The disclosure relates generally to an adjustable roller assembly for a household appliance and, more particularly, to an adjustable roller assembly including a foot of a refrigerator that is configured to permit rolling movement as well as height adjustment of the refrigerator.
Household appliances, including refrigerators, are known to include feet on which the appliance can sit on a floor or other surface. In some examples, the feet can roll to permit rolling movement of the appliance allowing relocation of the appliance for cleaning or other purposes. In other examples, the feet can be adjustable to permit height adjustment or leveling of the appliance. An improved adjustable roller assembly including a foot of a household appliance is desirable.
The following presents a simplified summary of the disclosure in order to provide a basic understanding of some example aspects described in the detailed description.
In a first aspect of the disclosure, an adjustable roller assembly for a household appliance includes a mounting base, an adjustable foot, and a height adjusting ring. The mounting base is configured to attach to a household appliance. The adjustable foot is configured to slidably engage the mounting base, and the height adjusting ring is configured to engage the adjustable foot. Based at least on a rotation of the height adjusting ring, the height adjusting ring is configured to adjust a position of the adjustable foot relative to the mounting base to at least one of raise and lower a household appliance relative to the adjustable foot.
The adjustable foot includes a roller configured to contact a surface to permit rolling movement of the household appliance on the surface.
The mounting base includes a channel within which the adjustable foot is configured to slide. The adjustable foot includes at least one protrusion configured to engage at least one slot formed on an inner surface of the channel. The slot includes an end against which the at least one protrusion is configured to contact to prevent the adjustable foot from sliding completely out of the channel.
The height adjusting ring includes a plurality of projections arranged around an exterior perimeter thereof. The plurality of projections are configured to permit a user to grip the height adjusting ring to impart a rotational force thereon.
The mounting base includes a surface to which foamed-in insulation is configured to adhere to secure the mounting base to a household appliance. The surface includes additional structure to provide increased surface area to which the foamed-in insulation is configured to adhere. The additional structure includes a honey comb pattern. The mounting base further includes a recess formed on a side thereof to which foamed-in insulation is configured to adhere to further secure the mounting base to a household appliance.
The first aspect of the disclosure may be provided alone or in combination with one or any combination of the examples of the first aspect of the disclosure discussed above.
In a second aspect of the disclosure, a household appliance includes an adjustable roller assembly. The adjustable roller assembly includes a mounting base, an adjustable foot, and a height adjusting ring. The mounting base is attached to the household appliance. The adjustable foot is slidably engaged with the mounting base, and the height adjusting ring is threadably engaged with the adjustable foot. Based at least on a rotation of the height adjusting ring, the height adjusting ring adjusts a position of the adjustable foot relative to the mounting base to at least one of raise and lower the household appliance relative to the adjustable foot.
The household appliance includes at least one of a frame and a cabinet that includes an aperture within which at least a portion of the mounting base is positioned.
The adjustable foot includes a roller configured to contact a surface to permit rolling movement of the household appliance on the surface.
The mounting base includes a surface to which foamed-in insulation adheres to secure the mounting base to the household appliance. The surface includes additional structure to which the foamed-in insulation adheres.
The mounting base includes a channel within which the adjustable foot is configured to slide. The adjustable foot includes at least one protrusion configured to engage at least one slot formed on an inner surface of the channel.
The second aspect of the disclosure may be provided alone or in combination with one or any combination of the examples of the second aspect of the disclosure discussed above.
In a third aspect of the disclosure, a method of assembling an adjustable roller assembly in a household appliance includes providing a household appliance having an aperture formed therein. The method further includes positioning a mounting base in the aperture and foaming insulation in the household appliance. At least a portion of the insulation contacts a surface of the mounting base to, at least in part, secure the mounting base to the household appliance. The adjustable roller assembly includes an adjustable foot configured to slidably engage the mounting base and a height adjusting ring configured to threadably engage the adjustable foot. Based at least on a rotation of the height adjusting ring, the height adjusting ring is configured to adjust a position of the adjustable foot relative to the mounting base to at least one of raise and lower the household appliance relative to the adjustable foot.
The aperture is formed in at least one of a frame and a cabinet of the household appliance.
The method further includes attaching the mounting base to the household appliance with a fastener prior to foaming insulation in the household appliance. The method still further includes removing the fastener after foaming insulation in the household appliance. Removing the fastener provides an attachment location on the household appliance. The method then includes attaching a component of the household appliance to the household appliance with at least one of the removed fastener and another fastener at the attachment location.
The third aspect of the disclosure may be provided alone or in combination with one or any combination of the examples of the third aspect of the disclosure discussed above.
These as well as other aspects of the disclosure are better understood when the following detailed description is read with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:
In the following description of the present invention reference is made to the accompanying drawings which form a part thereof, and in which is shown, by way of illustration, exemplary embodiments illustrating the principles of the present invention and how it may be practiced. It is to be understood that other embodiments may be utilized to practice the present invention and structural and functional changes may be made thereto without departing from the scope of the present invention.
