Patent Application
20240035222
The present disclosure relates generally to laundry appliances and more particularly to a door-in-door closure assembly for a front-load washer and dryer combination appliance.
The statements in this section merely provide background information related to the present disclosure and may not constitute prior art.
Laundry appliances (i.e., laundry machines, washing machines, and dryers) are prolific in both residential and commercial settings. Traditionally, separate washer and dryer machines have been used in tandem to clean and dry laundry. However, there is a growing market for washer and dryer combination appliances where a single machine performs both the washing and drying functions, thereby eliminating the need for two separate machines. There are a number of different names used to describe washer and dryer combination appliances, including without limitation, “washer/dryer combos” and “all-in-one washer dryers.” While these appliances save space compared to separate washer and dryer machines, combining the washing and drying functions into a single appliance presents a number of engineering challenges.
Many washer and dryer combination appliances have a front-load appliance configuration, where the washer and dryer combination appliance includes an appliance housing with a front appliance opening. A drum is positioned in and is rotatable with respect to the appliance housing. The drum typically has a front end with a drum opening that provides access to a laundry compartment inside the drum.
During both washing and drying cycles, a motor housed within the appliance housing rotates the drum. During the washing cycle, laundry repeatedly tumbles into water in the lower part of the drum and is then lifted back out of the water as the drum rotates. This action can generate considerable vibration and thumping. The drum is therefore suspended within the appliance housing so that this vibration and thumping can be absorbed. In conventional washing machines, a large rubber bellows is used to provide a dynamic seal between the drum opening and the appliance door. This large rubber bellows can accommodate large movements of the drum relative to the appliance housing and therefore provides good sealing during a washing cycle. However, large rubber bellows do not typically provide good fire containment capabilities. This is not problematic in washing machine applications, but fire containment capability is an important consideration when designing a washer and dryer combination appliance since a heater (usually electric, natural gas, or propane) is typically used in such appliances to heat drying air during the drying cycle. Rubber bellows can also have other drawbacks, including creating odor problems due to the lint, floc, and hair that can accumulate on the bellows and prevent proper drying of the rubber bellows between wash cycles.
The washer and dryer combination appliance described herein does not have a rubber bellows, so alternative door designs had to be developed for this particular application.
This section provides a general summary of the disclosure and is not a comprehensive disclosure of its full scope or all of its features.
In accordance with one aspect of the present disclosure, a laundry appliance is provided, which includes an appliance housing with a front appliance opening, a wash unit tub that is supported within the appliance by a suspension system that permits relative movement between the wash unit tub and the appliance housing, and a drum that is positioned in and rotatable with respect to the wash unit tub. The drum includes a laundry compartment and a drum opening that provides access to the laundry compartment. The wash unit tub includes a front ring, a rear tub wall, and a tub sidewall that extends from the front ring to the rear tub wall. The front ring of the wash unit tub includes a laundry compartment opening that is positioned in at least partial alignment with the front appliance opening and the drum opening to provide access to the laundry compartment inside the drum.
The laundry appliance has a door-in-door configuration and therefore has a door assembly with an outer door and an inner door. The outer door is pivotally coupled to the appliance housing by an outer door hinge assembly and serves primarily aesthetic purposes as it can be seen from outside the laundry appliance. The inner door is pivotally coupled to the wash unit tub by an inner door hinge assembly and serves primarily function purposes, including sealing the laundry compartment opening. In particular, a door seal may be mounted to the wash unit tub. The door seal extends around the laundry compartment opening and is configured to contact and form a fluid-tight seal against the inner door when the inner door is closed.
In accordance with one aspect of the present disclosure, the inner door hinge assembly includes a hinge leaf that is mounted to the wash unit tub, a pivoting track that is pivotally coupled to the hinge leaf by a hinge pin, and a slide that is mounted to the inner door. The slide is coupled to the pivoting track in a manner that permits lateral movement between the slide and the track.
In accordance with another aspect of the present disclosure, a telescopic attachment assembly couples the inner door to the outer door so that the inner and outer doors swing (i.e., articulate) together between open and closed positions while still permitting the inner door to move and oscillate with the wash unit tub, and relative to the outer door, when the inner and outer doors are in the closed position.
In accordance with another aspect of the present disclosure, the telescopic attachment assembly comprises a coupler that is mounted to the outer door and includes a hemispherical flange. An opposing hemispherical socket in the inner door receives the hemispherical flange of the coupler in a sliding fit. In accordance with this aspect of the design, the inner and outer doors are coupled together by the telescopic attachment assembly and swing together between open and closed positions, but the inner door remains free to move and oscillate with the wash unit tub, and relative to the outer door, when the inner and outer doors are in the closed position.
