Handle

Information

  • Patent Grant
  • 6393659
  • Patent Number
    6,393,659
  • Date Filed
    Thursday, July 6, 2000
    24 years ago
  • Date Issued
    Tuesday, May 28, 2002
    22 years ago
Abstract
A handle for a raisable covering means, such as a door of a dishwasher. The aim of the claimed invention is to develop a handle which is adapted for optimum gripping by either or both hands, it being possible for the operator to be in different positions.
Description




BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION




The invention relates to a handle for a raisable covering means such as a door of a dishwasher.




The claimed handle serves to move upward or downward a door of a dishwasher, which covers the dishes during the dishwashing operation. The prior art discloses, for example, a bracket-like handle which is approximately of the same width as the front side of the door. This handle is of U-shaped or trough-like configuration and has its central part running parallel to the front side of the door.




In practice, dishwashers are used in so-called push-through operation. Push-through operation is intended to mean operation during which the baskets with the dirty dishes are fed to the machine from one side and the baskets with the cleaned dishes are removed from the other side. There are push-through machines which are operated in a line, with the result that the dishes are fed to the machine on the left-hand side and are removed from the machine on the right-hand side. In machines which are used in this way, the door of the machine can be operated from the front side. Also known are push-through machines for corner installation, in the case of which the dishes, for example, are fed from the right and removed to the front. These machines merely allow the door to be operated from an oblique position laterally in front of the machine.




However, the operation of the doors of the dishwashers installed in a line or across a corner does not take place totally satisfactorily. It is extremely important to achieve the situation where the operator is subjected to minimal loading, since the door has to be raised and lowered over 500 times during one shift.




The object of the claimed invention is to develop a handle which is suitable for optimum gripping by the left and/or right hand, it being possible for the individual actuating the door to be in different positions relative to the door.




SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION




The handle according to the claimed invention is fastened in a horizontal position on two adjacent side parts of the door, the handle having at least three gripping points which are shaped such that the position of the hand actuating the handle is aligned substanially along an axis axial to the handle. This makes it possible for left-handers and right-handers to operate the door both from a front position and from a corner position.




A preferred embodiment of the claimed invention provides that the outwardly directed inclination of the handle center axis corresponds to half the opening angle between the forearms, half the opening angle corresponding to the angle of the handle center axis in relation to the front side of the door. This measure ensures that the handle can be gripped by both hands of an individual standing in front of the machine, such that the position of the hand in relation to the forearm remains rectilinear, i.e. in the natural position, during gripping and during movement.




In an alternate embodiment the handle has a longer, first leg, which is aligned with the front side, and a shorter second leg, which is aligned with the side surface, said legs being connected via an essentially circular segment. This embodiment forms a maximum utilizable handle region, with minimal handle size, in the front region and in the region obliquely in front of the machine or door.




According to another alternate embodiment, the handle is suitable for fastening on the left and right. This mirror-symmetrical embodiment of the handle, which is suitable for being positioned on the left and right of the door, simplifies the installation since incorrect installation is prevented.




Another alternate embodiment of the claimed invention has a plastic-coated metal core. This embodiment combines optimum gripping properties, slipping is virtually ruled out, with optimum stability.




The invention provides that the claimed handle serves for stabilizing the side walls of the dishwasher. By virtue of the handle being used as a stabilizing element, the design of the door may be more lightweight and thus more cost-effective, since the handle contributes significantly to the stability of the structural part.











BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS




Further details of the claimed invention are described, with reference to schematically illustrated preferred embodiments, in the drawing, in which:





FIG. 1

shows a schematic side view of a dishwasher,





FIG. 2

shows a plan view of the corner region with right-hand handle of the door of the dishwasher,





FIG. 3

shows a view of the handle in the direction of the arrow III in

FIG. 2

,





FIG. 4

shows a schematic view from above of a dishwasher installed in linear form, an individual also being included in the illustration,





FIG. 5

shows a schematic view from above of a dishwasher installed across a corner, an individual also being included in the illustration.











DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS





FIG. 1

shows a schematic side view of a dishwasher


1


with a door


3


designed as a covering means


2


and with a basic body


4


. The door


3


is fitted on a lifting mechanism


5


such that it can be displaced upward and downward in the direction of the double arrow


6


. The door


3


has a front side


7


, a right-hand side surface


8


, a left-hand side surface


9


and a roof side


10


. A first handle


11


is fastened on the front side


7


and on the right-hand side surface


8


, and a second handle


12


(

FIG. 4

) is fastened on the front side


7


and the left-hand side surface.