Embodiments of the present invention relate to an adjustable roller assembly for a household appliance. The present invention will now be described with reference to the drawings, wherein like reference numerals are used to refer to like elements throughout. It is to be appreciated that the various drawings are not necessarily drawn to scale from one figure to another or within a given figure. Also, the sizes of the components are somewhat arbitrarily drawn in order to facilitate an understanding of the drawings. In the following description, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the present invention, but it can be possible in certain instances to practice the present invention without those specific details. Additionally, the examples discussed are not intended to be a limit on the invention. For example, one or more aspects of the disclosed examples can be utilized in other examples and even other types of apparatus and devices.
In reference to the disclosure herein, for purposes of convenience and clarity only, directional terms, such as, top, bottom, left, right, up, down, upper, lower, over, above, below, beneath, rear, and front, may be used. Such directional terms should not be construed to limit the scope of the invention in any manner. It is to be understood that embodiments presented herein are by way of example and not by way of limitation. The intent of the following detailed description, although discussing exemplary embodiments, is to be construed to cover all modifications, alternatives, and equivalents of the embodiments as may fall within the spirit and scope of the invention.
When placing an appliance in a household for use it is important that the appliance is level upon placement in the desired location. For example, in a refrigerator it is important that the refrigerator is level so the shelves in the refrigerator will be level to prevent items in the refrigerator from shifting uncontrollably or breaking. Additionally, mobility of the appliance is desired so a user can move the appliance to other locations in the household. When a user moves the appliance to a new location it is important that the appliance is still level in the new location or can be leveled in the new location. The disclosed device can be attached to a part of a base of the appliance to allow a user to adjust the height of that part of the appliance. The device further includes a roller to allow a user to adjust the location of the appliance.
Referring to
Referring to
The top surface 32 may be configured such that foamed-in insulation 104 (see
In an embodiment, shown in
In an embodiment of the second protrusion 48, shown in
In another embodiment, the second protrusion 48 comprises a generally cylindrical shape including a first portion and a second portion, where the first portion has a larger diameter than the second portion. The connection between the first and second portion creates an end that extends around the entire perimeter of the channel 50. The adjustable foot 60 comprises a generally cylindrical shape with a third portion and a fourth portion, where the outer diameter of the third portion is substantially similar to the inner diameter of the first portion and the outer diameter of the fourth portion is substantially similar to the inner diameter of the second portion. Such that, when the adjustable foot 60 is placed in the mounting base 30, the third portion contacts the end and the adjustable foot 60 is not removable.
In an embodiment of the second protrusion 48, shown in
The household appliance 10 may be a refrigerator, a portion of which is illustrated in
In a version of an embodiment of the appliance aperture 92 in the frame 90, the frame 90 further includes a frame protrusion 94 adjacent the appliance aperture 92. The frame protrusion 94 is configured to be insertable into the hollow space of the mounting base 30 first protrusion 42. The frame protrusion 94 assists in properly orienting the mounting base 30 during insertion into the appliance aperture 92. In one embodiment, the appliance frame 90 may include further apertures that align with the apertures in the side wall of the mounting body to assist in securing the mounting body to the housing appliance. In another embodiment, the housing appliance may include a cabinet with the appliance aperture 92 in the cabinet, however any suitable location of the appliance aperture 92 may be used.
As shown in
As shown in
As shown in
One embodiment of a method of assembling an adjustable roller assembly 20 in a household appliance 10 includes the step of providing a household appliance 10 having an appliance aperture 92 formed therein, a mounting base 30, an adjustable foot 60, and a height adjusting ring 80. The method includes positioning the mounting base 30 in the appliance aperture 92. The method further includes the step of foaming insulation 104 into the household appliance 10. At least a portion of the insulation 104 contacts a top surface 32 of the mounting base 30 to, at least in part, secure the mounting base 30 to the household appliance 10. The method further includes the step of adjustably attaching the adjustable foot 60 to the mounting base 30. In one embodiment, the mounting base 30 includes a protrusion defining a hollow space and the adjustable foot 60 is at least partially inserted into the protrusion. Additionally, the method includes adjustably attaching the height adjusting ring 80 to the adjustable foot 60 to adjust the position of the adjustable foot 60 with respect to the mounting base 30. The height adjusting ring 80 may also adjust the position of the adjustable foot 60 with respect to the household appliance 10.
The method may further include attaching the mounting base 30 to the household appliance 10 with at least one mounting fastener 106 prior to foaming insulation 104 into the household appliance 10. The method may further include removing the at least one mounting fastener 106 after foaming insulation 104 in the household appliance 10. The at least one mounting fastener 106 may then be used to removably attach a component 102 to the household appliance 10 via the mounting base 30. As shown in
In one embodiment of this method, the appliance aperture 92 is formed in a frame 90 of the household appliance 10. In another embodiment, the appliance aperture 92 is formed in a cabinet of the household appliance 10. The appliance aperture 92 may be located where suitable in the housing appliance.
It should be evident that this disclosure is by way of example and that various changes may be made by adding, modifying or eliminating details without departing from the fair scope of the teaching contained in this disclosure. The invention is therefore not limited to particular details of this disclosure except to the extent that the following claims are necessarily so limited.