Advantageously, the door-in-door closure design described herein eliminates a bellow-type door seal and therefore solves the fire containment and odor problems that can arise with bellow-type door seals. At the same time, the combination of the inner door hinge assembly and the telescopic attachment assembly allows the inner and outer doors to move (i.e., swing together) while still allowing the inner door to move and oscillate with the wash unit tub during tumbling (i.e., during rotation of the drum in the washing and/or drying cycles) when the inner and outer doors are closed. This means that improved fluid sealing and fire containment performance can be achieved without requiring a user to separately open and close two separate doors.
Other advantages of the present disclosure will be readily appreciated, as the same becomes better understood by reference to the following detailed description when considered in connection with the accompanying drawings wherein:
Referring to the Figures, wherein like numerals indicate corresponding parts throughout the several views, a laundry appliance 20 is illustrated.
Example embodiments will now be described more fully with reference to the accompanying drawings. Example embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough, and will fully convey the scope to those who are skilled in the art. Numerous specific details are set forth such as examples of specific components, devices, and methods, to provide a thorough understanding of embodiments of the present disclosure. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that specific details need not be employed, that example embodiments may be embodied in many different forms and that neither should be construed to limit the scope of the disclosure. In some example embodiments, well-known processes, well-known device structures, and well-known technologies are not described in detail.
The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular example embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting. As used herein, the singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the” may be intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. The terms “comprises,” “comprising,” “including,” and “having,” are inclusive and therefore specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and/or groups thereof. The method steps, processes, and operations described herein are not to be construed as necessarily requiring their performance in the particular order discussed or illustrated, unless specifically identified as an order of performance. It is also to be understood that additional or alternative steps may be employed.
When an element or layer is referred to as being “on,” “engaged to,” “connected to,” or “coupled to” another element or layer, it may be directly on, engaged, connected or coupled to the other element or layer, or intervening elements or layers may be present. In contrast, when an element is referred to as being “directly on,” “directly engaged to,” “directly connected to,” or “directly coupled to” another element or layer, there may be no intervening elements or layers present. Other words used to describe the relationship between elements should be interpreted in a like fashion (e.g., “between” versus “directly between,” “adjacent” versus “directly adjacent,” etc.). As used herein, the term “and/or” includes any and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed items.
Although the terms first, second, third, etc. may be used herein to describe various elements, components, regions, layers and/or sections, these elements, components, regions, layers and/or sections should not be limited by these terms. These terms may be only used to distinguish one element, component, region, layer or section from another region, layer or section. Terms such as “first,” “second,” and other numerical terms when used herein do not imply a sequence or order unless clearly indicated by the context. Thus, a first element, component, region, layer or section discussed below could be termed a second element, component, region, layer or section without departing from the teachings of the example embodiments.
For purposes of description herein the terms “up,” “down,” “above,” “below,” “upper,” “lower,” “top,” “bottom,” “front,” “rear,” and derivatives thereof shall relate to the assembly as oriented in
With reference to
The laundry appliance 20 in the illustrated examples is a combination washer and dryer appliance and therefore is configured to perform both a washing cycle and a drying cycle in series without re-setting the laundry appliance 20 or transferring any laundry into or out of the laundry appliance 20 between cycles. The laundry appliance 20 includes a wash unit tub 32 that is supported within the appliance housing 22 by a suspension system 34 that permits relative movement between the wash unit tub 32 and the appliance housing 22. The wash unit tub 32 generally has a cylindrical shape and the suspension system 34 includes several dynamic mounts 36 that keep the wash unit tub 32 from rotating, but permit limited degrees of freedom that allow the wash unit tub 32 to move/oscillate relative to the appliance housing 22 during tumbling. The wash unit tub 32 includes a front ring 38, a rear tub wall 40, and a tub sidewall 42 that extends from the front ring 38 to the rear tub wall 40. The front ring 38 of the wash unit tub 32 includes a laundry compartment opening 44 that is positioned in at least partial alignment with the front appliance opening 24. The front ring 38 is made of a rigid material. By way of example and without limitation, the front ring 38 is made of metal. The rigidity and strength of the front ring 38 is particularly important in the illustrated example because the inner door 28 is pivotally mounted to the front ring 38 of the wash unit tub 32, which will be explained in greater detail below.
