The present invention relates to the field of domestic appliances, such as dishwashers.
Domestic appliances, such as dishwashers and ovens are often installed in cavities within surrounding cabinetry. Dishwashers, for example, are typically installed beneath kitchen worktops, adjacent to kitchen cabinets. Increasingly, refrigerators are also being installed in these locations.
If an appliance is not fixed to the floor or cabinetry in some way or counterbalanced, when it is opened, particularly if it is a drawer style appliance or it has a horizontally hinged door, it tends to tilt about its front bottom edge. This problem is particularly severe when a heavy load, such as a drawer full of crockery, is pulled out of the appliance.
One known solution to this problem is to provide a counterbalance in the appliance. A block of concrete is used to weigh the appliance down and prevent tilting.
Another solution to this problem is to fix the appliance in position. In the past, that has been done by fastening the appliance to the floor, worktop or to the surrounding cabinetry. However, each of these solutions has drawbacks. Screwing cleats into the floor into which the appliance slides damages the floor and requires accurate drilling of holes into various types of floor surface. Screwing the appliance into the cabinetry or worktop requires access to the interior of the appliance and usually requires partial disassembly of the appliance.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a simpler way of securing an appliance within a cavity or at least to provide the public with a useful choice.
In a first aspect the invention consists in an appliance comprising
an outer surface;
a friction member mounted to the outer surface and extending above the outer surface; and
adjustment means for adjusting the distance between a top surface of the friction member and a floor on which the appliance is positioned; such that
in use, the friction member contacts a surface above the appliance.
In a second aspect the invention consists in a method of installing an appliance under a bench or cabinetry, wherein the appliance includes a friction member mounted to an outer surface of the appliance, comprising the step of raising a top surface of the friction member so that it abuts an underside of the bench or cabinetry.
In a third aspect the invention consists in a method of installing an appliance under a bench or cabinetry comprising the steps of:
attaching a friction member to an outer surface of the appliance; and
raising a top surface of the friction member so that it abuts an underside of the bench or cabinetry.
In a fourth aspect the invention consists of a kit for installing an appliance under a bench or cabinetry, comprising:
a friction pad; and
a block,
wherein, in use, the friction pad is fixed to the appliance and the block is fixed to an underside of the bench or cabinetry at a position corresponding to the position of the friction pad.
In a fifth aspect the invention consists in an appliance comprising:
an outer surface, comprising upper and side walls;
a friction member mounted to the outer surface; and
adjustment means for adjusting the distance between an outer surface of the friction member and a surface adjacent to the appliance, in use, the friction member contacting a surface adjacent to appliance.
To those skilled in the art to which the invention relates, many changes in construction and widely differing embodiments and applications of the invention will suggest themselves without departing from the scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims. The disclosures and the descriptions herein are purely illustrative and are not intended to be in any sense limiting.
Examples of the present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.
a to 4e illustrates the operation of the friction pads of the embodiment shown in
The present invention offers a simpler way to secure an appliance within a cavity.
The friction pads 22, 23 are positioned at the rear corners of the top surface of the appliance as this gives the installed appliance the greatest stability. However, it should be clear that any number of friction pads could be used positioned anywhere on the top surface of the appliance. Furthermore, as explained in greater detail with reference to
In the example shown in
A wide variety of materials could be used for the friction pads. The clamping of the dishwasher between the floor and the worktop prevents tilting of the appliance and will provide some horizontal frictional force between the friction pads and the worktop whatever the material and shape of the friction pads. However, preferably, the fiction pads are formed of a material having a high coefficient of friction, such as a rubber, and in use have a significant surface area in contact with the underside of the worktop.
The method of installing the appliance shown in
Alternatively height adjustment of the friction surface may be provided by a height adjustment between the friction pad and the machine chassis, or within the friction pad itself. For example the friction pad may be supported on a threaded rod engaged in a socket of the chassis. Or appliance “feet” may be provided on the upper side of the appliance.
a shows a disc 37. A pair of discs 37, 38 as shown in
The appliance may be locked in place by then adjusting the feet of the appliance, with the blocks providing coarse adjustment to suit the height of the installation cavity. Alternatively height adjustment may be incorporated in the friction pads or between the friction pads and the appliance cabinet or chassis.
The height of the beam can be adjusted by various methods. For example, the beam may be made from an easily carved material. The beam may be asymmetric such that the height of the beam is dependent on its orientation. Alternatively, the beam may be formed from multiple stacked layers, so that the height of the beam can be adjusted by adding or removing layers.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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551533 | Nov 2006 | NZ | national |