Patent Application
20130113353
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a household appliance and more particularly, to a household appliance including a snap-on toe kick panel and a method thereof that prevents a user of the household appliance from coming into contact with any electrical connections of the household appliance and provides for easier maintenance access.
2. Related Art
In the related art, household appliances, such as dishwashers, include a cavity at the bottom of the machine that is used to house electrical components and connections of the household appliance. In some configurations, the cavity may be designed such that its front portion is recessed rearward from the front frame of the household appliance, enabling a user to stand close to the front of the household appliance wherein their feet can fit into the recessed space, thus allowing the user to be positioned closer to the appliance controls than would otherwise be the case without the recess. In other configurations, the cavity housing, the electrical components and connections may be flush with the cabinet, but is still placed at a position where a user's feet may approach the household appliance. Since the electrical components and connections may cause some safety issues if a user comes into contact with them, a toe-kick panel is used to protect the user from contact with the electrical components and connections. However, when maintenance or repair is needed on the household appliance, it is often necessary to access the cavity and associated electrical components and connections, in which case the toe-kick panel is required to be removed. In the related art, for safety purposes, the toe-kick panel is often screwed to the frame of the dishwasher so that the toe-kick panel is not accidentally or easily removed by, for example, a small child. However, this attachment method adds costs and complexity in both manufacturing of the household appliance and in the removal of the toe-kick panel during maintenance or repair.
The present invention introduces a household appliance with a snap-on toe-kick panel. The snap-on toe kick panel design allows for both secure fastening of the toe-kick panel to avoid accidental removal for safety purposes, as well as removes the need for a multitude of tools to remove the snap-on toe kick panel during maintenance or repair.
A first aspect of the present invention is directed to a household appliance. The household appliance may include a frame defining a cavity at a bottom of the household appliance, and a toe-kick panel structured to cover electrical components of the household appliance housed in the cavity. In an exemplary embodiment of the invention, the toe-kick panel includes at least one snap-on connector to secure the toe-kick panel to the frame.
A second aspect of the present invention is directed a method for attaching a toe-kick panel to a household appliance. In an exemplary embodiment, the method comprises at least the step of securing a toe-kick panel to a frame of the household appliance using a snap-on connector formed on or attached to the toe-kick panel.
The illustrative aspects of the present invention are designed to solve the problems herein described and other problems not discussed.
These and other features of this disclosure will be more readily understood from the following detailed description of the various aspects of the disclosure taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings that depict various exemplary embodiments of the disclosure, in which:
The drawings are merely schematic representations, not intended to portray specific parameters of the invention. The drawings are intended to depict only typical embodiments of the invention, and therefore should not be considered as limiting the scope of the invention. In the drawings, like numbering represents like elements.
While exemplary embodiments of snap-on connectors are described below, it should be understood that the invention is not limited to these embodiments and it is envisioned that any snap-on connector configuration known in the art that allows for joining the toe-kick panel 3 to the frame 4 may be used.
As shown in
The snap-on connector 21 may include one or more projections 22 that are formed from a resilient material. The projections 22 may engage with the frame 4 via one or more recesses 23 of the frame 4 into which the one or more projections 22 engage. The recesses 23 may also be formed from a resilient material.
In an exemplary embodiment as shown in
As shown in the embodiment of
In another embodiment, the one or more recesses may be disposed at an angle of approximately 90° counterclockwise to the initial insertion direction of the resilient tab to allow for additional connecting and safety features such as the use of a retaining ring or quick-connect.
An exemplary method of the invention is depicted in
While only certain features of the invention have been illustrated and described herein, many modifications and changes will occur to those skilled in the art. It is, therefore, to be understood that the appended claims are intended to cover all such modifications and changes as fall within the true spirit of the invention.
