HOUSEHOLD APPLIANCE WITH ADJUSTABLE PEDESTAL

Abstract

The present invention relates to a household appliance with at least one pedestal comprising a threaded rod which can be screwed into a corresponding threaded hole in a base of the household appliance in a longitudinal direction in order to reach a desired effective height of the pedestal. According to the invention a snap nut made of a resilient material is provided having a threaded bore with a diameter and a thread fitting to the threaded rod so that the snap nut can be screwed along the longitudinal extension of the threaded rod, the snap nut further comprising a slot having a width that is less than the diameter of the bore and which defines a lateral opening of the bore wherein the width of the slot and the resiliency of the material allows the snap nut to be snapped from the side onto the threaded rod.

Description

The present invention relates to a household appliance with at least one pedestal comprising a threaded rod which can be screwed into a corresponding threaded hole in a base of the household appliance in a longitudinal direction in order to reach a desired effective height of the pedestal.

Household appliances like dishwashers, washing machines, household ovens, refrigerators or tumble dryers which have height adjustable pedestals are known in the art. By means of pedestals with threaded rods, the position or height of the household appliance can be adapted to different heights of worktops of kitchens. Depending on how far the threaded rod is screwed into the corresponding threaded hole of the base of the household appliance, the body of the household appliance can be moved in a vertical direction. In addition or alternatively such adjustable pedestals or feet can be used to level the household appliance. Such a household appliance is disclosed in WO 2009/056449 A1.

A disadvantage of such an adjustable pedestal is the fact that the pedestal together with the threaded rod tends to get unstable when unscrewed out of the base of the household appliance beyond a certain length. The pedestal hence gets swiveled or tilted especially e.g. when such a household appliance is moved across a tiled floor. The limited length along which the threaded rod can be unscrewed out of the base of the household appliance or the corresponding threaded hole in the base hence limits the range over which the household appliance can be adjusted in its height. This is particularly the case because the length of the used threaded rods is also limited since for shipping the household appliance or the usage of the household appliance in combination with a rather low worktop of a kitchen the threaded rods need to be screwed nearly completely into the base of the household appliance. Hence, the used threaded rods need to be rather short or the corresponding space that has to be provided within the household appliance for receiving longer rods has to be relatively high. In the latter case this space is then lost for other purposes, which means that for example the washing chamber of a respective dishwasher needs to be smaller in volume which clearly is a further disadvantage.

It is hence an object of the present invention to provide a household appliance with at least one pedestal that can be adjusted in its height but which overcomes the above disadvantages.

This object is solved by a household appliance where a snap nut made of a resilient material is provided having a threaded bore with a diameter and a thread fitting to the threaded rod so that the snap nut can be screwed along the longitudinal extension of the threaded rod. According to the invention, the snap nut comprises a slot having a width that is less than the diameter of the bore and which defines the lateral opening of the bore wherein the width of the slot and the resiliency of the material allows the snap nut to be snapped from the side onto the threaded rod.

The advantage of such an inventive household appliance is the fact that a snap nut is provided by means of which a threaded rod can be locked or tightened with respect to the base of the household appliance. A swiveling or tilting of the pedestal with respect to the base hence is suppressed also under conditions where the respective threaded rod is screwed only along a reduced or limited length into the corresponding threaded hole of the base. On the other hand, since the snap nut can be snapped from the side into the threaded rod, it is not necessary to completely unscrew the threaded rod and/or to lift the household appliance in order to screw the nut onto the rod. It is, hence, very easy to insert the nut onto the threaded rod and to lock the threaded rod or tighten it with respect to the base of the household appliance especially in cases where it turns out, that a greater lifting of the appliance becomes necessary.

Preferred embodiments of the present invention are defined in the dependent claims.

Preferably, the snap nut is designed so that it can be snapped from the side onto the threaded rod in a direction being substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the rod. This improves the easiness of the mounting of the snap nut onto the threaded rod. In particular, the pedestal and the snap nut can be designed such that the snap nut can be snapped onto the rod at any arbitrary position with respect to the longitudinal direction of the rod.

Optionally, the pedestal can further comprise a foot plate so as to avoid any scratches on a floor area onto which the household appliance is positioned. Since the snap nut can be snapped from the side onto the threaded rod such a foot plate neither doesn't need to be removed for screwing the nut onto the threaded rod nor makes it necessary to remove the complete pedestal for mounting the nut.

In a further preferred embodiment of the present invention the snap nut can be screwed along the threaded rod until it engages the base of the household appliance such that the threaded rod is locked against a stop face of the base of the household appliance in order to avoid a swiveling or a tilting of the pedestal with respect to the base. This offers not only a more stable mounting of the pedestal with respect to the base of the household appliance but also an unwanted unscrewing of the threaded rod due to e.g. a motion of the household appliance induced by moving parts of the appliance.

