to a shaft housed at the inner portion of the door. The other end of the hook extends towards the pin in the body from an opening on the door. The hook provides locking by clutching the pin. A handle is used to open the door, which is attached to the shaft to which the hook is fastened. When the handle is pulled, the hook rotates and gets free of the pin.

[0003] In some of the state of the art applications, springs are used for the hook to stay clutched to the pin and the handle to resume its initial position.

[0004] A state of the art application is explained in the international patent application no. WO03/057973. In this application, a spring is provided that applies force on the hook. In applications wherein a spring is utilized that apply pressure only on the hook, the hook transmits the force applied thereupon to the handle by means of a contact surface. However, in time, erosions may form on the contact surface and the formed gap results in the handle to move in place making a noise and also the user to be confronted with a gap while turning the handle. In more extreme conditions, the handle can no longer be used. When design is made with a certain tolerance by taking into consideration this erosion, then problems arise in inserting the hook in the lock.

[0005] In the German patent application no. DE3809998, explanation is given for a spring- loaded catch and the window handle have a common spring that exerts pressure on the catch and the handle. However, since this spring is formed by bending a wire, when one of the elements is moved the other also moves.

[0006]

[0007] In some of the state of the art implementations, separate springs are used for the handle and the hook. In this case material and labor costs increase.

[0008] The objective of the present invention is to design a household appliance comprising a durable locking mechanism, which is readily assembled and produced. [0009] The household appliance designed to fulfill the objective of the present invention is explicated in the attached claims. In the said household appliance, a biasing means is explicated, preferably made of plastic, comprising at least two separate springs, one pushing the handle and the other the hook.

[0010] The springs are arm- like pieces that extend departing from a common base like the teeth of a comb, with the movement of one not affecting the other. The springs can extend to the same side of the base or extend to the different sides, depending on how the elements of the locking mechanism are positioned relative to each other. Each of the springs has at least one coil to provide biasing features. The springs are separate pieces with no other connection between them than the base. Since the base has a rigid structure that does not transmit the motion of one spring to the other, the movement of one spring does not affect the other.

[0011] A shaft housing that bears the shaft therein is provided on the spring that pushes the handle. The shaft that passes through this shaft housing and fitted into the two bearings in the door contribute in preventing the transmission of biasing movement of the handle spring to the base.

[0012] By utilizing a biasing means comprising two independent springs, the noise of handle and the gap felt by the user while pulling the handle is prevented even if the handle and the hook are worn away by time.

[0013] The household appliance designed to fulfill the objective of the present invention is illustrated in the attached figures, where:

[0014] Rgure 1 - is the perspective view of a household appliance.

[0015] Rgure 2 - is the detailed perspective view of the locking mechanism inside the door.

[0016] Rgure 3 - is the top perspective view of the biasing means.

[0017] Rgure 4 - is the bottom perspective view of the biasing means.

[0018] Rgure 5 - is A-A sectional view of the locking mechanism.

[0019] Rgure 6 - is B-B sectional view of the locking mechanism.

[0020] The elements illustrated in the figures are numbered as follows:

1. Household appliance

2. Body

3. Door

4. Locking mechanism

5. Shaft

6. Hook 7. Hn

8. Handle

9. Biasing means

10. Base

11. Hook spring

12. Handle spring

13. Shaft housing

14. , 140. Coil

15. , 150. Abutment

16. Support

17. Bearing

[0021] The household appliance (1) of the present invention, for example a washing machine, refrigerator, dryer etc. comprises a body (2), a door (3) that provides access into the body (2) and a locking mechanism (4) providing the door (3) to be locked to the body (2) (Rgure 1).

[0022] The locking mechanism (4) comprises:

- two bearings (17), situated on two vertical elements at the interior of the door

(3),

- a shaft (5) rotatably fitted into these bearings (17) from its ends,

- a hook (6) rotatably attached from one end to the shaft (5) and the other end going out from the door (3) extending towards the body (2),

- a pin (7) situated on the body (2), to which the hook (6) is fitted thereby providing locking, and

- a handle (8) rotatably attached to the shaft (5) and moving the hook (6) to set it free from the pin (7) (Rgure 2).