FIG. 2

shows a plan view of a corner region


20


of the door


3


from the direction of the arrow II in FIG.


1


. The plan view of the corner region


20


shows the first handle


11


, the front side


7


, the right-hand side surface


8


and the roof side


10


. It is also possible to see an extension


7




a


of the front side


7


and an extension


8




a


of the right-hand side surface


8


. The extensions


7




a


and


8




a


divide the handle


11


into three regions. These are a leg


13


, which is aligned with the front side


7


, a further leg


14


, which is aligned with the right-hand side surface


8


, and a circular segment


15


, which is located between the extensions


7




a


,


8




a


. The legs


13


,


14


each have a large-surface-area connection flange


13




a


,


14




a


configured as an ellipse


13




b


,


14




b


. The ellipse


13




b


has a major ellipse axis


13




c


with a length of approximately 8 cm and a minor ellipse axis


13




d


(

FIG. 3

) with a length of approximately 5 cm. The ellipse


14




b


has a major ellipse axis


14




c


with a length of approximately 7 cm and a minor ellipse axis (not illustrated) with a length of approximately 5 cm. The two legs


13


,


14


are connected to the side surfaces


7


,


8


by connecting means


16


,


17


. As a result of the fastening of the handle


11


on the side surfaces


7


,


8


and the large-surface-area bearing of the connection flanges


13




a


,


14




a


, the handle


11


acts on the door


3


in the manner of a stiffening angle


11




a


. The distance a between the fastening means


16


, arranged centrally in the connection flange


13




a


, and the side surface


8


is approximately 14 cm when measured parallel to the front surface


7


. The distance b between the fastening means


17


, arranged centrally in the connection flange


14




a


, and the front surface


7


is approximately 10 cm when measured parallel to the side surface


8


.




The leg


13


runs from the front side


7


to the extension


8




a


at an angle


18


in relation to the front side


7


, said angle being determined by a handle center axis


19


which runs approximately in a central region


20


(region bounded by chain-dotted lines) of the leg


13


. The angle


18


is in a range from 10° to 30°. The leg


14


runs from the side surface


8


to the extension


7




a


at an angle


21


in relation to the side surface


8


, said angle being determined by a handle center axis


22


which runs approximately in a central region


23


(region bounded by chain-dotted lines) of the leg


14


. The angle


21


is in a range from 20° to 40°.




It can also be seen in

FIG. 2

that the leg


13


merges along a tangent


24


into the circular segment


15


of the handle


11


. The leg


14


also has such a transition along a tangent


25


. The circular segment


15


is designed as a quarter-circle segment


26


which merges into the leg


13


,


14


at section planes


27


,


28


. The quarter-circle segment


26


is determined essentially by the external radius


29


and the internal radius


30


. In the claimed invention, the external radius


29


is approximately 7 cm and the internal radius


30


is approximately 5 cm. When viewed in three dimensions, the quarter-circle segment


26


constitutes a quarter-circle segment of a torus of approximately elliptical cross section.




The handle


11


illustrated in

FIG. 2

also has four gripping regions


31


,


31


′,


32


,


33


, these being formed essentially in the region of the leg


13


, in the region of the circular segment


15


and in the region of the leg


14


. In the claimed invention, the first gripping region


31


is located in the region of the leg


13


, between a flange region


34


and the transition to the circular segment


15


. The second and the third gripping regions


32


,


33


are located in the region of the circular segment


15


. The fourth gripping region


31


′ is located in the region of the leg


14


, between a flange region


34


′ and the transition to the circular segment


15


.




According an alternate embodiment claimed invention which is not shown, the gripping regions


31


,


31


′,


32


,


33


overlap partially, this being easily possible since the handle


11


is only gripped by one hand. This means that even individuals with very large hands can still grip the handle


11


in a comfortable and ergonomically correct manner.




In the installed position of the handle


11


which is shown in

FIG. 2

, the first and the third gripping regions


31


,


33


are provided for gripping by the right hand. The second gripping region


32


is suitable for gripping by the left hand. The fourth gripping region


31


′ is provided for gripping by the right or left hand when the individual doing the gripping is standing, for example, alongside the dishwasher


1


.





FIG. 3

shows a view of the handle


11


in the direction of the arrow III depicted in FIG.