A drum 46 is positioned in the wash unit tub 32 and is supported therein such that the drum 46 is rotatable with respect to the wash unit tub 32. The drum 46 also has a cylindrical shape and includes a drum opening 48, a rear drum wall 50, and a drum sidewall 52 that extends between the drum opening 48 and the rear drum wall 50. The drum sidewall 52 and the rear drum wall 50 cooperate to define a laundry compartment 54 inside the drum 46. The front appliance opening 24 in the appliance housing 22, the laundry compartment opening 44 in the front ring 38 of the wash unit tub 32, and the drum opening 48 are at least partially aligned with one another and therefore provide access to the laundry compartment 54 inside the drum 46 when the inner and outer doors 28, 30 are in the open position. Thus, it should be appreciated that in use, laundry (e.g., clothes, towels, and bedding) is placed inside the laundry compartment 54 where it is first cleaned during the wash cycle and then dried during the drying cycle.
A drive shaft (not shown), is fixedly coupled to the rear drum wall 50, is supported by a bearing pack (not shown) such that the drive shaft and the drum 46 rotate together as a single unit within the appliance housing 22. A motor (not shown) is positioned in the appliance housing 22 and is coupled to the drive shaft. The motor drives rotation of the drive shaft and the drum 46 relative to the wash unit tub 32 and the appliance housing 22 during operation of the laundry appliance 20, such as during washing and drying.
The outer door 30 is pivotally coupled to the appliance housing 22 by an outer door hinge assembly 56. Although many configurations are possible, in the illustrated example, the outer door hinge assembly 56 includes an upper hinge 58 and a lower hinge 60. Each of the upper and lower hinges 58, 60 include a hinge plate that is fixedly mounted to the appliance housing and pin that extends through the hinge plate and into a hole in the outer door 30. An outer door catch assembly 62 may be provided to enable locking/latching of the outer door 30 with the appliance housing 22 during operation of the laundry appliance 20. The outer door catch assembly 62 may include an outer door lock striker 64 that is positioned on the appliance housing 22 and a hook 66 that is mounted on the outer door 30 and positioned to engage the outer door lock striker 64 in order to retain the outer door 30 in the closed position during the washing and drying cycles. The inner door 28 is pivotally coupled to the front ring 38 of the wash unit tub 32 by an inner door hinge assembly 68, which will be described in greater detail below.
Both the inner and the outer doors 28, 30 swing between a closed position (shown in
The wash unit tub 32 may include a facia 74 that covers at least part of the front ring 38. The facia 74 and the front ring 38 may sit flush or may be spaced apart to define a cavity between the two. The inner door catch assembly 70 may include an inner door lock striker 76 that is positioned on the facia 74 or front ring 38 and a latch 78 that is mounted on the inner door 28 and positioned to engage the inner door lock striker 76 in order to retain the inner door 28 in the closed position during the washing and drying cycles. While the facia 74 may be provided in a variety of different shapes, in the illustrated example, the facia 74 has a contour 80 that extends about the laundry compartment opening 44. The contour 80 may be stepped to match a mating contour 82 on the inner door 28. A seal 83, extending about the laundry compartment opening 44, is positioned on and mounted to either the facia 74 or the front ring 38 to provide a fluid-tight (i.e., watertight) seal against the inner door 28 when the inner door 28 is in the closed position. The seal 83 may be contacted by the mating contour 82 of the inner door 28, sealing the two to prohibit water from exiting the drum 46 and wash unit tub 32 during operation. In addition to water-tightness, the seal 83 may be a high-temperature seal that also provides a thermal seal between the inner door 28 and the wash unit tub 32 for fire containment purposes.
In existing washers and washer/dryer combination appliances that are equipped with a bellows seal, there is a problem with accumulation of lint, floc, and hair along the bellows seal. The bellows has a tendency to trap water and moisture due to this accumulation, which prevents the bellows from draining and drying properly. Ultimately, this can lead to molding and odor. The bellows can also wear out due to the accumulation of lint, floc, and hair. Finally, a rubber bellows can be damaged by high temperatures and therefore provides poor fire containment. Unlike traditional washers where fire containment is of little concern, washer and dryer combination appliances typically include a heater (not shown) for heating the air inside the laundry compartment to dry the laundry contained therein during a drying cycle. Thus, it is an object of the laundry appliance 20 described in the present disclosure to provide a design that eliminates the bellows seal between the door assembly 26, 26′ and the wash unit tub 32. The laundry appliance 20 of the present disclosure provides door assemblies 26, 26′ with inner and outer doors 28, 30 and 28′, 30′ to enable elimination of the bellows seal. Because the inner doors 28, 28′ have some limited freedom of movement relative to the outer doors 30, 30′, the door assemblies 26, 26′ described herein still accommodate the movement and oscillation of the wash unit tub 32 (particularly during the washing cycle) and at the same time allows for the use of tighter tolerance high-temperature seals 83 to provide fire containment capability.