[0023] The locking mechanism (4) utilized in the household appliance (1) of the present invention furthermore comprises a biasing means (9) having:

- a base (10) situated inside the door (3),

- at least one hook spring (11) with one end attached to the base (10) and the other free end providing the hook (6) to stay attached to the pin (7) by exerting pressure on the hook (6) and,

- at least one handle spring (12) with one end attached to the base (10) and the other free end providing the handle (8) to stay farther away from the pin (7) by exerting pressure on the handle (8) (Rgure 3 and Rgure 4). The hook spring (11) and the handle spring (12) are elements wherein one does not affect the movement of the other and can be situated on the same side of the base (10) or on different sides thereof, depending on the positions of the handle (8) and the hook (6). The base (10) is a stationary element with respect to the springs (11, 12) and its position inside the door (3) is almost fixed. In this way the base (10) forms a support for the springs (11, 12).

[0024] The biasing means (9) is a monoblock element made of metal material in sheets with various forming methods or prefer±ily from plastic. Even though the biasing means (10) is a monoblock element, the hook spring (11) and the handle spring (12) do not unite in any way or contact each other after leaving the base (10), therefore are dble to exert pressure on the hook (6) and the handle (8) separately. The base (10), being their only relative common connection to each other, has a rigid structure and does not transmit the biasing movement of one spring (e.g. 11) to the other (e.g. 12). In order for the springs (11, 12) to be ±>le to bias, their width parallel to the shaft (5) is greater than the wall thickness in the direction perpendicular thereof.

[0025] In this embodiment of the present invention, the biasing means (9) comprises at least one coil (14, 140) on the springs (11, 12) so that they can stretch better. These coils (14, 140) help in the stretching (deflection) of the springs (11, 12) and later to resume their initial forms.

[0026] In another embodiment of the present invention, the biasing means (9) comprises an butment (15, 150) at the end of the springs (11, 12) that is seated on the hook (6) or the handle (8) so that it can exert force better and not slide.

[0027] When the user wants to open the door (3), she pulls the handle (8) towards herself. The handle (8) that rotates around the shaft (5) squeezes the handle spring (12) that pushes it by means of the ±iutment (150). The hook (6) that rotates around the shaft (5) by the contact of the handle (8) gets free of the pin (7) as it squeezes the hook spring (11) that pushes it. When the user lets go of the handle (8), the squeezed handle spring (12) pushes ba:k the handle (8) causing it to depart from the hook (6) and the hook spring (11) pushes back the hook (6) to its former position.

[0028] When the user pushes the open door (3) towards the body (2), the hook (6) starts rotating around the shaft (6) since the end of the hook (6) bears on the pin (7). The rotating hook (6) squeezes the hook spring (11) that pushes itself via the ±iutment (15). The hook (6) that reaches to the other side of the pin (7) by rotating, clutches on the pin (7) from the rear by the pushing of the hook spring (11) and keeps this position as long as the door (3) is closed.

[0029] The small movements of the handle (8) and the hook (6) are not transmitted to one another since they are pushed by two separate springs (11, 12) that function independently. This decreases wearing away and prolongs the service life of the locking mechanism (4). Furthermore, the wear that occurs in time does not upset the functioning of the locking mechanism (4).

[0030] In another embodiment of the present invention, in the biasing means (9) comprises two handle springs (12) that originate from the same side of the base (10) extending side by side, bearing on the handle (8) and a hook spring (11) in between thereof that bears on the hook (6). The three springs (11, 12) are parallel to each other and separated by a certain distance from each other. By utilizing two handle springs (12) the force with the required magnitude can be exerted on the handle (8), which is a larger element.

[0031] In this embodiment of the present invention, the biasing means (9) furthermore comprises a shaft housing (13) on the handle spring (12) for the passage of the shaft (5) (Figure 3 and Figure 4).

[0032] In this embodiment, the shaft housing (13) also has an oval shape with its dimension in the horizontal direction being almost the same as the diameter of the shaft (5), and the dimension in the vertical direction being greater than the diameter of the shaft (5). Accordingly, while the movement of the handle spring (12) and the shaft (5) are limited in one direction with respect to each other, in the other direction they are allowed some amount of freedom. Consequently, the movement of the shaft (5) that is bent as a result of the movements of the hook (6) or the handle (8) is transmitted to the handle spring (12) in the least amount.