2


. It can be seen in this view that a height


40


of the handle


11


in the flange region


34


is greater than a height


41


in the region of the circular segment


15


. The height


41


is approximately 20% smaller than the height


40


. In the direction of the ellipse


14




b


of the leg


14


, the height of the handle


11


increases again to the value of the height


40


(which cannot be seen from FIG.


3


). At the section plane


27


, the handle


11


has an approximately elliptical cross section, the major ellipse axis x having a length x′ of approximately 4 cm, which is smaller than the height


40


and greater than the height


41


of the handle


11


. The minor ellipse axis y (

FIG. 2

) of the section plane


27


has a length y′ of approximately 2 cm. From the region of the circular segment


15


to the flange regions


34


,


34


′, the minor ellipse axis y increases to a more pronounced extent than the major ellipse axis x. The minor ellipse axis y increases to a length y″ of approximately 3 cm and the major ellipse axis x increases to a length x″ of approximately 5 cm. On account of the abovementioned peripheral dimensions, the periphery of the handle


11


at the gripping regions


31


,


31


′,


32


,


33


, has an optimum grip-round length.





FIG. 3

also shows a center plane


42


of the handle


11


. This center plane


42


divides the handle


11


into a top half


43


and a bottom half


44


, which are symmetrical in relation to one another. For this reason, it is also possible for the handle


11


to be used as a handle


12


, by being rotated through 180° about an axis


45


running in the plane of the drawing, without this being disadvantageous ergonomically.





FIG. 4

shows a schematic view of the dishwasher


1


installed in linear form. Transporting tables


50


,


51


are located to the left and right alongside the dishwasher


1


. From the transporting table


50


, dishes (not illustrated) are pushed into the dishwasher


1


in the direction of an arrow


52


. For this purpose, the door


3


of the dishwasher


1


is located in the open position (FIG.


1


). The door


3


is then displaced downward into the closed position by a schematically illustrated individual


55


positioned in front


54


of the dishwasher. Following completion of the cleaning operation, the door


3


is displaced into the open position again by the individual


55


, with the result that the dishes can be moved out onto the transporting table


51


in the direction of an arrow


53


. It is then possible for the dishwasher


1


to be charged with dishes again.




The individual


55


illustrated in

FIG. 4

has a body


56


, forearms


57


, hands


58


and a head


59


. The forearms


57


open away from the body


56


at an opening angle


60


. The individual forearm


57


with the hand


58


is at half an opening angle


62


in relation to an axis


61


, which is perpendicular to the front side


7


of the dishwasher and divides the individual


55


symmetrically. The handles


11


,


12


are illustrated schematically in FIG.


4


. To simplify matters, it should be stated that the designations already introduced for the handle


11


also relate to the handle


12


, since the handles


11


,


12


are structural parts which are symmetrical in relation to one another. The schematically illustrated handles both have the leg


13


with the gripping region


31


and the center axis


19


. The center axes


19


run at an angle


18


in relation to the front side


7


. The angles


18


are such that they correspond in each case to half the opening angle


62


. This ensures that the individual


55


can grip the gripping region


31


while the forearm


57


and hand


58


are in the ergonomically correct rectilinear position. The angles


18


and


62


are determined in dependence on a width


63


of the door


3


. The dishwasher


1


installed in linear form is provided for the individual


55


to operate using both hands, this being beneficial for a locomotor apparatus (not illustrated). The fact that the individual


55


is positioned in front of the dishwasher, however, also allows single-handed operation.





FIG. 5

shows a schematic view of the dishwasher


1


installed across a corner. The transporting tables


50


,


51


are located to the right and in front of the dishwasher


1


. From the transporting table


50


, dishes (not illustrated) are pushed into the dishwasher


1


in the direction of the arrow


52


. For this purpose, the door


3


of the dishwasher


1


is located in the open position (FIG.


1


). The door


3


is then displaced downward into the closed position by a schematically illustrated individual


55


standing in an oblique position laterally in front of the dishwasher


1


. Following completion of the cleaning operation, the door


3


is displaced into the open position again by the individual


55


using one hand, with the result that the dishes can be moved out onto the transporting table


51


in the direction of the arrow


53


. It is then possible for the dishwasher


1


to be charged with dishes again.