With additional reference to
Although other configurations are possible, in the illustrate example, the hinge leaf 84 of the inner door hinge assembly 68 is mounted to the front ring 38 of the wash unit tub 32 and the ramp 94 of the inner door hinge assembly 68 is mounted to the hinge leaf 84. However, it should be appreciated that the ramp 94 could alternatively be mounted directly to the front ring 38 of the wash unit tub 32. The slide 88 extends laterally between an inboard end 96 and an outboard end 98. The inboard end 96 of the slide 88 is positioned closer to the hinge leaf 84 than the outboard end 98. A roller pin 100 supports the rollers 92 on the inboard end 96 of the slide 88 and the ramp 94 has a curved surface that is arranged to contact the rollers 92.
The pivoting track 86 has a pair of curved lateral edges 102 that define a channel 104 in the pivoting track 86 that receives the slide 88 in the sliding fit. The inner door hinge assembly 68 also includes a rail 106 that is positioned between and mounted to the pivoting track 86 and the slide 88. The rail 106 may include one or more bearings or bushings that permit lateral (i.e., horizontal) movement of the slide 88 relative to the pivoting track 86. Thus, in accordance with this arrangement, the pivoting track 86 remains positioned between the inner door 28 and the outer door 30 as the inner and outer doors 28, 30 swing between open and closed positions. The lateral (i.e., horizontal) movement of the slide 88 relative to the pivoting track 86 allows the inner and outer doors 28, 30 to swing together between the open and closed positions without interference even though the inner and outer doors 28, 30 have different (i.e., spaced apart) pivot points/axes. However, it should be appreciated that when the inner and outer doors 28, 30 are closed, the wash unit tub 32, the inner door hinge assembly 68, and the inner door 28 all move and oscillate together relative to the appliance housing 22 and the outer door 30. It is the telescoping attachment assembly 72 (as opposed to the inner door hinge assembly 68) that permits the inner door 28 to move and oscillate relative to the outer door 30 when the inner and outer doors 28, 30 are in the closed position.
With additional reference to
Although other configurations are possible, in the illustrated examples, the opposing in-door socket 110 is provided in a posterior wall 114 of the inner door 28 and the door mounted coupler 108 includes a post 116 that is fixed to the outer door 30. The telescopic attachment assembly 72 also includes a collar 118 that extends about the post 116 in a sliding fit, a floating sleeve 120 that extends about the post 116 and the collar 118 in a sliding fit, and a spring-biased plunger 122 that is received inside the collar 118 in a sliding fit. However, it should be appreciated that this configuration may be reversed where the door mounted coupler 108 is attached to the inner door 28 and the opposing in-door socket 110 could be provided in the outer door 30.
The post 116 extends longitudinally between an outer post end 124 that is secured to the outer door 30 and an inner post end 126 that is hollow. The collar 118 has an outer collar end 128 and an inner collar end 130. The outer collar end 128 has a smaller diameter/width than the inner collar end 130 and is received in the inner post end 126. The bowl-shaped flange 112 extends radially from the inner collar end 130 and a first coil spring 132, positioned inside the post 116, operates in tension to pull the outer collar end 128 into the inner post end 126 and towards the outer post end 124. The floating sleeve 120 extends annularly about the collar 118 and longitudinally between an outer sleeve end 134 and an inner sleeve end 136. A pair of spring mounts 138, 140 extend from the inner sleeve end 136 and receive second and third springs 142, 144. The second and third springs 142, 144 operate in compression and push against a pair of spring bosses 146, 148 on the bowl-shaped flange 112. The spring-biased plunger 122 extends longitudinally between an outer plunger end 150 that is received inside the collar 118 and an inner plunger end 152 that extends out of the inner collar end 130 and is configured to push against an anterior wall 154 of the inner door 28. The anterior wall 154 of the inner door 28 is longitudinally spaced from the posterior wall 114 of the inner door 28 such that a cavity 156 is formed between the posterior and anterior walls 114, 154 of the inner door 28. A fourth spring 158 is positioned inside the collar 118 and the spring-biased plunger 122 and operates in compression to push the inner plunger end 152 out away from the inner collar end 130 and towards the anterior wall 154 of the inner door 28.