[0033] In this embodiment, the hook spring (11) is prefer bly shorter than the handle spring (12). After the hook (6), the handle (8) and the biasing means (9) are aligned between the bearings (17), the shaft (5) is inserted through all of them and bears on the door (3). When the shaft (5) is fitted in place, the hook spring (11) exerts pressure from one side of the shaft (5) to the hook (6) and the handle springs (12) exert pressure from the other side of the shaft (5) on the handle (8). The coil (140) of the handle spring (12) and the coil (14) of the hook spring (11) are on different sides of the shaft housing (13). So even if the handle spring (12) is biased, the biasing movement can not be transmitted to the other side of the shaft (5), allowing better separation (independence) of the springs (11, 12) from each other.

[0034] In the household appliance (1) of the present invention, the door (3) comprises a support (16) on which the base (10) is seated (Figure 5 and Figure 6). Consequently, the base (10) does not move and the entire force of the springs (11, 12) is transmitted to the hook (6) and the handle (8). By means of the household appliance of the present invention, it has been possible for a monoblock biasing means (9) to exert force on the handle (8) and the hook (6) separately. Consequently, a household appliance (1) comprising a locking mechanism (4) that is more dur±ile with ease of assembly is achieved.

Claims

[0001] A household appliance (1) comprising a body

(2), a door

(3) providing access into this body (2) and a locking mechanism

(4) having two bearings (17), situated on two vertical elements at the interior of the door (3), a shaft (5) rotatably fitted into these bearings (17), a hook (6) rotatably attached from one end to the shaft (5) and the other end going out from the door (3) extending towards the body (2), a pin (7) situated on the body (2), to which the hook (6) is clutched thereby providing locking, and a handle (8) rotatably attached to the shaft

(5) and moving the hook (6) to set it free from the pin (7) and characterized by a locking mechanism (4) comprising a biasing means (9) having: a base (10) situated inside the door (3), at least one hook spring (11) with one end attached to the base (10) and the other free end providing the hook (6) to stay attached to the pin (7) by exerting pressure on the hook

(6) and at least one handle spring (12) with one end attached to the base (10) and the other free end foicing the handle (8) to stay farther away from the pin

(7) by exerting pressure on the handle

(8), the movement of the former not affecting the latter, and at least one coil (14, 140) each on the hook spring (11) and the handle spring (12) respectively for them to bias more effectively.

[0002] A household appliance (1) as in Claim 1, characterized by a biasing means (9) produced of metal sheet material by various forming methods.

[0003] A household appliance (1) as in Claim 1, characterized by a monoblock biasing means (9) produced of plastic.

[0004] A household appliance (1) as in Claim 2 or 3, characterized by a biasing means

(9) the width of which in the parallel direction to the shaft (5) is greater than its wall thickness in the perpendicular direction thereof.

[0005] A household appliance (1) as in any one of the above claims, characterized by a biasing means (9) comprising an abutment (15, 150) on the end of the spring (11, 12) that is seated on the hook (6) or the handle (8).

[0006] A household appliance (1) as in any one of the above claims, characterized by two handle springs (12) that originate from the same side of the base (10) and extend side by side, bearing on the handle (8) and one hook spring (11) in between these that bears on the hook (6).

[0007] A household appliance (1) as in Claim 6, characterized by the hook spring (11) being shorter than the handle spring (12), with the hook spring (11) exerting pressure from one side of the shaft (5) on the hook (6) and the two handle springs (12) exerting pressure from the other side of the shaft (5) on the handle

(8). [0008] A household appliance (1) as in any one of the above claims, characterized by a biasing means (9) comprising a shaft housing (13) on the handle spring (12) for the passage of the shaft (5). [0009] A household appliance (1) as in Claim 8, characterized by an oval shaped shaft housing (13) with the horizontal dimension being almost the same as the diameter of the shaft (5) and the vertical dimension greater than the diameter of the shaft (5). [0010] A household appliance (1) as in any one of the above claims, characterized by a door (3) comprising a support (16) on which the base (10) is seated.