FIG. 5

illustrates two positions


55




a


(solid lines),


55




b


(dashed lines) for the individual


55


positioned obliquely laterally in front of the dishwasher


1


, the position


55




a


schematically showing a left-hand half


70


of the individual


55


operating the handle


11


using the left forearm


71


or the left hand


71




a


. The position


55




b


shows the right-hand half


72


of the individual


55


operating the handle


11


using the right forearm


73


or the right hand


73




a


. It is also possible to see the circular segment


15


of the handle


11


, said segment having the gripping regions


32


,


33


.




For gripping by the left hand


71




a


, the individual


55


illustrated by the left-hand half


70


selects the position


55




a


such that the forearm


71


and the hand


71




a


come to rest at a right angle


74


to a tangent


75


to the gripping region


32


. In this position


55




a


, ergonomic gripping is ensured since the individual


55


holds the forearm


71


and the hand


71




a


at an ergonomically favorable opening angle


62


.




For gripping by the right hand


73




a


, the individual


55


illustrated by the right-hand half


72


selects the position


55




b


such that the forearm


73


and the hand


73




a


come to rest at a right angle


76


to a tangent


77


to the gripping region


33


. In this position


55




b


, ergonomic gripping is ensured since the individual


55


holds the forearm


73


and the hand


73




a


at an ergonomically favorable opening angle


62


.




The claimed invention is not restricted to the embodiments which have been illustrated or described herein. It also covers the full scope defined by the language of the following claims and equivalents thereof.



Claims
  • 1. A handle for a raisable door of a dishwasher, fastened in a horizontal position in a first corner region of a first surface and an adjacent second surface of the door, wherein the handle comprises:a first leg having a first end angularly attached to the first surface of the door, the first leg having at least a first portion spaced from the first surface to permit fingers of a hand to fit between the first portion and the first surface when gripping the first leg; and a second leg having a second end angularly attached to the second surface of the door, the second leg having at least a second portion spaced from the second surface to permit the fingers of the hand to fit between the second portion and the second surface when gripping the second leg, said first and second legs being joined together by a circular segment to form a U-shaped grip.
  • 2. The handle according to claim 1, wherein the first leg is greater in length than the second leg.
  • 3. The handle according to claim 1, wherein the handle is adapted for fastening on distally opposing sides of an axis perpendicular to at least one leg of the handle.
  • 4. The handle according to claim 1, wherein the handle further comprises a plastic-coated metal core.
  • 5. The handle according to claim 1, wherein the handle is adapted for stabilizing the first and second surfaces.
  • 6. The handle according to claim 1, wherein the handle further comprises:a first gripping region proximate the first leg; a second gripping region adjacent to and overlapping with a third gripping region, the second and third gripping regions proximate the circular segment; and a fourth gripping region proximate the second leg.
  • 7. The handle according to claim 1, wherein the first leg is angularly attached to the first surface of the door at an angle of 10° to 30° relative to a first axis approximately axial the first leg.
  • 8. The handle according to claim 1, wherein the second leg is angularly attached to the second surface of the door at an angle of 20° to 40° relative to a second axis approximately axial the second leg.
  • 9. The handle according to claim 1, wherein the circular segment includes a quarter-circle segment.
  • 10. The handle according to claim 1, wherein the first surface includes a front side of the door and the second surface includes one of a right side and a left side of the door.
  • 11. A handle for a raisable door of a dishwasher, fastened in a corner region of a door, wherein the handle comprises:a first leg having a first end angularly attached to a first surface of the door, the first leg having at least a first portion spaced from the first surface to permit fingers of a hand to fit between the first portion and the first surface when gripping the first leg; and a second leg having a second end angularly attached to a second surface of the door, the second leg having at least a second portion spaced from the second surface to permit the fingers of the hand to fit between the second portion and the second surface when gripping the second leg, said first and second legs being joined together to form a U-shaped grip, wherein the first leg and the second leg extend from the first surface and the second surface that extend beyond the corner region.
Priority Claims (1)
Number Date Country Kind
199 31 855 Jul 1999 DE
US Referenced Citations (7)
Number Name Date Kind
3133311 Riebsamen May 1964 A
3731839 Long May 1973 A
4073555 Noren Feb 1978 A
4093327 Linger Jun 1978 A
4495673 Khan Jan 1985 A
4811997 Suyama et al. Mar 1989 A
5873147 Hintz Feb 1999 A
Foreign Referenced Citations (2)
Number Date Country
2 530 136 Jan 1984 FR
1127294 Apr 1966 GB