Classifications

• • D—TEXTILES; PAPER
  • D06—TREATMENT OF TEXTILES OR THE LIKE; LAUNDERING; FLEXIBLE MATERIALS NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
  • D06F—LAUNDERING, DRYING, IRONING, PRESSING OR FOLDING TEXTILE ARTICLES
  • D06F39/00—Details of washing machines not specific to a single type of machines covered by groups D06F9/00 - D06F27/00 
  • D06F39/12—Casings; Tubs
  • D06F39/14—Doors or covers; Securing means therefor

Definitions

• the invention relates to a front-loading washing machine door that comprises an annular door frame, an annular plastic frame cover arranged to cover the door frame, and a circular window component with one edge held between the door frame and the frame cover, with the door frame and cover joined together using fastening elements.
• Patent application WO2009/1251 1 A1 describes a front-loading washing machine door that has a door frame, a glass window component with an edge connected to the door frame, and a lens component that closes off the depression formed by the window component to create a void in the door.
• This door has a frame and cover that are held to a window component by being fastened to each other with screws.
• a normal door can have up to ten screws, which leads to a rather long assembly time.
• the only way to reduce the assembly time is by using automatic screwdrivers. This type of machine requires a large investment that sometimes is not easy to make. For this reason, other assembly alternatives have been sought that do not require such a large investment and that reduce assembly cycle time.
• the object of the invention is to provide a front-loading washing machine door characterized by simple manufacture, reduced cost, and reduced manufacturing cycle time.
• a front-loading washing machine door that has an annular door frame, an annular frame cover arranged to cover the door frame, and a circular window component with an edge held between the door frame and the frame cover, wherein the door frame and the cover are bonded by fastening elements, and wherein the fastening element has a bonding element that is made/bonded integrally as a single piece with the frame cover, and one end of the bonding element that protrudes through a hole in the door frame opposite the frame cover is widened out toward the edge of the hole to form a head, fastening the door frame by a form-fit connection.
• the door frame and the frame cover can be of different materials, and the frame need not even be of plastic but can be made of sheet metal or another lightweight material.
• the heads of the bonding elements that serve as the fastening elements can be simply and quickly widened simultaneously with a simplified tool.
• the number of bonding elements which are needed can be implemented without increasing the cost of manufacturing material.
• the bonding element has a hollow pin, particularly with a cylindrical aperture into which a tool is inserted that melts and pushes the material outwardly, shaping it conformally over the outer wall of the door frame. If needed, it can be reinforced by adding a screw screwed into the cylindrical hole.
• a pin is provided having an outer diameter of at least 4.5 mm, in particular at least 5 mm, preferably 5.5 mm and shaped with at least one cavity, in particular a groove-shaped cavity, which extends in the axial direction x, and being open on the head end.
• this cavity is closed on the end of the pin where it joins the inner part of the frame cover so that from outside the door the hole is not seen.
• it also could be left accessible to insert and fasten a decorative piece viewed from outside of the door.
• ABS plastic A very common technical plastic material for aesthetic parts of washing machine doors is ABS plastic, with which the door cover can be made while the door frame can be made of PP plastic, with poorer aesthetic characteristics than ABS plastic. In this way the price of plastic materials as a whole is reduced.
• Figure 1 shows a perspective view of a front-loading washing machine door with its parts unassembled
• Figure 2a a schematic cross section of a door before fastening with the separate melting tool
• Figure 2b the schematic cross section of the door of Figure 2a during fastening using the melting tool
• Figure 3 a detailed cross section of a bonding element of the invention unassembled.
• FIG 1 shows a perspective view of a set of parts for door 1 of a front-loading washing machine.
• Doors of this type are circular and include an annular frame assembly formed by door frame 2 and frame cover 4. These close up together so as to grasp edge 31 of concave window component 3, which during machine operation, is introduced into the washing cavity allowing the user to see the wash load.
• From the inner face of frame cover 4 protrude six hollow pins 6 that align the frame cover with door frame 2, and pass through six apertures 7 made in the surface thereof for this purpose.
• the frame cover 4 is a piece that is visible by the user and consequently contributes to the machine's appearance and should be manufactured of ABS plastic for aesthetic reasons.
• Door frame 2 often is of PP because the aesthetic requirement is less and PP is cheaper than ABS.
• Figure 2a is shown a section of the door frame assembly of Figure 1 after aligning frame cover 4 with door frame 2 and with edge 31 of window component 3 bound between them. Bonding element 6 passes for approximately 5 mm through aperture 7 from edge 71 thereof. Plastic melting tool 9 is lined up with end 8 of pin 6.
• Figure 2b shows tool 9 pressing on the end of the pin giving it a head shape which deforms out over edge 71 of the aperture.
• the head prevents the door frame and the frame cover from separating.
• door frame 4 can be made of PP because what is done is "riveting" of the pins of ABS door cover 4 over the PP door frame. In this way, costs are not increased by changing materials and, in addition, there are savings in materials costs.
• Figure 3 shows an enlargement of Figure 2a of the end of pin 6 protruding above edge 71 of aperture 7 of door frame 2.
• the pins need to protrude a minimum of 5 mm above the door frame to obtain a good weld.
• the pin diameter needs to fit the diameter of aperture 7 in door frame 2 as tightly as possible so that melted material will not flow into the inside of the frame assembly. All the melted material should form head 8 of the rivet.
• the outer diameter of the pin should be a minimum of 4.5 mm, preferably 5 mm at a minimum, although ideally it is 5.5 mm to make it stronger.
• the primary advantages are the elimination of screws, with consequent savings in material, and a reduction in assembly cycle time.
• the primary advantage is that the door frame and the frame cover can be of different materials.
• the number of pins can be optionally selected for suitable assembly of door 1. Increasing the number of pins requires no increase in costs. The investment does increase a little but only slightly since the tool is less expensive than an automatic screwing unit.

Landscapes

• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Textile Engineering (AREA)
• Main Body Construction Of Washing Machines And Laundry Dryers (AREA)

Priority Applications (4)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Publications (1)

Family

ID=44189547

Family Applications (1)

Country Status (6)

Cited By (3)

Families Citing this family (1)

Citations (4)

Family Cites Families (3)

• 2011
  • 2011-05-11 ES ES201130510U patent/ES1074998Y/es not_active Expired - Fee Related
• 2012
  • 2012-05-08 WO PCT/IB2012/052272 patent/WO2012153261A1/en active Application Filing
  • 2012-05-08 CN CN201280022690.XA patent/CN103703179A/zh active Pending
  • 2012-05-08 PL PL12724167T patent/PL2707534T3/pl unknown
  • 2012-05-08 EP EP12724167.7A patent/EP2707534B1/en active Active
  • 2012-05-08 RU RU2013151660/12A patent/RU2571015C9/ru active

Patent Citations (4)

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