In a further preferred embodiment of the present invention the snap nut comprises a cylindrical section comprising in turn an according section of the slot and being coaxial with the bore and designed to engage with the base of the household appliance. This cylindrical section can have a tapered end which is designed to at least partially enter an entrance of the threaded hole in the base. Hence, the cylindrical section defines a sleeve or jacket comprising the threaded bore. Since only a part of the snap nut may be of such a cylindrical shape and on the other hand the whole snap nut needs to be slotted in order to make it snappable onto the threaded rod, the cylindrical section hence needs to be slotted along its entire length, however, the slot further also goes through any further section of the snap nut which might be not of such a cylindrical shape. The tapered end of the snap nut improves the locking of the snap nut and hence of the threaded rod with respect to the base of the household appliance since it provides for a certain wedging between the snap nut, the threaded rod and the base of the household appliance.

Such a tapered end can be designed so as to at least partially enter an entrance of the threaded hole in the base where the entrance can be the beginning of the threaded hole itself or a groove or notch which surrounds the threaded hole or the entrance of the threaded hole.

In a further preferred embodiment the entrance of the threaded hole is designed as a bore or sleeve provided in front of the threaded hole. Such a bore or sleeve can be designed so as to have the same diameter of the following threaded hole or to have a slightly larger diameter such that in both cases the tapered end of the snap nut at least partially enters the bore or sleeve in order to become wedged together with it.

In order to further improve the handling of such a snap nut the snap nut can comprise an end being opposed to its cylindrical section and facing away from the base of the household appliance where this end comprises at least one manual operation facility. As an example or option such an end can be designed as a slotted butterfly nut section with two radial extensions having a design and a length such that the snap nut can be turned by hand e.g. with two fingers without the need of a specific screw wrench or screw driver.

To remain the snap nut snappable onto the threaded rod the respective slot preferably extends through the cylindrical section and also through the manual operation facility.

Preferably, the snap nut is made of a plastic material optionally of a polyoximethylene (POM).

In a further inventive embodiment of the present invention an extension is provided which can be mounted onto or around the foot plate of the pedestal or directly onto the threaded rod without using the foot plate such that the effective length of the pedestal is further elongated. Hence, the range over which an according household appliance can be adapted in height is further extended whereas due to the locking of the threaded rod by means of the snap nut the stability of the pedestal is not affected.

A household appliance according to the present invention can be a dishwasher, a washing machine, a household oven, a refrigerator, or tumble dryer.

Preferred embodiments of the present invention are explained in further detail below by reference to the drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a snap nut according to the present invention;

FIGS. 2 and 3 are schematic side views of a pedestal according to the present invention where FIG. 2 shows the pedestal prior to the mounting of the snap nut and FIG. 3 shows the pedestal with mounted and locked snap nut;

FIGS. 4 and 5 are perspective views from below onto the base of a household appliance according to the present invention showing a pedestal prior to the mounting of the snap nut;

FIG. 6 shows a pedestal onto which an extension is going to be mounted; and

FIG. 7 shows a pedestal according to the present invention with mounted snap nut and elongation.

FIG. 1 shows a snap nut 50 according to the present invention. The snap nut 50 comprises a threaded bore 60 by means of which the snap nut can be mounted onto a threaded rod of a pedestal. The snap nut 50, being made of a resilient material, comprises a slot 70 having a width (B) that is less than the diameter of the bore 60 and slot 70 defines a lateral opening of the bore 60 by means of which the snap nut can be clipped or snapped onto a threaded rod at an arbitrary position with respect to the longitudinal direction of such a rod. This has the advantage that the snap nut needs not to be screwed onto the rod starting at one end of the rod but can be clicked onto the rod at any position along its lateral extension. The snap nut 60 has two extensions 66 by means of which the snap nut can be turned and screwed along a rod with two fingers without the need of additional tools. Hence, the left part of snap nut 60 is designed like known butterfly nuts with the additional feature that it is slotted.

The right side of snap nut 60 is designed to have a cylindrical shape 62 with a tapered end 64. This side 62 of snap nut 50 is used to increase a locking engagement with a base of a household appliance as will be explained below by means of FIGS. 2 to 5. In other words, the tapered end 64 of the cylindrical section 62 improves the wedging between the snap nut 60 and the base of the household appliance.