The telescopic attachment assembly 72 includes a first mechanical latch 160 that engages the post 116 and the collar 118 and a second mechanical latch 162 that engages the spring-biased plunger 122 to hold the telescopic attachment assembly 72 in a retracted position when the first and second mechanical latches 160, 162 are engaged. This retracted position of the telescopic attachment assembly 72 is illustrated in
The telescopic attachment assembly 72 is thus configured to hold the inner and outer doors 28, 30 further apart from one another when the inner and outer doors 28, 30 are in the open position to provide room for movement of the inner door hinge assembly 68, clearance between the inner and outer doors 28, 30, and to provide proper closure and latching of first the inner door 28 followed by a subsequent closure and latching of the outer door 30. The telescopic attachment assembly 72 becomes compressed when the inner and outer doors 28, 30 are swung to the closed position and the first and second mechanical latches 160, 162 engage to hold the telescopic attachment assembly 72 in the retracted position. This allows for tighter tolerances between the inner and outer doors 28, 30 in the closed position. When the outer door 30 is pulled away from the closed position, the first and second mechanical latches 160, 162 release and the telescopic attachment assembly 72 returns to the extended position and is therefore re-set for a subsequent closing of the inner and outer doors 28, 30.
The telescopic attachment assembly 72 may also include one or more clocking features/interfaces 178 to maintain the post 116, collar 118, floating sleeve 120, and/or plunger 122 in a particular orientation and to prevent such components from spinning. Although a variety of different structures may be used, in the illustrated examples, the clocking features/interfaces 178 are a combination of longitudinal grooves or slots that receive a corresponding tab or projection.
In the embodiment shown in
The electric actuator 188′ of the telescopic attachment assembly 72′ is actuated (i.e., controlled) to rotate the driven rod 190′ in a direction that extends the first rod end 192′ and thus the collar 118′ to a position that is spaced further away from the actuator housing 180′ to hold the inner and outer doors 28′, 30′ further apart from one another when the inner and outer doors 28′, 30′ are in the open position to provide room for movement of the inner door hinge assembly 68, clearance between the inner and outer doors 28′, 30′, and to provide proper closure and latching of first the inner door 28′ followed by a subsequent closure and latching of the outer door 30′. On the other hand, when the inner and outer doors 28′, 30′ are swung to the closed position, the electric actuator 188′ is actuated to rotate the driven rod 190′ in the opposite direction to retract the driven rod 190′ into the actuator housing 180′, which draws the collar 118′ and thus the inner door 28′ closer to the outer door 30′. Again, this allows for tighter tolerances between the inner and outer doors 28′, 30′ in the closed position. The electric actuator 188′ of the telescopic attachment assembly 72′ may also be actuated (i.e., controlled) to retract the driven rod 190′ when the inner and outer doors 28′, 30′ reach the open position for aesthetic reasons (i.e., to reduce the gap between the inner and outer doors 28′, 30′).
While the electric actuator 188′ in the illustrated example is a screw-type actuator, it should be appreciated that the electric actuator 188′ could be constructed in a number of different ways and could alternatively be a linear actuator, a solenoid, a wax motor, a driven cam, or a driven linkage (e.g., a four-bar linkage), for example and without limitation. It should also be appreciated that the electric actuator 188′ shown in the illustrated example could alternatively be replaced with other types of actuators that are powered by pneumatics or hydraulics rather than electricity. All such alternatives still provide power actuation that operates to increase and decrease the distance/gap between the inner and outer doors 28′, 30′).
In the illustrated example, the laundry appliance 20 is a washer and dryer combination appliance that performs both a wash cycle and a drying cycle; however, it should be appreciated that the door assemblies 26, 26′ described herein may also be used in other types of laundry appliances that include an outer (aesthetic) door and an inner (sealing) door, including laundry appliances that only perform a wash cycle (i.e., in washing machines) and laundry appliances that only perform a drying cycle (i.e., dryers).
Many modifications and variations of the apparatus and assemblies described in the present disclosure are possible in light of the above teachings and may be practiced otherwise than as specifically described while within the scope of the appended claims. These antecedent recitations should be interpreted to cover any combination in which the inventive novelty exercises its utility.