FIG. 2 is a side view onto a base 40 of a household appliance 10. A pedestal 20 is provided comprising a rod 30 which is screwed into the base 40 of household appliance 10. By screwing rod 30 in a direction A into base 40 or out of the base, the effective length of pedestal 20 can be adapted in order to level or lift the household appliance 10. In addition, pedestal 20 comprises a foot plate 32 in order to avoid a direct contact of the threaded rod 30 with a floor area. On the left side of FIG. 2 snap nut 50 of FIG. 1 is shown which is intended to be snapped onto the threaded rod 30 in a direction C (see arrow). Due to the slot 70 of snap nut 50 (see again FIG. 1) it is not necessary to remove the threaded rod 30 from the base 40 or the foot plate 32 from the rod 30 in order to mount the snap nut 50 on the threaded rod 30.

FIG. 3 shows a similar view onto the household appliance 10 as FIG. 2 where in FIG. 3 snap nut 50 is already snapped onto the threaded rod 30 and screwed in the direction versus the base 40 of the household appliance 10 (see direction “A” of FIG. 2). By means of snap nut 50 which is in locking engagement against the base 40 of the household appliance 10 or a stop face 46 of the base, pedestal 20 is locked or secured or tightened against a swiveling or tilting in a direction D especially in cases where rod 30 is screwed only along a limited length into the base 40 of the household appliance 10. In other words, due to the snap nut 50 the effective length over which the pedestal 20 can be adjusted is longer than without the usage of such a snap nut since threaded rod 30 can be again screwed out of the base 40 along a longer distance without the risk of a tilt or a bending or even a break of the rod in case that the household appliance 10 is e.g. shifted on the floor.

By means of the perspective views of FIG. 4 and FIG. 5 it is explained how the engagement between the snap nut 50 of FIG. 1 with the base 40 can be improved. Here, pedestal 20 is again shown prior to the mounting of the snap nut so as to provide a free sight onto the respective sections of the base 40.

As shown in FIG. 4 threaded rod 30 onto which foot plate 32 is mounted is screwed into a threaded hole 42 which is provided through a cylindrical mounting 45 within the base 40. The threaded hole 42 has an entrance 41 into which rod 30 enters. The entrance 41 can be designed in a way such that it provides a certain clearance to the rod 30 into which the tapered end 64 of the snap nut 50 of FIG. 1 can enter when the snap nut is mounted onto the rod 30 and screwed in an upper direction into the threaded hole 42 until the snap nut 50 or more precisely the tapered end 64 of the snap nut at least partially enters the entrance 41 of the hole 42. Hence, the optionally tapered end 64 of the cylindrical section 62 of snap nut 50 (see FIG. 1) improves the wedging between the snap nut (50) and the base 40.

Similar as FIG. 4, FIG. 5 shows a pedestal 20 which is screwed into a threaded hole 42 of the base 40 where again the snap nut 50 shown in FIG. 1 is not yet mounted onto the threaded rod 30 of the pedestal 20. When comparing with FIG. 4 one can see that in the embodiment of FIG. 5 in addition to the mounting 45 with threaded hole 42 a bearing 47 is provided which comprises a sleeve 44 being designed to receive the threaded rod 30 and which guides the threaded rod 30 versus the threaded hole 42 of mounting 45. The internal surface of sleeve 44 does not carry any thread, however, it is designed with respect to its width such that rod 30 can be plunged through it whereas it serves as an engaging or locking surface for the snap nut 50 of FIG. 1 when the snap nut is mounted onto the rod 30 and screwed in upper direction until it reaches sleeve 44 of bearing 47. Again a certain clearance between the internal surface of sleeve 44 and the threads of rod 30 can be provided such that the tapered end 64 of the cylindrical section 62 of the snap nut 50 of FIG. 1 can enter into this clearance so as to come into a wedged locking engagement with bearing 47.

FIG. 6 shows a pedestal 20 during the mounting of an extension 34. Extension 34 comprises two halves 38 and 39 which are connected by means of the joint 36 which can e.g. be a film joint. The extension 34 is designed to be mounted onto a foot plate 32 of pedestal 20 where the foot plate 32 in turn is mounted onto the threaded rod 30 of the pedestal. Extension 34 hence can be snapped onto the pedestal 20 in a way that firstly one half 39 is clicked onto the pedestal 20 followed by closing of the two halves 38 and 39 until a locking mechanism secures both halves 38 and 39 together so that an extension 34 is generated which has approximately a cylindrical shape.

As can be seen in FIG. 7 in a perspective side view similar to FIG. 3 pedestal 20 can be elongated by means of such an extension 34 such that the effective length of the complete pedestal 20 in combination with extension 34 is longer than the length of the pedestal of FIG. 3. Hence, the effective height of the household appliance 10 of FIG. 7 cannot only be adjusted by screwing threaded rod 30 into or out from the base 40 but additionally by mounting the extension 34 onto the pedestal 20. This, however, is only possible due to snap nut 50 by means of which a threaded rod 30 is secured or locked with respect to the base 40 against a swiveling or tilting around its entrance into the base 40 (see arrow D).

In conclusion, the usage of snap nut 50 greatly improves the adjusting range of a pedestal 20 in comparison to a pedestal with the same rod length but without the option of a snap nut. This is not only the case because it is possible to screw rod 30 further out of the base 40 due to the locking by means of the snap nut 50 but also since the locking due to the snap nut 50 allows the usage of the extension 34 which otherwise would leverage a swiveling of the whole pedestal 20 beyond an acceptable level. With the design of nut 50 being a snap nut the locking of the pedestal 20 can be reached without a disassembling of the pedestal 20.

LIST OF REFERENCE SIGNS

• 10 household appliance
• 20 pedestal
• 30 rod
• 32 foot plate
• 34 extension
• 36 joint
• 38, 39 halve
• 40 base
• 41 entrance
• 42 threaded hole
• 44 sleeve
• 45 mounting
• 46 stop face
• 47 bearing
• 50 snap nut
• 60 bore
• 62 cylindrical section
• 64 tapered end
• 66 extension
• 68 butterfly nut
• 70 slot

Claims

1. Household appliance (10) with at least one pedestal (20) comprising a threaded rod (30) which can be screwed into a corresponding threaded hole (42) in a base (40) of the household appliance in a longitudinal direction (A) in order to reach a desired effective height of the pedestal, characterized in that a snap nut (50) made of a resilient material is provided having a threaded bore (60) with a diameter and a thread fitting to the threaded rod (30) so that the snap nut (50) can be screwed along the longitudinal extension of the threaded rod (30), the snap nut (50) further comprising a slot (70) having a width (B) that is less than the diameter of the bore (60) and which defines a lateral opening of the bore wherein the width of the slot (70) and the resiliency of the material allows the snap nut (50) to be snapped from the side onto the threaded rod (30).

2. Household appliance (10) according to claim 1, wherein the snap nut (50) can be snapped from the side onto the threaded rod (30) in a direction (C) being substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the rod.

3. Household appliance (10) according to claim 1, wherein the snap nut (50) can be snapped onto the threaded rod (30) at an arbitrary position with respect to the longitudinal direction (A) of the rod.

4. Household appliance (10) according to claim 1, wherein the pedestal (20) further comprises a foot plate (32) mounted onto the end of the threaded rod (30) being opposed to the base (40) of the household appliance.

5. Household appliance (10) according to claim 1, wherein the snap nut (50) can be screwed along the threaded rod (30) until it engages the base (40) of the household appliance (10) such that the threaded rod (30) is locked against a stop face (46) of the base of the household appliance (10) for avoiding a swivelling (D) of the pedestal (20) with respect to the base (40).

6. Household appliance (10) according to claim 5, wherein the snap nut (50) comprises a cylindrical section (62) comprising an according section of the slot (70) and being coaxial with the bore (60) and designed to engage with the base (40) of the household appliance (10) and which has a tapered end (64) which is designed to at least partially enter an entrance (41) of the threaded hole (42) in the base.

7. Household appliance (10) according to claim 6, wherein the entrance (41) is designed for receiving the tapered end (64) of snap nut (50) and for engaging with the tapered end (64), wherein the entrance (41) is surrounded by a groove.

8. Household appliance (10) according to claim 6, wherein the entrance is designed for receiving the tapered end (64) of snap nut (50) and for engaging with the tapered end (64), wherein the entrance is defined by a bore or sleeve (44) provided in front of the threaded hole (42).

9. Household appliance (10) according to claim 6, wherein the snap nut (50) comprises an end (68) being opposed to the cylindrical section (62) and facing away from the base (40) of the household appliance, the end (68) comprising at least one manual operation facility, optionally the end (68) being designed as a slotted butterfly nut section (68) with two radial extensions (66).

10. Household appliance (10) according to claim 9, wherein the bore (60) and the slot (70) extend through the cylindrical section (62) and the manual operation facility (68).

11. Household appliance (10) according to claim 1, wherein the snap nut (50) is made of plastic, optionally of POM.

12. Household appliance (10) according to claim 1, wherein an extension (34) is provided which can be mounted onto or around the foot plate (32) of the pedestal (20) so as to further elongate the effective length of the pedestal (20).

13. Household appliance (10) according to claim 1, wherein the household appliance is a dishwasher, a washing machine, a household oven, a refrigerator or tumble dryer.